Chapter 120: Straight to the Point

Chapter 120: Straight to the Point

The sunlight was bright in midair, yet one corner of the cemetery was quiet and cold. Leonard Mitchell suddenly lifted the iron shovel stuck beside him.

Two piles of soil gradually rose higher. The grave was exposed little by little. People occasionally passed nearby, yet none of them noticed anything, as if what was happening here were nothing but a dream.

Finally, Leonard abandoned the shovel, bent down, reached out with both hands, and gripped the edge of the coffin lid.

With sudden force, he lifted the heavy wooden lid and discovered that, at some unknown point, the thick iron nails had already fallen away. Inside the pitch-black coffin, there was nothing.

Nothing at all!

Leonard remained half-bent, silently looking at this scene. For a long time, he made no additional movement, as though he had turned into a stone statue.

…

Inside a hazy dream, Klein saw a stone stele—a stele engraved with an epitaph. It stood silently among many others of its kind, stained crimson by the moonlight.

The scene shattered at once. Klein suddenly woke, confirming that he was still Dawn Dantes and still inside the master bedroom at 160 Böklund Street.

That dream just now seems to be revealing something…

As a Diviner, Klein treated every dream with importance, and this time was no exception. He focused his mind, cast away sleepiness, and attempted to interpret it:

“That should have been a gravestone…

“It represents someone who is dead, or matters related to resurrection…

“Crimson moonlight symbolizes the Goddess and corresponds to concepts such as the Evernight Church and the Nighthawks… If I had directly seen the moon, it might involve the Primordial Moon, the vampire ancestor Lilith, or the Mother Tree of Desire…

“The gravestone being dyed almost the color of blood indicates this is not a good thing…”

While interpreting, Klein tried connecting the contents together in order to obtain an effective and meaningful conclusion.

After serious thought, he began to believe that the revelation from the dream was related to his past, and to the Evernight Church.

Thinking again of what had happened over the past few days, Klein gradually formed an answer:

“Because Dawn Dantes frequently went to Saint Samuel Cathedral, he would inevitably be placed on the investigation list. If Leonard has not yet left Backlund, this will certainly attract his attention, because he knows Dawn Dantes is not simple and that his background is mysterious…

“As an angel of the Marauder pathway, the old grandfather inside Leonard’s body can most likely discover that the gray fog has a close connection to the Diviner pathway, and knows that the corresponding Sequence 0 is called Fool…

“In that case, they can naturally connect it to the Fool’s honorific name that previously spread, believing that I am a member of the hidden organization that worships the Fool. Extending from this line, they can also drag in the one who killed Lanevus and the chivalrous thief Black Emperor, who likewise used tarot cards…

“Adding in the Gehrman Sparrow clue I deliberately left behind, as well as the fact that Leonard was already investigating Sherlock Moriarty before, it is not impossible that he would connect these situations one by one and find the key suspect.

“And my early disguise as Sherlock Moriarty was not especially good. As long as Leonard investigates deeply enough, it would not be hard for him to discover that the great detective resembles his former colleague… So, has he gone to Tingen to dig up the grave and confirm it?”

As he thought, Klein took a cushion, fumbled into a sitting position, and felt that he had already found the answer to the dream just now.

He began cautiously analyzing what would happen next, considering whether he should abandon the identity of Dawn Dantes.

“Leonard cannot tell the other Nighthawks his speculation and results, because he cannot explain the key parts. That would expose his own secret…

“Based on my experience and understanding of him, he will use other methods to guide the situation. This will be more complicated, more troublesome, and take more time. Before that happens, if I find him and warn him again, I should be able to dispel his thoughts. After all, the Church suffered no actual loss this time, and no one died because of it.

“Mm. Regarding Dawn Dantes’s identity, I paid attention to the timing and specifically forged traces of activity in the Southern Continent during the past few months. It is staggered to a certain extent with the dates when Gehrman Sparrow appeared less frequently, and this involves Intis colonies, so verification will be quite difficult…

“In other words, Leonard can at most reach the layer where Gehrman Sparrow equals Sherlock Moriarty equals Klein Moretti. At most, he will believe that I am their accomplice, belonging to the hidden organization that believes in the Fool…

“Heh. In his eyes, Dawn Dantes should be a mysterious powerhouse, half-god and half-human, who can directly detect the presence of the old grandfather inside him. This is significantly different from my other identities.”

Klein quickly formed a response plan. He then turned to consider the matter he had encountered at the East Balam Veterans Club that afternoon:

“Why would this kind of arms-smuggling business come directly to me?

“I have only just established a friendship with Councilman Macht. I have not gone through any tests yet. I am not that trustworthy…

“Perhaps this itself is a test?

