Walter went up to the third floor, curled his fingers, and knocked on the door of the master bedroom.
"Who?" Dawn Dantès's weak and hoarse voice came through.
Walter turned the handle and pushed the door open a crack:
"Sir, Bishop Electra has come to visit you."
"Would you like to see him in the living room or sitting room, or would you like him to come directly to the bedroom?"
Normally, visitors are not allowed to enter the master bedroom, as it is considered quite impolite, except when visiting someone who is ill.
After a brief silence, Dawn Dantès responded:
"Please invite him to the bedroom."
"Yes, sir." Walter gestured to Richardson to urge the maid to prepare tea, then went downstairs to lead Bishop Electra of the Church of Evernight upstairs.
Soon, Electra entered the bedroom and saw Dawn Dantès reclining on the bed, looking somewhat haggard.
" Richardson, give the bishop a chair," Dawn Dantès said with a slightly pale smile.
Richardson was already prepared and immediately moved a high-backed chair to a spot not far from the bed.
Electra stepped forward, observed the new wealthy man's face, and asked with concern:
" Dawn, how are you feeling? Should we call the Doctor?"
His Spirit Intuition was not triggered, so he did not try anything else; this was merely a normal act of visiting a sick person out of concern for a devout believer.
Dawn Dantès coughed twice and smiled, saying:
"Actually, I'm almost better. I think I can go to church again tomorrow or the day after to listen to your sermons."
"That's good. I was just thinking of asking the goddess for your blessing." Electra chuckled, stepped aside, and sat down in the chair Richardson had brought over.
At this moment, Dawn Dantès glanced at the bishop and chuckled:
"Actually, I've always had a question: are clergy members of the Church of the Goddess allowed to marry?"
Electra, who was two years shy of her fortyth birthday, sighed and smiled:
This problem has actually troubled us for a long time.
"In many ancient theological councils, archbishops had heated debates on this issue."
On the one hand, it is believed that servants of the goddess must remain holy, regardless of gender, otherwise it is blasphemy against God. On the other hand, the words of the goddess are found in scriptures such as the Revelation of Evernight, and it is believed that the goddess encourages marriage and equal and normal interactions between the sexes. Clergy should be role models, not negative examples, and this is the greatest respect for the goddess.
"In modern times, this issue has been largely shelved. The church neither prohibits nor encourages it; the only requirement is that married clergy members cannot allow their families to live in the church."
Dawn Dantès nodded slowly, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said:
"Bishop, do you have a wife?"
Bishop Electra, with a thin face and not particularly handsome, yet somehow pleasing to the eye, sighed and couldn't hide her smile as she said:
Two years ago, I entered the hall of marriage with my goddess as my witness, and this year I just had a child.
"I originally intended to remain single to serve my goddess, but..."
As he spoke, he gave a self-deprecating laugh and shook his head.
Before Dawn Dantès could delve deeper into the topic, Bishop Electra countered with a question:
"You seem to be single too. Are you considering marriage?"
He seemed to tacitly agree that Dawn Dantès held this view, directly assuming the answer to the previous question was certain, and then asked:
What kind of woman do you like? Perhaps I can introduce you to someone suitable.
Dawn Dantès coughed lightly again and said with a smile:
"In the past, I always chose to take risks in order to accumulate wealth, so I was unwilling to get married, afraid of being a burden to my partner. Haha, I have many types of people I like, I'm not picky."
I like women who are a little older than me, who can give me warmth and make me feel at ease...
Before he could finish speaking, Richardson, the personal valet beside him, suddenly froze, then turned his head to look to the side, before lowering his head uncomfortably, his face burning with a strange pain.
Dawn Dantès, oblivious to what was happening, continued:
"She's much younger than me, innocent, and lively. Seeing her is like seeing the morning sun—a woman who unconsciously exudes vitality. I like her too..."
Bishop Electra's smile suddenly froze. He raised his hand, made a fist, covered his mouth, and coughed twice.
Dawn Dantès didn't stop; he shook his head, sighed, and smiled:
"I once had a love affair or marriage with a woman whose social status made her unapproachable, someone I could only admire from afar. I also admired her; she was captivating, her every move mesmerizing, irresistible, and I often dreamed of her..."
Walter, the butler standing nearby, suddenly trembled, as if he had just experienced a dream he didn't want to wake up from but was extremely resistant to, and couldn't tell whether it was good or bad.
Dawn Dantès was about to continue, but after opening his mouth, no sound came out.
He then chuckled softly and said:
"This is all normal. Humans are limited by their bodies, and under the influence of various senses, they will always have some abnormal thoughts. As long as they can control them, act according to their own will, and not feel tormented, they can still be good husbands, good fathers, and good men."
