Admiral Amyrius Rieveldt... A true demigod... Upon hearing Bilt's reveal, a few words immediately appeared in Klein's mind.
I'm sorry. Bye!
Gehrman Sparrow pricked up his brows slightly as Bilt hurried to explain, "This wouldn't influence the difficulty of the mission.
"There's no need for anyone to display a demigod's powers throughout the duration of the mission."
He cleared his throat and forced a smile.
"To make the mission not as difficult, His Excellency has specially arranged for him to inspect the Oravi naval base for a few days. This way, he doesn't need to stay in the Central Sonia Sea's navy headquarters, the City of Generosity, Bayam. As such, he will avoid Sea King Jahn Kottman and the governor-general of the Rorsted Archipelago, George Negan. He would avoid most of the subordinates he's familiar with, and he'll avoid his family who operates the family estate over there. He will also avoid his mistress who he's most familiar with.
"That is to say that you wouldn't need to face demigods, or the test of the masses.
"Here, there will only be three people who are familiar with His Excellency. The first is his secretary, Lieutenant Colonel Luan. He belongs to MI9, and he's in charge of monitoring His Excellency. He likely uses many names, and I'm not sure which is his real name. The second person will be the local mistress His Excellency has here, a beautiful lady by the name of Cynthia. It's said that her ancestor was a noble before his title was stripped, and his family was exiled here. The third person is Oravi's governor-general, Aston Rieveldt, the youngest brother of His Excellency. Earl Rieveldt from the House of Lords is their elder brother."
It really doesn't sound too difficult. Besides, my divination results tell me that it's not too dangerous... Klein fell silent for a few seconds before nodding gently.
"I need the detailed information regarding Amyrius Rieveldt."
"We've already prepared everything. This is his photograph. These are the descriptions of any unique traits hidden on his body. These are the unique points of his accent. These are the common words he uses. These are the different reactions and attitudes he has towards different matters. Here is the detailed information regarding his interactions with Luan, Cynthia, and Aston..." Bilt was delighted as he produced all the information he received from Admiral Amyrius Rieveldt.
Klein first took the photograph and saw a middle-aged gentleman with black hair and blue eyes. He had a strict and old-fashioned demeanor, and his hair was a lot more voluminous than most Loen men.
He nodded indiscernibly before looking up.
"I know this is a lot of information, but I believe that you can memorize them all in two days. You have to be very professional in such matters..." Before Bilt finished his sentence, he subconsciously took a step back because the person before him wasn't Gehrman Sparrow but Amyrius Rieveldt! The strict and arrogant vibes he exuded was no different from the actual person!
"Holy Lord of Storms, th-this is almost a miracle!" Bilt looked him up and down, and he couldn't help but be amazed. "However, you can be another three centimeters taller. Your legs can be thicker. But it's fine, there's no rush. His Excellency will arrive the day after tomorrow with the Imperial Navy's First Central Sonia Fleet. He would inspect the Oravi naval base in the morning and attend a banquet held at the governor-general's office. I have an invitation to it, and I can bring you there. You can watch from His Excellency's actions and the way he interacts with different people from the side."
As he spoke, he received the 500 pounds that Sothoth had taken out from the safe. He handed it to Klein and said, "I hope for a pleasant partnership!"
Klein weighed the notes in his hand and studied it with a few glances before saying, "I hope for a pleasant partnership."
...
Backlund, Williams Street.
As an inconspicuous member of the Red Gloves, Leonard Mitchell leaned on the outer wall of a house, awaiting the preliminary investigation work to end.
He had his right leg raised slightly, with only his toes to the ground. It made him look desultory.
After a while, he saw his teammate return with a somewhat complex expression. He was excited, puzzled, expectant, and nervous.
"Thomson, is there a conclusion?" Leonard's heart stirred as he leaned over with a smile.
"Yeah," Thomson nodded and answered frankly. "Both sides have spoken the truth. They have no way of lying in their dreams."
Thomson, with his thin hair, wore his top hat once again.
"Their descriptions are uniform. Beneath this street is a ruin belonging to the Fourth Epoch's Tudor Dynasty. The entrance is indeed that abandoned chapel. No one knows if there's another entrance for now."
"Is that so..." Leonard didn't delve into the details as he exchanged a few words before moving to the sidelines. Once again, he leaned against the wall.
He looked around and suppressed his voice.
"Old Man, this is what you're good at.
"There's a Tudor family ruin hidden here."
An elderly voice rang out in his mind.
"You're becoming more and more impolite. In our era, disrespect to high-ranking people implies being made into living sacrifices.
"Also, it's impossible for there to only be one Tudor family ruin in Backlund."
"Are they lying?" Leonard asked softly.
The elderly voice chuckled and said, "No, they just don't know enough.
"If my theories are correct, this ruin likely belongs to the Tudor-Trunsoest United Empire."
"What?" Leonard was stunned.
This was an ancient dynasty he had never heard of before.
The slightly-aged voice chuckled.
"What an unknowledgeable kid. After the Solomon Empire was first destroyed, it was replaced by the Tudor-Trunsoest United Empire. Its double consul ruled all of the Northern Continent."
"Double consul..." Leonard ruminated over this phrase.
The slightly-aged voice chuckled and sighed.
