Lord of the Mysteries

“Dear Mr. Fool, please tell Mr. World that I’ll try to gather the Mist Treant’s true root and juice as soon as possible.”

After receiving The Sun’s reply, Klein nodded indiscernibly and muttered to himself, “From the looks of it, he’s rather satisfied with the weapon.

“Even without the additional effects from the environment, the Axe of Hurricane is still quite a formidable weapon.”

He had passed the information regarding the Beyonder weapon’s characteristics and limitations to The Sun. He didn’t describe it directly in order to avoid sounding naggy. He needed to maintain his image.

After doing all of this, Klein didn’t stay any longer and immediately returned to the real world, changed his clothes, and left Black Palm Street.

…

East Borough, Dharavi Street, in a cramped but lively pub.

Xio Derecha covered her nose and mouth as she squeezed in. To her, what was bad about this place wasn’t just because it smelled of alcohol and sweat, but that she would easily encounter people much taller than she was. She had to face their armpits and the strong odor was nauseating.

Using a great deal of effort and even using the powers of an Arbiter, Xio finally squeezed her way to the bar counter and saw the man she was looking for.

It was a young man in his twenties. He had a face as long and thin as a horse. His eyebrows were messy and ferocious, but his facial features were relatively soft.

He was gulping down alcohol and laughing loudly with the patrons around him.

“Williams, I have something to talk to you about.” Xio banged on the wooden counter.

This boorish action immediately attracted many angry gazes. However, they quickly retreated under the stern gaze of an Arbiter.

“Oh, Xio, I haven’t seen you in days. Let me see, it’s been a week, no—at least three weeks. Care for a drink? Half and Half?” Williams said, half drunk and half surprised.

Half and Half was one of the most popular alcoholic beverages in East Borough, made from malt beer and fortified grape wine, and because it has precisely made up of two constituents of equal proportion, it was known as Half and Half.

“Are you really going to let me drink?” Xio pricked up her brows.

“No, he doesn’t!” the boss, who was wiping the glasses, hurriedly answered on Williams’s behalf.

He clearly remembered how deadly the girl would become when she got drunk. She would use her fists to persuade the guests to quit drinking and throw them out one by one.

The corner of Williams’s mouth twitched as he spread out his hands and said, “Go on, why are you looking for me?”

He was one of East Borough’s informants and was connected to several gangs.

Xio frowned and said, “Williams, can’t you quit drinking? Save your money, marry a nice girl, and come home every day to hot water, food, and warm greetings. You can share all the things you’ve seen in the day with her, and she can tell you about the trivial things that happened in your house, and there will be cute kids who will kiss you on the cheek and play around you. Isn’t such warmth nice?”

She was able to gain a quick foothold in Backlund’s East Borough, all thanks to Williams’s help, so she had always wanted him to be better off.

“Warmth?” Williams scoffed. “It’s built on the money I bring back, and I’ve seen through the farce. If I could bring home twenty soli a week, I’m sure my family would be warm and just as you described it to be, but if not, Lord, the screams and insults from the woman, the cries and shrieks of children, would drive me crazy!

“My mom is a good example. Every time my old man comes home, he’ll beat me up and make a ruckus, so if that’s the case, I might as well use the soli and the pence on me to trade for drinks. No one cares how much I earn here; everyone drinks and chats, and the mood is really good. If I want women, there are cute street girls outside. They wouldn’t quarrel with you.”

Xio smirked and said, “You really are an incorrigible believer of the Lord of Storms. One day, you’ll die from alcoholism or some strange disease.”

“At least I’ve enjoyed life,” Williams replied without minding what she said. “I haven’t worked in almost three days, so I’m not going to give you a discount.”

Xio stopped persuading him. She stroked her short, disheveled blond hair and handed him the portrait of Lanevus that Audrey had given her.

“Help me keep an eye out for this man. Find him as soon as possible.

“Here are different portraits of him.”

Williams spread out the piece of paper in his stupor and glanced at it before tsking. “He looks too ordinary, and there are so many people in East Borough. There are people who die at any moment. Some leave, some come, and others become vagrants. It’ll be difficult to find him.”

“In short, help me keep an eye out. Notify me immediately if you find anyone who looks like him.” Xio took out a five-soli bill and handed it to him. “Here’s some beer money. If you can find the person in the portrait, I’ll… uh, give you another ten pounds.”

“Ten pounds?” Williams whistled. “Xio, when did you become so generous? Or is this person worth more?”

“That’s how much his reward is worth. Ten pounds for providing clues.” Xio pretended to look around the pub and answered, “Don’t forget about this matter, I’ll come back in a few days time.”

She had already run through nearly half of East Borough and issued the mission to the gang leaders and informants she knew, and she had paid several pounds in advance.

As long one of them succeeds, I’ll earn it all back. All those profits! Xio silently cheered herself on and walked out of the pub with her nose and mouth covered.

At that moment, the scene gradually turned chaotic due to some conflict between a few drunkards.

