Lord of Mysteries: The Color of the Stars

Composing himself, Julian pushed open the door of "Rosen's Folk Herbal Shop".

He saw a man in his thirties or forties with short black hair, wearing a black robe like a village witch doctor, and with a round face, and at the same time smelled a strong herbal scent.

The scent of these herbs transformed into a colorful mist in Julian's eyes, enveloping every corner of the herbal shop and the slightly worn wooden tables and chairs, much like a post-Impressionist painting by Van Gogh.

Seeing Julian enter, the shopkeeper looked up and gazed at him with his deep blue eyes:

"Sir, you are not ill, please leave."

"Who says you can't buy medicine if you're not sick?"

Julian sat down in the chair with a smile.

Upon hearing this, "Rosen" paused slightly, thought for a moment, and then said:

Tell me your requirements.

"My request is very special."

Julian leaned his agarwood cane aside, picked up a glass bottle containing various small pills from the table, examined it, and then continued:

"A curse that attaches itself to matter, which should not have necromancy characteristics. It can slowly erode astral bodies and the body, causing headaches, weight loss, sleep problems, and neurasthenia."

"What is certain is that this curse does not accompany the cursed person, but rather exerts its influence on them in their daily life. Once they leave the area of ​​the curse, the effect of the curse will diminish and weaken."

"I need medicine that can quickly remove the effects of this curse and help the cursed person recover their health. I don't mind if it's expensive; my friend is very rich."

Upon hearing Julian's words, Rosen's eyes showed obvious wariness, and he said in a feigned tone of doubt:

"Sir, I don't know what you're talking about."

"What curses and spells... Although I dress like a witch doctor, I am actually a proper doctor."

"If you are seeking help with religious rituals or the like, I suggest you go to the True God Church; I don't know anything about that."

Julian laughed upon hearing this. He knew that the other party was worried that the official extraordinary individuals would notice him, so he did not want to give anyone any reason to criticize him.

His original intention in opening this shop was simply to have a base for information communication and to make some money, but he did not want to attract the attention of the "Night Watchers," "Mechanical Hearts," and "Punishers." Therefore, he would never reveal to strangers that he was an extraordinary person.

"You don't need to be too nervous."

Julian shook his head:

"I come from Azshara in Remnburg. I have two friends in the School of Life, whose names are Everett Lawrence and Willow Kincaid, who are Sequence 7 'Lucky One' and Sequence 8 'Beastmaster' respectively."

"I believe you should know them."

"Everett and Willow?"

Upon hearing those two names, "Rosen's" expression relaxed slightly.

Indeed, as Julian said, he knew both of them and had studied under the same mentor as Willow, so their relationship should be quite good.

As for his real name, it is not "Rosen" but "Darkwell".

In the original story, Klein had traded with him several times in Backlund, but their interactions were not very deep at this point in Tingen.

"Who are you?"

Darkwell remained very cautious and did not respond, instead continuing to inquire about Julian's background.

"My name is Julian. If you wish, you can think of me as a heretic being hunted down by the Church of Knowledge."

Julian chuckled and shrugged.

"How about that, is it okay now?"

"...Whether it works or not, I don't have any other choice but to cooperate with you."

Darkwell sighed:

"After all, for someone like me, 'suspicious' is almost equivalent to 'guilty,' and it simply cannot withstand scrutiny."

"You don't need to be so anxious. If I were really that kind of person, Everett and Willow would have been exposed long ago, wouldn't they?"

Julian's words seemed to put Darkwell at ease.

Indeed, as Julian said, his two colleagues from the "Life School" are currently doing well and have not encountered any danger from the Church of Orthodoxy.

"Alright."

The round-faced man nodded:

"The information you just gave me wasn't enough. Could you tell me more? For example, things like aura manifestations and skin texture."

"Can."

Julian nodded, and after he explained it in detail again, Darkwell nodded slightly.

He picked out several herbs from the shelf, mixed them together, and then wrapped them up:

"Boil it in water and drink it three times a day. One day is enough."

"During this time, be careful to stay away from the source of the curse; you should understand this."

"certainly."

Julian accepted the herbs:

"How much?"

"It's free."

Darkwell shook his head:

"For Everett and Willow's sake, let's be friends."

"OK."

Julian was somewhat surprised, but after a moment's thought, he realized that Darkwell was probably trying to do him a favor.

After all, in a sense, Julian had something on him—although Julian wouldn't do anything to him, it would still make him feel more at ease.

He handed Darkwell a business card, making the other man feel more at ease by proactively revealing his identity, and then left "Rosen's Folk Herbal Shop" with the bag of medicine.

After leaving the East District, Julian went straight to "Blackthorn Security Company" and found Klein Moretti, who was about to leave work.

"Good evening, Julian."

Klein greeted Julian, then asked:

"Why are you here at this hour? Is something the matter?"

"Hmm, there's a small problem."

Julian nodded, looked towards the end of the corridor, and asked:

"Is Dunn there?"

"exist."

Klein nodded, then went with Julian to Dunn's office.

"Julian, what's the matter?"

Inside the office, Dunn's eyes looked tired, as if he had done something very tiring earlier.

"I have a case I recommend you look into; I can accompany you."

Julian said:

"It's a Conservative MP in the House of Lords named Viscount Oakley, who may have been cursed."

"Viscount Oakley?"

Upon hearing this, Dunn's expression turned somewhat serious:

"This is not a small matter; please elaborate."

Julian nodded slightly, and then spent about five minutes explaining the information he had gathered.

However, he temporarily skipped over the information related to Hynas Vancent and did not prejudge Jennings Oakley as intentionally cursing his father, only saying that there should be a cursed object in the other party's manor.

"That's a bit tricky... but I have a solution."

Dunn thought for a moment, then looked at Klein:

"Klein, call Leonard and Fry over, we need to go out on duty."