" The Hermits of Fate..."
"What kind of organization is this? I've never heard of it before. When Mr. ' The Hanged Man ' was explaining the basics of various factions to me, he didn't mention it even once..."
Audrey was both stunned and confused, then she noticed that the Gray Fog had dissipated and the figure of " The Fool " looking down from above had disappeared.
Her eyes flickered slightly, and she quickly made a guess:
This organization called the " Hermits of Fate " sounds even more mysterious and unknown than underground forces like the " Aurora Order " and the " School of Life." So much so that even the well-informed, knowledgeable Mr. The Hanged Man, who has close ties to the Church of Storms, was unaware of its existence...
Their planned operation was directly aimed at the kingdom's high nobility, one of the most powerful groups in the world...
They may be the deepest observers and true Manipulator of the extraordinary world, influencing the situation on the Northern Continent. No wonder they have attracted the attention of Mr. " The Fool "...
The reason Mr. The Hanged Man was able to succeed in asking His Blessed for help last time was not because the promised reward was generous enough, but because Mr. The Fool himself was targeting the Hermits of Fate...
This organization is just as mysterious as our " Tarot Club "...
Audrey was inexplicably agitated, which lessened the shock of Duke Negan's assassination.
"There are certainly not many Beyonder who know about the existence of the ' Hermits of Fate,' and I am one of them. Our Tarot Club is targeting them!" Audrey stood up and walked to the full-length mirror.
Her chin, slightly raised, formed an exceptionally beautiful curve.
Gazing at the blue-eyed girl in the mirror, Audrey slowly calmed down, and for the first time, she felt an urgent need to improve her own Sequence due to factors beyond her interests.
" Beyonder Duke Negan, who was under strict protection, was assassinated, let alone the father of an ordinary person."
"Although the state of the treasury suggests that the family certainly has many Beyonder, and the Church of the Goddess will provide additional protection, it still doesn't inspire confidence. Duke Negan's guards are no less formidable..."
"Go for it, Audrey! Get to Sequence 7 as soon as possible. Sequence 6, stay hidden in the shadows, and be the last line of defense for Dad, Mom, and your brothers!"
The capital of the Rorsted Archipelago, City of Generosity.
The " Blue Avenger " passed by here once again, anchoring in the harbor, giving the Sailor a chance to indulge and vent their frustrations.
Alger Wilson then changed into a robe embroidered with Storm patterns and went to the island's largest church— the Sea Waves Cathedral.
Its style is classical, with extensive use of stone columns and arches, and it features a soaring dome and two bell towers.
--In the early days of colonization, the settlers often did not have time to build churches, which had extremely serious consequences for them.
Surrounded by tribes, jungles, and ancient buildings, even after conquering the local area, they often died mysteriously, without cause, in large numbers.
This situation, which caused great panic, gradually decreased after churches were built in major churches, and became an occasional occurrence.
Standing at the church entrance, Alger didn't rush in. Instead, he examined the dark and mysterious atmosphere inside, as well as the warm candlelight that illuminated the areas where people could move, through the light streaming in through the narrow windows high up.
A few seconds later, he stepped into the main prayer hall, clenched his right fist, struck his left chest, and addressed his bishop:
" The Storm is with you!"
" The Storm is with you!" the bishop responded in kind.
Before Alger could speak, the bishop of the Sea Waves Cathedral produced a telegram:
"You've come at the right time. The Council of Cardinals have issued an order; read it before you pray."
"What orders?" Alger asked casually as he reached out to take the item.
The bishop said with a solemn expression:
" The Duke Negan has been assassinated. The Council of Cardinals have instructed all Mandated Punishers and priests to be on the lookout for anything related to the rogue ' Black Emperor,' as well as all events involving Tarot rituals."
"The Robin Hood ' Black Emperor '?" Alger clearly expressed his astonishment.
He already knew that the " Black Emperor " was Blessed of Mr. " The Fool ".
The bishop nodded solemnly and said:
"The one who attempted to assassinate Duke Negan was a Sequence 5 Devil, but this Devil was killed by the rogue ' Black Emperor ' on the run, just like the fate of ' Admiral Hurricane ' Qilangos, who failed in his assassination attempt on the duke."
Not only were their outward appearances the same, but their essence was identical... The one who killed Qilangos was also one of Mr. The Fool's Blessed, another Blessed... Was it Mr. The Fool who truly wanted Duke Negan dead? No, if it were really him, he would have warned Qilangos last time to be careful of Miss Justice, so that his identity wouldn't be exposed on the spot... Was Mr. The Fool watching the truth hidden behind the assassination, watching the real murderer? Who could it be, or rather, which organization, that Mr. The Fool was so concerned about? Alger instantly connected many things and made a preliminary judgment.
