All of a sudden, the muscles on Wendel’s back began to tense up as if he were about to explode.
He was shocked and doubtful as several guesses flashed through his mind.
The residents of Utopia are monsters in human skin. They usually look normal, but once they encounter blind spots in logic, they would show a side that is different from an ordinary person, ignoring the points that are obviously problematic?
Or perhaps that staff realized that I was lying and was unwilling to deal with me, so he pretended not to see me and let me go? But why?
Yes, carrying my luggage to the bathroom can be explained away as me being afraid of losing my luggage, but the entire platform is sheltered. There’s no need to take the umbrella. Besides, the rain had already stopped…
Wendel instinctively turned his gaze out of the window, only to see the sunlight shining on the platform he was at. One by one, passengers waited in order behind the safety line, completely different from the dark and gloomy vibes that Utopia gave off.
Phew… He exhaled and suddenly relaxed.
This isn’t Utopia… I’ve already left… Wendel murmured to himself as he wiped away the cold sweat that had seeped out from his forehead.
When he recalled his oversight earlier, it was as if he had fallen into a nightmare that he couldn’t wake up from no matter how hard he tried.
After a while, Wendel stood up and decided to smoke at the platform to ease his mood.
The tobacco comforted him greatly, allowing him to recall his past experiences in Utopia.
During this process, he gained inspiration from his encounter:
Maybe it’s because I sincerely helped Tracey, so that staff member intentionally ignored my problematic actions and let me go?
Compared to the entire population of Utopia being monsters hiding underneath human skin, Wendel was more willing to accept this explanation.
At this moment, from the corner of his eye, he saw the conductor talking to a group of people in a corner.
Wendel took a few steps forward, trying to hear what they were saying.
With the help of his hearing that transcended the normal limits of hearing, he vaguely heard the conversation from a distance that wouldn’t incur suspicion.
“Last night, the station… Utopia…”
“Doesn’t exist… in the kingdom…”
“Please keep it a secret…”
Wendel’s brows twitched slightly. Based on the description of the document near his chest, he roughly understood what the train conductor was talking about.
They were saying that the kingdom didn’t have a station known as Utopia at all, and last night, the steam locomotive had gone “missing”!
At that moment, a strong sense of horror surged through Wendel’s heart again. He felt that it was his greatest blessing to be able to leave Utopia alive.
…
Alfred spent nearly a week before returning to Backlund from Eskelson Harbor.
This was because he had visited the family of his deceased comrades, his old friends, the elders who had returned to their fief for vacation, and some of his family’s business partners along the way.
“This is even more tiring than participating in battle,” Alfred grumbled to his father, Earl Hall.
Earl Hall smiled and pointed at the staircase.
“Return to your room and get some rest. We’ll talk in the study later.”
He was quite satisfied with the mental state and progress of his second son.
Alfred surveyed the area and asked with a smile, “Where’s the most dazzling jewel of Backlund?”
He paused for a moment before adding, “What about Hibbert?”
Earl Hall laughed and said, “Audrey went to her foundation and will only return in the afternoon. She kept complaining that you couldn’t provide her with a definite schedule, preventing her from knowing when you would arrive.
“Hibbert is now a cabinet secretary. He’s very busy.”
Alfred nodded and returned to his room to take a shower. He changed into a shirt, vest, and formal suit.
“I prefer East Balam’s casualness.” He looked into the mirror and smiled at his adjutant.
“This outfit makes you look more like a noble,” his adjutant said as he handed him the document in his hand. “General, this is from MI9.”
“MI9?” Alfred thoughtfully destroyed the seal on the envelope. “There’s a result regarding the investigation of Utopia that quickly?”
Before he could finish his sentence, he pulled out the document and flipped through it.
During this process, Alfredo flipped through the pages slower and slower. In the end, he read it again from the first page.
The main content of this investigation was divided into two parts:
The first was regarding the MI9 member who had dispatched Alfred’s report. He had accidentally entered Utopia and witnessed a murder case. He managed to forcefully escape in the middle of the night and return to the steam locomotive. The second was that the railways in Desi Bay which led to Backlund didn’t have a stop named Utopia Station along the way, nor was there a harbor known as Utopia in the Berserk Sea. The subsequent investigators didn’t find any traces.
The two cases didn’t exceed the limits of Alfred’s imagination. What surprised him was the criminal involved in the murder.
Her name was Tracey. She was the owner of a hotel. She had received middle-class education and graduated from grammar school. After that, she became a mistress of a businessman. Recently, she was trying to free herself from this identity.
This was identical to the owner of the harbor hotel, Tracey, that Alfred had met. Every detail matched.
As a result, Alfred determined that the culprit behind the murder was Tracey, the beautiful woman who had received a certain degree of education, who was able to produce sad music in the middle of the night.
