Chapter 44

44 Mind Reading and Family Recognition

After chatting for a while with regulars at Old Char’s coffee stall, Leon, who had come within a hair’s breadth of becoming a billionaire’s son-in-law, still hunched against the chill of late autumn, shivering as he trudged toward work.

All we can say is that the difficulty of adjusting from luxury to frugality manifests not just in spirit, but in the body too.

In his original life, even in the bitterest winter when frost turned faces blue, Leon still rose early to hunt for work—this autumn chill was nothing.

But after growing accustomed to that warm, sweet-scented little tent, merely failing to sit by the fire made him shiver all the way, breaking into a run until he reached the Cleaning Bureau’s building, where he finally stopped, gasping.

“Not bad, not bad—full of energy~”

From the window of the first-floor director’s office, the red-haired woman, holding a cup of hot water, pushed open the half-closed window, leaned her curvaceous upper body lightly on the sill, and smiled as she waved at Leon, her eyes crinkling:

“Little Leon~ How’s the investigation into the Hydropower Company? Find any ‘anomalies’?”

“...”

He knew she was teasing him—she wasn’t asking if he’d found an anomaly object, but whether he’d secured proof of the Hydropower Company’s violations.

Yet thinking of the golden-haired middle-aged man from the Lyon family who had touched the Black Goat’s heart, Leon’s expression flickered slightly.

“Hmm?”

The red-haired director caught his brief hesitation and her smile faded slightly as she asked, puzzled:

“So there really is an anomaly at the Hydropower Company?”

“...”

You figured it out already... Though there is an anomaly there, it’s not the one causing the mass illnesses—it’s one of the Seven Goat Parts lost after the Black Goat’s demise.

The Black Goat may be dead now, but it was once a great demon—and I’m just a rookie. Will the Cleaning Bureau let me keep two dangerous demonic anomalies at once?

“Huh???”

Catching Leon’s hesitation again, the red-haired director didn’t just drop her smile—her eyes narrowed involuntarily.

“You’re hesitating whether to report it? So this anomaly is special? And useful to you? But if you report it, you might not get approval to keep it?”

“Hmm... Let me think... The anomaly you found at the Hydropower Company—wasn’t it one of the dead goat’s missing parts?”

“...”

No... I haven’t even said a word yet!

Watching the red-haired woman deduce nearly the whole truth from two sub-second hesitations, Leon, who had been about to speak, fell silent for the third time.

This is insane... Could she have some kind of mind-reading anomaly?

“Don’t worry—I don’t have mind-reading.”

Oh, so you don’t have mind-reading? Then I can relax... hell no! You’re hearing my thoughts and you say you don’t have mind-reading?!

Seeing Leon outside the window, visibly startled and brimming with suspicion, the red-haired director smiled faintly.

“I’m not lying—I really don’t have mind-reading.”

After placing the still-steaming cup on the windowsill, she cupped her cheeks with her hands and explained cheerfully:

“I used to hunt infiltrators hiding among ordinary people. I got used to judging by expressions and behavior. And you? You wear your emotions on your face. I just happened to guess right a few times.”

“...”

I believe you, nonsense!

Leon didn’t believe a single word of the red-haired director’s explanation.

He wasn’t particularly calculating, but he rarely showed his emotions openly. The neighbors in Veteran’s Alley always said he was quiet and reserved—how could she guess right so many times? She’s definitely lying to him.

“Really—I’m not lying. Your expressions aren’t many, but your eyes overflow with thoughts~”

Watching Leon, whose mind churned with thoughts yet still tried to keep a blank face, the red-haired director smirked and pointed a finger toward his eyes.

“For example, right now—your eyes show annoyance at being seen through, suspicion and wariness about whether I really have mind-reading, relief and openness that you don’t need to hide anything from me... and just a tiny bit of lust.”

Looking down at her slightly open collar from leaning forward, she covered the pale skin with her hand, then stretched lazily and beckoned to the slightly embarrassed Leon with a finger:

“Come to my office. Let’s talk properly.”

“...”

“So that’s it... the dead goat’s heart is in the Lyon family.”

After a truly thorough conversation with Leon, hearing his findings at the Hydropower Company, the red-haired director nodded in sudden understanding, then immediately assigned him a new task.

“This level of object can’t be left unchecked. You should find a way to infiltrate and investigate. As for the reason...”

Looking at Leon’s face, the red-haired director’s eyes lit up, and she grinned suggestively:

“How about family search?”

“Family search?”

“Yes! You even share the Lyon surname—perfect excuse!”

Seeing Leon’s surprised expression, the red-haired director smiled warmly:

“Just show up with your Cleaning Bureau credentials and say you suspect you have Lyon blood. With your potential—assistant-level official at sixteen or seventeen—even the famed Lionheart Duke won’t turn you away.”

“But my hair isn’t gold...”

“Oh come on! Hair’s easy—just dye it!”

“But I was planning to report them...”

“Report all you want! Family search doesn’t interfere!”

“...”

“If you really don’t want to go, I can give you another task.”

Seeing Leon still resisting, the red-haired director, delighted to find some amusement, snapped her face stern and pulled a stack of mission files from her desk drawer, fanning them out with a swipe.

“Blood rain has fallen continuously for two weeks in the Bafali Forest—nearly a thousand animals died of thirst near water sources.”

“A five-meter-tall beast has appeared at the Adolf Estate, destroying farmland and injuring multiple people.”

“Numerous ships have gone missing at the Lyon County deep-sea port—possibly attacked by a large aquatic tribe.”

“A massive collapse occurred at the coal site in the Hunchen Valley—tens of thousands of sand worms may have hollowed out the mountain.”

“The only tasks you might still complete are these—pick one!”

“...”

Strange blood rain, a five-meter beast, underwater sea tribes, sand worms that hollow mountains...

Leon sighed, shook his head, and reluctantly declared:

“Fine... I’ll go find my family.”