Chapter 77 The End
Chapter 77 The End
203
Richard rolled up his sleeves and expertly scraped the scales and head of a freshly caught big fish, removed the internal organs, cleaned the cavity, wrapped it in a large sheet of tin foil, and then roasted it on a sunken stone table topped with special sauce and spicy soup, with various vegetables and supplementary foods thoughtfully placed next to it.
Soon, the fish was half-cooked and the pungent aroma spread in the small backyard of the workhouse. Everyone, without exception, was aroused by the unprecedented southern continental cuisine. Even the indifferent Garland De was attracted by the delicious grilled fish. He stared at the boiling red soup and the pink and white fish. His eyes were glued to the grilled fish, and his mouth was still firmly organizing his words: "Chief, this, this is not the New Year yet..."
"It's November now. In my hometown, winter means everyone gets together to eat grilled fish."
"Ah... (Swallowing) Do cities along the coast of Feysac have such a tradition? This flavor doesn't seem to be..."
"It uses a lot of spices and chilies for seasoning. This is the style of the southern continent, the traditional flavor from the Paz River Valley to the Star Highlands." Richard scooped up a spoonful of soup with a large iron spoon and poured it on the surface of the fish. The sizzling sound and the bursting fragrance made people lose their souls. "Because it is close to the inland, everyone basically eats river fish. Such sea fish can only be eaten a few times a year. This is adjusted according to my taste, you can try it."
“Isn’t the leader from Feysac?” A little kid stood on tiptoe and tried to lie on the stone platform, but ended up getting burned by the hot stones. He blew wildly at his fingers, “You’re very tall!”
"I'm from the Southern Continent." Richard, who was 192cm tall, smiled and held the child's armpits with both hands, lifting him up high. "So everyone should eat well, so that you can grow as tall as me in the future!"
The children who had been watching secretly from behind the adults cheered and gathered around Richard, chattering and clamoring for him to lift them up and spin them around. Some children took the opportunity to squeeze to the edge of the stone platform, secretly dipped their long chopsticks into the soup and sipped it, but the teachers took away their chopsticks and sent them to be washed, and then patted their backs and shoulders a few times and gave them a stern lecture.
Richard was also happy to play with the children. After a while, the fish was cooked. Everyone quickly lined up with rice to share the fish. Garland gave himself a piece, then came to Richard, handed him a cup of southern continent-style cold milk tea, and asked the question he had long wanted to know: "Chief, what's the matter with you coming to the sea this time?"
"It's true."
Richard took the milk tea, took a sip, and started to add hot water to it: "I was asked by someone to come to the sea to investigate some things."
"Do you need me to arrange for an intelligence dealer?"
"If I need it, I'll trouble you." Richard savored the sweetness of the milk tea. "It would be best if I could contact the captain's intelligence dealer, because I need to go out to sea, but I don't need to be too strong. I don't want to deal with the four kings and seven generals."
"This... Chief, if you want to go out to sea, why don't you contact Her Majesty the Queen. As long as you ask, Her Majesty the Queen will definitely be willing to lend you the Black Tulip and Ludwell temporarily."
"I don't want to trouble Him." Richard shook his head. "He will use this opportunity to ask me for a discount, and the client probably doesn't want to make it public."
Discount is the main reason! Garland Tactics leaned back for a moment. Seeing that his leader had been calculating carefully for decades, he was very pleased and helpless: "I understand. I will contact you as soon as possible."
Richard hummed, but said nothing. He stared at the scene in the backyard in a trance: the delicious aroma of grilled fish wafted in the air, and the children held their own small bowls filled with fish and brown rice, playing and eating happily. The adults sat in groups of three or four and talked, laughing from time to time. It was almost dusk, the evening breeze was quiet, and the leaves rustled. This scene was so beautiful that it was like a dream, making people want to indulge in it and never wake up.
"…Please help me fill a bowl of rice, Garland." Richard said softly, giving an apologetic smile, "I think I'm a little hungry too."
204
Above the gray fog, Klein, who had cleared all mystical connections, was using divination to confirm Daisy's future safety.
"Daisy will be able to return home safely."
He held the pendulum in his left hand, closed his eyes and silently recited the words.
After seven times, Klein opened his eyes and saw the topaz pendant rotating counterclockwise, but the amplitude was very small and the speed was very slow. This meant that Daisy's journey home would still have a few twists and turns, but they were almost negligible... After interpreting the revelation, Klein put aside his last worries.
He then closed his eyes, leaned back and relaxed his body. Tonight's operation was full of surprises, but at least it ended smoothly. All he had to do next was wait for Maria to deliver the reward. The Aurora Society's involvement, Maria's spying, and the mysterious appearance of the giant monster claw at the end, all these things were a mess, and occasionally contradictory.