He looked down at the telegram and discovered that the church had formed a special investigation team for the assassination of Duke Negan, and each member was an elite among the Mandated Punishers.
Should I apply to join and keep abreast of developments? Alger hesitated for a moment.
Ultimately, he decided to stick to his original plan and develop in a low-key manner.
A new day begins. Klein wakes up naturally, gets up slowly, washes up, and goes downstairs.
He didn't rush to prepare breakfast. Instead, he habitually opened the door, bathed in the light mist, and took today's newspaper from the mailbox.
"What is this?" Suddenly, he noticed a thick envelope tucked inside the newspaper, which was quite heavy.
As he squeezed the surface, the fresh scent of banknote ink flashed through Klein's mind.
His Spirituality intuition told him that there was a considerable amount of cash inside.
He carefully opened it and pulled out the stack of gold pounds.
After counting, he confirmed that there were a total of 1,000 pounds in banknotes.
"It's the bounty from ' The Machinery Hivemind '... Is this what they call Concealment gift? How can they be so careless? Just leaving it in the mailbox like that? What if it gets stolen?" Klein couldn't help but complain amidst his delight.
With this money and no longer being secretly protected by the " Machinery Hivemind," he could finally go find the Vampire Emlyn White and complete the deal they made earlier!
After finishing breakfast, Klein immediately put on his coat, hat, and cane, grabbed a newspaper, and went out.
On his way to the public carriage stop, he saw his landlady, Mrs. Starling Summer, directing her maid to load suitcases into the carriage in front of the door.
"Good morning, Summer. Summer," Klein greeted with a smile.
Starling smiled demurely and returned the greeting.
Her mental state seems to have recovered... I wonder what she went through before... Klein asked curiously:
Where are you going?
"It's almost New Year's, Mary gave Luke an early vacation. We're planning to go to Desi Bay to welcome the New Year," Starling said. "Well, we've already been to several cities there, including the famous seaside towns. This time we're going to Feynapotter; I've heard the scenery in City of Sevia is very beautiful."
Klein responded cooperatively:
"How enviable!"
"And you, Detective Moriarty, where are you planning to spend the New Year?" Starling asked with a smile.
I'll most likely stay here... Oh right, I need to prepare the tools to repair the wall that Stuart punched in the earlier... Klein's lips curled up:
"Go back to the Sonia Sea; winter there has a different flavor."
Starling's smile grew even wider:
I hope to meet you in Desi Bay in the coming New Years.
Bridge South Borough, Rose Street, Harvest Church.
Emlyn White smiled as soon as he saw Detective Sherlock Moriarty, wearing a black wool coat, enter and was carefully wiping the candlesticks.
He straightened his hair, walked over with his head held high, and said in a low voice:
"There's information on Jason Beria; a Sanguine knows him."
"I also have intelligence on him." Klein smiled and handed over the newspaper he was holding; the front page headline was:
"Yesterday, the esteemed Duke Negan was assassinated, and true Devil ravaged the land."
Below the headline is a detailed description of yesterday's assassination, indicating that the killer was a banker named Patrick Jason who was shot dead on the spot, and that the terrorist organization Aurora Order claimed responsibility for the incident.
When Klein saw these news reports, he almost choked on his milk while having breakfast.
He the Original thought Mr. A from the Aurora Order had lost his mind, rushing to take responsibility for such a thing, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt it was closer to an official cover-up.
If the " Hermits of Fate " were indeed an ancient organization that Emperor Roselle joined, then they should be extremely hostile to the Aurora Order, after all, they despise the " True Creator "... Klein suddenly had this thought.
Emlyn stared blankly at the newspaper, then said in disbelief:
"So, the information I obtained is useless?"
"Theoretically, that's true." Klein gave the Vampire a sympathetic look. "However, the official organization is still investigating who's behind Jason Beria. If your intelligence points in that direction, it should still be worth selling."
As for Klein himself, he certainly didn't want to get involved in this matter anymore.
"No... he just knows Jason Beria and knows some of his hobbies," Emlyn sighed.
Seeing his reaction, Klein chuckled and asked:
Don't you usually read newspapers?
I only found out about something this big now!
Emlyn gave him a strange look:
Why should we read newspapers?
"I'm very busy."
Busy cleaning the Harvest Church, busy going home to keep those Puppet, busy figuring out how to trick people into drinking blood... You really are Vampire of the new era... Klein opened his mouth, forcibly suppressing the laughter that was about to erupt with his " Clown " abilities.
He didn't tease Emlyn White, but said seriously:
"I have raised enough gold pounds for those two materials."
When can you give me the materials?