Mystery: When the Fool Meets the Masked Fool

Chapter 492 Interstellar Peace Company urgently withdrew a market development department.
Backlund, 7 p.m., Moretti's house.

Melissa sat on the living room sofa, neither reading nor fiddling with parts and machinery, just staring blankly ahead, lost in thought.

A few seconds later, she looked down at the Command Seals in her hand, her eyes filled with confusion.

If someone suddenly has something in their hand, even the most oblivious person would notice it within a day or two.

In fact, she noticed the Command Seal on her hand half an hour after it appeared. But no matter how much she washed, she couldn't remove the tattoo-like thing.

Later, she went to see a doctor, went to church, and even inquired about all sorts of information in the newspaper.

But no matter what she did, she couldn't find a way to remove the mark.

In the past, she might have chosen to ignore the mark and stop paying attention to it after realizing that it couldn't be removed no matter what.

But now, after witnessing a true extraordinary being, she was a little hesitant to do so. Because she really didn't know what she held in her hands.

Melissa looked away, pursed her lips, and glanced at the kitchen from which the sounds were coming from. There their hired maid was preparing dinner.

She cooked the leftovers from last night together, then added water and bread. It was a classic example of culinary disaster, but Melissa never liked wasting food.

Therefore, it's not a big problem to eat leftovers occasionally.

The main reason is that they forgot to cook today, and if they don't finish the food today, the leftovers will have to wait until tomorrow.

dong dong dong.

There was a knocking sound on the door.

Melissa looked in the direction of the sound, which came from her front door.

Benson put down his newspaper, walked over, unlatched the door, and opened it.

"Good evening, Mr. Moretti." Outside the door, Serres waved his hand without any clerical manners.

“Oh, good evening, Archbishop.” Benson nodded slightly.

As a follower of the Lord of Fools, though not entirely devout, he would occasionally go to the Church of St. Clyne to pray, and inevitably, he would occasionally see Archbishop Serres, who was absent nine days out of ten.

“I heard that Miss Moretti has been targeted by some evil spirit lately. Hmm, I came here specifically to check.” Serres acted like a virtuous gentleman.

“Oh, yes, yes.” Benson’s eyes lit up, and he nodded quickly in agreement.

He quickly stepped aside and invited the "dirty thing" into the room.

Benson invited Serres into the room, led him to the sofa, and then asked rather nervously:
"Your Excellency Archbishop, what happened to my sister...?"

"Hey, don't be nervous." Serres waved his hand. "I was just joking. There's nothing dirty about me."

“This is an opportunity, an opportunity that may help you realize your wishes.” Serres recounted the Holy Grail War once again.

Hearing the assurance from the professionals, Benson and Melissa finally felt relieved after all this time.

I see, thank goodness. At least it wasn't a curse, just participating in a war...

What a ghost!
Participating in war is worse than being cursed!

"Your Excellency Archbishop, may we withdraw?" Benson asked, frowning.

“Sure, sure,” Serres said, sounding a little disappointed. “But if you guys quit, then we’ll miss out on a lot of fun.”

"Fun?" Benson's brow furrowed even deeper.

"Alright then, if you're willing to participate, I can not only guarantee that Miss Moretti will be unharmed throughout the entire process, but I'll also give you two reasons that you absolutely cannot refuse. What do you say?"

Serres held up two fingers.

"What is the reason?" This time it was Melissa who asked.

“First, regardless of your ranking in this Holy Grail War, I can guarantee that your family will be well-fed and clothed and live the life of a millionaire.” Serres withdrew one finger.

"Hmm?" Melissa's hand involuntarily clenched.

She felt that if she were the only one to bear the risk, it might not be so unacceptable.

“Second,” Serres withdrew another finger, “I can let you meet someone you’ve been longing to see all this time.”

[Trying to get something for nothing, huh?]

“We don’t have anyone we’d risk our lives to see,” Benson shook his head.

This is a true occult war, and Benson won't treat it as a game just because of a promise that "you won't get hurt."

"No?" Serres asked, drawing out the words. "Really...no?"

"Think about it again?"

Serres asked, shaking his head.

“How about this,” Serres suggested as a compromise. “You will summon Heroic Spirits and participate in the Holy Grail War for at least one day. During this time, I will guarantee your absolute safety and ensure that no one will seek revenge afterward.”

“After this day, whether you order the heroic spirits to commit suicide or voluntarily give up your qualification as participants, I will not stop you,” Serres said.

"Do you have a grudge against that Heroic Spirit? Hmm... but shouldn't summoning a Heroic Spirit be random?" Melissa asked.

“No, no.” Serres shook his head. “I just want to summon him. As for whether he stays or leaves after he’s summoned, or what you’ll make him do, none of that matters.”

“I see…” Melissa nodded.

"Anyway, this matter isn't urgent; you can think about it first." Serres finished his tea in one gulp.

"Archbishop Serres, it feels like it's been a long time since I've seen Father Merlin. Has he been transferred to another diocese to preach recently?" Benson asked, changing the subject as he poured water.

He was giving his sister time to think.

"Hmm?" Serres stroked his chin. "Are you very familiar with Him?"

“Him?!” Benson was startled by the title, but after calming himself down, he said, “We’re not that close, but he… He protected us and helped us a lot before. Anyway, we want to thank him in person.”

“Hmm, that’s probably going to be difficult.” Serres feigned hesitation. “After all…”

His expression was heavy, and he hesitated several times as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Is there any confidentiality requirement? Sorry, we asked too much," Benson apologized immediately.

“No, there’s no need for confidentiality.” Serres shook his head and sighed.

"Alas... to be honest. Lord Merlin... He... alas..."

“He has gone to the Lord’s Kingdom.” Serres’s eyes were filled with unconcealed sorrow.

