Chapter 31: Mr. X

Chapter 31: Mr. X

At 160 Böklund Street, inside the second-floor dining room.

Klein had just taken a bite of toast spread with butter by a servant when he saw his butler enter.

Walter bowed and said, “Sir, last night, someone of unknown origin rang our doorbell.

“As it was already very late, I did not wake you. I merely had the servants take up the double-barreled hunting rifles and stand watch in shifts through the night.

“If you permit it, I will visit the nearby police station today and ask them to strengthen the night patrols around this block.”

Aside from being expensive, hiring a butler like this really has no other drawbacks… Klein nodded lightly and took a sip of the fresh milk that had just been served.

“Very good.”

…

At 39 Böklund Street, Councilman Macht’s residence.

Hazel entered the second-floor sitting room and saw her mother, Liana, chatting casually with the housekeeper.

“Did something happen?” she asked, tucking a strand of dark-green hair behind her ear.

Liana chuckled.

“Someone rang the doorbell at the Dantes residence in the middle of the night.”

“A prank?” Hazel found a seat and sat down.

“No one knows. In any case, Mr. Dantes’s butler made a special trip to the police station this morning.” Liana repeated the news she had heard from the servants.

Hazel gave the smallest of nods.

“Letting the police intervene is the best method.”

“But that is completely useless, because no one knows who rang the bell. There was reportedly no one at the scene at all.” Liana shook her head with a laugh.

Hazel froze for a moment and blurted out, “There was no one at the scene?”

“Yes. Mr. Dantes’s butler seems only to have asked the police station to increase nighttime patrols in this area. That is a good thing.” As the wife of a member of the House of Commons and the daughter of a senior barrister, Liana enjoyed excellent connections within the police department.

“No one…” Hazel repeated softly and fell silent.

After some time, she left the sitting room and returned toward the third floor.

On the way, she could not help clenching her fist and swinging it forward a few times, as though testing something. Her brows and eyes clearly carried confusion.

…

Inside the master bedroom, Klein looked at the large heap of gold coins piled before him. His eyes were full of glittering light.

Altogether, this was the equivalent of 4,000 pounds in gold coins!

After an entire week of gathering funds, Admiral of Stars Cattleya had finally completed the transaction for the Lucky Balance. Aside from these gold coins, she had also paid 6,500 pounds in cash.

To be honest, such a massive pile of gold coins had far more visual impact than an equal volume of banknotes… Klein sighed inwardly while taking the thirteen Loen gold coins he had obtained from Admiral of Blood Senor out of his pocket and throwing them among their own kind.

Only after finishing this did he take out the adventurer’s harmonica, bring it to his lips, and blow once.

Soundlessly, Reinette Tinekerr appeared diagonally ahead, carrying four blond, red-eyed heads.

“Madam, this is the first payment. The total value is 4,013 pounds.” Klein withdrew his gaze from the pile of gold and looked toward Miss Messenger.

He had to admit, he was somewhat curious how Miss Messenger would move away such a large pile of gold coins. He remembered that when she received letters, she always bit them with her teeth.

“Very…” “Good…” “Still…” “Owed…” “Five…” “Thousand…” “Nine…” “Hundred…” “Eighty…” “Seven…” Reinette Tinekerr’s heads spoke one after another.

No need to remind me… Klein squeezed out a smile.

“I will gather the rest as soon as possible.”

Reinette Tinekerr said nothing more. One of her heads struggled to open its mouth.

All of a sudden, the space before her became dark and profound. Every gold coin seemed to turn into flowing water, drawn by a whirlpool as they rushed eagerly toward it.

In only a few seconds, the entire mound of gold coins disappeared.

Reinette Tinekerr’s four heads nodded at the same time. Then she returned to the spirit world.

I still have 8,156 pounds in cash and five Loen gold coins… I can barely call myself a tycoon now… If there really is an investment opportunity, I can genuinely put money into it instead of just raising prices and talking… In that case, I won’t be suspected of being a swindler in the short term… Heh, if I look on the bright side, perhaps later investment opportunities will let me earn back the money I’ve already spent. Money making money is always quick…

Klein silently exhaled and turned his gaze toward the window, forcing himself to admire the street view veiled in thin fog.

…

In the East Borough after nightfall, gas streetlamps were few, and most of them had already been damaged. Darkness stretched everywhere, as if hiding countless monsters and crimes.

Xio Derecha, wearing a hooded cloak, turned into an alley and arrived before an old, shabby-looking house.

This was the new East Borough gathering she had previously mentioned to Fors!

Xio did not hurry to knock according to the agreed signal. First, she lowered her head and examined her clothing and appearance.

Unlike usual, she was wearing a pair of long boots today.

The boots did not look strange, but Xio knew very well that their soles were thick, and that many things had been placed inside them. They could make a person appear much taller “out of thin air.”

This effectively concealed Xio’s most obvious trait.

