Chapter 36

112

There was roughly an hour left until Roselle's death.

Since he had no intention of helping him, Edward was the only relaxed person amid the tension threatening to erupt at any moment. This court conference was even more hostile than usual. Frightened officials and guards hurried back and forth around him, deciphering messages and coded phrases to report to their masters.

The uneasy nobles, meanwhile, put on an air of assured victory and exchanged a few words with him. How was the conference going? What of His Majesty and the churches' emissaries? Oh, of course we were loyal to His Majesty! What was your opinion, my lord Earl?

Edward answered them leisurely, taking in all their different reactions: confusion, relief, fear, anxiety. Almost no one could remain calm, terrified that they had backed the wrong side and would lose everything.

Everyone dutifully remained at their posts, each harboring their own concerns as they waited for the other shoe to drop. This was the end that awaited the Black Emperor. It was like a grand drama finally reaching its last act, a sweeping final testament finally awaiting its author's signature. Everyone held their breath and craned their necks, waiting to admire the fall of greatness. Who could bear to interrupt it at a moment like this?

Edward certainly would not. The Monarch of Decay had bought his front-row seat long ago. Had he wanted to help, he could have acted on the night when, following a revelation from his spiritual intuition, he stumbled upon the remnants of the Sauron Family conspiring with the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun to assassinate Roselle. And what had he done then? "The assassins, barely clinging to survival, nervously finished drawing up their plans and prepared to leave through a hidden passage. But when they pushed open the door, they saw the smiling Abyss Angel. In an instant, everyone's blood ran cold."

"You're only making your move now?" The Devil sounded rather disappointed. "I overestimated your courage and hatred. Well, good luck."

113

The new week began with the customary Tarot Club gathering.

As three in the afternoon approached, Klein rose above the gray fog, took the seat of honor, and conjured the dummy known as the World. Then he leaned back against his chair in a fairly relaxed mood, lightly tapping his fingers on the Bronze Long Table.

Looking back on the previous night's events, if murdering Lanevus had been an unplanned act of improvisation, then encountering the Abyss Angel had been pure accident, and gaining some knowledge of mysticism from this senior fellow countryman had been an unexpected bonus. Klein now understood a little of how the other Tarot Club members felt when they received "common knowledge" from him, and resolved to speak more often with his senior in the future. Of course, he also had to prepare himself for the possibility that the Angel would have no interest whatsoever in anything he could offer, ignore him, or even become angry...

As his thoughts wandered, Klein's tapping fingers suddenly slowed, and his brows drew together slightly.

I was a little too impatient last night...

In theory, even if we're fellow countrymen, he's still a stranger to me. I had no reason to lower my guard so quickly, much less ask him questions.

Could it have been the power of the Devil pathway? I can ask Little Sun later... Still, even before our first meeting last night, I'd already seen him mentioned many times in Emperor Roselle's Diary. It's perfectly normal to have some initial goodwill toward him. Besides, I'd just killed Lanevus and taken my revenge. My emotions were bound to get a little out of control. Yes, although I wasn't quite cautious enough, it's still within what I can understand. I must remember to be more careful next time.

Having reviewed the previous day's events, Klein nodded slightly, settled his mind, and notified everyone that the gathering was about to begin.

114

The new week began by kicking his good-for-nothing student out.

Edward left his residence and locked the door. After wavering for a while between the Quelaag Club and the editorial office, he finally decided to visit the Aurora Order. There was no particular reason, but the Lanevus affair had ended in a strange way, after all. He ought to go back and have a few words with his ally.

He passed through streets and alleys and descended into a spacious underground complex. Half of the Aurora Order's largest base in Backlund lay underground. Its pervasive shadows and pitch-black surroundings made Beyonders of the Hanged Man pathway feel comfortable. He walked slowly down the corridor. To the left lay the dim, silent underground church. It was not a day of worship, but the believers were all praying quietly. To the right lay the offices, with Saint Tenebrous's office at the far end. Saint Tenebrous had originally served as a mobile operative, traveling between bases to gather intelligence and support his companions. However, the major event of the successful descent of the True Creator had forced him to remain stationed in Backlund.

