Mystery: I Married the Queen of Mystery.

Chapter 372 The Efficiency of the Night Goddess

At Count Brandon's ball, Odysseus and Audrey danced gracefully on the dance floor.

But just when Audrey was still enjoying her chat, the music ended, and she had no choice but to exchange a slight greeting with Odysseus and leave the stage together.

Afterwards, Odysseus invited two other ladies to dance. Odysseus, with his elegant demeanor and humorous conversation, left a deep impression on them.

After dancing a few dances, Odysseus returned to the corner, drank a drink, and waited for Earl Brandon to come to him.

But until after nine o'clock in the evening, when the dance ended, no one came to find Odysseus.

Odysseus didn't care. After saying goodbye to Earl Brandon, he went to the stable in the backyard.

Earl Brandon's steward was already waiting in front of Odysseus's carriage.

This made Odysseus slightly stunned: It seems that Brandon is not looking for me for business cooperation.

Otherwise, I would have told him the purpose of looking for him at the dance just now.

Now that he is suddenly kept here, it means that there are some things that are not suitable to be made public and we need his help.

The butler politely invited Odysseus to wait in a reception room, and the servants soon brought him tea and snacks.

After waiting for about twenty minutes, the elegantly dressed Earl of Brandon came in with a well-maintained man in his fifties with a beard on his upper lip.

Odysseus thought to himself: Sure enough, this guy is observing me.

He stood up and smiled politely to the two nobles. Earl Brandon introduced them, "This is Earl Vincent, my good friend."

"Hello." Odysseus greeted the other party, but did not take the initiative to extend his hand to shake hands with the other party.

After the three of them sat down again, they exchanged pleasantries, asking about Odysseus's recent work and whether he was used to the diet in Backlund.

After chatting for a few minutes, Earl Brandon smiled and said to Vincent, "As you can see, this is a very steady gentleman. I have also told you about my experience."

Having said this, he leaned back in his chair, as if waiting for his friend to decide whether to get into the topic of the conversation.

Vincent took a deep breath, then smiled and said to Odysseus, "Should I call you Mr. Wizard or Mr. Ambassador?"

Odysseus thought to himself: What? Is your vineyard also cursed by the devil?

He smiled and said, "Just call me Mr. Garr."

"Okay, Mr. Gal," Vincent said, "I hope you can keep the following conversation confidential."

This reminded Odysseus of some of the strange commissions he had received when he was playing the role of a "wizard": Are you suspecting that your son is not your biological son?

He acted like a completely different person, and said seriously, "No problem."

"My children have been acting strangely lately," Vincent began. "I'm referring to my eldest son, Alexis. Three days ago, I discovered he was frequently meeting with a blind girl. Yesterday, the two of them even went into the sewer together and stayed there for two or three hours before emerging."

Odysseus was stunned: The nobles are so extravagant?

He smiled and said, "You should investigate the situation of that girl."

"You may have misunderstood." Count Vincent smiled and said, "No, I should say that my way of expressing myself was wrong.

"Neither of them did anything inappropriate, I just felt their behavior was very strange."

The earl touched his temples, which already had a few gray hairs, and smiled, "Everyone has been young. When I was young, I also liked some girls.

"But who would choose a sewer as a date?"

Odysseus thought: Maybe there is a new way to play that you don’t know about?

Joking aside, after recalling how spectacular the Backlund sewers were, Odysseus still asked, "Did they go to the sewers on Böklund Street?"

He remembered that there was a treasure of the Jacob family there. Although the demigod of the Jacob family was scared away by Klein, it seemed that there was still a clone of Amon hidden in the treasure.

In addition, a demon that looked like a dog had appeared in the sewer before, and someone had killed a "swindler" and an "apostle of desire" in the sewer...

Odysseus suddenly smiled: Oh, by the way... the "Apostle of Desire" did not die in the sewer.

But what is certain is that no one knows what evil is hidden in Backlund's sewers.

