Chapter 689: That's It?
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Bellman Carnot's expression immediately turned odd when he heard Frank Lee's name.
"Yes, he… he's a kind and pure person, but at times, his pureness is terrifying."
Indeed… Klein made way and allowed the bellman to walk down the stairs. As he followed him down, he asked, "Are you familiar with him?"
Carnot silently walked ahead, and after a while, he said with his back facing Gehrman Sparrow, "I'm a failed product filled with all kinds of problems. I was always mocked, and only Frank was one of the few who looked at me normally, treating me as someone with a real soul…"
"Why did he leave the Church of Mother Earth?" Klein asked despite knowing the answer.
Carnot came out of the bell tower, answering while getting his bearings, "I do not know about the specifics.
"He's an orphan. He grew up in the cloister from a young age. He really treats the Church as a family and views Mother Earth as his mother.
"He has many strange ideas. He had the opportunity of becoming a diocese bishop, but he was later nearly sent to a tribunal for being sacrilegious."
Frank mentioned this before. He was trying to crossbreed a bull, a cow, and wheat together… To be frank, if it were me, I would've sent him to the tribunal as well… This guy was fine early on because of his low Sequence, limiting what he can do… Klein mumbled and followed Carnot down another street and arrived in the alley behind St. Draco Cathedral.
Carnot walked in front of an ordinary building, pulled the doorbell thrice, each tug lasting two seconds.
After a while, thudding sounds approached as the door creaked open.
Klein immediately saw an elder in a black short coat with a hard cane.
His hair was as white as snow, but he didn't have any obvious wrinkles. He wore a black eye mask around his eyes.
"Mr. Councilor, Mr. Gehrman Sparrow is here to pay you a visit."
Councilor Ricciardo? He's Councilor Ricciardo? He's blind? Previously, Klein had only heard his voice without meeting him. It was no wonder he was surprised.
Ricciardo turned his ear to the side and slowly turned his head towards Gehrman Sparrow and chuckled.
"Sorry, I can only meet you this way. When I woke up this morning, I suddenly had a premonition that I mustn't open my eyes to see anything today. To prevent any accidents, I wore an eye mask."
… You can actually do that… He's in no way inferior as a charlatan… Klein was momentarily amused and surprised.
Following that, he understood the correct interpretation of his premonition. He didn't want to see him!
He remembered that Beyonders from the Monster pathway were able to see things others couldn't see. Therefore, Snake of Mercury Will Auceptin was able to sense my uniqueness. And back in Tingen City, Ademisaul's eyes bled and he collapsed to the ground simply from seeing me.
Councilor Ricciardo sensed the danger and wore an eye mask ahead of time… Sigh, if not for that, I was planning on asking what he can see… Klein didn't have any penchant about forcing others to harm themselves. He held back his thoughts and asked, "Do you have clues to the mystical item I need?"
"Not for now," Ricciardo said with a smile. "After I recovered from my injuries, I went to Bayam. I was lucky that there was some adjustments to the upper echelons of the navy and governor-general's office, so I successfully rescued Roy King, but it wasted quite a bit of my time."
Klein had expected this as he said without any signs of surprise, "Then, I'll use this request to get another form of help.
"I have a friend who is plagued with bad luck after interacting with a mural left behind by the Angel of Fate. He needs it completely removed."Ricciardo thought for a moment before saying, "No problem. Bring me over to him. Don't allow him to leave his residence, or there might be accidents."
Klein nodded and walked towards the alley with his suitcase in hand. He took the opportunity to ask, "Mr. Councilor, what do you know about the Mother Tree of Desire?"
From Klein's point of view, the Life School of Thought and the Rose School of Thought were at odds with each other, so it was likely that they knew each other very well.
With cane in hand, Ricciardo slowly walked behind him to his right. He didn't need anyone to help him; it was as though he wasn't wearing an eye mask.
He chuckled.
"The Mother Tree of Desire is the Rose School of Thought's manifestation of the Chained God. However, I suspect that the truth is actually the reverse. The Chained God is one of the Mother Tree of Desire's many manifestations. My reasoning is that Red Light, Moria, claims that the Mutant pathway's Sequence 0 is still unoccupied. Heh heh, you know about Sequence 0, right?"
"Yes," Klein succinctly answered. He didn't even express his knowledge of the Great White Brotherhood.
Ricciardo tersely acknowledged. "In short, no one knows the true identity of the Mother Tree of Desire, nor does anyone know what 'Her' pathway is. Perhaps, that's 'Her' true identity. In addition, I can provide some indirect information.
"The Mother Tree of Desire and the Primordial Moon are at odds. There seems to be some irreconcilable conflict between them, and it's because of this that the Rose School of Thought views us as an enemy.
