I Am Your Superior

"Y-Your Excellency..." Shelley did not dare sit before Luke. Using honorifics, she asked, "Your relationship with Her Highness the Grand Princess..."

Luke said solemnly, "That's right, just as you imagined. But my relationship with Agatha is very private. I hadn't planned to let you know.

But...

It seemed that if I didn't say anything, you would have killed me.

I'd long heard that the Cape District branch in Raging Wave City had a rather unusual way of doing things. Today, I've truly experienced it... Really, seeing is believing!"

Shelley hurriedly had Pisco remove the bodies.

Then she asked respectfully, "I'm sorry, sir. I apologize for our offense against you.

Actually, you only needed to show us your letter of appointment, and we would have known you were our Detective Chief. There was no need... to let us see such private magical footage."

Luke knew Shelley still wanted to see the letter of appointment.

And he truly could not produce one.

Searching through his memories, Luke found a mission sequence from "Era."

Tomorrow, the real Detective Chief of the Cape District Secret Intelligence Bureau would arrive.

"Since you now know about my relationship with the Grand Princess, you should understand that I came here carrying out a secret mission for Her Highness.

For security reasons, I and my letter of appointment will arrive separately.

Moreover, the person carrying the letter does not know I exist. He was told, 'You have been appointed Detective Chief of the Cape District Secret Intelligence Bureau.'"

"Why?"

Shelley was a little bewildered.

Luke found a photograph of the appointment letter in the information on his phone and ordered Shelley, "The Grand Princess arranged this specifically for my safety! It also conveniently allows someone with a somewhat sensitive identity to disappear. The details are beyond your clearance level. The appointment letter number is: OEOFT3694457; coded information: fox, turtle, pine fish, yellow flag, foil stone, square table; my codename is: Meteor.

After confirming the information, kill the man. Give me everything he is carrying.

Understand?"

"Kill him!?"

Luke said to Shelley, whose face showed hesitation, "Do you have questions? Are you doubting me, or doubting Her Highness the Grand Princess?"

"No, no... I wouldn't dare."

By now, Shelley basically believed Luke's identity. After all, anyone capable of filming that kind of magical footage had to be extremely, extremely "intimate" with the Grand Princess.

And someone so "intimate" with the Grand Princess being sent to Cape District in Raging Wave City surely meant they carried an extremely important mission.

Having the person and the letter of appointment arrive separately was indeed a secure method.

After all... the Imperial Family's struggle had gradually reached a fever pitch.

In any case, once that "Detective Chief" arrived, they only needed to compare the information in the appointment letter.

Then everything would become clear.

Luke stood and stretched his limbs, which had gone somewhat numb from being tied up.

"I'm tired. Arrange a place for me to stay."

Shelley said, "Detective Chief... it's already late at night, and Cape District is very unsafe after dark. If you don't mind, you can stay at my home for the night.

Tomorrow, we can go to the branch together. Your subordinates are all looking forward to your taking office."

Luke thought it over.

He was currently too weak to fight even a chicken. If he stayed alone at an inn in Cape District, whether he would see the next day's sun was anyone's guess.

Staying at Shelley's home was better. He would have free bodyguards and sleep soundly.

He would also have the energy to study what changes had happened to the phone charging inside his consciousness.

As for whether Shelley invited him to her home because she was truly worried about his safety or for some other reason...

There was no need to waste brainpower thinking about it.

In any case, Grand Princess Agatha was his protective talisman now. Shelley could not possibly go to the Imperial Capital to ask Agatha for confirmation.

Was something concerning the Imperial Family something a criminal still serving her sentence could ask about freely?

As for whether he would be exposed later?

Grand Princess Agatha kept a very tight grip on the Secret Intelligence Bureau. To prevent others from infiltrating it, she personally selected and appointed all officials at branch level and above.

Moreover, they did not use their real names. They all used codenames.

In other words, as long as he did not confront Agatha face-to-face, no one could produce evidence that he was a fake Detective Chief.

For now, he just needed to stay alive. Whether he fled or remained afterward could be decided according to the situation.

Luke replied, "I'll stay at your home."

Shelley had Pisco continue dealing with the bodies and bloodstains in the interrogation room, then led Luke away.

It was already late at night outside.

The smooth stone road reflected the dim glow of the streetlights. On either side stood small European-style buildings with pointed roofs.

The unrepaired walls were covered in moss, and mushrooms had even grown in some places.

The air was thick with the stench of sewers and the fishy smell carried by the sea breeze.

Several crows on a nearby utility pole were startled and flew away, cawing.

Screams seemed to drift over from the distant city district.

At the other end of the road, a drunk staggered along with a bottle in his hand.

Shelley wheeled out a steam-powered motorcycle.

She mounted the front seat and said to Luke, "Detective Chief, you won't find a car this late. Ride with me."

The moment Luke saw the steam motorcycle, his eyes lit up.

He circled the rugged motorcycle once and exclaimed, "Thunder BU953, produced by the Empire's Gobert Steam Heavy Industry. It won fifteen major steam engineering design awards.

Unfortunately, after the Thunder BU953, the famous Gobert Steam Heavy Industry shifted its design and production focus to military machinery.

The Thunder BU953 became its swan song, and with the lack of replacement parts, there are fewer and fewer of them.

Your bike is maintained so well. That's truly rare.

Very rare!"

Luke's admiration for the motorcycle before him came from the heart.

In the game "Era," steam alchemical machinery had created countless works of art that amazed Players.

The Thunder BU953 was one of them.

And because every item was unique, the increasingly scarce Thunder BU953 became even more valuable as a collectible.

Players had offered Shelley astronomical prices for this Thunder BU953, but she had refused every time.

Even after maxing out their favorability with Shelley, they still could not get this bike from her.

It was clear how much Shelley loved this Thunder BU953.

At that moment, Shelley sat astride the motorcycle. Because the vehicle was so large, she had to lean far forward to grip the handlebars with both hands. This made her back form a beautiful curved line, leading down to rounded, uplifted hips.

That figure, that skin—it was hard to imagine she was an auntie in her forties.

But as a human with the bloodline of the extraordinary creature Medusa, that age was considered the prime of life.

Pleased that Luke had praised her beloved bike, Shelley smiled and said, "The Detective Chief certainly knows his machines. Get on. The sooner we return, the sooner you can rest."

"Alright!"

Luke swung onto the seat behind Shelley.

Shelley started the motorcycle's steam turbine, and its powerful, surging force sent the motorcycle shooting forward in an instant.

Unable to steady himself, Luke lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Shelley's waist.

As expected of the Thunder BU953—this thing was incredibly fast! Incredibly thrilling!