Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 144 Private Conversation (Two in One)

Roger knew that Triss was trying to create an opportunity to talk to him without Prince Edessak in order to test how much he knew.

However, he still pretended to be coy, looking half persuaded but half unwilling to go.

Until the end, Prince Edessak took the initiative to speak:
"Benelu, why are you so shy as a grown man? I'm not going to eat you. I just want Triss to take you to meet those girls first. Don't think too much about it."

"Oh well."

Roger finally agreed.

Triss, who was wearing a yellow long dress and had a sweet face, smiled slightly and made a "please" gesture.

Roger nodded, said thank you, and left with her.

The two walked in the banquet hall and soon came to an empty corner, in front of a beautiful woman wearing a purple dress and with her long brown hair tied up high.

Seeing that the woman had fair skin, slender limbs, a high nose bridge, and a pair of bright brown eyes that shone with a moving light like a spring lake.

Her appearance and figure were no less impressive than Triss's, and in some respects even better.

However, seeing this scene, Roger couldn't help but tense up slightly.

Because he remembered what Audrey said, that there were suspected to be at least three witches in the aristocratic circle!

"Triss, Mr. Jones."

The woman stood up immediately.

She had obviously just listened to Roger's performance and called out his name as soon as she saw him.

"Mr Jones, may I introduce Miss Helena Atkinson.

"She's from Ahowa County, just like you, and she's also a theater actress... I think you two will have a lot in common."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jones."

Before Roger could speak, Helena Atkinson stretched out her fair and slender right hand.

At the same time, the other person's beautiful big eyes looked straight at Roger with a pitiful expression.

Even a straight man like Roger would fall in love and sink for a few seconds when he saw the other person's eyes.

Soon, he reacted.

This should be the witch's active "charm"!
"Damn, I almost fell into the witch's trap."

Roger suddenly got goosebumps all over his body.

Especially when he thought that the beautiful "Miss Atkinson" in front of him should have been transformed from a man, he felt uncomfortable all over!

Compared to Russell Huang Tao Gustav's reckless and accepting attitude, Roger couldn't accept a witch doing this or that to him.

But he did not act sober. Instead, he once again used the reverse suggestion of "troublemaker" to put himself into a state of tension, shyness and restlessness.

At the same time, Roger also stretched out his right hand and shook hands with the other party.

Just the touch of their palms made him feel an indescribable beauty and joy.

At this moment, Roger was completely certain that the "Miss Atkinson" in front of him was a "Witch of Joy"!
"Beautiful lady, you can just call me Baleno."

Roger's face was filled with intoxication, and for a moment he couldn't bear to let go of Helena Atkinson's hand.

Seeing that Roger was successfully "charmed" by him, Atkinson and Triss exchanged glances.

This is a method used by the "witches" lurking in Backlund to cover each other.

That is, when Prince Edessak is present and Triss suspects that her identity is at risk of being exposed, Helena will take action to control the person who suspects Triss's identity and capture or eliminate him or her as the case may be.

This way, he could get the other party to reveal the information he knew without angering Prince Edessak and causing any problems with Triss's lurking around him.

After Triss confirmed that Roger had been "successfully charmed" by Helena, she spoke:
"It seems that you two get along very well, Baleno, Helena, then you two can chat for a while, I will go to accompany the prince first."

"You go ahead and leave him to me."

Helena nodded and glanced at Benelux Jones, who seemed to be ignoring Triss's words and just staring at her.

After Triss left, Roger, still looking lost in thought, spoke:

"Helena, I think the weather outside is pretty good. Shall we go for a walk in the woods outside?"

There was a hint of impatience in his words, as if he really wanted to be alone with Helena.

"Okay, I also want to discuss art with you."

Helena chuckled, took Roger's hand, and led him out of the side door of the banquet hall.

Prince Edessak, who was watching from a distance and saw all this, smiled and then took Triss's hand when she returned.

……

The grove in the Prince's Courtyard forms a maze-like structure, winding and extremely tortuous.

Under Helena's guidance, Roger came to an uninhabited "U"-shaped garden.

She looked at Roger, used Charm on him again, and prepared to interrogate him after controlling him.

However, this time Roger was well prepared. When Helena was about to activate "Charm", Roger had already used the "Troublemaker" ability that was enough to control a Sequence 5 Beyonder to control Helena.

How could Helena, who was only at Sequence 6, resist such a force? She immediately collapsed to her knees, falling into a state of confusion and stupidity.

Not only that, she became very eager to speak and express herself.

"Who is your superior in the 'Witch Cult'?"

Roger skipped asking if she was a member of the witch's sect, because Helena Atkinson had a close relationship with Triss and could use the "charm" ability, so the answer was obvious.

