Chapter 186: Interlude

Chapter 186: Interlude

In the seldom-used alley, the surroundings grew darker and darker. A cold wind blew through in wave after wave. Although it was not like a blade that could cut one’s face, it seemed to possess some magic, slowly yet resolutely seeping into clothing.

Klein, in the guise of Gehrman Sparrow, raised a hand and pressed down the top hat on his head. He saw Miss Magician enter the alley with considerable vigilance, a dark scarf wrapped around her neck, a thick wool coat around her body, and a suitcase that looked rather heavy in her hand.

In the Loen Kingdom, because of the Evernight Church’s influence, many garments once considered to belong solely to men also had women’s versions. Just as in Intis, ladies of high society often rode sidesaddle with special saddles, while in Loen this was not the case; women had their own riding clothes.

Klein pulled his left hand, wearing Creeping Hunger, out of his pocket and flexed his fingers.

“Have you prepared enough draft chapters?”

Forsi suddenly felt cold wind slip in through her collar. She shrank instinctively and said, “Enough to serialize for at least two weeks.

“I have already given them to the newspaper editor.”

Without waiting for Gehrman Sparrow to ask again, she hurriedly added, “I brought a fountain pen, ink, and manuscript paper.”

Klein gently nodded, stepped forward two paces, reached out, and gripped Miss Magician’s shoulder.

Forsi immediately focused her mind. In her eyes, an illusory book appeared, slowly flipping through its pages.

The environment around her then became richly saturated with color. Red became redder, black blacker, brown browner, all interlacing and overlapping, creating a psychedelic sensation.

Forsi was now able to fully adapt to this state. She successfully Recorded this Travel and earnestly observed the scenery of the “journey,” imprinting those indescribably strange spirit world creatures within her mind.

A few breaths later, darkness appeared before her eyes, and she felt a coldness she had never experienced before. Her body could not help trembling lightly.

By instinct, Forsi used a trick to illuminate the surroundings, looking around. She discovered she was inside a wooden cabin. The World Gehrman Sparrow had already vanished without a trace.

What is this place… Forsi looked toward the window and saw something piled thickly against it, preventing any light from shining inside.

This made her even more puzzled. She walked to the doorway, extended her right hand, and pulled the door backward.

Amid a creak, she saw snow—snow piled so high that it had already blocked the exit.

“…” Forsi froze in place. In her mind, Gehrman Sparrow’s earlier reminder echoed again:

“Keep warm…”

In that short span of one or two minutes, Klein had already made a trip to the sea, used a previously chosen prey to pacify Creeping Hunger, and returned to the rented apartment in Backlund, waiting for the Queen of Mysteries Bernadette and Miss Sharron to collect information on abnormalities.

In truth, Klein’s usual style would have been to personally take action in such matters, simultaneously conducting additional investigations to confirm as thoroughly as possible that the witch Trissy had no plan to help Mr. Door escape. But considering that Zaratul was already in Backlund, he prioritized caution and gave up wandering around outside.

Under the influence of the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence, he felt that if he moved about recklessly in Backlund, sooner or later he would run straight into Zaratul—or even Amon.

Sigh. I had even thought of how to disguise myself. I would buy a bicycle, get a uniform, and ride through different districts as a postman… That would be the least suspicious… Klein took a sip of gurgle tree sap brought back from the sea, leaned back against his chair, and allowed his marionettes Enyuni and Qonas to massage his shoulders and legs.

…

In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, within the encampment at Afternoon Town.

After Derrick Berg opened his eyes, he immediately stood, went out the door, circled around the bonfire, and walked to the Chief’s room.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock lightly on the thick wooden door.

“Come in.” Amid the knocks, Colin Iliad’s deep voice came from inside.

Derrick turned the handle and pushed the door open. As he looked toward the gray-haired Demon Hunter Colin, whose face bore old scars, he blurted out, “Your Excellency Chief, I discovered some peculiar mushrooms. They can be eaten!”

Colin Iliad was silent for a moment before he slowly spoke.

“Mushrooms?”

Hearing the confusion in the Chief’s words, Derrick instantly recalled a kind of mushroom he had once seen.

It had come from the abandoned temple of the Fallen Creator. It had been particularly bright-colored and filled people with appetite, yet was extremely dangerous in essence.

His emotions immediately calmed considerably. He gave an “Mm,” nodded, and said, “Yes. Mushrooms—different varieties of mushrooms. They can devour monster flesh and blood to grow and reproduce…”

Derrick gave a detailed description of the mushrooms’ unique traits and earnestly explained what milk, beef, fish, and flour were.

At the end, he solemnly emphasized that the mushrooms had to be completely cooked before eating, and that they must pay attention to distinguishing the varieties that accumulated poison.

