Jessica's plight had cast a pall of sorrow and gloom over Wayne Manor.
When Bruce returned to the Front Hall, Danvers was still sitting there, lost in grief. She was truly pitiful. Looking at her from behind, Bruce felt a twinge of sympathy and drew her into his arms.
"It'll be all right. Jessica will be fine. She's so adorable that even a demon couldn't bear to hurt her." Bruce did not believe his own words, but he could not think of anything better to say.
"I'm all right. I believe in the Church, and I believe in Jessica. She's always been clever. She'll find a way to escape." Danvers wiped her tears away and forced a smile.
As a newcomer, Bruce still had plenty to do.
Transferring ownership of Wayne Manor alone was a headache. Bruce had to register the property locally in Lane Village, then report it in Rhode Town. The property office in Rhode Town was particularly troublesome, with complicated procedures, heaps of paperwork, and several trips back and forth.
Since his old horse was no longer suitable, Bruce also needed to buy a new carriage from a carriage dealer, which would make traveling much easier.
There were also furniture, clothes, and daily necessities to buy, as well as renovations to the manor. He had originally planned to hire some servants to bring a little life to the place, but eventually decided against it. Danvers was bound to be in low spirits, so it was better not to invite a motley assortment of strangers into the manor.
It took Bruce three days just to get all those odds and ends underway, and running back and forth had left him rather tired. To be honest, he was still not quite used to suddenly possessing such an enormous fortune. He spent lavishly on some things and pinched pennies on others.
Besides, owning a plot of land was not a lasting solution. He could still exhaust his fortune by living off it, and with money in hand, he kept wanting to do something.
Bruce already had the beginnings of an idea.
He wanted to make investments or build his own entrepreneurial team, transforming himself from a landowner into a businessman to earn more money.
Business certainly carried risks, but Bruce still knew which ventures were worth pursuing and which required caution. Well, he could choose industries with relatively low risks.
Sitting in the leather chair in his study, Bruce wrote a line in the business plan he had prepared.
"The service industry never goes out of fashion."
Next, he needed to read and build up his knowledge: inspirational books, guides to success, and all sorts of business books. Bruce had no idea whether they would help.
An Illustrated Guide to the Southern Continent, A Brief History of the Rune Kingdom, and other books lay on his desk. At the top of the pile was a book titled What Is a Beyonder?
Bruce had been considering the matter of Beyonders all along.
Naturally, the Church's invitation tempted him. It was the quickest way he knew to become a Beyonder, but he worried about exposing his secrets. He also worried that becoming a Beyonder later might prove difficult and take a very long time, leaving him torn.
How spirituality would develop and what talents would emerge afterward were both uncertain. Unknown abilities always carried some risk.
Bruce kept adding to his knowledge of Beyonders.
The Traveler, What Is a Beyonder?, and various other books on mysticism were all on his reading list.
Unfortunately, books in public circulation never explained what Beyonders actually were or how to become one. At most, they described the types of Beyonders.
The best known to the public were the Church's Beyonders.
Believers were the most basic Beyonders within a church: they worshipped its deity, the deity bestowed blessings upon them, and they gained power from those blessings.
Most churches' Beyonders followed this pattern.
Many people believed in gods and called themselves believers of one deity or another, but in truth, they were only halfway there. More precisely, they were merely adherents.
However, the Goddess of the Night Church had another offshoot,
the Night Watchers. Compared with believers, Night Watchers devoted themselves body and soul to the night, and their own abilities were more powerful.
Aside from believers and Night Watchers,
the public was also familiar with certain other terms for Beyonders, such as artisans, hunters, travelers, and warriors.
These names all referred to Beyonders and were relatively standardized. Those bearing the same name seemed to wield powers within the same domain, but the books did not explain in detail why they were called that.
After several days of in-depth study, Bruce finally gained a preliminary understanding of Beyonders.
To his delight, he also learned something else.
Besides the Church, there was another place where he could encounter large numbers of Beyonders, one that was officially recognized.
Isco Higher Academy, in the Rune Kingdom's metropolis.
Isco Higher Academy offered a mysticism program. There, he could encounter all kinds of Beyonders and have a chance to become one himself.
The tuition was a little expensive, though: 1,000 Gold Rune Coins for one year of study. Beyonders and ordinary people paid the same tuition.
