Chapter 789: Each Person's Monday
9:30 a.m., Backlund Bridge area, Iron Gate Street, Bravehearts Bar.
Emlyn White stood rooted to his spot after he got down from the
carriage. He stared ahead in a daze, nearly forgetting to avoid the
sunlight.
At that moment, the bar's main door was shut with no signs of it
opening.
As a Sanguine who seldom left his home and only went to places like bars
at night, Emlyn never expected the bar to be closed in the morning. He
had left the Harvest Church in a rush via the transportation system
after seeing the paper slip, hoping to obtain any first-hand
intelligence.
To save time, he even tolerated the cramped environment and stench of
the metro.
At that moment, Emlyn was somewhat peeved, but he knew that he had made
the mistake. All he could do was pull a face and circle around Iron Gate
Street to not waste his trip.
Just as he was about to approach a rental carriage that stood along the
street, he caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of his eye.
The person was wearing a brown rounded top hat and an old coat while
carrying a ragged haversack. He was none other than Ian, the underground
arms dealer and intelligence merchant.
*Hehe, I have quite good intuition. I knew he would appear
early!* Emlyn was delighted as he stuffed his hands into his
pockets and leisurely walked over, blocking Ian's way as he chuckled.
"Good morning."
Ian looked up and glanced at the handsome man before him, replying in
puzzlement, "Good morning, Mr. White. You should've come in the
evening."
"It seems to be a suitable time now," Emlyn said with a smile, clearly
in a good mood. "Ian, why do you always wear the same clothes and outfit
every time I see you?"
Ian answered without minding the question, "This can make me appear more
mature while allowing me to keep a low profile.
"Of course, the main reason is that I lack money."
The final sentence was added with a joking tone.
"I look forward to your attire in summer," Emlyn said with a scoff.
"I'll take off my coat," As Ian spoke, he took out two pieces of paper
from his ragged haversack. They were the bounty notices that Emlyn had
previously given him. "Someone in East Borough saw this person."
He handed over one of the papers to Emlyn, and on it was the name,
Argos.
Realizing that there really were clues to the Primordial Moon believers,
Emlyn asked in delight, "Where is he?"
Ian didn't reply as he looked at him with a silent smile.
Experienced, Emlyn immediately took out his wallet and gave 150 pounds
to Ian.
"That's your reward."
Ian smiled and said, "There's still another half to go."
Another half? Emlyn nearly wanted to let this merchant in
front of him know the prowess of a Sanguine. This was because an
effective clue cost 20 pounds, while an exact location cost 150 pounds.
However, he quickly read between the lines as he asked in pleasant
surprise, "Another one was found?"
"Yes." Ian handed him the remaining piece of paper in his hand. "While
my friend observed Argos and confirmed his residence, it was discovered
that he had met with this person named Galis Kevin. Therefore, I've
obtained the residence of the two targets at the same time."
"...Very good." Emlyn emptied his wallet and gave another 150 pounds to
Ian.
He was abnormally delighted; he felt that the Ancestor and Mr. Fool were
blessing him. This was because there were only five targets, and he had
successfully hunted one. Now, with two additional clues, all he needed
to do was succeed in order to declare himself victor regardless of what
the other Sanguine did.
Ian seriously counted and checked the notes before saying with a
suppressed voice, "Argos is on the third story of the apartment block at
East Borough's 6 Limestone Street, opposite the public washroom.
"Galis Kevin is similarly in East Borough. He stays in the room beside
the staircase on the first floor at 19 Beluga Whale Street."
"I will confirm your intelligence. I believe you wouldn't wish to
abandon your business for a mere 300 pounds." Emlyn nodded gently as he
gave a warning. Following that, he chuckled and said, "They were found
so easily?"
Ian's red eyes darted around slightly as he said, "First, many bounty
hunters are my friends. They have many informants in East Borough.
"Second, those two gentlemen didn't have great disguises. Despite being
in East Borough, they wore very different attire from the people around
them. If they were willing to wear more ragged clothes and did more than
twelve hours of labor work, I believe they would be hard to find in the
messy East Borough."
*Is that so... One needs to take note of the difference in environment
when hiding oneself...* Emlyn muttered silently to himself,
feeling as though he had learned a new trick.
He didn't plan on heading to East Borough immediately. This was because
even if he took action in the day, it would be very difficult to escape
without causing a commotion. It was a rather dangerous act in Backlund,
as it meant that the Mandated Punishers or Nighthawks might come
knocking at the door just after he sneaked back home.
