"Why would the 'King of the Five Seas' order something like this?" Ebner was stunned for a moment after hearing Mr. Gaston's words. His intuition told him that the so-called "White Maple Earl" might have "awakened" some bizarre preferences.
That said, Ebner hadn't crafted such an item purely for the joke—it was a method to reconcile and even suppress the influence of the "cold-blooded" trait from the "Desire Apostle" characteristic, preventing the user's temperament from drastically changing.
Mr. Gaston set down the magic wand and replied with an odd expression, "Though I don't have any proof, I suspect the real client isn't Lord Nast himself, but rather the third officer of the Black Emperor, Littorio… He's also the holder of the 'Transformation Wand – Wind' that I made..."
As for his motives? Most likely, he just didn't want to feel "lonely" on the ship… Had to drag someone else "into the water" with him!
I think I've heard of this person before... Ebner thought for a moment and recalled that when he was aboard the Golden Dream, he had once encountered the Black Emperor handling an out-of-control crewmate… and the one who intervened back then seemed to be Littorio, possibly using that "Transformation Wand."
"'Witch of the Wind'?" Ebner asked tentatively. He remembered Edwina telling him that nickname.
"You know?" Mr. Gaston looked at Ebner in surprise. He had thought this guy had been so buried in women these past months that he'd lost all interest in outside matters.
—Although the "Hero Detective" topic had cooled down somewhat, there were still nosy adventurers and pirates who enjoyed spreading juicy gossip.
Come to think of it, if not for the recent "Beyonder Fog Disaster" in Backlund drawing everyone's attention, the scandal at Bayam's port—"Multiple women nearly caused a disaster bidding farewell to the 'Hero Detective'"—would definitely have made headlines.
Ebner, unaware of Mr. Gaston's inappropriate thoughts, casually said, "A sea pirate with a 9,000-pound bounty—of course I remember."
But Mr. Gaston shook his head. "His bounty's already been raised to 11,000 pounds in a single nation. That's equivalent to a pirate admiral."
"What did he do?" Ebner asked in surprise.
"They say he discovered Vice Admiral of the Deep Sea's secret and ruined his plan. The latter tried to silence him, but failed," Mr. Gaston explained.
That's impressive, Ebner thought. Vice Admiral of the Deep Sea, Hal Constantine, was a pirate admiral whose strength exceeded most Sequence 5s… While Littorio, without transforming, was merely a Sequence 6 "Corrupt Baron," a noticeable gap in power.
"But what does that have to do with his bounty going up?" Ebner still didn't get it.
"Vice Admiral of the Deep Sea is deeply connected to Intis, and there are even rumors he's an illegitimate son of a major family in Trier… In short, the 'secret' he was hiding might also be one of Intis's secrets. That's why the 'Witch of the Wind' got a bounty increase," Gaston said. As a peripheral member of the Church of Steam—and an Intis native—his information was quite up to date.
"I see…" Ebner pondered for a bit, then asked Gaston for more details, but the gentleman only knew that much.
Ebner's interest in this was because it involved Vice Admiral of the Deep Sea. Back when he was exploring the fifth level of the Dream Labyrinth Tower, in the "Elven Trial" dungeon, he received a reward from the Elven Temple—a vision of the Vice Admiral sacrificing living people to a sea monster with "Prophet" traits.
At the time, he judged that this would be his opportunity to advance to Sequence 4 and deduced that the sacrifice's time and place would likely be sometime in April on a small island to the west of the Southern Continent.
Could Littorio's discovered secret be related to the sea monster sacrifice? If so… then the sea monster probably doesn't just have a master-servant relationship with the Vice Admiral—it might also have a contract with some family from Intis...
No wonder the 'Trial Temple' would give such a hint… If I just prepared to fight the Vice Admiral and a weakened sea monster, I'd definitely be walking into a trap!
With this in mind, Ebner quietly performed a Prophecy—and confirmed that his guess was correct. What Littorio discovered truly was related to the sea monster…
He thought for a moment, then pushed the Transformation Wand – Fire back toward Mr. Gaston and said, "Could I ask you for a favor?"
"You want to trade this item for intelligence from Littorio?" Mr. Gaston guessed Ebner's intention immediately.
"Exactly. The wand's main materials come from the characteristics of a 'Desire Apostle' and a 'Witch.' Before the Desire Apostle was killed, it was even tainted with the aura of an 'Ancient God's blood,' which is why it can hide within 'firelight' and not be sensed by an average 'demigod'...
"And its negative effects are still within a manageable range...
"All in all, if this were auctioned off, it'd easily be worth more than 10,000 pounds—equivalent to the bounty on the 'Witch of the Wind.' That should be enough to exchange for the information he risked his life to obtain."
