Chapter 13: Telepathist
Saron first told Eve some information about Withering Shadows organization and then explained the rules clearly like Bishop Reynolds. After hearing her words, Eve closed her blue eyes for a while and then agreed.
"When are you planning to join the Withering Shadows, Charles?" Eve asked as she opened her eyes.
Meanwhile, Charles appeared to be in deep thoughts for a while and then said,
"I'm planning to join tomorrow, mom."
A smile crept on Eve's face as she heard those words.
'He is acting like a grown-up now.' She thought inwardly.
After discussing for a while, Charles went to the second floor, leaving Eve and Saron alone in the reception hall.
Both sat in silence for a whole minute, and then Eve spoke up. But, her tone was gloomy.
"Did you find out anything odd about Bishop Reynolds, Lady Saron?"
"Yes. Bishop Reynolds seems to be injured. Although he looked normal outside, I sensed something dark in his body." Saron said while frowning deeply.
"Demonic Energy?" Eve straightened her body and asked in seriousness.
"Possible. Bishop must have fought against a Demonic Cult member a few days ago. From his internal injuries, it must be done by a Rank 3 [Demonic Man] or a Rank 4 [Sinful Demon]."
"What are those lunatics are up to?" A deep frown appeared on Eve's face. Soon, she let out a sigh and asked,
"What about Holem's Crown? Did you find any clue about that Series artifact?"
"Yes. I did find a clue about that crown. But there is something wrong with the whole situation. The first owner of the Holem's Crown... He is someone you are very familiar with... I think something or someone is pulling strings from the dark. We should report it to the Wisdom Church." Saron said while suppressing her voice.
Eve's ears perked up as she heard Saron's nervous tone and asked,
"Who is its first owner?"
Saron let out a helpless sigh and answered with a bitter smile,
"He is Eddie Nightwind."
A chill went up to Eve's spines as she heard those words!
"Eddie Nigtwind... It can't be a coincidence... I didn't leave a clue behind... The enemy seems to be aware of our background... Who are they? How did they find us?" Eve mumbled in shock. Eve sat there pondering for a few seconds and then heaved a heavy sigh.
"I need to prepare for the worst," Eve said after a long silence.
Meanwhile, Saron White stood up from the sofa, went near the opened window, and asked while looking at the blue sky,
"Tell me, Lady Eve. Whom did you offend in the last twenty years?"
Upon hearing Saron's words, Eve frowned and then started to think. After thinking for a long time, she looked confused and shook her head.
"None."
"So, what's your plan now? Did you see your son's fate?" Saron turned around and asked in curious,
Eve nodded her head and spoke solemnly,
"His fate is constantly changing now. He should have died during the kidnapped incident. But, he is still alive and even became a ruthless killer."
"Somebody changed his fate?" Saron's eyebrows arched up as she heard Eve's words.
"It seems so. But I never heard of such a miracle in my experience." Eve replied in puzzlement.
"Miracle... Is it?" Saron narrowed her eyes for a second and soon shook her head.
Noticing Saron's odd behavior, Eve became curious and asked,
"What did you find out?"
Saron made a troubled face and then replied while shaking her head,
"I once heard about an Intellectual Artifact that could create a random miracle. But, I heard that artifact is long lost in time."
Eve's eyes widened upon hearing Saron's words. She stood up from the wooden chair and asked hurriedly.
"What is the name of that intellectual artifact?"
Saron pondered for a moment and then replied,
"I don't know the artifact's original name. But, it seems to be a Series-A artifact."
Eve stood in silence for a moment and soon thought of a possibility.
'What if the Holem's Crown is the 'Miracle' creating artifact?'
She was about to reveal her thoughts to her friend, but she stopped.
'She is a Wisdom Church member. If I tell her about this, she will report it to the Wisdom Church and make things more complicated. Moreover, I know nothing about Holem's Crown's abilities.'
Eve heaved a heavy sigh and spoke in a weary tone,
"It doesn't matter now. I will constantly monitor Charles's fate strings and see if I can get some clue about the enemy."
Meanwhile, Saron furrowed her eyebrows and felt something was amiss but soon shook her head.
"Hmm, I don't think the manipulative enemy will come out and seek trouble for himself after knowing that your son is planning to become a member of the Withering Shadows."
"Haha, yes. My kid made the right choice." Eve laughed proudly and then went into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Saron shook her head and stayed in the reception hall.
...
The next day.
It was around 8 A.M,
Charles walked out of his room in his black suit and went downstairs. He entered the dining hall and had some toasted white bread and bacon.
After having breakfast, Charles went to the reception and noticed that his mother was already seated on the sofa. Unaware of his arrival, Eve held a book in her hand and seemed to be thinking deeply about something.
Charles went near her and made a fake cough.
But Eve didn't even take her eyes off the black-covered book and stayed silent. He then looked at the book and smiled as he saw the familiar words. It's the Blen Language.
It was the common language of the Arc Kingdom.
"Mom, I'm going out." He said while letting out another fake cough.
Eve turned her head towards Charles with a startled face and nodded her head.
Charles adjusted his surcoat and moved out of the reception room.
"Follow the 'Shadow.' You will find something good." But before he could step out of the reception room, a pleasant voice came from behind, causing him to turn around in puzzlement.
Meanwhile, Eve stared back at Charles and waved her hand with an amusing smile on her face.