Emlyn planned on verifying the situation and taking action between eight
to nine in the evening after the Tarot Gathering.
*The Primordial Moon believer from before was quite strong. These two
likely aren't weaker. Although I have confidence, it feels unsafe only
relying on myself...* As Emlyn considered the problem, he waved
his hand and bade Ian farewell. He rode on a rental carriage, heading
back for the south side of the Bridge.
East Chester County, Stoen City.
Audrey stood behind a railing, watching the servants placing the items
that had been brought from the family castle in suitable spots. The
scene was bustling but orderly.
*I'll send someone to Associate Professor Michele later and tell him
that I'll be paying a visit to the Relic Search and Preservation
Foundation... I hope that they've obtained some items that have been
tainted with Beyonder effects...* As Audrey's mind wandered, she
couldn't help but smile. She was proud of her decision of donating the
funds to establish the foundation.
When her eyes that were as beautiful as emeralds saw the time on the
wall clock, she hurriedly reined in her thoughts and turned to return to
her bedroom.
Susie was slumped in a corner of the bedroom. Its front paws were
crossed, giving it a sense of elegance.
In front of it was an opened book. There were dense lines of text
written on it.
Susie would raise one of her front paws from time to time to flip the
page as she read with great seriousness.
*Every time I see Susie like that, I feel a little ashamed... Audrey,
you mustn't slack off on your education!* Audrey encouraged
herself in silence as she approached, planning to get Susie to head
outside to guard the door.
Susie looked up and glanced at Audrey before standing straight up,
saying, "I got it!"
After saying that, it briskly ran out the bedroom without closing the
door.
"...I haven't said anything." Audrey blinked as she softly muttered to
herself.
She had given such instructions many times. To prevent Susie from
detecting that she wanted to be alone in the room from 3 to 3:30 p.m. on
Mondays, forbidding humans and dogs from coming close, she had also done
similar matters at other times, pretending that there was a gathering,
wanting alone time while maintaining an irregular pattern.
*I have to say that Susie's existence has effectively raised my
motivation to learn, as well as how strictly I handle matters... I can't
be inferior to a dog! But, being better than this dog doesn't seem to be
something worthy of praise...* Audrey puffed her cheeks with a
self-deprecating comment as she sat by her bed, awaiting the beginning
of the Tarot Gathering.
3 p.m. above the gray fog.
Dark red figures shot up along the two sides of the long bronze table,
materializing into different blurry figures.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool\~" Audrey's greeted with a cheery voice as she
bowed.
The other members greeted one after another until the existence at the
seat of honor nodded in response.
While sitting down, Fors couldn't help but look at Mr. World, wondering
what she should use as an opening.
Apart from passing on her teacher's reply to Ma'am Hermit, she planned
on doing a few matters. One, she wanted to tell Mr. World that due to
the difficulty of the mission, she would pay him more, but it required
him to wait. This was because the sale of the houses took time. Second,
after brainstorming, she thought of a good way that could earn money and
raise her strength. She had gained inspiration from The World's actions:
Rent out Leymano's Travels!
When a member needed an item to temporarily raise their combat strength
to deal with certain situations, they could rent Leymano's Travels from
her. The rent could be paid in two forms---cash which wasn't too
expensive or to record Beyonder powers instead. This also meant that the
renter had to guarantee that the spellbook was returned with more filled
pages.
Of course, as the provider, Fors would record useful Apprentice powers
like Door Opening, providing the renter with relevant help.
A problem that could easily happen in this transaction was that the
renter might not return it, but with Mr. Fool witnessing these exchanges
in the Tarot Club, Fors believed that no one would be blinded by greed.
And the death of the renter was a low probability event for losing
Leymano's Travels. But with everyone knowing that they could pray to Mr.
Fool in times of danger, death was an even smaller probability!
*How can there not be any risks when doing business... I will talk to
Mr. World about when he will use it so that there won't be any
conflicts...* Fors retracted her gaze and heard Ma'am Hermit
speak.
"Honorable Mr. Fool, I have two pages of Roselle's diary this time."
*Ever since contact was made with Queen Mystic, the receiving of diary
pages has stabilized in a rather terrifying manner...* Klein
nodded slightly and chuckled.
"Very good."
After a brief silence, Cattleya conjured two yellowish-brown pieces of
paper. They leaped into Mr. Fool's palms as if they had tunneled through
the spirit world.
Klein slowly lowered his gaze at the diary in his hands.
"29th December. It's almost a new year again.
"All the mausoleums have been built. What's done cannot be undone."