Chapter 786: Accounting Fraud
Hat Trick Inn on Cherwood Borough's 22 Hope Street.
Just as the attendant at the front desk was about to drink some water,
she saw a lady walk in.
The lady was about 1.65 meters tall, and she wore a light-colored dress
with frilly sides. Her brown curly hair cascaded down as she wore
colored glasses. She looked casual, just like someone who had just
returned from Desi Bay.
She held a dark brown leather suitcase as she unhurriedly walked to the
front desk.
*A lady with extraordinary disposition... Her attire is nice... How I
wish I could see what she looks like without her glasses...* As
a female, the attendant habitually sized up her clothes and accessories.
She then heard the lady say in a languid tone, "One night. A single
room."
"2 soli and 8 pence." The attendant gave her the room rate for the day
and directly asked, "Do you have any identification documents?"
She wasn't too adamant about registering her identity, because the inn
had no means of confirming the authenticity of the documents.
"Yes." The lady put down her dark brown suitcase and took out an
identification document from her handbag before passing it to her.
"Margaret Taylor..." the attendant muttered as she registered her before
finding a bunch of keys. "Room 2012."
"Thank you." The lady in fashionable attire received the keys, carried
the dark brown suitcase, and walked towards the staircase.
At this moment, an attendant in a red vest came over. He bowed and
asked, "How may I help you?"
He immediately cast his gaze on the dark brown suitcase.
The lady curled her lips into a smile as she shook her head.
"There's no need. It's very light."
With that said, she didn't stop as she walked up the stairs and entered
Room 2012.
Only after she closed the door and put down the suitcase did she raise
her right hand to her chest, letting out a long sigh of relief.
Why do I feel like a psychotic murderer...
She was none other than the disguised Fors. There was nothing in her
suitcase except for Mr. X's head which was wrapped in newspapers!
*The two attendants from before probably wouldn't have guessed that a
fashionable lady didn't have any clothes, facial products, or makeup in
her suitcase, but a cracked, bloody head... If they were to discover
that, everyone in the inn would be given a fright... This is source
material for a detective novel!* Fors calmed her feelings of
anxiousness and picked up her suitcase again and opened the door.
She observed the corridor and saw no one walking through it. She
hurriedly walked out and headed for Room 2016 and rapped on the wooden
door.
Her teacher, Dorian Gray Abraham, was living in the same room he
previously used.
After sensing someone sizing her up through the peephole, Fors heard the
doorknob twist as the gears unlocked.
Dorian Gray was dressed in a black suit with very broad shoulders. He
looked to the left and right warily before making way, allowing his
student to enter.
"No one noticed you, right?" Following that, he closed the door and
asked cautiously.
Fors put down the suitcase and removed the colored glasses that hid half
her face.
"No, I used a fake identity."
As a Beyonder in Backlund with rather rich experience as a Low-Sequence
Beyonder, having a few fake identification documents was necessary.
Furthermore, she had Xio's expert help in such matters.
The only problem was that it was ultimately a fake identity that
couldn't stand up to police scrutiny.
However, Fors had heard that there were places where real identity
documentation could be obtained. Furthermore, they were documents which
the police department had a record of, with the pictures swapped. Of
course, the price was much more expensive.
Dorian nodded gently and silently exhaled. As he got Fors to sit, he
brought a chair over and said, "You mentioned that someone is paying to
find the direct descendants of the Abraham family at a Beyonder
gathering in Backlund? And the goal is to find information on Mr. Door?"
"Yes, Teacher," Fors said nothing but the truth. "I don't know much
about the family, so I thought of asking you to see if you knew
anything."
She hid two points, namely the Beyonder gathering being called the Tarot
Gathering, and that she long knew that her teacher was a member of the
Abraham family.
Dorian sat down and drank a sip from a white porcelain teacup. He asked
with a calm expression, "Who was the one asking?"
"I'm not sure. I can only confirm that it was a woman. She had concealed
her appearance. Uh, she seemed very powerful and must have quite a
strong backing." Fors described her impression of Ma'am Hermit.
What she didn't say was that this woman had close ties with Queen Mystic
Bernadette.
Dorian Gray pondered for a few seconds before saying, "I don't know much
either. All I know is that Mr. Door is the ancestor of the Abraham
family. He vanished during the War of the Four Emperors. You can try
using this piece of information to get some of the bounty."
*Mr. Door is the Abraham family's ancestor? Mr. Door, who made the
Abraham family suffer the curse of the full moon, causing many members
to lose control, is actually the Abraham family's ancestor?*
Fors was alarmed.
