The First Magic World War

Running a detective agency requires not only a Transcendent to preside over it but also outstanding business acumen. Charles actually had no one to use for this; he lacked this skill himself and did not have the corresponding talent amongst his subordinates.

Taoles and Dobin were members of the Patrolling Army, not Charles's subordinates. People like Yellow Bear wouldn't end up in a gang if they could work as detectives, and neither The Spotted Deer Gwen nor The Wind Wolf Bankcroft had this kind of talent.

As for Anatasiya and Belisa…

Charles didn't even know if they could do the job.

He chose to trust the old detectives of the Liemar Detective Agency and even deliberately let them pick their detective assistants and trainee detectives to clear out the unstable elements within the agency. Although doing so would make this group of "agency veterans" stick together more closely, there wouldn't be any internal strife within the detective agency in the short term.

Those who were excluded to work as detective assistants and trainees mostly had educational backgrounds, which was necessary for this line of work. They might not be favored by the old-timers of the detective agency and were subject to exclusion, but that didn't necessarily mean they had anything against Charles himself. These people, sent over to the Patrolling Army, would naturally stand out and excel if they were capable. If not...

After all, the salary was paid by His Majesty the Emperor, and Charles Mecklen wouldn't lose anything.

Using management concepts from Earth, which were hundreds of years ahead of this era, and although he only grasped the surface, Charles quickly smoothed over the unstable atmosphere within the Liemar Detective Agency.

The next thing he announced was the second matter: Dinner!

Charles paid out of his own pocket to treat everyone at the Liemar Detective Agency to a grand feast.

With this meal, everyone at Liemar, at least verbally, praised the new president and showed the most basic "affection."

After the dinner, Charles gathered the small number of people who were reluctant to stay, gave them an inspiring talk, and made a show of trying to retain them. In the end, two old detectives chose to stay, while only one insisted on leaving. Charles provided him with a sum of money according to their agreement, and everyone parted on good terms.

Charles spent an afternoon at the Liemar Detective Agency and then left with Anne.

As soon as Charles left, the detective agency quieted down again. An old detective suddenly asked a question, "What do you guys think of the new president?"

A middle-aged detective replied, "I don't care what he's like, I just want to work honestly, earn money, and provide for my family."

The words of the middle-aged detective garnered approval from everyone, after all, those detectives with aspirations and capabilities were the extreme minority. Most detectives were just ordinary people who viewed this profession as just another job.

In the following days, Charles had no more time to spare. Every day someone sent by the High Priest of Augustine came to urge him to hurry and take his people to the Embassy Street.

Out of necessity, Charles could only take his people to Embassy Street, first to tailor their outfits, and then collect a batch of weapons specially made for diplomatic staff. These matters might not seem numerous, but they kept him busy for a good three to five days.

Just as he finished with these matters, the High Priest of Augustine informed him that he could now choose special personal weapons designated for envoys.

Charles went to the Minister of Foreign Affairs' official residence once again.

Senior diplomatic officers had access to a special weapons arsenal. As a diplomatic commissioner, Charles could select an Extraordinary Weapon from the arsenal exclusively designated for diplomatic staff. The weapon was not to be issued to individuals and had to be returned after each diplomatic mission. However, in reality, all it took was a report explaining how the weapon was "lost" to secretly keep it.

Hmm, this was intel obtained through the Tenfold True Word Technique.

Charles didn't hesitate to pick an Extraordinary Handgun called the Silver Knight!

This Extraordinary Handgun has three attributes, Trajectory Correction, Ejecting Draw Gun, and Double Shot Burst.

When firing the Silver Knight, as long as the aim isn't too far off the target, it automatically corrects the direction of the bullet, allowing even a normal person to achieve a perfect hit rate. However, this feature has a downside, skilled gunmen can't shoot as they please because it automatically "calibrates".

To put it simply, if an apple were placed on a person's head, an ordinary person would shoot the person dead, and a skilled marksman would do the same...

As for the Ejecting Draw Gun attribute, the moment it comes into contact with the fingers, it actively ejects, enabling quicker drawing and shooting, but this also leads to frequent accidental activations—just an unintended touch will cause it to pop out...

The Silver Knight isn't an Antispace Item, nor does it have a spatial magazine. It has a normal magazine, and an energy magazine. Ordinary Extraordinary-class firearms can only fire separately, but the Silver Knight can simultaneously shoot normal bullets and Energy Bullets, striking with a Double Shot Burst, catching the enemy off guard.

Honestly, this thing turns a novice into a skilled gunman, but for someone who's already a skilled gunman, it's a hindrance.

Charles himself isn't short of weapons. Although diplomatic envoys aren't allowed to carry Antispace Weapons, meaning his Anti-Space Sniper Rifle and Silver Rhinoceros can't be used, the Blood Rose isn't included in this restriction. It's not an Antispace Weapon, and with Blood Rose in hand, Charles fears no enemy.

He chose the Silver Knight solely because, as a special weapon for diplomatic personnel of the Empire, it has an extremely high market price.

After selecting his weapon, Charles left the Foreign Minister's official residence. He went to bid farewell to Anne in advance and then headed to the embassy district to find the Augusladin High Priest.

The diplomatic mission was about to depart, and he wouldn't be able to return home for the next few days with lots of miscellaneous things to take care of.

In just a few days, the over two hundred-person diplomatic mission left Strasbourg.

The highest-ranking individual in this diplomatic mission was naturally the special full-power War Envoy, the Augusladin High Priest. However, his deputy wasn't Charles but Viscount Duranni. Charles's position was still too low. Although the Augusladin High Priest had painted a rosy picture, he hadn't actually given him a bite of it. Explore new worlds at My Virtual Library Empire

However, as a special full-power War Commissioner, Charles's status wasn't low either. Within the mission, he was ranked number eight at least—he even had a military carriage to sit in and didn't need to ride a horse.

The Fars Empire was in dire need of external assistance. Therefore, apart from carriages, the diplomatic mission was also fully equipped with warhorses, a very rare provision.

The group left Strasbourg and sped along the road. In roughly seven to eight days, they reached the seaside and boarded a warship bound for the Inglima Empire.

The Augusladin High Priest indeed had great powers. Midway, a merchant ship approached and transferred Charles and all his subordinates onto it. Only then did Charles realize that the Augusladin High Priest never intended to take him to the Inglima Empire. His mission was to go to Song Spirit Island and secure a "retreat" for the great priest.

Charles stood on the merchant ship, watching as the Augusladin High Priest left. He was so angry that his teeth itched—he had never expected to be manipulated like a pawn by a native.

But…

There was nothing he could do about it.

Just as Charles was about to order the merchant ship to change course, he suddenly realized that someone from their group was missing, breaking out into a cold sweat.

Julian Asilo had disappeared.