"That makes a lot of sense. When we're angry, we often have irrational thoughts, but few of us actually act on them." Bishop Electra skillfully changed the subject, and the butler Walter and the personal valet Richardson both showed thoughtful expressions.
The bishop did not linger. After taking a few sips of the Marquis's black tea brought by the maid, he rose to take his leave and departed from Dawn Dantès's residence.
The room quickly fell silent, and the balcony window was opened without a sound. Klein, now transformed back into Dawn Dantès, nimbly leaped in.
Luckily, I returned in time. If " Magic Mirror " Arrodes had continued talking like that, Bishop Electra would have disowned me as a devout believer... Perhaps tomorrow morning we'd find Walter and Richardson hanged themselves in their room, and the whole neighborhood would be buzzing about how Dawn Dantès was a pervert... Klein glanced at the Dawn and the real Magic Mirror on the bed and sighed silently. He had personally drafted the latter half of the conversation and had Arrodes read it aloud.
Of course, this was his worst-case scenario; he believed Arrodes wouldn't let things escalate to that point.
"Welcome back, my great master," Dawn Dantès. "How well has your humble and loyal servant, Arrodes, done?"
Hearing the Magic Mirror's stammering question, Klein sighed again and said:
"Not bad, the disguise is quite good."
"However, try not to provoke others when chatting."
"I... I'll be careful!" The image of the Dawn Dantès vanished quickly, revealing a small mirror on the pillow.
On the mirror, a burst of silvery light immediately erupted, wriggling and condensing into words:
Thank you for your recognition. I will always follow in your footsteps and look forward to the next opportunity to serve you.
After a simple line drawing of a goodbye emoji, the mirror returned to normal.
Klein approached, put the mirror away, then entered the bathroom attached to the master bedroom, walked four steps backward, and arrived above the Gray Fog.
He wanted to finish Grazing before Mr. X's spirit completely dissipated.
Within the world of the book, on a snow-covered mountain peak, lies a cave.
Klein looked at Mr. X's corpse on the ground, carefully examined the fragmented head, and compared it with the target portrait provided by Miss " Magician " in his memory.
"It's him... I hope he can get ' Travel ' and ' Record ' this time. If he gets either one, this operation will be profitable. If not, I'll have to consider asking Miss ' Magician ' for more money. Hunting a Sequence 5 and facing a Demigod are two completely different things." Klein thought to himself as he stretched out his left palm, spread his five fingers, and aimed at the corpse Spirituality had not yet completely dissipated.
" Creeping Hunger " quickly reverted to its original form, seemingly made of thin human skin, with two eyes splitting out from the palm, their pupils bright red, as if stained with blood.
In the bone-chilling wind, many of Mr. X's dissipated spirits and extraordinary points of light, connected like the Milky Way, successively entered the " Creeping Hunger " and fixed themselves on that blank finger.
The " Creeping Hunger " first became transparent, like a reflection of the Spirit World, and then returned to normal.
Klein closed his eyes and sensed it for a moment, his brows gradually relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face.
He was incredibly lucky this time, drawing one of the extraordinary abilities he wanted most:
" The Traveler's Door "!
This can be simply referred to as a " Door of Teleportation," " Teleportation," or " Travel." Its function is to allow people to Spirit World Traversal in a way that enables them to sense the outside world and locate themselves. Sequence Beyonder, due to differences in the strength of their spiritual bodies, can withstand different Teleportation times, and the effects and distances of Spirit World Traversal also vary significantly.
If it's only Sequence 9 and Sequence 8, then it's not within the scope of Backlund... At my current level, I wonder if I can go directly to the primitive island provided by Mr. " The Hanged Man "? Hmm, if not, I can split it into two or three trips... Klein thought with a smile.
It was only at this moment that he realized the Traveler's strength in direct combat was truly formidable. Because the difficulty of using the short-range " Travel " was only equivalent to " Flame Jump," it meant that the Traveler could keep Blink the target, moving both at long and short distances, making him impossible to defend against and impossible to attack.
With his well-preserved abilities and the instinct to immediately retreat at the first Record, Klein doubted that even with " Lightning Storm " and " Tornado," he might not be able to capture " The Traveler " in a direct confrontation.
As expected, the " Marionettist " should stay behind the scenes as much as possible... Klein sighed as he turned his gaze back to Mr. X's corpse.
" Creeping Hunger " just gained an extraordinary ability, the " Door Opening " of the " Apprentice " Sequence, which is almost equivalent to a much weaker " Travel " and has little value.
As his gaze shifted, Klein's eyes caught sight of the ruby-encrusted ring on Mr. X's hand.
P. S.: Only a few hours left in April, it would be a waste not to use your monthly pass!