51 Bristol Street
Chapter 51: Bristol Street
But as soon as Raven arrived near Bristol Street, he noticed something felt off.
Even at the street's entrance, he saw two police officers in green uniforms. They also held batons in their waists and seemed to be checking anyone entering the street.
'The security seems to be strict here, ' he muttered under his breath. The two policemen also looked in his direction.
"Come here!" One of the police officers with a muscular body raised his hand and gestured for him to come.
[Don't try to avoid their eyes and move confidently. Also, don't use your identity. Make a temporary one.]
'It's easier for you to say.' Raven grumbled inwardly and started walking forward while making his face poker.
At the same time, he started recalling all the conversations he had with Daisy Spade.
In truth, she was more like a study partner than a true friend who would share all their personals. Alas, he still remembered her mentioning her home and even her childhood friends.
'I can't say I'm from this street… Daisy said she has some childhood friends from Eastmine Borough. Aiden, Luna, Isacc, Scarlet, and Carter… They are all the children of the servants who worked in the Spade Family mansion when she was a child.' Raven also remembered these kids' parents' names.
As soon as he arrived before them, he greeted them with a smile and asked.
"May I know why you called me, sir?"
"What are you doing here at this hour, lad? You seem to be from Southwark or Eastmine Borough." The other man with a big belly and unfit body gave him a suspicious look. He looked around 60 years old and had wrinkles on his face, a crooked nose, and a square face.
[He is sharp. The dress you are wearing now is a trend among middle-class citizens, so he instantly assumed that you are from one of these two districts.]
'It's hard to fool these smart people.' Raven muttered inwardly.
"I'm Aiden from Eastmine Borough, sir. Butler Bennett's grandson. I came here to see my childhood friend Daisy."
"Daisy? Who is that?"
"It's Daisy Spade, sir. I used to visit her whenever she returned from the Darkcross Knight Training Academy. But why is there a strict security here?"
"Oh, you are Sir Bennett's Grandson? It's been years since he left the Count's mansion. How is he doing these days?" the man with a muscular body asked.
"Umm, my grandfather died two months ago, sir. Even Lord Count came to see his last rite." Raven acted as if he was still feeling sorrow for the loss and lowered his gaze.
"My condolences. But don't worry, lad. He will always be watching over you from the sky." The big-bellied man with a crooked nose said while patting his shoulder and added.
"Go on. We still have work to do."
Meanwhile, Raven nodded quietly and entered the narrow street.
As soon as Raven moved more than a hundred meters away from them, the muscular guy furrowed and asked.
"Is it him? He fits the description mentioned by Inspector Barrett."
"Only his physical description. The inspector said that he would be clueless about this street and might even ask random strangers for directions. But this kid definitely knows a lot. Didn't you hear him talking about Lady Daisy attending Darkcross Knight Academy? That kind of information is not something a random stranger can get. Even I learned of the sixth child's whereabouts only a year ago. And when I asked about his grandfather's well-being, he showed such an innocent look and almost looked pitiful." The big-bellied man took a cigar from his pocket, lit it using a matchstick, and took a puff.
"Let's wait a little longer. Even if he fools us, he can't fool the ones hiding in the mansion anyway," he said in a carefree tone, continuing to observe the people entering and exiting the street.
On the other hand, Raven quietly walked on the smooth road and observed the surroundings.
Unlike the other streets, this one appeared a lot quieter. The buildings on both sides were either two-story ones with a small courtyard or large mansion buildings. Moreover, some mansion houses even had security guards standing at the compound gate and quietly observing the passersby.
Most of these mansions were either powerful Walkers' or people from the Noble Background.
'This is a lot harder than I expected.' As he was muttering, Raven also arrived at the entrance of a three-storied mansion building. But before moving much closer to the mansion compound gate, he moved under the shadow of a tree and activated the 'Shadow Stealth' ability.
The next instant, Raven felt his own hands slowly turning invisible and was astounded.
Then, he walked out of the shadow and started moving closer to the compound gate.
