Lord of the Mysteries

Cielf’s residence wasn’t messy and dirty like most bachelors. Things were placed neatly, and there wasn’t any dust on any surfaces. After all, as an Artisan, he didn’t lack money. Many of his actions simply had the necessity that secrets were kept, so it wasn’t convenient for him to hire a large number of fixed servants. Therefore, he had no choice but to hire help who were paid by the hour.

Scanning the area, Alger discovered nothing that was off from his previous visit. The furnishing was extremely simple without any expensive ornaments, oil paintings, or sculptures. It resembled the residence of an ordinary person.

Of course, Alger knew very well that Cielf definitely deserved the title of being a tycoon. He just didn’t care about putting on a so-called decent image. He was willing to spend hundreds of pounds for a bottle of limited-edition wine, or gift a mistress a house, but he would never waste a single pence on expensive carpets, porcelain, gold-inlaid cutlery, or paintings of famous artists.

“A cup of Sonia blood wine.” Alger’s expression remained unchanged, but his verbal and body language indicated that he was coming in simply to get a free cup of wine.

Cielf shrugged and said, “You should feel lucky. I don’t have the habit of keeping Lanti Proof.”

He walked to the tiny bar counter in the living room and took out a bottle of exquisite Sonia blood wine. He then overturned two cups.

Finding a sofa to sit down, Alger took the opportunity to raise his hand to massage his neck as though to relieve any discomfort in his neck.

Using the cover of this action, he naturally took a glance at his surroundings, quickly making an observation of all the spots where he hadn’t been able to see previously.

As Cielf couldn’t be bothered to decorate his residence much, Alger quickly completed his attempt as his gaze was fixed onto a glass window of a cupboard a distance away for a second.

Through the glass, he saw some dried grass and flowers.

There were red-rimmed flowers, blood moon flowers, and monkey-faced tree leaves. Their common characteristic was that they were common in the Southern Continent, but they were practically not seen in the Northern Continent.

Alger retracted his gaze as he silently watched Cielf carry the bottle of wine and wine glasses over.

Reaching out to take the glass, he began idly chatting about the recent developments at sea until the small half-filled bottle of Sonia blood wine was finished.

Upon seeing this, Alger smiled and bade farewell before leaving.

Five minutes after he left, Cielf who had silently sat down to indulge in his tipsy experience suddenly stood up, walked to the staircase, and opened a wooden door that led to the cellar.

“Did he suspect anything?”

“No.”

“Regardless, this place is no longer suitable for you to live in. You need to move away as soon as possible.”

“I still have certain commissions that I haven’t completed.”

“You don’t have to. It’s not like you will contact them again. You will receive a new life.”

“Alright.”

…

Two buildings away, Alger sat on a long bench in someone’s garden, cupping his right hand to his ear as he heard the conversation that came with the wind.

…

West Balam, Behrens Harbor. Outside a seemingly ordinary house.

“It’s really due to your bad relationship with the Church of Knowledge that you’re egging me on to come here to request for a Language Comprehension charm?” Danitz wiped the sweat from his forehead as he looked at Anderson, feeling unnerved.

Anderson said in a self-deprecating and unfazed manner, “You shouldn’t describe it as bad…”

“Then hostile?” Danitz blurted out, cutting off his sentence.

Anderson shot him a glance and said, “The negative effects of your boxing glove might not be as easily bearable as you imagine it to be.”

He paused and added with a chuckle, “A more accurate description is that: be it me or the people from the Church of Knowledge, neither one of us wishes to interact with one another.”

Danitz used one hand to clench his boxing glove and said, seemingly stumped, “But how should I request for the charm?

“Do I just head straight to a clergyman of the Church of an orthodox god and mention something about mysticism? I’ll end up locked up!”

Danitz was somewhat rash at the moment, but he was in no way dumb.

Anderson threw up his hands.

“Simple, just directly mention my name. Then indicate that you came to West Balam for some pressing matter and do not have the time to learn Dutanese, nor do you dare to hire a local interpreter. Therefore, all you could do was seek their help, hoping that you could receive a few Language Comprehension charms.

“During this process, you must showcase your knowledge of many Northern Continent languages, making the priests know that it’s not that you lack the ability to learn Dutanese, but that you just lack the time to do it. Then, they will test you. When that happens, all you need to do is get a good score and you’ll receive the charms.”

Test… Upon hearing this familiar term, Danitz’s temples throbbed as he forced a smile.

“You aren’t going yourself because you’re afraid of the tests, aren’t you?”

His original intent was to randomly use some words to conceal his discomfort, but he ended up seeing Anderson’s expression freeze.

From the looks of it, there’s still something you’re afraid of… Danitz chortled inwardly as he was suddenly filled with confidence.

