Chapter 206: Wish

Chapter 206: Wish

Polymath… Just from the name, that Sequence sounds a little powerful… Sequence 7 of the Reader pathway is called Keeper of Knowledge or Detective. It belongs to a “profession” focused on mastery of knowledge and reasoning ability, with at most decent hand-to-hand combat and weapon-use skills added on. It cannot be considered especially formidable. But at Sequence 6, it seems to undergo a qualitative change all at once, especially in the field of supernatural combat… It seems every Beyonder pathway has such a turning point below the High Sequences, though it does not fall at a fixed Sequence. For example, in the Seer pathway, that turning point is Sequence 7 Magician… Klein drank a mouthful of hot coffee. He did not continue probing into another person’s Sequence secrets and instead smiled.

“Mr. Stanton, you seem very relaxed, not tense or worried at all.”

Isengard did not answer directly. He put down his knife and fork, took out his pipe, and said, “Do you mind?”

Actually, I mind a little. But Backlund’s pollution and fog are already this severe; breathing in a bit more secondhand smoke probably won’t make it worse… Klein shook his head and smiled.

“Does it help you think?”

“More accurately, it’s a habit. Every day after breakfast, I’m used to doing this.” Isengard prepared his pipe and took a deep breath.

As the smoke drifted out, he sighed.

“Fear, tension, and worry do not help us face threats. Since that is the case, why not relax a little? The brain becomes more active that way. My assistant was precisely too prone to worry, which led to that fatal disaster. Sigh…”

Isengard glanced at Kaslana and continued, “Moreover, our opponent is an Apostle of Desire. Overly intense emotions must absolutely be forbidden.”

At this point, he gave a soft laugh.

“Most importantly, it is not as if we have no other way to lock onto the Apostle of Desire.”

“What method?” Kaslana put down her final slice of bacon and asked seriously.

Isengard took a puff from his pipe and laughed self-deprecatingly.

“When discussing such topics, I still prefer an easy chair.

“Demons possess premonitions of danger, but they are not good at divination and prophecy. Therefore, if the Apostle of Desire wants to find out who the main targets of revenge are, he must actively investigate the situation and gather information. Otherwise, how could he know that a group of private detectives made outstanding contributions in the serial murder case? How could he accurately lock onto you and me?

“In that process, he would certainly have to deal with many people. Even if he disguised himself, he would leave behind some traces. Combined with the blurry image provided by the Machinery Hivemind, those traces can form clues.

“Similarly, if he wanted to attack me, he had to find out where I lived, my schedule and movement patterns, and whether I was under the protection of powerful official Beyonders. That required a considerable period of observation and corresponding inquiries. It likewise required interacting with other people and fixed locations. Heh, once there is interaction, clues will exist.

“One of my favorite maxims is: wherever one has passed, traces will be left behind.”

I know that line. Emperor Roselle said it… Klein smiled.

Immediately afterward, he felt somewhat emotional, because this was the second time he had heard someone mention that phrase in this world.

The previous time, he had still been in Tingen.

Kaslana, whose cheek muscles sagged slightly, sighed.

“As expected of a great detective. I did not think of any of those things. Your observation and reasoning abilities are worthy of admiration.”

Isengard smiled in response.

“Everyone has their own area of expertise. In pure hand-to-hand combat, I would be defeated by you again and again.

“Sherlock should also have thought of the things I just mentioned. He likewise possesses outstanding observational and deductive ability. He is an excellent detective.”

Actually, when you were speaking so confidently just now, I somehow felt a little ashamed… Klein squeezed out a smile.

“No. You are a great detective worthy of the name, while I am still far from that.”

“You truly are a humble young man,” Isengard said with emotion.

He smiled and changed the subject. “Next, we will begin from these angles. You will need to mobilize your own resources and information channels.”

Aside from matters related to the Tarot Club, a full one-third of my resources and channels in Backlund come from you, old man… Klein forced a smile and replied, “All right.”

Other than the Beyonder gathering organized by Eye of Wisdom, the only ones he could turn to were Maric and Miss Sharron, the vampire Emlyn White, and Father Utravsky.

With the Machinery Hivemind secretly protecting me, Miss Sharron and Maric have to be excluded immediately… As for Emlyn the vampire, I can still meet him. He’s currently half a believer of the Mother Earth and is protected by Bishop Utravsky. He won’t be subject to targeted elimination by official Beyonders… Klein instantly decided on his direction afterward.

Kaslana was silent for several seconds before saying, “No problem.”

Klein spread the remaining cream onto the last piece of toast and unhurriedly chewed and swallowed it before asking, “Mr. Stanton, you mentioned the activation of a certain Sealed Artifact earlier. Can it help us deal with the Apostle of Desire?”