Rune Coins came in gold, silver, and copper, with a one-to-one-hundred exchange rate between denominations. Commoners generally used Copper Runes, the better-off classes used Copper Runes and Silver Runes, and gold coins circulated widely among the nobility.
Comparing the purchasing power of Rune Coins with what Bruce remembered from his previous life, a single Gold Rune Coin was worth nearly a thousand yuan. That meant a year's tuition cost a hundred thousand. Just thinking about it made him wince.
But for knowledge about Beyonders, Bruce could only grit his teeth and give it a try. The money was a windfall anyway. Even after spending it, he could earn it back as long as he still had the land.
Everything at Wayne Manor seemed to be running normally.
The deaths of her parents and the disappearance of her younger sister had dealt a series of crushing blows to Danvers, both mentally and physically. Fortunately, she was resilient, and with Bruce comforting her, she gradually emerged from her grief.
Over dinner one evening, Bruce told her plainly that he might go to school next and try making some business investments. Wayne Manor would be left entirely in her care, with full authority to manage it. Danvers did not refuse.
Regarding the Church's invitation, Bruce wrote a letter and sent it to the church.
He politely declined the invitation.
The Church might have been an excellent sanctuary and guide, but he did not want to follow its lead down the path of a Night Watcher. Being a Night Watcher did not suit him, and he was not a devout worshipper of the Goddess of the Night.
Besides books, Bruce also subscribed to many newspapers, which published plenty of the latest news about business and the nobility.
Bruce was a wealthy man who had turned his life around by snapping up overlooked bargains. Since he wanted to enter the business world, he needed to learn everything relevant.
With his understanding of contemporary society, the Rune Kingdom's laws, the public's needs, and the experience he had accumulated under the mature social systems of his previous life, building a business empire unlike anything that yet existed was not impossible.
Bruce indulged in these pleasant fantasies. Admittedly, such a future might only be a nouveau riche's daydream, but unless he took the first step and tried, how could he know whether that path was easy to follow?
People had to be willing to try.
Besides, entering high society would also expose him to more extraordinary things.
That day, Bruce once again stayed in his study until late, as usual. The oil lamp flickered in the room, accompanied by the occasional rustle of turning pages as he hungrily absorbed the knowledge he needed.
Outside, everything was pitch-black. The lights in the other rooms had been extinguished, and the hallway was silent. In that darkness, a small, squat figure crept along the foot of the wall and peered through the crack in the door, studying Bruce beneath the lamplight.
The Vengeful Spirit Doll was relieved that the Goddess of the Night Church's Night Watchers had failed to detect them. Perhaps it was because they were too weak, though they did not want to admit that.
The other ghost hiding in Wayne Manor had also escaped detection.
Either that ghost was exceptionally good at hiding, or its level was much the same as their own.
Probably the latter.
They simply did not know how freely that ghost could move. In terms of mobility, they were currently at a severe disadvantage.
They were a vengeful spirit and should have been able to move freely, without restraints. However, Jessica had summoned them and sealed them inside a doll. They could barely move now, but they would never accept being imprisoned in a doll forever.
As long as they obtained that thing in Wayne Manor, they could leave and grow more powerful as well.
Time was running out. They had to find someone else to cooperate with.
There were only two people to choose from in this manor.
Bruce and Danvers.
Because of what had happened to her younger sister, Danvers was bound to despise vengeful spirits like them. From their observations over the past few days, however, Bruce was deeply interested in Beyonders.
Fortunately, they had been a Beyonder in their previous life, a Secret Prayer, and possessed knowledge related to Beyonders. Perhaps that could serve as a bargaining chip.
In Danvers's room, a brilliant gleam rippled across the dressing-table mirror.
Danvers's face appeared on its surface, wearing a coquettish smile. She reached out to touch the mirror and actually extended her hand beyond it.
"The seal has loosened, and that thing will be out soon too. Wonderful."
In the study.
Bruce rubbed his eyes, feeling a little tired. He stretched and yawned repeatedly.
It was getting late. Time for bed.
Just as he relaxed, he heard a faint sound from the door.
He turned to look toward the doorway. No one was there, but when he lowered his gaze, he saw a doll looking up at him with a broad smile. Despite its ugly face, it had adopted an affable expression.
"Holy shit..."