Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 184 Shepherd
Everyone smiled when they heard Alice's words.

Although the Royal Art Troupe invited them to work with special funding subsidies, and the restaurant also provided them with free meals, it can be said that the benefits were quite adequate.

But the problem is that since the people who can eat at the Royal Art Troupe are all art practitioners, most of them need to maintain their figure, so the chefs here generally limit the total calories of each meal and provide "healthy food" most of the time.

Like the grilled haddock and Sonia shrimp that Roger ate last time, they are foods that are supplied at regular intervals and in fixed quantities. They are basically always in short supply every time they appear. Even great artists like Viscount Birkbeck have to queue up to get them.

But for these mechanics of the Steam Church, their work requires a lot of physical strength, so the calorie requirements of food are relatively high.

These people had eaten at the Royal Art Troupe's restaurant before, but were not very satisfied. So now that it was almost dinner time and someone was providing them with meals and promising them good food, they were naturally very happy.

On the other hand, these people knew that Roger was the inventor and co-patent holder of the portable wind-up phonograph, so his idea of improving the internal mechanism of the phonograph was also very reasonable.

So even though they were insiders of the Steam Church, they let down their guard and did not suspect anything else.

"Thank you, Mr. Jones."

Thomas Doyle, the "Evangelist" with golden curly hair and a triangular holy emblem, nodded slightly in gratitude.

Afterwards, Roger watched for a while as Alice and the Steam Church worked on improving the stage effects equipment. When it was time for dinner, he invited everyone to go to the "Angel" restaurant opposite the Royal Art Troupe for dinner.

The owner of this restaurant is said to be a devout believer in the God of Steam and Machinery. In his early years of starting a business, he was in danger of his life and was rescued by the angel of the God of Steam, which saved his life.

He later opened the "Angel" restaurant here as a side business, a commemoration of the incident and a tribute to the god of steam.

Considering that the restaurant owner seemed to be from the industrial field and had an interest in maintaining good relations with the Church of Steam, Roger was very suspicious whether his story of being saved by an angel was made up.

Regardless of whether he understands what blasphemy is, some parishes of the Orthodox Church also believe that the promotion of this kind of "miracle" is helpful for missionary work, so they generally turn a blind eye to it.

Therefore, based on various factors, the "Angel" restaurant became a restaurant with a more or less Steam Church cultural background. Many factory owners and coal and steel industry people who were closely related to the church would entertain guests here to expand their circle.

In fact, such practices are very common among these emerging bourgeoisie.

Mr. William Willis, who had a good relationship with Roger before, believed in the goddess of night in his early years. Finally, because he worked in the coal and steel industry, he converted to the god of steam and machinery.

But although Roger was a little worried that real Steam Church insiders like Thomas Doyle would be reluctant to eat in a restaurant that seemed to be seeking fame, after he tentatively mentioned the name of the "Angel" restaurant, Thomas and others did not show any resistance, and even looked a little happy.

"Could it be that the so-called angel saving people incident is true?"

Roger was a little skeptical, but as soon as he walked into the "Angel" restaurant, he felt as if he suddenly understood.

The restaurant has a huge vestibule covering hundreds of square meters, which is filled with various religious paintings and sculptures with sacred meanings.

As soon as you enter the door, you can see the huge triangular holy emblem and a series of portraits of several famous archbishops and saints in the history of the Steam Church.

These portraits and holy emblems are not fabricated by the people. Many of them are quite old. They are obviously paintings of a certain age collected by the boss through various channels, and he has obtained permission for their use from the Church of Steam.

On the other hand, there are also a lot of historical science content about the "God of Steam and Machinery" Church and many small confessionals and prayer rooms. The layout of the "Angel" restaurant on this half floor can almost be regarded as a condensed version of the history of the "God of Steam and Machinery" Church.

Even if the owner of this restaurant was not actually saved by an angel, the arrangements he made were of great benefit to the church's dissemination of doctrine and can be described as pious and faithful.

Another reason that cannot be stated explicitly is that the area where the Royal Art Troupe is located is under the jurisdiction of the Church of the Goddess of Evernight. Generally speaking, the official forces of the Orthodox Church cannot interfere with each other's jurisdiction, but this unofficial folk dissemination of doctrine is not prohibited.

