Mystery: I Married the Queen of Mystery.

Chapter 371 The First Dance with Audrey
Looking at the familiar city before him, Odysseus smiled: Backlund, I'm back again.

Moreover, this time he returned in an official capacity, so he didn't have to worry about any trouble from MI9 and the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery.

At least on the surface, they would not make things difficult for Lenburg's ambassador to the Kingdom of Loen.

When the train arrived at the station, Odysseus thanked the guards for their escort and got off the train with two entourage members and a dozen diplomats.

According to the agreement between Loen and Lenburg, the accompanying guards were not allowed to get off the train unless the King of Lenburg himself came to visit.

If they got off the train, it would be an invasion of Loen territory.

Of course, when an ambassador arrives, the Kingdom of Loen must also show its due respect, especially for an ally like Lenburg, and it still needs to do enough face-saving work.

The station had already been taken over by the Loen police, and Loen's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs was there to greet them on the platform.

Outside the station, a carriage was ready. Under the escort of the police, Odysseus went to the Lenburg Embassy in the West District to hand over his work to the previous ambassador, Earl Connolly.

The main buildings of the Embassy of Lensburg are the office building and the reception building. The former is an office space, and the latter is a place for meetings and entertaining guests.

There is a large courtyard behind the two buildings. Behind the courtyard, separated by a wall, are several residential buildings where the staff live.

In fact, there is nothing to hand over. In recent times, there have only been two cross-border cases between Lenburg and Loon that require the Lenburg Ambassador to come forward to coordinate.

Then it would be best to hold a dance party at the end of this month.

Since Lord Connery had attended many balls, it was customary for him to return the invitation at the end of the month.

Finally, Connolly introduced the main officials of the embassy, including two deputy envoys, a military officer and six civil servants. Odysseus shook hands with them one by one.

The elderly Earl Connolly did not stop at all. After the handover ceremony, he got on a carriage and rushed to the train station. He would return home on the special train that Odysseus brought with him.

Afterwards, Odysseus followed the usual practice and went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Loen, where he had a brief meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and presented the letter of credence from the Lunburg government.

At this point, the entire process of Ambassador Lundberg's succession has come to an end.

In the evening, a dance was held inside the Embassy of Lenburg to welcome the new ambassador.

It was not until after ten o'clock in the evening that the day's activities finally ended.

Odysseus did not rest immediately, but used his "earth escape" ability to move quickly underground like a ghost.

Soon he arrived near Pestfield Street, came out from the corner of the street, used magical items to change his appearance, and then entered the Church of St. Samuel on this street.

All churches of the Church of the Goddess of Night do not close until late at night, and usually a large number of believers come to pray at night.

When Odysseus entered the chapel, there was no place to sit, so he had to stand in the corner facing the "Holy Emblem of Darkness" and pray in a tiny voice, explaining to the "Goddess of Night" that he had received a "warning letter" from the "Hidden Sage".

After praying several times, just when Odysseus felt he was about to fall asleep, he vaguely heard someone say in his ear, "I understand."

He suddenly opened his eyes. The chapel was still the same chapel, and the "Holy Emblem of Darkness" was still the "Holy Emblem of Darkness". However, an unprecedented sense of tranquility filled the chapel, causing the believers to smile knowingly, as if they felt the comfort of the gods.

Odysseus scratched his head. It seemed that the word "I understand" was the answer given by the "Goddess of Night".

Having achieved his goal, Odysseus quickly left the church. As long as he had a reply from the "Goddess of Night", his life would not be in danger in Loen.

The next morning, Odysseus came to the office early and asked his secretary Erica to send out two business cards, one to the current Loen Defense Minister Amyrius and one to Earl Brandon, hoping to meet with them.

The former was a high-ranking naval officer of the Kingdom of Loen whom Odysseus had met in the Raging Sea before, and the latter was someone who had helped Odysseus solve the "curse" problem of his family when he was still a "wizard".

