764 First Investigation

Klein was returning from Saint Samuel Cathedral to Böklund Street on a four-wheeled carriage when he heard the stacked illusory pleas.

A female… It's nothing urgent… All he did was make a rough judgment and didn't immediately head above the gray fog to respond.

Sweeping his glance at the street lamps which were dispelling the darkness, Klein retracted his gaze and raised the white porcelain with gold rims to take a sip.

Beside him, Richardson noticed this and said after mustering his courage, "Sir, I've thought it through. You're very right. Everyone starts with zero experience. Few grow up with experience. Thank you for giving me this chance to grow."

After confirming that Godotpos and gang were dead, he was finally at ease as he began considering his professional career.

Switching employers repeatedly in a short period of time was a stain on a servant's record. Once he resigned from Dwayne Dantès's employ, Richardson believed that it would be difficult for him to continue being a valet.

This would be extremely damaging for him.

This was not only because a valet's annual salary was at least 25 pounds, and was way better than any non-management jobs. It was comparable to a lady's maid, and being a valet gave one the greatest opportunity of becoming a butler!

By following their male or female employers and helping them in all kinds of trivialities, being their mouthpiece and assistant would allow them to build up their skills. It would allow them to grasp all the traits needed for being a butler and, as a result, become their employer's confidant. As long as there was a chance, one could easily be made a land steward, butler assistance or deputy butler, as they were slowly promoted to a butler.

Richardson did yearn for a peaceful life, but this didn't mean that he was willing to be a servant his entire life. Without a doubt, he wished to rely on his hard work to earn more and gain a higher standing. And becoming the butler of a wealthy family was his ultimate goal.

"It's not too late to realize that now," Klein replied with a smile, consenting to Richardson's retention.

After returning to 160 Böklund Street, he instructed Housekeeper Taneja to prepare supper for him at half-past eleven as he headed to the third story where he took off his coat and entered the bathroom.

At that moment, the bathtub had already been heated to an appropriate temperature by a maid five minutes ahead of time.

Klein wasn't in a rush to take his bath, as he went above the gray fog to determine who had prayed to him.

Mr. X… Traveler… Miss Magician is rather efficient… Without realizing it, she has matured quite well… Klein muttered to himself.

After some serious consideration, he conjured The World Gehrman Sparrow and made this fake person pray amidst the veil of the gray fog.

"…Give me the time, location, and provide more information. Only then will I take action."

Klein's idea was very simple. He found a Traveler's powers rather useful, but it was difficult for Dwayne Dantès to have a period of prolonged absence from Böklund Street, or stay in his room all the time. It would be fine if Miss Magician could provide detailed and reliable intel, allowing him to carry out the assassination once. But if she were to get The World to slowly gather information bit by bit, there was no way he could do it, as it affected his own plans.

Soon, Fors gave a reply.

"…I'll try to gather it as quickly as possible."

As the location and timing for Mr. X's next gathering hadn't been confirmed, all she could do was patiently wait.

After settling this matter, Klein returned to the real world, took off his clothes, and placed himself into the bathtub.

The warm water enveloped him as he closed his eyes in comfort. He felt that the fatigue that plagued his body and mind were being washed away bit by bit.

During this period of time, he had been to Saint Samuel Cathedral a few times to listen to Bishop Elektra's explanation of The Revelation of Evernight. He had grasped the looks and characteristics of another two Keepers, but he hadn't seen any repeated sightings, preventing him from determining the schedule of the Keepers.

And doing such acts would similarly bring him trouble. Klein opened his eyes as he looked at the steam above him, sighing inwardly.

The first investigation should be coming soon…

A person who often entered Saint Samuel Cathedral's interior would likely be investigated by the Nighthawks, and with his origins still an unknown, such an investigation was almost necessary.

If there aren't any investigations, it would be a serious case of negligence for the Nighthawks… Klein slowly exhaled.

…

In the basement of Saint Samuel Cathedral, Leonard slowly walked out of a quiet room.

His green eyes had a tint of strange black water as countless illusory bubbles and ripples appeared and disappeared.

"Not bad. You're already a Soul Assurer and are almost catching up to me." Standing in the corridor was Daly Simone as she congratulated him in a self-deprecating manner.

She was still wearing her hooded black robe, with blue eyeshadow and blush. She had quite an uncanny sense of beauty.

When Leonard looked at this familiar lady, he found her bearing even colder than before. There seemed to be countless shadows hidden around her, in layers that went deep and felt cold.

"Clearly, I'm still very far from you. With your condition, you should be able to advance to Gatekeeper, right?" Leonard didn't act too casual in front of Daly, speaking rather formally. This was because if he attempted to make any jokes, the one who would eventually be left blushing in embarrassment would definitely be him instead of the lady.

