Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 175 The sought-after mission

In the basement of St. Samuel's Church, classical gas lamps were embedded in the dark walls, emitting soft light. The lights illuminated many figures, some of whom were whispering to each other, while others were waiting quietly in silence. Many of them were wearing red gloves.

In the conference room, when the captains' meeting ended, Creste Cesimer quietly left with his suitcase. The captains also led their well-prepared team members to the station and headed to the location of their respective missions.

The three teams temporarily stationed in Backlund were more relaxed. Leonard, who was waiting for Dunn outside the conference room, didn't go to Dunn. Instead, he spoke to Claire first: "Captain Galadilla, good evening. Why didn't Daly come today? Isn't her case over?"

"Leonard..." Claire greeted with a smile, then said, "Dally believes there are still doubts in the demon dog case and wants to conduct a follow-up investigation."

Claire recounted Daly's speculation, "...There are too many dog ​​breeders in Backlund. Even if we were to screen them based on the demon dog's disguised appearance, the workload would be enormous. So, Daly should be busy during this period."

"I see. Daly is really thoughtful." Leonard sighed as he suddenly realized.

Dunn, who had been listening silently, frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "It's okay if Daley's guess is wrong. At most, it will cost her some energy. But if the demon dog's master really exists, then the mission's danger may exceed Daley's ability to handle."

The demon dog is a Sequence 6 extraordinary creature. If the breeder really exists, it is conservatively estimated to be a Sequence 6 or even Sequence 5 extraordinary person.

It is possible to exceed Daly's sequence level.

Cross-level pursuit is one of the factors that causes the most casualties among the Nighthawks.

Claire was startled when she heard Dunn's reminder. She hadn't considered this. She frowned and said, "This is my mistake. It was a supplementary investigation of the case, and I didn't pay enough attention to it."

Claire realized that this was her dereliction of duty as captain, because Daly's sequence was actually higher than hers, and Claire could easily ignore the dangers of Daly's missions.

Compared to Claire, Dunn had extensive experience leading teams and could instinctively detect any issues with these details. A hint of worry flashed across Dunn's deep gray eyes. "Although this is just a supplementary investigation, the potential dangers involved are beyond Daly's ability to handle alone."

However, since the case has been concluded procedurally, the Night Watchmen will no longer provide manpower assistance for closed cases. It’s not that someone is involved, but the Night Watchmen are short on manpower.

Claire once again felt the team's lack of manpower. Because of their identities and responsibilities, Xio and Audrey were unable to participate in this official investigation, and Daly's investigation would not be concluded in the short term.

Put aside other things at hand and accompany Daly to do the investigation before the new round of gatherings begins... Due to lack of manpower, Claire had to go on stage herself.

Fortunately, Daly is not a sleepless person and cannot stay up late every day. When Daly is resting, I can still deal with other things... But this kind of thing is not a long-term solution. I have to find a way to recruit some team members from within the church.

Thinking about the issue of team building, Claire prepared to go find Daly.

At this time, Leonard suddenly said: "Our team has been quite idle recently."

"Ok?"

Claire looked at Leonard, and Leonard looked at Dunn with a smile in his green eyes.

Dunn glanced at Leonard calmly with his gray eyes. After Leonard regained his composure, Dunn said thoughtfully, "Captain Galadilla, we don't have any new missions for now. Let us assist you."

Claire said embarrassedly, "Then...I'll have to trouble you again."

Dunn smiled gently. "Both our teams have significant staffing gaps, so it's time to help each other out. Red Glove rookies like Leonard and I should be assigned directly to an understaffed team like yours after training. It's only due to some special circumstances that we've been forced to create a new squad."

Considering Daly's safety, Claire and Dunn chatted while looking for Daly's whereabouts when they were investigating the clues of the dog owner at the West District Police Station.

Daley, who was busy, saw Claire, Leonard, and Dunn coming together. Puzzlement was evident on her tired face. "Why are you all together?"

Leonard explained what had happened. Daly was at a loss for words and asked, "Are you making such a fuss just over a guess of mine?"

Claire's tone was serious: "Captain Dunn has sufficient experience. We should listen to his advice."

