This Guest Wasn't Worth Inviting!

Cleanup work?

Wei En thought, The Logistics Department's scope of work is pretty broad.

In the early stages, they were responsible for investigating mysterious incidents. If they could resolve them, they did so themselves; if not, they handed them over to the Combat Department.

Then, once the battle was over, they rushed over to clean up... It was starting to feel more and more like being a cop in his previous life.

"Is there some kind of benefit to be gained?"

"Uh..." Lacy's smile stiffened as she looked at him resentfully. "Wei En, has anyone ever told you that you should try acting a little dumber?"

Wei En shook his head shyly. "No."

"Forget it. Cleanup work is pretty much what you think it is."

Having the ending guessed in advance made it hard for Lacy to feel enthusiastic. "Every incident we resolve comes with an additional, substantial income."

Additional income?

"Tell me more."

Wei En perked up. He could already smell the Gold Pounds.

"As I said, what we deal with are mysterious incidents. Once those incidents are resolved, we usually obtain some items with extraordinary properties."

Seeing his interest, Lacy's mood improved considerably. "Within the Investigation Department, we divide extraordinary items into three categories. The first consists of contaminated, out-of-control extraordinary creatures."

"They contain organs with extraordinary properties. It could be their limbs, or their internal organs, eyes, ears, and so on."

"During cleanup, we specifically dissect and separate such items. Depending on the degree of contamination and aberration, they can sell for anywhere between one and fifteen Gold Pounds."

"Fifteen Gold Pounds? That much?!"

Wei En's eyes instantly turned into the shape of Gold Pounds. This was the right way to make money.

Compared to that, the six Pennies offered by the Ghost Intelligence Department... not even a dog would want them!

"These items can be used as materials for making Magic Potions or alchemical items," Lacy said with a smile. "You should know that wizards are all rich."

"Wi-wizards?"

Were wizards rich?

Wei En had his own firsthand testimony as a Wizard Apprentice—he was completely broke!

"Mm, especially wizards from the Specter School and Blood Spirit School. They love using this kind of Aberration."

Wei En asked thoughtfully, "Then are the Magic Potions and alchemical items they make worth a lot?"

"Of course. Otherwise, why would people say wizards are rich?"

As she spoke, Lacy pulled a tiny glass bottle from her pocket with an irritated expression. It was no bigger than a fingernail.

"Look, this is their 'masterpiece.' Such a tiny bottle cost me three Gold Pounds. It's outright robbery!"

Wei En's eyes were instantly drawn to it, staring fixedly at the little bottle. "What is that?"

Robbery was good. Why do hard labor when you could rob people?

Lacy gritted her teeth. "Spirit Calling Potion, the Specter School's proudest creation."

"Spirit Calling Potion?"

Wei En came back to himself, his gaze unconsciously drifting toward Little Ashi beside him.

He remembered that the school's letter had mentioned another name for the Meditation Method—the Spirit Devouring Method. Could the two be related?

"It awakens the dead. We usually use it on victims who died in mysterious incidents."

Lacy explained, "It lets us quickly identify the target and prevents more serious consequences. Although it's expensive, it really helps us a great deal."

Wei En stroked his chin. "Hmm, so that's what it does."

Potion maker!

He had to become a potion maker. There was definitely money in it!

"What about the rest?"

"The second category consists of extraordinary items from ancient eras, such as books that record extraordinary knowledge, weapons and equipment with extraordinary properties, and so on."

Wei En nodded. Those were easy enough to understand.

The Gonzalez Language and Meditation Method scrolls he had received from the Specter School last night belonged to this category.

"Then what are these things worth?"

Lacy looked at him with a smile. "Wei En, I didn't expect you to care so much about 'money.'"

"...I'm a little short on it."

Wei En felt somewhat embarrassed. He wanted to throw down a stack of Gold Pounds and tell her he was loaded, but unfortunately, his circumstances did not allow it.

"You don't need to feel embarrassed. When we resolve mysterious incidents, we should receive the rewards we deserve. Otherwise, how can we improve our strength? How can we protect the people of the city-state?"

Those words instantly made Lacy's image grow much taller in Wei En's eyes.

"Of course, improving your strength is only incidental. The most important thing is enjoying yourself—but in moderation."

At that, Lacy reminded him, "Marco is like that. The moment he gets money, he runs off to Never-Night City to spend it. Don't learn from him."

"Marco is?"

"A colleague from Investigation Division One. A bastard with a terrible personality!"

Wei En nodded calmly. "Don't worry. I usually don't go out."