As he spoke, Ebner also demonstrated the wand's firelight-concealment ability—something Gaston hadn't managed to identify earlier.
After watching the demonstration, Mr. Gaston hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. "I'll help you get a more reasonable price… but I want an 80-20 split of the extra margin—80 for me."
"Deal." Ebner agreed readily.
After his massive gains from the Land of the Night, he was quite "flush" and didn't mind these petty sums. Only Elaine gave him a discreet side-eye, thinking, If you're so loaded, why the hell are you still cutting my salary?
"You're leaving Damir soon, right? If the deal goes through, how should I contact you?" Mr. Gaston asked.
"Just send me a telegram directly. I'll be staying in Backlund for a few days to handle some other matters," Ebner replied with a smile.
.....
While Ebner was resting in the Port of Damir, the elegantly dressed Audrey stood in the royal palace's lounge, waiting for the New Year's ball to begin. However, her expression did not reveal the excitement, thrill, or joy one might expect from a girl about to receive her coming-of-age ceremony.
Before her lay a newspaper, with a headline that read:
"...According to preliminary statistics, over 10,000 people died directly in that heavy smog. The subsequent spreading plague claimed another 30,000 to 40,000 lives, including many young children and strong young men and women..."
Hoo... Audrey closed her eyes and adjusted her emotions. Then, accompanied by her parents, she walked out of the lounge and entered the ballroom.
Finally, it was the queen herself who led her to the edge of the stage. Facing all the guests, the queen proclaimed:
"Although this is a dark time in Backlund's history, we still have a gem bright enough to illuminate the entire city. Her intelligence, her beauty, her character, and her manners are all impeccable.
"Today, I formally present her to you.
"Miss Audrey Hall."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, fireworks soared into the sky, bursting into waves of dreamlike light.
On the night of the last day of 1349, Audrey officially came of age in the eyes of high society.
.....
Afternoon of January 3rd, 1350.
In the suburbs of the East Borough, Klein, now appearing as a young gentleman with neat black hair and deep brown eyes, was strolling through a newly opened cemetery.
This was the new identity he had chosen for himself, arranged with the help of Miss "Temperance." The name was Gehrman Sparrow.
The cemetery he was in wasn't filled with traditional graves, but rather rows upon rows of cabinets holding urns of ashes—one after another, shelf upon shelf, layer upon layer.
"Mr. Corson and his wife..." Guided by his spiritual intuition, Klein quickly found the photos and memorial plaques of two familiar people.
Mr. Corson had been the president of the dockworkers' union. He once hired Klein to investigate who had "instigated" his wife to insist on leaving him...
Although the matter was eventually taken over by Steward of the Church of Storms, Klein later heard that Mr. and Mrs. Corson were going through a divorce...
Yet in the end, they were still buried together as husband and wife.
Letting out a sigh, Klein walked past their urn cabinets and soon came across another familiar name.
It was the landlord of the one-bedroom apartment Klein had rented in the East Borough. That house had been destroyed during the battle between the captain and the Aurora Order's Rose Bishop. That landlord had even kindly refunded his rent afterward...
Cabinet by cabinet, Klein looked them over. After a while, he exhaled a breath of white mist and murmured with slight relief, "Thankfully, Old Kohler was saved by Sharon...
"And Daisy and Freya, those sisters, are also safe..."
As for his informants, Klein had also asked Sharon to help relocate the child of Maric's friend to Port Pritz for care. After all, Old Kohler had been involved in several affairs with Detective Sherlock. If the authorities ever investigated Klein, they would surely find him... It was better to let him live in anonymity from now on.
While thinking this, Klein swept his gaze around, taking in the names and photos—sometimes just blank nameplates—of all the victims resting here.
Then he turned away and left the cemetery without looking back, heading for the Backlund train station.
.....
Woo—!
The steam train arrived in Backlund, bringing with it countless people filled with hope. Ebner got off the train dragging his suitcase, followed by Elaine, who had returned to her red-haired appearance. The "Lion" Leon had taken the form of an orange tabby cat, following closely beside them.
At that moment, a pair of siblings also emerged from the train station with their suitcases, blending into the crowd and walking right alongside Ebner and Helene.
At the same time, the doll-like Miss Sharon had just sent Klein off at the station and quietly parted ways with him.
As Ebner and Klein passed each other, they exchanged a glance. Both recognized one another, but silently chose not to speak.
But just as the three parties brushed past each other, the younger sister among the siblings suddenly turned her head, gave Ebner a few curious looks, and then asked hesitantly:
"Are you Detective Ebner Bryan?"
(End of chapter)