"Could it be..." Benson said in disbelief, while Melissa, who was not far away, stared wide-eyed. "But... but everything has returned to normal, hasn't it?"

“Yes.” Serres’s tone was incredibly heavy and sorrowful. “The powerful regard the lives of ordinary people as ants, they don’t care about them and they don’t pursue them too much.” “But for an angel, they have enough patience and means to truly kill their opponent, making them impossible to resurrect.”

“So…” Benson’s tone was somewhat downcast.

"So because He had enough merit in battle, He secretly got promoted and received a raise, and went to live a life of luxury in the Lord's Kingdom." Serres's expression changed, becoming indignant.

"Damn it, they're secretly competing with each other!" Serres pounded his chest and stamped his feet, filled with righteous indignation.

"Ah... this..." Benson and Melissa exchanged a glance, unsure of what to say.

The brother and sister exchanged glances.

"This archbishop... seems a bit frivolous..."

"But this gentleman dares to speak ill of an angel like this, so he must be of the same status, right?"

"After all, he's an archbishop..."

“So I left this to you.” Serres pointed to the red command seal on Melissa’s hand. “Even if he goes to the Lord’s kingdom, I won’t let him rest, hehehehe.”

“Me?” Melissa pointed to herself.

“That’s right,” Serres explained.

As he spoke, he explained the usage of Command Seals.

"So you mean you want to pull Father Merlin down from the kingdom of the Lord of Fools...overtime?" Benson carefully chose his words.

“That’s right.” Serres snapped his fingers.

“Your Excellency Archbishop, I think we haven’t had enough contact with Father Merlin, and we don’t have any relics related to Him,” Melissa said, raising her question.

"In that case, I think we probably won't be able to summon Him, right?"

“No, no, no, you don’t need to belittle yourselves.” Serres shook his head. “You know that the Lord’s angels walk on earth and have taken on countless forms, and among them are naturally people you know.”

"He has had an immeasurable connection with you, intersecting and becoming entangled in your lives."

"So just follow your heart and try to summon. I believe you can do it," Serres said.

As he spoke, Serres casually drew a formation on the ground.

"Come on, come on, give it a try." Serres pointed to the array on the ground, "If you succeed, I guarantee your whole family will have a smooth and prosperous life, with no worries about food or clothing."

"Remember this, the summoning incantation is..."

…………

"You are the guardian of the scales, bound by the three great incantations for seven days, originating from the Wheel of Restraint..."

A red light gradually illuminated the empty ritual formation.

"Mr. Demon said this is called compatibility summoning. It means using the Master as the summoning object to summon a Heroic Spirit that is compatible with the Master." Derrick stood aside, explaining to Chief Colin.

“I understand.” Colin nodded, continuing to stare at the array in front of him, where red light flashed back and forth, but no one emerged.

He had no intention of using artifacts to summon a specific Servant, since the summoned Servant might not be able to defeat him anyway. So he might as well see if he could summon one that he could get along with better.

Soon, a figure appeared in the red light. The figure's appearance was unclear, but it seemed to be holding a weapon similar to a gun, wearing armor, and a helmet.

The figure had just appeared when it seemed to pause for a moment before quickly fading away and disappearing.

"Hmm?" Colin raised an eyebrow.

The summoning continued, but there was no response from within the formation.

Time passed by minute by minute.

A dozen minutes later, Colin asked Derrick, who was standing next to him, "Did Mr. Demon say how long this summoning would take?"

“Uh, it should only be a few seconds.” Derrick didn’t understand what was going on either.

Colin tilted his head.

Because he was here as a symbol of the guardian himself, he ended up blocking the hole?

That doesn't make sense.

Derrick stood to the side, wondering whether he should grab a toilet plunger to unclog it.

The red light remained undiminished. So Colin stood there, rooted to the spot.

A few more minutes passed, and finally, another figure emerged from the red light.

He was a blond man with beautiful eyes behind sunglasses. He wore a black and green fleece-lined jacket and white trousers. His earrings, rings, watch, and jewelry shimmered from head to toe, exuding a dazzling, opulent aura.

[The company recently detected a peculiar energy fluctuation in three systems, which, upon testing, is associated with a path of pleasure.]

[The two systems recently detected a world outside the Interstellar Peace Corporation's territory based on the extension of this energy fluctuation.]

At 7:31:17 AM today, the company detected energy fluctuations again and attempted reverse hacking.

[At 7:31:19 AM, the company successfully established contact with this world.]

[At 7:32:41 AM, the company dispatched members of the Market Development Department to establish a connection and attempt cross-world teleportation.]

[At 7:33:26 AM system time, the Market Development Department's combat team discovered a Guardian Token user after successfully landing in the New World.]

[At 7:33:27 AM system time, Interstellar Peace Corporation urgently withdrew one member of its Market Development Department.]

[At 7:41:33 AM, the company dispatched its Strategic Investment Department to attempt to connect with the new world, adhering to the principles of cooperation, friendship, consultation, and win-win outcomes, to create a cross-world friendly information exchange channel and open a cross-world cooperation and win-win platform.]

Class: Archer.

Strength: C, Magic: A, Endurance: D, Luck: EX, Agility: C, Noble Phantasm: B.

He glanced at the sky outside the window, then smiled and said, "Good evening, both of you."

He slowly and deliberately took off his sunglasses, folded the temples, and tucked them into his collar.

Then he reached out, towards Colin.

"Let me introduce myself. I am 'Gold Sand,' a specialist in the company's strategic investment department, in charge of liquidating non-performing assets under 'Diamond.'"

"I think I came here at the invitation of a foolish friend. Perhaps we will become friends in the future."

Colin extended his hand in return and shook it: "My name is Colin Iliad, I am the leader of this city, and I am happy to become your friend in the future."

(End of this chapter)