After some Placate, Allen Kreis and Wilma Greattis finally calmed the baby down.
Whew... The tall, thin Allen breathed a sigh of relief, straightened up, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, nodded apologetically to the customer, and after a few seconds of hesitation, finally organized his thoughts and said:
"Sorry, kids are all like that."
"Yes," Klein replied with a smile, indicating that he didn't mind at all.
Then, he changed the subject and continued to share his observations and experiences in West Balam.
During this process, he once again used his extraordinary abilities to trap all the ordinary people in the living room in an illusion. He then picked up the ice cream he hadn't finished eating, exchanged it for a silver spoon, stood up with a smile, walked to the stroller, and gently asked:
" Will, do you want some?"
Before the plump fellow wrapped in silver silk could respond, he said in an even softer voice:
"Now that you're born, you should be able to fold paper cranes, so I won't have to visit you so often. You know, that can easily arouse suspicion."
Will Auceptin Ceres glared at him but didn't reply.
Klein didn't back down. He took a good quality piece of white paper from the side and put it in the stroller.
Then, he bent down and scooped out a little ice cream with a silver spoon.
"Every gift of Fate comes with a price already marked in secret, doesn't it?" Klein said with a low laugh as he moved the silver key in his hand.
Lying in the stroller, Will raised his left hand, wiped his tear-streaked face, and mumbled something.
"For those Beyonder on the ' Fate ' path, it is always a matter of paying the price for what is on the list before waiting for the reward."
As he spoke, the chubby baby picked up the piece of white paper, folding it into a paper crane with slightly difficulty and a hint of sobbing.
Klein stood in front of the stroller, keeping the silver key steady, and watched this scene with a smile.
A horse-drawn carriage departed from Pinster Street and headed towards the Saint Samuel Cathedral.
As Leonard Mitchell passed the house at 160 Böklund Street, he glanced at it through the car window and said, as if talking to himself:
" Dawn Dantès is back too."
The slightly aged voice immediately echoed in his mind:
" Our Fate will eventually intersect."
" Old Man, you're starting to look more and more like a charlatan since you woke up," Leonard couldn't help but mock.
Pallez Zoroast chuckled twice but did not respond.
Upon arriving at Saint Samuel Cathedral, Leonard, led by a priest, entered the study of Archbishop Saint Anthony of Backlund.
Anthony Stevenson, dressed in a black and red robe, with deep-set eyes and a clean-shaven face, stood in the shadow cast by the closet, like an unknown being watching everything from the depths of darkness, inspiring fear in people for no reason.
"Your Excellency, what brings you to me?" Leonard asked, though he had expected it, he still gave a somewhat awkward bow.
Anthony nodded slightly and said:
"You have made enough contributions to qualify as Sequence 5 ' Spirit Warlock '. However, your ' Spirit Warlock ' Potion has not been fully digested yet, so I have removed you from the Soest Squad and assigned you some tasks separately."
Leonard responded according to procedure:
Please give your orders.
Anthony picked up a stack of papers from the desk and said:
"These are all suspected haunting incidents. Investigate them one by one, focusing on Placate rather than Purification. If assistance is needed, select members from the Nighthawks teams in the affected areas."
"Yes, Your Excellency the Archbishop." Leonard would do similar things on his own even if Saint Anthony didn't give the order, so he had no objection to this assignment.
After taking the stack of papers, he casually flipped through them and said:
"Your Excellency, what is Captain Soest's squad up to these days?"
Although he had focused on revenge for the past six months, appearing carefree but inwardly withdrawn, and had not developed a deep friendship with the members of the " Red Gloves " team, they were still teammates who had fought side by side and gone through danger together, so it was inevitable that he would care about them.
"They're working with Crestet on a mission." Anthony Stevenson didn't elaborate.
So, Lord Cesimir has come to Backlund too... Leonard didn't ask any more questions, and tapped his chest four times clockwise:
May the goddess bless everyone.
"Praise be to the goddess." Antony returned the gesture.
Leaving the archbishop's study, Leonard headed downwards, intending to enter the underground and find a quiet room to list the tasks he needed to perform in a table, indicating their priority.
As he walked up the stairs, he subconsciously glanced up at the stained glass windows high above.
Sunlight streamed in, making the colorful patterns appear even more majestic and clearly revealing the drifting dust and tiny flying insects.
Seeing this, Leonard suddenly remembered the Old Man's description of Amon, and inexplicably had the illusion that the " Blasphemer " was everywhere in the air.
He felt a tremor in his heart, then a question arose in his mind, and he quickly lowered his voice and said:
" Old Man, I have a question."
