After changing back to his casual clothes, Mikhail returned to the office of Daniel Smith.
He took in a deep breath and walked inside as the bell on the door rang.
The inside of the building was the same as before and the same three people were working.
When the receptionist lady noticed Mikhail, she couldn't help but smile.
"Welcome." She said, walking towards him. "Mikhail, the new assistant."
"Good morning, miss…."
"It's Ronda." She replied before turning around. "Let me introduce you to the rest of the team."
Her eyes shifted towards the cat who was on Mikhail's shoulder.
She walked towards the guy who was closest.
He was a man in his late twenties with a round face and a short trimmed beard.
"He is Matt Rives." Ronda introduced him. "He is the technical guy of our team who processes the news that is important to us."
The man smiled towards Mikhail. "Hey, new guy."
"Hello." Mikhail greeted back. "I hope you treat me well."
"Ah, of course." He replied. "Don't worry, I just look threatening."
'….You don't, sir, you don't.'
Mikhail only smiled and shifted his gaze towards the other man.
He sat close to the main office of Daniel, with a typewriter by his side.
He was on the older side, in his early forties with a clean shave and short black hair.
"He is Felix Dawn." Ronda said. "He is the one who is in charge of all the legal works and papers."
"Hello." Mikhail greeted with a smile.
Felix looked at him and said in a dismissive tone. "Go away, this place is not for kids."
Mikhail's smile dimmed down a little.
Methew hissed at Felix and his lips moved.
"Meowtherfucker!"
An awkward silence accompanied his words as Mikhail coughed lightly.
"Please ignore him."
"Ah, yes." Ronda said and looked at Felix. "And don't talk to the newbie like that."
"It doesn't matter, he won't learn anything here." Felix replied, looking away. "There is no case in this city that Sir Daniel can't solve in a day."
Ronda wanted to rebuke but she held her tongue back. Instead she gave Mikhail an apologetic smile.
"He isn't wrong." She replied. "There is hardly a single good case in this city."
Mikhail smiled back. "It's fine." He replied. "I am certain that I will learn something new here."
Mikhail was more fascinated by the act of a detective and the lifestyle than the cases.
It was something that he always wanted to be part of.
'And I am sure there will be some sort of weird case after the death of Pastor David.'
A gut feeling, but Mikhail was more than sure. A big event always led to smaller events.
Just as he was about to ask Ronda for more information, the door of Daniel's office opened up.
The man took half a step outside, looked at Mikhail and said. "Come inside."
Mikhail nodded and walked after him into the office.
Daniel sat back on his chair and leaned back comfortably.
"What did you learn from yesterday's event?" He asked, looking at him.
"That the higher ups are more tolerant of each other." He replied with confidence. "Both the church and government will be fine if both take a step forward or drag each other down a step."
Daniel smiled and nodded his head. "And how will things unfold from here."
Mikhail shrugged. "It won't be good, that's for sure."
Daniel nodded his head and gestured towards the files on the table.
"Would you mind arranging them?" He asked politely.
"Sure."
Mikhail walked forward and picked up the files that were scattered around.
Daniel looked at Mikhail. "Are you perhaps aiming for any college?"
"Yes." Mikhail replied. "For the Imperial University."
"With the Viscount rank?" He asked. "That would be incredibly difficult."
He kept on observing Mikhail's facial expressions. "Unless your blank status has more meaning than you showed."
Mikhail smiled, his Scholar's Aura helping him stay composed.
"I can only try." He replied. "And hope for the best."
Daniel leaned back on his seat. "Hope, huh?"
He tapped his fingers on the side of his chair. "Have you heard of the four artifacts of Destruction?"
Mikhail paused for a second before he nodded. "I do."
After the arrival of the rifts, reality began to shift, and in the early days something unexplainable happened.
Items that were willed by a collection of humans began to manifest in the real world.
The Four Artifacts of Destruction were items that were born from the collective consciousness of all of humanity in the last five thousand years.
And one of those four artifacts was related to Hope.
"They say that the Abraham Empire has the Artifact of Hope." Daniel said, rocking his chair. "That's why people there work for sixteen hours without a single complaint."
Mikhail arranged the files and documents on the desk and took a step back.
He recalled a saying from his previous world and recited it out loud.
"Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man."
Daniel fell into deep thought as he heard those words before he chuckled softly.
"Indeed." He replied. "That's true."
He saw Mikhail in a different light, and it was clear from the look in his eyes.
"Stay here until one in the afternoon." He instructed Mikhail. "If we get a case before then I will take you with me, otherwise hope we get one tomorrow."
Mikhail nodded his head and bowed slightly. "Then I will wait outside."
He walked out of the room and took a seat at the reception desk alongside Ronda.
---
The time passed with no one visiting them, and much to Mikhail's disappointment, he was left without a case to observe.
As soon as it was one o'clock, he said his goodbyes to all the members and returned home.
It was still early in the afternoon so Mikhail planned to visit the forest and level up.
Taking his items to hunt, he grabbed the bus for outside the walls.
And before long Mikhail stood at the entrance of the forest.
'Alright, today's goal is to level up at least twice.'
Mikhail thought, putting the short spears in his holster.
He tightened his grip on his sword and looked at Methew who sat on his shoulder.
"Let's go, buddy." He said with a smile. "We need to get a lot of kills."
"Meow."
Methew purred, licking his paws as if signalling him to move.
Mikhail took in a deep breath and walked inside the forest.