Mystery: I, the Hermit, am too eager to improve

Chapter 98 Aurora will take responsibility for this!

People come and go on the street.

After not coming out for two days, Roy felt as if he had been in another world.

"Sir, what would you like to drink?"

"Fineport fruit wine".

"OK."

He ordered a fruit wine and sat in the bar at midday, listening to the conversations of the people around him. For a fleeting moment—

Roy thought he was back at the Black Iron Bar.

I wonder how Suna and the others are doing.

He sat down at the bar. There was a newspaper on the table, probably left by someone who had read it before.

The Bridge Daily.

There's even a special newspaper for the bridge?

Roy picked it up and glanced at it.

"Following a thorough investigation, the murderer at River Bend Park was identified as a member of the evil organization, the Morse Order..."

His lips twitched, then he continued reading.

There's another news item below.

"A serious explosion and fire occurred at the Golden Osmanthus Winery, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of employees. It is currently suspected that the evil god organizations, the Morse Penitentiary and the Aurora Society, were responsible."

Below that, there was another line of text.

"The Aurora Club has claimed responsibility for this matter."

Several hundred.

Take responsibility for this matter...

Roy looked at the newspaper and fell into a long silence.

The absurdity of this world far exceeded his imagination; a meticulously planned attack might only result in the deaths of a dozen or so people.

As a result, the number of people reported exceeded several hundred.

however.

He couldn't say anything.

"Hundreds of lives!"

"The Aurora Society, the Morse Ascetic Society."

"Sigh, these evil god organizations are really going too far."

Roy finished his drink, walked out the door, sighed softly as he looked at the passing streets, and then headed towards Gar Street.

The old place on Gar Street is now deserted.

but.

He knew where to go—

The low house faces the manor outside.

Once outside, he pulled his hat down low and knocked on the door.

A moment later, a middle-aged butler came out. Upon seeing Roy's attire, he first bowed respectfully before saying, "Sir, my master has been waiting at the manor for two days."

"I was busy the past two days."

Roy smiled and then followed the other person into the manor.

Upon arriving at the villa in the manor, Upano strode out, a look of surprise on his face.

"Master Wizard, you've finally arrived."

Call me Green.

Roy didn't take off his hat.

Although he had disguised his face with a beard and the like, it might not be able to fool an old hand like Upano.

Urbano said cheerfully, "Green, my friend, I've been waiting for news from you these past two days, but I haven't heard anything. I even thought you had left the South District."

"Not yet, but I don't want to get involved in the Jin Gui Winery matter for the time being."

Roy's expression was serious.

Upano wasn't surprised. He sighed, "When I saw the newspaper, I knew you were right. We can't afford to get involved."

Hundreds of people.

Outsiders condemn the cruelty of the Aurora Society and the Morse Retreat, but those who experienced it firsthand felt a chill in their hearts.

"What are your plans for the future?"

"Leave Backlund."

"Actually, I might have left already if I hadn't wanted to wait and see your news," Urbano said firmly.

"I don't think I'm that important."

This sentence...

Roy didn't believe a word of it.

Who is Ubano?

He might be cowardly and timid, but he's definitely not stupid. The idea of ​​sacrificing his life to wait for a collaborator is absolutely impossible for Ubano.

Ubano smiled helplessly.

"The docks are under strict security. I heard they're searching for a pirate admiral who's been hiding there, so I wanted to ask you if you have any connections."

"I don't have any either. The best way is probably to find this pirate admiral as soon as possible."

Roy shook his head.

Even if he were still in the Steam Church, he wouldn't have the authority to allow a large ship to leave—

The dock area has always been under the control of the Storm Church.

He took out a piece of paper.

Do you have these materials here?

"Let me see."

Upano glanced at it, then smiled and said, "Is this some kind of potion recipe?"

"No, I'm using it for witchcraft research."

Roy, of course, couldn't tell the truth.