After Thomas Doyle and the other members of the Steam Church entered the hall, they immediately devoutly drew a triangular holy emblem and whispered a few prayers. Then they entered the restaurant further inside with Roger, Alice and other members of the Royal Art Troupe.

After that, it was time to order food. Roger specifically ordered a variety of meat and carbohydrate foods that are very filling, including grilled steak, seafood rice, fried fish, and roasted chicken, etc. He even ordered drinks such as sweet iced tea, which were large in quantity and could fill you up. He took great care of everyone's emotions and stomachs.

While eating, Thomas Doyle took the initiative to ask Roger:

"Mr. Jones, could you please elaborate on the defect in the phonograph's internal components that you mentioned earlier?"

This was the excuse Roger had made earlier, and he also had a plan in place at this point.

"Well, currently, the phonograph's spring only winds for about five minutes...While that's not a short time, I'm considering that many people prefer to lie on the sofa or in bed and listen to music and audio stories, and don't want to get up every five minutes to wind it up. So, I'd like to ask if there's room for improvement in this area."

This is indeed a core problem with current portable wind-up phonographs. The internal structure of the wind-up is a qualitative change compared to traditional hand-cranked phonographs, but the five-minute single playback time limit is indeed a big problem.

Just to say that each movement of Roger's "The Four Seasons · Winter" and "October Piano Concerto" lasts more than five minutes, and the latter even reaches about 10 minutes. This means that to listen to the "October Piano Concerto" in its entirety, you have to wind it up at least six times!
This is undoubtedly a flaw that cannot be ignored. With the gradual popularization of the "content ecology", publishers will certainly gradually improve the recording and production technology of records. By then, the playing time of each record may double or more, so portable wind-up phonographs must consider the potential crisis in this regard.

"Hmm... Although I haven't seen the internal structural design drawings in your patent certificate, based on current clockwork technology, five minutes is basically the best that can be achieved for civilian commercial equipment. Even if the Steam Church sent in professional mechanics to make improvements, it would only allow users to get up twice less, which wouldn't be a significant improvement."

Thomas Doyle paused for a moment and then replied.

"What if we use a stack or battery to power it?"

Roger proposed another solution.

"The cost will increase, it's just a matter of how much."

Thomas Doyle said this with certainty, but then added:
"In any case, I still need to see the design drawings before I can give you further advice... If you're free in the next few days, please come to Lever Church to see me between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM during non-working hours, including weekends. My companions and I will try our best to help you by looking at the drawings."

The Lever Church was the largest church of the "God of Steam and Machinery" Church in Backlund, besides the Saint Hillran Cathedral. From what Thomas Doyle had said, he should be a Beyonder affiliated with this church.

When Roger heard this, he immediately felt secretly happy.

In fact, solving the problem of the portable wind-up phonograph's winding was only one aspect. Roger also wanted to establish certain connections with the insiders of the "God of Steam and Machinery" Church, and then find an opportunity to retrieve from Angelina Bartley the Sequence 5 level seal that originally belonged to the Abraham family and had the aura of Mr. "Gate".

Of course, Roger could also rush in, but this would undoubtedly cause many problems, including but not limited to attracting the investigation of the "Mechanical Heart" and causing himself unnecessary trouble.

"Thank you then."

Afterwards, Roger chatted with Thomas and others about some hot topics regarding the development of Loen's industry. During this conversation, Roger also mentioned some of the knowledge he had learned in college in his previous life about steel smelting and hydraulics, which immediately attracted praise from the three young people of the Steam Church.

"I didn't expect that you are not only a musician, but also have a good knowledge of natural sciences."

Thomas couldn't help but praise him, while Roger scratched his head and said with a wry smile:

"No, I just read a lot in my spare time."

“The love of reading is an important quality.”

Thomas agrees.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Roger paid a hefty order and then sent Alice, Thomas and the others back to the door of the Royal Art Troupe.

"I have something else to do here, see you another day."

Roger smiled and shook hands with Thomas, then said:
"Mr. Doyle, I will visit you at Lever Chapel this Saturday afternoon around three o'clock."

"Always waiting."

Thomas Doyle smiled. At this time, he had developed a strong liking for Benelu Jones, a knowledgeable and sincere musician, and a desire to make friends with him.

