However, Clayton was not as calm and composed as Joe thought.
No one knew how many people the Holy Grail Society had sent. He was no longer in the army, with the intelligence department's support behind him.
"However, there are some things I can't do and need you to accomplish," Clayton said.
Joe snorted: "Come on, Lieutenant, the people from the Holy Grail Society are looking for me now, and you want me to go back to the front line. Why don't you hire a detective? They will work as long as they get paid."
Detectives are an emerging profession, and these people are labeled in the public's mind as "doing anything." Many of them are veterans with no other skills, but they are good at infiltration and reconnaissance.
"I will hire detectives to watch their base at the Broken Winged Angel, but you have something to do too," Clayton handed his revolver to him. "Tell me about the Holy Grail Society."
Joe Mani held the gun and flipped it in a novel way. Although he was a veteran, he had not used a gun many times. After playing with it for a while, he spoke:
"They, it's not wrong to call them a cult. The first time I saw these people was in the eastern oak town of Tauton, where they preached to the residents. They also believe in the Father Cara, but they say things that deviate from common sense."
"Such as?" Clayton asked with interest.
Joe shrugged: "They claim that the night is more noble than the day."
He felt he didn't need to say more. Even people who don't believe in religion know which is more important, day or night - without the sun, crops can't grow.
"It sounds like they should call themselves the Black Sect."
"Who says not, but they prefer the name Holy Grail Society." Recalling the pleasant experience in Oak Town, Joe replied frivolously, "By the way, Lieutenant, do you know the Holy Grail?"
"I know of it."
Although the Bello family was Mancian immigrants, many generations have passed, and Clayton, even if he doesn't believe in the White Sect, has a certain understanding of the doctrines of the White Sect due to his upbringing.
In the mythology of the White Sect, the Father Cara created all animals and plants in a white light, but they were ignorant and would not grow. So the Father bestowed his blood, commanding all living beings to drink it, and thus they gained wisdom. Although plants still lack the ability to think, they also remember the grace of the Father and will grow towards the sunlight instinctively.
In this story, the vessel the Father used to hold the divine blood is the Holy Grail, which is interpreted as the source of wisdom.
Clayton recalled the words of believers he had met before: "The Holy Grail is the origin of humanity, wisdom from the divine blood is transferred to all living beings, and we therefore have spirit."
"That's right," Joe became excited, "but the Holy Grail Society advocates heresy. They believe that the Father not only gave us wisdom but also instilled ugly desires in us. They even say that those desires that lead people to sin are the true blessings of the Father. Everyone should revere power because it is the reverence for power that distinguishes us, otherwise, we are all beasts unable to suppress desires."
He was originally not religious, but probably in order to blend into the church as a volunteer, he had read a lot of scriptures these days and started to haggle over things he was not interested in.
Hearing this, Clayton thought of a famous philosophical debate in the last century and commented:
"It sounds like the rhetoric of extreme libertarians and progressives. They are always like this. If brutal struggle can bring a little benefit, they can comfortably tolerate its disgusting aspects."
Joe only went to high school and didn't understand much about this, but he had a good habit of being pragmatic: "I don't understand these, but their atrocities are unquestionable. They killed devout believers and the sheriffs who wanted to expel them, trying to lock down the whole town. If it weren't for the border line next to it, and the brave guards in the border outpost, I might have died there too."
He said with lingering fear: "Unfortunately, I couldn't bring others back across the border with me, and the soldiers couldn't get through either, but those good soldiers promised me they would contact the Tauton outpost to rescue those townspeople."
Clayton highly approved of his actions: "You did a good deed, even though there is no medal, but this is the true spirit of nobility."
He praised this highly, but unfortunately, this kind of praise is a bit outdated, Joe scratched his head and showed an embarrassed smile.
"So in that experience, did you see some unusual forces at work?"
Joe hesitated, he looked at Clayton, making sure the other party's face was not joking: "They claim to have such power, but I have not seen it."
"Then how did they follow you later?" Clayton asked.
If the border guards blocked the way of the Holy Grail Society, then Joe Mani was out of their sight in this process. As long as he took the train at a different time, there would be no reason to be chased afterwards, and the supernatural sense of smell would not be useful.
Joe frankly admitted defeat: "This is a good question, I don't know either."
Clayton suddenly understood something.
"What do I have to do then?" Joe asked.
"You don't have to do anything, just act as usual," Clayton pointed to the top of his head: "But be careful of the sky."
"You mean they can train tracking birds?" Joe tried to guess in a direction that fits common sense.
"Maybe."
Clayton glanced out the window of the carriage and then turned back: "By the way, where have you been living recently?"
"Near the chapel," Joe said, "214 Compassionate Street."
Joe Mani didn't know much, but Clayton was sure he knew how to find the traces of the enemy.
Although he already knew that the Holy Grail Society had a base called the Broken Winged Angel, the ability to control minds made a frontal attack very difficult. This kind of power can even pull out an army when necessary, and the longer it is delayed, the more difficult it becomes to deal with.