After hearing Odysseus' question, Count Vincent first answered, "No."

Then he asked, "Why the Börklund Street sewer?"

Odysseus smiled and said, "I heard that there's some danger brewing in the sewers there."

The two earls were stunned for a moment and decided to tell their families and housekeepers that they would not go to Böklund Street in the near future.

Earl Brandon had seen how Odysseus solved extraordinary problems, so he trusted him very much.

This conversation took place only after Vincent had heard of the abilities of this "Mr. Wizard" and had developed a basic level of trust in him. Therefore, they both attached great importance to this seemingly unintentional message.

Odysseus asked again: "Mr. Count, have you checked the information of the blind girl?"

"I checked." Count Vincent said, "She was a woman who worked in telegraph reception... Well, Alexis had a hobby, she liked to study some new machines, and she liked studying telegraph machines the most.

"It's said that the two met through telegram. Miss Nicola... oh, that's the blind girl. She also believes in the 'Goddess of Night'. She came to Alexis' house to help him debug the telegraph machine some time ago, and the two of them became close because of that."

Odysseus asked, "What is Mr. Alexis's faith?"

Count Vincent replied: "'Goddess of the Night', our family are all believers in the goddess."

Odysseus said "Oh". He thought it would be a believer of the "God of Steam and Machinery". If that was the case, he would have to be careful.

He pondered for a moment and then said, "Maybe you look weird because Alexis and Nicola are doing some experiments?"

Count Vincent said firmly, "No, I've clearly felt that something is wrong with Alexis in recent days. After they returned from the sewers yesterday, I clearly realized that he was hiding something from me.

"I asked Alexis's valet, and he said that Alexis and Nicola have been talking to each other alone recently, and Alexis always looks serious after each conversation.

"Sometimes I'll even research some strange questions, like asking the Beyonder's bodyguard about spirits and ghosts."

Odysseus asked again: "Does he know about the extraordinary existence?"

"A little bit," Vincent replied. "I haven't told him much about Extraordinary yet."

Odysseus suddenly had some ideas and finally asked, "Have you ever thought about asking the Church of the Goddess of Night for help?"

"I've thought about it," Vincent said, "but I'd still like you to do some research first."

He said with a hint of meaning: "As for Miss Nicola, I don't want this matter to be made public."

Odysseus understood that they were afraid of uncovering Alexis's scandal, so they thought of asking him to investigate first.

Generally, the eldest son of a noble family would be trained as the successor, which is why Count Vincent had so many concerns.

If any scandal is really uncovered, all we need to do is pay hush money to Odysseus alone.

However, Odysseus still felt that this was a bit absurd. As an ambassador, he was investigating something that only a private detective would investigate?
Thinking of this, he smiled before asking, "Why did you think of asking me to investigate?"

"Because you have extraordinary abilities." At this time, Earl Brandon said, "We all trust you."

"That's right." Vincent said, "After I learned about Alexis's situation, I talked to Brandon about it, and he said that a wizard was coming to visit.

"After hearing about your deeds, I also found them very amazing, so at my request, I invite you to attend this dance."

Odysseus was stunned again: "You mean, after you learned about Mr. Alexis's affairs, you happened to get the news about me?"

Count Vincent thought for a moment and said, "It seems so."

Odysseus suddenly had the urge to get up and leave. Seeing Odysseus's expression, Lord Brandon asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"No." Odysseus smiled and said, "I just remembered something else."

He thought that "0-08" was no longer in Backlund at this time, and if this was a story arranged by Adam, he would not realize that he had entered the story.

Or perhaps this isn't a coincidence created by a High-Sequence Beyonder from the Audience pathway.

Of course, there must be something wrong with such a coincidence. Odysseus immediately thought of receiving a "warning letter" from the "Hidden Sage".

He guessed that this matter was either related to the "Hidden Sage" or the "God of Steam and Machinery".

