"It sounds like a cliché story. Ever since the discovery of the new sea route, similar tales of people getting rich quick through adventure have never stopped," Soest casually commented on the contents of the telegram, then thoughtfully glanced at a certain " Red Gloves." "I remember we investigated Dawn Dantès before, and we had a conversation with him in his dream."
"Yes," the " Red Gloves," who had handled the matter last time, nodded in response. "I haven't directly inquired about this, but it's clear that Dawn Dantès is very familiar with the Southern Continent and has considerable experience there."
Heh, that might have been Dawn Dantès revealed to you... Leonard wasn't entirely convinced by the contents of the telegram, suspecting it was just another disguise by that undead Monster who survived the Fourth Epoch.
However, he did not offer his own speculation because he could not share his reasoning with his teammates.
Soest didn't take the matter seriously and instead said:
"What questions do you have about the Gehrman Sparrow lead?"
"Since this mad adventurer has been spotted at sea in recent weeks, when did he arrive in Backlund?" Cindy, the " Nightmare," repeated her earlier question. "I'm not concerned with the exact time, but whether he made it to Backlund in time; the distance from here to the sea is quite vast."
Soest nodded slightly and said:
"During the meeting just now, a deacon also raised this issue Gehrman Sparrow's last appearance, he should not have been able to arrive in Backlund last night and complete the infiltration."
"Of course, I'm talking about normal."
"The missing servant told us that he was sweeping the square outside when he suddenly lost control of his body, froze on the spot, and was unable to call for help. Then, he saw a colorful abstract oil painting and felt his body Levitation upwards."
"After that, he lost consciousness and regained consciousness in a room in the East Borough."
"The former fits the description of the ' Wraith ' possessing the inner guardian, while the latter is suspected to be the ' Teleportation ' of the ' Traveler '."
"If it really is ' Teleportation,' then Gehrman Sparrow could appear in Backlund at any time."
As the elite among the " Nighthawks," the " Red Gloves " possess a far greater understanding of the Beyonder Pathway than their colleagues at the same level, and are no strangers to " Wraith " and " Traveler."
After hearing the captain's explanation, another " Red Gloves " thoughtfully added:
"Rumor has it that the ' Admiral of Blood,' who was hunted down by Gehrman Sparrow, was a ' Wraith.'"
The details are starting to match!
The speculation that Gehrman Sparrow thus gained the ability to "become Wraith " is not too hard to accept. The simplest way to do this is to find " Artisan " and use their prey to create magical items.
Cindy recalled even more information from this:
"It is said that Gehrman Sparrow can change his appearance... and the infiltrator disguised himself as that inner guard."
Another detail matches up!
"A brilliant association." Soest raised a hand to rub his temples. "Based on these details, we can preliminarily determine that the infiltrator is Gehrman Sparrow. This means that some of our previous speculations and the list of suspects we compiled might be Error Gehrman Sparrow doesn't need his companions to come to the church to pray and gather intelligence; he can change his appearance every day, enter the place, and figure things out—this is far less noticeable than relying on his companions."
As the largest and holiest church of the Church of Evernight in Backlund, Saint Samuel is visited by countless believers every day for prayer or pilgrimage, and no bishop can remember a stranger he has only met once.
"So, this list of people we're supposed to be checking might be completely meaningless?" Leonard raised his hand to smooth his brow, his tone slightly exaggerated.
"Clearly, our current focus should be on Gehrman Sparrow. Other targets can be set aside for now; just conduct basic surveillance." With that, Soest clapped his hands. "Alright, let's get to work."
Leonard had no objection to this; he was just about to go and retrieve some information from " Machinery Hivemind," " The Mandated Punishers," and Military Intelligence Section 9.
On Tuesday morning, Klein slept until he naturally woke up, feeling relaxed and calm, with a sense of joy slowly growing within him.
The " Psychiatrist's" extraordinary abilities are quite useful... This matches perfectly with Miss " Justice's" infectious optimism and sunshine... Klein suddenly rolled out of bed and pulled back the curtains.
He leisurely admired the scenery outside and the golden the Sun, regaining his energy and starting to plan for the next few months, even the year:
First, find a new Marionette;
"Secondly, by using the identity of Dawn Dantès and his Manipulation of the Marionette, he orchestrated a series of dramas to accelerate the digestion of the Potion;
"Third, in the process, slowly collect the materials needed for the ' Bizarro Sorcerer ' Potion. Among them, you can ask Little ' The Sun ' for clues about Trickmaster, and seek Mr. Azik's help from Spirit World Plunderer, since the Underworld itself is part of the Spirit World;
"Fourth, continue investigating the Great Smog of Backlund Incident and find the real culprit hidden behind it. This includes Ince Zangwill and the Demigod who killed the ' Mad Captain.' There are no more suitable candidates to be the targets of the ascension ritual. However, be careful of '0-08' and always pay attention to any overly deliberate coincidences... Well, I will mainly focus on normal contact and providing assistance. I will leave the dangerous direct investigation to the Witch Trissy."
