Captain Raddes came into town today not for vacation, but was sent to find someone to help repair a broken steam engine in the Red Water Camp.
After hearing that Captain Rades was also from the Red Water Camp, Shad asked him about Lieutenant Shuton of the First Company of the Red Water Camp, who was the person that Lecia asked Shad to help investigate.
Captain Rades was not very wary of Shad and told him directly that Lieutenant Shuton had recently won a large sum of gold pounds playing cards with others in the city. Some people even saw him smoking a cigar outside the camp while resting on duty at night.
“A very expensive cigar?”
Shad asked.
"Are there any cheap cigars?"
Captain Rades asked curiously.
Thus, the task that Lecia asked Shade to investigate was completed so easily.
Captain Rades was very familiar with the school in the castle, and when he heard that Shade was looking for someone, he took the initiative to help lead the way. Anyway, he had already found the person he was looking for, and just now he was thinking of finding a tavern in the city to sit before returning to the team in the evening.
Now that I've met Xia De, it's okay to help him.
Although it is called the "Mechanical College", the folklore major in the school is not small at all. . With Captain Rades in military uniform leading the way, the two of them walked through the college without any obstruction.
They passed by scholars walking in the castle with books in their arms, and brushed shoulders with young students discussing their studies and grades. Finally, they met Professor John Dunn in a slightly cramped single office on the east side of the third floor of the castle with the words "Folklore - No. 11" hung on it.
Professor Dunn was a middle-aged man who had lost all his hair but looked only in his forties. Although he was a little unkempt, his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses were very sharp.
He was a little surprised to see an officer visiting with a stranger, and stood up to welcome him. But after Shade introduced himself and mentioned Grandma Cassandra, the professor immediately understood:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Watson, Captain Rades. So you are Ms. Cassandra's men. Well, please take a seat. Here's what's going on."
He thought the captain was also the person investigating the whereabouts of the antiques. The captain had nothing to do in the afternoon, and seeing that Xia De had no objection, he sat down and listened.
"The folklore department of our college has a very good relationship with Cassandra Auction House. In other words, most of the funds of the folklore department of our college are sponsored by Cassandra Auction House."
Talking about this, the professor seemed very calm:
"We have been friends with Cassandra Auction House for more than a hundred years, and our graduates are very popular with the auction house. Not long ago, I got a very good bronze jar, and the antique was bought by Ms. Cassandra who heard the news. I had planned to hand over the bronze jar to the auction house this week, but the jar was accidentally stolen."
"Stolen? Any clues?"
Xia De took out his notebook and prepared to take notes.
The professor nodded:
"That bronze jar must still be in the academy, because it looks about the same as... well."
The professor looked around:
"About as tall as this captain. Cargo like this needs to be registered when it's shipped in or out. We're pretty sure it wasn't taken away."
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
Captain Raddes asked curiously.
"After all, it was a theft within the academy. It would not be good for us if it got out. Besides..."
The professor's eyes flickered for a moment:
"Some of the ways to obtain that antique, yes, just some... ... do not comply with the mandatory national rules and regulations generally observed by the public... ... Do you understand?"
Captain Shad and Rades both nodded, which meant it was illegal, but they didn't care about it:
"So besides knowing that the jar must be in this castle, are there any other clues?"
Xia De asked again.
"I know I shouldn't suspect my students casually, but Mr. Henry Val, who will graduate in two years, is a big suspect. You can go to him for investigation. You are detectives hired by Cassandra Auction House. I have already informed the college in advance, and you can walk around here freely."
Henry Val is a 22-year-old student of folklore at the Mechanics College of Fort Midhill. He was born into a wealthy farmer family in the countryside north of Fort Midhill. But two years ago, due to some reasons, his family fell into decline. The young student, who was accustomed to a wealthy life, maintained his original living standard after that. In the winter of about 1851, he was found by the college selling illegal drugs in the city.
After being severely warned and ordered to repeat a year, young Henry Val returned to his normal state. As for the suspicion of him, it was because before the bronze pot was stolen, someone saw him sneaking around Professor Dunn's office, and when he was questioned by the professor, he showed abnormal state again.
“I can’t just ask my students if they are thieves.”