Thinking of this, Odysseus decided to conduct some investigation. If he took the initiative to investigate, perhaps he could be prepared in advance.

So he said, "I'll do some research and contact you if I have any results."

Count Vincent breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and said, “If you can help me solve this matter, I can help you solve the two cases that are currently plaguing the Lenburg Embassy.

“I’m working on a steel deal with Lenburg, and I can offer a good discount.

"Or if you have any other requests, feel free to ask."

Odysseus smiled and said, "Just help me solve those two cases at the embassy. I'm only in charge of diplomacy. I'll only be involved in commercial matters between the two countries if there's a dispute."

On the second day of his appointment, he asked about the two cases, one was an economic dispute between the two countries, and the other was a serious criminal case.

Although it was said that the Renburg Embassy was to coordinate, it was actually just a unilateral wait for the Backlund court's decision. In this matter, Renburg would not get a result that was favorable to itself.

Count Vincent's promise clearly meant that he would come forward and make a ruling in favor of the Lenburg side.

Vincent then smiled and said, "I'll remember. I still owe you a favor."

Of course, the premise of all this is that Odysseus's investigation is fruitful.

After finishing the business, the three chatted for a while and then Odysseus stood up to say goodbye.

After returning to the embassy, many officials did not rest but gathered around to ask what they had gained from the dance.

Odysseus smiled and replied, "It wasn't anything special. I just got to know Count Vincent."

These diplomats seemed happier than Odysseus because this was another powerful nobleman.

Looking at everyone's expressions, Odysseus couldn't help but think of Bernadette's evaluation of Lemburg when he talked to her about the fact that Lemburg had three official languages: This is the sorrow of a small country.

Although Lunburg and Loen were nominally allies, Lunburg's territory and strength were similar to those of the former dukes of Loen, so the two sides had never had equal diplomatic relations.

Officials like those from the Lunburg Embassy have no access to the real powerful people in Loen.

In other words, the Earl of Lenburg and the Earl of Loen are not nobles of the same level at all.

Odysseus returned to his room, took a short rest, changed his clothes, and used the "earth escape" again to come to the Church of St. Samuel on Pestfield Street.

Although it was already past eleven o'clock in the evening, there were still many believers praying quietly.

Odysseus found a corner to sit down and whispered to the "Dark Holy Emblem" about Count Vincent's commission.

After repeating this several times, Odysseus, in his drowsiness, heard a soft voice beside his ear: "This matter has just begun. You can solve it yourself."

Odysseus suddenly woke up, looked up and around, and saw that the believers were still praying silently. An indescribable sense of tranquility filled the church.

Then Odysseus took a deep breath, made a prayer gesture again, and thought about what he had just heard.

He realized: Obviously, the "Goddess of Night" knew what I was going to investigate... No...

Odysseus suddenly thought that he was going to report this matter to the "Goddess" today, and ask the goddess if it was related to the "God of Steam" or the "Hidden Sage"?
According to the "goddess's" previous habits, she would at most say "I know".

But this time the instructions He gave were so clear, which was obviously wrong!
Then, Odysseus recalled what Count Vincent had said, that his family were all believers in the "Goddess of Night," and how Alexis's abnormality had to be noticed at this very moment...

Odysseus seemed to have suddenly thought of another important point: I was discovered the day after I prayed to the "Goddess"!

He suddenly smiled, and the overall context of the matter was pieced together in his mind.

After Odysseus arrived in Backlund and reported the warning letter from the Hidden Sage to the Goddess, he should have immediately found the arrangements of the God of Steam or the Hidden Sage.

Then He brought enough bad luck to a certain god's arrangement so that it was discovered while it was still in the planning stages.

It was obviously discovered by Alexi and Nicola. In fact, they had found relevant clues a long time ago, but before, they themselves may not have paid so much attention to this matter.

Under the encouragement of the "goddess", the abnormalities of the two people were discovered the next day.