If Mr. A and Maria are enemies, then what is Maria's purpose in taking Mr. A away? There is no answer to this question at present, and we can only judge it based on Mr. A's subsequent status.
If Maria and Mr. A were collaborators, then the attack on Kapin could be understood as a gangster-on-gangster behavior with the involvement of a cult, which would be the easiest answer. The key point is that in this case, there might not be any need for his own help. Mr. A sneaked into the restaurant alone and showed enough ability to kill Heras alone. With the help of Maria who was ambushing outside, the two of them had a high probability of catching all of Kapin's men. There was no need to hire a strange detective to help and spend hundreds of pounds.
Putting aside the entanglement between Maria and Mr. A, the last claw that can directly cause harm to herself is also problematic.
It appeared after Maria prayed. Praying in a fire scene was very unusual. It was probably a summon or report. But if this claw and the monster behind it were summoned by Maria, then she might not even need Mr. A.
The intricate clues were intertwined, and Klein's thoughts were contradictory, so he simply gave up. Anyway, Sherlock Moriarty only accepted a commission to investigate the Capin Mansion, so why should he care about the mess in the East District? What's more, the one who participated in the battle was the "Black Emperor" ghost, who had nothing to do with Sherlock!
Just wait for Maria's generous reward!
So, Klein turned his attention to other details.
"Parker is a Sequence 8 'Sheriff', Katie is a Sequence 7 'Interrogator'... Isn't this the 'Arbitrator' path? This path is controlled by the royal family, the military, and a small number of the older noble families in Loen, and they have strict control over the leakage of formulas and extraordinary materials... Could it be that some of the girls kidnapped by Kapin will be sent to the manor of a noble?
"But they don't have to send four Beyonders to help Kapin just for fun. This is obviously not equal... Heras is much stronger than Katie. Maybe he is a Sequence 6 of this path. After wearing the glove, he may even reach Sequence 5... Could it be that some bloody and evil sacrifice is involved, and the target of the pursuit cannot be exposed?
"In addition to the kingdom, Feynaporte's Castilla family also has access to this extraordinary channel and has passed it on to their military and intelligence systems... Is this another espionage case involving something unknown?"
Klein tried to divine a few of his guesses, but failed again. He temporarily put the matter aside and tapped the edge of the bronze table, muttering to himself:
"As long as there are formulas and corresponding auxiliary materials, these two Beyonder characteristics can respectively enable a person to become a Sequence 8 'Sheriff' and a Sequence 7 'Interrogator'... Miss Magician's friend named Xio seems to be lacking Beyonder materials for the 'Sheriff'...
"It's a pity that it happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to collect the spoils, nor did I leave the tarot cards behind like Lanevus did. I don't know what's going on now. But if I had been a little greedy and didn't leave immediately, I would have been caught by that claw. It can actually hurt the spirit directly. If the remaining negative effects hadn't been eliminated by the gray fog, I guess the owner of the claw would have come to find me directly..."
"I don't know what the Sequence 6 and Sequence 5 of the Arbitrator pathway are called. It uses a sense of order and law... 'Judge'?"
Klein withdrew his thoughts, half-closed his eyes, and carefully examined his own state. He once again felt his spirit become active, the potion was being pried open, and the digestion was speeding up. This time, he believed intuitively that he had summarized most of the "Magician's Code". The remaining details would be better if they were there, but it didn't matter if they were not there, as it would not affect the digestion progress too much.
Manifesting a round fountain pen and parchment, Klein wrote as if to reinforce his memory: "Magician's Rules:
“1. Don’t perform without preparation;
“2. Challenge the impossible, even if the final result is just false;”
Klein believes that the above are the two most core points of the "Magician's Code". Grasping them means grasping the key, and the rest are supplements and improvements to them.
“3. Do more active performances;
“4. Try to get the audience’s applause;
“5. Take control of your target’s attention.”
……
Putting down the dark red round-bellied fountain pen, Klein read through it from beginning to end. He judged, "Daily acting combined with three or four active 'performances' will be enough for me to digest the 'magician' potion before the New Year. If I can do another impossible 'performance' in the middle, the progress will be even faster... This is about the speed I hope to achieve."
Today is November 11st, a new beginning. There are still about two months until January 1st, 1350. After doing all this, Klein rubbed his forehead and prepared to return to the real world. In the cheap hotel in the Backlund Bridge area, he suddenly opened his eyes and saw the candlelight of his own summoning ceremony.
After quickly finishing the work, Klein put on the thicker work jacket he had just bought for 4 soli and walked to the window. He picked up the sweet iced tea he had bought earlier, looked at his own blurry figure reflected in the window, smiled sincerely, and whispered to himself:
"cheers."
As soon as he finished speaking, he touched the glass with the cup in his hand, then raised his chin and drank it all in one gulp.