To his surprise, there was a blonde-haired young man in a green police uniform stood at the entrance and seemed to be in deep thought.
'Why are there police here? Isn't it basically an empty house? Something is definitely hiding inside.' He calmed his heart quickly and continued to walk forward.
Although he could have easily sneaked into the mansion through the front gate, he decided not to take the risk.
Raven walked alongside the compound wall while keeping an eye on the police officer and soon looked ahead at the two-meter-tall wall.
At the same time, he used his spiritual scan and observed the other side.
'There are only garden grasses on the other side. Still, I can't make any unnecessary noise.' Muttering inwardly, he used his full strength and jumped up. Thanks to his increased strength and agility, he actually jumped more than one meter high!
Then, he grabbed the wall's top and leaped into the other side.
Like a feather, he slowly landed on the grass and looked around cautiously. After confirming that no one was nearby, he stealthily walked towards the main building.
Within a few seconds, Raven arrived near the building's side and pondered.
'Should I go through the entrance door?' But he dismissed that idea. First, he needed a key to open the door. And even if he opened it, there was a high chance it would create a creaking noise and alert the police officer.
He first observed the building's outer structure and soon saw the second floor's balcony on the left side.
'But there are no ladders…' As he was thinking how to sneak in, he suddenly saw a movement from inside through the glass window and was startled deeply.
'Somebody inside?' He hurriedly ducked his head and moved closer to the window.
As soon as he arrived near the window, he started hearing voices from inside.
He slowly peeked inside through the window gap and noticed there were a total of seven people standing in the mansion's main hall.
"Why do we have to do this job without even getting paid, boss? A few days ago, he asked us to kill the three servants who used to work in this mansion and even said that would be the last dirty work we would be doing. But today, he suddenly ordered us to kidnap a kid just because he showed interest in the Holmes Family case. Inspector Bennett is ordering us like his own servants these days. And what is his obsession with that brat's blood? He has been asking for a blood bag every two days." An annoyed voice came from inside.
"Don't even try to find anything about that matter, Aron. It will only bring unnecessary trouble. Anyway, he promised us a large sum once this matter was settled. So, don't feel down and get on to work. Moreover, we already got around 10 gold coins as an initial payment." Another rough male voice came.
"In truth, I don't trust that sly fox, boss. I have a feeling that he might put all the blame on us if things go south. He is backed by the Falcons, after all." A woman's voice came this time.
"Don't worry too much, Remy. As long as Thomas is in our hands, that Inspector or even the Falcons won't dare do anything reckless. If the situation goes south, we can send him to Lord Count's mansion and let the Spade family take care of this matter. Although the Spade Family will put a bounty on us, we can move to another city and start new." The same rough voice spoke again.
Raven quietly overheard their conversation and was deeply startled.
'Are they expecting my arrival? Did that innkeeper sell me out?' he asked, his face displaying an angry expression.
'Haa, I need more information.' Raven didn't lose his calm and quietly took out the monocle from his Inventory before putting it on his left eye.
Then, a row of information appeared before his eyes.
…
'Name: Remy, Affiliation: Member of The Gold Thieves, Rank: Official Walker (Fourth Circle)…
'Name: Aron, Affiliation: Member of the Gold Thieves (Spy of Greedy Chargers), Rank: Official Walker (Fifth Circle)…
'Name: Harlan, Affiliation: Leader of the Gold Thieves, Rank: Expert Walker (Eighth Circle)…
'Name: Tommy, Affiliation: Member of the Gold Thieves, Rank: Official Walker (Sixth Circle)…
'Name: Zyad, Affiliation: Member of the Gold Thieves, Rank: Official Walker (Fourth Circle)…
'Name: Alvin, Affiliation: Member of the Gold Thieves, Rank: Official Walker (Fifth Circle)…
'Name: Mia, Affiliation: Vice-Leader of the Gold Thieves (Member of the Viper Syndicate), Rank: Expert Walker (Ninth Circle)…'
…
