Police Officer

"Whatever you say."

The Flame Crow Girl could see Sean's attitude and didn't try to persuade him further. To be honest, she admired his courage to resist; she wouldn't deny that Sean's appearance played a small part in it. He did have a certain appeal that fit her aesthetic, but it wasn't enough for her to linger.

Her business in Holkodo was finished.

Her next task was to attend the "Dawn Meeting."

She needed to find an absolutely safe place.

"I'm leaving. You should stay away from them yourself."

"Wait a moment."

Sean raised his hand to stop the girl.

The girl paused, her hair rustling in the wind. She glanced back at him, asking, "What is it? Do you want me to escort you home?"

Sean: "..."

That wasn't it.

"I don't even know your name yet," Sean asked.

"Want to repay me? Come back when you can enter the Void Arts Space," the girl replied, tilting her fair neck like a proud swan. She left him with those words, then lightly tapped her toes and leaped into the air. Her graceful figure ignited with flames, transforming her back into a Flame Crow. She flapped her wings and flew towards the distance.

This time, she didn't leave any feathers behind.

"What is the Void Arts Space?"

Sean stared at the sky, lost in thought, then let out a self-deprecating laugh.

It seemed like... he had been looked down upon by the girl?

That made sense. After all, he wasn't even fully awakened yet; he was just an ordinary person.

To use "Illusionary Form" type spells, a Wizard's control over Magic needed to reach at least Tier Three. For someone like the girl, who was crossing species and drastically changing her form, Tier Four might be necessary.

The girl looked much younger than him, only about seventeen or eighteen. She clearly had great talent in the mystical arts, giving her the right to be arrogant. Or rather, according to the worldview described in his books, her arrogance wasn't even that extreme. If it were a more hot-tempered guy, even a dog looking at him for too long on the street would earn it a Fireball Spell.

Reaching Tier Three meant entering the true realm of the supernatural, the first point of power balance between "science" and "mystical arts." Wizards at this level were already capable of confronting most light firearms. Only by reaching Tier Three was it possible to survive a Witch Hunt.

And "surviving" was merely the beginning.

Sean walked out of the alley and stood at the entrance. His gaze swept over the passersby on the street, lingering on the silhouette of Floris Hospital before he lowered his head, pulled up the collar of his windbreaker, and hurried towards the taxi stand.

Nine in the morning was the peak traffic hour in Holkodo.

It took Sean nearly an hour to get home.

His apartment was on the third floor. As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he heard the sound of a wrench tightening screws.

A repairman in a blue and white uniform was replacing his door.

The short Police Officer Burg was also there.

Seeing Sean return, Burg's face immediately broke into a smile as he greeted him, "Good morning, Mr. Sean."

They had arranged for the door to be fixed that morning, but Sean hadn't expected them to arrive so early. He pulled out his phone and saw two missed calls.

"You didn't pick up when I called earlier, so we came straight up," Burg explained with a smile. "I thought you were sleeping, and when I went inside to look for you, I found you had gone out. So, I had the technician start replacing the door. I figured if you weren't back by the time it was done, I'd send you a text message to come to the police station to get your key."

"You know, we have a lot of petty issues in our precinct, and we can't just ignore them or we'll get complaints. Getting the door replaced early means I can get back to the station to handle official business sooner."

"I apologize."

Sean said apologetically, "I left in a hurry this morning and forgot to leave a note. I usually keep my phone on silent, so I've delayed your work."

"It's alright, I didn't wait for you, did I?" Burg chuckled heartily. "But you're the one who's careless. You went out with your door unable to close properly. If a thief had gotten in and stolen something valuable, you'd be in a real bind."

"Don't be so careless next time."

"Yes."

Sean entered the apartment. "I'll get you some water."

"No need, it's almost done," Burg waved his hand.

The repairman also put down his tools, removed his stained white gloves, gripped the doorknob, and closed the door, then opened it again. After testing it several times and confirming it was fine, he nodded to Sean and Burg before squatting down to pack his toolbox.

"Alright, if there are any problems with this door later, feel free to contact me," Burg joked. "Lifetime warranty."

"Remember to lock your door next time you go out."

He patted Sean's shoulder and left with the repairman for the elevator.

