Chapter 858 (2/2)

Namely, that he was casing the houses to rob them.

“Scram,” His partner added, barring the naked threat that the other police officer had the decency to hide.

Randidly suppressed his urge to laugh. A quick Aether probe gave Randidly a great deal of information about the two in front of him. The bad cop was a Level 17 Brute, likely the more junior of the two. The good cop was a rather respectable Level 35 Constable. With a Level that high, this man must have served some time in areas where he actually encountered monsters.

Or the Orchard had a high-Level Dungeon that it allowed its officers to farm, Randidly supposed. Both made a certain amount of sense to recruit police from soldiers. It meant that they would have discipline and training to survive the dull days, and the physical training to survive the rough encounters.

But Randidly didn’t want to lose his guise of anonymity, and neither did he want to disrespect the police. They had a hard job. Doubly so considering most people could be hiding strength enough to kill them easily. The System made people a lot more dangerous.

It was also somewhat amusing to Randidly that the bad cop had the same Class as Dozer. But there was no resemblance between this small minded man and the brick wall of muscle that had the job of enduring Helen’s tireless challenges for a duel.

Besides, Dozer had obtained a new Class from Nathan, did he not? Randidly somewhat regretted not scanning Dozer during their time together to figure out what it was.

In order to defuse the tension, Randidly smiled and said. “Look, I know I don’t look it, but I’m a soldier. I’m not here to rob anyone, just to do a favor for someone very special to me. I’m supposed to go to this address and take care of the garden.”

At the mention of being a soldier, the Constable scanned him again. His eyes lingered on the stump of his left arm. Apparently, he was satisfied by what he saw, so he nodded in respect of one fighting individual recognizing another. Unfortunately, the Brute’s gaze only seemed to get meaner. In a way, Randidly understood it; this man was resentful of soldiers because he felt inferior to them.

A soldier, therefore, was a chance to prove himself.

“What’s the address?” The Constable asked even as the Brute chewed on his lip.

Randidly gave the address given to him by Neveah. Instantly, the faces of both police officers changed and Randidly realized his mistake. The Constable grew almost pitying, while the Brute’s face twisted with glee.

But still, the Constable gave the Brute a look and asked, as if hoping for an affirmative answer. “...do you have any proof that the owner of this address would know who you are?”

Of course, Neveah’s house was in a very rich neighborhood. It was likely enough for these policemen to see the street name and know that it was highly unlikely that Randidly belonged there. Especially due to his wound and current dress. Which was somewhat insulting to Randidly.

I really need to get shiny new armor from Sam, Randidly thought sourly.

In an attempt to add some levity, Randidly said. “I’m just surprised you recognized the address. Who knew I was rubbing elbows with royalty.”

“Everyone in the Orchard knows where Tia Alexandra lives,” the Brute said nastily, immediately reaching for the baton at his belt. “And one of my favorite parts of my day is getting read of the sickos like you that stalk her.”

For several seconds, Randidly couldn’t place the name. It was familiar, but-

Then Randidly froze. And his annoyance with Neveah quintupled.

She was seriously sending him to prune the garden of that pop singer? The one Neveah had been engaged to using his name and the very same one that refused to continue their engagement when Neveah revealed that she wasn’t him? From what he could tell, their relationship remained amicable, and Neveah continued trying to pursue the girl, but this was fucking ridiculous.

The Constable sighed. “Look, in consideration for your service, how about we just escort you out of the area. Without proof, it’s not our call; we can’t let you near the property.”

Some part of Randidly urged to say ‘Try and stop me’, and then proceed to wipe the smirk off of the Brute’s face. But ultimately, Randidly overrode that impulse. For all that the one partner was a bully, that didn’t mean Randidly had the right to be a bully back. And at this point, Randidly didn’t think they would believe him if he told them his real name.

So he smiled, selected a person some distance away and used Phantom Half-Step. Before the two police officers could move, he was gone.

For all his anger, Randidly proceeded to the house in question and scaled the wall, careful to avoid the sensors of the hover drones and cameras. Truly, it felt like he was breaking into the compound of a celebrity from pre-System Earth. Deep within the winding maze of outbuildings and walls, Randidly found a garden, and even though Neveah hadn’t described it in detail, he instantly recognized the work of her hand.

Sighing, Randidly’s annoyance melted away. Instead, he walked up the garden and rolled up his sleeves. Or meant to. But with one hand, he couldn’t really roll up his one sleeve. So he sent a mental command to Acri and got it to do it for him. And then he pulled a root out of the ground and grew it into an arm that he could use for the gardening.

The garden was filled was different strains of colored chrysanthemums and leaning lilies. They were arranged artfully, hand selected and planted from the look of them. From his own experience with plant growth related to his Skills, Randidly had seen wild things; this was not wild. It was curated.

At its center of the garden was a tall grouping of pale lavender roses. The color reminded Randidly of Lucretia’s hair.

Without any context, Randidly asked a question mentally to Neveah, confident she would respond. Is there a meaning behind lavender roses?

As he expected, the answer came instantly. Love at first sight.

Randidly sighed and rubbed his forehead. Great, his intimate connection was with someone who was at least one fourth a fool. But he had made a promise, so he got to work.