Claire cherishes every member of the team, because these are the talents she has worked so hard to recruit, and they are all her important "assets" that she has worked hard to obtain!
Daly felt deeply touched by the feeling of being valued. "Captain Galadilla, didn't you submit your promotion application? Do you have time to accompany me on this time-consuming investigation?"

Claire shrugged and said, "There's always time to squeeze in."

"Captain Galadilla is going to be promoted?" Leonard asked in surprise.

Claire nodded and smiled. "I haven't received an official response from the Sanctuary yet, but it's something that's been happening for a while now. My captaincy was originally a special assignment during a mission. I didn't expect to actually form a team after arriving in Backlund, especially becoming Daly's captain... There's still pressure. Only by advancing to Sequence 6 can I barely be considered legitimate."

Dunn could relate to what Claire said. Daly had grown up quickly in his team, and her promotion speed was so fast that it even made Dunn feel a little inferior.

Being a talented captain brings happiness but also pressure.

Daly was surprised. "I was the one who took the initiative to find Captain Galadilla. I didn't see any pressure from her at all."

After a brief chat, Claire and the other three discussed the progress of Daley's investigation. Then, according to Daley's method, they each started their own investigation, and their screening efficiency was much faster than that of Daley alone.

During the investigation, Claire heard Audrey's prayers coming from the gray fog.

Claire distracted herself by listening to Audrey's prayer and muttered to herself, "So late at night... Oh, so Audrey is sacrificing extraordinary materials to the Fool."

Audrey is using a sacrificial ritual to sell the medullary crystals of the Elf Spring to the "world" in exchange for the extraordinary secrets that make her curious.

The "world" agreed to the deal.

Of course she agreed. She could exchange her knowledge for the extraordinary materials she wanted. If she didn't want to be exposed, Claire would have wanted to resurrect and use her identity as a "priestess" to compete with the Fool for this kind of business.

"Don't be too greedy. I've already gleaned a lot of information and knowledge from the Tarot Club." Claire suppressed her excessive greed and thought, "Once the Oak Leaf Bar's trading platform is fully established, it will be enough to solve most of our economic problems. Besides, no matter how good other people's platforms are, they're not as good as our own." "But what are the Spirit Spring's marrow crystals used for? It seems like Xio, Tessa, and the Fool are all trying to collect them," Claire wondered curiously. "And there seems to be a sense of urgency in the Fool's agreement to Audrey's deal. It feels like he's racing against time."

Her spectator perspective in the Tarot Club allows her to hide her whereabouts while fully collecting various intelligence. The only drawback is that she is not flexible enough and cannot actively ask what she wants to know.

But overall, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, so Claire has no intention of revealing the fact that the "priestess" is still alive.

Claire's curiosity about the Elf Spring Marrow Crystal only flashed by. Based on the price of no more than four hundred pounds, Claire could roughly estimate that it was an extraordinary material used by no more than Sequence 8.

To Beyonders, it wasn't a precious thing, but it was relatively scarce in land cities like Backlund.

After Claire resolved this minor incident, she continued to concentrate on helping Daly with her investigation. With three "nightmares" in the team at the moment, they also used their abilities to sneak into the dreams of some citizens working in the pet business to conduct specific investigations.

Similarly, Dunn had the most experience in this matter. He even took this opportunity to teach Claire and Leonard some tips on entering dreams and asking questions in dreams.

"Most people's dreams are absurd, but there's truth hidden in the absurdity. Asking questions directly in dreams is one of the most direct methods of investigation, but sometimes, observing and interpreting dreams can also provide the clues we need."

Over the next two days, Claire spent most of her time accompanying Daly on the investigation. However, because Dunn was also present, Claire actually learned a lot during these two days.

Dunn used various examples to describe his application and understanding of the "Nightmare" ability. Considering that Claire was about to be promoted to Sequence 6, Dunn also described his own Sequence 6 "Requiem Master" abilities and detailed feelings.

In addition, when Daly was resting, Claire basically stayed at the Oak Leaf Bar, working as a paid tutor for Audrey under the identity of "Viper" Flora. Tessa came to disturb her during the process, but Claire ignored her coldly.