Thinking of this, Odysseus couldn't help but sigh: "The efficiency of the "Goddess" is quite good!"
Everything became clear after that. To help his eldest son hide his shame, Count Vincent didn't want the official Beyonders to investigate. When he discussed this matter with his good friend Count Brandon, Odysseus happened to be visiting. Brandon immediately remembered this "Wizard" and recommended him to his good friend.

After figuring this out, Odysseus sincerely thanked the "Goddess of Night" and then got up and left.

When resolving this matter in the future, if Odysseus obtains spoils of war, he feels that he should also offer some as a sacrifice to the "Goddess of Night".

Although the other party may not need it, you still have to have the right attitude.

Back in his room, Odysseus made a simple plan. He planned to conduct a preliminary investigation tomorrow. He could finally sleep well.

However, what Odysseus did not expect was that plans could not keep up with changes. The next day when Odysseus was having breakfast in the restaurant, he suddenly had a spiritual feeling. He saw Bernadette, who had an excellent figure, walked out of the illusion and into the real world in broad daylight, and then sat next to Odysseus.

Odysseus shared a small dining room with several important officials, but the other diplomats seemed completely unaware that there was an extra person in the room.

Odysseus raised his hand. After being promoted to Sequence 4, he could use "magic" without summoning "star sand". At this time, he used the magic he invented, which could temporarily create a conversation space.

Then he asked Bernadette: "Have you had breakfast?"

"I've eaten." Bernadette crossed her legs and said, "You don't seem surprised at all."

She arrived a day earlier than the agreed time.

Odysseus smiled and said, "I should be surprised if you were later than the agreed time."

Bernadette said "hmm", which was a satisfactory answer.

She said, "The reason I came early is because Cattleya wrote to say that she had completed her promotion and wanted to ask me some questions about the 'mysterious reappearance'."

Odysseus was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood: "You plan to have me present at the time?"

"Correct."

"She is asking you for advice." Odysseus confirmed.

Bernadette suddenly looked at Odysseus and said, “Among all my subordinates, Cattleya is very special.

“When I first met Cattleya, I predicted that she would become an angel in the future.

"So I took Cattleya, who had become an orphan, with me, raised her carefully, and poured a lot of affection into her?
"Afterwards, it no longer mattered whether she would become an angel or not."

Odysseus nodded slowly: What I mean is, raise Cattleya as your daughter.

But he still didn't understand: "I don't have much experience with the ability 'Mysterious Reappearance'."

Bernadette continued to look at Odysseus: "Think about it again."

Odysseus cleared his throat and felt the other person's gaze gradually becoming oppressive. Then he understood that this was obviously what Bernadette wanted to introduce to Cattleya: I found a stepfather for you!

So Odysseus quickly said, "I will definitely prepare a gift for her that she needs most!"

He felt somewhat helpless after saying this. In terms of age, Cattleya was a few years older than him.

But now, Odysseus has suddenly become a generation older.

Odysseus quickly finished his breakfast and brought Bernadette to his office.

The two chatted for a while before Odysseus asked, "Do you remember the 'Follower of the Fool', Gehrman Sparrow?"

Bernadette thought about it for a moment and then said, "I remember."

"He contacted me recently and said he wanted to meet you." Odysseus said, "I asked him what he wanted, and he said it was a simple matter for you."

Bernadette nodded slowly, then asked, "Where is he now?"

Odysseus replied, "According to the intelligence I received, he is currently in Backlund."

"Well, tell him to wait for me near Backlund Bridge at 8 o'clock tomorrow night."

"Okay." Odysseus continued, "I heard there's a great food alley in the Bridge District that's open until the early hours. Should we stop by and have a look?"

Bernadette was stunned for a moment before she smiled and said, "Okay."

Odysseus stretched himself and talked to Bernadette about his recent experiences.