Later, when Odysseus left Backlund, he asked Earl Brandon to protect the "Nanmu Ballroom", and Earl Brandon fulfilled his promise.

Although the two parties were not very familiar with each other, if Odysseus stated that he was the "wizard" and visited as an ambassador, there was a high probability that Earl Brandon would meet.

The reason why Odysseus visited these two people was that he hoped to make use of his previous connections. After all, Ambassador Lenburg also needed some help from his connections when doing communication work.

Odysseus thought about it and realized that there were only two connections he had accumulated that he could use.

The former is a high-ranking official, and the latter is a more prestigious noble.

As for Xio's "Mysticism Research Society" and "Nanmu Ballroom" intelligence network, of course they couldn't visit them openly.

As Odysseus expected, Amyrius readily agreed to the request for a meeting, and after learning about the situation, Earl Brandon also agreed to meet with Odysseus.

When the staff of the Lenburg Embassy heard that both of them had agreed to the ambassador's visit request, they took it very seriously and began preparations on their own without Odysseus's orders.

Because these two were the real dignitaries of Backlund, and even the entire Loen, it was difficult for ambassadors from small countries like Lenburg to see them outside of balls.

At the same time, the staff also understood. No wonder the king sent a young man as an ambassador. It turned out that this young man had certain channels and connections in Backlund.

The next day, Odysseus went to visit Amyrius as promised. When Amyrius saw Odysseus, he laughed a few times before saying, "I didn't expect that we would meet in this way.

"Ambassador to Lenburg? This doesn't seem like a position you would enjoy."

Before, when Amyrius was transferred back to Backlund, he had tried to persuade Odysseus to return to Backlund with him, but Odysseus declined.

Meeting in this way at this time is indeed very dramatic.

The two chatted for more than an hour, and Amyrius even walked Odysseus to the door.

The meeting with Earl Brandon was quite standard. Earl Brandon, who was in his thirties and dressed elegantly, was stunned when he saw Odysseus.

Because when they met before, Odysseus was playing the role of a "wizard" with a long beard, dressed similarly to Gandalf, but now, standing in front of the earl was a cheerful and handsome young man in his twenties, so of course he would be a little confused.

The conversation that followed was just normal greetings. After only about twenty minutes, Odysseus got up and left.

Before leaving, Odysseus received an invitation from Earl Brandon to attend a ball three days later.

Odysseus readily agreed, because the ambassador's itinerary did not include Count Brandon's ball, which meant that the earl did not invite the previous ambassador from Lenburg.

Back at the embassy, Odysseus took the invitation and asked his secretary Erica to add the ball three days later to his itinerary.

As a result, during dinner, Odysseus heard everyone in the restaurant discussing this matter, so he asked his two deputy envoys, Viscount Dana Arthur and Karen Sidley, "Is there anything special about Earl Brandon's invitation?"

Viscount Arthur, a nobleman of Lenburg, said, "Earl Brandon is a very prestigious politician. This must be a high-level ball."

Odysseus immediately began to doubt the former Earl Connolly's ability to work. He had been in Backlund for more than a decade, but he had never made it into Backlund's "top-tier" circle.

That night, Odysseus went to 19 Pinster Street in Cherwood District to visit Hugh and Fors.

Although it was not a good idea to visit the two ladies' residence at night, it was certainly not appropriate to visit during the day.

Odysseus first asked about the digestion of the potion by Xiu, and promised that once it was completely digested, he would give her the extraordinary characteristics of Sequence 6 "Judge". She could start collecting auxiliary materials for "Judge".

This made Fors extremely envious, and she was also happy for her friend. It was only after she had the help of the Abraham family that she realized that the process of becoming a Beyonder was not as difficult as she had imagined.

Now Xio also had a backer in the Extraordinary World, which made Fors very happy for her.

Then Odysseus said, "I will be staying in Backlund for the time being."

