Dear Heroes, I really am a Villain
Chapter 87: Strauss Interrogation End

Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Strauss Interrogation End

Strauss looked at Switch, then let out a sigh. "I’m not here to debate with you, Ms. Switch. I’m here to do my job. How about you let me do it, and I’ll be on my way. How about that?"

"Let you do your job? Like yesterday, when you showed up with more than ten enhanced enforcers trying to arrest us?" This time, Ricardo chimed in.

Strauss stared directly into Ricardo’s eyes. "The first step to interrogating a criminal is arresting them. Besides, I remember you and your gang beat all of my enforcers. I don’t know who trained you, but he’s good—because you all made my best enforcers look like mall cops."

He said this without even trying to conceal the mix of disdain and grudging respect in his eyes.

"Yes, and if it weren’t for that old man, we would’ve beaten you too!" Ricardo snapped back, returning the same contemptuous glare.

"Beat me, and you’ll have a top-twenty hero on the global ranking breathing down your neck, Mr. Navarro. Your boss is already labeled a villain—he has an entire IHB division dedicated to monitoring him. Don’t make me put your name on the watch list. You won’t like it, Mr. Navarro," Strauss replied matter-of-factly.

"You motherf—" Ricardo was about to lash out.

"Mr. Ricardo, please... It’s okay. I got this," Maximilian said with a disarming smile as he sat across from Strauss and Oldcowboy.

"You seem to really want leverage over me, Officer," Maximilian said, starting the conversation with a smile.

"Oh? What makes you think that?" Strauss asked.

"The moment you walked through the door, you deliberately started provoking both Ms. Switch and Mr. Ricardo. Also, Oldcowboy has been on guard the entire time, his right hand hovering near his holster and his left always close to you. He’s positioned to either pull you back or push you away in case something happens."

Maximilian paused, turning toward Oldcowboy.

"Isn’t that right, Oldcowboy?" he asked.

"Hahahaha! Too bad, the lad figured out your trick, Mr. Strauss," Oldcowboy laughed heartily.

"He may have figured it out, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop doing my job, Mr. Blackwood," Strauss replied. Then he reached into the inner pocket of his suit and took out his badge.

"Heinrich Strauss. IHB Officer. Level 9. Please cooperate with us," he said, showing the badge to Maximilian.

"I’ll start. Since both of your acquaintances didn’t say much about you—especially regarding the incident where you killed the Iron Tusk Tribe’s High Priestess Behemoth—please tell us everything that happened," Strauss requested.

"Of course, Officer. It’s not a secret. Here’s what happened," Maximilian said, then began to recount everything to Strauss.

He started with the fabricated story about his brother, Maximilian, who had asked him to follow a lead related to the whereabouts of Blood Mongoose’s daughter.

Then, he told Strauss about the events that occurred during the expedition. Switch chimed in from time to time, especially during the part about Honiahaka’s death. She believed she was responsible for it since she was the one who initiated the expedition in the first place.

Next came the betrayal by both Radio and Doc, particularly Radio, who had turned out to be a mutant disguised as a human and living in Arkadia. What’s more, she was the mutant High Priestess of the Iron Tusk Tribe.

When Maximilian reached the part about Radio’s true identity, Strauss grew visibly interested. He took notes and even showed that he was recording the testimony, perhaps to lobby someone later or simply to keep official records as evidence.

Then came the part where Maximilian described killing the High Priestess’s Behemoth. This section grabbed Strauss’s full attention. He was especially intrigued by the martial arts techniques Maximilian claimed to have used, although he maintained a healthy dose of skepticism.

In this day and age, where EF (Evolution Factor) abilities dominate the power structure, some EF users are considered more valuable and powerful than an entire army of regular soldiers and conventional weaponry.

For example, Atlas, believed to be the strongest hero on Earth, is also one of the leaders of the UEC and a major figure in erasing national borders and promoting global unity. Under his influence, the world now acknowledges only one race: humanity. This sentiment has gained widespread public support since mankind survived the alien invasion.

Returning to the topic, it was telling that Strauss didn’t take any notes when Maximilian mentioned martial arts. Clearly, Strauss wasn’t buying the explanation. He likely assumed it was just another EF ability that Maximilian was trying to downplay.

