"Don’t feel bad," Allina patted the young boy’s shoulder, "You did everything you could. More than anyone could have asked for."

"Commander Crest is right," Garrison Commander Ives nodded, "You’re a hero, Young Master Lucas."

In truth, Margaret was still trying to wrap her head around Lucas’ existence as ’unusual’ didn’t even begin to describe this young boy.

Last night, when she arrived with 300 troops from the local garrison, Commander Ives was shocked to discover that the one coordinating the fire-fighting efforts was a 10-year-old boy.

It was absurd to the point that Margaret nearly lost composure entirely.

As she was about to start asking questions, however, another building collapsed, sending flames and embers shooting up into the sky.

Realizing that it wasn’t the right time, Commander Ives reluctantly ordered her troops to follow Lucas’ commands while she too joined the fire-fighting efforts.

She had not regretted that decision.

Lucas was competent, that much became abundantly clear within minutes of her arrival, and soon the local Garrison Commander didn’t even feel awkward following his instructions to battle the blaze.

Only after things began settling down did Margaret learn Lucas was actually the first True Disciple of Marquess Balfour, which at least somewhat alleviated her curiosity; after all, the Disciple of such a famous figure could not possibly be ’normal’.

As for the boy in question, letting out a long sigh, Lucas smiled faintly and shook his head, "I didn’t do much. It’s only thanks to everyone’s efforts that we managed to limit the damage to this one block."

Before the adults could tell Lucas to stop acting so humble, the sound of horse hooves and clinking armour sounded from nearby, signaling the arrival of a new party.

Turning to see who it was, Lucas noticed the crest of the local Lord and cracked his neck.

Count Ross Hunt was a politician and bureaucrat through and through, but he was still a Complete Mid-Rank Initiate, so despite recently celebrating his 215th birthday, he still looked like a slightly older middle-aged man.

Under the escort of his guards, Count Hunt dismounted his horse and walked over to where Allina and Margaret were standing, acknowledging them both while surveying the damage.

After taking it all in, the Count pursed his lips slightly and muttered, "It’s not as bad as I suspected it would be."

"Hmph!" Commander Ives snorted loudly, "None of this would have happened if you’d just let me sweep the filth out from the slums back when I first asked!"

Whether he was too tired to care or just unwilling to deal with his old friend at the moment, Count Hunt didn’t argue back and simply waved off the aggressive woman, "Fine fine, you were right, I was wrong."

This kind of dismissive response only irritated Commander Ives further and she was about to start chewing Ross out again when Lucas spoke up, "I doubt it would have mattered either way."

"Hm?" Count Hunt, who until now had not paid much attention to Lucas thinking he was an errand boy of some sort couldn’t help raising his brow at this comment and ask, "And who are you?"

Seeing the suspicious and somewhat dismissive look on the Count’s face irritated the already tired Lucas, giving him the urge to just ignore him, but thinking that would only make things more complicated, he begrudgingly introduced himself, "Greetings, Count Hunt. My name is Lucas. I have the honour of being Marquess Celestina Balfour’s First Disciple."

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Count Hunt didn’t immediately reply, his gaze still somewhat suspicious.

He didn’t doubt Lucas’ claim, as Marquess Balfour’s trusted adjutant was standing right there, but Ross Hunt was confused as to why such a boy was even here.

Nevertheless, as a veteran of the noble circles, the Count quickly composed himself and moved the conversation along, "Well then, Young Master Lucas; why do you believe it wouldn’t have mattered whether we swept the slums before today?"

Allina and Margaret were also interested in hearing what Lucas was thinking, so neither of them tried to interrupt for now.

Turning his eyes back to the burnt remains of the orphanage, Lucas explained, "Whoever did this has been several steps ahead of us this entire time. They’re not acting like simple criminals."

"Could it not be that they just got spooked and panicked?" Margaret questioned, feeling like Lucas was overthinking things.

"No, Lucas is right," Allina disagreed, "this was no mere gang of thugs. There’s a certain ruthless efficiency to their actions, a decisiveness that common thieves and bandits lack."

