Lord of the Mysteries

Having read many magazines, Klein knew that the social life he wanted to enter had many balls, so he wasn’t surprised by Walter’s suggestion. He said with a nod, “Okay.”

With that said, he looked sideways at his valet, Richardson.

“Prepare the carriage. I’ll be heading over to Saint Samuel Cathedral.”

Klein vividly remembered that his main goal was to act as a devout believer of the Evernight Goddess in order to get to know the corresponding clergymen, and from there he would find a way to sneak into Chanis Gate. Therefore, he planned to pray at the cathedral whenever he had the time to express his sincerity and get to know the members of the clergy.

“Yes, sir,” Richardson answered politely.

Before long, Klein boarded his rented luxurious four-wheeled carriage, decked out in a coat and a top hat. As he enjoyed the scenery on his journey, he sampled the black tea that was adorned with a slice of lemon.

In fact, there was a tiny bar counter in the carriage, and in it, Butler Walter had specially prepared Golden Lanti, Winter Black Rand, and other distilled liquor, as well as all kinds of red and white wine that came from Intis.

However, Klein wasn’t someone who enjoyed drinking. As a Beyonder, he didn’t like the feeling of being tipsy. It made him recall the feeling of losing control; therefore, he used the excuse of him heading to the cathedral, so as to get his valet, Richardson, to prepare a pot of marquis black tea.

“If it’s possible, I would actually like a cup of sweet ice tea. It’s something from the south,” Klein said half-jokingly to Richardson.

“I will prepare it next time,” Richardson immediately replied.

Klein chuckled and shook his head.

“No, there’s no need. That wouldn’t appear decent.

“Once I’m more familiar with the neighbors, and have hosted a Desi-styled banquet, we can prepare some sweet ice tea. Heh heh, I believe their children will like it.”

When Richardson realized that he had mistaken his employer’s intentions, he hurriedly said in a fluster, “I will keep it in mind.”

It only took twenty minutes to go from 160 Böklund Street to the Saint Samuel Cathedral at Phelps Street on foot. If it wasn’t because he needed to hire a coachman and rent a carriage to project an image befitting his status, Klein would rather walk over to digest his food and strengthen his body.

Soon, the carriage stopped along the square outside the cathedral. Klein held his gold-inlaid cane, got out of the carriage, and stopped there to enjoy the pigeons’ dance.

After entering the cathedral and coming to the main prayer hall, he passed his top hat and cane to Richardson. He found a seat near the aisle and sat down. He lowered his head, clasped his hands, and seriously and silently prayed.

Richardson sat behind him to his side, putting the items in place as he glanced at the Dark Sacred Emblem on the altar. He then closed his eyes.

In the serene atmosphere, Klein felt his spirituality lightly scatter. He wasn’t too surprised by this, because the praying masses in the cathedral would encounter something similar. The tiny bits of spirituality that carried pious beliefs gathered together to provide power to the Chanis Gate’s seals underground.

After an unknown period of time, his spiritual perception triggered as he opened his eyes and looked diagonally across him.

Standing there was an elder dressed in a black clergyman robe. His hair was sparse, and his face looked pale. He resembled a dead man.

From afar, he had a cold aura with a lacking expression. He blended in with the prayer hall’s dark environment to a certain extent.

A Keeper… Klein made a judgment from a single glance. He closed his eyes again and continued praying. Of course, he had already remembered the man’s facial features.

Big nose, grayish-blue eyes, loose facial skin, and no facial hair.

The elder dressed as a clergyman had sat down as well. He focused on praying to the Goddess. Inside the prayer hall, the wall in front had a few holes. Pure light shone in from them like resplendent stars. It made the dark environment appear gentle and holy.

Time ticked by as Klein felt his spiritual perception trigger again.

He carefully opened his eyes and saw that the black-robed Keeper had left his seat and entered a passageway to the side.

That should lead to the back of the cathedral… The Keepers stay inside the cathedral? They have no family and don’t have their own residences? From their conditions, it’s not that surprising either. Furthermore, the Keepers of Chanis Gate are monitored by the bishops, so it’s a normal precaution… This means that I have to become friends with the priests and bishops of Saint Samuel Cathedral to obtain the freedom to enter the area at the back of the cathedral… Klein didn’t sneak anymore glances as he closed his eyes and considered various problems.

After some time, he slowly got up and walked to the altar. Standing in front of the donation box, he took out fifty pounds in cash and devoutly threw it in.

This made the bishop and priest on duty look over. Their gaze turned friendly as they remembered his appearance.

After doing that, Klein nodded gently at the clergymen, turned around, and walked down the aisle towards the exit. Richardson held his hat and cane and followed closely behind.

Once out the prayer hall, he walked towards the main entrance alongside a series of intricate murals and colored-pane windows that lined the top.

At this point, a few figures walked in. Leading them was a middle-aged man with long sideburns and soft facial features. He wore a black trench coat without any gloves, nor did he carry a cane.

