The Secret Code of Monsters.

Chapter 159 Ch.158 Eyeball
Not to mention how the Inquisition dealt with those foolish participants in the ceremony, and how they tortured and tormented the few surviving cultists.

When Roland and Enid returned to the courtroom, the first thing they had to do was to deal with - or rather, distribute - the seized 'stolen goods'.

Gold Pound.

And the strange objects: the boning knife, and the black scripture eyeball.

After Enid expressed her unwillingness to participate, she yawned and walked away.

There were only three executives left in the office, looking at each other (Xindel was taken away for treatment).

"I want coffee, Fernandez."

Roland felt a little sleepy.

It was a very tense night: encountering a battle, hiding one's identity, meeting Miss Snitch again, and the strange...

He is indeed a little tired now.

Fernandez quietly leaned over to look outside the door, then tiptoed to the door and closed it very quietly.

"Sometimes I think you should be my captain."

Only then did I dare to speak loudly.

"In terms of brains, he is indeed the best." Crow said as he took out a knife and a plate from Fernandez's cupboard, and found a small piece of bread from somewhere and toasted it on the stone slab of the fireplace.

Fernandez: ...

"This is my office, Raven."

"You don't have to emphasize it." Crow folded his hands and leaned against the wall: "What else is there that requires me to stay? I don't want to stay in your small and messy place for too long. I'm different from you. I have a lot of things to do every day."

Fernandez grinned: "Busy consoling your 'floating lady'?"

The crow said nothing, just looked at him quietly.

Fernandez glared back without showing any weakness.

The two people stared at each other, with a sense of "whoever looks away first loses."

Roland: ...

To be honest, even the smallest children in the poorhouse didn't do that.

"What a shame, you've never played this game."
-
I haven't settled accounts with you yet.

"What account?"
-
You let me taste...
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The account of dry powder.

"I meant: you 'can try it'. It was just a harmless little joke."

-Wrench, you know, there's only one way I can fight you back.

“I hate vegetarians.”

"You can't keep curbing the nature that is engraved in my bones."
-
Can you please not have this nature engraved in your bones?

"I also want to ask Su Yue this question."

Perhaps it was the roaring fireplace that made their eyeballs dry, and the two men looked away at the same time as if they had agreed: Crow focused on the soft toasted bread, while Fernandez had a sullen face and pulled out a chair.

"According to the rules of the Tribunal, whoever performs the task has the priority to purchase it."

He woke up Roland, who was staring at the table in a daze, unscrewed the lock on the outside of the wooden box, opened the lid, and took out a small stack of gold pounds.

"This pile is yours."

Fernandez said.

"You deserve compensation for the 'consumption' of this mission."

The gold pounds were used to compensate for the consumption of holy water and other materials if Roland performed other rituals.

In fact, all of these should be written down and reported to the tribunal, which will then report them to the church.

However, usually, the executor will try to make up for his losses with the stolen goods before this stage, and then continue the process.

"…If it weren't for Lady Enid's generosity, we would have been unable to continue our business long ago because of the money we received from the church." Fernandez curled his lips: "I don't know if those people only wear one pair of pants all year round..."

He muttered, taking out the rest of the things from the box.

Wonderful item: Boning knife.

An eyeball engraved with black scripture.

"It's different from the last case with Mrs. Pasetti. This time, you and Chandel Kratov should choose first. But I have to tell you."

Fernandez pointed at the boning knife and said sincerely:

"Don't rashly use strange objects of unknown origin before performing a ritual. If you don't want flowers and plants to grow on your body, your teeth to fall out, and you to be cursed."

Roland was puzzled: "Ritual?" "Yes, a universal ritual (small ritual)." Fernandez raised his eyebrows: "The universal ritual of the Fifth Crown God, a small ritual that every ritualist can use."

"Fifth Crown God"

"God of Ritual and Contract/The Constant Scale that Splits Day and Night"

"His ritual allows us to distinguish the efficacy of a magical object from the price it costs..." Fernandez described the magical ritual to Roland. All the materials used in it made Roland astonished.

Not only are they expensive, some of them Roland hasn't even heard of.

Most importantly: gold was used.

"Depending on the power of the artifact, the materials consumed in the ritual will gradually increase...including gold. Roland, this is why the mask is worth five hundred pounds - as a participant in the case, you should not have to pay that much."
-
Actually.
-
I only paid fifty pounds.

"In fact, you haven't given a penny yet."
-
Enid said it would be deducted from her salary.

"If you kiss that bat a few more times, the entire Court of Inquisition should be yours."
-
It's a joke, Wrench. I still don't agree with you that you make Ms. Enid sound so... innocent.

"Roland."
-
Ok?
"Is it possible?"

"This is not a joke."

Roland: ...

"I say this to warn you not to rashly use strange objects of unknown origin. If you are interested in this knife, at least wait until after the ceremony. And -"

Fernandez wanted to explain the ceremony to Roland, but was interrupted by Crow impatiently: "So, what is the matter that you asked me to stay?"

Fernandez looked innocent: "I didn't ask you to stay?"

crow:……

The silence in the room lasted even longer than before.

When the expressionless man left, all that was left on the fireplace was a dinner plate broken in half and the cracked rock slab beneath the fragments.

Fernandez took out a crumpled cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it, and took a deep puff.

"His lover is of no help in the courtroom."

"Lover?" Roland was puzzled. "You mean, the ghost?"

The priest narrowed his eyes and did not answer.

The flame burned the paper roll, passed through the mouth, and turned into light white smoke.

“…Experiences make people. When you see a person, do you wonder, ‘Why is he like this?’, ‘What made him like this?’”

Roland leaned his arm against the sofa and tilted his head: "Fernandez, I don't have any bad opinion of Mr. Crow."

"You don't have a good opinion, right?" Fernandez pointed at Roland from a distance, holding a cigarette between his legs. "Because you don't care about irrelevant people at all."

Roland just smiled.

"Well, I don't like him anyway... You can wait for a while and discuss it with Kratov. Wait for this boning knife--"

Roland whispered, "...I want that eyeball, Fernandez. You know, I'm embarking on an unknown path...I can only rely on my intuition."

eyeball…

Fernandez thought about it, then lowered his head and rummaged through the drawer with a cigarette in his mouth.

He found an empty wooden box the size of a palm, and carefully placed the eyeball into the box with a cloth pad.

"Don't think I'm nagging, Roland."

He closed the lid of the box.

“It may be a material, but the characters on it…”

"Perhaps it means an incomplete grand ceremony, or perhaps... it is complete."

"The cult's grand rituals are not allowed to be traded, let alone spread in any way."

"You're the executive officer."

"That should be clear."

"When you no longer need it, destroying it is the best option - I trust you, so I never want to see you make such a stupid mistake one day."

After Fernandez finished speaking, he scratched his chin with the hand holding the cigarette: "…Hiss, did I forget something?"

Roland tapped the pocket watch in his side pocket, his expression normal.

"No, Fernandez."

(End of this chapter)