Undercurrents

Inside the room at the back of Harvest Church, finally free from Bishop Utravsky's "shadow," Emlyn let out a breath of relief. Organizing his thoughts, he said to Klein, "The pituitary gland mutation of the Thousand-Faced Hunter and its blood—within the blood race, the asking price is 2,000 pounds for the former and 300 pounds per 100 milliliters for the latter, totaling 2,300 pounds."

2,300? That's cheaper than I expected… But after setting aside the funds I left with Sharron for purchasing the Human-Skin Shadow characteristic, I don't have enough on hand… And Justice's next 'Qilangos bounty' won't be delivered until after the New Year…

After some thought, Klein tentatively asked, "Can you lower the price a bit?"

"No. If not for me, you'd have had to pay at least 2,800 pounds to get your hands on these materials! According to our agreement, you also owe me an additional 150 pounds as a commission, making the total 2,450 pounds." Emlyn shook his head.

Noticing Klein's expression, he quickly added, "In this era, dragons are extremely rare. Aside from the long-lived blood race, you won't easily find such Beyonder materials elsewhere. Even if you do, they will be far more expensive."

That leaves me short by about 1,300 pounds… Fortunately, tomorrow I'll be signing the bicycle company shares transfer agreement with Mr. Flammy Ketch, the buyer Talim introduced. That should net me around 1,200 pounds—just enough to make up the difference. But I'll have to tighten my belt for the rest of the year…

Hopefully, the Hanged Man can sell the Werewolf characteristic soon!

At least the Human-Skin Shadow characteristic and the Deep Sea Naga hair were practically finalized, and I had already paid the deposit. With Sharron overseeing the deal, there shouldn't be any issues.

While Klein was deep in thought, he noticed the daylight outside the window had dimmed slightly. He took a deep breath and said, "Alright. But the transaction will have to wait a few days—I need some time to gather the funds."

"That's not a problem. I can hold onto them for you for a while. Just come find me when you've got the money."

Because Klein had frequently visited Harvest Church to teach Hazel about "fraud" on an earlier commission, he had grown quite familiar with Emlyn. At this point, they could even be considered friends. That was why Emlyn was willing to take the risk of covering the cost upfront—even without a deposit.

"Oh, right…" Emlyn suddenly recalled something and lowered his voice.

"Mr. Private Detective, since you deal with all kinds of intelligence and news, do you know about Baron Larry? I heard he's entered Backlund. If you can find his whereabouts, I can give you a fifty percent discount on those materials."

You… or rather, the blood race wants to get involved in Larry's mess too? I don't know who's manipulating things behind the scenes, but it's certainly not something a mere Sequence 7 vampire like you can handle…

Klein shot Emlyn a strange look before calmly asking, "Why are you looking into Baron Larry?"

Emlyn sighed and whispered, "A senior in my clan says that Baron Larry might be hiding secrets related to the 'Ghost Empire'… And our race's former 'Queen' lost an important item there. If I can retrieve it, maybe the clan elders will finally remove my psychological suggestion."

Are you sure this so-called senior of yours isn't just using you as cannon fodder? This sounds exactly like someone deliberately leaking intel to lure you into danger…

Klein gave Emlyn a sympathetic look before contemplating for a moment. Then, with a serious expression, he cautioned, "Baron Larry's situation is more complicated than it seems. He may not actually know anything about the 'Ghost Empire'… and those tracking him might even include demigods."

At the very least, the White Saintess is a genuine Sequence 3!

Emlyn was visibly startled. Instinctively, he asked, "Really?"

"That's not hard to deduce. The value of the 'Ghost Empire' is enough to tempt even demigods," Klein replied matter-of-factly.

Emlyn instantly deflated like a punctured balloon, saying nothing further—even waving off Klein's farewell with only a half-hearted gesture.

After stepping out of the back room and returning to the prayer hall, Klein noticed that the young man who had earlier emerged from the basement and had been chatting enthusiastically with Bishop Utravsky had already left—along with the other congregants who had finished receiving communion. Only Hazel remained, hunched over a table, copying something.

Hmm, I can't see clearly from here, but just from the way she's writing, it's obvious she's transcribing in Rousselian again…

With that thought in mind, Klein approached Hazel. Even though she was likely just copying down diary pages he had already read, what if she had something new today? That would be a real find!

