Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 181 Portable Wind-up Phonograph for Sale (+)
Everyone was immediately attracted by the sound of knocking on the bronze table. They all turned around respectfully and looked at Mr. Fool.

This also included Roger, who was very curious about what Klein would say next.

In fact, Mr. Fool is having a huge headache right now.

Because Roger knew about the existence of the "Black Emperor" card, elaborating too much on this topic could easily cause the head of the Abraham family to make unnecessary associations.

But he had to say something, because Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man also knew about the existence of the Black Emperor card.

After a quick moment of reflection, Klein the Fool spoke:

"There are always people who occasionally touch upon a part of the truth, believing they have grasped it, and even using it as a means of showing off, while still turning a blind eye to the clues and connections that are right in front of them."

Although he still used the Riddler style common in Mr. Fool's tone when saying this, if you think about it carefully, you will find that it is actually full of the art of language.

First, Mr. Fool is warning Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man that the Black Emperor is a secret of equal exchange and cannot be flaunted anymore.

Previously, Klein felt that he had to place something on his table that was worthy of Mr. Fool's status and position. However, he didn't expect that Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man would be so curious and use the opportunity of the transaction to inquire about the secret of the "Card of Blasphemy".

Fortunately, Klein deliberately adopted a one-way communication shielding mechanism during the transaction, so people outside were not aware of what was happening within the shielding mechanism.

On the other hand, Mr. Fool is also implying that someone has gained knowledge related to the Black Emperor, and is showing off and lynching Kapin, but he fails to discover his connection to a larger criminal network behind the scenes.

From Roger's perspective, this is most likely referring to his detective roommate. On the other hand, it is also a hint.

The hint is that Kapin is connected to the human trafficking network of the "Witch Cult"!

Although he managed to preserve his own dignity, Klein's actions almost completely cleared him from the "Black Emperor" incident. The feeling of not being able to act cool made him very uncomfortable.

After hearing Mr. Fool’s words, everyone present reacted differently.

Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man lowered their heads and said nothing. They both heard the warning in Mr. Fool's words.

Student "Sun" looked around. Lacking knowledge of the Northern Continent, he had no idea what the people in front of him were talking about.

Miss Magician and Mr. Wheel of Fortune both fell into deep thought. After a moment, Mr. Wheel of Fortune spoke first:
"Excuse me, Mr. Fool, are you suggesting that Capin is related to the Witch Cult?"

"Yes."

Mr. Fool's voice remained steady as he nodded.

Knowing about the "Witch Cult"'s human trafficking, Klein took the opportunity to investigate Capin and discovered that his trafficking of young women was only one part of this huge black industry chain.

Although he was not directly involved in the affairs of the "Black Emperor" mausoleum, some young women had to be "properly dealt with", which gave rise to Kapin's dirty deeds.

Hearing Mr. Fool's reply, Roger heaved a sigh of relief. He expressed his sincere gratitude:
"Thank you for the tip, Mr. Fool."

In fact, Roger, who had noticed Capin early on, had always suspected that the source of the young women he trafficked was related to the "Witch Sect" and the Loen Royal Family, but the original work only made some hints and basically did not directly confirm the connection between the two parties.

Klein's confirmation answered Roger's long-held doubts, and this hidden thread was successfully closed.

Next, Roger gave Mr. "The Hanged Man" some targeted hints on this matter, because Capin might also be a breakthrough in the investigation.

Afterwards, Klein used Mr. World to publish information about the sale of Beyonder traits of Sequence 8 "Sheriff" and Sequence 7 "Interrogator" on the "Judge" pathway. These were spoils of war he obtained during the battle at Capin's residence.

In fact, considering that the "Arbitrator" path is controlled by the Loen royal family, the military, and some ancient nobles, the existence of Beyonder bodyguards of this sequence in Kapin's residence is enough to explain many problems.

Upon hearing the news, Magician Fors immediately realized that this was what her good friend Hugh Dilcha had been seeking. She decisively offered to spend 600 gold pounds to purchase the Beyonder of the Sheriff, but at the same time stated that she needed some time to raise the money and hoped that he would keep it for her for another week.

Mr. World naturally agreed. Now that he had a confirmed sales channel, he was happy to sell the Beyonder characteristic of "Sheriff" to members of the Tarot Club.

