Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The sun hung brightly in midair. In a dark, silent corner of the cemetery, Leonard Mitchell suddenly raised the shovel beside him.
The two mounds of soil at the side gradually raised in height as the coffin pit became obvious. From time to time, there would be passersby, but they didn’t notice anything, as though a dream was happening over there.
Finally, Leonard threw the shovel and bent down. He reached out and grabbed the ends of the coffin lid with both hands.
Using immense strength, he pulled open the heavy wooden lid and discovered that the thick, long nails had fallen off at some point in time. There was nothing inside the pitch-black coffin.
Nothing!
Leonard continued keeping his body hunched as he silently watched this scene without any further movement. He stood there like a petrified statue for a very long time.
…
In his hazy dream, Klein saw a tombstone with an epitaph. It stood silently among many other tombstones as it was dyed in crimson moonlight.
This scene shattered immediately as Klein snapped awake. He confirmed that he was still Dwayne Dantès and that he was still inside 160 Böklund Street’s master bedroom.
The dream seems to be telling me something… As a Seer, Klein treated every dream seriously. This was no exception. He focused and shook himself out of his state of drowsiness before attempting to make an interpretation.
That’s likely a tomb…
This represents a particular deceased or something related to resurrection…
The crimson moonlight represents the Goddess, corresponding to the Church of Evernight and the Nighthawks… If I were to directly see the moon, it might involve the Primordial Moon, Vampire Ancestor Lilith, and the Mother Tree of Desire…
The tomb was dyed with a color almost resembling blood. This symbolizes something bad…
As Klein did an interpretation of the dream, he gathered all the content and attempted to make an effective, meaningful conclusion.
After some serious thought, he began to believe that the dream’s revelation was referring to the past him and the Church of Evernight.
After making the connections with what had happened the past few days, Klein slowly came to an answer.
As Dwayne Dantès has repeated headed for Saint Samuel Cathedral, he must’ve been added to a list of suspects. If Leonard hasn’t left Backlund, this must’ve garnered his attention. After all, he knows that Dwayne Dantès isn’t a simple person and has mysterious origins…
As an angel from the Marauder pathway, Leonard’s grandpa probably discovered that the gray fog and the Seer pathway has intricate ties, and knows that the corresponding Sequence 0 is called The Fool…
This way, they will naturally be able to make connections with the honorific name of The Fool that was previously spread, and they would believe that I’m a member of a secret organization that worships The Fool. And developing on this clue, it can also involve the person who killed Lanevus and Hero Bandit Black Emperor who used tarot cards…
Along with the Gehrman Sparrow clues I deliberately left behind, as well as Leonard’s previous investigations into Sherlock Moriarty, it’s not impossible for him to put things together and find what’s highly dubious.
And in the beginning, Sherlock Moriarty’s disguise wasn’t too good. As long as Leonard investigates seriously, it wouldn’t be difficult to discover that the great detective resembled his former colleague… So, he went to Tingen to dig up the grave for confirmation?
As he thought about the matter, Klein pulled a back cushion over and sat up. He felt that he had already found the answer to his dream.
He began seriously analyzing what could happen afterwards, considering if he should abandon the identity of Dwayne Dantès.
Leonard has no way of conveying his theories and conclusion to the other Nighthawks because he won’t be able to explain the key points for his inference. This will expose his own secret…
Based on my experience and my understanding of him, he will steer the matter via different means. This will be more complicated and troublesome, wasting even more time. Before that happens, I should find him and give him another warning. It should snuff out whatever is on his mind. After all, the Church didn’t suffer any material loss, nor did anyone die.
Yes, for Dwayne Dantès, I have taken note of the time. I specially created tracks of my activity in the Southern Continent over the past few months, staggering it with the decline of Gehrman Sparrow’s sightings. And this involves the Intis colony, so it will be rather difficult to verify the matter…
That also means that Leonard has, at best, figured out that Gehrman Sparrow equals Sherlock Moriarty equals Klein Moretti. He will just believe that I’m in cahoots with “them,” part of a secret organization that believes in The Fool…
Heh heh, to him, Dwayne Dantès is a powerful, mysterious Beyonder who can sense the grandpa in him, a demigod. This is an obvious discrepancy with the other identities.
Klein soon came up with countermeasures as he turned his attention to the matter he encountered at East Balam Military Veterans Mess in the afternoon.
Why would they directly seek me out for such a private arms deal?
I just established a friendship with Macht and hadn’t experienced any tests. I don’t deserve such trust…
Perhaps it’s a test?
