Atticus’s Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground - Chapter 1515

Chapter 1515: Missing Case
Atticus cleared his throat and slowly stood.

“What do you want, Whisker.”

“This is more important. Also, this is not the time to be embarrassed, my star actor! This single thing is what turns many men into best friends. Good old Pounce could give you a few pointers on how to satisf—”

“Ahem. I’m good.”

Atticus shot Anorah an apologetic look before turning back to Whisker.

“Did something happen?”

Whisker sighed dramatically.

“Yeah yeah. Your people are protesting.”

Atticus frowned, wondering if he’d heard correctly, but Whisker chuckled.

“Come see for yourself.”

Moments later, Atticus appeared above the center of the territory. It was an enormous square, with a massive golden statue of him towering proudly at the middle.

The square was usually bustling, filled with citizens coming to pay respects to their lord or simply take pictures and sightsee.

But Atticus saw none of that now.

Instead, a massive crowd, hundreds of thousands strong, had gathered across the square, roaring at the top of their lungs, holding signs and chanting in unison.

“The lord must answer for his crimes!”

“Say no to the tyranny!”

“Protect our children! Protect our future!”

‘What the hell.’

“See?” Whisker sighed. “Protesting.”

“What is going on?” Atticus asked sharply.

“Hell if I know,” Whisker shrugged. “But I suspect it has something to do with the rumor floating around.”

“Rumor? What rumor?”

“Just words that drifted into my ears during my wandering. That reminds me, our people on Eldoralth could really learn from these folks. Damn, have you tasted their booze? The bars here are so—”

“The rumor, Whisker.” Atticus gave him a look.

Whisker blinked. “Ah yes, don’t mind me. The rumor. Apparently, some of these people think you have an uncanny taste for… children. They think you kidnap, torture, then eat them.”

Atticus simply stared, stunned. Whisker lifted his hands.

“Don’t look at me. Even I think that’s insane. Of all the things to believe…”

Atticus turned back to the roaring crowd. Now the chants, and the words on their signs, finally made sense. But he still couldn’t wrap his head around it.

They thought he was some kind of child eater?

How?

“There has to be some kind of basis for a rumor this serious to take root,” Anorah said quietly, then turned to Whisker.

“Have there been any cases of missing children recently?”

“Hmm… now that you mention it,” Whisker said, expression shifting. “There’s been some talk. Around a hundred or so kids suddenly went missing.”

Atticus had never felt like tearing someone apart more than he did in that moment.

“And you didn’t think to tell me?”

“Relax, my star actor.” Whisker waved him off. “They’re not real, remember. And with how fast these people switch from hating you to worshipping you, I wouldn’t put it past them to be a bit dead in the head.”

“Now that it’s reached this point,” Anorah said, “there’s no point trying to point fingers. We should focus on solving the situation.”

Atticus sighed, forcing himself to calm down. She was right. The best thing to do now was to move forward.

He didn’t like this situation one bit. Everything had been perfectly fine just the day before. And in less than a day, a crowd this size had been convinced to turn on him. If this was allowed to continue, their numbers would only grow… exponentially.

He couldn’t afford that.

Unhappy citizens meant a dip in his territory rank, a hit to army morale, and in turn a drop in will density. And without a strong army, how was he supposed to defend the territory?

He glanced at the raging crowd below.

“It’s clear that trying to talk to them would be a mistake.”

“Definitely,” Anorah said. “The best way to kill a rumor is with the truth. Our best option is to find out what actually happened to the missing children.”

“That makes sense.”

The trio vanished the next moment, appearing inside a large office.

Atticus’s eyes immediately locked onto a barely clothed rotund man lounging on a long couch while multiple women giggled around him, feeding him grapes.

“Mm… slow down, sweetie. Let it roll on my tongue… ah, perfect,” the man muttered.

One of the women laughed. “Commissioner, you’re too much.”

Another added, “Should we fetch more wine for you~?”

“Damn,” Whisker snorted, “this is the one in charge of protecting the city? He doesn’t even look like he could protect himself.”

“Wh—what… what!?”

The man jerked upright, wobbling as he tried to stand. The moment he saw Atticus, he paled.

“L-lord Atticus!”

He shot off the couch, his meaty chest and stomach jiggling as he bowed so hard his forehead nearly touched the floor. “Y-you didn’t inform me of your visit. I-I would have prepared to welcome you properly!”

“Do I need permission to see my commissioner?” Atticus asked coldly.

“O-of course not, lord! I am always at your service!”

He whipped his head around and silently mouthed, LEAVE.

The women bolted out of the office like startled birds.

As if their exit restored even a shred of his dignity, he lifted his head and forced a smile, gesturing stiffly toward a chair.

“P-please sit, lord, generals. It is my greatest pleasure to have you.”

Atticus glanced at the couch the sweaty man had been sprawled across moments ago and felt bile rise in his throat. He refused to imagine what else had happened on it.

“No need. We won’t stay long.”

He looked to Anorah, who stepped forward.

“Have you heard about the current protest happening at the square?”

“Yes, General.” The man nodded vigorously, face twisting. “To think those fools would accuse our lord of something so vile… so stupid.”

He straightened, trying to look competent. “Do not worry, lord! I understand why you’re here. I’ll handle everything! By noon, not a single protester will remain in the square!”

Atticus frowned.

Was this man stupid?

On Eldoralth, a protest like this would’ve ended with a few heads rolling. But this wasn’t Eldoralth, these people were tied to the territory itself. Killing or suppressing them recklessly wasn’t an option.

Plus, the man’s eagerness to use force said a lot about who he truly was.

‘I’ll have to replace him after this is over.’

“No, don’t do anything,” Anorah said quickly. “Forcing them to stop protesting is practically admitting guilt. The rumor will spread even faster.”

She looked at him firmly.

“We need everything you have on the missing children. All of it.”

The rotund man blinked rapidly, stunned.

“Now.”

“Y-yes! Right away!”

He scrambled out of the office, nearly tripping over his own feet.