Chapter 217: A New Day

Chapter 217: A New Day

“The Twilight Hermit Order…

“What kind of organization is that? Why have I never heard of it? When Mr. Hanged Man explained the common knowledge of different factions to me, he never mentioned even the slightest bit about it…”

Audrey was both astonished and confused. Then she noticed the gray fog before her fade away, and Mr. Fool’s lofty figure vanish from sight.

Her eyes moved slightly, and she swiftly formed a guess:

This organization called the Twilight Hermit Order sounds even more mysterious and unknown than underground factions like the Aurora Order and the Life School of Thought. So unknown that even the knowledgeable and experienced Mr. Hanged Man, who has close ties to the Church of Storms, does not know of its existence…

And the operation they plotted directly targeted one of the kingdom’s great nobles, one of the handful of most powerful people in the world…

Perhaps they are the observers hidden in the deepest reaches of the supernatural world, the true manipulators, influencing the situation across the Northern and Southern Continents. No wonder Mr. Fool pays attention to them…

Last time, Mr. Hanged Man’s request for His Blessed’s help did not succeed because the promised reward was sufficiently generous, but because Mr. Fool Himself was targeting the Twilight Hermit Order…

This organization is just as mysterious as our Tarot Club…

Audrey felt inexplicably excited. It diluted the shock that Duke Negan’s assassination had brought her.

“There must be very few Beyonders who know of the Twilight Hermit Order’s existence, and I am one of them. And our Tarot Club is targeting them!” Audrey stood and walked to the full-length mirror.

Because her chin was slightly raised, it formed an exceptionally beautiful arc.

Looking at the green-eyed young woman in the mirror, Audrey slowly calmed down. For the first time, she felt an urgent desire to raise her Sequence for reasons beyond simple interest.

“Even Duke Negan, a Beyonder under such strict protection, was assassinated, much less Father, who is only an ordinary person.

“Although judging by the family treasury, there are definitely quite a few Beyonders in our household, and although the Church of the Goddess will also provide additional protection, this still isn’t enough to reassure me. Duke Negan’s guards were no worse…

“Work hard, Audrey. Advance to Sequence 7 and Sequence 6 as quickly as possible. Hide in the darkness and become Father, Mother, and my brothers’ final line of defense!”

…

The capital of the Rorsted Archipelago, the City of Generosity.

The Blue Avenger once again passed through the city and docked at the harbor, giving the sailors a chance to indulge and vent.

Alger Wilson changed into a robe embroidered with storm patterns and arrived at the largest church on the island: the Church of Waves.

It had a classical style, extensively using stone pillars and arches, and possessed a towering great dome and two bell towers.

During the early colonial period, those pioneers often had no time to build churches, which brought them exceedingly severe consequences.

Surrounded by tribes, jungles, and ancient buildings, even after they had conquered the locals, they would often die mysteriously, die without cause, die in great swathes.

This situation, which had caused enormous panic, only gradually decreased after the Churches of the major deities were constructed, becoming something that happened only occasionally.

Standing at the church entrance, Alger did not hurry inside. Instead, through the light shining in from the narrow high windows, he examined the dim, mysterious atmosphere within, as well as the warm candlelight that seemed to illuminate only the region where human activity existed.

A few seconds later, he entered the great prayer hall, clenched his right fist, struck his left chest, and said to the bishop facing him,

“The Storm be with you!”

“The Storm be with you!” the bishop replied in the same posture.

Before Alger could speak, the bishop of the Church of Waves took out a telegram.

“You arrived at just the right time. The Council of Cardinals has issued an order. Read it before you pray.”

“What order?” Alger asked casually while reaching out to take it.

With a grave expression, the bishop said, “Duke Negan has been assassinated. The Council of Cardinals has ordered all Mandated Punishers and clergymen to pay attention to anything related to the chivalrous bandit Black Emperor, as well as all events involving tarot rituals.”

“The chivalrous bandit Black Emperor?” Alger fully displayed his astonishment.

He already knew that the “Black Emperor” was Mr. Fool’s Blessed.

The bishop nodded solemnly.

“The one who assassinated Duke Negan was a Sequence 5 Demon, but while fleeing, that Demon was killed by the chivalrous bandit Black Emperor. It is exactly like what happened to Qilangos, the Hurricane Lieutenant, when his attempt to assassinate the duke failed.”

It is not only the outward form that is the same, even the essence is identical… The one who killed Qilangos was also Mr. Fool’s Blessed—another Blessed… Does the true person who wants Duke Negan dead happen to be Mr. Fool? No. If that were truly Him, He would have warned Qilangos last time to be careful of Miss Justice, so that his identity would not be exposed on the spot… Mr. Fool is watching the hidden truth behind the assassination, watching the true culprit? Who, or rather what organization, has drawn such attention from Mr. Fool? In an instant, Alger connected many matters together and formed a preliminary judgment.