"However, at times, the Mother Tree of Desire and the Primordial Moon seem to have a subtle relationship. You might find it hard to imagine that the Southern Continent's Shaman King, who worships the moon, joined the Rose School of Thought.
"The seven Churches hate the True Creator, Primordial Demoness, Dark Side of the Universe, and the other evil gods, but their hatred for the Primordial Moon and Mother Tree of Desire runs even deeper.
"Similarly, the Aurora Order, Demoness Sect, Blood Sanctify Sect, and Moses Ascetic Order do not like the Rose School of Thought."
That's interesting… Mother Tree of Desire is one of the two most isolated ones? Klein stopped a carriage while in thought as he watched Carnot help Ricciardo up the carriage.
He then entered the carriage and instructed the driver to bring them to a nearby hotel.
Before long, the carriage arrived at their destination. Just as Klein was about to get off, he suddenly heard a loud bang. A rumbling explosion shook the entire street as glass fragments from a window fell to the ground.
No way… Could it be caused by Anderson's bad luck? Klein's spiritual intuition told him that it was the case, but the Unluckiest Hunter had apparently lived.
He turned his head to look out the carriage and saw that a huge chunk of wall had collapsed from the hotel's second floor. Flames and smoke remained.
At this moment, a figure with disheveled blond hair and messy clothes stood below as he muttered, "To think that there's such a daring person to trade arms in a hotel. New kinds of explosives, especially. He nearly caused me to die without even knowing why… My suitcase…"
Klein looked down at the suitcase he was carrying and suddenly felt how great it was to be cautious.
He turned around and helped Ricciardo down the carriage.
Anderson sensed something as he turned his head to say with a bitter smile, "The arms dealers these days are too unprofessional! Thankfully, it's daytime, and there aren't many people in the hotel. The owner sure is pitiful, having to suffer a certain loss. However, the gold they carry shouldn't be destroyed that easily. It should make up for his loss."
I think your bad luck is responsible for a large part of the accountability… Klein nodded and said to Ricciardo, "It's him."
Ricciardo then turned his head to Anderson, but his gaze was completely blocked by the black eye mask.He paused for a few seconds before smiling.
"Give me a gold coin."
"Oh?" Anderson took out a Loen gold coin from the inside of his clothes, feeling suspect. Then, he smiled at Gehrman Sparrow. "Tradition from my hometown. We sew a tiny pocket on the inside of our clothes to keep a few coins. I originally didn't believe in it, but I've been just too unlucky recently."
As he spoke, he handed the gold coin to Ricciardo.
Ricciardo received the gold coin, slowly closed his fingers, before retracting his hand.
He then laughed and said, "Alright. Your bad luck has been dispelled."
"Ah?" Anderson stood there in shock as he looked at Gehrman Sparrow, as though saying, "That's it? Did you get a fraud?"
Klein was surprised as well, but he chose to believe Ricciardo. After all, he was a Fate Councilor.
Ricciardo put away the gold coin and chuckled.
"The bad luck you received this time wasn't child's play. If you don't believe me, you can head over to the casino to try your luck."
"Makes sense!" Anderson clapped and immediately got directions for the nearest casino from a passerby.
After a while, he returned in a clean and decent jacket. He looked at Ricciardo and instinctively opened his mouth.
He was suddenly taken aback as he forcibly closed his mouth and thanked him with a grin.
After the demigod was sent on a carriage, he leaned in towards Gehrman Sparrow and wistfully said, "I was planning on saying that 'although you're blind, you really are amazing when it comes to the domain of fate…' Thankfully, I recalled in time that he's a demigod."
If you had really said that, you might have the chance of becoming the hunter who died immediately after having his bad luck removed… Klein didn't echo his sentiments as he said, "Now can you tell me the clues to that revolver?"
As Creeping Hunger had great limitations, he still wished for a more conventional offensive mystical item.
Anderson combed his hair and chuckled.
"It's in Bayam.
"It's from a friend I used to know, a very powerful adventurer. As he got sick of the unstable and dangerous life, he used his savings to buy a few spice gardens and found a lady to marry. He then completely left this line of work we're in.
"He recently had a child and his thoughts changed again. He began to wish that his child would be brought up in a better and safer environment with better educational prospects, so he plans on moving to Backlund. There are the best grammar schools and public schools there.
"Heh heh, he doesn't wish to rent a place in Backlund, but he also doesn't plan on selling his gardens that constantly earn him money. He happens to have an excess when it comes to mystical items, so he plans on selling that revolver.
"Back then, I was in a rush to follow the treasure-hunting expedition into those waters, so I'm not sure if he succeeded in the end. However, few people can buy something worth nearly ten thousand pounds at once, so the transaction won't close that easily."
"Alright. Bring me to him," Klein replied simply.