“Yes. In the previous incident, when that demon dog was found and surrounded, it played a crucial role,” Isengard answered frankly. “Its codename is 1-42.”

1-42? A Grade 1 Sealed Artifact: highly dangerous, usable in limited fashion. Even the Backlund diocese should only keep one or two of those… The corresponding description instantly flashed through Klein’s mind, and he asked with interest, “What kind of object is it? What abilities and negative effects does it have?”

Isengard smiled.

“That is a secret of the Church of the Evernight Goddess. I am not clear on it. I only know that it originally was not in Backlund. It was urgently sent here because of that serial murder case.

“Supposedly, it is a silver full-body suit of armor stained with small patches of dried dark-red blood. It once directly caused the destruction of a small city, killing more than a hundred thousand people.”

“A cursed armor?” Klein asked in the manner of naming it.

Isengard exhaled smoke and shook his head gravely.

“Perhaps it is not a curse. Some call it the Mad Armor, others the Bloodthirsty Armor. Within our Church, there was once speculation that the blood staining its surface might come from a deity of an even older age.

“When it was first discovered, it showed no abnormalities. It was treated as a simple antique, bought, sold, and collected.

“But as time passed, those who had come into contact with it died one after another. Their deaths were extremely horrifying, almost as if they had been dismembered. Later, with it as the center, death began spreading outward and no longer required contact. Because of this, a small city was destroyed.

“This event occurred in the early Fifth Epoch. The follow-up handling was carried out by the Nighthawks.”

As expected of a Beyonder from the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom. He knows enough history and supernatural incidents… Klein silently praised him.

Kaslana, however, asked with some concern, “Will it bring danger to us?”

“The Church of the Evernight Goddess has definitely found the correct sealing method, but for our part, if we can avoid contact with it, we should avoid it as much as possible,” Isengard said, half comforting and half warning.

After breakfast, Klein and Isengard entered the sitting room where the battle had previously occurred, while Kaslana first went to the washroom.

Watching her retreating figure, Klein said thoughtfully, “She seems to be a Beyonder of the Arbiter pathway?”

“Your observational ability is indeed excellent.” Isengard sat down in the easy chair.

As Klein walked toward the single sofa, he muttered in puzzlement, “This pathway is strictly controlled by the royal family, the military, and ancient nobles. Very few formulas or materials circulate outside. Does Kaslana have some background in that regard?”

Isengard smiled.

“Clearly.

“But if, even at this point, she still has not voluntarily mentioned the corresponding matter, then it means there are indeed certain inconvenient reasons.”

He looked at Klein with smiling eyes. The implication seemed to be: are you not the same?

Klein laughed dryly twice and sat down.

After waiting a while, Kaslana entered the sitting room. She continued discussing the Apostle of Desire with Klein and Isengard.

As they talked, her expression suddenly dimmed, and she sighed.

“This is the most dangerous incident I have ever been involved in. I don’t know whether I’ll survive to the end. If, if I am killed by the Apostle of Desire, I hope the following line can be written on my tombstone:

“She had a great mother.”

Kaslana’s voice grew quieter. A touch of gentleness entered her usually hard and unapproachable air.

Isengard nodded with deep agreement.

“This is likewise the most dangerous enemy I have ever faced.”

He immediately smiled and said, “If I die because of this, and you survive, would you be willing to help deliver my relics to Lenburg, to the Temple of Knowledge?”

…Stop planting death flags like mad! Klein’s mouth fell half open, and he did not know how to stop the two detectives before him.

“No problem, but I hope that day never comes,” he said, doing his utmost to defuse the mood.

Isengard glanced at him and asked with considerable curiosity, “What about you, Sherlock? If you were killed by the Apostle of Desire, what wish would you want others to fulfill for you?”

…Revive me! Klein sighed.

“I hope to be buried in a cemetery with pleasant scenery. Preferably, my corpse will be intact, sprinkled with holy water and flowers…”

The core meaning of his words was:

Do not cremate me!

The three fell silent at the same time. Only when the clear ringing of the doorbell sounded from outside did the silence end.

The visitor was the Machinery Hivemind deacon named Ikanser Bernard. His stubborn hair squeezed out from beneath the brim of his hat, giving his sharply defined, masculine face an indescribably disheveled look.

This time, he did not carry the strange silver mirror named Arrodes. Who knew where he had tucked it away?

If I get the chance, I wouldn’t mind using that magic mirror once to see what kind of reaction my loyal and humble servant would give… Klein naturally thought.

Ikanser did not enter the room. Standing there, he looked at the trio of detectives and said in a low voice, speaking very quickly,

“We have a lead on the Apostle of Desire!”