This news surprised Xio and Fors. Xio immediately asked, "Do you need me to pay special attention to the movements of MI9 and the Lever Church?"

Xio was well aware of the trouble Odysseus had caused in Backlund.

"No need." Odysseus smiled and said, "I'm returning to Backlund as the ambassador of Lenburg. There's no need to worry about them causing trouble."

what?
Ambassador Lundberg?

Both of them were stunned. For a moment, Xio was unable to connect the "Pirate General" with Ambassador Lundberg.

Fors knew that the "Captain" was the "Hermit" because she remembered that the "Hermit" was the governor of Lenburg last week. She didn't know why he suddenly became the ambassador of Lenburg?

Odysseus smiled and explained, "This is indeed an unexpected appointment, but King Lunburg must have some considerations for doing so."

However, Odysseus didn't care much about King Lundberg's specific considerations.

After becoming a demigod, Odysseus gained greater confidence when facing these secular regimes.

Especially in a small country like Lenburg, where there are no angels, the number of demigods can be counted on one’s five fingers.

As a demigod, Odysseus is qualified to overturn the table.

If the king's ideas went too far, Odysseus would simply resign and return to Vautai to serve as his "Grand Governor."

Hugh quickly calmed down and asked Odysseus, "What do you need me to do?"

"Two things," Odysseus said, "help me sort out the information of eight ordinary people. It doesn't need to be too detailed, just tell me the general information and address.

“The only requirement is that their lives may change in the near future.

“Well, I need to make an observation, so it’s best if these eight people come from different classes, and some are good and some are evil.

"I won't hurt them, but if they do something really bad in front of me, I will stop them."

He paused and continued, "The second thing is, help me pay attention to whether there is anything worth noting about Backlund recently.

"I heard there are abnormal spiritual fluctuations in the East District. Can you help me pay attention to it?"

Odysseus specifically instructed, "Don't ask proactively, just pay attention to my subordinates' reports.

"For information and intelligence, please write to me."

Fors was stunned for a moment. She remembered that the Hermit had asked about this matter at the Tarot Club. Then she wondered if something big was about to happen in Backlund? And the Hermit had received some information? Otherwise, why would he come to Backlund?

Finally, Odysseus gave Xio another crystal ball: "As long as I am in Backlund, if you inject spirituality into this crystal ball, I will be able to feel that it is you who is contacting me.

"If there is anything urgent, you can contact me this way."

Then Odysseus rose and took his leave.

Hugh, who was carefully putting away the crystal ball, saw Odysseus suddenly jump and actually jump into the floor. The two were stunned for a second or two before they realized that Odysseus had left in a very mysterious and even a bit weird way.

Xio suddenly said, "I don't know why, but I always feel like the Captain will suddenly pop out of the ground again."

"He's not a groundhog, why would he come back?" Fors said this, but in her heart she was sighing: This is the ability of the demigod level. I have no idea what kind of ability this is.

……

Odysseus "reproduced" the most secretive "earth escape" and returned to the embassy.

He then prepared a simple altar in his room, summoned a messenger, and told her to deliver future letters to the embassy office.

Because he is the "Follower of the Night", the messenger cannot locate him, so every time Odysseus wants to develop in a new place, he must first summon the messenger and tell her the new "receiving address".

The messenger hummed, then examined Odysseus and said, "You have been promoted to demigod."

Odysseus then recalled that the two had previously promised each other that after he was promoted to demigod, he would help the messenger further restore his strength.

"This is another thing I want to tell you." Odysseus said calmly, "After I stabilize my condition, I can fulfill our previous promise."

The messenger said, "Okay, no rush."

After saying this, she disappeared from Odysseus's room.

Because they had cooperated once before, Odysseus still trusted the messenger.

However, he could not act with the messenger for the time being. After all, this was Elbella Stiano, the sister of the "God of Steam and Machinery". Although she had been backstabbed by the "God of Steam", she had reached a high sequence in the Extraordinary Path and could no longer use common sense to speculate on such personal grudges.