Professor Dunn said helplessly:
"To be honest, I don't want to believe that my student is a thief, so I asked Ms. Cassandra to send a strong helper to help me investigate. I don't know how much Ms. Cassandra paid you, but as long as you can find the bronze jar, I can give you five pounds each."
The folklore professor looked very well-off.
Xia De glanced at the captain beside him, and the captain nodded slightly, meaning that he also wanted to make this money, and Xia De didn't mind having help around him.
"Well, Professor."
He originally wanted to find out about the "Twin Gods" matter before investigating, but Professor Dunn seemed very busy and asked Shade to investigate the antique theft case before coming to him.
So Shad and Captain Rades left the professor's office and found Mr. Henry Val in the large library in the basement of the college.
This was a young man with yellow hair. He wore a pair of glasses like the professor and his own clothes instead of the college uniform. From his clothes one could not tell that his family had fallen on hard times.
When Shad and Captain Rades saw him, the young man was looking for a book in the "Folklore and Culture" bookshelf. When he saw the two people coming, he put back the book he wanted to take out. Shad took a look at the title of the book. On the spine of the book was written "Legendary Anecdotes: Vampires in the Shadows".
This should be a book like popular fiction or urban rumors.
"Gentlemen, may I ask you something?"
The blond young man asked with a somewhat impatient tone. He looked unusually tired, with dark circles under his eyes.
"We were hired by Cassandra's Auctions to investigate an antique theft, and we want to question every student who entered the professor's office last weekend."
Shade said, looking behind the person he was talking to. Captain Rades and Mr. Henry Val certainly couldn't see it, but he clearly saw the soul of a young woman lying on his back.
It was an evil spirit, but its power was not strong enough to be seen by ordinary people in the daytime. Seeing Xia De looking at her, the evil spirit wanted to roar at Xia De, but after being glared at by Xia De, it stopped moving honestly.
"There are so many evil spirits in Midhill Castle."
Xia De thought to himself.
"No problem, what do you want to ask?"
Mr. Val said, with no sign of abnormality in his expression. Shad winked at Captain Rades, asking him to help record, and then asked:
"You went to the professor's office over the weekend, and the professor said you were there to ask about the end-of-year exam. Did you see the big bronze pot in the corner?"
"See, that thing is huge, it's hard not to notice."
"Did you ask about the jar?"
"Yes, I did. I was very curious about it."
"So, have you told anyone else about the bronze jar?"
The young man thought about it impatiently:
"I think I mentioned it at Barbara Jaelin's weekend party, but I don't remember who heard me at the time, but there must have been a lot of people who heard it."
"A stack" also refers to the number 14 in the common language of Draerion. It is said that this is because the original canned fish were sold in bundles of 14.
"No problem, sorry to bother you then."
Shade said, and waved Captain Rades to bid farewell to Mr. Val. When they left the bookshelf, Shade looked back to make sure that the other party had not followed.
Captain Rades said in a low voice:
"That young man is not right. His eyes are a little too fierce. It's like... I've seen this kind of eyes too many times, especially since most of the students here don't have much social experience. Henry Val, he has definitely seen blood."
The captain said with certainty that before he was given the title of "Captain Eight Guns", he had worked his way up from an ordinary soldier, so this judgment should be correct.
"Have you ever seen blood?"
Shade nodded. The evil spirit that he saw entangled Henry Val and was destroying his vitality was probably the source of "seeing blood":
"Captain, can you keep an eye on him for a while? Watch to see if he leaves the library. If he does, try to find out where he went."
"Do you have any other clues to investigate?"
Captain Rades asked curiously.
"Yes, I am a professional detective. I have never encountered a case that I cannot solve."
Shade smiled and tapped his chest, and Captain Rades recalled the scene a few months ago when Shade helped a woman who had lost her child find her child on the streets of Tobesk. At that time, Shade seemed to have observed some clues out of thin air and found the alley where the criminal was without taking any detours.
"That's good. I can also ask other students about the bronze pot here."
The captain fully trusted Shad.
"Okay. Oh, and also ask if there have been any homicides at this school in recent weeks."
Shade said, Captain Rades frowned slightly:
"You mean... No problem, leave it to me."