Soon, Roger returned to No. 15 Minsk Street by carriage. He rested for a while and then slowly went back downstairs.

At this time, Alister and Perseus were still taking a lunch break, and Klein had just woken up. He poured Roger a cup of black tea, and the two of them started chatting while drinking.

"By the way, Roger, there are two things."

Klein said:

"The first thing is what we didn't finish talking about last time...about the debate in Parliament on the two new bills."

Last time, because Sam and the twins were there, Klein didn't finish discussing this matter with Roger. Now, since they were the only two people in the living room, Klein brought it up again.

"Have you read the entire 'Black Emperor' card?"

Klein confirmed again, pretending to be casual.

In fact, when he first got the "Black Emperor" blasphemous card, he was troubled for a long time about how to unlock it. It was not until he recalled the things about Bernadette mentioned in Emperor Roselle's diary that he tried to open the "Black Emperor" card using the name "Bernadette".

As for how Roger saw the contents of the card, Klein still couldn't be sure. However, considering the long history of the Abraham family and the means Roger possessed, Klein was not very surprised.

"Yes, I've seen everything up to Sequence 0."

Roger nodded, and then said:

"Did you think of that too?"

"Yes... Considering your previous analysis of George III's actions and motives, I suspect he might be attempting to initiate the Black Emperor's apotheosis ritual."

Klein paused, then continued:
"It's just a feeling, but I lack concrete evidence, so I'd like to hear your opinion."

Although Klein had heard a lot of information related to human trafficking during his time at the Tarot Club and was basically certain that the missing people were related to the construction of the nine "Black Emperor" tombs, he still wanted to hear Roger's detailed explanation. After all, as Mr. "Wheel of Fortune", Roger would not speak so bluntly in an occasion like the Tarot Club.

"Um……"

Roger pondered for a moment and nodded slightly:
"Then let me tell you." "This all started with the disappearances I noticed a long time ago..."

Basically, within the limits of what Roger could reveal, he gave a general account of the incident. Of course, he did not mention the specific location details of the Storm Church and the mausoleum.

As expected, after confirming these things, Klein became very angry.

Because in his detective work over the past period of time, Klein had seen many families seriously harmed by missing persons incidents. As an upright young man who traveled from China in the 21st century, he deeply detested such behavior that would sacrifice the lives of civilians for personal gain.

Roger glanced at him and said:

“These problems will be solved, but we need to do it step by step.

"Believe me, I've been concerned about this too. He will never succeed."

Hearing Roger's words, Klein nodded. As the evil leader of the Tarot Society, he certainly knew what Roger had been doing all along, but it was only today that he had a completely new understanding.

On the other hand, really talking this matter out with Roger also means that both parties have reached an explicit consensus on this matter.

"By the way, what was the second thing you mentioned?"

Roger asked again.

"The second thing is that I have completely digested the Magician potion and can be promoted to Faceless Man."

Then, before Roger could speak, Klein quickly added:

"I know you've been wanting to give me the 'Wanderer's Mask,' but I won't take it for nothing. I'll pay the corresponding price."

"On the other hand, the bicycles that Mr. Leppard and I collaborated on have already started selling. I still owe you money, don't I? Give me some time. I'll pay you back gradually within three weeks at the latest."

"OK, no problem."

Roger nodded solemnly. Now that Klein had temporarily escaped poverty and there was no shortage of sales for his bicycles, it would be a good idea for the two of them to start settling accounts.

The general value of Sequence 6 Beyonder traits is between 3000 and 4500 pounds. Of course, some extremely rare Pathway traits also have a significant premium.

Considering that the main ingredient of the "Faceless Man" potion was not particularly rare, the two finally agreed on a friendly price of 3750 pounds, which included the "cost" of Roger "stealing" the "Faceless Man" extraordinary characteristics from the "Wanderer Mask".

After the two of them settled the matter, Klein felt noticeably more relaxed.

They chatted about some other things, and then Klein went to prepare dinner, while Roger woke up the brothers Alister and Perseus and asked them to prepare to eat.

Just after the four people and the cat finished their meal and Roger was washing the dishes, there was another knock on the door. Klein went to open it and found Cecilia standing there.

"Oh, Cecilia, have you eaten yet? Come in and sit down."