Klein's thoughts gradually became clearer. Although he still had worries and fears, these no longer affected his mental state and ability to act.
Turning his gaze away from the balcony, Klein stepped into the bathroom to take care of his personal hygiene.
Soon, he opened the door, feeling refreshed, and saw that in addition to his personal valet Richardson, his butler Walter was also waiting outside.
The gentleman, wearing white gloves, bowed respectfully and said:
"Good morning, sir. You only have one thing scheduled for today: to go to the East Balam Veteran Officers Club with Congressman Macht at 3 p. m. for an event."
"He is a member of the New Party. Accepting his invitation means you have initially indicated your political leanings. You still have time to hesitate."
Klein thought for a moment and said:
"No need, this is my choice."
He paused, then said in a consultant's tone:
"This is my first visit to the East Balam Veteran Officers Club today. What should I be aware of?"
"Praise their achievements in East Balam and offer a donation in return—not too much, not too little; 500 pounds would be a suitable amount," the steward Walter suggested.
500 pounds... Really, you have to spend a lot of money to get into any circle... Sigh, that's because Dawn Dantès has no background or connections, so he can only pave the way with money... Klein nodded slightly, agreeing with the butler's suggestion.
At the same time, he quickly calculated his current assets in his mind:
The " Artisan " hasn't finished crafting the " Ocean Songster " yet, but the money earned from the " Mentor of Disorder " and " Druid " Beyonder Characteristic has already been "deposited," totaling 16,000 pounds...
"Adding the original cash, and subtracting the £13,000 spent on purchasing 3% of Coim Company's shares, as well as the wealthy family's daily expenses and church donations, left with £23,985 and 5 gold coins..."
"In addition, I repaid the messenger lady a sum of money, and I still owe her 3413 gold coins..."
"500 pounds is more than 2% of all my cash..."
Klein didn't say much. He left the bedroom, went down to the second floor, entered the dining room, and began to enjoy breakfast.
Beneath the walls of Saint Samuel Cathedral, Leonard Mitchell returned to the office earlier than his teammates.
He had obtained the relevant information and learned something insignificant:
Prince Edessak, who died in the Great Smog of Backlund Incident, once commissioned a private Detective to investigate the cause of death of riding instructor Talym Dumont.
And the private Detective's name is:
Sherlock Moriarty!
Sure enough! His figure also appeared on the edge of the Great Smog of Backlund Incident! Leonard raised his hand and smoothed his hair with a mixture of joy and excitement.
Immediately afterwards, he clenched his fist and slammed it against the documents on the table, preparing to look for more clues.
However, he suddenly froze for seven or eight seconds before somewhat awkwardly picking up his cup, taking a sip of coffee, and muttering to himself:
"I forgot what I was trying to do just now after I punched it..."
After careful recollection, Leonard finally remembered, opened the drawer, and took out a tarot deck.
Then, he found the " The Fool " card, placed it on a piece of white paper, and wrote three names below it:
" Sherlock Moriarty, Gehrman Sparrow, Dawn Dantès."
After hesitating for a moment, Leonard drew a line from each of the three names and connected it to the " The Fool " card, indicating that they were likely members of the Concealment organization that believed in " The Fool ".
He seemed unsure about Gehrman Sparrow's identity, adding a question mark next to it.
Leonard then drew the "Emperor" card and placed it next to the name " Sherlock Moriarty," labeling it "suspected."
" Gehrman Sparrow and Dawn Dantès also each correspond to a Tarot card?" Leonard muttered to himself, picking up the Mad Adventurer's file and carefully examining it.
Suddenly, a date seemed familiar to him:
Early January!
Gehrman Sparrow first appeared in early January!
Hiss... Leonard gasped, then abruptly flipped to another document, where it ended with:
"At the end of December, Sherlock Moriarty left Backlund for a holiday in the south and never returned."
Late December... early January... Backlund... Pritz Harbor... Gehrman Sparrow will change his appearance... No way? Leonard muttered to himself as he drew a dotted equal sign between " Sherlock Moriarty " and " Gehrman Sparrow ".
This great Detective is key... Leonard took out Sherlock Moriarty's ceremonial portrait again and examined it carefully.
Taking into account the element of "changing appearance", he mentally created different disguises for the great Detective.
As Leonard revised the document, his gaze gradually hardened, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.