The room on the second floor of Sweet Lemon Bar belongs to the owner.
Bilt Brando stood by the window, a cigar between his fingers, his eyes unfocused as he stared outside, his face terribly grim.
At this moment, a bodyguard approached, slightly bent over, and said cautiously:
"Sir, Sothoth has returned from the east."
"Let him in." Bilt tried his best to compose himself.
Sothoth Yang was his second-in-command and an important member of the loosely organized " Adventurers' Mutual Aid Society ".
Less than a minute later, Sothoth, wearing a linen shirt, a brown jacket, and a dark red headscarf, walked in. He looked to be in his thirties, with a bronze complexion, deep-set eyes, and a dark mustache on his upper lip and chin. He looked like the kind of person who often sailed the seas.
Sothoth gave a perfunctory bow and glanced at Bilt Brando:
"Boss, something's happened?"
"Yes, something unexpected happened, and it looks like things will fail." Bilt didn't hide anything, sighing, "I don't even know how to explain this to that important person."
Before Sothoth could respond, he turned and asked:
Has anything changed in the east?
"It's the same old story. Pirates chase after every ship they can plunder, even targeting each other. The navy can only hold the various colonies, barely keeping the sea routes open and protecting the relatively important ships. Naval battles break out frequently, with victories and defeats on both sides," Sothoth shrugged.
"The eastern coast of the Sonia Sea is indeed a chaotic paradise for pirates..." Bilt sighed in agreement.
Sothoth thought for a moment and then added:
"There have been some recent reports about the islands to the east, supposedly originating from the Black Death."
"' Vice Admiral Ailment '? What news?" Bilt asked, perking up.
Sothoth said, with a mixture of seriousness and excitement:
"The ' Vice Admiral Ailment ' was indeed assassinated and seriously injured, and the perpetrator was the adventurer Gehrman Sparrow!"
" Gehrman Sparrow?" Bilt blurted out.
"Yes, it's him! He really is a pirate general-level powerhouse! Even though it was a sneak attack, it was on the Black Death, surrounded by many well-known pirates, yet he still severely injured ' Vice Admiral Ailment ' and escaped successfully, and later even hunted down ' The Sweet-Talker ' Mithor." Sothoth gave an affirmative answer with emotion.
Bilt took a couple of steps and sighed:
This is big news!
"Adventurers with the strength of a pirate general are extremely rare, and only one person could severely injure a pirate general's flagship. Such an operation requires not only absolute confidence in one's own strength but also a certain level of madness. Only Lunatic would directly infiltrate a pirate general's flagship to attempt an assassination, instead of seeking another location!"
At this point, his expression changed slightly.
"I met an adventurer last night who called himself Gehrman Sparrow."
"Really, or fake?" Sothoth's eyes narrowed, and he asked in a low voice.
"I'm not sure. I've never seen the real Gehrman Sparrow, nor have I seen any photos or portraits of him." Bilt shook his head.
Sothoth pondered for a moment and said:
"We can check the newspapers in the Rorsted Archipelago to confirm. After so many days, some travelers should have brought the relevant the News * and the Sonia Morning Post *. The government, police, churches, and charitable organizations all subscribe to important newspapers in the Rorsted Archipelago."
The Rorsted Archipelago are the largest and most important colony of the Kingdom of Loen in the Central Sonia Sea, with influence radiating to the surrounding area. The Oravi Island, which is only three days' sail away, is undoubtedly among them. Official institutions and church organizations subscribe to newspapers and magazines there, and non-important news can be read every three to four days.
"Hmm." Bilt nodded, then asked more probingly, "Do you have any specific details about Gehrman Sparrow's assassination of ' Vice Admiral Ailment '?"
Sothoth thought for a moment and said:
"It is said that Gehrman Sparrow can transform into anyone, just like the previous ' Admiral Hurricane ' Qilangos."
"It was precisely because of this ability that he was able to successfully infiltrate the Black Death and find the opportunity to assassinate it."
"Can become anyone..." Bilt's eyes suddenly lit up.
No, no, that's a guy who's crazy enough to infiltrate the Black Death and assassinate " Vice Admiral Ailment," someone you instinctively fear and just want to stay away from... Bilt's gaze immediately dimmed.
And he didn't even know if it was true... He subconsciously shook his head.
Unsure when the " Nighthawks " and the " Machinery Hivemind " would take action to address the anomaly on Williams Street, Klein hoped they would act soon... As these thoughts raced through his mind, Klein left the Gray Fog and returned to the real world.
After a moment's thought, he took out a sheet of paper and laid it on the brown desk.
The dark red ink-absorbing pen moved rustlingly. Klein first inquired about Mr. Azik's recent situation, then mentioned that while searching for magical items that could Stealing other people's extraordinary abilities, he discovered that some people were being Parasitism by outsiders.