Next, everyone shared their recent experiences. Seeing that his spiritual energy was almost exhausted, Mr. Fool announced the end of today's gathering. He watched as everyone once again turned into crimson, rust, or crimson mixed with rust.

After Roger returned to his workshop, he did not leave immediately as usual. Instead, he took out a pen and wrote a letter to the "Dark Saint" Xesma:

"Dear Mr. Kosma:
“By the grace of God, I hope you are well.

"Recently, I have been feeling anxious about the Lord's grace because I found that I don't have anything I can use to pray to the Lord. So I would like to ask if you could give me one?
“It doesn’t have to be expensive; I’m content with a small thing.

"Sincerely, B."

Then Roger used five different kinds of nuts to summon the "De La Hoya Rat" and gave the letter to this half-rat, half-rabbit spiritual giant's clone, asking it to take it to Xesma.

In this letter, Roger once again acted like a true believer in the Creator, and he believed that Xesma would be satisfied with his "sincerity".

Although he only asked for a small token, Roger knew that Xesma would definitely give him something of sufficient significance.

After all, Adam had said that the True Creator had taken an interest in him due to a convergent impulse. Since this Sequence 0 True God hadn't fully grasped the situation, the Saints under Him had no way of truly understanding the relationship at play. They would only believe that Roger's mystical connection with the True Creator had been further strengthened.

Therefore, in order to satisfy "Roger's" requirements and allow him to further meet the conditions for becoming a vessel of advent, Xesma will definitely provide him with an item that is imbued with enough of the aura of the "True Creator" to satisfy the requirements of "Sun".

This is the benefit of knowing information. Knowing means control. As long as a person knows enough information, he is fully capable of achieving certain results through specific actions.

From this perspective, the "audience" approach is really convenient.

Of course, before Roger handed the item to Derrick, he had to process it first to prevent Sun from being contaminated by it while he was still unaware of it.

Roger originally thought that Kosma would reply to him after some time as before, but soon, the "De La Hoya Rat" jumped out from the shadows in the corner again.

"You have to pay for your letter once more."

It patted its silk bag and shook its ears, which were obviously longer than those of ordinary rodents.

According to the agreement between Roger and the "De La Hoya Rat", five nuts are only the cost of delivering the letter once, while if it is a round trip letter, it needs to be paid twice.

"Okay, hard work."

Roger took out five more nuts, handed them to the "De La Hoya Rat", watched it disappear, and then used a knife to cut the wax seal on the letter.

As soon as he opened the envelope, a black cross with an exquisite silver chain fell out.

Roger picked it up and found that its shape was somewhat similar to the cross that Adam was carrying, but apart from the different color, it was also engraved with many mystical symbols and spells that symbolized the true creator.

Because Roger himself possessed the extraordinary power of the "Secret Prayer" path, he immediately felt the same aura on the cross.

This should be an item blessed by the "True Creator"!
Rojek suppressed his urge to sing a song about the cross and opened the reply letter from the "Dark Saint" instead.

The handwriting on it was still elegant, and it was obvious that it was a reply written by Kesma himself:
“B:

"By the grace of God. I am glad to hear your sincere faith and remembrance of the Lord. I have enclosed a cross blessed by the Lord, which has been with me for many years.

"Xema."

"Good fellow, are you giving me your personal keepsake?"

For some reason, Roger suddenly felt a very strange sense of shame.

He wanted to use the token blessed by the true Creator to help Silver City identify His followers and shake the already limited foundation of His faith in Silver City.

To use an inappropriate analogy, this is a bit like a bishop meeting a devout penitent and being very happy to help the other person confess.

But halfway through the confession, the penitent suddenly ignited homemade explosives and blew up the church - the Lord was talking about a God who bestowed grace on mortals, but mortals repaid the Lord's kindness with hatred and turned around to burn down the Lord's pasture.

"This may be the main theme of the Tarot Club."

Roger's mouth curled up. He put away the cross given to him by Xesma, and then took a car to the Royal Art Troupe. After searching there for a long time, he finally stopped Alex Ford in the restaurant.

"I noticed that you always come to the restaurant every time you slack off."

Roger looked at Alex who was drinking a cup of black coffee and reading a book.

"It can't be helped. People always need to find some relaxation from time to time... Besides, my spending at the restaurant is considered a way of giving back to the band. I can't just do what Emperor Roselle joked about, collecting my salary and then going to the bathroom to use the toilet, right?"

