Klein had no reason to refuse the request from the " Admiral of Stars," and after thinking for two seconds, he said:
"700 pounds."
"That's fair." Cattleya didn't haggle.
Sequence 8 Beyonder Characteristic normally costs six or seven hundred pounds, but if someone urgently needs it, a premium is common, since such an item may only appear once in a long time at an Extraordinary Gathering.
Klein didn't immediately complete the transaction; without changing his expression, he lifted the suitcase and said:
I'll give it to you tomorrow.
He did not carry the " Pugilist " Beyonder Characteristic with him; he threw most of his valuables onto the Gray Fog.
" Admiral of Stars " Cattleya was not surprised by Gehrman Sparrow's answer and nodded:
"No problem."
She had encountered similar situations many times, which often meant that along with the Beyonder Characteristic of a " Pugilist " were certain items that could not be known to outsiders. Therefore, it was impossible for Gehrman Sparrow to open the briefcase in person and complete the transaction on the spot.
A mad adventurer always has a secret!
Cattleya paused for a second, then added:
"There will be no spying arrangements in your room."
She read what she was supposed to see.
"It's alright." Klein curled the corners of his lips into a faint smile.
His initial plan was to display items such as the Azik Copper Whistle and Will Auceptin paper cranes during the ceremony or when entering the Gray Fog to counteract mystical surveillance, and then use the method of the washroom to circumvent physical monitoring.
Of course, he wasn't worried that " Admiral of Stars " would go too far. This wasn't because he thought the other party would be afraid of the mad adventurer Gehrman Sparrow, but because he felt that Cattleya didn't need to be. She should have a gentler and more discreet method of observation.
For example, inviting an Beyonder through the " Spectator " route... Klein removed his hat, bowed, and followed " Toxin Expert " Frank Lee to his room.
Watching him leave at a leisurely pace, Cattleya turned and went into the captain's cabin, picked up her thick glasses, and put them on her nose.
Backlund, Bridge South Borough, Harvest Church.
To ordinary people, Bishop Utravsky, whose height already reached the level of Half-Giant, put down the holy book in his hand, looked around the prayer hall, and smiled with satisfaction:
"The number of believers is increasing."
"Is that so?" Emlyn White, dressed in a brown priest's robe, wiped the candlesticks without even lifting his eyelids.
He knew that after the Great Smog of Backlund Incident, the number of believers of the Mother Goddess had indeed increased significantly. Before, it was considered a miracle if three or five people came to pray during ordinary times, not on weekends or in the evenings, but now it was often close to ten.
Father Utravsky glanced down at the busy Vampire priest and chuckled:
"Anyone who isn't blind can see it."
"You made a great contribution here. Without your initial preparation of medicines to treat the plague, and your sincere teaching of medicine to those willing to learn, our faith would have been difficult for the people of this region to accept."
Emlyn, holding a rag, straightened his back and slightly raised his chin, saying:
"I'm just Acting."
Wait, what do you mean by "our faith"? Who's with you and us? His face twitched, then he smiled and said:
"Speaking of blind people, I'm reminded of a joke I saw before, which said that there was a shortage of blind people in Backlund because they were widely considered the best candidates to be referees."
Father Utravsky skipped the joke and said kindly:
"Regardless of your purpose, you have made outstanding contributions to the spread of the Mother Goddess faith."
"And this also proves that you have a kind heart."
"Pah! That's what I said too, why didn't you believe me?" Emlyn glanced up at the priest's enormous figure, then silently looked away.
After finishing his work at the church, he changed into normal clothes, put on a silk hat to shield himself from the sun, and walked onto Rose Street.
He glanced discreetly around, but found no signs of being monitored.
"That ' Red Gloves ' Leonard hasn't shown up since... I thought that after I exposed his secret and bought the ' Kindling ' glove, he would keep investigating me in secret..." Emlyn White shook his head almost imperceptibly, his heart filled with confusion.
In the Original, he also wanted to combine the theory of the " The Hanged Man " with the investigation of the " Red Gloves " to interfere with the surveillance of the upper echelons of the Sanguine, while he himself relied on the Church of the Earth Mother and Father Utravsky, the Blessed, to achieve a perfect balance.
But things didn't go as he expected; Leonard Mitchell seemed to leave Backlund very quickly.
In late February, Emlyn took a detour to 7 Pinster Street during an outing, only to find that the place was no longer inhabited.
Stopping thinking about it, he walked to the end of the street, got into a horse-drawn carriage, and headed straight for the Odora family's villa.
After being led by a waiter to the study on the first floor, Emlyn saw several Sanguine who had just come of age, including one of his own kind who had already become Baron.
