Monroe's security post is the only formal legal institution on the entire West Coast.

To mention this, we have to start with the institutions of the many kingdoms on the West Coast.

Contrary to the impression of most poorly known commoners, neither Avenella nor Crane - or Sivalier, the most powerful of the West Coast, the king's power was not the highest and absolute existence.

It would be lengthy and uninteresting to describe this system in detail, so we will only cover it in general terms here.

The existence of the king can be seen as an upgraded version of the lord to some extent. They also have their own armies, they also have their own territories, and the only difference from their lords is that their armies are larger - but only at the level of territorial conquest. No king of the West Coast, including King Philip II of West Valier, had an entire army of the country. All they have is the allegiance of their lords, which can be earned through conquest or marriage.

It is true that the king has his own personal guard, but the personal guard alone is not enough to fight a war between kingdoms - or to put your own personal guard into such a war, and your king will not have much time to be in the field.

The royal family's personal guards are more like a deterrent existence, so that those nobles and nobles who submit to the royal power dare not make any moves, and respond to the king's call to win a war for him.

However, the principle is the same, if you only use the stick and do not give carrots, one day these lords will unite in revolt, so the wise king will also grant important nobles the power second only to himself - this naturally includes the autonomy of the territory.

Words go back to square one. The self-governing Monroe was the domain of the Duke of Monroe, and its law and order system was ingenious in that it was not directly governed by garrisons like any other city-state on the West Coast. Opposite. Monroe's lords further developed the civilian security squads, which were common elsewhere, by combining them with ordinary civilians. Compared to an army that belongs to a lord and needs to go out to fight all year round. In dealing with the problems in the city, these full-time civil servants are more open and devote more energy.

Just like the construction of roads, the existence of the security post was the work of the older Monroe Archduke Aubrey seventy years ago, and along with a series of other policies to improve people's livelihoods, the late Grand Duke still had a lot of good talk among the people of Cranti.

His children and grandchildren were far worse by the kind - even if for some reason no one said it, Henry and Mira could judge for themselves.

The guards at the security post looked a little listless.

Two mercenaries, heavily armed, walked in, and the guard sitting on a wooden bench at the door only glanced up at his chin before sitting back down.

"Squeak-squeak-"

The interior looks like a compact version of an inn. The hall on the ground floor was about the size of two or three rooms, with a few old tables stacked beside them, and only one other staff member except the guards was writing something on long, yellowed paper.

As soon as the plank was stepped on, there was a sound, and as the two of them advanced, the sound continued one after another.

The reason for the listlessness of the guards at the door probably had something to do with the environment - the sages could tell that the floors beneath their feet, as well as the stairs and tables, were made of expensive teak, a tropical tree that could make very beautiful furniture and decoration, but which obviously did not stand the test of time.

The security posts themselves are already so dilapidated, and the salaries used to hire security personnel will naturally not be large.

Lack of funds and a dilapidated environment. Then the listlessness of the staff is naturally common sense.

"Pay attention to where you put your feet, that piece will be warped, and the gum will not be completely dried up until now due to the weather. The clerk who was carefully writing the paper noticed them, and he said without raising his head. Then he stopped his pen and stretched, and finally looked at the two of them.

"Blue cards, that's a bit rare. The young staff frowned, but didn't pay much attention to it.

"He's on the second floor, if you're looking for the sheriff. The second compartment, I suggest you guys wait a little bit below. He said. Henry nodded, and Mira asked, "Are you working?"

"Nope. He ate too much fruit and had diarrhea. The staff picked up the pen again and began to write, while the sage and the lady Luoan, who saw speechlessness on each other's faces, stood there and waited.

It took about two or three minutes for the closed door of the upstairs cubicle to be opened.

"Shu Chang Shu Chang ......" The sheriff with a stubble on his face and white sideburns shook his hand and walked out, he noticed the presence of the two at first sight, unlike the cold attitude of the staff, but the sheriff seemed full of interest.

"Dan Lasso...... No, the Lamanites, and the Loans...... It's a rare combination. The sheriff, who was about forty years of age, walked down the creaky teak ladder with a big grin, and Mira retreated behind the sage with a little disgust for the reason he had been cleaning the inside of the body, while Henry nodded very respectfully at him.

"Let me guess, it's because of the magician. The two took a few steps back, as the sheriff didn't look like he had just washed his hands, and fortunately the other had no intention of shaking hands with them. He walked over to the table next to the staff member who was writing carefully, sat down and put his feet on the table.

"It's finally- I've waited. ”

The sheriff let out a long breath, paused, and then said in a loud voice.

The high pitch woke the listless guard at the door and stood up, looking left and right, muttering and sitting back when he saw that nothing was right.

"......" Henry and Mira looked at each other again, then walked silently to the sheriff.

"What does that mean? Just words. The girl took the initiative to ask, and the sage was pleased to see her behave in this way. Therefore, he chose to remain silent and let Mira communicate.

"Uh...... This young lady is the leader of you?" said the sheriff, and Mira shook her head, "It doesn't matter. She replied. The other party was stunned as if he had been choked.

"It's funny. The sheriff exhaled, then gathered his feet, swept the dirt from the table to the floor, and wiped his hands on his fur coat.

The unhygienic action made the girl who loved cleanliness frown slightly, but then the other party began to discuss the matter, so she also left it behind.

"Until you came here to find me, it means that you already know something. The sheriff said, and the two nodded. Agreed.