Up ahead, a door opened in the shadows, and candlelight drifted out. Someone was holding a candlestick, clearly not a Secrets Suppliant who could thrive in darkness. She was speaking with someone in the doorway, and spotted Edward before she could close the door.

Someone who knows me. Edward thought for a moment. The large scar on her face was quite distinctive. "East Borough?"

"Yes. Good afternoon, Your Highness Vaughn." Compared with their first meeting, Maria was clearly much more relaxed. She was not at all surprised to see this leader at the base of a cooperating organization, and reported quite naturally, "You asked me to investigate Capim last time, and I've obtained some preliminary results. While tracking down the missing female workers, I discovered gang-affiliated human traffickers taking advantage of the confusion. I captured them and interrogated them under torture. They admitted to working for Capim and provided fairly strong evidence."

"Well done."

Missing workers. This was the second time he had heard those words in twelve hours. It seemed George III had not been discreet enough. Anyone who paid a little attention and observed the lower classes over a long period could discover it. Edward had no intention of warning her. Richard Ernst would announce the reason for the disappearances within the Pilgrimage Church sooner or later. "Capim is merely a buoy on the surface. Sacrifice Capim's soul to me. You may recite my honorific name when the time comes."

Maria agreed. Once they finished speaking, the other person standing beside the door stepped forward and bowed.

"Good day, Your Highness." Mr. Z expressed his gratitude sincerely. "The failure of the descent of the True Creator was a dereliction of my duty, and I even allowed Lanevus to escape. I held you back during this operation, and you actually had to clean up the mess he left after fleeing. I am truly ashamed to face the expectations you and the Lord placed in me."

Edward glanced at him. "He anticipated the failure of the descent. I merely completed my part of the task. The Aurora Order is responsible for punishing you. You don't need to apologize to me, and you mustn't tear your own face off like Mr. A while saying you're too ashamed to face the Lord."

Recalling an unpleasant memory, Maria looked away in anguish.

Deeply moved, Mr. Z repeatedly assented. Edward did not converse with him further. After a few perfunctory replies, he continued on his way.

He entered Saint Tenebrous's office at the end of the corridor, opened a concealed compartment, and descended several dozen meters farther down the steps. A relatively new wooden door appeared before him. The chisel marks on the surrounding stone walls were fresh and still sharp-edged, with bits of stone and dust occasionally falling from them. Edward knocked with two fingers held together, then pushed open the wooden door and entered the small underground stone chamber.

It was an underground space of roughly a hundred square meters. The reliefs on its walls were new, as were the brass candlesticks set into them. Toward the rear of the room stood not the giant on an inverted cross found everywhere within the Aurora Order, but a very comfortable-looking high-backed chair fitted with red velvet cushions. The reliefs depicted believers approaching on their knees in worship. Some knelt on the ground in silent prayer, while others stretched their arms forward. They were all moving toward the high-backed chair atop a three-tiered stone dais.

Shadows flowed over the high-backed chair. A scarlet eyeball rolled out of them and tumbled down the steps to Edward's feet.

"So this is the makeshift temple your believers built overnight?"

Edward looked at the eyeball, his expression rather serious. "My ally, you can't keep staying somewhere so dark and damp. It'll stunt your growth."

"...This vessel of mine isn't old enough to worry about stunted growth yet." A faintly irritated voice came from the high-backed chair. It was deep and heavy, entirely at odds with the face of a child barely two or three years old. Still, Saint Tenebrous probably lacked the courage to look directly at his Lord when he came to worship, and the voice alone sounded quite authoritative and reassuring.

The True Creator sat casually in the chair. "What is it?"

"Nothing much. Didn't you ask me to find your trusted assistant? I did some searching, but found no clues."

