Inside the Earl Hall's luxurious villa in Queens Borough.
The rich aroma of premium Fenneport Saint-Deux-Hill coffee blends with the delightful flavor of Queen's Tea to create an intoxicating olfactory symphony, swirling around an elegant three-tiered stand and enhancing each delicious and exquisite dessert.
This is Audrey's afternoon tea.
Her aristocratic friends, who were also involved in mysticism, arrived as invited and sat around her, chatting and laughing.
Under Audrey's subtle guidance, Jane, Murray, and the others developed a strong interest in the chivalrous thief " Black Emperor " who appeared last night, and all turned their attention to Cons Lielsen, a nobleman who had joined Military Intelligence Section 9.
"Does that ' Black Emperor ' really have extraordinary abilities?" Christine, with her sweet looks, asked curiously.
Their fathers were at least Viscount, giving them enough status and access to learn about the existence of extraordinary powers and Potion, which fueled their interest in the occult. However, like Audrey before them, they were unwilling to join the Nighthawks, the Mandated Punishers, the Machinery Hivemind, or Military Intelligence Section 9, and unwilling to waste a lot of time on official duties.
Besides, none of their families can be traced back to a thousand years ago, or even to the ancient nobles when the Kingdom of Loen was first established in the Fourth Age. They were not completely loyal to the royal family or became high-ranking military officials, so they had never been granted the recipe. Even if they had extraordinary materials, they might not recognize them, and even if they did, they wouldn't know how to use them.
This limits the possibility of Murray, Christine, and others becoming Beyonder, allowing them to only aspire to it but making it difficult for them to take that crucial step.
As for whether their elders secretly collected Potion recipes or trained a few Beyonder for the family, that was beyond their knowledge. After all, it was not allowed, and if the king were to seize upon this, he could use it as a reason to Deprivation them of their titles.
Of course, at this moment, there were already two traitors in the living room: Audrey, who had already advanced to Sequence 8 " Mind Reader," and Viscount Glaint, who had collected an extraordinary material and would soon become a " Apothecary."
The tall, thin young gentleman Cons, took a sip of his coffee and said:
I'm not giving a direct answer; I'm just telling you some facts:
"Besides traces of a gas explosion, various methods have revealed toxins, Stands, Wraith's Shriek, and bullets imbued with divine power within the restaurant where the battle took place. Oh, and that ' Black Emperor,' no, that Robin Hood, is in a ghostly state."
It didn't seem like the one who killed " Admiral Hurricane " Qilangos, nor the one who dealt with Lanarvus in the sewers... The Stealing the " Black Emperor " card and orchestrated the Capim case was Mr. The Fool's third Blessed? Backlund alone has at least three Blessed... How many Blessed does he have in total? Audrey's heart skipped a beat, and she asked feigned ignorance:
"Was there a fierce battle of extraordinary powers taking place there?"
Guided by her, Murray asked further:
"Does the Capim family have Beyonder? More powerful Beyonder? Perhaps more than one?"
"He's just a human trafficker..." Viscount Glaint unconsciously expressed his doubt.
Audrey maintained a faint smile and curious gaze, patiently waiting for Cons's answer.
Cons chuckled and said:
Murray's guess is correct, that's all I can say.
"Do you want me to be Confinement by the team leader?"
" The Capim family has several powerful Beyonder, and more than one..."
"Indeed, he's not an ordinary human trafficker; he might be involved in many mysterious events..."
"Human trafficking... Could he be involved in cult rituals? Is this what Mr. ' The Fool's ' Blessed are targeting?"
"The incident with Lanarvus was similar, involving cults, rituals, and the descent of a ' True Creator '... We don't know which cult or evil god is behind Capim..."
"Mr. ' The Fool ' seems to have been targeting those evil gods all along... Is it really a battle between gods? He doesn't know how many important things those evil gods have already ruined..." Audrey suddenly thought of many things, and her heart began to surge with emotion.
Our Tarot Club's enemy is the evil god!
None of the others are qualified!
Did Mr. The Fool want to get the title of "Slayer of Evil Gods"? Audrey pursed her lips and chuckled to herself.
Immediately, she composed herself and silently confessed:
Audrey, how could you do this? How could you joke about Mr. The Fool...?
Around noon, Klein returned to Minsk Street and, unsurprisingly, found the letter that Old Kohler had paid a driver to deliver in his mailbox.
This is their agreed-upon method of emergency contact.
Of course, Klein had expected that the illiterate Old Kohler would only be able to tell him when and where to meet through simple symbols. But to his surprise, the letter was filled with neat and tidy handwriting.
With just a glance, Klein confirmed that the handwriting matched Daisy's vocabulary book.