Some of these materials are the main materials used by diviners—

After much deliberation, he decided to give Tilly the "Seer's" potion.

The fortune teller has relatively few negative effects, and since he has complete control over all the formulas for advancement, he doesn't need to worry about subsequent advancement issues.

The prerequisite is that Tilly can be promoted to a relatively high rank.

Ubano clearly didn't believe it.

"Using such precious and extraordinary materials to research witchcraft?"

Roy's list included several extraordinary materials whose sequence he was unsure of, but one or two of them were the main materials for barbarians.

A single Berserker Grass costs three to four hundred gold pounds.

Are you going to study this thing?

Do you own a mine?

"This is a very common situation among wizards."

Roy replied helplessly.

Upano scratched his beard, his eyes still wide with shock. After a few seconds, he said, "Let me be frank, I want to buy the Briber's Extraordinary trait you possess."

"One thousand five hundred gold pounds."

"My friend, you'd be perfect as a pirate. No! Robbery doesn't make money as fast as you do; it's worth at most thirteen thousand!"

Ubano roared.

Roy laughed and said, "Let's each compromise, 1400."

"..."

Upano waved his hand weakly and said, "How about 1,400? But I hope you can do me a small favor."

"Speak first."

Roy did not immediately agree.

Backlund is a minefield; helping someone this time turned out to be stepping on a landmine.

"Have you heard about the recent serial killer?" Ubano asked.

This is the time.

It should be Zillinger?

Roy nodded calmly.

"I've heard some of it."

However, the perpetrators were not active in the South District, but rather in the area around Backlund Bridge and the East District, and they targeted homeless people, so it did not have a significant impact on them.

Roy understood and smiled, "Your friend has connections with the police?"

"Yes, he is a fairly well-known detective and a follower of the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom."

"I was able to get things started in the South thanks to him," Urbano said.

"I agree."

Roy wasn't sure of the other person's identity yet, but he had a general idea—

"The Eye of Wisdom" by Essinger Stanton.

Of all the famous detectives in Backlund, he is the only one who is likely to know an arsonist like Upano.

After all, this old gentleman has a deep connection with the Church of Knowledge.

"Thank you. I have a subordinate who is a barbarian, but he has been unable to find the potion recipe for bribery. Although the extraordinary properties are dangerous, it is at least one possible path."

Ubano breathed a sigh of relief.

If only I had the recipe for the Briber's Potion...

A Sequence 7 potion recipe typically costs around 800 pounds.

pity.

The recipe for the potion that Simon took directly could not be obtained through divination.

……

Roy got the contact address.

Hillston District.

It's most likely the Eye of Wisdom.

He put away the letter and boarded a horse-drawn carriage bound for the steam subway.

On the bus, Roy took out Storm Mountain Manor and sat quietly in his seat reading.

After a few seconds, he suddenly looked up.

A "boy" who was about 1.5 meters tall pressed down his hat.

?

Roy stared intently.

The etheric body is very healthy and much stronger than the average person.

That height...

休？

He looked away, continuing to read his book while glancing ahead out of the corner of his eye.

The boy probably knew he had been discovered, so he stopped observing him and instead sat quietly in the seat diagonally opposite him.

Up to Hillston District.

They got off the bus together.

The two met at the door and then walked in the same direction.

We finally reached a corner.

She suddenly pulled out a triangular dagger and swiftly stabbed the stalker behind her. The aura emanating from her was enough to intimidate most ordinary people.

but.

She didn't seem to intend to hurt anyone; she just wanted to subdue the person behind her.

however.

What she didn't expect was—

Roy was faster.

In the blink of an eye, he closed the book, dodged the triangular dagger with his right hand, swiftly slapped the other person's wrist, and then shouted first.

"Miss, I'm here to visit Detective Isengard!"

"Well."

Hugh's face froze instantly. He immediately put away the triangular dagger and bowed repeatedly in apology.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were also going to visit Detective Isengard."

Roy sighed, pointed ahead, and then put the book away.

