The boy named Ian was thin and had delicate facial features, but his eyes were extremely intelligent. When he saw the question, he hurriedly nodded and described the clues he had received. Finally, he said, "However, Mr. Detective… That place is a little strange. I couldn't open the secret door no matter how many times I tried."
Upon hearing this, Detective Zreal immediately understood that the door that Ian mentioned was likely sealed by Beyonder means. As an ordinary child, he naturally couldn't open it.
However, since it involved something extraordinary, Detective Zreal didn't explain it to Ian. Instead, he happily handed him three one-pound notes and said with a smile, "This is a reward for you. If you can get more clues in the future, I'll pay you another two pounds."
Ian frowned when he received the money, his expression slightly twisted. He subconsciously flattened the three crumpled bills and tidied them up. Even the portraits of the kings had to be heads facing up, matching them up. There couldn't be any mistakes.
When Detective Zreal saw this scene, he was a little speechless. He thought to himself that this kid probably didn't have the life of a noble. He was quite particular after suffering from a noble's disease.
At that moment, Ian took out a thick stack of bills from his pocket. They seemed to be strictly stacked in order of face value. Then, he inserted the three bills given by Zreal into the first stack.
"Thank you for your generosity." After neatly putting the notes back into his pocket, Ian thanked him sincerely. For an orphan like him, three pounds was a huge sum of money.
Watching the boy, who was much more mature than his actual age, leave, Detective Zreal stroked his chin and muttered to himself in thought,
Even that Cryptologist lady failed to discover the secret door… Perhaps it's very dangerous! Hmm, it looks like I'll have to report this matter to the station head to resolve it…
With this in mind, he put on his coat and walked to the chimney of a park on the street as if he was taking a stroll. He then used a chalk to secretly draw a few symbols.
This was the way he had agreed to meet with his superior… As for the answer, it was hidden in the advertisements in the Backlund Secrets News that he would air.
Speaking of which, the Backlund Secrets News was a small newspaper filled with all sorts of fake news. However, due to its high editorial standards, many of the articles were written with great interest, so the sales were pretty good. It was ranked first among all the smaller Backlund newspapers.
After doing all of this, Detective Zreal, who had been busy for more than two weeks because of Helmosuin's manuscript, finally heaved a sigh of relief. He thought for a moment and decided to find his "good friend," Miss Eileen, to relax his body and mind.
But when he arrived at the timber merchant's house, he was surprised to learn from Eileen's maid that, apart from occasionally going on dates with her real boyfriend, Mr. Binkley, she had stopped casually making "friends." Instead, she had been hanging out at high society social events with her father, as if she was trying to clear her name.
Zreal was surprised by this, but he didn't think too much about it. He only thought that perhaps Eileen had her sights set higher.
But why didn't she break up with Mr. Binkley? This question flashed through Zreal's mind, but he didn't probe deeper. After all, it had nothing to do with him.
He didn't stay for long as he stopped a rental carriage and headed for the Golden Rose.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom on the third story of the timber merchant's villa, Miss Eileen and Mr. Binkley were quietly kneeling in front of a figurine of a Hanged Giant about half a meter tall, piously praying and listening…
…
In the blink of an eye, it was Wednesday.
That morning, Ebner first received a reply from Miss Judi through the post office. In the letter, she said that she hadn't found the milk cows he mentioned, but she could help ask the other Biologist in the Church of Earth if they had any similar creatures. She would probably give them an answer in a few weeks.
At the end of the letter, she wrote in a rather mysterious tone: Cullen seems to be in a daze over the past few days, as though he's worried about something, but he refuses to tell me…
"Give me an answer in a few weeks? Miss, are you going to get someone to groom one for you?" After putting down the letter, Ebner couldn't help but lampoon.
As for Cullen, it was good as long as he was still alive. At the very least, he didn't need to modify the incantation to summon Silika.
Ebner shook his head. Just as he was about to write a letter to her to tell her that there was no need to rush things and that he could just transfer the money directly to Miss Sharron, Xio closed the door again.
This time, she brought three pages of Roselle's diary.
