Kyon showed his card and put on his black mask as soon as he entered the building. Then he headed for the - 4th floor. Downstairs, he was horrified by what he saw. The corner bathroom above the sewer was missing. The huge hole created by the shock wave meant the imminent collapse of the upper floors and irreparable damage to most of the building.

There were several people at the site, among them Rasya, the high-ranking investigator. She noticed the man in the mask and immediately approached him. - «Rookie, go upstairs now! The head of the department wants to see you!»

«I am going there. Tell me what had happened here…»

«I have no idea! I've just arrived.»

The masked investigator nodded and was about to leave when he suddenly heard:

«By the way… I can't find the visual recordings from the interrogation room. Do you happen to know where they are?»

Kyon slowly turned around and asked coldly, his eyes gleaming like ice:

«Do you want to watch the intercourse of the prince with the black queen?»

Rasya blushed. – «Of course not! I've been collecting the evidence related to the escape... Go to the boss.» – She continued to work, visibly confused.

Rasya's reaction had betrayed her. Kyon could try and believe that she had rushed to the interrogation room to study the evidence first thing in the morning, that she looked through the register to find out who had entered the room when she found no nephrites. However, everything was much simpler. She was still wearing street shoes, and she said that she had only recently arrived. It was now clear who had tipped the prince. He had nearly raped Valeera because of her!

Kyon came to the fourth floor, made in a luxurious but simple style, showed his formation to the guard and went into the head's office.

Red like a boiled lobster, Vladimir was shouting at Charge, who had lowered his head, looking guilty. – «b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l! I nearly got fired! The deputy head of the imperial department had come to visit us, and what did he have to witness?! A fascinating tour in the best sewage of Boston! Fighting to the death with some b.a.s.t.a.r.d! And the cherry on the cake, the criminal he had come for, waved her tail at his nose! If Chuggington hadn't sacrificed his life to raise the alarm, we would not even have time to react! Is it a hotel for the criminals here?! Why didn't you bring more powerful guards, you f.u.c.king moron?! It's your direct responsibility! Now the image of our department is worse than s.h.i.+t! s.h.i.+t can be used as fertilizer, at least…»

Charge was about to collapse. It was beyond his power to predict such a thing. The intruder had an understanding of all the nuances in the department structure. He had killed a group of powerful guards by himself! He was invincible! But he couldn't tell Vladimir all this... It was too late now.

Vladimir's furious monologue had dispelled the pink clouds in Kyon's head.

Last night, Kyon saw ten people enter the pipe and only three leave, Timoshka and Valeera among them. He couldn't follow the third man as he had taken the underground pa.s.sage. Kyon wondered. Wasn't it Leon who was carrying Timoshka and Valeera? No, it wasn't him. Valeera's eyes were full of wild despair when she looked into the pipe. She looked like she had left her soul back there. Moreover, the huge destruction proved that it wasn't the fight between two ordinary people but extremely powerful opponents.

«Go away before I fire you!» – Vladimir barked, and Charge hurried to leave.

«Things aren't going well, are they?» – Kyon asked the obvious question.

«You're smart, aren't you?»

The level of toxic sarcasm in his voice was a bit too high.

It took about a minute for the head of the department to calm down. He was standing at the window with his hands behind his back.

«I am sorry I snapped.» – Vladimir finally said. – «It's not your fault. I don't know who to blame. This scandal cost me an impeccable reputation I've worked for years to attain.»

«It happens to the best of us. Do you want me to help you find the culprit?»

«The culprit is dead. You don't think he could run away, do you? Ha ha…»

«It's not about… By the way, can I have a look at the body?»

«You can't. His body has been taken for an autopsy.»

«Who are you talking about?!» – In a moment, Vladimir was close to Kyon, holding him by the scruff of the neck.

«Take it easy. I will tell you everything.» – Kyon brushed off the dust from his s.h.i.+rt. – «Last night, I happened to witness the prince arrive in the interrogation room. Charles wanted revenge on the Black Queen. Here's the proof.» – Kyon handed Vladimir all the nephrites except the one with the prince's failure.

«I tried to find out who had told him about her arrest, and he referred to a female investigator. There is only one woman in the narrow circle of high-ranking investigators. Her name is Rasya. By the way, she asked me if I know anything about the visual recordings in the interrogation room.…»

«b.i.t.c.h!» – Vladimir hissed, banging his fist on the table.

Kyon wanted to take revenge on Rasya, but he didn't want her to die a brutal death.