Shaking his head, Charles turned his head and then walked out of 45 El Street. Unlike last time, he walked alone on the street and then narrowed his eyes as he saw the Holy Knight was also walking out from the opposite single-storied house.
He had silver hair, a rough face, and silver eyes, and he wore silver armor and a unique golden bracelet on his right hand. The golden bracelet had a symbol of a circle with a six-pointed star in it. It looked much like a wheel, representing the symbol of Life.
'It must be a ranked artifact.' Charles thought.
"Good day, Charles!" While he was in muse, Hunt greeted him and then glanced around the surrounding houses in cautiousness. Once he noticed no one was around, he turned around and said slowly.
"You can come out now, dear."
A second later, a big-chested lady, around 30 years old, walked out of the single-storied house and greeted Charles while placing her forefinger on her lips.
"Lady Charlotte!" Charles' eyes widened a little as he identified the lady and greeted her with a suppressing voice.
'Too bold, aren't these two afraid of Ethan Walker?' He furrowed his brows and studied her.
Charlotte had an apple-shaped body, long blonde hair, olive skin, and deep-set amber eyes. She wore a brown-colored shirt, a knife-pleated white skirt, and chunky heel shoes.
"Hello, Charles." Noticing his gaze, she greeted him and then asked,
"Are you going to the Library?"
"No, My Lady. I'm going to search for a job in Ivy Street." Charles replied politely and then began to walk on the dirt road.
Meanwhile, Hunt and Charlotte exchanged glances sneakily and followed him while maintaining some distance between themselves.
"I heard about your past achievement, Charles. How did you change so much in a short time?" After a short silence, Charlotte walked near him and asked in curiosity.
Charles peeked at her oval face and said with a wry smile,
"If I didn't change, my mother and I wouldn't have walked out of that mansion, My Lady." Charles paused for a second, then looked at Hunt and asked.
"Do you know who the owner of that mansion is, Mr. Hunt?"
Hunt thought for a moment and replied with a nod,
"It belongs to a famed tycoon named Addie. I heard that he is staying in the Royal Capital. You can find more about him in the City's Security Administration office."
Charles nodded his head and then continued to walk. After reaching the Ivy Street intersection, Charles and Hunt bid farewell to Charlotte and entered Ivy Street. Meanwhile, Charlotte took a luxury carriage and went to the other side.
After walking for a while, Hunt also split from him and went towards Life Church.
Meanwhile, Charles strolled on the dirt road and then arrived at a single-storied building. A wooden board was placed at the entrance and on it were a few words written in Blen Language.
"Secret Department of Life?" He stared at the board with a dumbfounded look for a few seconds and walked in.
He soon entered the reception hall and noticed a 50-year-old lady seated behind the reception desk.
As she noticed his arrival, she adjusted her round eyeglass and asked in a clear voice.
"Charles?"
Charles froze for a moment and soon nodded while passing the sealed letter to the old lady. She had curly black hair, a slightly wrinkled round face, and grey eyes. She wore a grey peasant blouse and black pants.
'Hmm, something is odd about this old lady.' He furrowed his brows.
"I'm not an old lady, brat." She said as she stared into his jade eyes.
Charles flinched at her words and soon widened his eyes.
'Mind-reading?' He took a step back and stared at her warily.
"You heard about mind-reading? Well, it seems you are not some dumb moron."
'She really can read my mind!' Charles got shocked for a moment and soon tried to think in English.
A second later, astonishment appeared on her face as she stared at him in surprise.
"What language is it? It's weird and foreign..."
A crafty smile appeared on his face as he cast [Inspect] skill on her.
[Name: Emilia Wilson
Race: Human
Class: Lv 4 Telepathist (Rank 2)
Sub-class: None
Health Points: 108/108
Attributes:
Strength- 13
Dexterity- 14
Constitution- 13
Wisdom- 15
Charisma- 11
Class skills/ spells: Probe Thoughts, Discern Lies, Mind-fog, Hypnotism, Touch of Idiocy.
Unique Skills: Gaze of Medusa.]
'Her unique skill seems to be powerful.' He thought inwardly.
"Greetings, Lady Emilia. I'm Charles Miller." He smiled at her and greeted her while she was standing with a dumbfounded face.
"H-How did you know my name?" She stared at him in a daze for a moment and sighed deeply.
"I heard a lot about you in the past two weeks. But you look like a smart child. There are no calluses in your palm, which shows you are a greenhorn in weapon battles. Hmm, I don't know how you managed to kill those assassins, but you are not strong enough to apply to become a member of Withering Shadows." Saying so, she stood up from her seat and then moved towards the room on her right side. She then knocked it thrice and went inside.
Meanwhile, Charles stood in front of the reception desk with a stunned expression on his face and then smiled helplessly.
'Well, she is right. This body needs training. Although I'm doing regular exercise in the past two weeks, it's still not enough. But before that, I need to become an official member of Withering Shadows.' He muttered inwardly.
After a minute of silence, Emilia walked out of the room and spoke,
"You can go in, Charles. Branch Head is waiting for you."
After saying those words, she returned to her desk and then sat on her seat.
Meanwhile, Charles nodded and entered the room after knocking it twice.
It was a 12*16 ft large room. A wooden table was placed at the center, while a brown-haired man was seated behind it.
He looked around 40-years-old and had black eyes, thick eyebrows, and a rough face. He wore a long black surcoat and appeared more like an expert leader.
He looked at Charles in interest and then welcomed him with a smile.
"Charles Nightwind, welcome to the Withering Shadows."