"We’re the ones who should be apologizing," the man said in a friendly tone, extending his hand. "Albert Sahib, Director of the Combat Department. A pleasure to meet you."

Wei’en shook his hand, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Um, am I free to go?"

’He wasn’t sure if there was some kind of procedure to follow within the Secret Investigation Department for poaching a monster from the Combat Department...’

"Anytime you like, but..."

’So I can’t go after all?’

Albert said in a mild tone, "But when you get back, I hope you can help write up a report. After all, the Endrit you killed previously assassinated one of our Combat Department captains."

’So it was him. No wonder these people showed up.’

’I think I heard about that assassinated captain before. Was his name Wenbland?’

Wei’en understood now. He nodded and said, "No problem. It’s the least I can do."

With that, he led Tina away from Basil District, under the gazes of the Combat Department members—some amused, some friendly, and some full of resentment.

"Director, you’re just letting him leave like that?"

"What else would you have me do?"

Albert glanced at Santiago and said with a hint of displeasure, "I know you have a problem with Lisi, but I hope you won’t drag the Montoya Clan’s affairs into the Secret Investigation Department."

"I understand."

Santiago clenched his fists, the anger on his face receding.

’He knew the Director’s temper all too well. The man was an even bigger battle maniac than he was. If he really pushed back, his misfortune wouldn’t last just a day or two, but the entire next month...’

"Alright, now that Wenbland’s death has been avenged, everyone can go back to how things were."

"How boring. I thought since we put the mark on him, we’d get to have some fun..."

"Tell me about it. But that Investigator’s performance just now wasn’t half bad. Especially that Shadow Bind—his timing was perfect..."

"And that gun in his hand, did you guys notice? When Endrit died, the flesh on his body was practically rotting away!"

"Is that some kind of corruption effect?"

"Never seen it before..."

Albert didn’t join the discussion with his Combat Department members. Instead, he watched the backs of the tall and small figures of Wei’en and Tina, thinking to himself, ’So this is Director Ales’s choice?’

It wasn’t just the members of the Combat Department discussing Wei’en’s battle. The sailors watching from the sidelines and the merchants who had come to Caster City State on business were also abuzz with talk.

"Boss, good thing we didn’t make a move on that Unholy One earlier. Otherwise, I’d probably be dead by now..."

"Good that you know. I told you before we came, the City State isn’t the open sea. You have to abide by at least a basic sense of order," the Sailor Chief said irritably. "Now you know to keep a low profile?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." the sailor said.

"Boss, our target isn’t these City State people, right?"

"Hm?"

"I don’t think so. With our strength, forget about causing them trouble, we’d be lucky to kill even one Unholy One..."

The Sailor Chief shot him a glare, then looked at the others and fell silent.

Clearly, he too was pondering their next move...

’Hope everything goes smoothly. Praise the Storm!’

Meanwhile, in a nearby tavern, the Vasquezes who had watched the entire fight had also fallen silent.

"Collins, are you confident you could kill him?"

"Your Highness," Collins hesitated. "His Magic is too bizarre. Unless we can trap him, it would be very difficult to kill him."

The slender figure mused, "Is that so? In that case, let’s wait until the First Officer arrives in Caster City State."

"Yes, Your Highness." Collins breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was confident his strength surpassed Wei’en’s, that strange Blink Spell left him with no certainty he could land a killing blow.

Beside them, Elno asked in confusion, "Why didn’t he use these spells yesterday?"

"I don’t know either..."

...

...

After that battle, Wei’en had a much clearer understanding of his own strength.

He could now handle some captain-level opponents. To be precise, as long as they weren’t monsters like Lisi, he should be able to gain the upper hand.

Moreover, he had just proven that the combination of Shadow Bind and Bone Wall was viable.

When an enemy’s attacks couldn’t penetrate the Bone Wall, he could use Shadow Bind to restrain them, then kill them with his flintlock or with Magic.

And when combined with Element Magic, he could achieve even more surprising effects.

’Next time I’ll try Wraith’s Claw. A level 2 Wraith’s Claw has attack power comparable to a top-tier captain. I bet it would work well combined with Shadow Bind, too...’

At this thought, a faint smile appeared on Wei’en’s face.

His growing strength meant his life in this world would become more and more comfortable.

Outside the carriage, the heavy rain continued to fall.

But inside the carriage, it was all sunshine and clear skies!

Before long, Wei’en and Tina returned to the Secret Investigation Department.

But the Investigation Department One office was completely empty. Apparently, Lisi and Kali hadn’t returned yet, and Marco had been missing since the morning.

Wei’en returned to his seat, found a towel to dry Tina off, and then carefully wiped the clown doll clean, putting on a very fawning display.

Only after he had done all this and still saw no encounter notification did he mock himself inwardly: ’No matter how strong you get, you still live in fear of a taboo object’s sudden appearance...’

The white-haired girl looked at him with her empty eyes. "Tina, chips."

"Thank you for the warning earlier."

Without a second thought, Wei’en took out the potato chips he had been saving for Marco. Back in Basil District, if Tina hadn’t warned him, he might not have even blocked the black-robed man’s first strike.

"Tina, thanks, chips."

The white-haired girl grabbed a handful of chips. With her other hand, she violently pried open the clown doll’s mouth, stuffed the chips inside, and said coolly, "Clown, thanks, chips."