Lord of the Mysteries

Audrey could almost be certain that it had been done by Mr. Fool’s adorer when she heard the description of the familiar scene.

She suddenly felt a strong sense of immersion, participation, and pride.

That was a human trafficker whose hands were stained with blood and evil… The “Judgment” card is the retribution enacted against him in the name of justice. Was the verdict hanging, beheading, or burning at the stake? The Emperor should be a symbol of his identity… Was this the adorer who sneaked into the Royal Museum and stole the Dark Emperor card? Audrey let her imagination run wild for a moment.

She had intended to press for more information and finer details, but from the look on her father’s face, the tone of his voice, and the color of his emotions, she could tell that he still didn’t know what was going on. Therefore, she could only suppress her curiosity and planned on asking her good friend, Kance Leerhsen, from MI9.

Although directly asking Kance about it would suit my image in this aspect, that would still be rather abrupt. It would also conflict with my identity as a noble. Hmm… I’ll get Annie to prepare a few invitations for an afternoon tea party, sending them separately to Glaint, Kance, Murray, Christine, Jane, and the others… Most of them are interested in mysticism, so they would feel interested in someone known as the Hero Bandit Dark Emperor. Under my guidance, they can help me ask a lot of questions that wouldn’t be convenient for me to ask… It’s decided… Audrey retracted her attention and nibbled at her breakfast.

She believed that Mr. Fool’s adorers wouldn’t have dealt with Capim purely for the sake of punishing evil since it wasn’t in line with his identity and status. Of course, if Audrey was still the same Audrey who had just joined the Tarot Club a few months ago, then she definitely would’ve been willing to accept such an explanation; otherwise, she wouldn’t have chosen the Justice card as her symbol.

After experiencing so many gatherings and so many matters, she felt that she had matured a lot and was no longer as innocent. She believed that there had to be more important and essential factors behind this matter, such as an evil god or secret organization which Capim was involved in.

I hope Kance can provide some useful information, Audrey thought with anticipation.

…

15 Minsk Street. Klein was eating white bread with jam and flipping through today’s newspapers.

“What? A safe?” As he read, he almost choked on his own saliva.

It wasn’t me… I didn’t… Don’t spout nonsense… In his mind, Klein immediately rejected the description of his theft of everything in the safe thrice.

The situation had been pressing, and in order to gain clues, all he did was burrow into the safe to see if there were any important documents or evidence despite having found the safe. He didn’t take anything, and he quickly left the safe and went to another room.

Of course, Klein, in his Spirit Body state, had also suffered some damage from the gas explosion, and the total weight of the items he could carry had been greatly reduced. There were only gold bars, jewelry, land deeds, house deeds, antiques, and other items in the safe, which were either not convenient for him to take, or there was no way he could launder them.

Perhaps he has a place reserved especially for cash, but unfortunately, I didn’t find it, nor did I have the time to look for it… Klein muttered silently to himself, confirming that it was the subsequent investigators who had divided up all the contents in the safe.

He looked at the newspaper, took a sip of Sibe black tea, and slowly exhaled. He smiled inwardly.

Hero Bandit Dark Emperor… I like that name…

After breakfast, Klein put on his thick double-breasted frock coat and half top hat, and he held a solid black cane. Opening the door, he left Minsk Street for Broken Axe Lane on the boundary of the East Borough.

That was where Daisy had disappeared.

After finalizing his plans yesterday, and before he committed to his operation, he had deliberately made a trip to Broken Axe Lane to seriously look for clues. He knocked on the doors of the nearby houses and asked if they had seen any girls like Daisy.

Although Klein didn’t believe that the official Beyonders would think that a poor family would be able to afford a “Hero Bandit” who had at least the strength of a Sequence 6, and he believed that there was a higher probability that the investigation would be directed towards the secrets Capim was involved in, supplemented by “who had been keeping tabs on Capim recently,” and other peripheral investigations, he still cautiously decided to put on a show and try his best to play out the entire act. What if one of the Beyonder enforcers lost their mind and planned to make a preliminary investigation in this aspect?

Some families might have some savings and would be able to hire other detectives. The chances of being suspected as a kindhearted person like me who just took on the case yesterday are extremely low. As long as I’m not suspected, they wouldn’t compare my performance from the previous Lanevus case… Besides, the Nighthawks were the ones who took action previously and were assisted by the military’s special department. Capim’s case happened in Cherwood Borough, so the ones taking on the case would likely be the Mandated Punishers. The communication between the two groups wouldn’t be that smooth… Hmm, Katy and Parker belong to the Arbiter pathway. I wonder if the military will intervene… As a former Nighthawk, Klein had a sufficient understanding of the modus operandi of the various official organizations, their work styles, and their investigation habits.

Simply put, I have excellent anti-detective abilities… Klein gave a self-deprecating laugh as he boarded a carriage.

He was going to continue his investigation into Daisy’s disappearance.

