Chapter 58: Handling

Chapter 58: Handling

After watching the deck below for a while, Cattleya left the captain’s cabin and walked to the entrance of the lower cabins. There, she waited until Frank Lee came in carrying a barrel of nonalcoholic beer.

“Captain, want a glass?” Frank lifted that large barrel of beer with one hand.

Cattleya shook her head firmly and, as though making casual conversation, asked,

“Is this, too, the will of the Benevolent Mother?”

“No.” Frank spoke very seriously. “I only think that drinking strong alcohol mixed with improved sedatives for long periods of time still isn’t very good for the body. I hope they can accept a drink that tastes like alcohol but actually contains no alcohol. Of course, this is only an initial result and still doesn’t involve spirits. After all, it can’t use distillation to improve its flavor.”

For a moment, Cattleya actually did not know how to reply. She pushed the heavy glasses perched on her nose and remained silent for two seconds before asking,

“Have you ever heard the voice of the Benevolent Mother or received divine revelation?”

“No.” Frank shook his head without caring in the slightest.

Phew… Cattleya secretly breathed out in relief.

At that moment, Frank casually added,

“The will of the Benevolent Mother is in the wheat forming ears, in cows producing milk, in mushrooms growing, and in every corner and every matter of nature. There is no need for divine revelation to sense it.”

Cattleya’s gaze instantly turned to Frank’s eyes. She found not a trace of madness there—only purity.

She said nothing more, nodded slightly, walked forward, passed Frank Lee, and arrived on the deck.

After focusing on the sea view for several minutes, Cattleya returned to the captain’s cabin, spread out stationery, picked up her pen, and wrote:

“I wonder what you think of Frank’s behavior? He claims that he has not received divine revelation and believes the will of the Benevolent Mother is hidden in every corner of nature.”

This was a letter to Gehrman Sparrow. Cattleya believed that with only this question and one supplementary sentence, the other party would understand exactly what she wanted to say.

After folding the letter, she took out a gold coin and began summoning that terrifying messenger.

…

Madam Hermit wrote to me right after the Tarot Gathering ended… It shouldn’t be material related to the Hidden Sage. That wouldn’t be so fast… Klein was currently traveling aboard a steamship on the Tussock River.

Wearing a black robe, he took the letter from Miss Messenger’s mouth, unfolded it, and read all of its contents at a glance.

This… Klein’s brows immediately furrowed slightly.

Perhaps because Frank had always behaved dangerous and “mad” enough in ordinary times, he had previously overlooked the possibility that this Druid had been influenced by the Mother Goddess of Depravity.

Frank was once sent to trial by the Church of Earth Mother because of forbidden experiments, and afterward, he was even placed on a wanted list… If Earth Mother has not been corroded and the Church of Earth Mother’s operations are still relatively normal, then that can indicate they believe Frank has a problem… However, if the evidence had been conclusive, Frank should not have had any chance of surviving after going to trial… Thoughts raced through Klein’s mind as he tried to find clues based on his understanding of Frank.

“There is no problem with the relevant gestures. The posture for prayer and ordinary praise gestures are different. Just like Beyonders of the Church of Evernight would not trace the stars by making four clockwise points on their chests while praying. At most, they would do that as a closing gesture…

“Other than that small problem having no problem, Frank has problems everywhere. He’s practically like a child raised by the Mother Goddess of Depravity…” As thought after thought flashed by, Klein formed two mutually contradictory guesses:

Either Frank’s contamination was very well hidden…