Klein offered his greeting, but Cecilia shook her head.
"I'm not going in, Detective Moriarty.

“Could you please tell Mr. Jones that his “Four Seasons: Winter” and “October Piano Concerto” have entered mass production and should be available for sale tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

"in addition,"

Cecilia took out three records from her handbag and handed them to Klein:

"This is a trial audio fairy tale recording produced by a partner of Dwork Art Marketing. They'd really like to know what Mr. Jones thinks of it, so please take some time to listen to it and give your opinion."

"Okay, I'll tell him."

Klein took the record, watched Cecilia leave, and then turned back to the living room.

"What's wrong? I heard Cecilia's voice."

Roger had just finished washing the pots and dishes. He wiped his hands and walked over curiously.

Klein repeated Cecilia's words to Roger, who said "Hey" and couldn't help but sigh at the efficiency of his competitors.

"Alister, Perseus, stop playing."

Roger waved, attracting the attention of the two brothers.

"What's wrong, cousin?"

Perseus, who was playing chess with Alister, looked up curiously and asked.

"Cecilia just sent me some fairy tale records. Do you want to listen to them?"

Roger winked and shook the three records.

The two brothers' eyes lit up immediately:

"Is this the audio story you mentioned before? I must listen to it."

They put down the chess games they were playing and ran over to surround Roger.

Seeing the twins' curious expressions, Roger smiled slightly, took out an audio story record, placed it on his founder's edition phonograph, then put down the needle and started playing the content.

The fairy tale in the record is "The Travels of a Kitten", which Roger had heard when he was a child. This fairy tale is very famous, but it is aimed at younger children and is not suitable for the current age of Alister and Perseus.

But even so, the two brothers listened with great interest.

The fundamental reason for their interest was not the content of the story, but the fact that the story from the book was read aloud and recorded on a record in audio form, which they had never experienced before.

This is a bit like when Roger first came into contact with an e-book as a child. Although he knew the plot, reading it on an electronic screen always seemed much fresher than reading it in a book.

Cecilia had said before that this was just a trial fairy tale record, and there would surely be more interesting stories and novels produced in the form of records in the future.

After listening to "The Travels of Kitten", the two brothers pulled Roger to play the remaining stories.

Unlike before, Roger found that these records were all recorded on double sides, which was undoubtedly a big improvement compared to the single-sided records that were popular on the market before.

Roger was very satisfied with the improvement, and Klein and the two brothers were looking forward to more audio content to be released later.

In this era without television or radio, such audio records were considered the latest and most interesting entertainment.

After confirming that there were no obvious deficiencies in the performance of the record and the recitation of the stories, Roger, Crane, and the twins discussed the specific content of the record. Roger then compiled a list of currently popular novels and children's stories, intending to give it to his cousin when he met her later as feedback.

Roger could foresee that when this kind of audio story was fully rolled out, the sales of his phonographs would reach a new level.

As for copyright issues, that is something that DeWalker Art Marketing Company and those publishing companies need to consider.

……

The next morning, Roger opened his eyes before 5 o'clock.

Normally he wouldn't wake up so early, but today he clearly felt different.

Roger had had this feeling before, but never as strong as today.

That was the feeling of the power of the "shepherd's evil heart" being completely contained by him.

"I am a 'shepherd' now..."

This sudden development caught Roger off guard, but he soon became excited.

This is the "Shepherd", a T0-level sequence 5 ability in the mysterious world!

Even with only Sequence 5 abilities, the "Shepherd" can herd the souls of up to seven Beyonders and use their abilities!

In addition, all of Roger's original "Secret Prayer" abilities have been comprehensively strengthened, including the "stealth" ability and flesh and blood magic, etc., which have been taken to a higher level.

According to the previous agreement with the "Dark Saint" Xesma and Adam, Roger should have reached the node to the stone hexagonal building by now.

But Roger was not in a hurry.

It's not just because the Composer's potion hasn't been fully digested, but more importantly, he hasn't successfully grazed enough souls and expanded his strength.

Taking into account the various variables after contacting Xesma, Roger plans to obtain enough souls first, and then find him to be promoted to the "Black Knight".

So the problem facing Roger now is very clear.

"So, where should I go to find so many Beyonder souls?"

(End of this chapter)