After all, he was an ordinary private detective who hadn’t been able to confirm that Daisy’s disappearance had anything to do with Capim.

…

At nine o’clock in the morning, Daisy returned to the shabby rented apartment under the escort of the police officer in charge of the neighborhood.

Along with a few pitiful girls like her, she had been settled into the various cathedrals in Cherwood Borough last night and had been questioned accordingly. It included what they saw when they escaped, what they saw when they looked back, where they lived, what their family situation was, if they knew any friends who were out of the ordinary, and so on and so forth.

Daisy, who was still in a state of panic and lingering fear, answered the questions truthfully.

After that, no one came to her again.

She slept through the night and was sent back to East Borough early in the morning, where she was handed over to the fierce police officer she always saw.

Along the way, Daisy didn’t dare to say anything. She trembled in fear, and only when she entered the apartment where she lived did she feel a little more at ease.

As soon as she stepped through the door, and before she could find her mother and sister through the hanging wet clothes, she heard a scream.

“Daisy!”

Freja stopped whatever she was doing and, like a nimble fawn, darted through the clothes hanging in the air and the random things on the ground. She ran to the door and hugged her sister tightly.

Then she let go of her hand, and with tears streaming down her cheeks, she sized Daisy up with pleasant surprise and in concern.

“Are you alright?

“It’s so wonderful that you’re finally back!”

Liv also stood up from behind the washbasin. She wiped her hands on her clothes and asked, rubbing her eyes, “Daisy, where have you been these past few days?”

At that moment, the police officer interrupted, “She was kidnapped. We rescued her.”

“Thank you, thank you! You guys are t-too great!” Liv shed tears and randomly used an adjective.

The policeman coughed lightly and said, “That’s our duty… Have you met anyone strange in the past few days?”

Liv was stunned for a second. Hoping to not be involved in too many matters or get into any trouble, she said, “No, I really haven’t.”

The policeman waved his hand and said, “Be more careful in the future! Don’t take deserted shortcuts again!”

He couldn’t stand the humidity and the motley of smells so he turned and left.

Liv looked at her daughter again. She took wide strides over to her side and wiped her hands on the side of her clothes before hugging Daisy.

“It’s good that you’re back. It’s good that you’re back…” she murmured through her tears, not asking if Daisy had been hurt.

Daisy relaxed and sobbed.

Beside her, Freja was also crying. She stretched out her arms and hugged her mother and sister respectively.

The three of them cried for a while before letting go.

Liv wiped her eyes again and said, “Wash the clothes first; there are still a lot of them.”

Daisy, who had just been rescued, nodded and quickly threw herself into her busy work.

It wasn’t until noon, while they were nibbling on their black bread and drinking plain water that could hardly even be considered tea, that Liv finally had time to ask, “Daisy, were you hurt?”

Daisy shook her head.

“They just hit me a few times.”

“That’s great! The police rescued you? A kind detective was willing to help search for you for free yesterday, and you ended up returning today. Ah, he still has your vocabulary book,” Freja mentioned in passing.

Already prepared, Liv mentioned, “I’ll get Old Kohler to get it back and tell the detective you’re home so that he won’t have to busy himself over this matter. Regardless, we have to thank him again.”

Daisy felt relieved as she replied to her sister’s question, “No, it wasn’t the police. There was a sudden explosion, and the doors that kept us locked up were strangely opened, and we just ran out. However, I did see a gentleman or a lady on the roof.

“He wore black armor, a crown-like helmet, and a cape. He just stood there watching us quietly. None of those bad guys came to stop us or chase us down.”

As a tutor at the free school, Daisy clearly had a richer set of vocabulary than her mother, Liv.

“A person dressed like that saved you?” Liv answered in shock. By the side, Freja curiously waited for the answer.

Daisy nodded seriously and said, “Yes, he’s l-like what the bard sing of…

“A hero!”

Hero… Freja ruminated over the word, her eyes as bright as the stars.

…

In a certain secret chamber, a group of people were carefully comparing the Lanevus case with the Capim case using the information they were given as they searched for similarities between the motives and modus operandi.

“The two things cannot be linked together at all. The only thing that they have in common is evil, or rather, evil was defeated. The owner of the tarot card has upheld justice,” someone exclaimed.

“It can be confirmed that the two cases didn’t involve the same person. The difference in strength is obvious, and what they’re good at is even more contrasting. Although it’s possible that their Sequence had been elevated, Capim’s murderer was a kind of specter, or someone that can switch into the Sequence state. That’s not something common.” Another person’s analysis was endorsed by the majority.

Therefore, the person who called the meeting concluded, “Two cases, two different people, but they both threw out tarot cards. Perhaps the latter was committing a copycat crime, and if that’s the case, we can target the people who are aware of the Lanevus case. The other possibility is that there is an organization!

“An organization symbolized by tarot cards!”