The major nations of the Old ti all enforce a firearms ban!Only military personnel, detectives, nobles, and individuals with special status acquire a firearms permit and openly own guns.

  This was why the adventurers recruited by Charlot had to use cold ons when attag the seveives of the Fierce Horse Detective Agency—low-level adventurers simply couldn't secure a firearms permit, and obtaining guns was exceedingly difficult.

  Charlot had only been Head Overseer of the Lukavaro District City Patrol Guards for a few days, and he hadn’t had time to request official equipment from the tral Gover Office’s Military Logistics Department. The one hundred or so veteran city patrol guards who had followed Dubin Alger were all equipped with shuns and rapiers, but the adventurers had no firearms.

  Fortunately, the firearms permit wasn’t issued as an indepe dot but as an attat to the patrol guard’s paperwork. For detectives, it came with their official paperwork as well, which meant Charlot’s newly recruited adventurers could legally acquire guns.

  Charlot led his team to Victory Bridge by the Lukavaro River.

  This bridge ected the Upper Seven Districts with the Outer Fifteen Districts.

  Victory Bridge itself was a small fortress that could be locked down during wartime.

  After waiting for hours, nearly into the afternoon, a voy finally appeared from the Picardy District.

  As city patrol guards, they naturally split into two teams, seg both sides of the voy.

  Charlot walked at the rear of the procession. Having go the previous night, he hadn’t brought his Battlefield e, Alchemical Pistol, num Mauler. His Vampiric Axe was tucked under his coat, leaving his hands free. It gave him an oddly carefree appearance.

  At the ter of the voy was, of course, the Grand Duke Ferdinand's coffin. However, a more eye-catg figure was the thirty-something the front—a man who was her than Ferdinand’s nephew, Franz Joseph, the new Duke of Behemoth, who had decred war on the South Seraph restorationists.

  At the rear of the voy was another carriage carrying the South Seraph “warrior” who had assassinated Ferdinand. The assassin had used a Transdent-level shun, and all three shots had hit Ferdinand’s chest, killing the Imperial Duke on the spot.

  It was said that at the time, the Grand Duke was so distraught as he held his wife that he hadn’t used his bat energy for prote, which led to his death.

  Regardless of the details, it was a tragedy.

  Charlot sighed inwardly. He had been esc the voy for two hours, and seeing that they were about to leave his jurisdi, he couldn’t help but rex slightly.

  He was already thinking about how to meet up with Annie Bretagne for a date after this esission. But just as that thought crossed his mind, Insight suddenly activated, revealing a green-eyed girl perched on the rooftop of a nearby street, ready to strike.

  Charlot’s heart skipped a beat. He paused briefly, stepped away from the main force, and activated the Swiftstep Teique, leaping onto the rooftops. A few quick bounds brought him face-to-face with Frederica, the leopard-woman girl.

  To his surprise, Frederica didn’t flee or adopt a bat stance. Instead, she let out a light ugh and asked, “Are you here to stop me?”

  Charlot sighed and replied, “Could you at least wait until we’re out of my jurisdi?”

  He really wao kill this assassin, but he absolutely couldn’t let a fight break out here.

  Any fliow would escate into a major disaster.

  Once Grand Duke Ferdinand’s coffihe Lukavaro District, Charlot inteo strike first, assuming the other party didn’t make a move.

  Frederica’s charming face broke into a mischievous smile. “rice are you willing to pay?” she asked teasingly.

  Charlot spread his hands. “What do you need?”

  Frederiswered quickly, “I heard you’re the Head Overseer of the Lukavaro District. If we move the Detective Agency to Lukavaro, olitives you offer?”

  Charlot sneered. “You’re still trying to assassinate me, and now you’re asking for politives?”

  Frederica replied, “The Orc Assassin Alliance has plenty of rules, but every rule be circumvented. For instance, I dey the mission failure report for three months.”

  Assassins, uective agehat could operate publicly, beloo the shadows. The Orc Assassin Alliance couldn’t expose themselves to the light. After Charlot’s destructive as the previous night—includiing fire to the Chelsea Detective Agency—the Orc Assassin Alliance could no loay in Dragon Fort Street and urgently o relocate.

  Algernon, deeming Charlot too difficult to kill, had already abahe mission and fled Strasb entirely, unwilling to risk his life for this job.

  As the Orc Assassin Alliance’s representative in Strasb, Frederica couldn’t walk away as easily. She o up the mess.

  Charlot still didn’t realize how signifit his position had bee. As Head Overseer of aire district’s city patrol guards, many things in Strasb now required his approval to proceed quietly.

  In a pce like Earth, Charlot’s position would be equivalent to a police chief, chief detective, and military unit ander rolled into ohout a direct superior.

  Against iional assassin anizations, this position cked authority, but for local branches, it was more than suffit.

  Charlot asked, “Is there no way to cel the assassination tratirely?”

  The leopard-woman girl replied, “I’m not sure there’s a way to cel a tract, but no one has succeeded in breaking the rule before. The Orc Assassin Alliance has unfinished tracts dating back turies.”

  “So...”

  Frederica shrugged and said, “You don’t have to take these rules too seriously. anizations that refuse to adapt vanish into history.”

  “I o rebuild our bran Strasb, and you o prepare for your duel tomorrow.”

  “Three months ter, a third assassin will e for you. You fight him then.”

  Charlot sighed and said, “Fine. Let’s pick this up in three months.”

  Having secured Charlot’s agreement, Frederica quietly disappeared.

  Charlot watched the voy leave the Lukavaro District, and his subordinates began to withdraw. He exhaled softly.

  Clearly, the leopard-woman girl hadn’t e to assassinate anyone; she had e to iate.

  Charlot was feeling overwhelmed, and a temporary truce suited him just fi gave him time to deal with the duel before addressing the Orc Assassin Alliance problem.

  As he stood on the rooftop, lost in thought about all these troubles, a sudden thunderous explosion echoed from the distance.

  A bck-gray fire cloud rose high into the sky.

  Charlot stared in shock toward that dire.

  That was where Grand Duke Ferdinand’s coffin voy had been.