"In the ruins underground, there should be 41 inverted candlesticks on the left and 40 on the right. Two of them look like they belong to the throne of a giant, and... Heh heh. It might be where Alista Tudor became Blood Emperor."
Leonard frowned slightly before easing them. He said with a relaxed smile, "There must be quite a lot of secrets hidden in there."
"Of course, but you aren't qualified to know it." The slightly-aged voice tsked.
Leonard curled his lips indiscernibly and said, "What follows next is the exploration of the ruins."
The slightly-aged voice chuckled before falling silent.
A minute later, Leonard saw Archbishop Saint Anthony and the Church of Steam's Archbishop Horamick end their conversation as they returned to their own camps.
Immediately following that, Horamick ordered all Machinery Hivemind personnel to leave, leaving the area to the Church of the Evernight Goddess's Nighthawks.
What happened? Upon seeing this scene, Leonard was filled with puzzlement.
At that moment, all the Nighthawks heard Archbishop Saint Anthony's voice.
"All Red Gloves gather. The other Nighthawks are to leave the mirror world. Find a reason to evacuate all the residents in the area, and promise them compensation for their property.
"After all the residents evacuate, the Red Gloves and I will destroy this ruin that stems from an evil era!
"Entry is forbidden. It will be directly destroyed!
"May the Goddess bless us all."
This... Leonard never expected such a development.
...
Half-past seven in the evening, at the Oravi governor-general's office.
Klein changed into Sothoth's appearance. He wore a black tailcoat and a bow tie of the same color. He followed Bilt into the banquet's hall.
The temperature inside was like that of spring. A gigantic chandelier hung from the ceiling, and the shimmering candlelight illuminated the grounds like it was daytime.
In the corner on the right, there were musicians dressed in vests and bow ties playing a brisk tune. On the left were long tables. Ontop were roasted chicken, pan-fried foie gras, stewed lamb, Backlund-styled roasted goose, Odora lobsters with butter and cheese, and other delicacies.
Despite the distance, Klein could still catch a whiff of the fragrance wafting over. He planned on getting a plate and filling it with food.
At this moment, Bilt tugged at his collar in a reserved manner. He leaned his head over and suppressed his voice.
"Remember the etiquette as required by such banquets.
"Our current goal is to observe His Excellency's actions, so just taking a cup of wine would do.
"There's misty champagne here, Aurmir grape wine, and Southville red wine, all famous alcohols that are seldom seen outside. You can drink some, but not a lot. We have to maintain sufficient sobriety. Yes, try to just go through the motions when drinking."
Klein retracted his gaze and nodded.
The two of them took a cup of golden champagne, whose minute bubbles were like mist, from a red-vested waiter who passed by them. Then, they moved towards the banquet's highlight, where Amyrius Rieveldt stood wearing his dark blue navy admiral's uniform.
With their standing, they naturally had no way of approaching the admiral. All they could do was observe his every action from a slight distance.
Amyrius's figure is normal. It doesn't look that fit. The corners of his mouth droops a little, indicating his actual age...
He doesn't have a beard. His blue eyes seem to hide an authority that one cannot reject or defend against...
His dark blue admiral uniform is starched well. There's a red lanyard at his shoulder, which joins to his chest where there are all sorts of medals...
His sleeves have golden cuff links, accentuating his epaulets of the same color...
His epaulets are split into three parts. From inside out, there's an embedded crown with rubies, the crossed scepter and sword, four stars made of diamonds... Klein began scrutinizing and used his Faceless powers to memorize all the detailed characteristics of the navy admiral, as well as the attitude he used when talking to different people.
During this process, he only took a sip of the misty champagne and didn't take note of its taste.
After he had mostly gathered all the information, Klein exhaled and allowed his mind to rest.
The great drain on his mind made him hungry. Hence, he placed the wine cup on the tray of a red-vested waiter, and he planned to get some food from the long table.
At this moment, Bilt leaned over and said, "His Excellency has given me the signal. We will be meeting him at an agreed location."
"..."
Klein retracted his gaze from the roasted chicken and swept a cold glance at Bilt.
Bilt shuddered as he hurriedly turned around, leading Gehrman Sparrow from the floor-to-ceiling window and into the garden.
After walking for nearly a minute in the secluded path, he paused and pointed at Klein's face.
"You can change into His Excellency's appearance.
"Just pretend that you're that tramp who looks like him."
Klein nodded gently and extended his palm to wipe his face.
He did so to conceal the disgusting tendrils and granules that might appear on his face while changing his appearance.
By the time he lowered his palm, Bilt saw a middle-aged gentleman who looked somewhat like Amyrius Rieveldt.
"Very good." Bilt took a few steps forward and came to the entrance of a sundries room. He extended his hand and pushed open the unlocked door.
Amyrius Rieveldt was still wearing the eye-catching admiral's uniform. His body was standing sideways to the door as he observed the garden outside by the window.
At this moment, he turned his head and cast his gaze onto the person who resembled him.
The indescribable pressure and might made Klein involuntarily lower his head.
Amyrius Rieveldt's gaze didn't stop there as it slowly moved to Bilt. He said, without any tinge of emotion, "This isn't the tramp you mentioned before.
"He's a Beyonder."