Sean watched them leave, thinking that the police officer had quite a cheerful personality, much more approachable than the stereotypical image. He was easy to get along with... Wait.

Why did I say "also"?

The elevator doors closed gently. Next door, a neighbor's door cautiously opened a crack.

A woman poked her head out, looked around, and seeing that Burg had left, whispered to Sean, "Did you get into trouble?"

Sean chuckled, "If I had gotten into trouble, would I be standing here talking to you?"

"That's true," the woman sighed. "I was just opening my door to get the milk when I saw that police officer go into your place. He seemed to be looking for something and didn't come out for quite a while. I thought he was gathering evidence of your crimes."

Looking for something?

Aren't you looking for him??

The smile on Sean's face suddenly froze.

"How long is a long time?" he asked.

The woman pondered, "About half an hour?"

Sean: "..."

He knew why he had said "too."

Another person disguising themselves with a kind facade!

"Forget it, never mind him. As long as you haven't committed any crimes, then even if you get into my bed, I won't be harboring a criminal." The woman seemed not to notice Sean's change in expression, giving him a charming, flirtatious wink. "Little handsome guy, my man has been away on business trips recently and won't be back for a month or two, so... do you want to come over for some milk tonight? I'll warm it up for you myself."

"You've already rejected me several times, you should agree at least once, right?"

"My house has professional recording equipment, it's all set up. You can record it, and then use it to threaten me into any pose. I really don't want my husband to find out~"

"Any pose?"

"Yes," the woman blinked her big, watery eyes. "I've practiced yoga."

Sean: "Can you make a triangle? It's the most stable structure."

Woman: "?"

"Too pointy, no. How about something more rounded? What about a backward bend? You can enter from the front or back..."

"Bang."

The only response was the sound of Sean's cold closing door.

Woman: "..."

"Look at you, so smug."

Her warm backside met a cold face. The woman paused for two seconds before snorting angrily, "So what if you're a bit handsome? It's not that big of a deal. One day, I'll still get you and have a son even more handsome than you. Then we'll see if you can still be so arrogant, hmph!"

"Bang!"

She also slammed the door shut, even harder than Sean.

The woman didn't know that Sean was actually thinking of her well-being.

In every aspect.

Firstly, Sean didn't want to ruin her family.

Secondly, if Quill and the others found out the woman was too close to him, the neighbor's family might be in danger.

Simply making small talk to maintain neighborly relations was already his limit.

Sean had risked going to Floris Hospital in the first place to ask Chris some questions and verify a few things. Now that Chris was dead, most of those matters were essentially answered. Burg's two-faced behavior further proved this—

He had actually been targeted by the hospital long ago and had been under their surveillance the entire time.

Sean returned home, turned on the light, and with a single glance, immediately noticed that the living room was different from when he had left that morning.

Like many single men, his home was messy, at least not tidy. He usually only vacuumed and mopped, never bothering to tidy up. But even in its messiness, there was a method to it. Whether it was cups, sofa cushions, or even tissues and trash cans, everything was placed according to his own habits. He would notice if anything was out of place.

Furthermore, Burg hadn't even tried to hide his tracks.

The most obvious signs were the absence of glass shards and milk on the floor.

If he were to ask Burg, Burg would surely smile and reply, "I just helped you tidy up."

He might even make a joke, "This is me doing you a favor, Mr. Sean, you won't accuse me of trespassing, will you?"

It was evident that these traces were deliberately left for him to discover.

Coincidentally, just then, Sean's phone screen lit up.

Burg sent him a text message—

"Mr. Sean, I left in too much of a hurry just now and forgot to tell you, I actually really like the books you write. I've always been a loyal fan. If I remember correctly, you have a book signing event in Old Sigel City on the first of next month, right? I've already applied for an external assignment from my superiors to be transferred there to be your security guard. You'll have to sign a few extra copies for me then. See you at the venue, don't be late. /smile /smile"

The polite smiling face emojis at the end of the text were particularly jarring.

Sean stood in the living room, looking around. In that instant, the ceiling, which should have been only four or five meters high, seemed to suddenly rise, extend, and rotate, becoming increasingly vast, like an enclosed sky. And in places he couldn't reach, it felt as though pairs of eyes were watching him, smiling mockingly, and saying to him:

"Sean, you can't escape."