Part 2 THE FACELESS CHAPTER 239 BENSON’S INTENTIONS
Townshend Street on the border between Queens and the West End.
Hugh Dilcha stood in a dark, secluded alleyway, and even without looking up, he could see in the distance the tiers of ornate palaces and towering gothic bell towers.
That was the highest-lying area in all of Berkland, and it was also where the royal family of Ruin was located.
Its status in the north and south continents, and in the entire world, was equal to or even slightly higher than the White Maple Palace in Intis and the Olmir Palace in the Forsak Empire, but the name was neither romantic nor ancient.
It was called Sodrak Palace, a word that meant “balance” in the ancient Forsak language.
Hugh withdrew his gaze from the famous “Clock of Order” and looked down the other side of the alley.
In the shadows where the gas lamps could not shine, a figure slowly stepped out.
The figure wore a gold shell mask that revealed the lower half of his face, and it was the mysterious person who had sold the “Sheriff” formula to Hugh and entrusted her with some tasks from time to time.
When Hugh and Forsyth discussed in private, they both suspected that the other party was someone from MI9.
”Any luck this week?” The man in the golden mask asked as per usual.
Hugh shook his head:
”No. I don’t think anyone inquired about Capin before the incident.”
She paused and asked with some reluctance:
”Still want to pursue this matter?”
The masked man said in a moment of silence:
”No more, but still contact me immediately afterward if you hear anything about it.
”I’ll give you a new mission today.”
”What mission?” Hugh was in full bounty hunter mode, ready to assess the risk of things.
The masked man gave a chuckle:
”A very simple mission, and one you’ve been dreaming of.
”You beg for the main materials of ‘Magistrate’ and ‘Inquisitor’ in all your circles, especially the special kind that can be directly formulated into magic potions, and if someone responds, we will advance the funds. ”
”The purchased materials will belong to me?” Hugh asked offhandedly in return.
This was her main concern.
”No. Do you believe that such a simple task could pay so well? Of course, if you can fish out the one we are looking for like fishing, it is not non-negotiable that the main material of the magic potion obtained will belong to you.” The masked man laughed lowly.
”But I don’t know what the main material of the ‘Inquisitor’ magic potion is ……,” Hugh said hesitantly.
”I’ll tell you later, that’s what we’re paying in advance, even if we don’t find the target you still have the main part of the Sequence 7 magic potion formula, worth over £600, I think you’ve fully realized how generous we are.” The masked man said in a compelling tone.
Indeed generous …… Who is their target and why are they willing to spend so much to find it? Er, assuming that he is from MI9, taking advantage of this mission to recover the extraordinary materials of the “Arbiter” pathway circulating on the market should also be one of the purposes, and there is no question of wasting money. …… As a bounty hunter who is barely considered senior, Hugh instinctively thought about Some things.
After weighing them slightly, she nodded and said:
”I accept this commission.”
”Very well.” The masked man’s tone became relaxed as he looked around and said, “The main ingredients for the ‘Inquisitor’ magic potion are, the horn of the Shining Black Serpent and the dust of the Spirit of the Lake.”
After saying that, he slowly stepped back and rejoined the shadows, disappearing around the corner of the alley.
”Really told me the main ingredient of the ‘Inquisitor’ magic potion ……” Hugh was still a bit dazed for a moment.
It was only at this time that she completely saw the importance that the power represented by the masked man attached to this mission.
”I also don’t know who the target is, the focus seems to be the special materials that can be directly blended into ‘Magistrate’ and ‘Inquisitor’ magic potions …… “Thinking of this, Hugh suddenly froze.
She remembered something, that is, when she was promoted to Sequence 8 ‘Magistrate’, she used the special materials that could be directly blended into the corresponding magic potions, the special materials purchased through Voorhees!
This …… is their goal? Hugh instinctively decided to conceal this matter and never tell the masked man.
She rubbed her baby-fat cheeks and took a step towards the street outside, preparing to take a public carriage back to the Jowood District.
It was at this time that she saw a brown carriage drive by, and her eyes were immediately drawn to the coat of arms on it.
The body of that coat of arms was a flower and two finger rings, nothing too unusual, but Hugh stared straight ahead, as if his eyes were frozen.
She waited until the carriage was far away before she withdrew her eyes, and her mood became extremely low at once, and even after she had returned to the house she had rented together, she did not completely improve.
Noticing that his friend was in a bad way, Voorhees poured two glasses of red wine and brought them over.
”What happened?” She sat down across the table and pushed one of the glasses of wine toward Hugh.
Hugh looked down at the red wine and was silent for a full two minutes before speaking in a slightly raspy voice:
”On the way back, I met someone I used to know.”
”Who?” Forsyth asked cooperatively.
”Viscount Stepford.” Hugh asked and answered.
Folth thought back carefully:
”This Viscount seems to be the head of the palace guard?”