Xio glanced over in exasperation, then raised her voice and shouted, “Stop!”

A sense of dominance reverberated within the pub, and it was as though the drunkards had met their nemesis as they hurriedly sat down. Some of them even hugged their heads and squatted on the ground.

Phew, I wonder when I’ll advance to Sheriff… Xio sighed, feeling a mix of satisfaction and anticipation.

…

On Thursday morning, Klein took the long trip to St. George Borough which was like another city altogether to show some concern for his first investment.

With his last tip and the revelation from Roselle’s manuscript, Leppard was progressing very quickly on the bicycle project and had already built a crude prototype.

This was very much in line with Klein’s impression of bicycles.

After a trial ride, Klein offered a few suggestions for improvements, saying he would disburse the second investment payment next week, and expressed his hope of bringing in new investors as soon as possible, so that the project could enter an industrial phase.

The only problem was that Leppard believed that he was the inventor and had the right to name the product.

He wasn’t satisfied with the term “bicycle” and intend to adopt the more popular term, “bike.”

Klein didn’t care.

At noon, he returned to 15 Minsk Street, but before he could take off his hat, he heard a series of illusory pleas.

Miss Justice? She has collected the information on the abject nobles so quickly? Still in thought, Klein prepared to enter the living room and head to the second floor.

At that moment he heard the doorbell and when he opened the door, he saw Julianne, the maid from the Sammers next door.

“Mr. Moriarty, Mrs. Sammer would like to invite you to a Sunday luncheon. There will be a lot of neighbors attending,” the maid said as if she was reciting something.

After his return last night, Klein had handed the portable camera to Mrs. Sammer and exchanged a few words with her, but he hadn’t received any indication of a luncheon.

That’s right, according to the magazines, the middle class wouldn’t invite anyone to an event in person, but instead, they formally sent their servants or maids to send the invitation… This is in line with Mrs. Sammer’s style… Klein was puzzled at first before he immediately came to a realization, so he promised to punctually attend on Sunday.

Who wouldn’t want to have a free lunch? And Mr. and Mrs. Sammer aren’t very difficult people to get along with, as long as you don’t mind their showing off… Klein secretly added in his heart.

He watched as Julianne left. He closed the door behind him and walked toward the stairs, his eyes scanning the slightly messy living room, dining room, and kitchen.

It’s been a few days since I’ve cleaned up… I’m a bachelor, so it’s not bad that I’m able to maintain a level of tidiness such as this… I have too many secrets, and I might even suffer an attack. It’s not too good to just hire an in-house maidservant for chores. Yes… I should discuss this with Mrs. Sammer on Sunday and ask her to send her maid to clean up twice a week, and I’ll pay for it… Many tenants and landlords have had similar agreements… Klein calmly walked into the bedroom on the second floor and drew the curtains.

After entering the fog, he found that the prayer had indeed come from Miss Justice.

This girl of blue blood sat on a piano stool, her hands on the keys. She wasn’t playing the piano; instead, she was whispering the honorific name of The Fool that doesn’t belong to this era.

“… I’ve gathered the information regarding the abject nobles. I’m requesting permission to hold a sacrificial ritual and seek your help in passing it to Mr. World.”

That’s quick… as expected of a “professional”… Klein immediately responded.

Audrey, who had just returned from the royal coat-of-arms office and experts in this field, completed the sacrificial ritual with a little unfamiliarity as she threw the thick manuscript into the illusory door.

“I’ll pass it to The World.” Klein’s tone was indifferent as he cut off the connection.

This time, he was in no hurry to return to the real world. Instead, he flipped through the manuscript and found the part pertaining to the Pound family.

The Pound family had indeed obtained the title of viscount from the Battle of the Violated Oath. After that, they were loyal to the royal family, and they had quite a bit of power in the army and their own fiefdom.

However, thirty-two years ago, two of the family’s heirs died from serious illnesses, one after another. At that time, the old viscount had no choice but to bring the child of a distant relative home.

Not long after, the old viscount passed away. As the child was still young, under the enticement and instigation of the servants, he changed the butler and turned foppish.

In just eight years he had lost most of his fortune and was reduced to a baron. Even the family’s house in Backlund was sold.

In the years that followed, his title was reduced once again to that of a baronet.

Died of serious illnesses? Their corpses are probably nowhere to be found. They should all be in that innermost room in the underground structure, outside that bloody door… The old viscount must’ve deliberately concealed the matter, preventing the royal family, military or churches to investigate… From the looks of it, the Pound family must’ve discovered the underground structure from the Fourth Epoch about thirty years ago. Perhaps, the underground secret door was built by them… but there are more than two corpses in that room… There were others who had entered in ancient times to probe the area?

Well, I’ll have to talk to Baronet Pound in a way that won’t reveal my identity…

Klein stopped thinking and looked at the last paragraph. He saw what he wanted: “Baronet Pound, currently living at 29 Sivellaus Street, Empress Borough.”