Then, as if casually asking, he inquired whether there was a way to bypass the Parasitism outsider and alert the host.
Using this as a pretext, he mentioned that he had learned from others about the " Worm of Time," which was related to a higher level of the " Marauder " pathway, and that he had figured out that this thing could serve as an offering for important rituals and a material for high-level spells, but he didn't know exactly how to do it.
Huff... Klein put down his pen, folded the letter, took out his brass whistle, brought it to his lips, and blew hard.
The white bones gushed forth like a fountain, forming the enormous messenger. But this time, the messenger did not emerge from downstairs; instead, as it had done many times before, it passed through the ceiling and looked down at the summoner from above.
Klein knew it wasn't because the messenger had become impolite again, but because he was now staying on the first floor of the hotel...
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the letter like a dart, sending it accurately into the enormous skeletal hand.
The flame in the messenger's eye sockets flickered twice, as if staring at Klein, but ultimately nothing happened.
Its body disintegrated into a waterfall of white bones, which burrowed into the ground one by one.
After doing all this, Klein did not unfold the origami cranes, erase what he had written before, and instead asked " Mercury Snake " Will Auceptin with the same content.
This was because he discovered something unpleasant: the origami cranes weren't magical items or extraordinary weapons; they were just ordinary pieces of paper folded together. After being repeatedly rubbed with an eraser, they had shown signs of fragility, and a few more times, they might just break.
"Let's wait until there's something really important to contact before we consider it, like when Mr. Azik doesn't know how to bypass the possessed old man to remind Leonard..." Klein shook his head silently and quickly tidied up the items on the table.
In addition, he has not been too bold to contact Arrodes with the radio receiver recently, because the powerful being sent by the " True Creator " is likely still lingering nearby, searching for the aura of the " Eye of All-Black," and the "scent" of the Gray Fog may have also attracted the attention of the " True Creator " and been informed by the believers.
"Let's continue being Travel today and relax. Tomorrow, I'll start looking for opportunities to actually Acting!" Klein gathered his thoughts, put on his coat, took off his top hat, and left the hotel room.
He's going to the mountains outside Oravi Port to watch the sunset!
The idea came from a bestselling book by Leon Mastan, who was born in Oravi but settled in Backlund at the age of 20. In the book, he passionately described the sunset over the port of Mount St. Draco, considering it the most beautiful view he had ever seen.
Klein took a carriage out of the city and walked to the foot of Mount St. Draco, reaching the not-so-high peak in just one hour.
Time passed second by second, and the Sun gradually set, turning the azure ocean to the left of the mountain into a fiery hue, while casting a golden glow over the verdant forests and vast fields to the right.
All the colors burst forth with their final brilliance at this moment, before gradually fading until they fell into darkness.
Boats entered the city, horse-drawn carriages entered, and busy people gradually returned home along the roads between wheat fields and orchards.
As darkness began to envelop the land, tiny, warm lights began to appear both inside and outside the city, like sparkling jewels on black velvet.
It was truly beautiful... Klein admired it for a moment, until the lights representing individual families came into view.
He turned in silence and walked back down the mountain path, surrounded by trees that had turned black, before walking a distance to hire a carriage on the edge of the port city.
The carriage moved smoothly forward, and the elegant, dark-black lampposts receded quietly into the distance under the Yellow Light.
After an unknown amount of time, Klein returned to the hotel, took out his key, and opened the room door.
Inside the room, the bed, desk, and chairs lay quietly in the deep darkness, silently reflecting the faint crimson moonlight.
Klein closed the door very gently, walked to the window, and stood motionless in the shadow cast by the curtains for a long time.
It's brightly lit outside.
Early the next morning.
Klein turned on the tap and splashed the cold tap water on his face, instantly waking him up.
He has already figured out where to start looking for real Acting opportunities:
It's still a hospital where someone could die at any moment!
Previously, Klein had only briefly visited those places and wandered around for a while, and it was indeed difficult to find suitable targets. This time, he decided to do volunteer work for a period of time, staying in the hospital for an extended period to care for those who were dying and temporarily without family by their side. Only in this way could he wait for the target he needed.
After breakfast, Klein arrived at 10 Black Forest Street and entered the " Oravi Medical Aid Foundation ".
This is a charitable organization with ties to the Church of the Evernight Goddess, and one of its responsibilities is to provide trained volunteers to various hospitals.
Klein arrived at the registration desk and saw a female staff member flipping through a newspaper, so he tapped the table lightly.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" the woman asked as she put down her newspaper.
"I want to volunteer," Klein said simply.
"Name." The woman looked up at the person opposite her.
Suddenly, her gaze froze, her right hand trembled, and the pen she had just picked up fell to the ground with a clatter.
There happened to be a nearly lifelike portrait on the newspaper in front of her.
This portrait belongs to the mad and dangerous adventurer Gehrman Sparrow!
P. S.: Requesting guaranteed monthly votes~