When Haina returned from the tavern's basement, she felt as if she had eaten her fill of dust.
When she went down, she was actually very nervous and apprehensive. Haina always felt that there might be some traps, mechanisms, or Curses in the basement or perhaps some familiars were kept, or even synthetic beasts in jars could be seen.
But to her disappointment, she explored carefully for a long time but found nothing.
There wasn't even an altar filled with blood and severed limbs as described in novels. Except for a few places with signs of life, everywhere else was covered in dust. The most common items were various wine bottles and barrels she didn't recognize.
The double bed in the corner was damp and moldy, probably due to poor ventilation and lack of sunlight. She even felt a bit of sympathy for these Demon Scholars their quality of life was too poor.
She easily found the book "Alchemy Cipher" that Aiwass wanted.
It was a book that looked very much like a textbook, about the thickness of a required course for one semester. It was only about two fingers thick and one and a half palms long. Unlike a textbook, it had a special dark red leather cover that felt like cowhide.
It looked very expensive at first glance.
At least… worth ten white coins?
Perhaps more, but this price was already enough to make people covet it.
Aiwass lacked too much life experience carrying such a thing out would definitely make people covet it. Even a thief who completely didn't understand the Otherworlders world and forbidden knowledge could easily judge its value from the book's material.
And that evil sorceress must have cherished this book very much.
Because this book was placed on the bedside table, next to a wine glass filled with clear water this was one of the few dust-free places in the basement.
Apparently, before they arrived, the dangerous bald sorceress had been reading this book.
Haina did indeed see a ritual ground in the open space of the basement. To make room, the occupants had apparently moved the wine barrels to the corner, even stacking two vertically, to clear this open space about five paces in diameter.
Inside a ritual circle, ten names of unknown meaning were inscribed. Strange geometric patterns were also drawn in the center, and she could barely make out that one of the markings meant "Moon."
And there was no blood or severed limbs above the ritual ground.
She only saw an empty swaddling cloth lying quietly in the center of the circle. To be safe, she did not lift the cloth.
But to prevent the ritual from automatically running, she first used the sword in her hand to cut all the ritual lines, completely destroying the ritual ground, before daring to investigate.
This was also the handling method taught in school if you see a ritual set up by a follower of the Path of Transcendence, do not casually walk into it, and do not take anything out of it. First, use a sharp object that has been Blessed or Cursed to gently cut all the lines. For example, for a circle, you can cut anywhere; for a triangle, you need to cut three times; for a hexagram, you need to cut six times.
Haina remembered this knowledge very clearly.
Because when learning this knowledge, she had an exciting illusion that she was fighting demons. She had carefully studied techniques for combating various illegal Otherworlders, and even techniques for combating demons.
But it wasn't until now, nearing graduation, that she learned from her colleagues… that in reality, over ninety percent of Inspectors might never see a living demon in their lives. If they did, they probably wouldn't have the chance to live to boast about it to others.
Because demons cannot manifest alone. When a demon's summoner dies, the demon will be repatriated.
This means that when a demon is found alone, the evil sorcerer who summoned the demon must be nearby and most likely has already noticed them. But they haven't been able to find the opponent.
And when encountering such a strong enemy, it is usually handed over to the white-gloved agents of the Inspectorate. It's not their turn to act.
So Haina fell into a very aggrieved mood.
She possessed a great deal of professional knowledge, but it was practically useless in her actual work.
Most of her work involved tax inspections, checking various identification documents, maintaining public order, inspecting hygiene conditions, safety hazards, and contraband meaningless, extremely busy, and completely lacking in adventure.
Most of the time, she didn't even need to draw her sword. Ordinary foolish thieves and thugs could be frozen in place with just a shout. And anyone who couldn't be frozen with a shout would at least require a human wave tactic facing an un-winnable strong enemy alone was a serious violation and would result in confinement.
And if a human wave arrived, the sword would be even less necessary. In such situations, close combat with thugs would instead make it difficult for teammates to intervene. It was better to use a gun for a quicker resolution.
The result was that the combat tactics assessed during her entry exam were practically useless.
Haina was quite dissatisfied with this.
If she had known the Surveillance Bureau's work was so boring, she would have rather joined the army as an Air Cavalry!
Her griffon had been in the process for two months now, but she still hadn't seen a single feather!
Originally, Haina had dreamed that once her equipment and griffon arrived, she would ride her griffon, wearing armor and a sword, to show off at school. It would undoubtedly be incredibly cool, and her classmates and junior students would surely gather to admire her valiant posture, and her teachers would definitely use her as an example to teach the younger generation
…But now it seemed unlikely she would even touch her griffon before graduation.
Haina coughed, pushing the door open with her left elbow. Her right hand gently fanned the air in front of her, while her left hand carefully held the book, as if carrying a tray with a teacup.
She saw Aiwass sitting steadily and obediently in his wheelchair, far, far away from the terribly dead body, as if he was afraid of the smell of corpses.
"Does it smell very bloody?"
Haina asked casually, coming over to hand the book to Aiwass: "Hide it quickly… The Inspector from Lloyd District will be here soon, don't let him see it."
As she passed the corpse, the strong smell of blood in the air immediately surged up, making her cough even more violently.
"This is it, thank you, Senior Haiyina!"
Aiwass happily took the book, responding sweetly.
Haina's lips curved slightly upward. She liked this feeling of being needed.
She hadn't felt it during the battle, but now that she was idle, her gaze couldn't help but drift to the corpse. And the smell grew stronger and stronger, making her increasingly uncomfortable.
