Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 115 Official Organization
Early morning, at Earl Hall's house.

Claire followed the contract and came to Audrey's side early to serve as her bodyguard.

Even if the nobles of the Kingdom of Loen cut back on other expenses, they would still maintain a considerable number of servants at home, assigning one servant to each task.

Taking Audrey's affairs after getting up early as an example, in addition to the personal maid, there are also clothing maids, shoe maids, jewelry maids, hair maids, gauze hat maids, and makeup maids.

In the bedroom, Audrey was holding a sheet of music, sitting at the piano and humming a melody, as the maids pushed the door open and walked out.

After Audrey asked Susie to guard the door, she couldn't wait to ask Claire:
"Galadia, did you find out any news after you went back last night? Regarding the case we discussed yesterday..."

Claire smiled and said, "Of course, I will definitely keep Miss Audrey's request in mind."

Last night, she used her captain's authority to retrieve recent cases handled by the Night Watch from the internal archives and found a file titled "The Case of the Disappearance of the Victim's Female Internal Organs."

"After discovering the second victim, Sivellas Field reported the case to the Night Watchman. The file was created on September 5th. I checked the case log..."

The night watchman handling the case was someone Claire knew. He was from the El Hassan team that had escorted the Sealed Artifact "2-049" to Tingen.

Of course, Claire wouldn't reveal the names of her colleagues in detail. She simply sighed, "It's a shame that the night watchmen at the scene also didn't find any clues about the murderer... Miss Audrey, do you know the common methods used by officials to investigate cases?"

Audrey hesitated and said, "I've secretly inquired about it before, and it seems to be about spiritualism and divination?"

Claire nodded slightly and answered, "For the Nighthawks, it's about communicating with spirits, entering dreams, and divination."

Claire told Audrey the case report without hiding anything:

"It has been confirmed that the location where the body was found is the crime scene. Both scenes have been cleaned up extremely well, not only in a physical sense, but also in a mysterious sense."

"No trace of the victim's spirit could be found at the scene. It seemed as if the spirit had disappeared along with the internal organs. The Nighthawks also attempted divination, but were unable to detect any trace."

"It's clear that the murderer's methods are sophisticated and experienced."

After listening to Claire's explanation of the case, Audrey murmured thoughtfully, "You mean, the murderer's methods are very sophisticated... Could he be a repeat offender?"

Audrey's eyes turned suspicious as she spoke, and she blurted out in surprise, "According to this line of thought, won't there be new victims next?!"

Claire agreed with a wry smile, "The Night Watchmen all gave the same guess, so they're under a lot of pressure. From what I understand, the team handling the case last night was on duty all night, and this will continue."

Even the "Sleepless Men" felt very tired under this high-pressure situation, and the other night watchmen who were not "Sleepless Men" were working even harder.

Claire had speculated that perhaps the seven righteous gods had established this guardian system because they needed believers.

But in the final analysis, the Nighthawks, the Mandated Punishers, the Mechanical Hound, and similar structures of other Orthodox churches are all maintaining problems for society as a whole.

They are also facing the risk of sacrifice to ensure the safety of residents in their jurisdiction.

In comparison, the believers of evil gods are truly "evil". Even if they do not commit all kinds of evil, they will have a condescending mentality and treat ordinary people as consumables.

"Then how can we help?" Audrey, who has a strong sense of justice, turned her initial curiosity about the extraordinary events into a sense of responsibility to solve the case when she heard that there might be more victims.

"My abilities don't seem to be of much use in solving the case... I don't have any relevant experience," Audrey muttered, then suddenly said, "I can pay some private detectives!"

Claire didn't underestimate those renowned detectives. In the Sharon impersonation case, when even the Red Gloves couldn't find a clue using their extraordinary abilities, it was the invited detectives who deduced from the disjointed information that it was Ty Perslan who was disguising himself as Sharon.

Careful thinking, open-minded ideas, flexible methods... enable these experienced private detectives to play a huge role in many cases.

What's more, among these private detectives, some are extraordinary people themselves.

Claire said, "Actually, Sivellas Field has already invited some private detectives to join the investigation. But as the saying goes, 'cast a wide net to catch more fish,' there's no telling what useful clues your detectives might find."

"Also... there's a good chance that one of these private detectives is a Beyonder. Because most wild Beyonders are poor and struggling, materials, formulas, and magical items are all extremely expensive... A career like private detective, where one can leverage Beyonder abilities to earn hefty commissions, is considered a profitable path for wild Beyonders."

Audrey thought of Hugh and Fors.

These two wild Beyonders, as Claire had said, had lived in dire straits before they met her—

Xio had already digested the potion unconsciously, and even though he had found clues to the promotion formula, he was unable to buy the potion formula worth more than 400 pounds.

Fors, like a salted fish, had no further thoughts.

"What about you officials?" Audrey suddenly asked, with a hint of sarcasm in her words, as if to say, "You haven't accepted the commission from me yet."

At her first Tarot meeting, Audrey expressed rejection of the lives of members of official organizations like the Nighthawks and the Mechanical Heart. That's why she chose to buy the potion formula from the Hanged Man and embarked on the path of a wild Beyonder.

But for the vast majority of extraordinary people, being organized is always much better than being unorganized, especially when there is a formal organization behind them.

Claire picked out the part that didn't involve confidentiality measures and explained it to Audrey:
"Compared to you wealthy nobles, the Nighthawks' salaries are not worth mentioning. But in a large official organization, members' salaries are part of their compensation."

"Take me for example. Even if I don't have a single sola on me, it doesn't affect my basic life."

"The church will provide me with the basics of life, such as housing, food, and clothing. There's also a reimbursement system for the loss of extraordinary materials and conventional equipment. On top of that, as long as I complete a sufficient number of missions and earn enough merit, I'll be able to obtain subsequent potion formulas, and even magical potions."

After saying this, Claire smiled and said, "Ms. Audrey, even if you're as wealthy as you are, you probably haven't found the formula and ingredients for the Sequence 7 Psychiatrist potion yet, right? The secret organization behind you doesn't seem to be one that relies primarily on 'audiences.'"

Hearing these words, Audrey glared at Claire and retorted, "But the truth is, Galadilla, aren't you still working for me?"

Claire just smiled and said, "This extra wealth will give me more freedom."

"The 'freedom' here doesn't just refer to freedom of action or thought...it also means the freedom to leverage the enormous power of the organization. This freedom will allow me to grow, advance, and become stronger more quickly."

Looking at Audrey, who was half confused and half thoughtful, Claire stopped talking and said nothing more.

Audrey came back to her senses and was silent for a moment, letting go of some of her changing thoughts. She suddenly said, "I have another commission. It's about Jessica Meazza, who I mentioned yesterday."

"Jessica Meazza has some connection to me, and as for Beth Lyonness, after listening to our conversation yesterday, you should be able to tell that there's something wrong with her."

"I'd like to entrust you with finding a way to prevent Jessica Meazza from being blinded or even harmed by Beth's entanglement."

Claire raised her eyebrows when she heard this. Although they were both nobles, what was the relationship between Audrey and Aunt Jessica?
Hmm...the family of a deceased Tarot Club member...

Claire looked at Audrey and sighed in her heart again. Miss Justice is really a good girl...

(End of this chapter)