Chapter 54: Prelude

Chapter 54: Prelude

Above the gray fog, inside the majestic palace.

Through the prayer light dot of Winner Enuni, Klein saw the scene inside the personal valet’s room.

His field of vision rose higher, gradually extending. The entirety of Böklund Street came into view bit by bit: small buildings surrounded by flowers and green grass, Intis plane trees blocking the sunlight, carriages moving slowly along with decorations either elegant or extravagant, and young people happily speeding past on bicycles.

Finally, Klein locked onto the house at No. 39—that is, Member of Parliament Macht’s residence—and lowered his field of vision, examining the humans and animals there one by one to see whether he could discover a black-haired, black-eyed man wearing a monocle.

Phew… For now, there is no sign of fate being misplaced or grafted… Nearly ten minutes later, Klein breathed out slightly in relief.

Just then, a carriage drove into the Macht household and stopped before the entrance hall.

A young woman with wavy dark-green hair and bright dark-brown eyes stepped down. It was Hazel, returning home from outside.

She wore a dark-green dress that did not expose her shoulders. Her lips were slightly pursed, and her expression, though relaxed, carried a touch of delight.

Seeing Hazel like this, Klein’s heart suddenly skipped.

This was absolutely abnormal!

In Klein’s view, after that rat demigod had encountered Amon’s avatar, the result could only be one of two things: either “he” still had some hidden card and managed to escape successfully at the cost of serious injury, or he returned to Beyonder characteristics and became nutrients used to strengthen Amon’s avatar. But whichever case it was, Hazel should inevitably be unable to find her teacher. She should inevitably feel sorrow, pain, depression, and grief. How could she possibly be both relaxed and happy?

Judging from the fact that she had risked danger to go to the suburban manor and notify her teacher, she was not that cold or selfish… Her current state shows she has confirmed that her teacher, that rat demigod, has had no serious incident. She may even have received some reward from him, perhaps including various pieces of common sense about the extraordinary world… This contradicts my speculation about the rat demigod’s end. No—no, it does not. Once all impossible explanations are eliminated, what remains is the truth… Klein leaned back against his chair, having already reached a judgment:

Amon had not only absorbed the rat demigod’s Beyonder characteristics, He had also stolen “his” fate and replaced “his” identity!

Therefore, in Hazel’s eyes, her teacher had suffered no accident. He merely needed to hide for a while… Having confirmed this, Klein silently exhaled and relaxed a little.

To him, Amon’s most terrifying trait was that no one knew in what method or identity He might appear. It would not be impossible if Member of Parliament Macht one day put on a monocle, or if all the mosquitoes in the garden suddenly turned around at the same time. Therefore, once Klein roughly grasped the identity Amon would appear under, he inevitably felt more grounded.

As for whether Amon might reveal problems in details before Hazel, Klein believed that to be absolutely impossible. After all, this was a King of Angels whose foundation was deception. Even if He casually revealed pieces of common sense different from what the rat demigod had taught in the past, He could easily fool her with an excuse like, “Originally, it was a test. Now, formal instruction begins.”

Of course, according to Pallez Zoroast, Amon would definitely not appear only in the identity of the rat demigod, so he could not become careless because of this… Klein observed for a while longer, then withdrew his gaze and left the gray fog.

Inside the semi-open room with the large balcony, he sat in the easy chair, drank a mouthful of black tea with lemon slices, half closed his eyes, and began thinking about how he should deepen his connection with Qonas Kilgor.

After an unknown length of time, Klein suddenly opened his eyes and activated his Spirit Vision.

At the level of a demigod, he could now turn Spirit Vision on and off purely through thought.

Almost at the same instant, Reinette Tinekerr, holding four blond-haired, red-eyed heads, walked out from the void. One of the mouths was biting a letter.

“Whose letter?” Klein stretched out his right hand, seemingly asking and talking to himself at the same time.

“Sharron…” another of Reinette Tinekerr’s heads answered.

Miss Sharron? She should be making the final preparations before advancing. Why would she suddenly write to me? With slight doubt, Klein took the letter from Miss Messenger.

After unfolding it, he discovered that its contents were extremely sparse—only one simple line of words:

“Emlyn White is looking for members of the Rose School of Thought.”

Emlyn is looking for members of the Rose School of Thought? Klein raised his brows in considerable surprise.

In his view, Emlyn was a Sanguine who feared trouble. Unless necessary, he did not even wish to leave the house. How could he possibly take the initiative to search for members of the Rose School of Thought?

This definitely isn’t Emlyn’s own intention… Mm, Emlyn mentioned before that a great figure of the Sanguine wanted to meet him… Is this a new mission given to him by the Sanguine? Very likely! But why didn’t he mention it at the Tarot Gathering? Uh, he was focused on the punishment operation and also had other clues, so he temporarily suppressed this matter? Klein thought for a moment, leaning forward under Miss Messenger’s eight-eyed gaze to take a sheet of letter paper from the tea table and pick up a fountain pen.

