Chapter 995: "Conjoined Person"

Emlyn glanced at Ian, raised his hand to pinch his nose, and chuckled.

"It appears you don't understand me. It's okay. A more simple

description is to gather information about foreigners that come from the

Southern Continent, especially from the Star Highlands and the Paz River

Valley.

"What information do you want exactly? There are plenty of pure-blooded

people from the Southern Continent in Backlund. Those that you've

mentioned are also common," Ian calmly asked without flaring up due to

the contempt he received.

Emlyn laughed.

"The ones that are a bit more abnormal. They do things in a fishy manner

and seem to all be mysterious. You should understand what I'm getting

at."

"There are definitely many people you describe. In Backlund, they are

either servants, workers, or thieves---being part of gangs. As the

latter will all meet your criteria of being abnormal, fishy, and

mysterious." Ian sincerely pointed out how unpragmatic Emlyn's request

was.

Emlyn was already prepared for this. With an unobvious smile, he nodded

slightly.

"Then, give me all the information that meets those criteria. I'll do

the filtering. Oh, I'll pay 50 pounds as down payment for this

commission as the standard fees for the early-stage investigations. The

subsequent payment will be counted based on how much information of

value is provided. Each one will cost 20 pounds."

"Who is the one to determine its worth?" Ian asked after a few seconds

of thought.

For him, having a 50-pound income for preliminary work like this was

enough for him to accept the job. It was more than enough to hire a

dozen people or so to investigate the areas from East Borough to

Cherwood Borough for half a month.

He didn't mind how much he could earn from the 50 pounds, as there were

many people here who relied on him for their survival. He needed to

arrange jobs with payment for them to do from time to time; otherwise,

he would never be able to be kept abreast with the latest developments.

Emlyn sized up Ian and scoffed.

"Of course it will be me. You should know how trustworthy I am."

"Detective Moriarty never told me that..." Ian mumbled and sighed.

"Alright. Our last cooperation was still pretty good. I choose to trust

you."

Emlyn nodded in satisfaction, took out his wallet, and counted another

50 pounds worth of notes.

During this process, Emlyn momentarily felt the pinch when he realized

he only had 407 pounds in savings.

And now there's only 357 pounds... He looked away from the

notes and handed the cash to Ian.

He didn't stay. Putting on his hat, he walked out of the billiard room

and left the Bravehearts Bar.

On the street, Emlyn stopped pinching his nose and looked up at the

flame-like clouds. His expression gradually fell heavy as he silently

muttered, *That Wraith from before isn't around... Where did it

go?*

*Humph, Ian acted as though he had never heard of the Rose School of

Thought, but his racing heartbeat had betrayed him...*

*Also, he actually didn't ask if Sherlock Moriarty is back in Backlund.

He didn't even show any concern... Could it be that Sherlock has already

returned to Backlund and that he has already met him?*

Rorsted Archipelago, City of Generosity, Bayam.

In an area near the harbor, Admiral of Stars Cattleya had brought along

Frank Lee, who had his sleeves rolled up which revealed his brown hair,

to an area outside a house with gas wall lamps. They came to an empty

corner and watched as a figure appeared out of the shadows.

It was Bloodless Heath Doyle who was in charge of monitoring Artisan

Cielf. He was thin and his skin was so pale that it was transparent. He

looked so frail that a gust of wind could topple him.

"Did anything strange happen recently?" Cattleya nudged the gold-rim

glasses on her nose.

Heath Doyle tersely acknowledged.

"Three days after you left, a stranger visited Cielf. He stayed for

about fifteen minutes. I didn't approach for fear of being discovered.

"Based on your instructions, I sent men to tail the stranger, but they

lost his trail."

"What did that stranger look like?" Cattleya asked with a slight nod.

Heath Doyle took out a piece of raw beef from a leather pouch by his

waist. The blood on it remained fresh, but it didn't show any signs of

contamination. It appeared to be a pure piece of solid meat.

Right on the heels of that, this piece of beef melted in Heath Doyle's

hand, dripping to the ground like water. They then squirmed like they

had life, drawing a portrait.

"This is the effect I want!" Frank Lee's eyes shimmered as he watched

this scene, expressing his intentions with excitement.

Under his gaze, Heath Doyle, had the intention to run, but he slightly

slanted his body and pointed to the ground.

"Roughly like this."

At this moment, a blood portrait had already taken form. It was that of

a man with a mustache, with facial features that resembled that of the

Paz River Valley. His greatest characteristic was the three ear studs on

both his ears.

"Golden ear studs, thin body, not much fat, very athletic," Heath Doyle

added.