He took large strides into the ordinary house and discovered that its interior was more of an amalgamation of classrooms, and not a land of preaching for the Church of Knowledge in Balam.

Then, he saw a grizzled elder.

Although this man wasn’t wearing the clergyman robes of the Church of Knowledge, just his unique scholarly air convinced Danitz that he was at least a bishop.

He had experienced similar vibes from his captain.

“Hello there.” Without covering himself with a hood, Danitz walked over with a smile while dressed in a commoner’s attire.

The elder silently watched him approach before slowly saying, “Danitz.”

“…”

Danitz paused and froze on the spot. His mind was filled with questions like: “He knows me?” “How does he know me?” “Isn’t my bounty only limited to the sea?”

The elder glanced at him and asked, “You are here for Language Comprehension charms?”

“Yes…” Danitz nodded with a blank look, suddenly having the feeling that he had zero secrets in front of the elder.

The scholarly old gentleman nodded gently.

“Are you planning on heading to the places ruled by Katamia and Maysanchez?”

“Yes.” Danitz continued his blank expression.

The elder took out four brass charms from his pocket.

“These can be used for two months. They should be enough.”

“…”

Danitz received it with a blank look and after a few seconds, said, “That’s it?”

It’s that simple?

Isn’t there supposed to be a test?

“You don’t want it?” the scholarly elder asked with a smile.

“No, it’s not that!” Danitz suddenly shook his head, and before his brain could react, he had already asked, “How do you know me? How do you know I want Language Comprehension charms?”

The elder wore a few looks of pity in his eyes as he slowly said, “Your captain contacted me.

“She said that you refused to stop no matter how much they called out to you when you left the ship, rushing straight into the harbor. She had actually prepared a few Language Comprehension charms for you.”

As he spoke, the man shook his head, the look in his eyes somewhat ambivalent. It was as though he was looking at a student who was often careless in class.

…I should’ve long realized that. Captain is such a meticulous person. It’s impossible for her not to consider the problem of the language barrier… Danitz resisted the urge to slap himself.

When the elder saw the changes in Danitz’s expression, he shook his head and asked, “It probably wasn’t your own idea to seek help here, right? I was about to use divination to find you.”

“Ah, right. It was suggested by Anderson Hood,” Danitz immediately replied.

The elder was taken aback for a second before his expression turned ashen.

At that moment, Anderson was sitting outside in the shade. He had snapped a tree branch and was casually drawing on a barren patch among the grass as he leisurely waited for Danitz to come out.

He had no doubts that this unqualified Hunter could obtain the Language Comprehension charms. This was because, as long as Danitz mentioned Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina, everything would become much simpler. The only difference was how many rounds of tests he needed to take.

Just as he finished drawing King of the North Ulyssan’s head, he heard a familiar gait coming from the inside.

Anderson’s branch-wielding hand paused for a second when he looked up and turned to the door. He saw Danitz holding a stack of paper, walking over with mixed emotions.

“You… failed the test?” Anderson gave a sincere smile, having zero concern over the failure to obtain the Language Comprehension charms.

Danitz shook his head blankly.

“There wasn’t a test.”

“…”

Anderson was first taken aback as he asked with immediate enlightenment, “Help from your captain?”

Danitz tersely confirmed it as he handed the stack of paper to Anderson and said, “This is what the bishop wishes me to inform you: ‘A real Hunter doesn’t only rely on instinct or solely focus on the prey’s information. They also need to learn how to grasp the prey’s psyche and use all kinds of additional information.’

“This is the information he wants to give you.”

Anderson’s expression became contorted for a brief moment before it was restored to normal. He chuckled and said, “Thankfully, that’s not much.”

Danitz’s lips quivered as he finally held back the laughter that rose within him. He said with seriousness, “That’s only the table of contents.

“That bishop said that you should try to finish reading all the books mentioned in it within two years.”

Anderson’s smile finally froze.

…

Desi Bay, Eskelson Harbor.

Klein was like any normal Southern Continent tourist. He bought tickets to East Balam, boarded a hybrid steam and sail liner with many cannons.

With a hum, the ship left the harbor and quickly entered the Berserk Sea.

Midway, Klein discovered the Loen Kingdom’s Desi fleet patrolling the safe sea route as though they were guarding against something.

From the looks of it, the abnormality in the Berserk Sea has garnered the attention of the Loen military… This way, the Numinous Episcopate likely has no way of investigating these waters without problems. Of course, a fleet is unable to monitor the entire stretch of the sea route… Klein stood inside his cabin as he looked at the scenery outside, thinking in enlightenment and poignancy.

At this moment, he heard stacked illusory pleas. He hurriedly headed above the gray fog to check on it.

The prayer was from The Hanged Man. He requested Mr. Fool to inform The Hermit that the Artisan was suspected to be controlled by a cult or secret organization and that he wished to receive some help from her.