章 362: Chapter 11
"After that..." Malvin began once again, his voice steady as Specialist Jos, Loreen, Tores, Aeron, and Sergeant Clare listened intently, "...nothing happened and things stayed quiet for a while. We were back on patrols, just keeping the peace, maybe arresting two or three petty criminals along the way. We didn't run into Xain again, but we did post wanted signs for Philip Crude's arrest. Of course, since he mostly stuck to the slums, nothing came up with them," he finished with a sigh.
Clare nodded, thoughtful. "Makes sense. People there tend to keep to themselves, don't they?"
"Exactly," Malvin agreed, his tone a mix of frustration and resignation. "If only those idiots knew what was good for them," he muttered, shaking his head. "Anyway, this kept up for three weeks, and then..."
---
"Ugh! How are we ever going to boost our popularity if things keep dragging on like this?" Silas groaned, raking his hands through his chestnut hair, leaving it a chaotic mess. Passersby gave him a side eye, glancing nervously at the uniformed man who looked like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown, crouched down by the roadside in Steamhaven, the residential district of Ironhelm.
Beside him, Malvin sighed, crossing his arms. "You're still going on about that?" he asked, casting an exasperated look down at his partner, who glanced up with blazing brown eyes that somehow managed to look both determined and desperate.
"But, we're supposed to be the legendary Ironguard duo!" Silas declared, hopping up to his feet with sudden enthusiasm, fist raised high. "Malvin and Silas!" he shouted, looking up at the sky with all the triumph of a hero.
But in his fervor, he stared straight into the sun. "OW!" he yelped, stumbling as he covered his eyes, now watering from the sudden brightness.
Malvin pressed his fingers to his temple, wondering how his life had led him to this moment to be stuck with a partner like Silas. "If nothing's happening, that means we're doing our job, remember? Didn't we have this exact conversation a few weeks ago?" he scoffed, leaning against the stone wall of the store behind them.
But Silas was too busy rubbing at his eyes to pay attention, caught up in his self-inflicted pain. Malvin shook his head, rolling his eyes as he muttered, "Goddess, you're annoying."
Throughout his conversation with his partner, Malvin kept a vigilant eye on the road. He watched the flow of traffic and the people moving around, doing his job despite Silas's antics. It was during one of these sidelong glances that he noticed something unusual: a man with tussled brown hair, clothes dirty and frayed, and torn dress pants. The man was limping along the sidewalk, clutching his side in obvious pain. Most pedestrians gave him a wide berth, instinctively shying away from his disheveled appearance.
"Looks like trouble," Malvin muttered, straightening up from the wall he'd been leaning against and uncrossing his arms, turning his full attention to the man.
Silas, still recovering from his earlier sun-staring incident, blinked cluelessly. "What did you say?" he asked, squinting as if the sun had robbed him of both sight and hearing.
The man, now aware of Malvin's gaze, made his way over to them, hobbling as fast as his injuries allowed. "Please, help me," he said, his voice strained as he finally reached the two officers.
"What happened?" Malvin asked, his tone switching to formal professionalism. "Is your condition related to this?"
Meanwhile, Silas, having finally rubbed away the last remnants of his sun-induced blindness, took in the man's battered appearance. His eyes went wide as he pointed at him and blurted, "Holy shit, you look terrible!"
Malvin felt a nerve twitch in annoyance at Silas's lack of tact, though the injured man seemed too desperate to notice. He continued, clutching his side as he explained, "Please, officers, some thugs ambushed me, stole my things, and left me like this. I need your help."
Malvin pulled out a small notepad and pencil, which seemed to capture Silas's attention. "Wait… we have those?" he asked, clearly fascinated, only to be ignored as Malvin pressed on with the questioning.
"Could you describe the thugs, sir?" Malvin asked, pencil poised.
The man rubbed the back of his head, clearly straining to recall details. "It all happened so fast… I didn't get a good look at them. But they were definitely ruffians—no question about it."
Malvin quickly noted this down. "And where did the attack happen, and when?" he asked.
The man scratched his head, wincing slightly as he thought back. "It was about twenty minutes ago, but I can't say exactly where. I don't come to this district often… but I can lead you there," he offered.
After a brief pause to finish his notes, Malvin nodded. "All right, lead the way," he said, pocketing the notepad.
The man gave a weak nod, turning to limp back in the direction he'd come from, while Silas—now back to his usual over-the-top self—smirked and rolled his shoulders, winding up his arm like a pitcher warming up for a game.
"Alright, this looks like a job for the legendary duo of Malvin and Si—"
"You're not coming," Malvin cut in before Silas could finish, his tone sharp. Silas's face dropped, and he looked at his partner in shock.
"But—but we're partners! We're supposed to be doing this together!" Silas protested.
Already starting to follow the man, Malvin waved off his partner's objections. "It sounds like it's just a few thugs. I can handle it," he replied curtly. "Just stay here and keep an eye on things—make sure nothing else happens."
Malvin's voice dropped into a mutter, more to himself than to Silas, but loud enough for him to hear: "Besides, you'd probably just mess it up like last time."
Silas's face fell, a flash of genuine hurt crossing his features for the first time. "Fine," he muttered, shoulders slumping.
But despite this, Malvin turned away from his partner, he had more important things to worry about than a grown man's hurt feelings. Focused, he followed the man and left Silas behind to handle this by himself.
クリエイターの想い 
Q_Tip
Q_Tip I'm back! How is everyone doing? Well I hope, anywho, I'm mostly over what I was hospitalized for, so I should be back to the usual scedual, thanks to everyone who stuck around despite me not uploading for a week. Also, two chapters ago I forgot to mention that Joshua Ambrose had a suit as well, but what do you all think? Should I keep going with what I described or add the suit?
Anyway, GG!
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