“The initial firearms and cannons probably will not be numerous and will not involve very good products. Besides, payment should come first before goods. If I truly have some problem, they will not suffer any loss. They will only have to bear a bit of fallout from this small batch of weapons entering their own controlled region.

“Mm… To them, a wealthy man like me, with complex experiences and deep understanding of West Balam, truly is a very good candidate. First, I have money. Second, I have courage. Third, I have resources and connections, allowing me to sell the arms to suitable hands. Fourth, I have no background among the kingdom’s upper levels and can be thrown out as a scapegoat at any time.

“They should send someone to secretly monitor me… As long as this ‘business’ can be completed smoothly, I will become a close partner of the military afterward… This will help in investigating the truth behind the Great Smog of Backlund…

“The problem now is that I have no substantive understanding of West Balam’s resistance armies or the various tribes… Anderson has disappeared to who knows where, and I do not have a way to contact him…

“Uh, Danitz may have a certain grasp of the West Balam situation… Madam Hermit does as well, and the Queen of Mysteries behind her should be the same… I will first collect intelligence through these channels…”

After making a decision, Klein’s thoughts gradually settled. Sleepiness rose again. His body slid down bit by bit, and he burrowed under the blanket.

…

Underground beneath Saint Samuel Cathedral, Leonard, who had returned from Tingen, arrived in time for the team’s internal meeting.

Soest first reported the archbishop’s conclusion and the gains of several local Nighthawk teams.

“With the assistance of the Holy Cathedral, His Grace Saint Anthony confirmed that the infiltrator was Gehrman Sparrow, and concluded that this mad criminal is still alive, but not in this world.

“That truly is a contradictory statement. I do not understand what it means, and His Grace the archbishop did not explain it either.

“In short, our focus will fully shift toward investigating Gehrman Sparrow.

“And according to the information provided by MI9, Gehrman Sparrow is a fake identity. His earliest origins point to Backlund…”

After summarizing the clues, Soest casually asked, “Do any of you have anything to add?”

Leonard opened his mouth, wanting to speak. But after his gaze flickered twice, he fell silent again.

Soest turned to look at him and called him out by name.

“Leonard, didn’t you say you discovered some clue?”

Leonard was silent for a second, then shrugged.

“That clue has already been ruled out.”

Soest did not press him further. He turned to look at the other team members.

After another round of additions and analysis, he began arranging tasks for his Red Gloves team.

Once everything was assigned, Leonard Mitchell took a list of targets whose dreams needed to be entered and cross-checked, returned to the upper-level rest area, and threw himself onto a bed.

After sitting silently for a while, Leonard raised a hand to smooth his hair, preparing to begin his action.

However, the first dream he entered did not belong to any name on the list.

His target was Dawn Dantes!

After repeated consideration, he had decided to directly speak face-to-face with this member of a hidden organization, this undead monster from the Fourth Epoch, and see whether he could draw out corresponding intelligence.

This seemed somewhat rash, but when both sides knew the other had problems and secrets, it was not a bad method.

…

At 160 Böklund Street, Klein’s hazy consciousness abruptly cleared. He knew that someone had entered his dream.

After brief deliberation, he sat down in an easy chair and looked sideways toward the balcony. He saw a man in a white shirt and black vest, with black hair and green eyes, leap lightly inside. It was Leonard Mitchell.

I have not even gone looking for you, yet you have come to my door yourself… The other Nighthawks are all very polite and knock before entering. Only you climb in through the balcony…

Klein lampooned inwardly while watching his poet classmate approach.

At that moment, in Leonard’s eyes, the Dawn Dantes inside the dream remained dressed in a formal suit, his temples graying, his features sharply defined and full of charm.

Now, the wealthy gentleman’s lips curved slightly, carrying a smile. He made no attempt to hide the fact that he remained awake and had not been affected by the Nightmare ability.

“Did Pallez Zoroast never teach you what manners are?” Klein said in a tone matching the image in the other man’s mind.

Pallez Zoroast… He is warning me again…

Leonard froze for a moment and memorized the name.

He quickly restrained his thoughts and gave a not-very-standard bow.

“Please forgive the disturbance. You are on our investigation list.

“Did your people carry out this infiltration incident? Is this the purpose behind your arrival in Backlund?”

“No.” Klein, in Dawn Dantes’s image, lifted the glass of red wine beside him and took a small sip. “It was not us. It was him alone.”

He assumed a posture as though he did not fear Leonard knowing.

“Gehrman Sparrow?” Leonard asked in a low voice.

Klein’s deep blue eyes, hiding a touch of vicissitude, glanced at him.

“Is that not obvious?”

“What exactly did he want to do? He took nothing,” Leonard asked along the flow of the conversation.

Klein lifted a hand and touched the gray hair at his temples. With a chuckle, he asked, “What do you think?”