9:30 a.m., Backlund Bridge area, Iron Gate Street, Bravehearts Bar.
Emlyn White stood rooted to his spot after he got down from the carriage. He stared ahead in a daze, nearly forgetting to avoid the sunlight.
At that moment, the bar's main door was shut with no signs of it opening.
As a Sanguine who seldom left his home and only went to places like bars at night, Emlyn never expected the bar to be closed in the morning. He had left the Harvest Church in a rush via the transportation system after seeing the paper slip, hoping to obtain any first-hand intelligence.
To save time, he even tolerated the cramped environment and stench of the metro.
At that moment, Emlyn was somewhat peeved, but he knew that he had made the mistake. All he could do was pull a face and circle around Iron Gate Street to not waste his trip.
Just as he was about to approach a rental carriage that stood along the street, he caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of his eye.
The person was wearing a brown rounded top hat and an old coat while carrying a ragged haversack. He was none other than Ian, the underground arms dealer and intelligence merchant.
Hehe, I have quite good intuition. I knew he would appear early! Emlyn was delighted as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and leisurely walked over, blocking Ian's way as he chuckled.
"Good morning."
Ian looked up and glanced at the handsome man before him, replying in puzzlement, "Good morning, Mr. White. You should've come in the evening."
"It seems to be a suitable time now," Emlyn said with a smile, clearly in a good mood. "Ian, why do you always wear the same clothes and outfit every time I see you?"
Ian answered without minding the question, "This can make me appear more mature while allowing me to keep a low profile.
"Of course, the main reason is that I lack money."
The final sentence was added with a joking tone.
"I look forward to your attire in summer," Emlyn said with a scoff.
"I'll take off my coat," As Ian spoke, he took out two pieces of paper from his ragged haversack. They were the bounty notices that Emlyn had previously given him. "Someone in East Borough saw this person."
He handed over one of the papers to Emlyn, and on it was the name, Argos.
Realizing that there really were clues to the Primordial Moon believers, Emlyn asked in delight, "Where is he?"
Ian didn't reply as he looked at him with a silent smile.
Experienced, Emlyn immediately took out his wallet and gave 150 pounds to Ian.
"That's your reward."
Ian smiled and said, "There's still another half to go."
Another half? Emlyn nearly wanted to let this merchant in front of him know the prowess of a Sanguine. This was because an effective clue cost 20 pounds, while an exact location cost 150 pounds.
However, he quickly read between the lines as he asked in pleasant surprise, "Another one was found?"
"Yes." Ian handed him the remaining piece of paper in his hand. "While my friend observed Argos and confirmed his residence, it was discovered that he had met with this person named Galis Kevin. Therefore, I've obtained the residence of the two targets at the same time."
"...Very good." Emlyn emptied his wallet and gave another 150 pounds to Ian.
He was abnormally delighted; he felt that the Ancestor and Mr. Fool were blessing him. This was because there were only five targets, and he had successfully hunted one. Now, with two additional clues, all he needed to do was succeed in order to declare himself victor regardless of what the other Sanguine did.
Ian seriously counted and checked the notes before saying with a suppressed voice, "Argos is on the third story of the apartment block at East Borough's 6 Limestone Street, opposite the public washroom.
"Galis Kevin is similarly in East Borough. He stays in the room beside the staircase on the first floor at 19 Beluga Whale Street."
"I will confirm your intelligence. I believe you wouldn't wish to abandon your business for a mere 300 pounds." Emlyn nodded gently as he gave a warning. Following that, he chuckled and said, "They were found so easily?"
Ian's red eyes darted around slightly as he said, "First, many bounty hunters are my friends. They have many informants in East Borough.
"Second, those two gentlemen didn't have great disguises. Despite being in East Borough, they wore very different attire from the people around them. If they were willing to wear more ragged clothes and did more than twelve hours of labor work, I believe they would be hard to find in the messy East Borough."
Is that so... One needs to take note of the difference in environment when hiding oneself... Emlyn muttered silently to himself, feeling as though he had learned a new trick.
He didn't plan on heading to East Borough immediately. This was because even if he took action in the day, it would be very difficult to escape without causing a commotion. It was a rather dangerous act in Backlund, as it meant that the Mandated Punishers or Nighthawks might come knocking at the door just after he sneaked back home.