"What?" Pallez Zoroast asked slowly.
Leonard lowered his voice and said:
"Why didn't you Parasitism a flying insect in the first place? They're smaller, more stealthy, and could easily hide inside the church without Amon finding you."
"How long can a flying insect live? Constantly changing hosts is a huge drain on it. Not only can it not recover little by little through Parasitism, but it will also make its condition worse and shorten its lifespan," Pallez Zoroast snorted.
Leonard seemed to realize something and asked another question:
"What about other creatures? Those that can live a relatively long time and sneak into the church unnoticed."
Pallez Zoroast immediately sneered:
"It seems you haven't taken some of what I said to heart, and you'll suffer a great loss from that later!"
"On the path to transcendence, the higher the Sequence, the more madness and tendency to lose control accumulate. This is the nature of the characteristic, which can only be suppressed and resisted, not eliminated."
"Therefore, for a ' Parasite,' choosing a host must take these factors into account. If Parasitism an ordinary animal, it's fine for a short period of time, but if it does for a long time, it will inevitably be affected by the animal's body structure and hormones. Hehe, everything is reciprocal, isn't it? A ' Parasite ' can influence its host, and the host can in turn influence it."
"When you inhabit the body of an ordinary animal, you have to talk to people frequently and never forget your former identity. This makes you extremely vulnerable to exposure. If you don't do this, you will definitely be influenced by the host, gradually lose your speech, become confused about your self-identity, and lose sight of who you really are. You will be overwhelmed by the tendency towards madness and loss of control."
Leonard was inexplicably startled and nodded slightly.
"I understand... no wonder you were so selective about who you were hosting."
"Are you trying to brag about yourself?" Pallez Zoroast clicked his tongue. "For us, the most suitable Parasitism is undoubtedly the Beyonder of this pathway. They will be highly synchronized in all aspects, and after cultivating them Sequence by Sequence, we can make them a supplement to our own extraordinary power, a special remedy for our self-state, and take over that body."
Listening to the Old Man speak so calmly about such evil and terrible things, Leonard frowned slightly but secretly breathed a sigh of relief, because it meant that the other party would not do that to him.
Pallez Zoroast continued:
"The next best option is the Beyonder follow the paths of ' Seer ' and ' Apprentice '. Absorbing their power will not put too much burden on the ' Parasite's ' state, allowing for a relatively quick recovery."
"At the very least, they are Beyonder with intelligence obtained through other means; at the very least, they communicate well and know how to cooperate."
"As for you, hehe..."
Leonard was about to retort to the Old Man when he suddenly saw a bishop coming down the stairs. He quickly shut his mouth, grabbed the handrail, and quickened his pace.
7:30 p. m., 39 Böklund Street, the home of Congressman Macht.
Klein, dressed in a tailcoat, stepped down from the carriage, fastening his coat as he went. Bathed in the glow of the lights and fountains, he entered the foyer and saw Mauri Macht, who was wearing an olive-green military uniform, an orange sash, and combat medals.
His wife, Liana, wearing a long, off-the-shoulder dress, smiled and said to Dawn Dantès:
"Welcome, our Traveler! Everyone is waiting for you to share your experiences in West Balam."
"Should I find a newspaper and start a Travel column?" Klein replied jokingly.
Macht knew exactly what business Dawn Dantès was going to the Southern Continent for, and since it was based on his introduction, he exchanged a smile with Dantes, then stepped forward, gave him a hug, and said in a low voice:
"Well done!"
Klein smiled and nodded, then asked:
Do you like the gift?
He was referring to the Valley wine that could be used to make sour cocktails.
"That's wonderful, that's the taste I've been longing for," Congressman Macht said sincerely.
Klein was about to enter the hall when he noticed something amiss. He glanced around casually and asked with slight confusion:
Miss Hibbert is not here?
"Have you already started attending a girls' public school?"
Madam Liana sighed and shook her head:
"No, she's just sick. She won't be going to public school until September."
"You've caught a cold?" Klein asked, expressing the concern expected of a guest.
Congressman Macht smiled helplessly:
"No, she was bitten by a crazed rat a few days ago when she went to a manor in the suburbs, and the wound hasn't completely healed yet."
Hibbert was bitten... by a crazed rat... Klein nodded thoughtfully:
Have you seen Doctor?
"Hmm, was that mouse caught?"
" The Doctor gave her medication to prevent infection," Congressman Macht said simply. "The rat hasn't been found yet; perhaps we'll have to keep a few cats on the estate."