Noticing Klein approaching, Hazel, who knew from their previous fraud lessons that he was interested in Rousselian, proactively said, "That gentleman earlier heard that I enjoy transcribing Rousselian, so he left behind a new page… Though it's a bit odd—far neater than the usual notes of Emperor Roselle…"

There's really something new?

Klein's heart leaped with excitement. He quickly stepped closer and glanced at the page.

And then…

A series of familiar words appeared before his eyes.

"The mountain is not famous for its height, but for the immortals who dwell there. The water is not sacred for its depth, but for the dragon within…"

This was the very excerpt from Inscription on My Humble Abode that he had used multiple times before the Tarot meetings to "placate" The Tower…

And now, this diary page has found its way back to me… Is this some kind of karmic loop?

Klein mocked himself internally and was about to shift his gaze away when a sudden realization struck him—this diary page reminded him of something.

Wait… this page was just handed to Hazel by that gentleman…

The handwriting is exactly like mine, which means it must be the original copy that The Tower transcribed…

So… could that gentleman be The Tower himself?

Has he finished his business? And even disguised himself to come to Backlund?

With this thought, Klein casually asked, "Do you know how that gentleman introduced himself? I forgot to ask when I greeted him earlier."

Without looking up, Hazel replied, "He called himself Max Specter, a knight…

"That's a bit unusual. These days, most knights prefer to be addressed as 'Sir.'"

Hearing this name, Klein silently ridiculed, 'Moonlight Knight'? Given the similarity of his spiritual aura to Emlyn's, that actually fits quite well…

Hmm, using superhero-style aliases—this is definitely The Tower!

...

In a study on the third floor of the Intis Embassy in West Borough, Special Envoy Mr. Owen took a sip of highland coffee imported from the Southern Continent and said to his secretary, "Bianca has done well… Thanks to her efforts over the past few weeks, I've roughly figured out why the Loen military has been so lenient with Baron Larry."

The secretary, a red-haired man with visible traces of Sauron blood, listened attentively. Though he was currently just a secretary, he was highly likely to remain in Backlund as an aide to the next ambassador under Mr. Owen's recommendation.

"Could you elaborate?" the red-haired secretary asked respectfully. "I couldn't draw any conclusions from the reports she submitted…"

"According to the information Bianca gathered, Baron Larry never actually obtained 'Daniel's Treasure.' The one who truly opened that box was Prince Montbatten!

"And His Highness has since pledged allegiance to the Church of Storms. That secret has most likely fallen into their hands as well.

"But of course, other factions coveting the 'Ghost Empire' won't necessarily believe that explanation…

"That's why the Loen military let Baron Larry escape in the first place and has been half-hearted in their pursuit of him—they want him to eventually fall into someone else's hands so those people can extract the truth from him. That makes their version of events far more convincing than a mere official statement."

Owen sneered and continued, "That was probably their initial plan."

He tapped a name on one of the documents and went on,

"But from the moment this man made contact with Larry, I knew that George III was unwilling to sacrifice his son and was merely looking for a scapegoat!

"Hah, how childish…

"As if someone of Larry's status could ever satisfy the Three Major Churches!"

George III has truly let the President down…

The red-haired secretary had no idea what his superior was thinking. He discreetly glanced at the name Owen was pointing to—it was from a page in Bianca's report.

"This person is… Prince Edessak's butler?"

...

Meanwhile, seated on the royal throne, George III asked his advisor, "Has Owen taken the bait?"

"People always prefer to believe what they uncover or deduce themselves. He's already fallen into Your Majesty's trap," the advisor replied with a smile.

"Excellent!" George III said with satisfaction. "Though he is a member of the organization, since he plotted against me first, my counterattack is perfectly justified…

"And it aligns with the progression of this era."

...

Inside the ancient palace above the gray fog, Klein, seated at The Fool's high-backed chair, received a report from his one and only true believer:

"The fake Larry who commissioned me to monitor Miss Ayesha—she has no job, yet frequently visits luxury boutiques and has extremely high daily expenses. She seems to be some big shot's mistress?"

—While dining at Lina and Shoko's café earlier, Klein had noticed that their establishment was relatively close to the villa where the fake Larry's target resided. So, using the identity of the rogue 'Black Emperor,' he had hired them to investigate. He hadn't expected results so soon.

A big shot's mistress? What exactly is that fake Larry trying to do?