"We’re still searching the rubble, as well as the surrounding area, but I doubt we’ll find the masterminds," Lucas continued, "they must have escaped long before we noticed anything was wrong. The fire was simply to cover their tracks and distract us."

"This is all just speculation, though," Count Hunt frowned, "there’s no proof of anything you say."

"Exactly," Lucas snickered, "It’s too clean. What kind of criminals leave behind no clues at all, especially when they take such drastic actions?"

Count Hunt opened his mouth to argue, but found he didn’t have anything to say.

In truth, he too had suspected that there was more going on in the slums of Crystal Lake for some time now, but he wasn’t the type to move on mere suspicion, he needed real evidence in order to be convinced.

Simply put, he was cautious and methodical, a direct contrast to Margaret’s bullheadedness.

Together, the two of them actually managed to balance each other out and keep Crystal Lake functioning rather smoothly, but their opposing personalities were also the source of many arguments and disagreements.

Most of the time, this wasn’t a problem, but the current situation was different.

Someone had gotten the best of them, making Ross and Margaret look like fools in their own city, and it was pissing both of them off, causing them to be more confrontational than normal.

Just then, Victoria came jogging over to deliver a report, "Commander Crest, Lucas, we found a hidden tunnel beneath the ruins of the orphanage. It leads to a building about 100 metres east of here."

"That must be how they snuck past Captain Lane’s scouts last night," Lucas mused aloud before asking, "Did you find anything else?"

"En," Victoria nodded swiftly, "there was a hidden storage room connected to the tunnel that contained several crates. Most of the room’s contents was destroyed and unrecognizable, but a couple of barrels still have the distinct smell of burnt sugar."

"Smugglers," Margaret instantly concluded, her expressions turning ugly.

As a major port city and trade hub, Crystal Lake was no stranger to smugglers; they were a constant problem, one that the local Count and Garrison Commander had taken great pains to try to eliminate over the decades yet had never fully succeeded.

"That’s what we were thinking as well," Victoria nodded in agreement, "It would explain why they built such a large structure in the middle of the slums, and why they were so eager to escape once they suspected we were onto them."

"Indeed," Allina chimed in, "Smuggling sugar in particular is a serious crime, as it normally means you have connections to the Darr Kingdom."

The Rockwell and Darr Kingdom’s weren’t currently at war, but the friction between the two nations still existed and both sides were constantly on guard against each other.

Smugglers might just be profiteers looking to make money, but they also might be spies trying to gain intelligence or conduct sabotage. It was why anyone caught smuggling sugar in the Rockwell Kingdom was arrested and harshly interrogated to determine their true identities.

"Why an orphanage, though?" Margaret wondered, "Surely there are better fronts to use for a smuggling ring, ones that draw less attention and create fewer witnesses."

"True, it’s not like children have particularly tight lips," Count Hunt, for once, agreed with his compatriot.

"They were training them," Lucas muttered, his fists clenching tightly, "Toby and Mabel were familiar with all the backstreets, alleyways, and hiding spots from here to the docks."

"They also mentioned harsh physical conditioning and that very few of them were ever adopted," Allina recalled, her brow also furrowing, "It was a long-term investment. They were raising ’citizens’ of Crystal Lake who could easily blend into the city and expand their smuggling ring without appearing out of place."

"If that’s the case, there might still be others in this smuggling ring scattered throughout the city we don’t even know about," Victoria pointed out.

Massaging his temples, Count Hunt grumbled under his breath, "This is going to be a lot of work."

"Bah, they’ve lost their headquarters and are on the run," Commander Ives declared confidently, "We’ll rout them out eventually. I just hope you’re prepared to dedicate enough resources to this problem now."

"Haa... I’ll find a way to get you the funds and manpower," Ross grumbled, clearly not looking forward to this extra burden but also well aware that he couldn’t let this underground operation they had finally exposed slink back into the shadows.

The Count knew of certain shady organizations that did business in Crystal Lake, but he could still exert a modicum of control over those. This smuggling ring, however, had gone completely undetected for many years now, which was unacceptable to the local ruler.