Behind him was a young man dressed in a similar trench coat. He had black hair and green eyes, and he looked handsome with his randomly styled hair. He looked like he hadn’t combed it after waking up in the morning.

Klein was especially familiar with his looks and figure. It felt as though they hadn’t seen each other for years.

Leonard Mitchell!

Klein’s pupils constricted a little, but he didn’t stop at all. He maintained his pace and stride, and he walked towards the few Nighthawks in black trench coats.

Yes, Klein was certain that they were Nighthawks!

When they met, he casually swept a gaze at Leonard and company before passing them and walking towards the main entrance.

The main entrance was open, and the clouds outside were thin. There was plenty of sunlight and pigeons were flying.

Leonard Mitchell glanced at the believers who walked past him out of boredom, and he retracted his gaze. He said with a sigh, “I hope we can stay in Backlund for a few days this time to have a good rest. The case this time wasn’t only dangerous and thrilling, but it also required us to be tense the entire time.

His team of Red Gloves had just cracked a human skin-donning Devil case, and they had captured two targets.

This seemed easy on the surface, but it wasn’t simple at all. They went through plenty of setbacks and tribulations before completing the mission with great difficulty. Every member was exhausted both in mind and body.

Captain Soest shook his head with a smile.

“This is the life of us Red Gloves. You should’ve known that this would be how it would be back when you chose to join.

“However, congratulations on advancing to Soul Assurer.”

Leonard Mitchell curled his lips into a smile.

“It’s slower than I had expected. Also, Captain Soest, you’ve finally reached Sequence 5.”

“This isn’t a problem with the Church. If I could’ve endured it better, I could’ve become a Spirit Warlock earlier.” Soest wiped his smile away as he walked into the prayer hall’s corridor. “Pray to the Goddess. It will effectively eliminate your mental stress, allowing you to recover.”

As he spoke, the team of Red Gloves entered the dark and serene hall as they found a spot to sit down.

Leonard was just about to focus on praying when he suddenly heard a slightly aged voice ring in his mind:

“That person from just now is problematic.”

“Who?” Leonard kept his head down as he asked with a suppressed voice.

The slightly-aged voice replied, “One of the men you met at the entrance. I’m living in your body, and my strength hasn’t recovered, so I wasn’t able to see too clearly.”

Leonard recalled and asked softly, “What do you mean by problematic?”

“He has an ancient aura.”

“A Beyonder who has lived for a very long period of time?” Leonard mumbled, “I will try to investigate.”

Simultaneously, he thought, Old Man must be hiding certain things. He seldom volunteers to tell me that someone is problematic, yet be so vague about it… After I find the target and confirm that there’s no danger for the time being, I’ll leave it. I don’t want to be embroiled in the conflict of some undying monsters from the Fourth Epoch… If that person will really bring about a calamity, I’ll directly report it to the Archbishop…

…

In an apartment in Cherwood Borough.

“This the money I borrowed from you.” Fors handed 220 pounds to Xio.

She had already received the 100 pounds from Mr. Moon and the 500 pounds from Ma’am Hermit.

Xio Derecha grabbed at her messy blonde, unsmooth hair, looked at the money, and raised her head to look at Fors. She blurted, “You really are involved in illegal gambling?

“I have to tell you that such gambling must be a scam and a trap. They let you win in order to make you lose more! Even though you’re a Trickmaster and have a chance of fooling them, such gambling scams might have other Beyonders hiding in it!”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Fors lowered her hands. She said in bemused anger, “Do I look like someone who will participate in illegal gambling?”

“Yes!” Xio didn’t hesitate in her reply. “If I didn’t stop you, you wouldn’t just be smoking cigarettes, you’d even be smoking cannabis!”

That’s because I needed to numb myself due to the pain brought by the full moon’s ravings. I no longer need to… Fors didn’t debate with Xio as she directly explained, “I sold the mysticism knowledge I know at a Beyonder gathering. Heh heh, that person was very generous and had paid several hundred pounds.”

“Is that so…” Xio instantly threw the problem to the back of her mind and said, “There’s been a new Beyonder gathering that appeared recently in East Borough. I’ve been invited.”

“A new Beyonder gathering?” Fors was first taken aback before feeling a sense of anticipation.

According to her teacher, Dorian Gray, and Mr. Fool, she knew that Lewis Wien was an Oracle of the Aurora Order. His arrival in Backlund was likely to replace the missing Mr. A, so as to rebuild the Aurora Order faction in this big city. Therefore, there was a solid chance that he had disguised himself to organize a new Beyonder gathering.

Fors thought for a moment and said seemingly mindlessly to Xio, “Are you going to join it?”

“Of course, I have to prepare the Interrogator formula potion,” Xio answered decisively.

Fors nodded and covered her mouth to yawn.

“Remember to bring me along when you have the privilege of inviting a new member.”