It seemed he needed to find an opportunity to get acquainted with this Brother Marco.

"The last category is also the most dangerous—Forbidden Objects!"

"Forbidden Objects?"

There had been records of them in the Wizardry General Knowledge Ghost gave him. It seemed to say that one should not rely too heavily on Forbidden Objects...

That seemed different from the danger Captain Lacy was describing.

"That's right!"

Lacy's expression became extremely serious. "All Forbidden Objects are very dangerous. Aside from the extraordinary abilities they possess, the main issue is that they are incredibly difficult to deal with."

"There are currently three hundred and thirty-two known Forbidden Objects. Every one of them possesses terrifying power. Once these things break free from their seals, the consequences are catastrophic."

"For example, Forbidden Object 1-83, Demon Clown, appeared in Kaster ten years ago... That time, almost everyone in the Slums died."

At that, Lacy's expression dimmed somewhat. "To seal it again, our Secret Investigation Bureau sacrificed hundreds of extraordinary individuals. That included the previous director of the Secret Investigation Bureau, Lord Abel..."

Almost no one survived??

Was it really that outrageous?

Thinking of his previous trip to the Slums, Wei En suddenly felt an urgent need to improve his strength.

The place where he lived was not far from the Slums. There was no telling whether he might get caught up in something.

Besides, he had joined the Secret Investigation Bureau. If an incident involving a Forbidden Object occurred, he would not even be able to run away.

"But you don't need to worry too much. Forbidden Objects are scattered across the various continents. Our Shetland Kingdom is relatively remote. The odds of encountering one are no better than becoming rich overnight in Never-Night City."

After saying that, Lacy suddenly slapped him on the shoulder. "Wei En, I've told you everything there is to say. Do you regret joining the Investigation Department now?"

"I regret it even more. What should I do?"

Forbidden Objects, terrible casualties... Wasn't this way too dangerous?

"What?"

"Nothing." Wei En shook his head and smiled. "Thank you for telling me so much."

"I told you, no need to be polite." Lacy laughed heartily and stepped forward to hook an arm around his neck. "From now on, you're one of us in Investigation Division One. If anything comes up, you can come to me for help."

Wei En tried hard not to let his body collapse into her embrace as he said with difficulty, "There really is something I'd like your help with."

"Go ahead!"

"I want to... borrow some money from you..."

A while later, the two returned to the Division One office and sat facing each other.

Only after making countless promises that he would definitely repay her in the future did Wei En finally manage to borrow two Gold Pounds.

For that, he even signed a loan contract.

Lacy carefully put away the contract and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Wei En, I really didn't expect you to ask me for money. I got a little... excited."

"Don't say that, Captain. You've really helped me out this time."

Wei En tucked the money into his pocket, his expression extremely serious. "I'll repay you as soon as possible."

To buy enough knowledge to improve his strength, and to keep himself from starving at home, he had decided to go all in!

As for the favor he owed her... he would treat this money as an investment in his potion workshop. Once he made money in the future, he would give her dividends.

"No, there's no need to rush to repay it."

At that moment, Rogeret, who had been watching the two for a long time from inside, spoke gloomily. "Lacy, aren't you being too good to this kid? I find it hard to believe he'll survive his first mysterious incident."

"Shut your filthy mouth, Rogeret!"

Lacy's smile turned cold as she glared at him. "Worry about yourself first."

"Tsk." Rogeret grinned and put away the Firearm in his hand. "Just a kind reminder. You don't want the Gold Pounds you lent out to go unrecovered, do you?"

"Hmph, none of your business!"

"Then, good luck."

Rogeret stood up expressionlessly and walked out of the office.

Wei En's brows furrowed slightly, and he became somewhat wary of the cold-faced man.

"Don't mind him, but there is one thing he didn't get wrong..."

Lacy comforted him before continuing, "Wei En, there's something else I need to tell you."

Wei En looked at her in confusion. "Does it have to do with mysterious incidents?"

Lacy nodded. "Actually, quite a few people joined our division before, but only the four of us are still alive. Most of them died in the first mysterious incident they encountered after joining."

"Was their strength insufficient?"

"That was part of it, but the main reason was a lack of reverence."

"Reverence?"

Wei En looked at her in partial understanding. Did she mean reverence toward those strange creatures and objects, like reverence for gods?

"That's right. They lacked a fundamental understanding of mysterious incidents. They believed fighting was the best way to resolve an incident, but that wasn't actually the case."

"You need to remember: fighting isn't mandatory. Finding the most reasonable solution is the goal!"