…
At that moment on the Golden Dream, Danitz was horrified to realize a problem.
His captain hadn't appeared in three days!Chapter 690: Miss Messenger
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Under the sunlight, the Golden Dream emitted golden lusters as if it was a mobile treasure.
Danitz stood inside the captain's cabin, pacing about endlessly. He attempted to recall everything that had happened over the past few days in a bid to find a clue.
Three days ago, his captain, Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina, wanted to do a study in which she might not appear for ten to twenty hours. Therefore, all corresponding classes were canceled. In regards to this, Danitz and company didn't find it odd. These happened frequently.
They were delighted that they didn't need to attend classes; hence, there was drinking, singing, and a bonfire party held on the ship. They were only short of burning down the Golden Dream, but they had a great time.
But with the passage of time, everyone gradually felt that something was amiss, including the somewhat slow Danitz. Their captain, who should've finished her studies within 24 hours, didn't appear the next day. She didn't even get anyone to send her food or light beer which was used as water!
After patiently waiting for half a day without seeing Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina, the sailors mustered the courage to knock on her door. To their horror, there wasn't any response.
Under the first mate, Bru Walls's lead, the pirates opened the captain's cabin and found it empty!
They then went to the collector's room and other places, but they failed to find her.
Based on past experiences, their initial guess was that their captain had suddenly thought of something and left the Golden Dream in a rush while using some mystical technique or emulating someone else's Beyonder powers without leaving a letter behind.
Later, Danitz and company attempted to contact her using methods like the Soulfall Ritual, but they failed to receive a response. All they could do was search the captain's cabin and other places as they convinced themselves to wait patiently.
Three days passed, but Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina didn't appear nor reply. It left the sailors panicking.
"Dogsh*t, any results from your divination? Didn't you claim to be an expert?" Danitz turned towards Flowery Bow Tie Jodeson in frustration.
Jodeson, with his black hair that was dyed gold, rubbed his temples and said in a rather mellow voice, "They failed. Every divination method used to find her has failed.
"But for now, it can be confirmed that Captain is still alive. It's just that her whereabouts are unknown."
The first mate, Walls, who had short, grayish, curly hair, nudged his monocle and said, "We need to seek help. None of Captain's collections have been lost. She didn't even bring her essential mystical items with her when she left. This means that the situation was very sudden and unexpected."
"Whose help can we seek?" another boatswain whose waist was swollen, Bucket Daniels asked anxiously.
Bru Walls raised his silver-patterned knife to his aquiline nose and said, "Return to the western shore."
Between the lines, he was hinting at seeking the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom that backed Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina.
"That won't do. To go from the pirates' playground to the western shore, we will need to pass the Sonia Sea, the North Sea, and the Berserk Sea. Then, we will cruise through the Fog Sea for a very long period of time. Captain can't wait that long! Anything might happen to her at any time!" Flowery Bow Tie Jodeson said. "We have to immediately find someone we can quickly contact and provide us with help on short notice."
Danitz wanted to curse "dogsh*t," when he suddenly had a "light bulb" moment.
There was only one person he could quickly contact, and that was Gehrman Sparrow. Furthermore, this crazy adventurer had never hid the fact that he was good at divination and also had a mysterious background!Perhaps that madman can find Captain. He's often able to do the impossible… Danitz tugged at his collar as he felt his worry and frustration ease a little.
He raised his chest and looked around. Then, he cleared his throat and said, "I have a candidate. I can immediately contact him. Besides, he's very good at divination…"
Just as he said that, Gourmet Bru Walls, Flowery Bow Tie Jodeson, Iron Skin, Barrel, and company turned their heads at him in unison. With their eyes red, they roared, "What are you waiting for!?"
"…" Danitz silently left the captain's cabin and returned to his room.
He unfolded a piece of paper, picked up a fountain pen, and followed his captain's teachings by writing a greeting followed by some pleasantries.
Suddenly, he stopped writing. He felt that the excessive politeness and small talk didn't match his goals for seeking help.
"Dogsh*t!" Danitz cursed as he tore up the piece of paper.
Right on the heels of that, he wrote on a new piece of paper:
"Help!
"Captain has vanished!"
"Well… Although Gehrman Sparrow is a madman who can't be comprehended with common sense, he probably won't be able to understand such a letter… Dogsh*t!" Danitz cursed himself again as he ripped up the second letter.
He calmed himself down and contemplated for a few seconds before penning a third time.
This time, he simply wrote what happened after his captain's disappearance. He also included the location of the Golden Dream, and he minced his words by asking Mr. Gehrman Sparrow if he could provide help to a cooperating partner.
"Divination needs something…" Just as Danitz folded the letter, he suddenly realized that he had forgotten something. He rushed back to the captain's cabin and found a pearl earring that Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina often wore.