It seems this girl wrote it for Old Kohler... The paper wasn't damp; perhaps Old Kohler bought some specifically for emergency communication... Klein opened the door, walking into the living room while reading the letter.
He didn't take off his coat, but only his hat and leaned on his cane, because the fireplace in the room hadn't been lit yet, and the chill of early November was silently seeping into his bones.
The letter was simple, after all, Daisy didn't know many words.
She first thanked the Detective for his kindness and compassion, then told Klein that she had returned home safely, and finally subtly mentioned that she hoped the Detective could bring the vocabulary book with him next time he came to the East Borough.
A polite girl... Klein chuckled, snapped his fingers, and burned the letter, leaving no trace.
He decided to go to the East Borough again tomorrow to return the vocabulary book to Daisy and to get reimbursed for Old Kohler's mail delivery fees and expenses for paper and pens.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh and chuckle softly:
"Captain, now it's my turn to reimburse others for their expenses..."
With only a few finishing touches left, Klein suddenly had some free time. He didn't waste any time and went out again, heading straight to the Cragg Club —where Doctor. Allen often frequented on Friday afternoons. Klein wanted to inquire about the boy who played tarot cards Will Auceptin.
Upon entering the Cragg Club in Hillston Borough, Klein addressed the red-vested waiter who approached him:
"A cup of Marquis tea and a dessert were brought to the corner of the hall where Doctor. Allen and Reporter Mike were sitting."
Klein had already spotted the rather aloof, renowned Doctor Allen Kreis; Mike Joseph, a Daily Observer reporter with captivating Blue Eyes, with whom he had collaborated twice; and Talym Dumont, the aristocratic riding instructor who appeared at the club second only to Sherlock Moriarty.
"Oh, our great Detective has arrived. Just in time to talk about you," Talym said with a smile as he stood up.
"Are you talking badly about me?" Klein joked.
Mike stood up, reached out and shook his hand, saying:
"No, I want to hire you again."
"What is it now?" Klein bowed to Doctor. Allen and sat down at their table.
Mike chuckled:
"You must have read the newspaper, right? Capim was killed by the outlaw ' Black Emperor,' and his crimes have been exposed. That's really something to be happy about!"
"As a journalist, I must possess sufficient news acumen. I plan to obtain a list from the police department, interview the rescued girls in the East Borough, and then truthfully present the most vicious, cruel, and unforgivable side of Capim to the newspaper readers. Of course, the victims must remain anonymous."
He paused for a moment, then lowered his voice and said:
"I also have a hidden purpose, or rather, an idea: to find out through these interviews whether those girls and their families know any unusual friends. Maybe, that friend is the Robin Hood ' Black Emperor '!"
"You've come to the right person..." Klein almost twitched his lips.
He smiled at Mike and said:
"We've already collaborated on matters in the East Borough; we have sufficient familiarity and trust, so I have no reason to refuse."
"It's a pleasure working with you!" Mike said, extending his hand with a relaxed expression. "We'll start tomorrow or the day after, and the payment will be the same as last time, a total of 10 pounds."
At this moment, Doctor. Allen, who had been listening in, spoke up:
" Sherlock, I'd like to hire you too, this evening, or after dinner."
"My market outlook is bullish lately..." Klein asked with amusement.
Will this conflict with Mike's request?
"No." Allen shook his head. "I've been having really good luck lately, which makes me even more suspicious that my previous bad luck was because of that child's reversed ' Wheel of Fortune ' card and what he said. I'm very confused and troubled by it. I've been incredibly kind to him, with a lot of good intentions. Why would he do this to me? I want to visit him at his house to confirm that it wasn't intentional, but I'm always afraid of things like this, afraid that something unexpected might happen. So I'd like to ask you to protect me tonight, so it won't conflict with Mike's request. How about that?"
This is exactly what I want to do! Challenging the impossible, doing good deeds, my character has become quite good... Am I really becoming the king of good fortune, the King of Yellow and Black? Klein was pleasantly surprised, and smiled reservedly:
"No problem, we can talk about compensation now."
City of Silver.
Derrick Berg examined the translucent worm with twelve rings once more, scrutinizing the remnants of Amon's alter ego.
He originally wanted to ask Mr. The Fool what it was, but considering that he had already troubled this god-like figure once, and being a little too shy, he gave up his plan and decided to wait until the next Tarot Gathering to manifest it and ask Mr. The Hanged Man and Ms. Justice.
After hiding the little worm, Derrick suddenly remembered something: the team that had gone with Elder " Shepherd " Lovia to explore the half-destroyed Temple of the Fallen Creator should be returning soon—it wasn't too far from City of Silver, and it was a place they hadn't explored before.
He decided to go and take a look; he knew quite a few people there.
PS: Second update, please vote with monthly tickets!