"'Despair,' Ms. Panatia."

Helena spoke softly.

"really……"

Roger nodded and continued to ask:
"How many members of the 'Witch Cult' are currently lurking within Backlund's upper-class aristocratic circles? What are their names?"

"I know of six in total."

Helena said:
"Besides Triss and me, there are also Sequence 6 'Joy' Wendy and Bellatrix, and Sequence 7 'Witch' Sherman and Kara.

“There may be more left, but I don’t know.”

She had a strong desire to express herself, and in addition to Roger's questions, she also told him the sequence numbers of her accomplices.

"Good, where is Panatia now?" Roger asked again.

“I don’t know, Ms. Panatia’s whereabouts are very erratic.

"To prevent the members of the 'sect' from being exposed and implicating their superiors, we all responded only to Ms. Panatia's summons and were unable to learn her address.

"The last time I had an audience with her was at Charles Coleman's Restaurant on Gower Street in Queens."

"Gower Street? Charles Coleman's?"

Roger was slightly startled when he heard this.

Gower Street was the same street where the Minston Inn, where the "Dark Saint" Kosma had arranged for him to stay, was located when he first came to Backlund.

He had also been to Charles Coleman's, a Fenetport-style restaurant that served very good Fenetport noodles.

Considering that the "Hexagon Building" where Kosma met him was also on Gower Street, Roger was sure that this was definitely not a coincidence!
"Looks like I need to find a chance to go to Gower Street and investigate again..."

Roger thought to himself and continued to ask:
"Do you know the location of the 'mausoleum'?"

He did not say whose mausoleum it was, but used this statement to test how much information Helena knew.

"Mausoleum? What mausoleum?"

This "joyful witch" indeed looked confused, with an expression of "I don't know what you are talking about".

"Hmm... Do you know where the 'Witch Cult' transported those abducted civilians from all over the country?"

Roger changed the question.

This time Helena nodded:

"I know something." "Tell me what you know."

"I know of two locations: outside Backlund, in the lower reaches of the Tussock River, and within Ahowa County..."

This time Helena spoke in considerable detail, as she had participated in two human trafficking transit operations and therefore knew the information of both destinations.

These two mausoleums are also mentioned in the original book, but the book does not specify their locations.

But through Helena's confession, Roger successfully grasped this information!

"...I don't know about other places. But I've heard from other 'witches' that the trafficked people go to far more than just these two places.

"I personally estimate that there should be at least six or seven, but I don't know the details.

"To be precise, there should be 9..."

Roger thought to himself, of course he didn't tell Helena this information.

Now he has mastered the location of the two mausoleums. The next step is to visit them on site and confirm their locations.

He glanced at Helena who was kneeling on the ground again, then whispered in her ear and moved his lips slightly.

That was Sequence 6 level "Middle Voice Singing". Roger used this ability to interfere with and confuse Helena's thoughts and memories, making her unable to remember the short experience before she was controlled.

After doing all this, Roger deliberately messed up Helena's hair a little, and then rubbed his face for a while, making himself blush.

After doing this, Roger pulled up the "Witch of Joy" in front of him.

Helena's expression was a little confused, but also mixed with a hint of satisfaction.

She took Roger's arm and returned to Prince Edsac's banquet hall with him.

Seeing the looks of Roger and Helena, Prince Edssac and Triss smiled at each other.

Neither of them noticed anything unusual.

After Roger settled Helena down, he came to Alex Ford again under the strange gaze of Audrey Hall. He discussed the performance plan of "Four Seasons Autumn" with the latter while eating various delicacies on the table.

Because he had not eaten too much before coming out of No. 15 Minsk Street, and the continuous use of extraordinary abilities made Roger feel very hungry, he ate almost the amount of food of two adults in just ten minutes.

As for Audrey's "observation", Roger did not shy away from it at all.

Because as long as one "audience" notices someone's abnormality, the latter will only reveal more and more flaws in the eyes of the former, even if it is deliberately disguised.

Roger's goal was never to make Audrey convinced of her own personality, but rather to make her doubt it.

As night fell, the banquet entered its second half.

At this time, the older people and "normal young nobles" such as Audrey and Viscount Greylint could no longer bear it and left one after another. Only the young people who were on good terms with Prince Edessak remained at the scene.

Under the deliberate creation of some busybodies, the atmosphere on the scene became quite heated and gradually fell into madness.

Roger looked at the group of drunkards in front of him who were almost losing their minds and arguing over a trivial matter, and shook his head helplessly.

He found an opportunity to say goodbye to Prince Edessak, who still had a trace of consciousness, and then left the prince's estate in a carriage and returned to No. 15 Minsk Street.

