The First Magic World War

Charles didn't stay on Sparrowhawk Street for long; after a rare morning of diligent work, he happily ducked out early to pick up Anne from class.

The two of them first had lunch together before making their way to the Alcatraz District. Three of the seven major detective agencies in the Fars Empire were located in this district, including the Liemar Detective Agency, aside from the Cat Detective Agency.

The financial situation of the Liemar Detective Agency was clearly much better than that of the Cat Detective Agency. It consisted of three buildings on the street front: one with five floors and two with three floors. Each building had training facilities on its rooftop, allowing detectives to practice swordsmanship, gunmanship, and various other skills.

The reason Aubrey Barrington Atwood was willing to sell the detective agency was that its assets mainly consisted of its industry reputation and a group of seasoned professional detectives. The real estate and the registered agency name were not valued as highly. Moreover, Charles had risen too quickly. Although Liemar Detective Agency had personnel, it couldn't compare to a Knighthood.

Aubrey Barrington Atwood believed that, with his ability, making a comeback would not be difficult. Furthermore, a group of veteran detectives were willing to start anew with him. Thus, selling the Liemar Detective Agency to recoup a batch of funds was the best choice.
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Charles and Anne got off the carriage, gazing at the three office buildings of Liemar Agency with mixed feelings.

Charles said with a smile, "Let's go in!"

As soon as Charles and Anne entered the premises, a gentle trainee detective receptionist asked, "May I ask, sir, what business do you need to attend to?"

Charles answered, "I am Charles Mecklen. Call over the detectives of the agency."

The trainee detective receptionist slightly hesitated, not daring to delay, and hurried off. After a while, she came back and reported, "Mister Mecklen, please go to the large terrace on the rooftop. All members of the detective agency are waiting for you."

"I apologize, but we really don't have a place large enough to accommodate all detectives, so we have to request you move to the large terrace."

Charles nodded and followed the trainee detective up to the large terrace on the fifth floor with Anne. This building was the office; of the other two three-story buildings, one was the dormitory and the other the archives and armory.

Charles had long known that Liemar Agency employed over a hundred detectives, with an additional two to three hundred detective assistants, a considerable number of trainees, as well as various clerks. Indeed, the number was substantial, certainly not fitting into an ordinary meeting room.

When he reached the large terrace on the fifth floor and saw the rooftop densely packed with people, even though he had once led a Knighthood of over ten thousand members, he was still taken aback by the crowd.

All detectives fell silent; they all knew Charles's name, and they also knew that it was because Aubrey Barrington Atwood had accepted an assignment to assassinate him. As a result of this case, three Transcendents and eight detectives were lost, which was not even the gravest consequence.

This Mister Charles Mecklen had then smoothly risen to prominence, becoming the General of the Lucavaro District Patrolling Army, Commander of the Westwind Knights, and Chief of the Lucavaro District Administration Bureau…

Um, the Empire's special plenipotentiary war commissioner on a mission to the Inglima Empire was his new official position, a piece of news not yet known to these detectives.

Every detective felt a complex mix of emotions, uncertain how Charles would deal with them.

With a smile, Charles asked, "Would all the official detectives please step forward?"

About eighty people moved forward, and Charles inquired, "Are there any Transcendents among you?"

The eighty-some detectives almost all shook their heads.

Charles nodded slightly, he had already known that Aubrey Barrington Atwood would not leave him the best batch of people, and he smiled saying, "I will be the new president of Liemar Detective Agency, and if any of you do not wish to stay at Liemar, I will provide a compensation for the contributions you have made to the agency over the years."

"To the formal detectives who are willing to stay at Liemar, I will increase each person's weekly salary by twenty Sheng Ding."

Charles's approach was not unusual on Earth, namely the N+1 severance compensation; as for a new boss raising every employee's salary, it's an old tactic, just one that most capitalists don't like to use.

Charles's words set the detectives whispering among themselves, and except for two or three people, almost everyone chose to stay.

Charles clapped his hands and said, "Since you've chosen to stay, you are my employees. Please stand behind me, not in opposition."

The eighty-some detectives immediately stood behind Charles, and with these eighty plus people, Charles's momentum surged, overwhelming the rest of the employees.

Charles, smiling genially, said, "As for detective assistants and trainee detectives, if you wish to stay, just speak up to these detectives behind me. If you want to stay and a detective is willing to choose you, your salary remains the same."

Of course, Charles was not going to give everyone a raise. These seasoned detectives, although no longer Transcendent, still had their experience, which was indispensable for carrying out detective work.

But these detective assistants and trainee detectives were not of such great value, and his attitude towards them was blatantly obvious.

A detective called out loudly, "Little Charles, John, come to my side."

Someone had taken the lead, and soon, there were a hundred or two hundred detective assistants and trainee detectives standing behind Charles, leaving the remaining detective assistants and trainee detectives somewhat embarrassed, looking dejected. Many of them did not want to leave the detective agency either, as even in Strasbourg, it was not easy to find a stable job.

Charles smiled faintly and then dropped another bombshell, saying, "For those not chosen by the detectives, if you have a better place to go, I won't stand in your way, and will even provide a severance fee. If you have nowhere better to go, you may report to the Patrolling Army of the Lucavaro District tomorrow. As you know, I am still the general commander of the Lucavaro District Patrolling Army, and we are in need of people there."

This statement was astonishing. Many of the unchosen detective assistants and trainee detectives simply could not believe that such good fortune was possible.

Perhaps the income of the lower ranks of the Patrolling Army was temporarily lower than that of detective assistants and trainee detectives, but their career prospects were much more stable. Moreover, these people also knew that Charles would keep his word, as he truly was the general commander of the Lucavaro District Patrolling Army.

The atmosphere, which had been slightly cold, finally warmed up after his statement, and many changed their attitudes towards Charles, becoming more friendly.

Working with Aubrey Barrington Atwood was one job, and working with Charles was another; only those taken away by Atwood were his core members. The rest were just hired from the labor market.

Clearly, Charles was the better boss.

Anne was on the side, watching Charles change the ownership of Liemar Detective Agency with just a few words; her heart was full of admiration. She had never doubted Charles's abilities, but seeing it firsthand was still different.