Leonard gazed directly into Irene's eyes.
The girl was bratty and spoiled, but as a young girl, she had the strength to back it up. Even then, he did not have the time to deal with her. So he looked over at Professor May.
But Professor May made sure to avert her gaze and buried her face in her large textbook. She did not interfere and kept flipping the pages.
There was no change to his initial blank expression. He had expected that reaction. Looking back at Irene, he blinked once.
Despite her rank as an Echelon 1, he dared think of snatching the mirror from her. However, before he could make a move, a hand closed around Irene's wrist and peeled the object from her grip.
"You!" Irene snapped around. Who would dare? Her eyes landed on a young boy grinning ear to ear and she nearly staggered. "Castiel!"
"There is no need to bully someone already weak," Castiel said, waving a hand. "You will surely beat him senseless and he won't be able to fight back. There is no fun in that at all."
"It is none of your concern!"
Irene's face twitched.
"Learn to mind your business!"
"Right, right." Casteil nodded as though he agreed. "You are a noble woman. This sort of behaviour is unbecoming of a lady like you."
"Meaning what?" She glared at him.
The class watched. Silent. Had any other boy intervened in this manner, they might have stood up for her, but this was Castiel. He was the top of the class. And if they fought, Castiel was bound to win.
They whispered instead.
"Why is Castiel going against Irene because of a criminal though?"
"It's not worth it at all. She is the daughter of a prime minister while he is a peasant. Meddling like this is only going to get him into trouble."
"I agree."
Castiel heard their discussion, but he paid it no heed. He ignored the raging breaths pulsing out of Irene's nose and turned to Leonard who was watching him with silence, almost studying something about him.
Amusement flickered across his face. "Shall we head out?"
Leonard lowered his gaze to his extended hand. He took the mirror from him, stood up and walked out of the class. More than fifty pairs of eyes followed his shadow.
Castiel only laughed and hurried after him.
"We will go to the carriage station," he said, hands lazily behind his head. "Walking is too slow. It would take us one hour before we even arrive at our destination."
Leonard kept walking quietly. Inwardly though, he was thinking: 'Echelons normally should have no use for carriages. They have a speed that exceeds the normal human limit and the stronger one is, the faster they are. But they do not use their speed for daily uses. It depletes their energy at a rapid pace, thus, they can only save it for dangerous situations or during combat'
"Ticket for two, please," Castiel handed a bronze coin to the clerk.
Leonard stood, arms rested behind his back.
Castiel glanced at him. "Are you not paying?"
"Why should I?"
"What do you mean?"
"Weren't you so eager to join me?" Leonard said. "I did not force you. I intended to do this alone, and now you have inconvenienced me. What does that mean?"
"I… inconvenienced you?" Castiel made a confused face.
"Your fee is two gold coins," Leonard counted with his fingers, "Three bronze makes two silver. Two silver equals one gold. You will spend a bronze on my behalf now. That leaves five bronze and four silver. But if you have two gold coins, then…" He rattled the sums like a merchant. "...There is no need to beat around the matter. One gold coin, two silver and two bronze. That'll be what you owe me."
Castiel blinked. A fee?
He followed with a laugh and shook his head in disbelief.
"Why not just say you're very penniless. Earning a few coins from swindling like this is not a bad idea at all. However, why must I be your first victim?" He scoffed around, and bought him a ticket.
They boarded a two-person carriage. Settling down, Castiel paused at the hand Leonard had extended toward him.
Instantly, he frowned. "What?"
"Pay me," Leonard demanded.
"Do you think I walk around with a pouch of coins?"
At this point, Leonard stared at him doubtfully. "Can it be that you're a profligate? Otherwise, why can't you just pay me?"
Castiel felt faint.
"You…" He pinched the bridge of his nose.
He dug furiously into the pocket of his coat and fetched out two gold coins. "Here!"
Leonard peeked one eye open toward the coins.
"You're overpaying, but I will not reject it." He snatched them quickly.
Castiel's forehead twitched. He sighed, "Forget it. Do you know the details of the case?"
Leonard pocketed the coins. "Roughly."
"The victim is named Naveen Halima. Down the Fifth Street, a tea shop owner, his mother found him hanging from the ceiling of his room."
