In the café opposite the museum, Leonard, the handsome poet with black hair and green eyes, watched through the window as Abner Brain boarded a carriage and rode away. Only then did he lower his head and ask in a hushed voice:
"Old Man, do you think there's something wrong with this newly minted viscount?"
The slightly aged voice immediately sounded in his mind:
"You're growing more impolite by the day. In my time, disrespecting someone of higher standing meant becoming a living sacrifice."
After that complaint, Pallez paused before continuing:
"There's definitely something unusual about him... How else could he go from Mid-Sequence to Demigod in less than a year? But he probably has nothing to do with what you're investigating."
"Back in Bayam, you said he reminded you of an old friend. You also said he might have inherited something from that friend... You just don't want me investigating him, do you?" Leonard muttered. Then he added, puzzled, "But it's still suspicious for someone so important to suddenly put on an exhibition nobody's heard of!"
"Heh. A Prophet's actions often make no sense at the time, but afterward, things tend to turn out in his favor..." Pallez Zoroast said.
"A Prophet..." Leonard nodded thoughtfully. His Red Gloves training had taught him a great deal about the Pathways controlled by other churches and major organizations. He knew Prophet was Sequence 4 of the Reader Pathway, and that, officially, only the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom possessed its formula.
He couldn't help envying Abner. That speed of advancement was exactly what he longed for.
Leonard sighed. Feeling a little hot, he undid his collar button and asked casually, "If Abner Brain has become a Prophet, that means he belongs to the Knowledge Church... So how did he