Is this her backstory? Alfred muttered to himself silently.
This made the residents of Utopia seem very realistic. It wasn’t what Alfred had expected—an illusion.
In other words, after the outsiders left, the inhabitants of Utopia continued to lead their own lives. They had their own love, hatred, pains, and sorrow. They had all sorts of experiences.
Apart from Utopia seeming to not exist in the real world, it was similar to any ordinary town in the Loen Kingdom.
Perhaps, Utopia is real. Everyone there is real. However, if one wants to enter the town, they have to be in the right place at the right time… Alfred nodded indiscernibly and put away the investigation report he had received from MI9.
To him, even if this matter ended here, he had no intention to investigate further.
One had to know that, in the Southern Continent, there were countless bizarre incidents and phenomena. If one was too curious, it would only bring him greater danger than he imagined.
After adjusting his clothes and mood, Alfred came to his father’s study and knocked on the door with his curled finger.
“Come on in.” Earl Hall’s voice rang out.
Alfred tidied his blond hair, pushed the door open, and sat down.
Earl Hall smiled at him and said, “You’re already a man.”
“No one would say such words to a man,” Alfred replied without any reservations.
“In my heart, you’re still that rebellious youth,” Earl Hall said with a smile. “You’re already a Sequence 5 Beyonder?”
Alfred replied with a double entendre, “Yes, I am a real knight.”
Earl Hall nodded and suddenly sighed.
“You should’ve experienced a lot of hardship.
“From what I know, no matter if it’s the potions or war, they will bring serious damage to people, from their bodies to their minds.”
“Everyone undergoes a lot of pain in their lives,” Alfred said with a sigh.
He used a Loen-styled euphemism.
After a pause, he added, “Compared to when I left Backlund, my present state is even better. As long as I grasp a method properly, I don’t need to worry too much about the impact of the madness at my level.”
Earl Hall didn’t continue on this matter and instead said, “Your sister has also become a Beyonder.”
“Oh?” Alfred was shocked at first, but then he remembered something. He said with some annoyance, “I thought she just changed her hobby.”
“From the looks of it, Audrey’s adventure had a little bit of your help,” Earl Hall said, seemingly enlightened. “I hope you can talk to her about how dangerous, crazy, and painful it is about the Sequence potions. Let her remain at her current level.”
Alfred replied without hesitation, “I’ll do it.”
In the evening, in Audrey’s small study room.
“Alfred, why are you looking for me?” Audrey, who had changed into home clothes, led Susie and opened the door for her brother.
She had been waiting for her brother for a few minutes.
“I have something to warn you of.” Alfred walked into the study and casually pulled a chair over.
Audrey smiled and pointed at the golden retriever.
“Do you need Susie to leave?”
Alfred couldn’t help but smile as he looked at the obedient golden retriever who was sitting by the side, her eyes filled with a look of sentience.
“There’s no need for that. I believe it won’t eavesdrop on our conversation.”
“She,” Audrey casually corrected him.
After the noble girl sat opposite him, Alfred sighed inwardly.
After not seeing her for a few years, her younger sister was no longer as tender as before. Regardless of her looks or temperament, she had already reached a level that brought about amazement. She was no longer the little girl from the past.
Alfred retracted his gaze and asked casually, “I heard that you became a Beyonder?”
“Yes.” Audrey nodded frankly.
Alfred had originally planned on asking what Sequence she was, but after some thought, he felt that it was too direct. It was easy for her to flare up, so he deliberated over his words and said, “You should be a Beyonder of the Spectator pathway, right? The Rainbow Salamander has similar powers.”
The Rainbow Salamander was a gift from Alfred to his sister.
After Audrey gave an affirmative answer, Alfred joked, “Can you do treatment in the mind domain now? Most Beyonders, including me, need help in this aspect. Yes, I forgot to tell you that I’m already a Sequence 5 Disciplinary Paladin of the Arbiter pathway.”
Audrey pursed her lips and smiled.
“I’m a qualified psychiatrist who has undergone professional training. You can verify this with Father and Mother.”
She’s already a Sequence 7… Alfred’s expression gradually turned solemn.
“Audrey, I have to remind you that the potions do not only bring about strength.”
Having said that, he paused and observed his sister’s reaction. He realized that Audrey wasn’t impatient at all and was listening very seriously.
“Every potion contains madness that can lead to a loss of control… I’ve seen similar situations before. More than once… They happened to my enemies, and they happened to my friends. No one is spared…” Alfred amalgamated his experiences in East Balam and began explaining the dangers of the potion in detail.
During this process, he realized that his sister, Audrey, wasn’t the only one listening attentively. Furthermore, Susie, the golden retriever, appeared extremely quiet.
