Mystery: From the Shadow World

Chapter 107 Qilingos's Motives

Three o'clock in the afternoon, above the gray fog.

Inside a palace that looks like a giant's residence.

Everyone at the Tarot Club subconsciously prepared to listen to the energetic and sweet voice, but after a few moments of silence, they realized that Miss Justice's seat was empty, with only the giant dragon pattern on the chair back emitting a dim luster.

"Miss Justice is taking a leave of absence from this gathering."

Thinking of the scene yesterday when Justice pleaded with him, saying that because of the Qilingos incident, he was being protected by the Beyonders arranged by his father and was unable to attend the party, Klein said this calmly while silently opening his spiritual vision.

Mr. Hanged Man looked nervous, no, or rather, extremely anxious. Philip and The Sun, however, showed no reaction. Klein thought as he added, "Because of the aftermath of the Qilingos incident."

He said this because he wanted to open the Hanged Man's mouth and see if he had found any information about Qilingos in the past few days. In comparison, he didn't mind postponing the matter of Russell's diary until next week.

Living up to his expectations, The Hanged Man bowed and saluted, saying sincerely, "Mr. Fool, I have roughly figured out Qilingos's motives."

We agreed in advance that I'm only responsible for gathering intelligence, not helping. Klein curled his lips, nodded slightly, and said with a calm smile, "Tell me about it."

"Qilingos went to Backlund to complete a commission, which was confirmed a few days ago: the assassination of Duke Negan."

Without waiting for the Fool to ask, Alger continued in detail, "I'm sorry, I don't know the client, and I haven't even investigated the potential reward. But it seems to be an item he's long dreamed of, one that could even turn the 'Four Kings' of pirates into the 'Five Kings'."

"Four Kings?"

"The Sun" raised doubts at the right time.

In the past, this might have been raised by "Justice" Audrey, but she took a leave of absence from this party. In addition, the information about the North-South Road that "The Sun" obtained from Philip did not go into detail about the "Four Kings" among the pirates, so the person raising the question had changed.

Alger nodded as he always did when answering "Justice." "Indeed, the common people of the North and South Continents don't know, but most Beyonders know something about the Four Kings. We believe they are either High-Sequence Powerhouses themselves, or, with the help of Beyonder vessels and magical items, possess High-Sequence combat power."

"That is to say."

After Alger finished explaining, Philip also joined the conversation. He pondered for a moment with a complex tone, then asked as if to confirm, "Does the item offered as a commission increase your strength even more than 'Creeping Hunger'?"

"I'm afraid so."

Alger's mood, which had originally relaxed somewhat in the Tarot Club, became solemn again. Even though he knew that Qilingos's goal was to assassinate Duke Negan, he still could not do anything.

As long as he was allowed to live in this world, the secret would be exposed at any moment, making him sleepless and restless. In other words, even if Qilingos mastered Creeping Hunger, in the eyes of Mr. Hanged Man, an experienced official Beyonder, he still didn't reach the combat power of a High-Sequence Formidable. Philip let out a silent breath and then said:

"I'll try to deal with him. If you find anything, Mr. Fool, could you please relay it to me then, if possible?"

Where on earth did Philip get the courage to take down Qilingos? He's a Sequence Five! Wait, don't take me with you! Klein used his Joker ability to prevent his smile from faltering.
"no problem."

"Temperance" is going to deal with Qilingos?!
Alger frowned slightly, keenly aware that something was amiss. Although his experiences over the years had dulled his character as a Sea Citizen, he still didn't think that someone who had been inferior to him some time ago, at most Sequence Seven, no, at most Sequence Six, could fight against Qilingos.

Wait, "Temperance" is a member of the Rose School's Temperance Faction. Perhaps he's found his companions and is planning to claim Qilingos's 1, no, now a total of 3 gold pounds in bounties, as well as the "Creeping Hunger" item.
With this in mind, he didn't refuse and nodded, "I understand. I'll let you know if there's any important news. Given that guy's personality, he definitely hasn't left and must be hiding in the shadows of Backlund."

It's a pity that my idea of an extraordinary pet has not been realized yet, otherwise I might be able to directly create the Paw Patrol or the Meowth Cult to find the other party. I can only wait for the next party at the Brave Bar, promote the "pharmacist" to "tamer", and seek his help.

Alger then turned sideways and said respectfully, "I'm sorry, Mr. Fool. Because of the Qilingos incident, I've only memorized three pages of Russell's diary."

"That's pretty good." Klein, who had originally thought he'd skip the diary reading session, smiled calmly upon hearing this. "Think about what you want in return first."

Immediately afterwards, "The Hanged Man" Alger materialized three pages of the diary and handed them to Klein under the different gazes of Philip and "The Sun" Derrick.

Philip's gaze fell on the three pages of the diary, but he immediately closed his eyes, suppressing his desire in his heart as quickly as possible, while controlling his movements to avoid any abnormality.

As everyone's face was blurred at the Tarot Club, his condition did not attract the attention of others. Even if Audrey, as an "audience member", was present, her attention would probably be distracted by Russell's diary, making it impossible for her to notice.

As for Derrick, the Sun, after a brief moment of curiosity about what could have piqued the interest of the Fool, the god of the universe, like Russell's diary, he quickly calmed down and became increasingly impatient for the details of the upcoming transaction regarding the "Prayer for Light" formula.

Apart from training for joining the patrol team, he spent most of his time reviewing his previous extraordinary knowledge, all for today.

Derrick pursed his lips, and ultimately his rationality overcame his desires, subduing his inner restlessness. Together with the other two people on the field, he spent the time reading Mr. Fool's diary in silence.

Time passes slowly.

Because Justice had taken leave, Klein's spiritual energy instantly became abundant, so he read the diary slowly and leisurely, but still controlled the frequency. This did not seem too strange, at least it would not attract the attention of several members.

The diary dissipated into gray mist in Klein's hands. At the same time, he looked in the direction of Alger, the Hanged Man, and said:

"Proceed with your inquiry."

(End of this chapter)