"Suicide?" Leonard asked.
"Yes." Castiel nodded. "But the mother swore her son was not suicidal. He was a happy man, she said. And that leaves only one conclusion."
"Murder."
"Indeed." Castiel smiled. "We must find the culprit within a week. The faster we do, the higher the payment."
Leonard asked, "If we solve it within forty eight hours, how much could we possibly earn?"
"Hm, about a hundred coins or more."
Castiel lifted a brow.
"Why, you don't mean we do it in forty eight hours, do you?"
Leonard was about to answer when a question suddenly had him stumped. "Why are teenagers solving a murder?"
Castiel tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"Shouldn't official mystery masters handle this?"
Castiel's brows rose. "Have you hit your head?"
Leonard looked at him, impassive.
"Murder cases like this are for mystery students like us."
A little bit of surprise crossed Leonard's eyes. "What do the official mystery masters do then?"
"They solve higher rated cases."
"Hm?"
Castiel explained, "A 4 star'd case. They handle 4 star cases and above. And these cases often request the presence of the emperor and the kings of the four kingdoms. Your case is a 6 star. There are possibly up to 8 star rated cases, but so far, yours was the first 6 stars we've seen in both our Eastern kingdom and the entire continent. Seven star cases and above have yet to appear."
"A 6 star case…" Leonard squinted his eyes. "Then why have the mystery masters done nothing about it?"
Castiel blinked, confused. "Your case… was solved."
"Hm?"
"One of the high ranking mystery masters solved it. That is why you were arrested. You should have been executed, but you were just lucky enough to incur the emperor's benevolence."
"I see." Leonard nodded.
'If truly these mystery masters solved the case, does that mean I was guilty of the charged crime?'
He quickly dismissed such thoughts.
'Impossible. My memories say otherwise. That aside, the former owner of this body was a true child to ever be able to attempt a serious crime such as treason. And that can only mean one thing'
One corner of his mouth lifted as he smiled coldly.
'The mystery master failed at solving the case and closed it regardless to retain his reputation'
The carriage finally stopped. The two young men stepped down.
Ring, ring…
Many gas lamps were lit and glowing over the street as horses dragged carriages to and fro. The smell of smoke lingered in the air. The scent of alcohol and the sound of laughter was drifting from the nearby tavern where Castiel eventually took a detour into.
"This is where the victim was last seen," he said.
They went inside. A few eyes shifted and sized them up. But the two young men ignored their gazes. Instead, they looked for the owner of the tavern who they found behind the counter, filling mugs of local alcohol.
They approached him.
"Heh?" The tavern owner glanced at them. "Royal combat academy… What brings you lads here?"
Their uniforms gave their identities away.
"We're unraveling a mystery surrounding a recent case," Castiel said. He fished out a thin scroll from his pocket and handed it over.
The tavern owner read through it. "Oh? Naveen, huh? I didn't kill him, boys."
"We didn't say you did." Castiel chuckled. "We are simply here for information."
"What information?"
"This was said to be Naveen's last location before he took his life. You were the last person he spoke to. If you do not mind, might we know what the conversation between you two was about?"
The tavern owner stared at them. His Adam's apple subconsciously bounced as he swallowed.
"Sir?" Castiel urged, "It will help solve this case if you–"
He went unnaturally still in the next moment, the rest of his words swallowed right back. The hairs on his arms rose and his breathing quickened.
Leonard on the other hand closed his eyes briefly. He held an expression of disappointment.
Behind them, two men pressed gun barrels to the napes of their necks.
Leonard tried to turn his head.
"Don't even think about it," one of the voices whispered in his ear. "Stare ahead or I'll blow your brains out."
Leonard was unmoved. He was thinking.
Surely it was not legal for these adults to kill kids… But he knew it was nothing but crap. Though the morals of this world did not differ much like it did with the people of the world he came from, here, killing was not such a big deal. Not unless it involved powerful influential figures.
He took a deep breath.
'I have a knife with me'
He flickered a glance at the tavern owner. He was unawakened just like the rest of his men.
'How easily can I kill them?'
With his skills he had accumulated over a thousand years he'd lived, he calculated. 'Is the success rate high or low?'
'Shall I begin with the one behind me?'