Alex laughed and held out his hand, motioning Roger to sit across from him.

"Damn, Huang Tao is really toxic... He throws out clichés indiscriminately. In a sense, he's actually Intis's 'Hidden Sage'..."

Roger's mouth twitched, and he sat down opposite Alex while complaining in his heart.

He ordered the same cup of coffee as Alex, and then he said:
"I'm here to make an appointment with you for the mastering process."

"Oh? Is that the piano concerto you mentioned last time?"

Alex pressed, "It was done so quickly?"

"Yes, and 'Four Seasons: Winter'."

Roger nodded and dropped another bombshell.

"...Well, that's definitely your style."

As Roger's collaborator, Alex had grown accustomed to the prolific output of this talented composer, and his initial jitters had gradually settled into composure. "I've spoken with my colleagues at the Royal Orchestra. In addition to my two colleagues, we've also found you an additional double bassist, making a total of nine people."

"I checked their schedules and found that both Tuesday afternoon and Friday evening after 3pm are both available.

"But apart from the three of us, you need to pay an appearance fee of 150 pounds for each person, and you will also be responsible for the cost of meals and carriage hire at night."

Roger breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. Apart from the three people who had a master-disciple relationship with Viscount Birkbeck, the others should have regarded this as a good opportunity to make extra money.

But with this calculation, Roger only needs to spend less than 1000 pounds to invite active musicians from the Royal Orchestra to make a master record for him.

This is a great deal no matter how you look at it!
"no problem."

Roger readily agreed, and then made an appointment to meet on Tuesday afternoon, and then got up to say goodbye.

As he was walking out, he ran into Alice Yeman, who was in casual clothes.

When Alice saw Roger, she immediately smiled happily and ran up to greet him.

"Why aren't you wearing a costume today?"

Roger looked at Alice in surprise and asked.

"That's right, teacher."

Alice seemed very pleased with herself:
"After my last conversation with you and Detective Moriarty, I took the opportunity to study the stage setting, and I actually discovered quite a few areas for improvement.

"I wrote a report and submitted it to the Royal Art Troupe. I didn't hold out much hope, but it unexpectedly attracted their attention. I'm currently working with the set design team to design new stage effects.

"Because these designs are likely to be used in our future performances, they are considered research results and can be counted as credits for my further studies.

"I've already got some ideas for specific improvements... not only can they be secretly integrated into the Trickster's abilities, but they can also be done without anyone noticing."

Roger immediately remembered what Alice was talking about and nodded:
"Congratulations on finding a solution to the problem so quickly.

"When do you expect these improvements to be ready? I'm very much looking forward to seeing these new stage effects."

Because Roger had also participated in stage performances and had seen those unimaginative stage settings with his own eyes.

In contrast, after he and Klein brainwashed Alice with 21st-century thinking, he was very much looking forward to what Alice could achieve.

"According to the current progress, it should be soon."

Alice smiled. "We should be able to achieve some milestone results as early as next month. I'll invite you to come and observe and offer your feedback."

"I can't ask for it."

Roger gave Alice a thumbs-up and patted her on the shoulder to show his encouragement. He then left the Royal Art Troupe and took a cab back to No. 15 Minsk Street.

At eight o'clock on Tuesday morning, there was a knock on the door of No. 15 Minsk Street. Roger opened the door and saw Sam and Cecilia standing at the door at the same time.

"Good morning, Mr. Jones."

The brother and sister greeted Roger at the same time and then entered the house.

Sam came to discuss a new commission with Klein, while Cecilia took out a dozen pages of documents from her work bag.

"what is this?"

Roger came over with a cup of tea and asked curiously.

"Tomorrow's launch of the portable wind-up phonograph will be held at John Lewis's, Price Avenue, Hillston.

“There will be many people from the art world, the Patent Office, and the Inventors’ Association coming here, and you will be asked to give a short speech, and then the sale of the phonograph will officially begin.

"These documents are the schedule and all offline sales channels. We have already prepared the media exposure. Please dress formally and look your best."

Cecilia was very concerned about this event. She told Roger the details of tomorrow's event page by page, without any detail. After making sure that Roger remembered everything clearly, she breathed a sigh of relief, picked up her handbag again and said goodbye.

"Don't you want to stay for dinner? You've been rushing around all day."

