All of the division 0 went silent once they were able to grasp the clues that have been littered on the ground.
The corner of Heimfher's lips twitched and he narrowed his vision to enhance his focus, his mind was only filled with the kidnappers cultist, and he couldn't think of anything else in that moment.
'The east district is big.. Considering that its called the industrial district, massive buildings such as workshops and blacksmiths are all scattered across the area—
'Not to mention.. This is also where i live, the slums where my family lived, and the swordmanship academy that i worked my ass off to enroll and stay.. They're all confined within this industrial zone—
'If it's a secret hideout, the slums might be the perfect place to hide such places, but then.. If those cultists were smart, they would knew that we will check the slums first.. It's like a reverse psychology—
'Tck.. Those bastards have to hide within the same district as my mother and my siblings out of anywhere else.. I need to make sure that they're all safe—
'Huh.. Now that i think of it, i was fortunate enough to hear that they weren't in one of the victims list, my mom lives alone with my siblings, my dad had already died.. Through those cultists eyes, my family should be the perfect target!—
'How did they miss them?.. No! No no.. I shouldn't think about that, im grateful that they're safe, no need to invite bad omen! They say whatever comes out of your mouth can be a prayer..'
Heimfher sat motionlessly on the bench, he and the others were staring at the street infront of them, they watched as people, carriage, and even a noble walked pass them, all with their own agenda and goal to their nightly stroll.
Then, while the night was bright and the moons were still low, Murph stood up all of a sudden and with a heavy sigh, he told everyone to go back.
"We should end the investigation for today." He said before putting both of his hands into his coat pockets.
"We've been extremely busy since yesterday, and i don't want any of you to develop insomnia or any other complications.. Take a night rest, and we'll continue tomorrow—
"Oh and also, Dan and the other officers should be done with dissecting the corpses of the Dead Deity Order cultists, if the one that was being detained get killed today, we should have three awakened hearts by next day.. As for who should eat it—
"...We'll decide tomorrow.. Now, go away."
Murph waved his hand as a gesture to urge everyone to go back to their own home, he smiled at his team, and when they smiled back, Murph then walked away, he walked further and further from Heimfher, leaving him and the rest in the East district.
"Well, hnnggghh.." Carlessa moaned as she stretched her hands to get rid of her muscle soreness.
"I'll be on my way then, see ya guys."
Soon, Carlessa left aswell, Lena followed her path from behind as if their destination were the same.
Then Harith also left.
"Me too, see you all tomorrow.. Hoaahhh, im tired from all of this walking.." He said.
Then Bentley.
"Take care of yourself, Heimfher— Bye bye."
Lastly, Duskiell began to walk away from Heimfher too, each of Heimfher's colleagues disappeared from his vision as they all went to their home in the other districts, however before Duskiell left, he abruptly told Heimfher a few words.
"I remember your house is also in this district right, well be careful on your way home– And if you find something suspicious, don't be reckless.. Unless you're absolutely confident that you'll win, don't get yourself killed, because to be killed by another awakened, is to let them grow stronger—
"Good night."
And with that, Duskiell then walked away, he waved to Heimfher without turning his body towards him, and when he turned to the left street, his figure was obstructed by the building infront of Heimfher.
Heimfher momentarily stood at the same spot he was standing, thinking about Duskiell's words.
'To be killed by another awakened. is to let them grow stronger..' He said to himself.
Eventually, Heimfher turned around and began walking to the street that he was familiar with. And from that point on, he knew where to go, so he walked for a few minutes until he reached the slums.
Step!
Step!
'So many things had happened ever since i woke up in this world.. It's almost as if the world suddenly moved rapidly after my arrival—
'Is this influenced by the same god that reincarnated me here? Do they want me to become a main character in their story?—
'Ugh.. Calm down Heimfher.. It could just be a coincidence, maybe those Gods reincarnated you here for a reason, if so.. Then what could they possibly want? A vessel? A savior? A hero?— Or maybe.. Just an entertainment?—
'I can't make an exact guess except for the fact that they seem to be asking me to become a god through that notification in my phone.. But it could also be just a deception to make me click on that notification and sent me to this world—
'Aaghhh!! I can't do anything even if i tried everything..'
Heimfher scratched the back of his head from the frustration as his boots stepped on a muddy path, he had arrived at the slums, and the street here was mostly broken, leaving only a few cobblestone bricks that were still intact while the rest of the bricks disappeared and only left with soil that was once the 'true' street of this city.
After a few more walking, Heimfher was met with a wooden door, he stood right infront of it as he took off his boots and knocked.