As a best-selling novel writer, she could get invitations from time to time from literature-loving nobles to attend events such as afternoon teas and banquets, and in the professional habit of a writer collecting material, she would definitely take the initiative to do some learning about the more well-known nobles.
It was at one such gathering that she met Viscount Graylingt.
”Yes, he was, at one time, my father’s deputy.” Hugh said with slight difficulty.
”Your father?” Forsyth knew that Hugh came from a broken noble family and had some secrets, but didn’t know the specifics.
Hugh picked up the red wine and took a gulp, choking and coughing several times.
She slowed down for a while and said:
”My family belongs to the court nobility, and when it was most prominent, it even served as the Earl of the Guild Palace.”
”Earl of the Palace? What kind of position is that?” Forsyth asked, half inquisitive and half using it as a way to lighten his friend’s mood.
”It’s equivalent to being the royal family’s external spokesman, the nobleman closest to the throne.” Hugh recalled with a glowing face, “After that, our family had the fiefs that a true earl should have, and by the time my father, though no longer as prominent, was still trusted by the previous king, ‘The Mighty One’ William VI, to be the Commander in Chief of the Royal Guards and Chief of the Palace Guards. ”
Her tone trailed off, with a pain that was hard to hide:
”But seven years ago, he was accused of participating in a rebellion and was eventually sentenced to be hanged and stripped of his title and fief.
”My family fell into disrepair as a result, and many of its members died without even a cause; we changed our surnames and left East Tuckershire in order to stay alive ……
”I don’t believe my father would rebel, he was so loyal to the crown, even more than his faith in the Goddess! To …… sum it up, I left my mother and brother and came to Berkland, looking for an opportunity to better myself and hopefully restore the glory of the family and my father’s honor.”
On something in between, Hugh spoke vaguely, but Forsyth did not care and sighed:
”It will be very, very hard.”
She whirled around and pulled a smile:
”But I’ll be behind you!”
And I have a mysterious Tarot Society behind me! She added mentally.
……
Tingen City, 2 Daffodil Street at night.
Melissa, who was working on a math problem, looked sideways at the doorway at Benson Road, who had just removed his half-height bowler hat:
”Where have you been? Aren’t the results not announced until tomorrow?”
”I’ll be able to inquire tonight, and I happen to know two of the city employees in charge of the uniform test.” Benson said with a crooked smile.
In early December, he had signed up for the Unified Examination for Government Employees, picking a position with relatively little competition, and in the process, relying on his eloquence and sociability, had developed friendships with several government employees and quite a few candidates.
”How did it go?” Melissa unconsciously lowered the round-bellied pen in her hand.
Benson’s expression sank, but just before Melissa opened her mouth, he broke into a wide smile:
”Pass!
”And it’s right up front!”
”That’s great ……” Melissa stood up and paced a couple of steps, “You’ll have to start preparing for the second round of exams at the end of January, it’s in Birkeland, got to get you unpacked ahead of time …… When are you planning to leave?”
Watching his sister worry about this and that, Benson walked into the living room and smiled:
”My intention is that after the New Year, we will go to Bakerland together and rent a house there.
”Regardless of whether or not I succeed in the exams, I’m going to stay in Bakeland and try to make a break for it, while you can take advantage of the New Year’s vacation to transfer to a technical school in Bakeland and prepare for the Bakeland University of Industry and Technology entrance exam in June.”
Just a month ago, the reorganization of the Technical School of Birkeland was completed, and it was officially upgraded to the University of Industry and Technology.
Melissa listened quietly, pursing her lips without realizing it.
She looked around the room lingeringly and replied in a very soft voice:
”Good.”
……
Friday afternoon at the Kraig Club.
Klein walked out and hired a carriage to Prince Edzak’s Red Rose Manor.
It was a place that Talim had frequented a few days before his death, and as a qualified detective, it would be totally wrong to not go and do a bit of investigating for the 100 pounds of funding that he had taken.
No matter how negative, the appearance should still be done …… Klein sat in the carriage, while enjoying the scenery outside the window with less and less pollution, and muttered.
After practicing in the morning, he roughly grasped the magnitude of the improvement in various aspects of the standard: “Manipulate Flame”, “Flame Jumping” and other extraordinary abilities became stronger by about 30%, the power of the air bomb and the length of the pipe for false breathing underwater even doubled, divination and fighting also got significantly strengthened. Divination and fighting have also been significantly enhanced.
The “Paper Man Substitute” and “Damage Transfer” had not changed much, but the number of times they could be used had increased due to the increase in spirituality.
After a few moments of staggering, Klein finally arrived at the Red Rose Manor and explained his purpose to the two soldiers guarding the entrance.
After being passed through, he met the old butler from before.
”You can question all the people here.” The old butler with the meticulous white hair paused and added, “Except for that young lady.”
This is also my will, I don’t want to get involved in trouble …… Klein relaxed and laughed:
”Good!”