At the same time, under Hugh's leadership, the business of the Oak Leaf Bar has miraculously stabilized without adding any borderline elements. However, most of the customers come here for Hugh's reputation as the "East District Arbitrator".

Some wanted to have Hugh arbitrate, some came to watch Hugh arbitrate, and some even wanted to learn arbitration from Hugh.

Hugh's fame made the Oak Leaf Bar's business gradually prosperous, and the ever-prospering Oak Leaf Bar further promoted Hugh's fame. Gradually, Hugh's fame and the Oak Leaf Bar's turnover achieved a strange complementary phenomenon.

This phenomenon was somewhat beyond Claire's expectations, and it also made Tessa laugh so hard that she couldn't stop. She said frankly that she had made the right choice for the store manager.

During these two days, Claire heard the Hanged Man's prayers from above the gray fog again, also wanting to complete a deal with The World.

Through the Hanged Man's prayers, Claire learned that the Hanged Man had obtained two pieces of the Elves' Spring's medullary crystals from the sea. He wanted to trade one piece with the "World" through sacrifice, and the other piece with the "Queen" through real channels.

……

At the Oak Leaf Bar, Hugh looked at the fragile, egg-shaped object Tessa handed her and asked in confusion, "What is this?"

The busyness during this period made Xio excited but physically exhausted, and he couldn't help yawning.

Tessa smiled faintly and said, "You seem to be purchasing the medullary crystal of the Elven Spring? This is a reward for your excellent work as store manager."

Xio's eyes widened in surprise. "So this is what the medullary crystals of the Elf Spring look like?"

The medullary crystals of the Elf Fountain are similar to faded eggs. The shell is very thin, giving the appearance of being fragile at the touch. You can hear the sound of flowing water inside without shaking it.

Holding the extraordinary material he had been longing for, Xio expressed his gratitude to Tessa: "I have a commission that requires this material. Boss, this material... I'd better pay for it. Otherwise, it will be too expensive for you."

"I told you it's a reward for your hard work," Tessa chuckled. "You're a priceless treasure to me as a store manager."

Although Xio blushed at Tessa's words, her long experience as an arbitrator allowed her to hit her weak spot with her next words: "Thank you for the compliment, Boss. If you had been even half as sweet-talking to Miss Viper, you wouldn't have been constantly humiliated."

Xio only looks a little silly because of his innocence, but in fact, the fact that he can arbitrate relatively fairly for others for a long time already shows that Xio has keen insight.

Having her soft spot touched, Tessa smiled bitterly and said, "You don't delay anything. You're so busy that you have dark circles under your eyes, and yet you still don't forget to eat melons."

Xio asked in confusion, "Eating melon? What is eating melon?"

Tessa didn't explain further. A subtle hint of dejection flashed across her eyes. She changed the subject, "You should have seen the codeword in the newspaper. There's a gathering organized by the Eye of Wisdom tonight. Are you planning to trade this material with the pharmacist at the gathering for clues to the formula?"

Xio laughed and said, "I can't hide it from the boss."

Now, Xio doesn't really care how much money he can make from Viscount Greylint by reselling the formula.

The night watchman's salary, the store manager's remuneration, and the profits from extraordinary gatherings made Xio a high-paid person in the blink of an eye.

Although I am not uninterested in money, I no longer consider the financial benefits first in everything.

Xiou now wants to obtain the "Pharmacist" formula, more to fulfill the dream of her friend Grellint. Xiou remembers everyone who has helped her and everything that has helped her.

And Hugh hopes to give something back when he is able.

"I'm not deaf or blind. I also heard about the pharmacist's request at the 'Eye of Wisdom' gathering." Tessa put on her coat and said to Xio, "Let's go and see what good things are at other Beyonder gatherings, and collect your mission reward."

Xio collected the extraordinary egg-shaped material and attended the "Eye of Wisdom" party with Tessa with great anticipation.

However, at the gathering, the fat pharmacist's words left Xio dumbfounded: "...someone has already completed a deal with me, so I'm not short of the Spirit Spring's marrow crystals now."

(End of this chapter)