Crestet Cesimir and Miss Daly

Night, Tingen City Railway Station.

The spacious platform was empty. Only the large gas lamps illuminated the darkness, drawing swarms of insects to circle around them. Luther and Royale followed Dunn onto the platform and looked down. The light revealed a stretch of rails, the sleepers beneath them, and the gravel, but farther ahead, the tracks lay bathed in darkness, their destination unknown.

Why was the station so empty? Were there no passengers?

Luther considered it for a second with a transmigrator's mindset, then quickly came to his senses based on this world's common knowledge. This world had yet to invent electric train lights, and trains were powered by steam, so steam locomotives almost never ran at night.

The senior deacon's train must have been specially arranged, he thought. After all, senior deacons were truly among the Church's upper ranks. There were only nine of them in total, so having a few privileges was nothing unusual.

Dunn told them that the senior deacon arriving this time was Crestet Cesimir, known as the "Goddess's Sword." He was a Sequence 5 himself, but because he had gained the recognition of a holy relic, his combat power rivaled that of someone who had just advanced to Sequence 4.

Sequence 4... That sounded incredibly powerful. I wonder what a Sequence 4 of the Secrets Suppliant Pathway is like... Pah, pah, pah! What the hell does that have to do with me?

As soon as those chaotic thoughts surfaced, Luther immediately snuffed out his curiosity.

I'll just honestly remain a Sequence 9. I don't want to go mad!

Just then, the train whistle suddenly sounded. Something enormous was crushing over the rails, rumbling toward the platform.

Luther jumped in fright, because the sound had come far too suddenly. One second, everything outside had been silent; the next, the moving locomotive was already right before him, as though it had compressed a vast stretch of distance and appeared here directly.

"It's here."

Dunn reminded the two of them. Just as he had said, a steam train slowly pulled into the station amid the sound of its movement. Billowing white vapor poured from beneath the train and from the locomotive's chimney. Under the platform's gas lamps, the vapor resembled an orange-red beast slowly stretching its massive body.

With a hiss of brakes, the train came to a stop. Behind the locomotive, there was only a single carriage.

Amid the surging steam, a man in a black trench coat slowly emerged.

The first thing Luther noticed was the man's hands. On this summer night, he was actually wearing a pair of bright red gloves. One of those gloved hands carried a silvery-white metal suitcase, roughly the size of a violin case.

That suitcase...

Luther felt a tranquil yet terrifying power. It drew his gaze toward it. Black wisps seemed to coil around the suitcase, concealing deeper secrets. If he activated Spirit Vision, perhaps he could see through the mist...

Swish!

The suitcase moved slightly as the hand holding it adjusted its angle. Luther felt the pull on his gaze loosen, and he immediately raised his head, not daring to look at the case again.

The owner of that hand glanced lightly at Luther, then walked without stopping to Dunn's side.

He looked to be around thirty. His golden-brown hair was cropped close to his scalp, and his dark green eyes were calm and deep. The collars of his shirt and trench coat were raised high, covering his chin, while even his lips were hidden in shadow.

"Welcome to Tingen, Your Excellency Cecimir."

Dunn bowed.

"Good evening, Captain Dunn. There is no Crimson Moon tonight, but the Goddess's stars still adorn the night sky."

Crestet Cesimir said.

The two smiled at each other.

"Your Excellency Cecimir, why did you come by train when you clearly have faster methods?"

"Well, if I were alone, of course I could. But this time, I brought along a guest on the way."

As Crestet spoke, another figure appeared beside the train.

She was a beautiful woman dressed in a hooded black robe. Blue eye makeup adorned her brows and eyes, while silver chains and crystals decorated her chest and wrists... Overall, she was bewitching and beautiful.

"Miss Daly."

Luther heard Royale call out beside him. She seemed to know the other woman quite well.

Dunn, however, frowned slightly. "Why are you here too?"

"Am I not allowed to come?"

The mysterious woman named Daly smiled at Royale, but when she heard Dunn's words, her smile abruptly froze. She turned to look at Dunn and asked, "Mr. Dunn Smith, Old Neil has been my teammate for many years. Something happened to him, yet you didn't even tell me?"

"Something happened to Old Neil? What happened to him?"

Royale was startled by this. She turned an inquisitive gaze toward Dunn.

Dunn looked left at Royale, then right at Daly. For the first time, a hint of helplessness showed in his expression.

By the time Royale learned what had happened to Old Neil, they were already in a carriage heading for Old Neil's residence.

"Old Neil is usually greedy for small bargains and likes to joke around, but at heart, he's a good person—careful and restrained... Captain, could you have made some kind of mistake?"

She asked, suppressing her emotions.

Dunn fell silent for a moment before saying, "I secretly examined Old Neil with a Sealed Artifact... Unfortunately, there really are signs of corruption by an evil god on him. All I can say is that he hid it too deeply in ordinary times, making it difficult for anyone to notice."

"But..."

Royale was momentarily at a loss for words. She looked toward Luther as if asking him to stand up right now and loudly announce to the entire carriage that he had seen nothing earlier.

Daly pressed her lips together tightly, and there seemed to be a trace of reluctance in her eyes as well.

"Royale, you know Dunn. He never slanders others lightly. We don't yet know exactly what happened to Old Neil, but it has definitely gone beyond anything normal... We can only pray that he hasn't sunk too deeply, and that he can still carry a clean soul to the Goddess's Divine Kingdom."

From their earlier conversation, Luther learned that Daly had once been a Nighthawk in Tingen as well. Because of her exceptional talent and rapid advancement, she had already become a Sequence 7 powerhouse like Dunn and had been transferred to Enmat Harbor. Still, she often returned to Tingen to assist with cases.

Crestet calmly watched the scenery outside the window. Since boarding the carriage, he had not said a word, as though he were entirely uninvolved.

"But if that's the case, can we only watch as Old Neil is Purified?"

Royale asked softly, her voice filled with unwillingness and resignation.

Dunn and Daly both fell silent.

It wasn't just Royale. How could they possibly be willing to personally destroy their own teammate?

"Perhaps... Old Neil can still be saved."

At that moment, Luther broke the suffocating atmosphere and spoke.

The others froze when they heard him, then all turned their eyes toward him.

Even Crestet, who had been looking out the window, slowly turned his head toward Luther. His gaze was calm, as if it could see through the deepest depths of Luther's heart.