"General Henry, we have trouble brewing in the train station. There have been reports of people blocking the train station entry since the morning. Should we go and check…?"
The werewolf general looked up from his desk that was piled up with work and gave his secretary a relieved look.
She had given him the perfect excuse to get up and stretch his legs. And he was not going to say no to that offer.
"Hmm, is that so? Then, we shall leave for the police station immediately. Everyone, you heard my secretary. Do your work in my absence, and I will check up on you once I am back."
A collective groaning sound was heard from within the police station, and everyone looked at their boss in envy as he got to ditch the paperwork.
No, not only ditch, but push it off to them all.
And the worst part was that it needed to be submitted on time. So unless the paperwork was finished, none of these people would be able to go home.
"G-General, what about the documents that need your signature?"
Someone asked, and General Henry just waved his hand.
"Leave them for me to do… or rather, just write a note that says I was busy and file them like that. Anyway, do take care of the paperwork. I will be back soon."
And with that, the general left, leaving everyone else to do his work.
This was not the first time he had done this, nor would it be the last. Anyone who got assigned under him knew what to expect.
"S-Secretary…"
They all looked at their more capable member of the team—their secretary.
But she could only sigh this time as she gave them all a hopeless look as well.
"I'm sorry, but this is an emergency, so I cannot help you this time. I know what you are all worried about, but I cannot help you with that either. We do need to get the paperwork done on time. I-I should get going now."
The female evaded her responsibility as well, and everyone felt their hopes getting dashed because of this.
Even the secretary felt bad for them all. But before they could complain to her again, she decided to make a run for it and join General Henry outside.
"So you decided to run away, huh? You made the right decision. Now, what do we know about this case?"
General Henry asked her, and the secretary cleared her throat before she spoke.
"According to what I have heard until now, the cult-like behavior started with a few people trying a new machine. They got something like a prophecy from it, and they took it as a joke. But apparently, it came true. As word spread, more and more people started to line up until it caused a crowd to form. From our sources, the person who installed it was a bookstore owner from our town…"
"A bookstore owner… you say… Hmm, then I don't think we need to worry about it. I have a feeling I know what you are talking about. But since you still look worried, we should take a look."
The secretary felt her eye twitch at her boss's easy-going nature. This was a huge problem they were facing.
A cult could turn out to be one of the most troublesome things they could worry about. Especially when their current emperor was paranoid about someone taking his throne away from him.
Not that her boss considered any of that when he told the secretary to "not be worried."
"Hey, the police are here. We should run away—"
People who were lined up to check the new attraction ran away just as quickly once they realized that the police were here to investigate what was happening.
That, more than anything, proved that something fishy was going on.
"Hmm, should we head to the station master and hear from him what is going on… sir, where are you looking?"
The secretary asked as she turned her attention toward the direction her boss was looking in. She saw a metallic box with weird lights…
But that was not what caught her attention.
The thing that caught her attention was the man approaching the machine.
He looked quite pale and lanky, and at first, he did not stand out much. But the more she looked at that man, the more she felt like something was wrong here.
"That man is not a human. Don't speak a word. I will go and investigate."
General Henry told his secretary before he neared the machine. His sharp hearing picked up a few faint words the man was saying.
"-This is the machine I heard so much about. If I use this, then I am sure I would get to know how to get that sacred blood. Ah, I cannot wait to drink that man dry—"
These shocking words brought a smile to General Henry's face.
Suddenly, he had a criminal in front of him that belonged to one of the troublesome cases the police were facing recently.
'Ah, is this another favor from the shopkeeper? I knew following the shopkeeper's footsteps would only benefit me.'
He had no doubt in his mind that the only reason he had found this rogue vampire before he became a problem was because of the shopkeeper.
The vampire had already made his transaction and received a ball from the machine, which he opened to get a paper.
"-Huh—! Look back—? Why should I—"
The vampire suddenly looked back and met Henry's eyes. His eyes widened, and Henry cursed.
'Fuck—! I forgot that the shopkeeper's grace extends to all those who want it. I need to catch that vampire before he gets away.'
However, by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. The vampire had run away using the crowd to his advantage.
"B-Boss—! What happened? Was that—"
The secretary also caught up, and she looked surprised to see what happened.
"Tsk, looks like the shopkeeper tried to guide us on the right path. That man that just ran away was a vampire… and the most likely candidate for our recent serial killer case."
The officer told his secretary, and she just gave him a look of disbelief.
"What the hell—! This is the second time something like this has happened—! How do these criminals keep showing up out of nowhere?"
The secretary complained before she turned around. The officer caught her muttering to herself next.
"Ugh, this cannot keep happening to us. The crown will start to think we are actually competent or something. We already have enough work to complete…"
The general ignored his distressed secretary and focused instead on what to do next.
His eyes fell on the machine not too far away, and he decided to take a look at it as well.
"So, how do I use it?"
The screen prompted him to continue, and the general used it to get a small slip of paper. The slip said only one thing—
[If you want the solution to your problem, then seek the one you trust the most right now. Your answer lies there.]
"Oh—! This paper knows what's up. I am sure this paper is talking about the shopkeeper. Looks like it's time for me to visit him once more."