What Is the Price

Chapter 26: What is the Price?

A cold wind swept across the desk, causing the flame in the lampstand to flicker violently.

Only then did Sandella shift her gaze from the case files to a corner of the room. As expected, a wooden window had been pushed open by the strong evening breeze at some point, revealing a sliver of the night sky.

As a Master-level warrior, she no longer needed six to eight hours of sleep like ordinary people. Two hours of rest a day was sufficient for her. Normally, she would use this time to cultivate her strength and swordsmanship, but for the past few days, she had uncharacteristically dedicated her energy to the investigation.

However, despite her busy efforts, Sandella had found nothing.

The fortune teller seemed to have vanished into thin air. Both gang members and local residents claimed to have never seen the person, and only a handful even knew of the Fortune Telling House. She had even enlisted the help of the West City Police Station and personally visited the surrounding neighborhoods multiple times, hoping to uncover a clue. She didn't expect to catch the culprit immediately, but at least to get a lead. The results, however, remained disappointing.

She even doubted if such a person truly existed in Glorious Fortress.

Sandella stood up and walked to the window that had been blown open by the wind. The city's night view was unremarkable, and the sky was always shrouded in clouds. She suddenly found herself missing the nights on the old continent.

Just as she was about to re-fasten the window latch, a flickering fire caught her eye.

Sandella blinked slightly. From the height of the Watchtower, one could theoretically only see the faint glow of streetlights, like fireflies, and only in the alleys close to the tower.

This was the first time she had seen a fire at night that wasn't appearing as a single point.

However, Sandella quickly realized that it wasn't normal lamplight, but a building somewhere that had caught fire.

This wasn't a major issue. Glorious Fortress was a port city with a well-developed canal system, so extinguishing fires wasn't difficult. Moreover, firefighting was one of the City Guard's responsibilities. She had always taken it seriously and had never slacked in training. She assumed the fire brigade would arrive at the scene shortly.

But out of curiosity, Sandella picked up her spyglass and aimed it in the direction of the fire.

A closer look made her heart skip a beat!

The fire wasn't in a residential building, but in the grand theater on Golden Street! Through the spyglass, she could clearly see the theater's distinctive silhouette and the cross decoration on the roof burning fiercely in the flames. Just a week ago, the Sinclair Theater had hosted the Second Prince and his entourage. She hadn't expected it to be engulfed in flames tonight.

At the same time, Sandella noticed that there were no signs of fire on the buildings adjacent to the theater; only this single building was emitting thick smoke. This sight filled her with strong suspicion, as the grand theater had night watchmen, making it unlikely to have burned to this extent without anyone responding. Since it wasn't affected by a surrounding fire, the answer was obvious.

It was highly likely deliberately set ablaze!

But why would someone want to burn down such a harmless landmark?

For some reason, Sandella suddenly thought of the missing fortune teller.

Could this matter be related to the Cultists?

With this thought, she lost all interest in staying in the tower. She casually threw on her coat, hurried to the bottom of the tower, and woke up her adjutant who was sleeping on the first floor.

"My lady... are you going to the fire scene?" the latter asked, looking bewildered. "This kind of matter doesn't warrant your personal attention..."

"We're not going to put out the fire," Sandella interrupted.

"Then what are you planning to do?"

"Gather a squad from the City Guard and have them bring their weapons," she replied sternly. "We're going to catch the arsonist."

"Drink this. You'll feel better."

Judy brought a bowl of hot medicinal soup and offered it to Dane, who was lying in bed.

After drinking it, he let out a long sigh, and his complexion seemed to have improved.

"I didn't know you had a hiding place like this," Judy said, looking around the room with admiration. Although the house was located deep in an alley, its interior space was quite large. The three-bedroom, one-living-room layout was enough to serve as a proper residence.

"It's best to be careful in our line of work," Dane said with a wry smile. "I just didn't expect to be caught on the road like this. What's the situation outside?"

"There have been sounds of carriages and horses on the street, and the fire alarm bells have been ringing intermittently. I didn't dare to go out and inquire, but I don't think anyone has noticed this place."

"Hmm... The horses and vehicles are probably the City Guard on the move. After all, there was such a big fire, and it was the Sinclair Theater... " Dane put down the bowl and leaned back against the headboard. "As long as no one comes looking for us tonight, I think we'll have gotten away with it."

"What are your plans now?" Judy's gaze returned to him, her tone full of gentleness.

This question made Dane fall silent for a moment. After a pause, he said, "Ghost was right. The Jedi Brothers Newspaper wouldn't dare to publish this news. When the storm calms down a bit, I might return to the old continent... The North City Police Station will definitely be looking for me in secret, and I don't want to implicate you."

Looking at Judy's worried expression, he forced a smile. "It's okay. If I can't expose them here, can't I do anything about them back there? No one can cover up the truth forever. This debt will eventually be settled with the real culprit. As for you..."

He lowered his voice at this point, as if afraid of being overheard. "You said you found a private detective... Were those people who stormed the theater subordinates of the detective?"

"I... I'm not really sure," Judy said, rubbing her head. "Mr. Chao never tells me the details of his investigations. This time, he just visited suddenly and asked me to prepare a carriage to wait near the theater. He only led me through the front entrance when he said it was time. We even ran into police officers who were fleeing when we passed the ticket hall, and I snatched a gun from one of them."

"Then what exactly did you promise him?" Dane asked with unusual difficulty. "I mean... the reward. He wouldn't help you for no reason, would he...?"

"Five hundred Ceriel."

"That's all?"

"What do you mean 'that's all'!" Judy retorted indignantly. "That's my salary for five years!"

"It's considerable for ordinary people, but you have no idea who you've brought in..." Dane closed his eyes, and the scenes in the grand theater resurfaced in his mind. Were those people just the detective's assistants? They could even be called death warriors! They faced swords, guns, and fire without fear, and were determined to complete their mission even if it meant death. Such people couldn't be measured by a few bags of coins. The North City Police Station had indeed suffered heavy losses, but what about those people? Out of six people, only two survived in the end. How much effort and money would it take to train four more such death warriors?

Such a price was by no means affordable for a newspaper reporter.

"Judy... are you sure there's nothing else? Tell me the truth!"

Judy hesitated for a moment before saying in a low voice, "He also wants some... wish power."