It would be troublesome if this was a plan by the "God of Steam". After all, Odysseus didn't know Elbella Stiano and was not sure whether the messenger's identity was true.

So Odysseus planned to either be promoted to "Master of Prophecy" or to find out what actions the "God of Steam" had taken against him and then fulfill his previous promise.

The next morning, a messenger brought the information Hugh had collected for Odysseus. Odysseus casually looked through it and found that the eight people did meet his requirements. He chose his first target for observation: a bakery owner.

The bakery owner is called Godfrey. He has run a bakery for more than ten years. Recently, he plans to use his savings to open another bakery.

With the expansion of his business, it is very likely that his fate will change in the near future.

After calling his secretary Erica and confirming that there was nothing to do today, Odysseus left the office and returned to his room. He changed into clothes that were easy to move in, took the leather bag containing the scrolls and the "Staff of Gus", and quietly came to the outside of Godfrey's Bakery.

Odysseus used the "invisibility spell" to hide his tracks, then entered the bakery, stood in the corner, and quietly observed the Godfrey family.

Like most bakeries, Godfrey bakes the bread and his wife sells it at the front counter.

Because this bakery has been open for many years, many customers come to buy bread.

Godfrey's wife entertained them warmly, listening to their needs, packing bread for them in paper bags, and thanking them for their patronage.

Occasionally, when there are no customers, the couple will talk about the newly opened bakery. The new bakery is now under renovation, and they will go there to take a look after the bakery here closes every day.

They planned to hire a baker after the bakery over there opened, Godfrey's wife would run the store over there, and their daughter would sell bread in the bakery over here.

Listening to their plans, Odysseus also felt the hope in their lives.

It was not until after four o'clock in the afternoon that Odysseus left here and returned to his office to record today's observations.

After two days of leisurely observation, the day of Earl Brandon's ball soon arrived.

At around five o'clock in the afternoon, Odysseus, dressed in high-end formal attire, took a carriage to attend the ball hosted by Earl Brandon.

As for the high-end formal suit, it was naturally not paid for by Odysseus himself, but was paid for by the embassy.

Originally, Odysseus wanted to quote a few dozen pounds more, but when he thought about how wealthy he was now, he didn't do so.

Just as the two deputy envoys of the embassy said, this ball was a very high-end ball. The number of participants was not large, only about a hundred people, and many of them were family members brought by the invitees.

After a quick observation, Odysseus discovered that nearly half of the people attending the conference were nobles who had successfully transformed.

That is, the aristocrats who gained a lot of benefits from the Industrial Revolution and whose political inclinations tended towards reform.

The other half are lords or wealthy people. These people are worth millions or even tens of millions of pounds. They are big shots in other places, but here, they are just here to serve the reformist nobles.

Senior nobles found or discovered a way to make money through their own channels. They often did not make the money themselves, but would partner with several nobles and several wealthy people to run the business.

This can effectively hedge risks, and the difficulties encountered during the operation can be easily resolved through discussions among several nobles and wealthy people and their respective channels.

Odysseus seemed somewhat out of place at this banquet. First of all, he was not a noble, and his current savings were only tens of thousands of pounds. Compared with those wealthy people, he was completely pauper.

He observed carefully and saw that he was the only diplomat at the ball, so he guessed that Earl Brandon might need the channel of Lenburg and invited him to attend the ball.

When the ball was about to begin, Odysseus' spirit seemed to sense something and looked towards the door.

His gaze passed over the Countess and Countess Hall and caught sight of Audrey Hall, "Backlund's most dazzling jewel," standing behind them.

This instantly reminded Odysseus of "Lieutenant General of Disease". It's not that there are similarities between them, but every time Odysseus saw Audrey, he would always think of the witch in his mind.

