Chapter 994: Prelude

At 7 Pinster Street, Leonard, who had specially returned home to

participate in the Tarot Gathering, was just about to head to Saint

Samuel Cathedral's basement to read the dossiers so as to make

preparations for his placating of souls at night when his vision

suddenly went into a blur. He saw the messenger in a dark, full dress

holding four blonde, red-eyed heads.

As a Soul Assurer, he could already see such creatures with Spirit

Bodies.

After taking Klein's letter, Leonard didn't even have the chance to say

thank you when Reinette Tinekerr turned around and walked into the void.

She didn't even stay for long.

"...Old Man, why does Klein have a messenger of this level? Is this a

perk of being a Blessed?" Leonard couldn't help but ask Pallez Zoroast

with a suppressed voice.

He originally fantasized that it was standard for every Tarot Club

member, but he later realized that he had been imagining things.

Pallez Zoroast's slightly-aged voice chuckled immediately.

"It is likely to solely belong to Klein Moretti. Everyone receives some

special fortuitous encounter, isn't that the case? Isn't it the same

even for a fellow like you?

"Heh heh, I thought you would use 'incomplete angel' to describe 'Her,'

but you ended up using 'messenger of this level.' Not bad, you still

remember my warning."

Leonard curled the corners of his lips, spread open the piece of paper,

and read the content on it.

"He's indeed the Blessed of Concealment and Fate..." Pallez Zoroast

quickly scanned the heading through Leonard's eyes.

Leonard didn't look at the ground. Instead, he took a few steps back and

threw himself into the embrace of the sofa before saying, "Klein can see

through the theft and replacement of destiny... Then, we don't need to

rush to seek out items at the Marauder pathway demigod level."

"Even if you were in a hurry, you have no idea where to seek them out,"

Pallez scoffed.

Even for the gathering of the Hermits of Fate, similar items needed

years to appear even once. And the next gathering was to happen at the

end of the year.

Leonard was momentarily at a loss for words and could only cast his gaze

at the last two paragraphs.

After a brief silence, he chuckled.

"I've always been curious as to where Klein received the high-level

charm of the Sun domain when facing Megose. I thought it was provided to

him by that Death Consul, but I couldn't understand why a Death domain

angel would be gathering high-level charms of the Sun domain. Wouldn't

that be suicide? Now, I finally understand.

"Old Man, I wielded 3-0782 before as well. Why didn't you notice that

there was a drop of the Eternal Blazing Sun's divine blood hidden in

that? If you could've stolen some of its power back then, things

wouldn't have..."

Leonard originally wanted to mock Old Man, but as he went on, he fell

silent.

Pallez Zoroast sighed in his mind.

"If that drop of divine blood could be so easily discovered, that

Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem wouldn't have been in Tingen."

Leonard fell silent for a few seconds before asking, "Then how am I to

create an opportunity to get that Sacred Emblem to create the Flaring

Sun Charm?"

Although Klein made it sound simple in his letter, Leonard knew that it

wasn't an easy task. This was because he wasn't a Nighthawk of Tingen

City. Even if he returned to visit his former colleagues and teammates,

he had no authority to enter Chanis Gate.

Upon hearing his question, Pallez Zoroast replied in a peeved manner,

"Why are you asking me something as trivial as this? Can't you think for

yourself?"

Leonard coughed uncomfortably as he began thinking seriously to seek out

a solution.

"I'm currently working alone, but the archbishop has given me the

authority to get the help of the local Nighthawks in the region of

question.

"Hmm, if all the souls in Backlund have been placated, and if I haven't

finished digesting my potion, wouldn't I have to do it at other

dioceses?

"When that happens, if Tingen happens to have a paranormal accident, it

will be very reasonable for me to return and get two Nighthawks and use

3-0782..."

After Leonard finished muttering to himself, Pallez Zoroast chuckled.

"Not bad. You came up with an idea so quickly.

"But have you thought about it? You are placating them, not purifying

them. This is contradictory with obtaining 3-0782. It will easily incur

suspicion."

Leonard, who had been praised, immediately laughed.

"Old Man, that's because you aren't aware. Back when I joined the

Nighthawks team, there was one line in the education I received: Only

under the premise of having the ability to purify can placating achieve

the best results.

"Emperor Roselle had also once said that to solve problems, you need a

stick in one hand and a carrot in the other."

Pallez Zoroast immediately tsked.

"Then follow your plan. Of course, that's assuming that you can finish

Anthony Stevenson's missions in a week or two. If you haven't obtained

the Sun Flare Bullets before the actual operation of eliminating Amon

begins, then it would no longer be necessary."

Leonard recalled the list of missions written on the pieces of paper as

his forehead twitched.

He then forced himself to forget about his worries and mumbled, "I

wonder when the mission to punish the Sanguine will begin...

"I wonder if the Sanguine has a Sealed Artifact at the Marauder

pathway's demigod level. "Temporary dreamworld... I can create it

myself. I'll find a chance to make some charms, but can power at this

level be able to resist the corrosion of the darkness in the Forsaken

Land of the Gods?"

