"You want to use me as bait? Heh heh, the Mandated Punishers don't seem to know that I've actually foiled the Demoness of Afflictions plans. I'm likely already on her blacklist.
Since she hasn't made a move on me up until now, it means that she has something more important to accomplish in her heart and doesn't wish to complicate matters…
"I'm afraid the Mandated Punishers are going to give up."
Ebner put down the newspaper and stopped thinking about it. After all, even if he knew that the Mandated Punishers were using him, he had no way of objecting. He might as well make use of the opportunity to gain more benefits… At the very least, he could take the opportunity to increase his commission fees.
After mocking himself in his misery, Ebner didn't choose to leave. Instead, he stayed at Detective Isengard's house and began learning the Sequence 6 ability analyzed by the Eye of White.
He had been a Knowledge Keeper for more than twenty days. Through this period of hard work, he wasn't far from learning the first Sequence 6 ability…
At four in the afternoon, Ebner, who had closed the Eye of Pure White, was taking a nap to recover his energy when he was suddenly woken up by a knock on the door.
He frowned, thinking that the person knocking on the door at this time could only be the solicitor's valet, Kenny… Is there a new commission?
As Ebner speculated, he opened the door to his room and saw Kenny standing respectfully outside.
"Detective Bryan, there's a guest who wishes to visit you," Kenny said after bowing.
"Who is it?" Ebner had long instructed them not to accept any visits unless the other party had a special identity.
"It's Mr. Maury Macht and his wife, Ma'am Riana… They said they were here to thank you for saving them last night." Kenny lowered his head out of habit.
Member of Parliament Macht? Are you sure he's here to thank me and not denounce me? I chopped off one of his daughter's arms yesterday… Of course, it's only right for him to thank me since the coconut saved her life.
With that thought in mind, Ebner grunted in agreement and followed Kenny down the stairs. He met his two visitors in the living room on the first floor.
Maury Macht was a typical Loen gentleman, in his late forties, with dark hair and brown eyes. His features were chiseled, his hairline was higher, and his face was lean and long. He still wore the olive-green army officer's uniform he'd worn at the ball last night, and it was clear he hadn't gone home to change.
His wife, Riana, wore a coat over her yellow non-collar dress from last night, hiding her fair neck and half her shoulders.
The two of them looked haggard, especially Ma'am Riana. There were tears on her face, and even her makeup couldn't completely cover it.
Seeing Ebner walk into the living room, Macht stood up and walked in front of him in two to three steps. He said in a very inviting manner,
"Detective Bryan, nice to meet you!"
Ebner was slightly taken aback by his behavior. He thought to himself, 'As the saying goes, one must ask for something when bowing to others. I wonder what this gentleman wants from him.'
However, despite having such thoughts, Ebner's face also revealed a polite smile, just like his teacher's. He said with equal enthusiasm, "Mr. Senator, I'm also very happy to meet you. In Emperor Roselle's words, it's truly an honor."
With that said, he looked at Ma'am Riana and complimented her with a smile. "Ma'am, welcome. Your presence has brightened up this firm."
If it were any other day, Lady Riana would have happily accepted such flattery. However, her daughter had been involved in the assassination of the prince for no reason and was still detained. This made her in no mood to exchange pleasantries. She could only politely smile at Ebner and say nothing more.
Ebner thought nothing of it. He turned around and shook hands with Macht before sitting down on the sofa.
Following that, the two exchanged a few words of flattery before Macht took out an envelope from his pocket and placed it on the coffee table in front of the sofa.
As the envelope was not sealed, Ebner immediately saw a stack of ten-pound notes neatly placed inside.
From the thickness of this envelope… It's at least 200 pounds… What is Member of Parliament Macht up to? Ebner wondered.
"Detective Bryan, due to your outstanding contribution last night, which saved my wife and me from a disaster, these are some of my thoughts. I hope you will accept them." As Macht spoke, he pushed the envelope in Ebner's direction.
Ebner didn't reach out for the money. He stared at Macht's sincere face for a while before saying, "What do you want to know? Or what do you want me to do? Speak."
"I knew I couldn't hide it from you, Detective Bryan…" Macht's expression changed slightly as he let out a long sigh. "However, this money is indeed to thank you for saving our family… I heard that the situation was critical back then. Was it you who made the prompt decision to save Hazel?"
So that's how it is. This senator is here to find out what happened… Does he want to know what level of mistake his daughter made in this matter? He actually came to find me… That means that the Mandated Punishers aren't very fond of this senator who believes in the Goddess.
Ebner nodded thoughtfully before saying with a smile, "Mr. Senator, there's no need to probe. If you wish to know something, I'll inform you of it… However, before I answer, I have to ask if you know of the existence of Beyonders?"
He only retired after working hard in the army until he became a major. Furthermore, he was in a godforsaken place like East Balam. He wouldn't know about Beyonders, right?
"Yes, I know… Because I didn't notice anything abnormal at the ball, and Hazel suddenly disappeared right under my nose… Therefore, I've already guessed that this is a Beyonder event," Macht said after exhaling.
"Then it's easy…" Ebner nodded. Then, he stood up and set up a wall of spirituality around the two of them in front of Mr. and Mrs. Macht so that the servants wouldn't hear what they shouldn't hear.
"Simply put, a heretic cult believer used Miss Hazel to bring a dangerous item that could kill everyone in the hall on the first floor to the ball. I discovered this dangerous item and reported it to His Highness and the Mandated Punishers."
"A dangerous item that can kill so many people…" Macht's heart sank as he gained a new understanding of the seriousness of the matter. He exhaled once again and asked with a wry smile, "Why is it Hazel?"
"That's because Miss Hazel is also a Beyonder. She's also a Beyonder who doesn't have much common sense regarding Beyonder matters! People like her are the easiest to be used by cultists." Ebner knew that she was still being kept in the dark, so he directly exposed her.
Hazel is a Beyonder? Why didn't I know? Where did she get the potion formula from? Macht immediately stood up in shock and anger when he heard that. When he served in East Balam, he knew the actions of the orthodox Churches' Beyonder teams. If ordinary people were embroiled in Beyonder matters, they would likely be very tolerant…
But it's different for Beyonders to be involved in a case… He felt that Hazel wasn't directly used as a test subject by the Church of Storms because of him.
"It seems like Hazel secretly acknowledged a teacher… But you don't have to worry, because your family is in the North Borough. The Mandated Punishers have already reported this matter to the Church of Evernight, so naturally, someone will handle it," Ebner answered after some thought. This information was given to him by Evan, who was in charge of "protecting" him.
Macht was an experienced politician after all. At this point, he had more or less figured out what had happened. He even guessed the reason why the Mandated Punishers had handed Hazel over to the Church of Earth Mother.
After pondering for a moment, he took out an envelope from his chest and handed it to Ebner. "I heard that you have a good relationship with Bishop Utravsky of the Church of Earth Mother… Can you invite the bishop to my house as a guest on my behalf?"
Even though Ebner didn't think the giant bishop would refuse, he didn't agree immediately. He only replied, "Mr. Macht, you understand that I have no right to agree on behalf of the bishop. I have to seek his opinion."
Seeing that Ebner didn't reject him directly, Macht heaved a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Of course. I'll visit you in a few days!"
With that, he stuffed the envelope into Ebner's hands without any hesitation before bidding farewell to Madam.
After they left, Ebner stared blankly at the two envelopes on the coffee table. He wasn't thinking about the money, but because his description of Macht had allowed him to digest a portion of his potion!