Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon

Chapter 216: Chapter 215: The Junior

Chapter 216 -215: The Junior

Ryan had originally thought that Shandela would work in the city guard’s headquarters, but inquiries revealed that her workplace had been relocated to a residence on Fafu Street.

He confirmed this again with several soldiers stationed there, and their answers were all the same.

“That’s a community service center set up by the Paradise Sect, and Lady Shandela serves as the chief advisor there. She hardly comes back during the daytime,” the soldiers said.

This seemingly ordinary reply sent shocks through Ryan’s heart, and he stood on the street, unable to recover his senses for a long time.

She was the defense officer of Magnificent Castle, charged with the duty of protecting the entire city. How could she take up an advisory role for someone else! In a way, a defense officer was not of the nobility, but it was a special title, several ranks above the common people. Even minor nobility would have a hard time enlisting them, let alone a church of unknown origins?

Now that the lord was dead, she should be introspective and manage the city well, striving to atone for her sins. How could she take up a part-time job?

Could it be that years without contact had led Shandela to fall to the level of a mercenary?

Complex emotions stormed Ryan’s mind.

It would have pleased him that those originally compared to him had not achieved his success, but he also did not wish to see his junior utterly degraded, after all, she had once been the star of Patton Military Academy.

Despite his confusion, he still needed to see her.

So, he had no choice but to head to Fafu Street.

Along the way, Ryan saw many citizens walking in the streets, none with expressions of tension, fear, or bewilderment; they all had their jobs to attend to. Even though they would occasionally stop to chat, most were in a hurry. This was normal, one could see similar scenes in any large city with a population of nearly a million.

However, it was not so normal for Magnificent Castle!

This was a city that had undergone tremendous upheaval. The words of those nobles and merchants who had fled back to the Old Continent might be half-true, half-false, but the estates and wealth they abandoned were certainly real, as was the desperate, indebted state they had been witnessed in.

With these people gone, companies would surely grind to a halt. Without companies, where would all those jobs come from? If wages couldn’t be paid out, people would riot, so in his mind, Magnificent Castle must certainly be desolate and chaotic. The streets ought to be filled with the unemployed; those citizens who still had savings would lock their doors to prevent robbery; gangs would spring up everywhere, fighting each other for territorial control.

Yet, he witnessed none of these scenes.

Everyone seemed oblivious to the fact that the lord was dead and that many wealthy individuals had fled, continuing with their usual lives.

This sense of strangeness peaked when Ryan laid eyes on the community service center on Fafu Street.

What service center? That was plainly a mansion owned by the wealthy!

He did not know to whom the house had previously belonged, but it now undoubtedly belonged to the Paradise Sect—to facilitate access, they had dismantled the iron fence almost entirely, the front lawn was filled in with broken stones, and even the walls of the house had several entrances hammered into them.

How was this any different from banditry? Ryan found it hard to imagine a top military academy graduate consorting with such people.

Moreover, the crowd gathered here was indeed sizable. As Ryan passed by, he heard many discussions about “work” and “wages,” as if they were talking about which job paid more.

The hell, hadn’t all the companies run empty?

He used his outstanding skills to weave through the crowd and entered the mansion, quickly locating Shandela’s position—not through some advanced technique like capturing her scent, but by the nameplate bearing Shandela’s name that hung on the second-floor room door.

Ryan listened at the door for a moment to make sure there were no other people inside, then forcefully twisted the doorknob and flashed into the room!

“Who’s there!” Shandela also reacted immediately, grabbing the short dagger by the table. Upon seeing the intruder, she couldn’t help but be stunned, “You are…”

“Ryan Kray, graduate of the 54th class from Patton Military Academy!” He closed the door and stood at attention, fist to chest.

This was a common greeting posture in the academy.

Shandela was dumbfounded for quite a while before she finally laughed, “Ha… Haha… It really is you.” She also made a fist in response, “Shandela Allen, graduate of the 56th class from the military academy, honored to meet my senior.”

Great, she indeed remembered him. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Ryan also relaxed quite a bit. Having not seen her for many years, Shandela hadn’t changed much from before, but her attire was somewhat surprising to him—she usually wore a uniform at the academy, and when going out on missions, she donned armor, but now she was wearing casual clothes, a dress style that greatly altered her entire demeanor. He had to admit, she looked quite beautiful now.

Ryan then turned his gaze to the rest of the room—it was clearly not military-related at all. The table and floor were piled with copious documents, records, and scrolls, resembling a small library.

“It’s a bit cramped here, shall we go sit in the hall downstairs?” Shandela offered.

“No need… here is just fine, I can stand,” he quickly declined.

“Hmm…” The other party looked at him with a hint of curiosity, “Sneaking in covertly and not wanting to attract the attention of others, it seems you’re not here for a tour of Magnificent Castle.”

“Who dares come to Magnificent Castle for a tour? Don’t you know the reputation it’s nearly getting around the Old Continent—” Ryan suddenly shut his mouth mid-sentence; wasn’t he admitting that his visit here had an ulterior motive?

But then he thought, if he was to gather information from Shandela, revealing his identity was necessary. After all, any graduate from the military academy would naturally hold the royal family in high regard and have a deep respect and affection for them, “The Grand Prince himself sent me. I don’t have the commissioning order on me, but you can check it anytime. You should know, many nobles and merchants have fled Magnificent Castle. They claim there have been mass slayings here, as well as vicious incidents of robbery targeting the wealthy, with even some nobles killed. The news has caused quite an uproar in the Old Continent, and I’m here specifically to investigate.”

To his surprise, Shandela’s expression turned significantly colder when she mentioned these people.

“I am indeed aware. It’s a pity those folks ran too fast to be all apprehended and brought to justice.”

“Wait a second… it’s one thing for the merchants, but people with noble status or equivalent titles have domains that cannot be judged at will—”

Ryan didn’t finish his sentence when Shandela interrupted him, “Legal Amendment No. 25 under Article 6 of the Major Crimes: Any individual involved in Heretical Cult activities cannot be exempt from guilt by virtue of their identity or title and shall not possess immunity. In other words, as long as the evidence is undeniable, any executive body of any domain has the right to pronounce sentences on such criminals.”

“Er…” Ryan was at a loss for words, and the question circled back to the beginning—were the stories boasted in taverns all true? Had the nobles called upon the Evil God and almost destroyed the entire city, with the Paradise Sect being the “unsung hero” who narrowly averted disaster?

“Indeed, the Old Continent only hears bits and pieces of what happens here; it’s normal for you to be confused. Let me start from the beginning for you,” she pointed to a small stool by the table.

“Tell me everything? There’s no problem with the Paradise Sect?”

“You, a man who seeks information, are worried about me leaking secrets?” Shandela laughed again, the earlier air of deadly seriousness seeming like an illusion. “Don’t worry, they anticipated that the Old Continent would send someone, and the person appointed to connect is me. Since it’s a senior who’s come, I ought to explain thoroughly.”