Colin Iliad listened quietly to the end, revealing no emotional fluctuation. After thinking, he said, “What other hazards do they have? Or rather, what else must be noted?”

“Uh…” Derrick’s face suddenly flushed a little. “I will go study that.”

After saying this, without waiting for the Chief to speak, he turned, opened the door, and ran out.

Back in his room, he caught his breath, sat down, and began praying to Mr. Fool, asking Him to pass along the Chief’s question to Mr. World.

Above the gray fog, Klein sat in The Fool’s high-backed chair, his index finger lightly tapping the armrest as he muttered soundlessly.

“What other hazards?

“Although Frank’s imagination, mobility, and creativity make even me feel a little afraid, he is, after all, only a Sequence 5 Druid. How dangerous could mushrooms created by him be? With the City of Silver’s experience from fumbling through the dark for so many years, they should be able to handle those mushrooms easily.

“The horrifying mutations in the ruins of the battle of gods, like the Future producing milk and pirates growing watermelons on their heads, happened because that region still contained Earth Mother’s aura and divine power. The true ‘culprit’ was a deity, not Frank…

“Hiss. If the Forsaken Land of the Gods came into being because of the ancient Sun God’s fall after betrayal, then the great war back then would have left behind more than powers related to Evernight, Concealment, Depravity, and Storm. Perhaps certain areas there still contain influence from the Sun and Earth domains…

“This…”

Klein pondered for a while, then manifested The World Gehrman Sparrow and had him answer truthfully:

“…If they encounter divine power of the Earth domain, those mushrooms may undergo unknown mutations…”

After receiving the response, Derrick once again rushed out of his room and ran to the Chief’s door.

This time, there was no need for him to knock. The door opened on its own.

Derrick glanced back at the team members beside the bonfire, entered the room, and closed the heavy wooden door behind him.

“Divine power of the Earth domain may cause unknown mutations in those mushrooms,” he stated frankly, without explaining how he had researched it.

The Demon Hunter Colin’s expression did not change. He repeated the key phrase in a low voice:

“Divine power of the Earth domain…”

His voice gradually lowered until it faded into silence. Only after a dozen seconds did he speak again.

“After we return, we can set aside a region for planting and observe the results.

“Then, what is the price?”

Derrick immediately answered, “The potion formula for Classical Alchemist.”

Colin Iliad slowly nodded.

“This must pass a vote by the six-member council. Once we return to the city, I will push this matter forward as soon as possible.”

Their exploration team would soon return to the City of Silver within the next two days. First, because after the earlier exploration, the survivors and those who had lost loved ones needed time to recover psychologically. Second, because the food remaining in the encampment was limited, and the area around Afternoon Town could not be used to grow black-faced grass. They could only rely on hunting monsters to supplement supplies. Thus, one of the exploration team’s responsibilities was to transport safe food, and they had to rotate out after a period of time.

“Yes, Your Excellency Chief,” Derrick said without pressing further.

He had long since grown accustomed to this process.

After he left the room, Colin Iliad walked to the window and looked toward the bonfire in the center of the encampment.

That fire burned quietly, scattering dim yellow light across the entire camp within the deep darkness. Above it, a vampire, covered in pus and revolting beyond words, was being roasted.

…

Several days later, Klein received corresponding feedback from the Queen of Mysteries Bernadette, Patrick Bryan of the Numinous Episcopate, and Miss Sharron, confirming that there had recently been no abnormal movement of materials or personnel in Backlund.

From the looks of it, the witch Trissy only intends to speak with Mr. Door for now… And this seems to be their first time establishing contact… No matter what, I still have to give a warning in advance. It must be done with enough skill. The more I say, the more likely I am to make a mistake, and I cannot expose my trump cards… After thinking for a while, Klein took out the dead person’s hair provided by Miss Magician, spread out a sheet of paper, and began writing.

“…This is the material you need. It comes from the hair of a bloodline descendant of the Abraham family…

“The provider has one request: help ask that existence a question. How can they free themselves from the curse upon their bodies?

“…Finally, I will remind you of one thing: be careful of Mr. Door.”

Klein folded the letter, tucked that lock of hair inside, took out the adventurer’s harmonica, placed it to his lips, and blew.

After a brief silence, Reinette Tinekerr walked out from the void carrying four bright, beautiful heads.

“Deliver this letter to the seduced fool,” Klein instructed as he handed over the letter.

No sooner had he said this than his heart stirred, and he hurriedly added one more question:

“Can you locate him?”

“Yes…” one of Reinette Tinekerr’s heads answered first, then bit down on the letter.

Klein’s eyes narrowed slightly.