"Not looking for me alone?" He thought for a moment, then stood at the closed door and said to the owner of the place Kasimi Odora:
" Baron Excellency, wasn't it Lord Nibes who summoned me?"
He addressed him as " Your Baron" in a casual tone, as if he were calling him by his name, because he was also a Sanguine Baron, though it hadn't been publicly announced yet.
Kasimi, a very refined middle-aged gentleman, smiled and replied:
"You are all outstanding members of the younger generation of Sanguine. My grandfather entrusted me to give you some tests."
"What kind of test?" asked Ruth Báthory, another Sanguine Baron had been lucky enough to inherit the estate.
Kasimi took a sip of his dark red blood, which was mixed with wine, and looked around before saying:
"Perhaps you don't know, but the ' Snake of Fate ' of the School of Life has been missing for some time."
Amidst the bewildered and surprised glances exchanged among Emlyn White and the Sanguine, Kasimi continued:
"But I think you should be very clear that the School of Life is a reluctantly cohesive organization, formed by believers in Fate, who consider themselves Beyonder, transcendent and absolutely rational, and believers who worship the Moon Primordial and seek the essence of life and Spirituality. Under the immense pressure from the seven major churches in the early Fifth Age, they formed an alliance."
"Because of the existence of that ' Snake of Fate,' they have never had any major internal problems. Their worship of the Moon Primordial has always been limited and fixed in a symbolic sense, and has gradually become truly integrated through the transmission of knowledge from master to apprentice and the exchange of recipes."
"Unfortunately, with the disappearance of the ' Snake of Fate,' this process was interrupted. The believers of the Moon Primordial quickly became fanatical, splitting from the faction representing Fate and erupting into fierce conflict."
"This matter was exploited by the Rose School of Thought, causing them considerable harm."
Seeing that Emlyn White, Ruth Báthory, and other Sanguine were still somewhat puzzled, Kasimi, having finished explaining the background, moved on to the main topic:
"Those who worship the Moon Primordial are our eternal enemies; they have been hunting us down, concocting Potion, and gaining power!"
"Now, we can't let this opportunity slip by."
"Here is a list detailing the whereabouts of several the Moon Primordial Believers. Whoever finds their whereabouts and kills them will be the victor of this trial, and my grandfather, as well as all the esteemed officials, will not hesitate to bestow a reward upon them."
If all parts have been partially completed, the quantity will be used for calculation.
"Of course, these are all selected, those within your capabilities. The rest will be tracked down by you gentlemen."
When Emlyn White heard the first part, although he felt contempt and hatred for those "artificial" Vampire, he had no intention of getting involved. He thought it was too troublesome, tiring, and noisy, and he would rather stay at home quietly and talk to the Puppet.
Upon realizing this was a contest between them, and vaguely sensing the gazes of Ruth Báthory and the other Sanguine fixed on him, Emlyn abruptly straightened his back, raised his chin, and said:
"No problem."
His crimson eyes slowly swept over the other creatures in the room.
Inside the " Future " – a spacious room with an attached bathroom.
Klein stood by the window, gazing at the endlessly undulating blue ocean outside, breathing in the crisp northerly wind with a pleasant mood.
The flagship of the " Admiral of Stars " has separated from the other ships and begun sailing alone.
After an unknown amount of time, two whaling ships appeared ahead. As soon as they noticed the star and eye flag flying over the " Future ", they immediately reacted nervously.
They quickly adjusted their positions, aligning their sides in this direction, with each cannon poised to fire.
At the same time, whaling cannons that fired javelins and harpoons with explosives turned in the same direction, and the tall, light-golden-haired fishermen of the Gargas Archipelago were either holding spears or guns, standing or crouching, on high alert.
Klein noticed that there were women here who were about the same size as the Giant, and they looked particularly heavy and strong.
The " Future " ignored their "welcome" and passed by on its own, continuing deeper into the whaling route.
After sailing for a while, Klein saw several more pirate ships ahead, surrounding the edge of the shipping lane, seemingly doing something he didn't know.
The " Future " approached without hesitation, and the pirate ships immediately retreated like birds shot from a gun.
Feeling that the " Future " was getting slower and slower, Klein turned around and left the room with some doubt.
As he approached the captain's cabin, he saw " Admiral of Stars " Cattleya emerge. The woman wore thick glasses that obscured her mysterious, deep purple eyes.
She glanced at Klein and said succinctly:
"Someone discovered a relic that is said to date back to the Quaternary period on the seabed here."
We plan to take a look since we're on the way.
The seabed? Remnants of the Quaternary period? Klein suddenly recalled the rumor he had heard in the " Rorsted " bar.
So the news had already spread? I knew it, how come I heard it so easily... He muttered to himself, as if suddenly realizing something...