Roger couldn't help but speak out to keep her. Although Cecilia's dedication made him feel at ease, as her cousin he still instinctively cared about his sister who worked for him.

"There's a lot to do. We can have dinner together after the event is over tomorrow."

Before leaving, Cecilia squinted her eyes and looked at Alister and Perseus again:
"You two should behave yourself, study hard, and don't cause trouble for your cousin. Do you understand?"

"understood."

"Promise to be good."

The twins shuddered, immediately made a promise to Cecilia, and then watched her leave before they breathed a sigh of relief.

Roger then went to Harrods and bought himself two new suits to wear to events, and then walked towards the cab stand opposite Harrods.

"Sir, where are you going?"

The first coachman in line immediately jumped out of the carriage and asked the well-dressed young gentleman in front of him.

"Don't worry."

Roger shook his head, and then looked at the five high-end carriages behind him.

“You five, follow this car and help me pick up a few people.

"I'll pay for it."

After Roger finished speaking, he got on the first car by himself.

The six coachmen looked at each other and immediately realized that this was a big customer coming. They immediately lined up and drove towards Queens according to Roger's instructions.

Forty minutes later, ten people, including Roger, walked out of the Royal Art Troupe together.

These people all carried musical instruments, and the most eye-catching ones were a man and a woman in the lead.

The man was about thirty years old, tall and thin, with a thin beard and golden curly hair. He was wearing a black suit, looked very serious and didn't talk much.

The woman in the black dress behind him, who was about 26 or 7 years old, seemed much more cheerful. She talked and laughed with Roger, and also teased Alex Ford.

These were Alex's senior brothers and sisters, Viscount Birkbeck's other two disciples, Cedric Lloyd and Diana Zoe.

Under Roger's arrangement, the ten people boarded the four carriages in front, while the two carriages at the back were fully loaded with the musical instruments brought by the musicians Roger invited tonight.

Except for Miss Diana Zoe, whose piano could not be moved and had to use the ready-made equipment of DeWalker Music Company, everyone else brought their own exclusive musical instruments.

When they arrived at the Dwork Music Company, Roger greeted Mr. Jeffrey and then led a group of artists from the Royal Orchestra to the record recording room.

Because Baron De Walker had informed him in advance, this time Mr. Jeffrey arranged a larger recording room for Roger that could accommodate twenty people, and also prepared the necessary equipment in advance.

Afterwards, Roger distributed the scores of "The Four Seasons - Winter" and "Piano Concerto No. 9", which had been renamed "October Piano Concerto", to everyone in the Royal Orchestra, and explained to them in detail the theme and spirit of the music.

Although these musicians had performed "Four Seasons Autumn" and had some understanding of Roger's creative ability, they were still greatly shocked after seeing the two new works.

Especially the "October Piano Concerto", which made the taciturn Cedric unable to help but comment a lot, and most of the words were positive and complimentary, which made Roger himself quite touched.

Although the appearance fee was as high as 150 pounds each time, these musicians were very professional and did not try to get a second appearance fee. Instead, they diligently helped Roger complete the burning of the record within six hours.

In the meantime, Roger also bought them various foods, desserts and black tea from a Feniport-style restaurant opposite the De Walker Music Company, spending a total of over forty gold pounds.

By ten o'clock, Roger had successfully obtained six master discs containing the three movements of "October Piano Concerto" and two master discs containing "The Four Seasons · Winter".

The total cost of all this was only £956 10 soli 8 pence, which, considering the status of the Royal Orchestra, was much cheaper than Roger had imagined.

So Roger was very satisfied with this collaboration, and he secretly decided to look for these young people from the Royal Orchestra next time.

He thanked them repeatedly, then handed Alex an envelope containing 900 pounds in banknotes, asking him to distribute it, and then called a carriage for the musicians to return.

"That's it."

After seeing off the Royal Orchestra, Roger clapped his hands, cleaned up the mess in the mastering room, and then returned to No. 8 Minsk Street with satisfaction, carrying the eight records.

……

In the blink of an eye, it was ten o'clock on Wednesday morning.

Roger, wearing a brand new black suit and matching leather shoes, and holding an ebony cane inlaid with silver and platinum, appeared in the lobby of the John Lewis Shopping Center on time.

Today is the day when the portable wind-up phonograph and matching records are officially released!

(End of this chapter)