The Mayor's Office.
Mayor Matteus swallowed the pill his doctor had prescribed, washing it down with a glass of water his assistant handed him.
He'd only been wearing a coat when he'd gone out to reason with them that morning, and just as he'd expected, he had caught a cold. But...
"That was very well said," the assistant praised, taking the glass the mayor handed back.
"And very effective, wouldn't you say?"
Listening closely, he could hear quiet conversations from the adjacent room over the sound of the rain drumming against the window. Mayor Matteus could finally let out a sigh of relief, at least for the mont.
Lu Li hadn't changed his mind about leaving; he had only given them one more day to prepare. They could either announce that he was leaving temporarily—not fleeing because of the assassination attempt—or conceal his departure entirely, creating the illusion that he was still in Winnelag.
Each option had its pros and cons.
The first option would quell the public's doubts, but it might put Lu Li directly in the conspirators' crosshairs.
After all, a single musket ball or a well-placed dagger could easily end the life of this legend.
The second option offered Lu Li the most protection, but it could easily be exposed. The Mayor's Office was compromised on all sides, leaking information like a sieve.
"What are your thoughts, Valendo?" Mayor Matteus asked his assistant, his voice thick with congestion.
Valendo's family was one of the aristocratic houses that supported him, and as his assistant, the young man was on a clear path to becoming an advisor in a few years. For that reason, the mayor was generous with his goodwill.
"The second option offers better protection for Mr. Lu Li," the assistant replied after a mont of thought.
"However, we will face pressure from the advisors and the Council of Elders. For instance, they'll frequently extend invitations to Lu Li, and when he doesn't appear, they'll start to suspect we're holding the exorcist under house arrest."
"My thoughts exactly," Mayor Matteus said, unconcerned.
"In any case, my reputation isn't exactly sterling at the mont, is it? From the townspeople to the advisors, everyone is criticizing
for my negligence toward Lu Li, which led to the assassination attempt. And I can expect that over ti, if the conspirators aren't brought to light, the slander and attacks against
will only grow."
"Have you contacted the Inquisition? If so, withdraw the request. We'll wait until Mr. Lu Li returns. Next, replace the nearest guards with reliable mbers of my personal guard. Then, have Lu Li leave through the secret passage in the Mayor's Office. Book him a ticket for the earliest train tomorrow. Where did he say he was going?"
"The Hillerwig Mountains. The nearest station is Wigtown," the assistant replied.
"Prepare tickets to Wigtown station... No, just get them any tickets. Let them get off wherever they want. We won't know a thing."
The best way to conceal his whereabouts was for no one to know his destination. Still, many were aware that the exorcist was deeply concerned about the evil spirit known as the Shadow Maiden, and her last known appearance had been in the Hillerwig Mountains.
"Is there so connection between this evil spirit and Lu Li?" Mayor Matteus asked.
"Perhaps she is the exorcist's sworn enemy," the assistant suggested.
"Still no other information?"
The assistant, Valendo, shook his head.
"By the way, ask him if he would mind if we sent so anomaly users to accompany and protect him, like Katerina and Barry..."
His words trailed off, a flicker of confusion crossing Mayor Matteus's face.
"Who is Barry?"
The rchant's appearance had caused Barry to vanish again, and the suppressed and altered mories of Lu Li and the others resurfaced.
"What was that?!"
Katerina shuddered in horror at the thought that they had spent the night with an anomaly. Prusius was terrified as well; he had been much closer to Barry than Katerina, even pressing against his legs a few tis.
"Is it gone, or is it hiding sowhere nearby?"
Lu Li's expression remained impassive, his calm, dark eyes sweeping across the new room Mayor Matteus had prepared for them. Recalling his ti with "Barry," he rembered feeling that sothing was off on several occasions, but each ti, so crucial piece had been missing. The feeling was either interrupted by so coincidence or dismissed out of carelessness.
"I don't know."
The rchant was the only one in the room who showed no emotion. Even Elder Sister, after all this ti, was screaming again.
"You didn't notice anything strange about him?" Lu Li asked Elder Sister.
Elder Sister didn't answer. She covered her face in sha, forgetting she was even wearing her distorted mask.
Knock, knock, knock—Everyone's gaze shot to the door. Thankfully, the rchant seed capable of driving Barry away, so it wasn't him at the door.
A somber-faced Mayor Matteus appeared in the doorway. He quickly scanned the room, finding no suspicious figures.
"My mories and my assistant's tell us there was a man nad Barry among you, but..."
"I know," Lu Li nodded.
Barry's disappearance had made Mayor Matteus and his n realize sothing was wrong. After Lu Li explained what had happened, the mayor asked in astonishnt:
"And you still insist on leaving, even with this happening?"
"The rchant can drive it away. Or rather, the rchant can see through the anomaly's disguise."
An unconvinced Mayor Matteus summoned so anomaly users to perform an exorcism ritual for Lu Li and also instructed his assistant to investigate "Barry's" origins. The forr yielded no results; not even Elder Sister and the rchant could find anything, so it was no surprise the anomaly users couldn't either. The latter, however, would take ti.
Mayor Matteus then expressed his hope that Lu Li would allow so anomaly users to accompany and protect him, and Lu Li did not refuse. However, the mayor couldn't fully convince the anomaly users. They agreed only to escort Lu Li for a certain distance, refusing to venture too deep into the wastes. And even that was only out of consideration for their employer's status and Lu Li's.
"That's enough," Lu Li said. He didn't object to their self-preservation and thanked them. They owed him nothing.
The worried mayor departed.
"Will it show up again?"
Returning to the subject of "Barry," Prusius tucked his tail between his legs, all four of which were trembling uncontrollably.
"Most likely," Lu Li said after a brief silence. It had already appeared twice; a third ti wouldn't be surprising.
"Can you follow us indefinitely?" Lu Li asked the rchant.
The rchant refused, explaining that if soone summoned him, he would have to leave. It was "the rule."
"We could ask the mayor to put pressure on those people to refrain from summoning the rchant for a while," Katerina said.
The rchant had no objection, so their proposal was relayed by the assistant to the mayor, who then inford the aristocracy.
Mayor Matteus also sent a ssage expressing his hope that Lu Li might make a public appearance, perhaps even attending a party hosted by the Mayor's Office that very evening. It was all part of the preparation for his secret departure from Winnelag the next day. However, the mayor knew Lu Li disliked such events, so he only needed to appear briefly as the guest of honor, just long enough for everyone to see he was safe and sound, and still in the city.
Before the party, Lu Li recorded the "Barry incident" in his notebook, though he wasn't sure if the contents would be distorted, given that his own cognitive mory had been. That evening, Lu Li made his appearance at the Mayor's Office party to show he was all right, then returned to his room to wait for midnight. Two hours before dawn, Lu Li bid farewell to Mayor Matteus and entered the secret passage.
The anomaly users were waiting for them in a special train car. As dawn approached, Lu Li erged from one of the secret passage's exits and stepped onto a cold street. They were all dressed in gray cloaks; such a disguise might attract strange looks, but it was the best way to leave Winnelag unnoticed. The Winnelag Central Station lay just ahead.
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