In the beginning, it will just be rifles and cannons. The quantity would probably be limited. Nor will it involve high-quality items. Furthermore, I’ll need to come up with the cash before receiving the goods. If I have any real problems, they wouldn’t suffer any losses. They will only suffer the repercussions of a small batch of weapons falling into hands within their own domain of control.
Yes… to them, a tycoon like me, with a complicated background and a deep understanding of West Balam, really is an excellent candidate. First, I have the money. Second, I have the guts. Third, I have the resources and social connections, allowing the arms to be sold to suitable factions. Fourth, I have no background in the upper echelons of the kingdom. I can always be made the scapegoat and be abandoned.
They must’ve sent people to monitor me in secret… As long as this “business” is smoothly completed, I’ll be a close partner with the military… This will aid in my investigations of the truth behind the Great Smog of Backlund…
The problem I have now is that I have zero actual knowledge of West Balam’s Resistance and various tribes… I’ve no idea where that fellow, Anderson, is. I don’t have his method of contact either…
Hmm, Danitz might be aware of the situation in West Balam… Same for Ma’am Hermit. Likewise for Queen Mystic who’s backing her… I’ll first gather intelligence from these channels…
Having made up his mind, Klein’s working brain slowed down as a sense of drowsiness washed over him again. He let his body slide down bit by bit as he got under the blankets.
…
In the basement of Saint Samuel Cathedral, Leonard, who had returned from Tingen, managed to be in time for the team’s internal meeting.
Soest first briefed them on the conclusion of the archbishop and what the other local Nighthawk teams had obtained.
“With the help from the Holy Cathedral, Saint Anthony has confirmed that the infiltrator is Gehrman Sparrow. The conclusion is that this crazy criminal is still alive but doesn’t exist in this world.
“This is truly a contradictory statement. I don’t understand it as well. His Grace didn’t explain anything either.
“In short, our focus will be on the investigation of Gehrman Sparrow.
“According to the information provided by MI9, Gehrman Sparrow is a fake identity. He originally came from Backlund…”
After Soest finished the briefing, he asked, “Do you have anything to add?”
Leonard opened his mouth and was just about to say something, but his eyes shimmered twice before he fell silent again.
Soest turned his head and glanced at him, calling him out by name.
“Leonard, did you discover any clues?”
Leonard remained silent for a second before shrugging.
“That clue has been eliminated.”
Soest didn’t ask further as he looked at the other teammates.
After a series of supplementary information and analysis, he began assigning missions to his Red Gloves team.
After everything was assigned, Leonard Mitchell held a name list that required him to enter their dreams for a cross-check. He returned to the break room above and threw his body into bed.
He sat there silently as he raised his hand to comb his hair, preparing to begin taking action.
However, the first dream he entered wasn’t anyone in the name list.
His target was Dwayne Dantès!
After repeated considerations, he decided to speak to this secret organization member, an undying monster from the Fourth Epoch, face to face. He wanted to see what information he could sound out.
This looked somewhat rash, but with both parties knowing each other’s secrets, it was still a good choice.
…
160 Böklund Street. Klein’s drowsy mind suddenly became clear as he knew that someone had entered his dream.
He pondered silently, sitting in a reclining chair and turning his head to look at the balcony. He saw a black-haired, green-eyed man wearing a white shirt and black vest nimbly leap inside. He was none other than Leonard Mitchell.
I haven’t gone looking for you, and here you are coming to my doorstep… The other Nighthawks would politely knock on the door before entering. Only you would jump into balconies… Klein lampooned as he looked at the poet approach him.
At this moment, in Leonard’s eyes, Dwayne Dantès was still wearing a formal suit in the dream. His sideburns were gray, and he had an angular face with an immense amount of charm.
At this moment, the tycoon wore a smile, as though he wasn’t hiding the fact that he remained lucid and that he wasn’t affected by a Nightmare.
“Didn’t Pallez Zoroast teach you some manners?” Klein said with a tone he believed matched Leonard’s impression of him.
Pallez Zoroast… He’s warning me again… Leonard was taken aback as he remembered the name.
He quickly reined in his thoughts and bowed in a manner that lacked standards.
“Please pardon me for the intrusion. You are on our investigation list.
“Was the infiltration done by you guys? Is that your goal for coming to Backlund?”
“No.” Klein in his Dwayne Dantès guise raised the cup of red wine and sipped it. “It’s not us, but just him alone.”
He put on an act that he wasn’t afraid of Leonard knowing.
“Gehrman Sparrow?” Leonard asked in a deep tone.
Klein glanced at him with his deep blue eyes that seemed to have seen the vicissitudes of life.
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“What does he actually want to do? He didn’t take anything away,” Leonard took the opportunity to ask.
Klein raised his hand to stroke his white sideburns and chuckled.
“What do you think is the answer?”