In order to avoid Bernadette's worries, he did not say that the "God of Steam" and the "Hidden Sage" had directly taken actions against him. He only said that the Steam Church and the Moss Ascetic Order had taken actions against him again, and he had to conduct some investigations.

Bernadette said, "I don't have anything to do either. I'll go with you."

Odysseus was stunned: "This kind of investigation is quite boring."

"It would be even more boring if I stayed in your office by myself."

"That's right." Odysseus said, "Let me briefly explain the situation..."

He briefly talked about the noble's commission and learned from other sources that this commission was actually related to the issue he was investigating.

Then Odysseus talked about the general investigation method. First, he planned to use "invisibility" to track and eavesdrop on the conversation between Alexis and Nicola at close range.

If he needed to show up, he planned to pretend to be a mysterious wizard, casually show off his strength to shock them, and then help them solve the problem as an elder and investigate the truth of the matter.

After explaining his plan, Odysseus saw Bernadette's serious expression and asked, "What's wrong?"

Bernadette glanced at him and said, "It just occurred to me, how come you are so proficient in this process?"

Odysseus was stunned: "Is there?"

"Have."

Odysseus chuckled and said, "I rarely use this kind of trick to deceive people."

Bernadette: “Hehe.”

After roughly making a plan, Odysseus returned to his room and took out the equipment of "Wizard Gandalf" that he had found long ago from the "Wilderness of Knowledge" and put it on.

Then the two men used "invisibility" and each used their own method to sneak into Count Vincent's house.

The demigod-level "invisibility" can last for several hours as long as the extraordinary ability is not actively used.

You can also use witchcraft to eliminate your own voice to avoid making any noise.

As one of Backlund's most powerful people, Count Vincent was protected by the Church of the Evernight Goddess, who sent a Sequence 6 and several lower-sequence Beyonders.

There are also some extraordinary members in the Vincent family, and they have also hired some extraordinary bodyguards.

But they were only at Sequence 5 at most, so they had no idea that two demigods had sneaked in.

Soon, Odysseus and Bernadette found Alexis. They followed the nobleman quietly, observing his every move.

In appearance, Alexis looks a bit like Count Vincent, but seems to be more robust than the old count.

After observing for a while, Odysseus gave the evaluation that he "does things neatly and efficiently". He seemed to be a kind of nobleman with more brains.

We kept observing until the afternoon, but didn't find anything unusual. And from Alexis's conversation with people around him, we learned that he was busy with work today and had no time to study the telegraph machine.

So at around three o'clock in the afternoon, Odysseus and Bernadette left Count Vincent's house and returned to the embassy.

As Odysseus took off his wizard robe, he said, "Let's go observe the girl named Nicola tomorrow."

Bernadette said "hmm", obviously intending to go along.

After a quick change of clothes, Odysseus continued, "At noon, I thought I could record my observations of Alexis and Nicola and use them as supplementary material."

It was also at that time that he thought that the fate of these two young men and women, who had encountered such an extraordinary event, would definitely undergo significant changes in the near future, which was in line with his observation conditions.

Bernadette didn't say anything, and obviously thought there was nothing wrong with what Odysseus did.

So Odysseus came to the office again, and when he was about to complete a simple record, he found a letter on the desk.

When I opened it, I saw it was from the boatswain Salina. Salina was on duty on Cruz Island recently. She suddenly wrote to me because "Vice Admiral Disease" came this morning and hoped to meet with "Admiral Mystery".

Previously, "Lieutenant General of Disease" Tracy had proposed a cooperation to Odysseus, but when Odysseus realized that the conditions they offered were not attractive to himself and Bernadette, he deliberately ignored "Lieutenant General of Disease" and never contacted her.

After taking a quick look at the letter, Odysseus handed it to Bernadette, and he calmly took out his notebook to record what he had observed today.

After he finished writing, Bernadette handed the letter back to him: "What are your plans?"

"It all depends on their sincerity," Odysseus said with a smile. "If they're not sincere, there's no need to continue the discussion."

