Part 5 THE RED PRIEST CHAPTER XXXII THE GIFT

　　The garden of 160 Birklund Street on a night of clear moonlight.

　　A gray mouse pattered out of its burrow and ran under the balcony of the master bedroom.

　　A very small glob of gluey black stuff drifted down with it, and was held over the head by the mouse in an acrobatic display.

　　It turned quickly and ran out of 160 Birklund Street to the entrance of a nearby sewer.

　　At this point, the gray rat raised the front half of its body and poked out two claws.

　　Its paws suddenly and strangely elongated, and a mass of muscle that could be clearly seen appeared on its front legs!

　　Then, relying on its mutated front paws, it moved away from the manhole cover stiffly, barely making a sound!

　　Without pausing, the gray rat drilled into the sewer and made its way to the place where the witch Tris was hiding.

　　It scratched and scratched in the corner, and turned over a piece of mirror from the dirt.

　　After doing this, the gray rat threw the glue-like black thing on top of its head to a cleaner place next to it, and retreated to the corner of the wall, letting its body slowly grow and widen as if it was pulled by an invisible person, and turned into a middle-aged man wearing a dark red coat and an old three-cornered hat, which was just like the “General of Blood” who used to be active in the sea in the past.

　　However, this Señor only had a thin layer of body and clothes, as if he was a dummy cut out of paper.

　　”This rat is still fat ……” the paper man like “blood on the general” raised his hand and touched his chin, was blown by the cold wind in the sewer, almost floated up.

　　The one who spoke was Klein, who, in the master bedroom, manipulated the “spiritual thread” to transform a mouse into a secret puppet, and sent it to carry the “ritual materials” to try to contact the witch Tris in the sewers.

　　Seignior, whose arms twisted and turned with the wind and movement, bent his back and picked up the glue-like black substance, which was left behind after Tris burned a strand of hair with black flame, and could be used for the contact ritual.

　　Immediately afterward, he wiped the shard of mirror clean and applied the material in his hand.

　　After completing this step, Klein let the secret puppet take two steps back with the “mirror”, snapping it to the mossy wall, like a realistic painting.

　　……

　　In the East End, a room with heavy curtains and almost no light.

　　A black and slippery “tentacle” layers and layers of entanglement together, forming a huge ball.

　　At the top of these “tentacles”, some of them had a black and white eye, and some of them had grown into the shape of a viper’s head, with their mouths slightly parted, spitting out letters, all of them were strange and frightening.

　　Suddenly, they either raised or retracted, and the orb disintegrated layer after layer.

　　In the center of the orb, there was a young girl curled up in a ball, she had an unusually sweet face, her eyebrows were tightly frowned, her expression slightly twisted due to the pain, which was particularly pitiable.

　　Those slippery and disgusting “tentacles” at this time have all retracted, quickly become smaller, and finally returned to its original appearance:

　　A black shiny hair!

　　Covered with long, smooth hair, the young girl’s expression eased, and her movements were slow as she got up, walked to the side of the bed, which had been divided into small pieces, and picked up the nightgown that had fallen to the ground, and put it over her body.

　　Then, she gathered her black hair and went to the full-length mirror, extended her right palm and wiped the surface of the glass.

　　A layer of black flame then flared up, quietly burning the air and quickly extinguishing without a trace, leaving behind the mirror that had already become dark and deep.

　　Inside the mirror, light and shadow floated, quickly presenting a dirty and muddy sewer environment, while a middle-aged man wearing an outdated three-cornered hat and a dark red jacket was thinly pressed against the wall, looking down on a young girl who was unknown how far away, like a famous painting that had come to life.

　　The young girl with the rounder face and slender eyes quietly stared at each other for two seconds before giving a sudden laugh.

　　As her smile blossomed, the room with little light seemed to brighten for a moment.

　　She then flicked her lips in a flirtatious tone:

　　”Mr. Germaine Sparrow, is this the madness and coldness of the strongest adventurer?

　　”Or, am I actually recognizing a clown?”

　　For the magical girl Tris to be able to recognize her identity as Germaine Sparrow, Klein didn’t feel surprised at all, after all, when he met with the other party, he used the image of the “General on Blood” Seniol, and this pirate general had already become Germaine Sparrow’s prey.

　　At first, Tris was hiding in the sewers because of her injuries, and before that, she was focused on the investigation of revenge, so she didn’t know the various news at sea, and it was quite normal that she didn’t know what happened to the “General of Blood”, but after she recovered her health and left the area, if she didn’t go to find out about the recent news of her collaborator, she could only be said to be “an assassin” and “an instructor”. Both the “Assassin” and “Instigator” phases are completely unqualified.

　　Apparently, Tris’ past behavior proved that while she was bad, her head was still in the right place.

　　Without arguing, Klein manipulated the paper man state of Seignior to smile and simply responded:

　　”Why can’t clowns be crazy and cold?”

　　Not waiting for Tris to answer, he turned to ask:

　　”How far have you gotten in your investigation of that palace guard captain?”

　　Tris looked a little more somber and said:

　　”It will take at least another month to get results, if not two.”

　　”If there’s anything you need help with, you can look for me.” Klein emphasized again.

　　Tris said with a “heh”:

　　”In Berkland, in this game, power doesn’t solve all problems.

　　”Of course, I’ve never been one to waste an opportunity where I can use others.

　　”Mr. Germaine Sparrow, since there is no longer any need to hide my identity, would you be able to give me a more convenient way to contact you?”

　　Why do you have the feeling of being asked for your cell phone number …… Klein thought briefly and described the steps to summon Miss Messenger in a calm tone, not forgetting to emphasize that gold coins are important ritual materials.

