Lord of Mysteries: The Color of the Stars

"Thank you for coming to my birthday party, Melissa."

Selena Wood took Melissa's hand, then looked up and greeted Klein and Benson.

"Welcome, our esteemed elder brother, welcome, our young historian."

Mr. Wood chuckled and greeted Melissa's two brothers with exaggerated and humorous words.

"Mr. Wood, you are more energetic and younger than I imagined."

Klein responded in a friendly tone, while Benson stepped forward and began to use his well-practiced, workplace-learned social skills to get closer to Old Wood.

……

University town of Göttingen.

Julian didn't wake up until almost dusk, still half-asleep.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of large, yellow eyes, like car headlights, staring straight at him.

The eyes reflected the light of the setting sun, and Julian could see a hint of dissatisfaction in them.

"This... Ethan?"

He snapped out of his daze and sat up abruptly. The owl hooted and rolled off Julian onto the carpet.

"Sorry, I accidentally slept too long, and my head still hurts."

Julian rubbed his temples; he was clearly in a state of excessive spiritual depletion.

"No, I need to go to 'Blackthorn Security Company' and get some calming medicine and essential oils."

Although Julian himself could also prepare similar things, the Church of the Night was the real expert in this regard.

Julian fed Ethan some insects and water, then took the guy out and took a taxi to "Blackthorn Security Company".

"Oh, Julian."

Clerical worker Rosanne was about to leave work when she saw Julian appear at this crucial moment, and she looked quite surprised.

She immediately saw Ethan on Julian's shoulder and her expression turned excited:

"What an adorable little owl!"

Hello, Rosanne.

Julian smiled and greeted him, then pointed to Ethan on his shoulder:

"Its name is Ethan, and it's my new partner."

He paused, then asked:

Who is on duty now?

"Cohen Lee, Neil, and Leonard are guarding the Charness gate."

After speaking, Luo Shan slapped her forehead again:

"Oh, right, Ms. Daly is here too. She just came back from a mission... but you probably don't know her very well."

"Old Neil is back?"

Julian was taken aback, because if he remembered correctly, Old Neil should have been on "administrative leave".

"Yes, it seems that their vacation ended early under the captain's arrangement."

Rosanne nodded, then whispered:

"But for some reason, Mr. Neil seems to be in a rather depressed mood these past few days."

"Okay, I understand."

Julian nodded:

"You can go home first, I'll go over and take a look."

"Yes, Mr. Neil is in the alchemy room."

Upon hearing Rosanne's reminder, Julian nodded slightly and then walked towards the alchemy room.

As soon as they arrived at the alchemy room, the door opened automatically, and a figure peeked out.

She was a young woman wearing a hooded black robe, with blue eyeshadow and blush on her face. A silver chain with a white crystal pendant was wrapped around her exposed wrist, giving her an eerie beauty.

Good evening, Ms. Daly.

Julian greeted Daly first.

"I haven't been back for a while, and I didn't expect the 'Night Watch' to have hired such a handsome guy?"

Daly looked Julian over with interest, then glanced at Ethan with some surprise before saying:

"I'm guessing you're the assistant professor Dunn mentioned, right?"

"You're right, my name is Julian."

Julian smiled and nodded, then began to speak:

"It's good that you're here; I need your and Mr. Neil's help with something."

"Come in and talk."

Daly nodded and then stepped aside to make way.

Julian stepped into the somewhat dimly lit alchemy room and saw old Neil tidying up some herbs and equipment.

"Good evening, Mr. Neil."

At this moment, in Julian's "four-color vision," old Neil seems to be in better condition than before.

The pale purple light that had been eroding his aura and the illusory eye had both disappeared, leaving only the normal aura of an extraordinary being.

The only problem is that Old Neil seems to be in a bad mood, which can be seen from the slight blackness in his mental body.

"Julian, it's so nice to see you again... and this little guy."

When Old Neil saw Julian, he first forced a smile, then glanced at Ethan before continuing:

"I heard what you said at the door. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"That's right, Mr. Neil."

Julian removed his top hat:

"I need you two to help me choose one or two medicines or essential oils that can help restore my spirituality and improve my mental state."

"Can."

Old Neil nodded, but he didn't make any jokes like "young people should be more moderate" as he used to.

"If you want to restore your spirituality... this will do."

Old Neil rummaged through the cabinet for a while, then took out two test tubes containing amber-colored transparent liquid and handed them to Julian:

"The potion made from Deep Sleep Flower and Moonlight Daisy helps with spiritual recovery, and the effect is quite good."

After saying that, he looked up at Dai Li again:

"Dali has an essential oil that can relieve tension."

Upon hearing this, Daly took out a small bottle from her person and handed it to Julian, smiling:

"Just apply it to your temples and under your nose, and the results will exceed your expectations... although you probably don't want to know the ingredients used to make this stuff."

"Oh?"

Julian raised an eyebrow, took the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and smelled it:

"It smells like corpse oil...?"

"You have a keen sense of smell and a great attitude."

Daly looked at Julian with a rather admiring gaze:

"Human fat can accelerate the release of active substances from several herbs... Of course, these raw materials are all legally sourced."

She blinked and moved a little closer to Julian:

"If I didn't have something else to do today, I would really like to invite you out for a couple of drinks."

"Hehe, I'll pass on the drinking. As a scholar, I need to keep a clear head."

Julian took a half step back and chuckled dryly, knowing that Daly was deliberately making fun of him.

"Boring."

Seeing that Julian hadn't fallen for her trick, Daly dropped her ambiguous smile and asked again:

"By the way, speaking of scholars... if I remember correctly, you should be considered Klein's teacher?"

"They're not in the same department, but you wouldn't be wrong to say that."

Julian nodded, then casually asked:

"By the way, is Klein taking a day off today?"

"I applied for time off in the afternoon and went out."

Daly shook her head:

"I heard him say that he was going to his sister's friend's birthday party."

"Melissa's friend's birthday dinner?"

Julian was taken aback by what he heard, then quickly realized what he meant:

"Could it be Selena Wood? The little girl from the original story who foolishly used the magic mirror for divination and attracted an evil spirit?"

In the original story, the danger Selena Wood encountered during the divination using the magic mirror was resolved by Klein.

This incident triggered many subsequent consequences, and the "Night Watchers" also set their sights on Haynes Vancent as a result.

Dunn, meanwhile, sneaked into the dream of this "Aurora Society" member while he was asleep, attempting to investigate him.

On that very occasion, Dunn happened to look directly into the image of the "true creator," and was secretly corrupted, which intensified his tendency to lose control.

This happened under the arrangement of 0-08, and the consequence was that Dunn developed serious mental problems during the "Arrival of the Child of the Evil God" incident, which led him to take out the "Saint Selena's Ashes," a relic corresponding to the extraordinary characteristics of the "Night Watchman" pathway Sequence 4, which was ultimately taken away by Ince Zangwill.

If this situation continues, the result will be that Klein resolves the crisis faced by Selena Wood, while the Night Watchers will investigate Selena's teacher, Hynas Vancent, just like in the original story, and Dunn's tragedy will "repeat".

On the other hand, Hynas Vancent previously mentioned that Mr. Z is likely to arrive in Tingen City soon, so the Selena Wood incident may not simply develop as it did in the original story, but may become even more dangerous.

So, just to be on the safe side, Julian thought he should go to the scene to check the situation, in case anything unexpected happened!