Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Maltz arrived with his men, Arthur included.
Arthur did not reveal himself right away, however.
Instead, he waited a little longer. Only after Maltz had stationed his men to cordon off and patrol all of Pine Street did he straighten his coat and silently appear behind Maltz, his expression calm.
"Motherf-"
"Arthur, do you realize you could scare someone to death?"
The Shire District chief blurted out a curse. When he realized it was Arthur, he clutched his chest and gasped for breath. Though that last part was somewhat exaggerated, Maltz really had been startled at first.
After all, fighting had broken out when they cordoned off those newspaper offices.
Without his partner's warning and the preparations he had made in advance, his men would have suffered heavy casualties.
"Something went wrong at the newspaper offices?"
Arthur keenly noticed that something was off about Maltz.
"Yes, there were 'mystic' forces involved. Luckily, my men and I didn't charge straight in, or we really would have been done for."
Maltz still looked shaken.
"Then how did you...?"
Arthur gave Maltz a curious look.
The Shire District chief immediately rubbed the tip of his nose and lowered his voice.
"Kerosene cans and volleys of gunfire."
Without a doubt, he had copied Arthur's strategy against Toad Gram. Old-fashioned as it was, it really worked.
"Next time, remember to replace the kerosene cans with explosives!"
"Or throw in both kerosene cans and explosives!"
"And remember...
Stay behind the crowd!"
Arthur offered his partner a reminder.
Compared with his other partner, Arthur worried more about Maltz.
He did not want anything to happen to him.
Maltz nodded solemnly to show he would remember. Then he glanced around, making sure no one was nearby, before draping an arm over