Backlund, West Borough. Father Ikanser looked at the words on the mirror's surface and finally gritted his teeth before forcing out a single word—
"Yes..."
"Correct answer!"
Cheerful words popped up on the mirror's surface, as though it was completely satisfied with that answer. Ikanser was not using this mirror for the first time, and after taking a few shallow breaths, he recovered. He merely put on a stern face and said:
"Let's summarize what we saw earlier."
"Alright." The young Warlock seemed to understand the deacon's embarrassment and immediately went along with it.
"Although that lady wore a mask, judging by her attire, she should have been Bernadette Gustav."
"Correct." Ikanser nodded. The Machinery Hivemind was no stranger to Roselle's eldest daughter. He swept his gaze over the other members and, only after confirming that no fool was about to ask, "Who is Bernadette?" continued:
"The one who acted last night and killed the True Creator's Divine Descent Vessel should have been that lady."
"But Deacon, how should we interpret the man who appeared later? Could he have orchestrated everything?" A somewhat younger Machinery Hivemind member asked impatiently—though he might also have been trying to cover up Ikanser's embarrassment with more questions.
Or rather, everyone in Ikanser's squad seemed to have maxed out that particular skill.
Satisfied with his subordinate's tactfulness, Ikanser nodded. After pondering briefly, he said:
"The Church of Evernight clearly knew something beforehand, yet they had no intention of informing us. That is not normal. If it was not due to an internal gag order within the Church, then they had some unavoidable reason for concealing it. Your Excellency Saint Anthony specifically emphasized the word 'coincidence' as a hint. That is enough to prove it was not because of a gag order. Perhaps only by not