Chapter 611 - 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 forr 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 so thought, Klein tentatively asked, "Can you lower the price a bit?"
"No. If not for , you'd have had to pay at least 2,800 pounds to get your hands on these materials! According to our agreent, you also owe
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 extrely 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
short by about 1,300 pounds... Fortunately, tomorrow I'll be signing the bicycle company shares transfer agreent with Mr. Flammy Ketch, the buyer Talim introduced. That should net
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 dimd slightly. He took a deep breath and said, "Alright. But the transaction will have to wait a few days—I need so ti to gather the funds."
"That's not a problem. I can hold onto them for you for a while. Just co find
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 sothing 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 ss too? I don't know who's manipulating things behind the scenes, but it's certainly not sothing a re 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 forr '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 soone deliberately leaking intel to lure you into danger...
Klein gave Emlyn a sympathetic look before contemplating for a mont. 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 erged from the basent 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 sothing.
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 sothing 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 sothing new?
Klein's heart leaped with excitent. 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 tis before the Tarot etings to "placate" The Tower...
And now, this diary page has found its way back to ... Is this so 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 sothing.
Wait... this page was just handed to Hazel by that gentleman...
The handwriting is exactly like mine, which ans 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 co 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 na, 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 recomndation.
"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 soone else's hands so those people can extract the truth from him. That makes their version of events far more convincing than a re official statent."
Owen sneered and continued, "That was probably their initial plan."
He tapped a na on one of the docunts and went on,
"But from the mont this man made contact with Larry, I knew that George III was unwilling to sacrifice his son and was rely looking for a scapegoat!
"Hah, how childish...
"As if soone 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 na Owen was pointing to—it was from a page in Bianca's report.
"This person is... Prince Edessak's butler?"
...
anwhile, 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 mber of the organization, since he plotted against
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
to monitor Miss Ayesha—she has no job, yet frequently visits luxury boutiques and has extrely high daily expenses. She seems to be so big shot's mistress?"
—While dining at Lina and Shoko's café earlier, Klein had noticed that their establishnt 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?
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