Knock knock!
.
.
Creakk!
From the inside of the seemingly small house, a woman with white long hair and a beautiful pair of eyes greeted Heimfher with a big smile, followed by two kids who ran towards him from the inside of the house.
It was his mother, and his siblings.
"Heimfher?.." Maelya calmly said. her eyes enlarged at the sight of her son as she then opened the door far and wide.
"Welcome back."
"Brother! Welcome back!" Ferthrune greeted Heimfher with the same smile as his mother, and he even gave his hand out to him for a handshake.
"Big brother is back.." Sylvia also said, she stood with a doll in her arms and looked at Heimfher.
"Im home everyone, sorry for being gone yesterday.. Haha, something came up.." Heimfher replied, he chuckled to his family and was let inside.
Together the four of them then enjoyed a long family talk while Heimfher was given a dinner by his mother.
Suddenly, when Heimfher was talking to his mother, his little siblings walked up to him with a curious eyes.
"Brother! I heard you became an officer at the Bureau, is that true?!" Ferthrune asked, his eyes was glimmering with anticipation.
"That's right, did you get surprised?" Heimfher replied, he lightly tapped Ferthrune on his chest and smiled.
And immediately, Ferthrune was thrilled to hear his brother had joined the Bureau, and he said.
"That's amazing!! So you're a knight know?! Do you fight criminals with a sword?! And does that mean you can use aura?"
Heimfher was overwhelmed by Ferthrune's question, so he decided to sit down and answee them all in order.
He explained to him about what he do, though he didn't exactly say that he was an awakened, he told Ferthrune that he could use aura, and that caused Ferthrune to be motivated.
Heimfher's story didn't end there, as he was brought by the atmosphere, he began to tell Ferthrune and Sylvia about various things that he met in the Bureau, from meeting Murph, Duskiell's quirky personality, Carlessa the violent woman, and the rest of his team.
.
.
30 minutes passed by without anyone noticing, and before Heimfher knew it, Sylvia fell asleep to his story while Ferthrune kept listened.
"Oh my, it seems like we should end the story time now, Ferthrune, your brother must be tired from his work, why don't you sleep now?" Maelya said.
Although reluctant, Ferthrune decided to oblige and he stood up from the sofa and began walking towards his bedroom. However before he entered his room, Ferthrune abruptly stared at Heimfher and said.
"Do you think you can teach me swordmanship now?"
To which Heimfher replied after being startled.
"A- ah?!.. Uhh, ahahha.. Im not that skilled, trust me.. Maybe after a year or two, you're still not ready yet." He said while scratching his cheek.
Ferthrune pouted at Heimfher's response and entered his room, he closed the door shut, leaving Heimfher alone with his mother.
As the atmosphere surrounding them began to go quiet, Heimfher's mother suddenly asked him a question.
"You haven't explained why you didn't come back home yesterday, what happened? Isn't yesterday supposed to be your first day at the bureau?"
Heimfher hesitated to answer, he retracted his lips inside of his mouth before he replied with.
"..There's a case that i and my team was tasked to, and it's pretty serious—
"Have you heard about the recent mass kidnapping that involves 53 people being found missing?"
Hearing Heimfher's response, his mother realized what he was going to say.
"Are you, investigating to find the culprit?"
"Yeah.." Heimfher said in an instant, his mother frowned at his words and asked.
"But aren't you just got recruited? Why do they assign you to such dangerous case?.."
"That's exactly why a dangerous case like this required every manpower in the bureau to ensure success and the safety of the kidnapped victims.. Even if im a newly recruited officer, im still an awakened—
"And.. The reason why i couldn't go home yesterday, was because i fought some subordinates of the culprit, i managed to win, but i had to get a rest at the bureau to heal my injuries and fatigue—
"Sorry that i couldn't tell you about it." Heimfher looked down at the sofa and unexpectedly, his mother held both of his hands with her own.
"You don't have to feel bad.. I know being in the bureau is a lot of work, it's okay if you can't make it back home, because what i wanted isn't your presence, but your happiness—
"You might not be a knight, but you can still achieve your dream of protecting people by being an awakened, and if that makes you happy, even if with the risk that comes with it.. It's enough for me." She said.
Heimfher was touched, his tears almost broke through his eyes, but he managed to hold back, and when he thought that his mother couldn't be any more loveable, he found another reason that makes him want to turn his family around for the better.
And also, another reason to get revenge on the Helmwoven family for bringing his family to this point.
'I'll protect you, and both my brother and sister..'