He sighed in his heart: Fortunately, "Justice" is not a witch, otherwise who can resist her charm?
In fact, if you look closely, Audrey's appearance and temperament are far superior to those of "Lieutenant General of Disease".

Odysseus commented in his mind: The witch's appearance seems to be designed to match the ability of "charm", while Audrey's appearance is not designed to match any extraordinary ability, nor to cater to anyone's aesthetic taste, so this noble lady appears to have an extraordinary temperament.

These thoughts formed in Odysseus's mind instantly, so he didn't stare at Audrey, but quickly turned his head away.

Staring at a lady for a long time is very rude.

……

After Audrey arrived at the ballroom, her spirituality was touched and she immediately discovered Odysseus.

This discovery immediately made her break away from her "spectator" state, and she briefly revealed an expression of surprise: Is that the "hermit"? Why is he here?

Audrey had seen the first version of the bounty order for "Admiral of Mystery", so she knew what Odysseus looked like.

At that time, the bounty was said to be widely circulated in Bayam, and the girls at the Moulin Rouge looked forward to the "Admiral of Mystery" patronizing their business every day.

Many girls also treasure the bounty order of "Mysterious Admiral", fantasizing about what kind of romantic story will happen with this pirate general.

After the girls all set the "Mysterious General" as their fantasy goal, the boys would naturally get to know this pirate general, and some even gradually regarded him as an idol.

Maybe the navy felt that a "pirate general" could not look so sunny and handsome, so they changed the second version of the bounty order, making Odysseus's appearance somewhat ugly and portraying him as sinister and cruel.

But this still fits everyone's image of a pirate general, and many pirates began to imitate the expressions and attire on the bounty warrant.

So the Navy issued a third version of the bounty order. The portrait on this version no longer resembled Odysseus and was extremely ugly.

Odysseus was about to protest, but then he thought that this was the safest version of the bounty order, because if the bounty hunter used this bounty order, even if Odysseus stood in front of him, he would not recognize that this was his target.

At this moment, in the ballroom of Earl Brandon, Audrey quickly concealed her emotions, but her heart was surging.

I was happy to meet Odysseus at the ball, but I was also wondering why he was here?
A noble girl who took the initiative to talk to a young man would appear to be uneducated, at least in Loen.

However, Audrey was able to find out from other people, so when she talked to Count Brandon's wife and daughter, she easily found out that Odysseus was now the ambassador of Lundberg to Loen.

This surprised Audrey a little, but it didn't seem too surprising. After all, both the governor and the ambassador were officials of Lundberg.

But if I continue to inquire, I can't get any specific information about Odysseus.

Audrey thought to herself: Aside from not knowing he was already an ambassador, I was the person who knew him best here.

……

After the dance officially started, Odysseus sat in the corner. No one invited him, and he didn't plan to invite anyone for the time being.

At this time, he was quite certain that Earl Brandon had asked him to come for a certain purpose, so he was waiting for someone to come and talk to him.

But after sitting there for more than half an hour, no one came and he was full and satisfied.

Odysseus glanced around again. He had just noticed that many people were looking at him intentionally or unintentionally.

Odysseus looked back, allowing him to see clearly where those eyes were coming from and their general intentions.

It can be seen that most people were looking at him out of curiosity. They didn't know who Odysseus was, nor did they know why he could appear at such a high-end ball.

Odysseus noticed that only Earl Brandon and a well-maintained man in his fifties beside him were really observing him.

Although their observations left no trace, Odysseus, who had become a demigod, had no wrong spiritual feelings.

Finally, Odysseus set his sights on Audrey.

As a "spectator", her observation of Odysseus was very covert, but Odysseus still noticed it.

After thinking for a while, Odysseus suddenly stood up and walked towards the ladies.

The ladies were suddenly filled with anticipation, because at today's ball, the younger men were in their thirties or forties, and there was only a handsome young man like Odysseus.