After doing all of this, he took out his notebook that was filled with all sorts of mysticism knowledge. He flipped to the corresponding page and unfamiliarly set up a messenger-summoning ritual with his past experience.
After placing a gold coin on the altar, he took two steps back and recited in ancient Hermes, "I!
"I summon in my name:
"The spirit that wanders about the unfounded, the friendly creature that can be subordinated, the messenger that belongs to Gehrman Sparrow."
Howling winds resonated as the candlelight on the altar rapidly burgeoned before being dyed a pale whiteness.
Reinette Tinekerr appeared at a decent speed, still wearing her complicated black dress while holding four beautiful and identical heads.
Danitz imagined that the messenger would bite the gold coin and the envelope containing the paper and earring like the last time. But to his surprise, the four heads in Reinette Tinekerr's hand automatically turned around, surveying the area before finally looking towards the captain's cabin.
A few seconds later, two of the heads in Reinette Tinekerr's hand bit down onto the gold coin and the envelope.
After the strange messenger vanished, Danitz exhaled and wiped his forehead, feeling a baffling sense of pressure.
…
Oravi Island, in the room of another hotel.
Klein was just about to get Anderson Hood, who had won quite a fair bit of money, to purchase the tickets to City of Generosity Bayam when his spiritual perception was triggered.
He quickly activated his Spirit Vision and saw his headless messenger, Reinette Tinekerr, appear by his side at some point in time. In her hands were four beautiful heads.
She's not like the skeleton messengers who I can detect the moment they appear. My spiritual perception is triggered only after she completely enters the real world… Klein received a letter from the teeth of one of Reinette Tinekerr's head while in thought.
At the same time, he noticed that Anderson's spiritual perception was no way weaker than his. He too had reacted.
"This is a… messenger?" Anderson asked in disbelief, as though he had heard of such things but had never seen them before.
Klein nodded without expression as he tore open the letter.
Eh, a pearl earring? Klein unfolded the letter in puzzlement.
By his side, Anderson came over out of curiosity as he sized up Reinette Tinekerr as he tsked.
"There's an indescribable sense of bloody beauty…"
Just as he said that, his hands suddenly rose up to grab himself by the throat. The grip was so tight that his tongue extended out as he foamed at the mouth. As for Reinette Tinekerr, who had nothing above her neck, she didn't show any further reaction.
Klein turned his head over and seriously studied the situation before looking at his messenger. He then silently mumbled, Resembles Miss Sharron's abilities… Miss Messenger belongs to the Prisoner pathway? No, I can't be sure. She's a spirit world creature, so being good at such things is very normal…
Realizing that Anderson was about to suffocate, Klein leisurely said, "That's enough, he still needs to lead me somewhere."
One of the heads in Reinette Tinekerr's hand turned over as she glanced at Anderson with her bloodshot eyes for a second.
Following that, each of the heads' mouths spoke one after the other.
"Still…" "Can…" "Lead…" "You…" "By…" "Making…" "Into…" "Zombie…" "
As she said that, Anderson's hands finally stopped and left his own neck, leaving obvious, deep finger marks on it.
Phew… Phew… The Strongest Hunter panted as he bent his back, retching.
Klein quickly scanned the letter and saw that it was from Danitz. This "famous pirate" wrote to him, saying that Vice Admiral Iceberg had mysteriously vanished and was in need of help.
Just as he moved his gaze away from the letter, Klein was surprised to see Reinette Tinekerr was still around.
This doesn't make mystical sense… Shouldn't a messenger disappear after sending the letter, appearing only when summoned again? Klein deliberated and asked out of curiosity, "Is there anything else?"
"Awaiting…" "Your…" "Reply…" "Letter…" Reinette's four head said one after the other.
"How do you know that I'll reply?" Klein glanced at Anderson, who hadn't recovered, and confirmed that the Strongest Hunter didn't notice the words that didn't match Gehrman's persona.
The heads in Reinette's hand said once again, "Her…" "Disappearance is…" "Very…" "Odd…"
"How do you know that?" Klein instantly imagined that Miss Messenger had secretly read Danitz's letter.
The heads with the long blonde hair simply rolled up and said a phrase each, forming a complete sentence.
"I…" "Investigated…" "The ship's…" "Situation…"
My messenger is a part-time scout? Miss Reinette Tinekerr, will you be a hired goon in the future? I wonder if I need to make additional payment… As Klein lampooned in thought, he said, "No rush. I'll reply later."
He planned on heading above the gray fog to use Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina's earring to do a divination.
Reinette Tinekerr didn't say a word as she vanished silently.
"Ahem…" Anderson finally recovered as he stood straight. He gave Gehrman Sparrow a flabbergasted look. "Your messenger… Your messenger is a demigod!?"