"Mr. Graham, I need to collect a blood sample from you as part of this case. It’s required under UEC security protocols. Please comply. And the two of you as well," he added, nodding toward Switch and Ricardo. "I need to confirm that neither of you are mutants."

Strauss delivered the request in a no-nonsense tone.

Upon hearing this, Maximilian frowned, and Strauss noticed.

{Athel, if this guy takes my blood, will he be able to detect the EF I inherited from Blood Mongoose and Shadow Thief?} he asked silently.

[No, he won’t detect it. It’s scientifically impossible to extract anything from your blood. The powers you’ve gained reside within your soul, not in your bodily functions like standard EF does,] Atherna explained.

{That’s good. Thank you, Athel.}

[You’re welcome. (´∀`)]

After receiving the answer, Maximilian’s frown vanished. Strauss noticed the change but didn’t say anything. He simply assumed Maximilian didn’t like the idea but chose to comply anyway, which, in his view, was perfectly normal.

"Of course you can," Maximilian replied.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Strauss said, then called for the team waiting outside to come in and perform the blood tests.

When a group of agents in white lab coats entered the café, Switch made a face like she’d just bitten into a fly.

"It seems the officer has prepared for everything. You even stationed your agents outside," Switch complained, but Strauss ignored her.

Hearing this, Maximilian chuckled. "It’s not just that. I noticed a group of people monitoring this place the moment I arrived. I assume they’re your people, Mr. Strauss," Maximilian said, casually revealing that he had spotted the surveillance team.

"Oh? You noticed that?" Strauss was slightly surprised. The team assigned to monitor the area was known for their ability to conceal their presence. If Maximilian had noticed them, it either meant he had exceptionally sharp senses, or his team had made a mistake.

"You don’t seem to be concerned about being monitored. Why is that?" Strauss asked, curious.

"Maybe because I didn’t detect any intrusion. As long as no one breaks into my home, I don’t mind. They can’t do anything more than watch," Maximilian said calmly.

But inside, he was gritting his teeth. If he isn’t playing the role of "Max," he would’ve already cursed Strauss to hell and back.

The only reason Maximilian hadn’t crashed their party was because he suspected the surveillance team was affiliated with the UEC or some organization connected to them. He didn’t want to stir up a hornet’s nest and make his life harder than it needed to be.

As long as they kept their distance and didn’t enter his home, he could tolerate them, thinking of them as little more than perverts with mental issues who would probably has a stroke if they couldn’t keep peeping at him.

If it had been some gang or unaffiliated group without government backing, he would’ve already made them wish they were dead.

That didn’t mean he was afraid of them, far from it. If they crossed the line and pushed him to the point where staying here no longer seemed worthwhile, they would receive a parting gift from him. A gift they wouldn’t forget for the rest of their lives.

After that, Strauss instructed the agents to take blood samples from Maximilian, Switch, Ricardo, and the rest of the gang members.

Once everything was completed and the agents had returned to the lab, Strauss showed no intention of leaving the café.

"Oi! Get out of here already. Don’t you know you’re hampering our work?" Switch said bluntly, right to Strauss’s face, but he ignored her. Oldcowboy, however, chuckled in amusement.

"There’s one more thing, Mr. Graham. Your brother... Maximilian Sterling Graham."

The mention of Maximilian’s other persona caught Ricardo’s attention. He looked sharply at Strauss, then worriedly at Maximilian, who always seemed like the polar opposite of his infamous brother—the same brother marked as a villain by the IHB.

"Where is he?" Strauss asked.

[He’s in front of you~ Grumpy boy. (◕ヮ◕) ] Atherna chimed in with a sing-song voice, making Maximilian smile wryly.

"I’m sorry, Officer. I don’t know where he is," Maximilian said, the wry smile still lingering on his face.

[Liar~ (＾3＾）]

{Ugh... Shut up.}

Strauss noticed Maximilian’s smile—it didn’t seem intentional, more like a reaction he couldn’t help. A weary, slightly annoyed smile that comes from having to tolerate someone’s antics for far too long.

’I see... Max doesn’t seem to be in conflict with his brother, but maybe... he’s just tolerating him. I wonder if I can take advantage of that. It would be ideal if I could pull this "Max" to my side and have him report Maximilian to me’ Strauss thought.