Finally, Odysseus came to Audrey and held out his hand: "Miss Hall, can you dance with me?"

"Of course." Audrey returned the greeting very gracefully, then took Odysseus's hand and walked onto the dance floor together.

The other ladies were not disappointed, after all, they had seen handsome young men before. However, they all thought in their hearts that Odysseus was a superficial man who judged people by their appearance.

In the dance floor, as the new music sounded, Odysseus and Audrey began to dance, and their graceful dancing attracted many people's attention.

But Audrey soon discovered: "Why do you always look at the people around you intentionally or unintentionally?"

"Because I don't know how to dance this dance." Odysseus smiled, "So I need to learn the movements of those around me while continuing our dance."

To be exact, he had rarely attended such formal balls before.

However, as a demigod, Odysseus could understand the essence of the dance moves just by looking at the dance moves of the people around him, make certain optimizations, and then command his muscles to complete those movements accurately.

Although Odysseus learned the dance on the spot, he danced better than the others.

Audrey sighed softly, "This is the benefit of being promoted."

Odysseus smiled slightly and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "I'm currently in Backlund and need to investigate an important matter. Please help me keep an eye out for anything happening around you that's worth noting."

He came to invite Audrey to dance, mainly to ask Audrey to observe whether there was anything unusual among the nobles around her?
Because Odysseus suddenly thought that since the arrangements of the "Hidden Sage" and the "God of Steam" could not target him directly, it was possible that they would start with the people around him.

Currently, most of the people Odysseus knew in Backlund had already gone to Cruz Island or Wotai State.

The remaining ones were Audrey, Hugh and Fors, three members of the Tarot Club, and his good friend Max Livermore from the Steam Church.

After arriving in Backlund, the first three Odysses would definitely have some contact, but Odysseus did not intend to initiate contact with the latter. If he did, it would harm Max.

So Odysseus just thought that if the "Hidden Sage" and "Steam God" were deployed around the people around him, Audrey and the others should be able to detect something wrong in advance.

After hearing Odysseus's request, Audrey recalled his question at the Tarot Club, so she asked, "Is there going to be another big event happening in Backlund soon?"

Odysseus smiled and said, "Backlund is a city where big events often happen."

Then he said, "I hope I didn't cause you any inconvenience by asking you to dance suddenly."

Audrey smiled and said, "If you just come to dance with me, it will indeed cause me inconvenience."

Odysseus immediately understood what the other party meant: "I will ask other ladies to dance later."

The food at Earl Brandon's ball was delicious. Even Odysseus, who had never been used to Western food, ate a lot. It was a good opportunity for him to dance a few more times to help digest the food.

After finishing their business, the two chatted and Audrey asked, "How did you suddenly become the ambassador of Lenburg?"

Odysseus sighed, "My actions in Wotai Province were too dramatic and attracted the attention of the king, so he sent me to Backlund."

Audrey was slightly stunned: "Besides suppressing bandits, what else did you do?"

"It wasn't much," Odysseus said. "I just built railroads and factories. Without asking the Renburg government for a penny of aid, I restored order in the state of Vautai and made it more prosperous."

Audrey, a noblewoman, immediately understood: "You did an excellent job."

"That should be the case." Odysseus said indifferently.

Then Audrey seemed to understand: "Did you do this on purpose?"

"I'm just doing what I think is right." Odysseus smiled.

Or maybe he didn't care at all about what the king and the interior minister thought.

Audrey thought to herself: It doesn't seem to make any difference, right?

She took a deep breath and asked again, "How long do you plan to stay in Rune?"

Audrey had a feeling that Odysseus was only back for a while and might leave again at any time.

Odysseus pondered for a moment and said, "Probably until late October, or the end of the year."

Audrey immediately asked, "Is there something important happening at these two times?"

Odysseus was about to deny it, but he changed his mind in an instant: "I have received two high-level prophecies. Indeed, something will happen in these two time periods."

(End of this chapter)