Touching the concealed triangular spike, Xio pulled up her hood and knocked on the door with a practiced rhythm.

Very soon, she was led into the sitting room inside. She casually found a place and sat down.

After nearly all the participants who were expected had arrived, the organizer of the gathering finally walked in.

He was of medium height, about 1.75 meters tall, wearing a black classical robe and a pointed country wizard’s hat. A mask like cast brass covered his face, giving him an ancient and mysterious air.

His skin is somewhat dark, but not quite brown, like someone from the Fenepotter–Desi Bay region… though that cannot be certain. He might simply have been sunburned… His hair is black and slightly curled, which fits the first guess…

Xio observed him with the attitude of a Sheriff.

The man wearing the brass mask swept his gaze around the room and gave two low chuckles.

“You may call me Mr. X.”

Mr. X… The corner of Xio’s mouth twitched despite herself.

After becoming a peripheral member of MI9, she had learned quite a bit about secret organizations, including the Aurora Order.

Therefore, she knew very well that the Aurora Order’s divine envoys used letters as code names and liked to call themselves Mr. or Madam something.

To her, calling oneself that in front of outsiders felt like actively exposing one’s identity and origin. After all, the participants of this gathering could not all be Beyonders with little knowledge and fragmented experience!

Isn’t he afraid of being reported? No wonder that gentleman from MI9 said that the Aurora Order is full of lunatics and that their behavior can’t be understood through normal logic… Ever since Mr. A disappeared, several people in Backlund have already used his name or claimed to be his associates to organize gatherings for profit. All of them were quickly reported and arrested miserably… Mm, this Mr. X might not necessarily be from the Aurora Order. He might be the same kind as those earlier impostors…

Xio withdrew her assessing gaze and quietly observed the gathering.

She rarely reported matters like this, because she had experienced the hardship of survival as an unaffiliated Beyonder and understood that none of them had it easy. Therefore, as long as no accidents occurred, she would not provide corresponding information to MI9.

But if he truly is a divine envoy of the Aurora Order, then I must report him. They are all lunatics and will bring enormous harm…

Thinking this, Xio watched the others exchange information or complete transactions.

She did not take part deeply. First, because nothing especially interesting appeared; second, because she was saving money for the Interrogator potion.

…

After the gathering ended, Xio returned to the residence in the Cherwood Borough and saw Fors lying there, having applied a face mask said to moisturize the skin, leisurely reading a book.

“How was it? What was that gathering like?” Fors asked, pretending to be casual.

Xio tossed her cloak aside.

“There were quite a few participants, and a fair number of items appeared, but they were still concentrated at the lower Sequences.”

“For a first gathering, no one would directly take out anything good,” Fors said, putting down the novel in her hand.

“Mm.” Xio nodded. “The organizer of the gathering calls himself Mr. X. But no one knows whether he has anything to do with Mr. A.”

Mr. X… A suspected divine envoy of the Aurora Order… Could he be Louis Wayne?

Fors’s spirits lifted. Leaning lazily back, she asked, “What does he look like?”

“He was wearing a mask!” Xio rolled her eyes at Fors. “Do you think my gaze can penetrate obstacles?”

“No, no, no. I mean his overall image.” Fors had once seen a full-body portrait of Louis Wayne at her teacher Dorian Gray’s place and knew the special features of his appearance.

As a Sheriff, Xio had no difficulty reconstructing Mr. X’s image. Then, puzzled, she said, “Whether he has anything to do with Mr. A or not, choosing such a name makes him very likely to be reported. Isn’t he worried?”

After listening to Xio’s description and seeing the portrait she had displayed through her Sheriff abilities, Fors felt a burst of secret joy. She believed that Mr. X was very likely the Abraham family traitor, Louis Wayne!

He isn’t worried about being reported because he is a Traveler and can escape calmly if anything happens? If the official organizations use their experience dealing with Mr. A, they really won’t be able to keep him there…

Fors muttered inwardly. She did not continue discussing the topic and instead asked about other matters.

When Xio went to bathe, Fors hurriedly used her Astrologer abilities to inquire of her spirituality. She overlapped the image of Louis Wayne with the image of Mr. X and obtained the answer that they were the same person!

“It really is him!” Fors sprang to her feet and paced back and forth in the sitting room, both excited and delighted.

Her first thought was to report him to the various Churches and attach a warning that the target possessed Traveler abilities. But she immediately remembered that she had previously tried to hire Mr. World to assassinate Louis Wayne.

“No matter what, I should first ask whether Mr. World has the time and whether he wants to accept the task. I must not offend him.” Thinking of the deeds Mr. World had accomplished, Fors inexplicably shivered.

Once she had made up her mind, she first confirmed that Xio was still soaking in the bath and would not come out for a while. Then she began praying to Mr. Fool:

“…Please inform Mr. World that Louis Wayne, divine envoy of the Aurora Order, has appeared. He is highly likely to be a Traveler and uses the code name Mr. X.”