Then, he leisurely left the hotel. The gas street lamps nearby were all on, and the pedestrians and carriages were busy, unaware of the explosion at the junction of Cherwood District and the West District. Klein strolled around the "Brave" bar, wandered for a while, and knocked on the door of the Extraordinary gathering of old Mr. "Eye of Wisdom" at 7:58.
He put on the iron mask and the hooded robe and acted like a normal, ordinary person.
205
In the best single room of Charity Hospital in the East District.
Mr. A woke up slowly, looked at the unfamiliar ceiling, his memory gradually came back, and then he fainted again because of himself.
Maria, who was sitting nearby and peeling an apple, was startled and subconsciously wanted to call Dr. Blake, who had just been rescued and was still a little dazed. But when she thought of the other's dazed and haggard appearance, she gave up the idea and continued to pay close attention to Mr. A.
Ten minutes later, Mr. A woke up again. Before he could remember what had happened, Maria shouted, "You're awake!"
"..." Mr. A still recalled some unbearable memories and asked her painfully, "What's the situation? How long have I been unconscious?"
"The children have been rescued." Maria breathed a sigh of relief and comforted him, "You were seriously injured, but you were only unconscious for more than two hours."
Mr. A's facial features were twisted together. Maria, who was watching, could feel his current confusion and complex mood, and decided not to ask what happened in the villa for the time being. However, she and Mr. A were not familiar with each other, and it was their first time working together. The atmosphere suddenly became awkward, and both of them had nothing to say.
At this time, a man came to visit Mr. A.
Mr. Z came to the ward with a fruit basket and cake, and a meaningful and even a little happy smile. He had a band-aid on his nose and seemed to be limping when he walked. He knocked on the half-open door of the ward and said hello with a forced look of grief: "Mr. A, I heard that you almost died in the mission, so I hurried to see you in a carriage!"
Maria:……
When Mr. Z walked to the bedside and was about to speak, Mr. A suddenly spoke first: "Which foot did you step with first when you walked in?"
Mr. Z was stunned: "Left foot?"
"I don't talk to people who walk in with their left foot first. Get out!"
Mr. Z was happy. He put down the cake and fruit basket, turned around and walked out again. Then, under the gaze of two pairs of eyes, he raised his right foot and walked through the door first. He came to Mr. A's bed again and was about to speak when Mr. A interrupted him again: "You greeted me with your left hand just now!"
Maria:…………
"Are you (cult swear word) deliberately looking for trouble?"
"You and I are both messengers of the Aurora Society. How could I deliberately pick a fight with you?"
"Just tell me if you are looking for trouble on purpose!" Mr. Z raised his right hand and greeted me again, "Are you satisfied?!"
Mr. A frowned: "Are you breathing? Your breathing is too loud, disturbing my rest, get out!"
Maria really began to feel that it was difficult to breathe. She quickly stopped the two wise envoys from arguing, asked Mr. Z to sit down, and quickly changed the subject: "You got the news so quickly?"
"No, it's Bishop Rose's special way of communicating."
Mr. Z responded fluently: "I was fine before, but suddenly a piece of flesh on my arm started to fall off, and then it turned into the word "Help". I'm renting near the East District now, and I was still wondering who was calling for help when I heard an explosion from the East District, and then an earthquake."
"I knew that Mr. A accepted your commission to help, and it turned out to be him, so I hurried over."
"Are you here to visit me?!" Mr. A's face was distorted, "You are here to laugh at me! To laugh at me!"
"How can you slander someone's innocence out of thin air?" Mr. Z retorted. After seeing Maria's kind eyes, he quickly returned to his usual wise guy persona and returned to the main topic with clear logic. "Also, when I came here, I found that the location of the Kapin Mansion in the East District had been blocked. I went to inquire about the situation, but the Punishers guarding it were very tight-lipped. I heard that the mansion was completely destroyed, and then I realized that something was wrong."
"A, do you have anything to say about this mission?"
Mr. A closed his eyes, looking grim. After a long silence, he slowly exhaled: "...From the results of the commission, I didn't get the route map of Kapin's mansion, and I wasn't the one who destroyed the mansion and killed Kapin. From the process, I ignored the unknown personnel due to misjudgment, which almost led to my death and exposed the involvement of the Aurora Society. In summary, my mission failed and I made a fatal mistake."
"Your damage was huge, but fortunately the result was not a failure. You were injured so badly, and it is inhumane to deduct your merits." Mr. Z said very seriously and calmly, "So I am still the first this month."
Mr. A was about to be moved, but when he heard the last sentence, he was suddenly unable to catch his breath and fainted on the spot.
TBC
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Some small details
God’s coming is September 9th, and the current time is November 16st.
I calculated Ouroboros' growth rate at twice the speed, so half a month equals one month, and it has been three months now.
I'm really surprised that if I count one month as one year old, he is now two and a half years old. (Disrespectful
(End of this chapter)