The Secret Code of Monsters.

Chapter 1153 Ch.1152 The Madman

Benevento's letter was merely an 'information'. Miss Lulu clearly didn't 'necessarily' want Roland to take Theodore away.

She claimed that she was indebted to this high-ring ceremonial practitioner and, in return, would serve her and the Benevento family for at least five years—or more—after he recovered from his injuries.

Theodore, with his 'knightly' character, would naturally agree.

But he remained terrified, fearing that his identity would jeopardize the future of this 'girl' from the Benevento family, who should have had a bright future.

'What glorious future do I have, Mr. Thackeray? Why don't you tell me?'

Roland urged Theodore to recover from his injury as soon as possible, as he might need his "dream entry" technique—Amber Winston, a low-ring ritualist who had not yet entered the fifth ring, was undoubtedly a good target for theft.

Perhaps they could learn more about the plans targeting Enid from her mind…

Before that, Shandel had to introduce Roland to his mentor.

Ms. Natalia.

Interestingly, this scholar, who is "capable of influencing parliament," does not live in the church.

She has a small house in the monastery.

monastery.

This is not a place for a 'mentor'.

"If this were a few years ago, your assessment would have been correct."

The very next day, Sender picked up Roland by carriage and headed straight for their destination.

"But ever since those few 'studies and speculations' about the gods, she has been unable to leave the monastery..."

Roland could tell that Xander wasn't in a good mood today.

"I thought you cared about nothing but your own 'sacred rites'."

“Of course, you’re included, Roland, my love. As for Natalia…” Xander smiled, “She’s only half. I personally don’t care much for such trivial things as ’gratitude,’ but… she certainly is…”

The girl thought for a while.

"He saved my life."

A bronze plaque hangs in the spacious private carriage.

Today's engraving is 'Fernandez de Winsen'.

"The selection of a saintess?" Roland asked.

"Not at all."

"Shandel said."

Natalia plays an indispensable role in some stories about Gary Kratoff, or the "Kratoff family."

"I think you know everything about my past, don't you?"

The monastery was never a bustling place to begin with, and when Sander led Roland into a deeper part of the garden, where he had never been before, the sound of their breathing could be clearly heard in the garden.

It's eerily quiet here.

"It's right there."

Sender pointed to the wasteland ahead: beyond the wooded path, a lone red-brick villa stood on a patch of brownish-yellow land plowed by cat tongues.

A line of footprints went away and then returned.

"She can't die in the convent, but she can't leave here either..."

"Blasphemy?" Roland asked.

“Not entirely,” Shandel said. “I think I understand why now.”

Roland had long imagined what kind of woman would be suitable to be Shandel Kratofer's mentor:

Dignified, or perhaps possessing a quality that is a mixture of Cherry's and the scholars he had met.

A monocle.

The research gown, neither too tight nor too loose, with its monotonous style, makes it difficult for anyone to have a pleasant conversation…

That kind of woman?

In fact.

Roland would never have guessed. When Sindel pulled out a key and turned the simple lock...

They were greeted first by an unpleasant burnt smell: like overcooked, burnt pancakes.

The living room was a mess, as if it had just been invaded by imperial soldiers: glasses that couldn't close properly, the cap of the ink bottle that was missing the mother, the husband's shattered picture frame, a triangular lens that had lost its parents and whose purpose was unknown, and household garbage scattered all over the place.

There were mounds of used, unprocessed, bloodstained fabric and draft paper, and on the dirty single step that spanned the living room, several cockroaches were circling a drop of solidified butter.

The peeling wallpaper revealed moldy wall plaster and broken bricks behind it.

Three kerosene lamps extend inwards from the living room, hallway, and staircase.

Roland heard the clanging of the spatula.

"Natalia?"

Sindel called softly, carefully avoiding the filth on the ground, and he and Roland began to move slowly and laboriously inside—undoubtedly, if Sindel hadn't emphasized it again, Roland would have truly believed this was the dwelling of a 'madman':

He had visited popular mental hospitals with his uncle and Yam.

A few pence each, and a wonderful afternoon.

"Natalia?"

They walked over the creaking floorboards, some of which warped and couldn't even withstand a little more weight.

As you walk down the hallway to the right of the living room, closer to the kitchen area, the clanging of spatulas becomes even clearer.

She was a strong and healthy woman.

—There's a difference between being strong and plump. In Fernandez's words, the difference lies in whether they're strong enough in the right places... filthy sluts.

In short.

Roland's first impression of Natalia was that she was 'strong and healthy':
Her shoulders were as broad as Fernandez's, her neck was thick, and her glossy brown hair hung inwards and coiled behind her head. She wore a barely-there, rather indecent, light purple floral dress, and her wrists, ankles, and neck were adorned with various pendants of different styles and colors.

It looks like a big wind chime.

at this time.

The large wind chime was chanting something to two blackened slices of bread in the pot.

Good day, mentor. I hope I haven't disturbed your ceremony.

Sender bent her knees slightly, and didn't seem to respect her 'ritual' much.

There was a clang.

The strong woman threw down the grease-stained shovel she was holding, and before turning around, her voice was filled with exasperation:
"I told you, at least not during my exorcism rituals..."

She turned around.

His eyebrows were wild, his lips were painted blue, and a candle-like pattern was drawn on his forehead with red paint.

“…Good heavens, you’ve never asked me for anything like this before, Xander.” She glanced at Roland, and then, as if remembering something, her anger vanished in an instant. With a smile in her eyes, she strode forward, grabbed the gray-haired girl’s small hand, and shook it vigorously.

“I’ve never fulfilled my responsibilities as a mentor as I have today, have I? But things are different from today onward, different from your grandfather who should have been dying of grief long ago… Ah… I remember now… Saints’ ritualists are all like this… But we still have a chance to salvage this… I have a wonderful incantation… Starting with mystical symbolism… No… no, no! I almost forgot!”

She spoke incoherently.

"You've come to ask me for help, haven't you?"

The woman couldn't help but steal another glance at Roland, who was still smiling.

Almost staring at him.

"This 'gift' is enough for me to nominate you for the Council of Truth! How about it? I... once you're in the council, you'll have to do me a small favor, something to improve my occult symbolology..."

“Mentor,” Shandel interrupted with a laugh, “what ‘gift’?”

what…

Gift?

Natalia's eyes widened. She flung away Sandel's hand and pointed at Roland: "I told you, as long as you bring me a mutant I've never seen before... I'll even take my father's lifeblood...! This one! I want this one!"

Roland silently took a half step back to the side, frowning as he looked at Xander: "If you want to collect these things, there are plenty of male prostitutes in the red-light district who are willing to do so, Xander..."

Even someone as rarely regretful as Xander felt his chest heave a few times, and he began to have some doubts.

Was it a good decision to put these two lunatics together?

(End of this chapter)