Only Wisdom Awakened - Chapter 184

Chapter 184: Secret Detective
“It’s incredible that you know the branch leader”

Said Clara.

“Well… I guess it’s to be expected from you”

“He’s a friend of a friend, I got to know him just yesterday”

“Still…”

‘It must not be that important for him, I almost forgot who I was talking to’

They were already done dining, and while most of the others returned to their rooms, Hans and Clara stayed on the couch on the first floor’s living room, discussing the issue at hand.

“I heard you spend a lot of time following awakened and celebrities online, could you tell me about the situation of this city?”

“You mean the guilds and the awakened?”

“Yes… knowing those will make things a lot easier for me”

‘Make things easier for him?

What is he talking about? This should be San Diego’s problem, if he wants to know something then…

Could it be?!

He wants to step in?!’

“Hans are you…. Thinking of interfering?”

‘Huh? She noticed?’

“Yes, I’m planning to help out since my friend lives here.

Also, the branch leader has no power as an awakened, and it would be problematic for the association if a private guild managed to grow its power because of this incident.

Even if I’m not a branch leader anymore, I am teaching at the academy, and I am still under the association.”

“Yes, I know, but things will get even more difficult if someone other than insiders decides to interfere with this”

“Well… that seems like one more reason to do it”

“You…whatever, I’ll help you of course.

How much do you currently know about this city?”

Hans didn’t reply, he instead kept his mouth shut, and that said all he needed to.

“Alright then, let’s start from the basics, could you take a water bottle from the fridge, I’ll go and buy a few snacks”

“What for?”

Asked Hans confused.

“I can’t do boring things without eating”

“Ah… alright”

A few minutes later, Clara returned, and they moved into her room.

It was spacious and empty, it almost didn’t have anything other than the bed and a desk she seemed to use a lot.

“This is my turf, you should be honored to see it”

She said proudly.

That brought Hans’s gaze toward the enormous board hung on the wall just beside her desk.

Many photos were pinned up, and some were even connected by a red wire, similar to what you could see in some detective movies.

Then, on the floor beside her bed, were stored a couple of boxes filled to the brim with what seemed to be some files.

“What the hell is all this”

Asked Hans surprised.

“I do it as a hobby”

“You do what as a hobby?”

“The Detective”

“What?… are you for real”

“You think I’m kidding?”

“N-no it’s just… wow.

So? Are these things really useful?”

He asked walking towards the board, and following the path of the red wire between the various photos.

And the girl replied truthfully while chuckling:

“No… those are just there to make this all look cool.

I bought them when I worked on my first case, and now they’re just collecting dust.”

“What? Why don’t you replace them with something new?”

“Well… the case is still open.

It is for me at least”

Her voice seemed to get emotional when talking about it, so Hans changed the subject.

“So? Are you going to tell me about this city’s awakened or was it all just an excuse to go and buy some snacks?”

“Haha, alright, I’ll explain it to you now, but you better listen to me because I won’t repeat it twice”

“Sure”

Even if she initially seemed shy, Clara looked like she was happy about having someone with whom she could share all that.

Her excited look could be easily perceived by Hans even without using his {mystic insight}.

“So… first of all, let’s talk about the big guilds…”

The conversation carried on, as they both consumed snacks and drinks, caught up in the never-ending explanation.

Late at night, Christina got down on the first floor, she had already bid her goodbyes to Hans before going into her room, but she expected him to stay for a bit more.

‘So he’s already gone huh? Well… it is getting pretty late, maybe I’ll take a shower before-

Huh? What’s this noise?…’

Christina walked towards Clara’s room before stopping right outside the door.

“Clara… and? Who’s she talking to?

Wait! Could it be Hans?”

‘You brought him to your room…

Haha, way to go little girl! It’s about time you start appreciating the sweet flavor of love…

Even though she thought that, she took a few seconds to reflect about it, and then took it back, remembering that she had been a lone dog since her birth.

‘I’m getting… beaten by Clara’

To hold her tears, Christina returned to her room and slept soundly, completely forgetting about the shower she was supposed to take.

“… that’s all you’ll ever need”

“Woah… this is crazy, you know it right?”

“What is?”

“I mean, the information you just gave me could fetch for so much if you sold them at the Night market.

How did you even get to know that much?”

“I like to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong, and sometimes I go a little bit overboard, but I don’t think gathering all this information is wrong, thanks to what I’m doing right now, some people who shouldn’t be let free are rotting in prison.”

“What?”

Hans was surprised to hear that, she said it was just a hobby, but it looked more serious than that.

“Yes, when I judge someone guilty, I release the evidence of their crimes, either online, or purposely leaking them to the Association”

“Well… you’re making something good, that’s commendable I guess?”

“Is it?”

“I don’t know, that’s just what I think”

“Maybe you’re right, I hope you are”

The girl lowered her gaze, unsure about what Hans had just said, while the young man’s eyes stumbled upon the electronic clock on her desk.

“Damn!”

Hans got up from the chair all of a sudden.

“W-what?”

Scared, Clara also reacted.

“It’s gotten this late, it’s already past midnight, agh! What should I do now?”

‘Should I just pass by the association even if it’s this late?

I’ve got no choice, do I?’

“What’s the problem, Hans?”

“Oh, it’s nothing, It’s just that I told Preston I would pass by to borrow the keys to his house, but now it’s gotten pretty late”

‘I need to meditate as fast as possible, otherwise I won’t be able to recover nearly enough mana for what I plan on doing tomorrow’

“If there’s a problem you can sleep here”

“Uh? really?”

“yes, there’s no problem.

I don’t know if it’s okay with you to sleep on the couch but…”

“No, there is no need for that, could I please use the beach?”

“What do you mean?”

“The beach”

“What about it?”

“Can I sleep there?”

Along with the house they were resting in right that moment, the six guys had bought a little slip of terrain connected to the ocean, making it their private beach.

“You want to… sleep on the sand?”

“Yes, it would be enough if you could lend me a towel, would you be able to do that?”

“Um… sure, I- I can but…”

“But?”

“This… this is just… sigh… Do whatever you want”

“Thank you”

Hans smiled gently before taking the towel and getting out of the house through the backdoor.

“Hey! Are you sure you won’t freeze overnight?”

“Don’t worry…

Goodnight”

“Yeah… goodnight”

While his stamina had been regenerating since the end of the gate raid, Hans’s mana reserves were almost completely empty.

The reason why mages had it more difficult was so because of that:

While stamina recovers passively over time, to recover mana one’s mind has to rest, meaning they either need to sleep or to meditate.

Fortunately for Hans, his meditation was at a much higher level compared to normal ones, otherwise it would’ve taken him various days every time he wanted to get back to his peak condition.

‘Who would’ve thought that developing the mapping skill and using it just a few times would drain me…

I should really try to find a way to upgrade it because as it is right now, it holds as many uses as disadvantages.’

Hans finally understood why the new {mapping} spell was ranked so low even while being one of the most useful spells he possessed.

It wasn’t because of its utility, and not because of its casting time, even if it was quite long indeed, but because of its terrible use of mana.

When Hans spread out his mana, he obviously couldn’t retract it all back afterward, making him waste up to almost seventy or eighty percent of the mana and the information at every use.

“I will have to fix that but… it’s not the right time.

The only thing I need to focus on right now is replenishing my energy.

And tomorrow…

I’ll see if I can clear that A-rank gate “