New Gods of North America.

Chapter 641 Aftermath
After regaining his senses, Wayne climbed out of the shed and made room for Inessa, who hadn't had a proper rest in the past few days, to rest a bit longer.

The freight wagons were parked on the roadside next to the house from last night. At this time, many monks were busy going in and out, some detectives were helping out, and several police officers were guarding the outermost perimeter.

Outside the house, a monk was carefully placing the "snake-headed staff" wrapped within a magnificent brocade, seemingly embroidered with holy symbols in gold thread, into a large box opened by another monk.
The walls of the box looked thicker than a safe, giving people a sense of security that "even evil spirits couldn't get out if they went in."

Brother Merlin and Lina stood by, watching the two monks' actions. When Wayne appeared, Brother Merlin waved to the police officers guarding the perimeter to let them pass, while also looking Wayne up and down: "I heard you were injured last night. Do you need the cathedral to arrange treatment?"

"It's nothing serious, just an impact at the scene. I'll be fine after a rest."

As Wayne approached, he answered, his gaze involuntarily drifting upwards towards the building. "Was the damage to the house really that severe? I remember when I passed out last night, the ceiling on the second floor was still intact..."

At that time, the "wise sage" mainly unleashed "spiritual pressure," which might have been devastating enough for the chosen target, but on a physical level, its impact on the surrounding environment seemed to be restrained, even less than the commotion caused by the cultist detonating the magic circle a few days ago.
How come now half of the roof has collapsed, and part of the "third floor" has also collapsed? Looking up from outside, you can actually see the blue sky through the second-floor window.

How much compensation will this cost? It feels like the repair costs might be almost the same as tearing it down and rebuilding it.

Before Brother Merlin could speak, Lina's gaze had already subtly drifted over.
Wayne paused for a moment, then immediately raised a hand and touched his head, pretending to rub it: "Hmm... no, I feel a little dizzy, and my memory seems a bit muddled. I might really need to rest for a while longer..."

Fortunately, Brother Merlin's attention was mainly focused on the "snake-head staff" at the moment, and he briefly raised his head again upon hearing this. "We witnessed the appearance of the 'Koyatl' phantom a few days ago. It seems that the one you accidentally discovered last night was a core member of this cult. It's not surprising that it would have such destructive power again."

Having not intended to exchange statements with Lina earlier, Wayne dared not interrupt now. He nodded in agreement with Brother Merlin's assessment, then quickly turned away, pretending to be carefully examining the interior of the house.

The dock area is not a bustling area; the interiors of most of the brick and stone houses are low and compact. The only houses that offer a slightly more comfortable living space are wooden houses.

This house belongs to the latter category. At this moment, an irregular spherical space has been carved out inside. The center of the sphere is roughly where the tentacle monster was torn apart last night, but the destructive effect seems to be more like that of a large amount of high explosives. The destructive force spreads in all directions from the same origin, and many fragments and debris have a directional tendency to be "pushed from the inside out".

Not smelling any obvious lingering gunpowder odor, Wayne turned and spotted "Airflow" among the agents, mentally reconstructing the events that had transpired.

Sanders, that tough guy, must have made a contribution as well. It looks like someone was conducting a search and rescue operation in the ruins, but in reality, he was just rummaging through the rubble and causing secondary damage to the scene.

At this point, the staged scene seems logically acceptable.

When the magic array in the small wooden hut in the distillery went off, the scene was already a mess. Last night, there were several cultists there, so it's reasonable to assume that the power of the explosion would be even greater.

With just one picture at the start, it shouldn't be too difficult for Lina to come up with a story.

The large box containing the "snake-head club" was escorted by two monks to a church carriage parked by the roadside, with mounted guards in front and behind to escort it.

After watching them leave, Brother Merlin breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems that all the cultists have been captured, and the scepter with the aura of the evil god has been officially taken into custody. Once the scene is cleaned up, this matter will probably be over."

“Unfortunately, none of the cultists left in the house last night managed to leave behind any extraordinary materials. Their spiritual power seems to have been drained when the phantom of ‘Koyatl’ descended, becoming fuel for the explosion. Only the extraordinary materials of the two cultists who tried to break out from the back of the house were left behind.” Wayne tried to say as little as possible to avoid making mistakes, and could only nod and say “hmm” expressionlessly.

Brother Merlin was in a good mood and quite kind. He patted Wayne on the shoulder, "Although the quantity of spoils isn't large, their ranks should be quite high, and items bearing the aura of evil gods are usually highly valued. More importantly, you timely thwarted the Silent Church's conspiracy, preventing casualties among the people in the dock area. I will emphasize your contributions in the report and see if I can secure a reward and recognition for you."

"That won't be necessary. I think the monks work harder; the detective agency mainly provides assistance."

Wayne wasn't just being polite; the scope of the rewards had already been determined, and the only thing left to discuss was the specific profit-sharing ratio, with little room for change.

As for a little bit of empty fame, the detective agency is already "oversaturated" with security contracts for the steam train line, and with Willie helping to boost reputation, they don't need it for the time being. If this matter can make Bishop Tyrell a little more "in the Emperor's favor," Wayne will be happy.

Furthermore, the detective agency secretly stole extraordinary materials; how can they secretly take kickbacks and then make a big fuss about it...?

Many things cannot withstand close scrutiny. Why be so tactless as to run into the spotlight and attract attention? When Wayne sees the cathedral treasurer again, he will also choose to decline.

The two exchanged words for a while longer. Merlin's intentions were indeed good, but Wayne could only appreciate it.
A monk who passed by the two overheard their conversation. He was probably surprised that the detective agency was willing to give up the credit for discovering the cult's hideout last night, and his gaze toward Wayne seemed to become more affectionate.

But Wayne wasn't entirely without ideas: "Brother Merlin, I actually have a personal suggestion regarding how to handle this matter."

Brother Merlin seemed to have just changed his perception of Wayne, and listened attentively. "Go on," he said.

“Although the cultists seem to have all been caught, their influence may still linger, and I think it is necessary to continue the bounty on the Rat's Tail that the cathedral previously offered.”

As Wayne spoke, he explained, "Anyway, it shouldn't cost much. Our detective agency will continue to investigate and monitor the dock area during this time. We'll prevent any accidental infections from spreading into a small-scale epidemic and completely eliminate any potential threats."

Brother Merlin nodded in agreement: “That makes sense. You’ve considered it very thoroughly. I’ll include this suggestion in my report.”

"You don't need to emphasize that this was my suggestion."

Just in case, Wayne added, "Our detective agency's business is more focused on solving cases and security, so it's better if some suggestions are made by the monks, as they will be more convincing from a professional standpoint."

Brother Merlin seemed to have misunderstood something, hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding: "I understand... I didn't expect Wayne to be so low-key. The news in the newspapers obviously underestimated your actual abilities."

Ugh, don't even mention those tattered newspapers.
I'm just worried that I might end up in the newspapers someday with a headline like "Famous detective jailed for murdering journalist" or something like that.

(End of this chapter)