Eisinger's house was not far from the steam subway.

Hugh followed awkwardly behind.

She observed carefully and, seeing Roy observing the whole way, immediately understood.

Is this your first time here?

"Yes, I've been asked by a friend to come and visit Detective Isengard."

Roy nodded.

Hugh chuckled awkwardly, "This isn't my first time. Shall I lead the way? By the way, my name is Hugh Deercha. I often take on jobs gathering information."

"Green Rost was a detective and consultant."

Roy followed slowly behind.

Temporary detective.

Messages, fortune-telling consultant.

He added in his mind.

Hugh had never heard of "consultant" before, but he understood that it must be the type of person who gives advice, so he didn't ask any further questions.

She quickly led the way.

Not long after, outside a house, Hugh stopped and went up to knock on the door.

After the doorbell rang, a few seconds later, a middle-aged man with graying temples came out to open the door, holding a pipe in his hand.

He stared intently at Roy, then looked down at Hugh.

"If you're still looking for that serial killer, then you don't need to pay. I've received an invitation from the police department, and I'll be helping them solve the serial murder case."

Then, Isengard looked at Roy, "Who are you?"

He didn't recognize Roy.

but.

Based on some abilities and judgments, he believed that Roy was an extraordinary being, and possibly very strong.

Roy took out the letter.

"You asked Upano for help, and he entrusted this matter to me. I'm in charge of tracking down this serial killer for you."

Eisinger took the letter.

After carefully examining the samples, he nodded slightly.

It was indeed my own letter.

"Come in and let's chat."

He gave a gentle, friendly smile.

Hugh hurriedly said, "Detective Isengard..."

"I'm sorry, I have guests today. If you need any assistance, please come another day."

"this--"

Xiu was stunned for a moment.

So, all that hard work and all that effort was to act as a guide?

She was stunned for a moment.

Roy said thoughtfully, "Detective Isengard, she claims to be very well-informed in the East District, which may be helpful in solving the case."

"Okay, then you can wait in the living room first. I need to talk to..."

Isengard said slightly apologetically, "Oh, by the way, I haven't asked your name yet."

"Grimm Rost"

"Green, let's go upstairs to the study to discuss this in detail. There are some details that are not convenient to disclose to outsiders."

"it is good."

Roy followed, glancing back at Hugh with a friendly nod.

Then, he followed them upstairs.

Upon entering the study, Roy noticed several documents on the table, most of which were related to murder cases.

but.

He noticed...

The contents of one of the documents appear to indicate the killer behavior of the demon hound—

The victim's internal organs were missing.

This is the ritual of the Sequence 5 Apostle of Desire.

Roy glanced at the remaining documents without showing any emotion, while Isengard smiled and said, "Mr. Green, would you like to take a look at the documents first?"

"it is good."

Roy picked up a document and began to examine it closely.

This was likely committed by Zillingus. The victim was an unremarkable homeless man, which was, in fact, Zillingus's usual behavior.

until--

He was discovered.

After reviewing several documents, Roy said, "The files on the table shouldn't all belong to the same killer, right?"

"Um?"

Isengard was slightly surprised. "You're so sure they're not the same person after just reading a few books?"

Roy smiled slightly.

"Of course not. I know a little about one of the cases, and I know he likes to kill people in the Bridge District and the East District, but..."

"The other case wasn't in the same area, and the targets and habits of the murders were completely different."

He picked up another document.

"The other victims were all homeless people. Their bodies were not badly damaged, which confirms that the killer was either a psychopath or had a motive to kill."

Roy said.

Knowing the result and working backwards, almost anyone can do it.

Isengard had no idea about Roy's background, and naturally felt a mixture of respect and skepticism towards Roy's quick thinking.

Could the other party also be a holder of knowledge?

He pondered for a moment, then snapped out of his thoughts at Roy's shout and said, "Sorry, your words have given me pause for thought, but the other killer wasn't just once, but twice."