Cattleya retracted her gaze from the ground and asked, "And then?"

Heath Doyle tersely acknowledged.

"No one visited Cielf after that, other than his temporary servants and

chef he hired. I got men to investigate them. They are clean.

"Cielf has an evening stroll at a fixed time every day. He will bring a

prostitute home, allowing her to leave only at daybreak... I've been

constantly tailing him, but I never discovered any contact with odd

people."

"He has been acting very normally all this time?" Cattleya asked with a

frown.

From her point of view, not having any abnormalities made it most

abnormal!

After all, this involved Rose School of Thought members that believed in

the Primordial Moon.

Heath Doyle nodded in affirmation.

"Yes."

Cattleya turned her head to look at the building's main door and said

after some thought, "I actually planned on using Beyonder powers to

infiltrate and bring Cielf under control in the fastest speed possible

before taking him away to prevent any accidents. But from the looks of

it, the best solution is to knock on the door."

Unknown danger was what terrified people the most.

At the thought that he had been busy with his experiments recently and

hadn't done his duty as first mate, Frank Lee hurriedly said, "Captain,

I'll go with you."

Cattleya took off her thick glasses and hung them by her waist of her

black warlock robe before nodding.

"Okay."

With that said, she left the shadowy corner and walked towards the main

door of Cielf's residence.

As she approached, she looked up at the crimson moon that could be seen

penetrating through the clouds. She curled her fingers and tapped thrice

on the door.

Before long, footsteps approached and the door creaked open.

Cielf didn't show any obvious changes from the previous time. He

remained thin and dark. His eyes were somewhat puffy, and his brown eyes

were trying hard to force a smile.

"Admiral, is there something this time?"

He stood by the door, blocking the gas wall lamp's light behind him. It

made the area appear dark and gloomy, as though he was sinking into the

shadows.

Cattleya stared at him for a few seconds before saying slowly, "I have a

new idea. I plan on making you a part of my crew."

She stood there motionlessly without any intention of stepping inside.

Cielf's expression warped as his voice turned somewhat dark.

"Why?"

Cattleya's eyes seemed to freeze as she slowly said, "Because I'm a

pirate."

Pirates didn't need reasons. They did whatever they did out of their own

desires.

Cielf's facial muscles twitched as a smile suffused his eyes once again.

"I can be your sailor, but as an Artisan, I'll be of much greater use in

a city."

"I agree," Cattleya destroyed his resistance. "But before then, I need

you to spend some time on the Future to be partners with others."

Cielf's expression gradually turned cold as he replied in an ethereal

voice, "I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself. I have a strong

urge to procreate every day..."

"Strong urge to procreate?" Frank Lee's eyes lit up as he asked,

seemingly in confirmation.

Cielf was taken aback as he wasn't sure whether to nod or shake his

head.

Frank then looked at Cattleya and asked in excitement, "Captain, is he

going to be my assistant for my experiments?

"I love this trait of his!"

Cattleya fell silent for a few seconds before nodding heavily.

"Yes."

Frank immediately revealed a bright smile and offered his right hand to

Artisan Cielf.

"Pleasure to meet you. Let me introduce myself. First mate of the

Future, Frank Lee."

Cielf's expression returned to normal as he shook the man's hand with

puzzlement. Then, he said, "Am I really going to spend a short period of

time on the Future?"

"I guarantee it with my reputation on the line," Cattleya sincerely

replied before inwardly adding, *It wouldn't take long before Her

Majesty personally handles you...*

"Alright. It's not like I can beat you." Cielf shrugged. "Please permit

me to pack my personal belongings."

He then took two steps back, turned around, and walked to the staircase

at the end of the foyer.

As he walked, he suddenly paused and said in an ethereal tone to

Cattleya and Frank Lee, "Today's moonlight is as beautiful as it always

has been, isn't it?"

Without receiving a reply, he proceeded forward and vanished from the

staircase.

At this moment, Cattleya's heavy expression became obvious.

After Cielf opened the door, she had already noticed an abnormality with

her eyes.

In the past, Cielf's Spirit Body was that of an ordinary human, but now,

he was a conjoined person!

Under the illumination of the moonlight, this "conjoined person" was

being nourished and was rapidly growing stronger.

*This isn't a problem I can resolve. I have to write to Her Majesty.

Also, I mustn't forget Gehrman Sparrow's request for a

meeting...* Cattleya sighed silently as she subconsciously

looked up.

High in the sky, a crimson moon remained bright and silent amidst the

thin clouds.

Backlund, Hillston Borough, East Balam Military Veterans Mess.

Dwayne Dantès and Macht got off their separate carriages and entered the

lobby together.