A shadowlike Devil servant brought a chair from somewhere, and Edward sat down. "I must say, that subordinate of yours named Medici really has left neither a living spirit nor a dead body to be found. Besides, your history has been buried for over a thousand years. There's simply nowhere to look for the God of War. I had my servants gather information on high-ranking Hunters everywhere. Of all the jumbled rumors and stories, the only somewhat interesting one concerned Binsy Island."

"Oh?" The True Creator showed a little interest. "Go on."

"Binsy Island worships the God of Weather. Presumably, a Weather Warlock once lived there," Edward said unhurriedly. "If this is a contingency or a hint, it's far too obvious. Besides, Loen conquered the island several decades ago, and it now worships the Lord of Storms."

"You mean Binsy Island might have something to do with Medici, but not much?" The True Creator considered it. "Indeed, he isn't that careless. But I believe something else must be hidden on Binsy Island. Perhaps that was why he so conspicuously had them worship the God of Weather."

Edward neither agreed nor disagreed. "My student has a business trip at sea planned for the end of the year. He can visit Binsy Island for you then."

"My ally, you've given me far too little information, and no one responds when I recite his honorific name. Either there's not even a mental imprint of Medici left, or he died in some unknown corner. I'd originally planned to seek out the Abyss within the next few years, then fight Farbauti to the death after advancing. Now this commission of yours has held me up. Surely you ought to give me some additional payment?"

The True Creator did not answer. The commission had been intended to deter Edward while also distracting him, lest he suddenly go mad one day and snuff out this little avatar before it could grow. His own divine avatar bore some responsibility for Medici's death, but that avatar refused to help him with the matter and even declared mysteriously that the time had not yet come. That face, that expression-his human side, whose condition was improving by the day, had clenched his fists again and again at the sight. In the end, however, the disparity in power had kept him from throwing a punch.

Honestly, how is Ouroboros still missing?! When exactly will the Angel of the Holy Word find him?!

The Angel of the Holy Word had reported that he could turn the Forsaken Land of the Gods upside down this month. If he still found nothing by then, should he be recalled or kept in the Forsaken Land of the Gods? Never mind. That could be decided when the time came.

"You seem unable to make up your mind." Seeing that he had been thinking for rather a long time, Edward spoke up to remind him, "You can just give me two hundred thousand pounds. Information on an Angel is something money can't necessarily buy, after all."

Two hundred thousand pounds? That's almost the Aurora Order's entire annual operating budget... The True Creator gave a couple of bleak laughs inwardly. "My commission is still to bring him back. If you can't find him, I'll use other methods to confirm his whereabouts as well. If you do your best and still fail, your payment will be one favor from me. If you bring him back, I'll increase the payment according to your needs at the time."

"One favor," Edward repeated.

"One Angel-level favor. I won't agree to anything beyond that." The True Creator gave the Devil no opportunity to exploit a loophole. "And it cannot be anything against humanity. You understand what I mean."

"I understand. That's a very good deal for me," Edward said. "I'll make proper use of your promise, and I'll do my best to find him for you."

The two continued exchanging intelligence, updating each other on the state of their organizations. A little over ten minutes later, Edward rose to take his leave.

After leaving the little underground temple and the Aurora Order, Edward stood in the street for a while. As his gaze wandered aimlessly, he noticed someone wearing a newspaper employee's uniform pasting a poster onto a wall. It bore several flowing, ornate words, along with drawings of various objects and pieces of furniture.

"An exhibition commemorating Emperor Roselle will open on the 16th of this month!"

TBC

Hehe, ahahahahaha, here's the update~

Judging by the comments, I've managed to amuse everyone at least a little. Good, I'm very pleased. More comments, more!

I asked the editor, and if I still haven't signed a contract after exceeding the word count for paid publication, it'll remain free, so everyone can take the opportunity to read for free.

It's at 140,000 characters now, and reaching 200,000 will only take a little over two weeks. Hopefully Shanghai can come out of lockdown during that time...