Finally, Haina couldn't bear it anymore. She tore a white cloth from a nearby table and covered the upper half of the sorceress's body.
"If you feel uncomfortable, why didn't you cover it?"
"Because I was thinking, I needed to protect the scene…"
Aiwass said hesitantly: "If I cover it with a cloth, won't it destroy the evidence on the corpse?"
"What?"
Haina was stunned.
She looked back at the corpse, instinctively feeling that it made sense.
…But why didn't the school teach this?
Unable to think of a reason for a moment, she turned her head and retorted, "Because there's no need to worry about clues. We both know she was shot dead by you… Does that still need investigation? I saw it clearly. I am the witness myself, no other evidence is needed.
"Of course, this isn't your problem. Your act of firing the gun was a heroic act of righteousness, and I will make that clear to the Surveillance Bureau."
Speaking of this, she couldn't help but sigh Aiwass truly was a well-behaved, polite, and good child.
Completely unlike herself.
Haina sighed with a worried expression.
So, she decided to confess.
She spoke hesitantly: "Mr. Aiwass."
"What?" Aiwass was startled.
"There's one thing I need to apologize to you for…"
"No, no, Senior Haiyina, there's no need to be so polite… Aren't we friends?"
"Precisely because of that, I must say it."
Haina looked ashamed: "When I was downstairs looking for your book, I couldn't resist flipping through a few pages."
In fact, she was worried whether there might be any Curses or strong poisons in the book.
She felt she was physically strong, so she decided to test it herself.
But there was no need to say such things. Because it sounded too much like an excuse, it was better to admit directly that she wanted to read it.
…Because she actually did want to read it a little.
If it had been Haina before today, she would never have accepted the temptation of such an evil Path. But on the way here, after listening to Aiwass, she suddenly felt that she had been too rigid before.
Her desire to become a "superior" was a thought belonging to the Way of Transcendence; her feeling that Aiwass was handsome, elegant, gentle, and cultured was being influenced by the Path of Beauty or the Path of Love.
Similarly, after seeing this book, the thought of curiosity arose… that was being infected by the Path of Balance and the Path of Wisdom.
The Path of Balance represents knowledge and science, an equal way of understanding the world; the essence of the Path of Wisdom is related to mystery, rationality, and the pursuit of truth. These are all normal, part of a normal person.
There was nothing to be ashamed of.
What truly deserved an apology was her moving someone else's belongings and reading someone else's book without permission.
And what made her feel ashamed was… she had to admit, there was indeed some attraction to the contents of the book.
She only flipped through a few pages, and she was immersed in that mysterious and wondrous world, her eyes opened wide.
Haina stayed downstairs for about fifteen minutes, over ten of which she spent reading the book. But she could only hastily flip through it once before feeling she had to go out and check… otherwise, Aiwass alone in a room with a corpse would surely be very scared.
And this was, after all, the Lloyd District, where public order was poor.
What if thugs came outside at this moment?
Aiwass was too delicate and unable to protect himself properly. A single shot from him might accidentally kill someone.
Killing a Demon Scholar was nothing, it would even be rewarded; but if he killed a civilian, he might go to jail.
And what if there were more people? His bullets shouldn't be many, and he might not dare to shoot, or his weapon might be taken away…
Thinking this, Haina ran up to check, very worried. But she found Aiwass safe and sound.
When she turned back, she felt a little itchy again.
The previous quick flip couldn't quench her thirst; instead, it made her even more curious.
"I'm a little curious."
Taking a deep breath, Haina frankly admitted her desire: "I still want to read… that book.
"Later, can I come to your house to read it?"
"But Senior Haiyina, as an Inspector, constantly coming to our house… wouldn't that look bad?"
Aiwass politely declined: "This would lead to gossip, both for my father and for you, Senior Haiyina. You know, some Inspectors do take money from merchants and act with obvious favoritism what I mean is, even if you didn't do it, you wouldn't be able to refute it when people say it about you. Because what you truly do is even more unexplainable."
"…Indeed."
Haina nodded dejectedly: "You are right."
"But," Aiwass changed the subject, "Senior Haiyina saved me, helped me get my revenge, and helped me find this book by all accounts, I must thank Senior Haiyina for your help.
"So, if Senior Haiyina wants to read this book, you can regularly invite me out during your leisure time. You should know, a relatively private space? Or if not, I can also bring it to school. There are always such places at school."
Aiwass squinted, revealing a kind and gentle smile, like a cunning fox, coaxing her: "Your usual work must have some tiring aspects, right? Anything worth complaining about, or any major events that have happened at the Surveillance Bureau recently, you can tell me and chat about it then."
She was actually interested in Alchemy…
Aiwass's heart stirred. Knowing her personal preferences made things easier. Haina could easily become his mole and informant in the Surveillance Bureau.
…It's truly hard to learn good things, but easy to fall into bad habits.
The originally upright and righteous Senior Haiyina, at the moment her firm belief wavered, was so easily tempted by him.
He wondered who was the demon.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Aiwass felt that if he were a demon, he would seem much more professional than a shadow demon.
And Haina, hearing this, was exceptionally grateful.
She respected Aiwass's generosity and his gentle thoughtfulness for others, and involuntarily used honorifics with her junior: "Thank you, Mr. Aiwass! But… wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"
Aiwass just smiled and waved his hand: "It's fine, no trouble. This is called mutual benefit.
"After all, I'm also very curious about the daily work of the Surveillance Bureau."