He took out another document from the bottom. "This was brought over by the police. They said it was a rather confidential document, so I put it at the bottom."

Roy took it and glanced at it.

This is another corpse whose internal organs have been eaten, and it is almost unrecognizable. Like the first case, she is also a woman.

"Is the other side more inclined to kill women?"

"The sample size is too small to make a hasty judgment, but currently, the perpetrator seems to have this tendency."

Isengard hesitated for a moment, then said, "First, I'd like to ask you, are you familiar with mystical powers?"

He knows Ubano.

Since the other party introduced this "Green" over, it means that he is definitely not an ordinary person, but an extraordinary one.

It's hard to say exactly how.

but.

He was definitely better suited to handle this than the hunter, so he wanted to use a more direct approach.

"An extraordinary person? I've heard of them."

The two exchanged a glance, understanding each other without saying a word.

Isengard nodded and said, "I've also done some research. Do you think it could be some kind of ritual magic?"

"I once read a book that mentioned a creature called a demon, who loved to kill people and eat their internal organs."

Roy said.

demon?

Eisinger fell into deep thought.

Knowledge of this sequence...

The pipe in his hand trembled nervously.

Isengard remembered some of it.

It seems that a similar situation does occur when a demon advances to Sequence 5.

This might be some kind of "ritual" required for promotion.

If that's the case.

These two incidents are not the end, but merely the beginning of a series of murders.

Isengard paused for a moment, then said, "If that's the case, this demon is utterly despicable; he might have killed even more people."

"So we need to find him, but before that, I think we can solve another case first."

Roy pointed in that direction.

Zilingus is easy to investigate.

The existence of the negative effect of "Crawling Hunger" forces him to kill someone every other day, so his trajectory can be basically deduced from the distribution of the dead.

Eisinger nodded silently, re-examining the two cases.

First, capture "Zilingus".

This hurricane admiral!

of course.

His job is only to provide information.

"Green, I need your help."

"I've accepted the commission, so of course I'll help you."

……

Inside a luxurious villa estate in the Hillston district.

Zilingus stripped a man's clothes off and put them on himself. In a short while, his body and face transformed into the man on the ground.

They are exactly the same in height, appearance, and temperament!

Zilings let out a soft breath.

He had to take action!

If they waited any longer, there might not even be a need for an assassination; the police would have already tracked him down.

The police are not scary.

but.

The Night Watchers, Punishers, and Mechanical Hearts behind them are terrifying.

after all--

This is Backlund.

The strongest forces of the three major churches are all located here.

If it weren't for that thing, he would never have set foot in Backlund, and tonight just happens to be an opportunity.

Duke Negan is hosting a ball and has invited the nobles of Backlund, and the person he transformed into happens to be among those invited.

He went outside.

"Don't let anyone into my room."

"Yes, Baron Gramir!"

After the male servant bowed, he handed over the invitation and led over the carriage.

Not long after, he boarded a carriage and headed down the street toward the Duke of Negan’s residence.

As he passed by a street, Zilingus saw two people.

One is tall and the other is short, with a significant difference in appearance.

"Serial killers like to live near rivers, so perhaps we can search along the river."

"You can give it a try."

detective?

His gaze was fixed on the short man, and a slight smile appeared on his lips, but then Zilingus suppressed his urge to attack.

It's not the right time.

Although the short man was annoying and almost gave him away, the most important thing now was to kill Duke Negan.

He closed his eyes to rest, no longer paying attention to the outside world.

The carriage sped through the streets, and the two people were long gone from sight, but what he didn't know was—

When he looked at Hugh and Roy, Roy actually sensed his gaze.

The gaze of a powerful and extraordinary being.

"stop."

"Um?"

"The carriage that just passed by..."

Roy gripped his cane. "Do you recognize that noble insignia?"

"I can't remember exactly, it must have been a baron."

"Go back and tell Detective Isengard that I may have found Ziringus; he's in that carriage!"

(End of this chapter)