Having already learned some of the problems of the Abraham family from
Mr. Fool, she couldn't believe that the cause of all of this was the
source of the bloodline!
Does Mr. Door not know the consequences of his actions? Fors
muttered silently as she couldn't help but frown.
Dorian Gray noticed his student's abnormal reaction as he asked,
somewhat puzzled, "Is there a problem?"
Oh no, I didn't manage to hide my expression... Fors
deliberated and said, "I just don't understand. It's been more than a
thousand years, so apart from the Abraham family's direct descendants,
who would wish to gather information on Mr. Door and why?"
*Perhaps they're trying to find Mr. Door? Ah right, Queen Mystic is
Emperor Roselle's daughter, and Mr. Door has appeared in Emperor
Roselle's diary. Therefore, the queen is trying to find Mr. Door to
figure out the truth of the past. That's normal... However, Mr. Door
vanished in the War of the Four Emperors, more than a thousand years
before Emperor Roselle's era. How did they manage to contact each
other... Could it be that Emperor Roselle could also hear the full moon
ravings... Hmm, I remember Mr. Fool making a remark that Mr. Door might
be calling for help... If that's the case, it's really... it's
really...* As an author, Fors was momentarily at a loss for
words to describe her feelings.
Dorian revealed a wry smile and said, "Certainly, I'm also puzzled about
this problem. Remember to tell me if you find the answer."
Fors didn't harp on this matter, afraid that Dorian Gray would notice
anything amiss. She then said, "Teacher, why did you suddenly come to
Backlund?"
Dorian smiled and picked up a cigarette as he raised it to his nose to
give it a whiff. Without lighting it, he said, "I happen to have some
matters that need me to be in Backlund. I also decided to check on your
digestion progress."
In fact, he had been alarmed by Fors's letter. He couldn't believe that
anyone in the world would still be asking about Mr. Door. One had to
know that even the Abraham family had given up such attempts. He was the
only one who kept at it, teaching students on his own accord.
This also made him recall a prophecy that was passed around within the
family---the Abrahams were increasingly approaching their destruction.
When he connected the two matters together, he rushed over to Backlund
to confirm his student's situation. He wished that she could advance as
soon as possible, leaving some hope for the Abraham family.
"I just grasped the various astrological knowledge," Fors replied,
feeling a little guilty.
Due to her lack of money, she hadn't bought the high-quality crystal
ball needed by an Astrologer.
To not continue on this topic, Fors began asking Dorian Gray about the
acting principles needed for Astrologer, obtaining advice such as
"astrology isn't all-powerful."
Towards the end, Fors glanced at the dark brown suitcase beside her and
said, "Teacher, there's one more matter."
"What is it?" Dorian leaned back into his chair as he leisurely drank a
mouthful of black tea.
Fors followed the script she had prepared and said, "After knowing that
Lewis Wien betrayed the organization, inflicting a great deal of harm
upon all of you, I've always had the thought of finding him and exacting
revenge for all of you."
"Give up that thought!" Dorian sat up straight. "Even if you have
Leymano's Travels, you are no match for him, much less able to kill him!
I'm very glad that you have such thoughts, but there's no need to take
unnecessary risks."
I'm definitely not able to do it alone... Fors mumbled
silently before saying, "I got to know a very powerful bounty hunter. I
spent about 10,000 pounds to seek his help."
She wasn't able to estimate the cost of the job, so she had used the
price that Miss Audrey paid when previously entrusting them to kill the
Intis ambassador.
*That might be a cheat... Lewis Wien is likely a Traveler, and he has
the support of the Aurora Order...* Dorian didn't hold any hopes
of any bounty hunter being Lewis Wien's match when he heard his student
say, "He has already succeeded."
Cough! Cough! Cough! Dorian choked on his saliva as he broke
out into a fit of coughs.
He dropped the teacup to the ground, but it bounced up like magic,
firmly landing on the coffee table.
"He has given me Lewis Wien's head." Fors held up the dark brown
suitcase and opened it, taking out the spherical object which was
wrapped in newspapers.
With the newspapers unfolded bit by bit, Dorian saw that face he would
never forget. The smug smile on Lewis Wien's face back when he attacked
the Abraham family's headquarters was gone. His head was covered in
cracks, as though it had been glued together piece by piece. It was
gruesome, filled with pain and despair.
As an Astrologer, Dorian Gray's spiritual intuition told him that it was
undoubtedly Lewis Wien's head.
"Good, very good..." Dorian muttered in excitement before looking up at
his student. "Who was the bounty hunter? I can't imagine Backlund having
such a powerful bounty hunter."
Fors hesitated for a moment before saying, "Gehrman Sparrow."