In an apartment in Cherwood Borough.

Fors took out a novel, sat on the sofa, and watched Xio walk towards the

lobby as she wore her boots to head out.

Finally, Fors couldn't hold back her puzzlement as she said, "There's no

rush. That gentleman said that he wouldn't assign the mission that

quickly."

Xio shot her a glance and said, "I'm a bounty hunter. I have other

missions."

Upon saying that, she paused and said after some deliberation, "Fors, do

you think that Miss Justice resembles Miss Audrey?"

Fors was taken aback for a few seconds before she snapped back to

senses. She subconsciously waved her hand and chuckled.

"How is that possible..."

Just as she said that, the similarities began flashing through her mind,

her eyes widening in response.

After a while, she whispered, "It's not impossible.

"Spectator pathway, Psychology Alchemists, noble lady, blonde hair and

green eyes... She's the only noble I know that meets those criteria...

Of course, I don't know that many nobles. Furthermore, I have no idea if

the ones I'm familiar with have anything to do with the Psychology

Alchemists..."

Xio silently listened to her friend and said after some thought, "Fors,

do you still remember the missions assigned to us by Miss Audrey? I

originally thought that it was issued by Earl Hall, but on second

thought, perhaps it came from the Tarot Gathering...

"Also, how did we know of Mr. Fool's honorific name? Do you remember? It

was from books we borrowed from Viscount Glaint! In the book cover was a

strange ancient slip!"

Fors nodded in enlightenment.

"If we could discover it, as a good friend of Viscount Glaint, Miss

Audrey, has a chance of discovering it as well! This can explain why she

joined the gathering..."

"Yeah," Xio agreed with Fors's guess.

Fors opened her mouth and was just about to say something when she

recalled that the matter with the Sanguine wasn't completely over. She

immediately looked around warily and said, "Xio, we should lessen our

discussions of gatherings in the future."

"As for Miss Audrey, we can visit her once every week or two. We can

continue observing when the time comes."

Xio snapped to her senses and nodded heavily.

"Alright!"

She then opened her door and went to a particular bar in East Borough

and sat by the bar counter.

Rapping on the table, she said to the bartender who looked up, "Any new

missions today?"

The bartender gave a rough list without mentioning any investigations of

a particular Mr. Ernes Boyar.

Indeed, I'll have to wait till tomorrow or the day after tomorrow... Xio

looked around, retracted her gaze, and asked in puzzlement and concern,

"I haven't seen Sherman in a while. Do you know where he's been?"

Sherman was a young man who thought himself as a woman-one of Xio's

informants.

The bartender chuckled.

"Perhaps he ran off with some man. You do know that he's happy to do so

if a man fancies him."

"This isn't something worth ostracizing him about," Xio rebutted

seriously, feeling a baffling sense of concern.

She then exerted strength in her palm and jumped off the high-stool,

prepared to seek out Sherman in the places he was usually seen.

Backlund Bridge area, Iron Gate Street, Bravehearts Bar.

Holding down his hat, Emlyn pinched his nose as he passed through the

crowd that exuded all kinds of smells before finding the red-eyed Ian in

the card

room.

"Mr. White, what is it this time?" Ian smiled as he led Emlyn into an

empty billiard room.

Emlyn took off his hat and quipped, "Something trivial. Help me put up a

mission to the bounty hunters. The details of the mission is to track a

man named Ernes Boyar. Figure out his daily activities. The bounty

reward will be 100 pounds."

"100 pounds?" Ian subconsciously asked.

For investigations like tracking, 100 pounds was quite a ridiculous

reward. One had to know that if a bounty hunter was able to complete

this mission on their own, they could rest for an entire year, even if

they were supporting a family!

Emlyn nodded.

"The target is rather dangerous."

After the discussion back with the Tarot Club, he had already thought it

through. He believed that tracking Ernes Boyar was an easy mission. The

Sanguine Viscount would definitely pretend as though he didn't notice

anything and deliberately follow a fixed trajectory.

Therefore, this 100 pounds was in fact payment for Miss Judgment to take

the risk of participating in this operation. Of course, to aid in the

misdirection and concealment, it was almost certain that more than one

bounty hunter would complete this mission, allowing them to earn

different portions of the reward. All Emlyn could guarantee was that

Miss Judgment would earn the most.

"I see." Coming to an understanding, Ian extended his hand. "Down

payment, exact address, level of danger, looks and characteristics. It's

best if you have a portrait."

Ernes Boyar then gave 30 pounds in cash and Ernes Boyar's portrait.

"Red eyes?" Ian flipped through the pieces of paper in his hand and

couldn't help but blurt out.

"Yes." Emlyn nodded gently and looked around him. He suppressed his

voice and said, "There's also something else. Help me seek out clues

regarding the Rose School of Thought members in Backlund."

"... Rose School of Thought?" Ian was taken aback as he asked in

puzzlement, as though he had never heard of the name.