Klein and Bandit had returned home, and they, along with their cat, were playing a crossword puzzle in the newspaper.

Earlier, Klein went to see Detective Isengard Stanton. At the detective gathering organized by him, he analyzed the information he had and concluded that the serial killer might be controlling a dangerous animal, or he himself might be an animal.

Although this reasoning is a bit absurd, it is consistent with some of Isengard Stanton's inherent inferences.

The Beyonder with a background in the Church of Knowledge attached great importance to this tip and redirected his investigation in the direction suggested by Klein.

Afterwards, Klein made a special trip to the Harvest Church of the Earth Mother Church, found Bishop Utravsky, and helped him complete a mission.

As a reward, he received the Sequence 9 "Pharmacist" potion formula and a very special "master key" that can open any lock that does not contain extraordinary power.

"You're back? How was the prince's party?"

Seeing Roger come back, Klein stood up and asked.

"It's hard to describe in words."

Roger recalled the crazy scene before he left Prince Edsac's mansion and shook his head.

Klein saw Roger's helplessness and laughed.

"There's some cooked batter in the pot. If you're hungry, go and have some."

"Thank you."

Roger was a little touched. Although he had eaten a lot in the afternoon, he also drank a lot of wine. Now he just wanted to drink some batter to warm his stomach...

The next morning, Roger simply washed up and went to the Royal Art Troupe again. With the help of a former conductor of the Royal Orchestra who attended Prince Edssac's reception the day before, he met the current deputy director of the Royal Orchestra, Mr. Wells Adams, who was over 50 years old.

Of course, Roger did not forget to call Alex Ford who had just sobered up.

After listening to Alex's performance of "Four Seasons Autumn", Mr. Adams was immediately attracted and readily stated that the next orchestra performance program had not been completely completed yet, and agreed to include this violin concerto in it.

Not only that, he also enthusiastically asked Roger when the next piece of "The Four Seasons" would be completed, and seemed to be very much looking forward to all the movements being put together to form a complete concerto score.

According to him, there is now a serious generational gap among composers in the kingdom, as the outstanding composers of the older generation have either died or lost their ability to work.

The music they composed is indeed rich, but for those who truly love music, they are already familiar to them. Some "high-end listeners" are even tired of them and are looking forward to the release of new works.

Among the new generation of composers, those with the ability of Roger are not rare, but they are unheard of.

Therefore, Roger's presence is likely to inject new vitality into the music world and become a leading figure among the new generation of composers.

Roger could only say that he was writing and gave a rough completion time, which made Mr. Adams give up temporarily.

On the way back to his studio, Roger unexpectedly met Alice Yeman, who had just finished training and looked tired.

"teacher!"

Alice whispered, looking a little surprised when she saw Roger appear.

The fatigue on her face faded a lot, and she rushed forward quickly.

"How's your study at the Royal Art Troupe going?"

Roger observed Alice's mental state and asked after confirming that there was nothing wrong.

"Apart from being extremely tired, everything else is fine...my 'apprentice' potion has been significantly digested as a result."

Alice showed a somewhat sad expression and complained to Roger about how strict her current teacher was and how tight the course schedule was.

Roger listened to Alice's story without saying a word.

Although the other party was mainly complaining, Roger could still hear a hint of pride and pride in Alice's tone.

“It’s tiring, but not everyone has the opportunity to study at the Royal Art Troupe.

"When you finish your studies, even if you can't join the Royal Theatre, you will definitely be able to surpass most actors in commercial performances."

What Roger said is similar to the way many armies in previous lives trained special forces. They used high-pressure training and difficult courses that far exceeded normal levels to train those talented soldiers, so that when they actually joined the battlefield, they would be more powerful than most of the enemy soldiers.

The two chatted for a while and then went to the Royal Art Troupe's restaurant for dinner.

Since today is Sunday, most of the actors did not come to work, so there were few people in the restaurant.

Only then did Alice find an opportunity and tell Roger something.

"Teacher, let me tell you something strange.

"Shortly after I became an 'apprentice', I would have one or two days a week where I felt like someone was watching me while I slept.

“Sometimes he was outside the window, sometimes right next to my bed, but every time I realized something was wrong and wanted to get up to observe, he would disappear.

"After all this time, I'm no longer sure if it was just an illusion... I've become a little paranoid.

"If possible, could you please help me confirm who is behind this?"

Alice looked at Roger with an urgent look.

　The first update, more to come.

　　Due to the Spring Festival holiday, this book will temporarily stop updating 1 pages per day starting January 27th and return to normal update levels. After that, it will be around 6 pages per day, with occasional bursts.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)