He was not curious about what clues Emlyn had, because the matter was extremely obvious:

Since Miss Sharron already knew that Emlyn was looking for members of the Rose School of Thought and had consulted their mutual friend, Great Detective Sherlock Moriarty, about the matter, that meant the person this Sanguine sought help from must have been Ian, the black-market arms merchant from the Bravehearts Bar.

This indirectly also meant that, during his previous commission, Emlyn had discovered traces of Sharron or Maric. Otherwise, he could not have directly mentioned the Rose School of Thought to an ordinary person.

I do not understand enough about the Apothecary pathway to determine how Emlyn detected a Wraith or a Zombie… Klein crossed his right leg, placed the letter paper on it, and wrote rapidly with the fountain pen:

“This should be a mission given to Emlyn by the upper levels of the Sanguine. They hate the members of the Rose School of Thought who believe in the Primordial Moon and have extended that resentment to the Rose School of Thought’s other factions…”

At this point, Klein paused, then added another detail:

“I suspect the Mother Tree of Desire intends to corrode the Moon domain’s authority, but what I do not understand is why believers of the Primordial Moon would join the Rose School of Thought. The relationship between this hidden existence and the Mother Tree of Desire seems rather complicated. There is hostility, and there is cooperation. It is difficult to guess…”

Putting down the fountain pen and folding the letter, Klein looked at Miss Messenger, who was waiting beside him, and chuckled.

“How did you know I would reply?”

One of Reinette Tinekerr’s heads answered concisely:

“Feeling…”

Immediately afterward, her four blond-haired, red-eyed heads spoke one after another:

“You…” “Have recently…” “Become lively…” “A little…”

“Your expressions…” “Have also…” “Become richer…” “Quite a bit…”

As Klein took out the case connected to his gold-cased pocket watch and removed one gold coin from within, he laughed self-mockingly.

“Always wearing a thick mask is not good for mental and physical health. After passing through the door of demigodhood, I have to pay even more attention to that.”

Therefore, outside of occasions where concealment and disguise were necessary, he had reduced the frequency with which he used the Clown’s ability to control his expressions.

Reinette Tinekerr said no more. Biting the gold coin and the reply letter, she vanished from where she stood.

Watching Miss Messenger leave, Klein leaned back lightly and muttered inwardly:

“I wonder whether Miss Sharron and the others will use the Sanguine to deal with the Rose School of Thought members in Backlund…

“Miss Sharron’s current energy is mainly focused on advancement. She may not get involved, but Maric is not necessarily the same…”

…

Emlyn changed out of the Earth Mother Church clerical robe, put on black formal attire, donned a silk top hat, walked out of Harvest Church, and boarded a hired carriage stopped by the street.

After giving his destination, he casually cast his gaze out the window.

At that moment, Emlyn sensed something. His body abruptly moved, leaving afterimages as he left his original position and shifted to the side.

Then he saw a figure instantly emerge from the void opposite him.

This was a young man whose coat was unbuttoned, revealing a white shirt and black waistcoat beneath. His brown hair was slightly messy, as though it had not been properly combed. His brown eyes were filled with a suppressed feeling, as if he were restraining some deep-hidden impulse.

After glancing at the other party’s corpse-pale face, Emlyn slightly raised his chin and smiled without the slightest nervousness.

“You finally came to find me.”

“You are not afraid that I am a member of the Rose School of Thought, specifically here to deal with you?” the young man asked, his figure slightly transparent.

Emlyn gave a “heh.”

“Do you think I don’t understand the history of the Rose School of Thought, or know about the Temperance faction’s previous defection?

“Mm, how should I address you?”

“Maric,” the young man answered. “Is this information you received from the upper levels of the Sanguine?”

Emlyn froze for a second, then clicked his tongue.

“You are smarter than I imagined.”

In this way, he confirmed the other party’s guess.

Maric slowly inhaled. Leaning forward slightly, he asked,

“How did you discover our existence through Ian?”

Emlyn leisurely leaned back against the carriage wall and said with a smile,

“Humans have the scent of humans. Wraiths have the scent of Wraiths.”

Maric fell silent for several seconds, then changed the subject.

“Do you Sanguine truly wish to deal with the Rose School of Thought’s members in Backlund?”

“Important members,” Emlyn answered emphatically.

“If that is truly the case, I can use myself as bait to help you lure out members of the Rose School of Thought, but I need a confirmation.” Maric rubbed his eyes and spoke straightforwardly. “I know you cannot make the decision. First, return and request instructions from the Sanguine higher-ups. Obtain the necessary promises. Afterward, you know where to find us.”

At this point, he handed over the file pouch in his hand.

“This is from Ian. The preliminary feedback on tracking Ernest Boyar, jointly completed by several bounty hunters.”

Emlyn accepted the file pouch and, rare seriousness in his expression, nodded.

“All right.”