Ever since she found out what the price was for asking Mr. Fool to save her, she had been actively searching for relevant information. She had finally found three pages in MI9's archives.
After taking it, he glanced at it a few times and knew that it was the real thing. However, Xio was in front of him, so in order to not expose the fact that he knew Roselle's language, he didn't look at it carefully.
Xio felt a little relieved when she saw Ebner accept the diary without standing on ceremony.
She didn't mention the process of her visit, but she mentioned something else. "Miss Audrey asked Fors and me to have high tea at Viscount Glaint's place."
Upon hearing that, Ebner thought for a moment before saying with a smile, "Then, she will most likely have to pay for your previous investigations with Fors."
Xio pursed her lips and said wistfully, "I wonder how much she'll give…"
I did give you 800 pounds, but that's not necessarily the case now. After all, you didn't encounter as much danger as I did.
And in fact, Miss Audrey was as generous as ever.
When the afternoon came, Xio and Fors entered Viscount Glaint's study and received the thick envelope from Miss Audrey. They felt the weight of the money.
Xio said sincerely,
"Miss Audrey, thank you for your generosity. Your honesty makes you even more beautiful."
Audrey smiled faintly and said,
"A total of eight hundred pounds. Decide how to split it among yourselves.
"I'm very sorry that that matter caused your friend to lose his life."
Eight hundred pounds… No, there's no need to apologize… Darkholme isn't my friend at all. The death of a person like him is really a contribution to the security of Backlund!
Xio didn't count the notes in a reserved manner, even though she really wanted to do so.
Fors couldn't help but smile as she said wistfully,
This is even more than the royalties I've received for my book, Stormwind Mountain Villa…
Should I praise Miss Audrey or mock the poverty of an author? she added silently.
Viscount Glaint, who was sitting on the sofa, was also a little envious, but he wasn't envious of Xio or Fors. As a viscount with a relatively good financial situation, eight hundred pounds wasn't a large sum.
What he envied was Audrey's generosity. She didn't feel burdened at all.
"Ahem…" Viscount Glaint cleared his throat. "If you can get the Apothecary formula, I will also pay you handsomely."
"We'll do our best!" Xio replied without hesitation. Following that, she looked at Audrey and said in a fake manner, "We recently came into contact with someone suspected to be from the Psychology Alchemists. The Spectator potion you want will soon give you clues, even though I know you no longer need it."
Xio, I'm almost at Sequence 8, almost catching up to you… Audrey glanced at Xio and nodded with a smile, but she didn't say a word. Her impression of Xio was that she was a Sequence 8 Sheriff.
I know… But you're not as good as me. Xio guessed the meaning behind Audrey's smile and added silently in her heart.
With that said, the four of them chatted about the various rumors about the Beyonder circles as they sought out the books they wanted to read under Audrey's example.
During this process, Audrey casually mentioned Detective Bryan's reputation, but she was surprised to find that neither Xio nor Fors cared. It was as though he had nothing to do with them.
This puzzled Audrey. She thought, Could the rumors about Xio and Detective Bryan's close relationship be fake?
And at this moment, Xio's eyes lit up because she had discovered a hidden layer in a book named "Study of the Coat of Arms."
She quietly opened the interlayer and found an ancient piece of paper.
The front of the paper was covered with the special symbols created by Emperor Roselle, and on the back was a paragraph of ancient Hermes.
Then, she saw three lines of ancient Hermes text that left a deep impression on her.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;
"The mysterious ruler above the gray fog;
"The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."
Upon seeing this, she closed the book and asked Viscount Glaint if she could borrow it. After receiving permission, she lowered her eyelids and secretly glanced at Audrey.
As for Audrey, who had witnessed the entire process, she knew nothing about it. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly as she looked to the side in a reserved manner, pretending to be reading.
As a qualified Spectator who had advanced, she had accurately grasped Xio's and Fors's preferences in certain areas after many interactions. With that, she had made arrangements in advance that no one noticed.
Letting the one being guided feel that it was their own will was a manifestation of the powers of a Spectator.
However, she felt that her "arrangement" was somewhat disharmonious, but she didn't notice any problems…