　　Without saying any more, Tris once again stretched out her right hand and lightly touched the mirror.

　　Black flames rose and disappeared, and the full body mirror returned to normal.

　　Inside the sewer, the paper man “General Blood” Seniol buried the mirror fragment into the earth, and then let his body rapidly shrink back into the shape of a gray rat, rushed all the way to the depths of the underground world, and fed himself to the carnivorous creatures.

　　160 Birklund Street, Klein drew the curtains and returned to his easy chair position.

　　Frankly, he regretted working with Tris.

　　He felt that she was carrying some of the will of the “Original Witch”, and she would do anything for revenge, like a moving bomb that would go out of control at some point.

　　If Tris has a mutation, there is a great possibility that she will create a terrible disaster. …… I shouldn’t have let her go in the first place. …… Klein sighed, and began to set up the ritual, bringing the glue-like black things to the gray mist, trying to divine Tris’ current whereabouts and recent status through them. whereabouts and her state in recent times.

　　After twenty or thirty seconds, he reaped the results of failure.

　　This made him even more worried, because such a result indicated that Tris had somehow become a member of the “Original Witch’s” divine family.

　　……

　　The next morning, after breakfast, Klein instructed his butler, Walter, and his new butler’s assistant, Richardson, to distribute the gifts he had brought back from the South Continent.

　　It was enough to fill a suitcase and included such specialties as Fellmer’s coffee beans, East Byron tobacco, Riverdale wine, and human bone statues.

　　They would each be delivered to different neighbors on the block, representing Dawn Dantes’ thoughts and announcing his return to the social scene.

　　”Well, when this bottle of Riverdale wine is handed to Councilman Macht or his wife, remember to mention that it is suitable for sour cocktails and is a perfect partner for lemon juice.” Klein admonished the butler, Walter.

　　–Each gift to whom to give is also a matter of taste, and should be combined with the other party’s hobbies, and of course, the hottest product in the Southern Continent at the moment, Dorningsman Hair Remedy, is not suitable for a gift, as it’s more like a mockery.

　　Walter nodded solemnly:

　　”Yes, sir.”

　　When his employer had no further orders, Richardson swept the remaining pile of gifts and volunteered to inquire:

　　”Where are they going?”

　　”They’re for the staff of the Charitable Scholarship Fund, I’ll deliver them myself.” Klein smiled.

　　He whirled around and pointed to the gold amulet in his hand:

　　”I missed the birth of Dr. Allen’s child, and I need to personally go to the door to express my apologies, huh? I will go over this afternoon and give this amulet, which is a characteristic of the Southern Continent, to that child.”

　　Of course, Will Onsettin Krebs the baby most likely won t like …… it more than this, k, or he, I guess, would rather have ice cream …… After he finished speaking, Klein muttered a few words in his mind.

　　When Mr. Butler and Richardson went out one after another, bringing gifts and footmen to different neighbor’s houses, Klein got into his own carriage and arrived at the “Ruane Charitable Scholarship Fund” at 22 Pacefield Street.

　　He stepped out of the carriage and walked in front of him, followed by his valet, Njoni, who was carrying a large pile of gifts. Along the way, whenever he encountered a staff member, he would go up to say hello and make gifts.

　　In this way, Klein went up to the second floor and arrived at one of the councilor’s offices, flexing his fingers and tapping on the hidden door.

　　”Please come in.” Audrey Hall’s soft voice came out.

　　As a more senior “audience”, she had found out that Mr. Dawn Dantes had come to the “Ruane Charitable Scholarship Fund” before, and had been waiting patiently.

　　Klein pushed the door and took out a small gift box from the inside pocket of his clothes and smiled warmly:

　　”I’ve returned from the Southern Continent, well, this business was a success, and I’ve brought a little gift for all of you, so I hope I can share my joy.”

　　He made a point of mentioning this to show that he remembered Ms. Justice’s request.

　　”Then I can find no reason to refuse.” Audrey smiled lightly and rather expectantly.

　　It wasn’t that she cared about what Mr. “World” would give her, but she was curious about what Mr. “World” would give her.

　　Taking the gift box, she unwrapped it in front of Dawn Dantes and found that inside was an ornament with a white feather body and a yellowish pattern.

　　”It’s a hat ornament.” Klein explained, “People with a certain social status in East Byron like to insert all kinds of white feathers in different positions on their bodies as ornaments, among them, the one inserted in the hat is the most valuable and meaningful, which is said to come from the custom of Feathered Serpent Worship, huh, the Feathered Serpent is the symbol of the God of Death there.”

　　And the feather that he got the southern continent craftsman to make the hat decoration originated from the by-product of the artificial death program, which could be used for sacrifice.

　　Klein once got three feathers, one was used up in Bayam, combined with the corresponding copper whistle messenger, summoned a monster that was contaminated and mutated by the Artificial Reaper, and one was sacrificed to the Artificial Reaper in the South Continent, obtaining the revelation of Ince Zangwill’s evil spirit possession, which is the last one left.

　　Because the current “Artificial God of the Dead” is actually equivalent to the “Goddess of the Night” to a certain extent, Klein, who was clearly recognized as a family member, no longer needed to perform the rituals as he did in the past, and could use other materials to replace the feathers, so he simply made the remaining one into a gift for “Justice”, and gave it to “Justice”. Therefore, he simply made the remaining feather into a gift and gave it to Ms. “Justice”, anyway, she is also a believer in the darkness of the night, and may be able to rely on this feather to contact the “Artificial God of Death” at the critical moment.

　　Audrey took the gift, with a smile, quietly listened to Dawn Dantes, a thought flashed in her mind for no reason:

　　Mr. “World” will not really pluck a feathered serpent’s hair to make this hat, right ……?