Gatekeeper was Sequence 5 of the Death pathway.

"I was ready two months ago," Daly said without concealing anything, her expression slightly warped.

Leonard roughly understood what she meant as he nodded slightly.

"You haven't contributed enough?"

Daly curled her lips immediately.

"That's right.

"It's like I'm already in bed with everything in place, only to realize that there aren't any condoms at home. Worst of all, it's late at night, and most of the stores around the neighborhood have closed for the day!"

What an amazing analogy… Leonard didn't think it was right of him to respond as he said with a smile, "You can choose to handle certain cases."

Without giving Daly a chance to speak, he pointed at the other end of the corridor.

"Captain Soest is still waiting for me to report on my advancement."

Daly didn't say a word as she watched him leave.

By the time his back disappeared around the corner, this lady's expression seemed to turned adrift as she muttered softly, "Captain Soest…"

In the room where Leonard's Red Gloves team was temporarily stationed in, Soest, who had just become a Spirit Warlock, saw his desultory subordinate walk in as he casually threw a dossier over.

"Very good. You've already advanced. I'll congratulate you later. First, investigate this target's dream."

It was already late at night, but for the Nighthawks who were mainly staffed with Sleepless, it was no different from day. They even felt stronger at night.

"Isn't this something the local Nighthawks do?" Leonard received the dossier and asked in passing.

"They've recently been swamped with cases and are lacking in manpower. They've requested our help," Soest explained without much care.

Leonard didn't ask further as he looked down and flipped through the dossier.

The first thing that he caught sight of was a photograph, and the middle-aged gentleman on it had given him a deep impression!

Dwayne Dantès… Leonard's pupils instantly constricted.

He knew this man, aware that this person was an undying monster who had survived since the Fourth Epoch. He was at least a Saint or even stronger!

Furthermore, he knows my secret and Old Man's identity… Leonard instinctively raised his hand to rub his temples.

"Captain Soest, I just advanced, and my spirituality is a little out of control."

"Is that so…" Only then did Soest realize that he might've made a mistake. He hurriedly turned to look at another Red Glove and said, "Albert, you do it."

Albert was a man in his thirties. His hair was slightly blond, and his skin was pale. He didn't look too healthy.

Leonard heaved a sigh of relief as he handed the dossier over to him.

At this moment, his heart suddenly skipped a beat. Would Albert suffer any negative effects if he were to enter the undying monster's dream?

At that moment, he felt a little regretful. He believed that he should've done it himself. At the very least, he knew the level of danger and had faced him before. It wouldn't result in him provoking him.

Dwayne Dantès likely won't do anything to Albert… If he has any excessive reaction and causes anything abnormal to happen to Albert, he would immediately expose his problems to us. And with our Church's strength and Backlund's situation, there's no way he can leave this city alive… Leonard quickly calmed down, believing that Dwayne Dantès would use a milder manner to avoid the dream investigation.

He pulled over a chair and sat beside Albert. Although he appeared like he was reading the papers without much thought, he was constantly watching him to prevent any accidents from happening.

…

160 Böklund Street, inside the master bedroom.

Klein suddenly woke up in his dream, aware that "someone" had come.

The investigation of the Nighthawks? As he mumbled, he surveyed the area and found himself in the half-open room.

Following that, he heard knocks on the door.

"Come on in…" Klein tried hard to make his voice sound like a dreamy murmur.

The doorknob twisted as the door opened. A thinly-built blond man dressed in a black trench coat walked in. He was none other than the Red Glove, Albert.

"I'm a superintendent from the Backlund Police Department." Albert casually showed proof of his identity and sat opposite Klein.

"How may I help you, Officer?" Klein got into character.

He knew that due to the influence of a Nightmare, he needed to appear normal.

Albert conjured a stack of papers and began reading them softly, "Dwayne Dantès. Male. Hails from Desi County…"

He repeated all the intelligence that had been gathered and asked, "Is this set of information legitimate?"

"Partially, but some of them are fake," Klein replied "honestly."

The only partial truths are probably "male" and "single"… Meanwhile, he was making self-deprecating comments.

Albert was pleased that he had made progress so quickly as he asked with a deadpan expression, "Which of these are fake?"

Klein was already prepared for that as he pretended to recall.

"Most of my wealth doesn't come from mining, but from adventuring in the Southern Continent."

He fabricated a story from Anderson's description of West Balam about how a commoner earned his wealth by relying on his eloquence, intel, experience, and guts in an area that conflict often happened between Loen and Intis.

This story wasn't considered very detailed, and it was mainly an outline. The main goal was to make the Nighthawks believe that Dwayne Dantès wasn't a Beyonder, but just an ordinary person with a sense of adventure and risk. Such stories of people getting rich were common in Loen.