As she spoke, Lacy stood and returned to her desk, found a thick stack of notebooks, and handed them to him. "These are summaries of mysterious incidents that I organized. Take them and have a look."

After taking them, Wei En said seriously, "I'll make sure to prepare properly."

"Lastly, I still want to say this. I'm very happy you joined us, Wei En." Lacy smiled.

"So am I."

"I forgot to ask—are you an extraordinary profession holder, or an inheritor of an extraordinary bloodline family?"

Wei En answered vaguely, "An... extraordinary profession holder."

"You're not a Cleric from a church, are you?"

"Of course not."

Lacy sighed in relief. "That's good. Yegor once recruited a Cleric from the Storm Church before, and the director beat him badly."

The director hated the church that much?

Wei En suppressed his doubts. He could investigate that gossip later.

He was already considering how to disguise his identity as a Specter School wizard, so that while working at the Secret Investigation Bureau—he could make big money!

After mooching another lunch off Lacy, Wei En finally parted ways with her and left the Secret Investigation Bureau with his suitcase and some documents.

In fact, after learning that Minister Yegor had set his start time for the afternoon, Lacy had wanted to go argue with him in person.

Wei En spent a long time trying unsuccessfully to persuade her otherwise, before suggesting something that violated the Logistics Department Minister's orders: he would simply take leave and go home.

As for his proposal, Lacy, who handled the day-to-day management of Investigation Division One, directly signed off on it. She told him to rest well and arranged to take him out to experience Kaster's nightlife tomorrow evening.

And just like that, Wei En left the Secret Investigation Bureau in a pleasant mood.

He needed to make good use of the afternoon break and the two borrowed Gold Pounds to exchange for useful knowledge and improve his strength.

"Wei En, you're back so early?"

Yuan was lying in a reclining chair outside the clinic, basking in the sun. When he saw Wei En return, he greeted him. "Oh? Did you pass the interview already?"

"Uncle Yuan, thanks to you, the interview went very smoothly." Wei En smiled and lifted his suitcase, giving it a shake.

"I told you that you could do it. How does it feel? Are you getting used to the Secret Investigation Bureau's environment?"

Hearing that question, Wei En asked resentfully, "Uncle Yuan, did you forget to tell me something?"

"Well, haha, did I?"

"You did. The Logistics Department is nothing like what you told me before!"

Yuan smiled awkwardly. "Wei En, I thought you might need some tempering. Just like when I ignored my family's objections and resolutely chose to go to sea. Young people should set their sights on the world. Otherwise, they'll regret it when they get old."

"Then when you went to sea back then, did you encounter Forbidden Objects too?"

"Forbidden... cough, cough, what Forbidden Objects? You can't joke about something like that."

Yuan nearly choked on his saliva. He glared at Wei En. "Wei En, try not to mention Forbidden Objects, especially their numbers, names, and extraordinary properties!"

"Is there some secret behind that?"

"You don't even know this? Ghost... Didn't your family tell you?"

"No."

Wei En shook his head. Let alone mysterious knowledge like that, he had only just traded for the Meditation Method.

Ghost would never be so kind as to provide knowledge for free.

"..."

Yuan explained helplessly, "The reason those Forbidden Objects are called forbidden is because they are things cursed by Fate Curse."

"Fate Curse?"

"Fate is like a long river, while these Forbidden Objects are observers standing outside that river. Once you speak too much of them, or think too much about them, they will rush toward you without hesitation."

"It can work like that?"

Wei En was genuinely shocked.

Then when Lacy had so directly mentioned Forbidden Object 1-83, Demon Clown, didn't that mean...

"If you don't believe me, try it. I'm sure I'll be collecting your corpse soon enough."

Wei En stared at him speechlessly. Why did someone look so eager whenever corpse collection was mentioned?

"In any case, those things are far too strange. Better not mention them too often."

With that, Yuan stood and said, "All right, I need to go buy groceries. Tonight, I'm making my precious daughter her favorite baked rice."

Baked rice?

It sounded delicious.

Wei En looked at him eagerly, waiting for an invitation.

"Why are you still here? I'm closing up."

"...Uncle Yuan, once I get through this busy spell, I'd like to invite you out for a meal to thank you for the recommendation letter you wrote for me."

"Hm?"

Yuan frowned and stared at him for a long while before asking slowly, "Wei En, you aren't planning to use thanking me as an excuse to ask my Kali out on a date, are you?"

"..."

To hell with it. I'm not inviting him after all!