Bernadette had no objection.

Odysseus looked at the clock and saw it was already past four o'clock, so he stood up and told his secretary Erica that he had to go out for something tonight and the kitchen didn't need to prepare his dinner.

This was his way of telling the embassy officials that he was not there tonight.

Afterwards, Odysseus returned to his room again and took the "pumpkin carriage" that Bernadette "reappeared" to arrive at Cruz Island.

In the spacious office on Cruz Island, Odysseus asked his secretary to call Bella, who was currently in charge of the normal operations here. She used to be Mandy's assistant and is now able to work on her own. Mandy now spends most of her time in Wotai State.

Bella reported on the recent situation on Cruz Island. First of all, the gun factory was built. Because the pirates had such a great demand, the orders had been scheduled until next month.

She asked if the gun factory should be expanded?

Odysseus said, "No, wait until the orders are filled for two months before considering expansion."

This is equivalent to actively creating scarcity.

In addition, considering the number of pirates, the market will be saturated in a year at most. Although bullets can still be sold at that time, the demand for production will not be as great as it is now, so there is no need to expand production capacity blindly.

After receiving clear instructions, Bella continued to report to her subordinates. Other construction work was also progressing steadily. By next month at the latest, all production capacity of Cruz Island could be increased several times compared to before the Pirate Conference.

After Bella left, Odysseus asked his secretary to call Salina to find out about the situation in the port town.

After the Pirate Conference ended, the pirates all heard about the paradise-like Cruz Island, and until now, many pirates still come here to sell stolen goods or spend money.

Although the passenger flow is only about one-third of that during the Pirate Conference, it is enough to become the economic pillar of Cruz Island.

Especially when small and medium-sized pirate groups came to the port town to sell stolen goods, Odysseus had a steady supply of various goods reserves.

This saved the State of Wotai a lot of money and costs. If it were not for the issue of commercial prosperity, Odysseus would have planned to dump all these goods to the State of Wotai. In that case, the price would be at most one-third of the current level.

However, such prices are definitely a bit distorted. Things that can be snatched from the sea are very cheap, while things that cannot be snatched are still very expensive.

The sales of scrolls, "energy storage crystals" and magical medicines are very good. Odysseus roughly calculated that the current income of Cruz Island is basically equivalent to half of the fiscal revenue of Lenburg.

However, the scale of Cruz Island is not as large as the state of Lenburg, which can be said to have created an economic miracle.

Odysseus planned to accumulate a little more and then spend as much money as possible.

After finishing his daily affairs, Odysseus asked about Lieutenant General of Disease.

It was already dusk, and Tracy had been waiting all day and showed no sign of leaving.

Odysseus asked Salina to call Tracy over. Bernadette, who was sitting on the sofa bored and invisible, straightened up and immediately became energetic.

As soon as they met, Tracy, who had a somewhat aloof temperament, used her "charming" ability: "I thought I wouldn't be able to wait for you today."

After becoming a demigod, Odysseus was no longer affected by the other party's "charm". "Please sit down."

Two people sat on the sofa, and Bernadette sat quietly not far away. She slowly turned her head and looked at the full-length mirror at the door of the spacious office.

There was a graceful figure flashing by.

Tracy was completely unaware of the presence of the "Mysterious Queen." She was somewhat surprised by Odysseus's indifferent expression, but she still said in a seductive tone, "I've been waiting for news from you since our last conversation."

Odysseus shook his head and said, "I don't feel your sincerity in cooperating."

Tracy was slightly startled, as if she suddenly understood what Odysseus meant. She quickly put on a charming smile and began to unbutton her clothes, saying, "Let me show our sincerity. Don't move. Leave everything to me."

Odysseus glanced secretly in Bernadette's direction and raised his hand towards Tracy: "Believe it or not, if you take off your clothes now, you will die miserably."

(End of this chapter)