Emlyn planned on verifying the situation and taking action between eight to nine in the evening after the Tarot Gathering.
The Primordial Moon believer from before was quite strong. These two likely aren't weaker. Although I have confidence, it feels unsafe only relying on myself... As Emlyn considered the problem, he waved his hand and bade Ian farewell. He rode on a rental carriage, heading back for the south side of the Bridge.
...
East Chester County, Stoen City.
Audrey stood behind a railing, watching the servants placing the items that had been brought from the family castle in suitable spots. The scene was bustling but orderly.
I'll send someone to Associate Professor Michele later and tell him that I'll be paying a visit to the Relic Search and Preservation Foundation... I hope that they've obtained some items that have been tainted with Beyonder effects... As Audrey's mind wandered, she couldn't help but smile. She was proud of her decision of donating the funds to establish the foundation.
When her eyes that were as beautiful as emeralds saw the time on the wall clock, she hurriedly reined in her thoughts and turned to return to her bedroom.
Susie was slumped in a corner of the bedroom. Its front paws were crossed, giving it a sense of elegance.
In front of it was an opened book. There were dense lines of text written on it.
Susie would raise one of her front paws from time to time to flip the page as she read with great seriousness.
Every time I see Susie like that, I feel a little ashamed... Audrey, you mustn't slack off on your education! Audrey encouraged herself in silence as she approached, planning to get Susie to head outside to guard the door.
Susie looked up and glanced at Audrey before standing straight up, saying, "I got it!"
After saying that, it briskly ran out the bedroom without closing the door.
"...I haven't said anything." Audrey blinked as she softly muttered to herself.
She had given such instructions many times. To prevent Susie from detecting that she wanted to be alone in the room from 3 to 3:30 p.m. on Mondays, forbidding humans and dogs from coming close, she had also done similar matters at other times, pretending that there was a gathering, wanting alone time while maintaining an irregular pattern.
I have to say that Susie's existence has effectively raised my motivation to learn, as well as how strictly I handle matters... I can't be inferior to a dog! But, being better than this dog doesn't seem to be something worthy of praise... Audrey puffed her cheeks with a self-deprecating comment as she sat by her bed, awaiting the beginning of the Tarot Gathering.
...
3 p.m. above the gray fog.
Dark red figures shot up along the two sides of the long bronze table, materializing into different blurry figures.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~" Audrey's greeted with a cheery voice as she bowed.
The other members greeted one after another until the existence at the seat of honor nodded in response.
While sitting down, Fors couldn't help but look at Mr. World, wondering what she should use as an opening.
Apart from passing on her teacher's reply to Ma'am Hermit, she planned on doing a few matters. One, she wanted to tell Mr. World that due to the difficulty of the mission, she would pay him more, but it required him to wait. This was because the sale of the houses took time. Second, after brainstorming, she thought of a good way that could earn money and raise her strength. She had gained inspiration from The World's actions: Rent out Leymano's Travels!
When a member needed an item to temporarily raise their combat strength to deal with certain situations, they could rent Leymano's Travels from her. The rent could be paid in two forms—cash which wasn't too expensive or to record Beyonder powers instead. This also meant that the renter had to guarantee that the spellbook was returned with more filled pages.
Of course, as the provider, Fors would record useful Apprentice powers like Door Opening, providing the renter with relevant help.
A problem that could easily happen in this transaction was that the renter might not return it, but with Mr. Fool witnessing these exchanges in the Tarot Club, Fors believed that no one would be blinded by greed.
And the death of the renter was a low probability event for losing Leymano's Travels. But with everyone knowing that they could pray to Mr. Fool in times of danger, death was an even smaller probability!
How can there not be any risks when doing business... I will talk to Mr. World about when he will use it so that there won't be any conflicts... Fors retracted her gaze and heard Ma'am Hermit speak.
"Honorable Mr. Fool, I have two pages of Roselle's diary this time."
Ever since contact was made with Queen Mystic, the receiving of diary pages has stabilized in a rather terrifying manner... Klein nodded slightly and chuckled.
"Very good."
After a brief silence, Cattleya conjured two yellowish-brown pieces of paper. They leaped into Mr. Fool's palms as if they had tunneled through the spirit world.
Klein slowly lowered his gaze at the diary in his hands.
"29th December. It's almost a new year again.
"All the mausoleums have been built. What's done cannot be undone."