"Well, most of what you've heard should be true, although it may be a bit exaggerated, because we've kept the news closed. The sheriff clapped his hands to remove the remnants of the dirt, and then took out a clay cup from the side, which appeared to contain what appeared to be tea, and Henry judged from the smell that it was probably brewed from the leaves of a lemon tree.

"I won't divulge this information if anyone else comes, but you guys have met my requirements perfectly, so listen carefully to what I have to say. ”

"The general public knows about the loss of the heart of the deceased. Because the bodies that were originally exhumed were found by civilians. The sheriff took a sip of lemon tea, then put the clay cup beside him, and put his chin in his hands, changing his previous grinning tone, and began to speak earnestly.

"But they don't know about it. Even more terrifying. The sheriff paused: "Everyone was 'suicidal', including the female mercenary found last night." ”

"Suicide?" Mira asked in amazement, while Henry frowned at the word.

"Right...... If you have enough perseverance, you'd rather twist your arm to the point of dislocation than cut your neck entirely. That was indeed suicide. The sheriff shrugged, a gesture that made Mira look at Henry. But there was only seriousness on the sage's face.

"Although she is not a good thing, a good person dies that virtue. It's really miserable. He said with a slight sigh, and then looked at Henry as well.

"Wizard's Interference Spell (1) ......" The tall black-haired sage spat out the word in a calm tone, and the eyes of the sheriff sitting in the chair sharpened slightly, and then the corners of his mouth curled slightly.

"Little brother, you do, you have some ability. He nodded, then stood up as his tone became more formal.

"The ability to make people act against their will or even to interfere with parts of their limbs and organs, and to make them act against common sense, is the method of wizards. The sheriff stepped aside and pulled out a parchment map, then pulled a wooden shelf out of a pile of dusty debris and placed it on it. Mira, on the other hand, turned her gaze back to Henry, and she suddenly remembered what had happened when the two had met a long time ago.

"This method of killing is very scary and unpreventable. As if it hadn't been used for many years, the sheriff's hand-drawn map had begun to harden a little, and his large, rough hand made a clear sound when he rubbed it on it, and the gray-haired middle-aged man continued to fasten the blackened iron buckle on the edge of the shelf, and fixed the entire parchment map.

"But in fact, from the very beginning, we had a suspected murderer. He dusted the map, and the two behind him immediately noticed the big red cross.

"You can't read Crane's words, but judging by the size of the building, you can understand who this building belongs to......" The sheriff sighed, and Henry and Mira nodded together.

"Today's Duke Monroe, the eldest son of His Excellency Oscar Monroe, Oscar Monroe Jr., is not to mention a commoner, and even a person like me, who can barely be regarded as a subordinate, has never seen his true face. ”

"A year ago, a maid from Duke Monroe's house escaped, and according to her, she saw her son secretly practicing forbidden spells at night, and this maid was the first to be killed. The sheriff put his finger on the map.

"In addition to the same method of death, all the dead have another thing in common, that is, the place where the bodies were found was near the Duke's Palace. As he spoke, Mira and Henry looked at the map, on which the large red crosses fanned out in the vicinity of the Duke of Monroe's palace, all within reach of the people in the duke's palace.

"The Duke's eldest son is the object of our suspicion, and this has led to a very ironic result......" The sheriff held his forehead and continued with a wry smile, "His father, the current Duke of Monroe, asked us subordinate sheriffs to investigate this matter, and the result could not have been just and fair in the first place......"

"That's why you say you've finally arrived. Henry asked, and Mira nodded thoughtfully.

"That's right, as a subordinate of the Duke, we can't investigate the Duke's eldest son in any way, but we are mercenaries and outsiders, and there is no one here who knows you, but we can't do all this. The sheriff straightened up, and Mira noticed that the scruffy and grinning middle-aged man had a lean aura for a moment, only to quickly restrain it again.

"Even though the pay is not much, I hope you will take on this task. He said word by word to the two of them, and Henry glanced at Mira, and the girl gave her eyes an affirmation, but just as the sage was about to nod in agreement, a sudden voice at the door interrupted them—

"Uncle Vega, this is not what we agreed on!"

The childish voice came from a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, Henry and Mira looked back at him, the young man had a green mercenary badge on his chest, and only the first moment he met the two of them, he turned away with a sad face and ran away without looking back.

"Ferry!

The sheriff tried to catch up, but then he gritted his teeth and snapped to a halt, his left foot shaking as if an old wound had recurred.

"The two...... Please...... Go look for that kid, I'm afraid he'll ...... Do something stupid. The sheriff gritted his teeth and gasped for a moment before returning to his normal tone: "Ferry's mother is the maid of the Monroe family, who was the first to die a year ago, and the reason why she ran away was to take Ferry out of this place. ”

"After she died, the neighbors helped take care of her, and the boy always wanted to avenge his mother, and I promised him to help him if he could become a blue-card mercenary. ”

"I never thought he would actually run away as a mercenary...... "The sheriff gritted his teeth and broke out in a cold sweat, while the staff member who seemed to be a clerk walked over and supported him with a calm face.

"Please, don't let him get near the Duke's Palace. ”

"Don't let this kid do anything stupid!"

......

Notes: Interference spells: Unlike elemental spells, which manipulate visible elements to actively attack, interference spells, which are jointly declared forbidden by the countries of the West Coast, are unique to wizards, and they can literally interfere with the body's organs and cause them to fail, or to act against the consciousness of the recipient to make the limbs perform unnatural movements. This type of spell is also commonly referred to as curses, or puppetry. (To be continued.) )