He lowered his head to read the telegram and discovered that, because of Duke Negan’s assassination, the Church had formed a special investigation team. Every member was an elite among the Mandated Punishers.

Should I apply to join, so that I can keep track of developments at any time? Alger hesitated briefly.

In the end, he still decided to follow his original plan and develop himself quietly.

…

On a new day, Klein slept until he woke naturally. Then he leisurely rose, washed up, and went downstairs.

He did not hurry to prepare breakfast. Instead, he habitually opened the door, bathed in the thin fog, and took the day’s newspapers from the mailbox.

“What is this?” Suddenly, he discovered a thick envelope tucked inside the newspaper. It was not exactly light.

Pinching the surface, Klein’s mind instantly flashed with the fragrant smell of ink on banknotes.

His spiritual intuition told him that the envelope contained a sizable amount of cash.

He carefully opened it and pulled out the stack of one-pound notes.

After counting them, he confirmed that there were 1,000 pounds in banknotes altogether.

“So this is the bounty from the Machinery Hivemind… This is what they called discreet delivery? How can they be so relaxed about it? They just left it in the mailbox? What if it had been stolen?” Delighted, Klein could not help complaining.

With this money, and now that he was no longer under the Machinery Hivemind’s covert protection, he could go find the vampire Emlyn White and complete their previous transaction!

After breakfast, Klein immediately put on his overcoat, wore his hat, picked up his cane, tucked a newspaper beneath his arm, and went out.

On his way to the public carriage stop, he saw his landlady, Mrs. Starling Summer, directing a maid to load luggage into the carriage before her door.

“Good morning, Mrs. Summer,” Klein greeted with a smile.

Starling gave a reserved smile and returned the greeting.

Her mental state seems to have recovered… I wonder what she encountered before… Curious, Klein asked, “Where are you going?”

“The New Year is approaching. Mary gave Luke his holiday ahead of time, so we plan to welcome the new year at Desi Bay,” Starling said on her own initiative. “Sigh. We’ve already been to all those cities and famous seaside towns. This time, we plan to go to Feneport. The scenery in the city of Seville is said to be very nice.”

Klein cooperated by responding, “How enviable.”

“And you, Detective Moriarty? Where do you plan to spend the New Year?” Starling asked with a smile.

Most likely staying here… Oh right, I need to prepare tools and patch the hole Stuart shot into the wall before… The corners of Klein’s mouth rose.

“I’ll go back to the Midseashire. Winter there has a different flavor.”

Starling’s smile became even more obvious.

“I hope that in a future New Year, we might meet at Desi Bay.”

…

South Borough of the Bridge, Rose Street, Harvest Church.

The moment Emlyn White saw Detective Sherlock Moriarty, who wore a black wool coat, enter, he smiled while carefully wiping a candleholder.

He smoothed his hair, lifted his chin, walked over, and said in a low voice,

“I have information about Jason Beria. One of the Sanguine knows him.”

“I have information about him too.” Smiling, Klein handed over the newspaper he was holding. The front-page headline read:

“Yesterday, the Honorable Duke Negan Was Assassinated; a True Demon Ravaged the Earth.”

Beneath the headline was a detailed account of the assassination that had happened the day before, stating that the culprit was a banker named Patrick Jason, that he had been killed on the spot, and that the terrorist organization Aurora Order had claimed responsibility.

When Klein had first read the news during breakfast earlier, he had nearly sprayed milk from his mouth.

At first, he thought Mr. A of the Aurora Order had lost his mind, snatching responsibility even for something like this. But after thinking it over, he felt that it was more likely an official cover-up.

If the Twilight Hermit Order really is the ancient organization Emperor Roselle joined, they should be extremely hostile toward the Aurora Order. After all, they detest the True Creator… This thought suddenly flashed through Klein’s mind.

Emlyn looked at the newspaper repeatedly with a blank expression and said in disbelief, “In other words, the information I obtained is useless?”

“In theory, yes.” Klein looked at Mr. Vampire sympathetically. “However, the official organizations are still investigating the mastermind behind Jason Beria. If your information points in that direction, it should still be sellable.”

As for Klein himself, of course, he no longer wanted to get involved in this matter.

“No… He only knew Jason Beria and knew some of his hobbies.” Emlyn sighed.

Seeing his reaction, Klein asked in amusement, “Do you usually not read newspapers?”

Such a huge matter, and he had only learned of it now!

Emlyn gave him a strange glance.

“Why would I read newspapers?

“I’m very busy.”

Busy cleaning at Harvest Church, busy going home to keep your dolls company, busy thinking of ways to trick others into giving you blood… You truly are a vampire of the new era… Klein opened his mouth and, with his Clown abilities, forcibly suppressed the laughter that was about to escape.

He did not tease Emlyn White, and instead said seriously, “I’ve already gathered the pounds needed for those two materials.

“When can you give them to me?”