«Rasya made a private gain out of her agreement with Charles, and someone from the prince's entourage turned out to be a spy. The rest, I guess, is history. She had violated the department regulation, which started a chain of events. I would just fire her for this. But if you're looking for a scapegoat, then so be it.»

Vladimir sighed heavily. Rasya's life was in his hands. He decided to talk with her later and find out what she wanted to get from the prince. If she refused to cooperate or gave him the wrong answer, then…

«Let's stop talking about sad things. I have something nice to tell you.» - Vladimir looked with admiration at the investigator in the mask. – «Kyon, you have exceeded all my expectations. Your reports are breathtaking! It took you one hair to destroy the whole thieves guild... I still can't believe that you alone had solved the three issues in the kingdom. It didn't take you three or five years but only a couple of weeks! It's incredible! I am not sure if your ambitions exceed your talent or vice versa... You are exactly the person I've been looking for…»

«So-o-o?..» – Kyon took off his mask, ready for the words he had been working for so hard.

«You have kept your side of the bargain and solved the two issues in the kingdom, and even more! You have exceeded my expectations on so many levels! I can't ask for more, or I might get struck by lightning. I will also keep my promise... From now on, you are an investigator of the second rank! Congratulations!» – Vladimir shook Kyon's hand.

If Kyon had received the 2nd rank the day before, he would have had the chance to save Valeera. He wouldn't have had to torture her. However, it would have turned him into a wanted criminal. Would he have taken this chance? Kyon decided not to answer this question.

«Thank you. There's more to it, right?»

«Right.» – Vladimir became serious. He drew the curtains and checked if the door was locked. �� «To get my letter of recommendation to the imperial investigators, you will have to provide the compelling evidence that Kara and Vlada belong to the demons.»

«Why don't you share your suspicions with the important guest?»

Vladimir paused for a moment, staring grimly at the ceiling. – «Once I tried to convince the authorities in the imperial department. To put it mildly, they considered me an idiot and demanded solid evidence. Small wonder... n.o.body wants to deal with the imperial family without making a big profit. Besides, Vlada regularly pays taxes and manages the kingdom well. Nothing more is required of her. The d.a.m.ned doofuses choose not to see the real enemy! Listen, Kyon, understand my situation. Fernand Russell himself (0) was telling me off. At what point should I have dropped a hint about the queen's true origin? It was absolutely out of the question. I am lucky that there is a long-awaited tournament of the families in three days. Fernand was planning to get there by all means... It's quite fortunate, otherwise, his arrival would have been a waste of time.»

«I will get the evidence, Vladimir. But I need access to the cla.s.sified materials to find out the structure of the palace, its secret pa.s.sages and organisation, any possible traps. I also need your invaluable help to enter Cernos…» – Kyon told him a little about his plan of enrolling in the best school of the kingdom and getting closer to Princess Kara Grand.

Vladimir approved his plan, but he had to warn Kyon. – «Keep in mind it will be the most dangerous mission ever! Capturing the Black Queen will seem like a glorious fairy tale compared to this. Take care, be careful, Kyon. Demons are cunning and treacherous. They value their life, and the slightest suspicion will give them a reason to kill you. Contact me whenever you need help! I will provide you with any department resources you ask for. Consider yourself my personal secret agent.»

Kyon shook Vladimir's hand. – «By the way, I am taking part in the forthcoming family tournament on behalf of the Stones. I am thinking of doing something grandiose, even breathtaking. It could stir up the whole empire. I hope it won't surprise you too much. Please, don't tell anyone that Kyon Stone is the masked investigator. You might have a temptation to share this information with Fernand, please don't do it. Otherwise, I can't trust you anymore... I won't be able to deal with the demons after that. Even more so, you may become my enemy.»

«What?.. You are going to partic.i.p.ate? To shake the empire? Not to tell Fernand?! Ha ha! G.o.ds, what are you talking about! Of course, I won't tell anyone about you, my secret agent. Don't ever become my enemy, please! Ha ha ha!» – Vladimir laughed out loud.

Kyon nodded and left the office, looking pleased with himself. He was convinced that when it came to friends, it was not the quant.i.ty but the quality that mattered. XiaoBai was worth at least ten (and weighed as much). The head of the department was at about the same level.

Vladimir was sincerely surprised at Kyon's multifaceted talents and capacities. The new investigator had really impressed him with his effective results and decisions! Vladimir was curious to see how Kyon was going to resolve the case with vile demons.