Chapter 117: Small Town Drama

341
The Night Goddess Really Dislikes Me.
Edward thought expressionlessly, "Do I really need to be punished so severely just because I killed a Sequence 7 Beyonder of the Lord of Storms and I'm a Beyonder of an Outer God?"
Well, it's a pity that I killed Klein, who seems to be one of the candidates for the Lord of Mystery and the inheritor of the Yuan Castle. Ha, it seems that the Goddess of Night has finally found the right person she needs, someone to train as a candidate on her side of the mystery.
After the incident at Berkeleyland, I cannot stay there any longer. What a hassle, considering all the years I've kept a low profile and all the identification I've obtained.
The secret town seems to be located near the Sea of Divine Warfare. After I leave, I may relocate to the sea or the Southern Continent for a while.
不过，没有第一时间离开贝克兰德确实是我轻敌了，要是早早离开就不会陷入现在这個被动的局面。当然，陷入被动局面也是一件好事，黑夜女神打我杀我都可以, 明着来我就有机会逃跑。如果祂什么都不做, 我反而应该提高警惕。不过南大陆我最好也不要去，刚跟法布提打了一架，要是被祂发现我少了一份序列一，十有八九欲望母树半夜敲门。
Firstly, I need to leave before the New Year, and it would be better for me to temporarily stay at sea...
Edward tapped his hand on the table without making any noise, so as not to attract the attention of the secret dolls outside.
Another period of time passed, and the waiting time had exceeded twelve hours. It should have been daylight outside by now, but the crimson moon still did not dim.
The goddess of the night is clearly not letting herself go out.
But Edward doesn't plan on staying in this place and wasting time with the goddess of the night. He can't even be sure if the flow of time here is the same as in the outside world. After all, even the spiritual realm cannot be accessed here and the power of the divine realm is greatly diminished.
When the biological clock told him it was almost noon outside, Edward pushed open the door and stepped out.
Just as he stepped out, he collided with a male secret companion from the northern continent, with soft features, dressed in ancient clothing, and appeared to be a local from the Night country.
Edward glanced around casually, at the same time, all the secret companions turned their heads together, their bodies remained still, and their faces maintained their previous expressions, either smiling or angry, with various expressions.
He didn't react much, as if he hadn't seen it, and then smiled and greeted the local Yozakura secret puppet one meter in front of him:
“si-a-li”
His voice was steady and slow, with a low, hoarse breath, and he learned the essence of the Yozakura dialect's "imitating the howl of a wolf" pronunciation perfectly.
A local male secret lover of Si-a-li hesitated for half a second, and the stiff and eerie smile on his face unexpectedly softened, becoming natural and gentle: "Si-a-li".
So, it's really important to learn a foreign language well.
One third of the Meituans turned their heads, and a part of the crowd on the street began to move again. However, the remaining two thirds still stood still, with expressionless faces and movements, quietly staring at Edward like statues.
“秘偶大师”会给每个秘偶设定身份和性格，并且让他们扮演这个人设, 我愿意陪它们演戏, 所以它们的控制者——全身不遂的半个“愚者”的控制本能也就进入了扮演模式，看来过去的夜之国还是会有外来访客的……爱德华笑容不变，亲切友好地继续用自己刚破译的夜之国方言说道：
“Thank the Mother of the Night for blessing your sleep yesterday. Praise her and praise this evening.”
——This seems to be one of the daily greetings in the Land of the Night. And another special greeting is "May he get his wish on the mountaintop."
The local's secret smile was even more pronounced, and their movements were more fluid and natural: "Nice to meet you, a person from far away."
I hadn't heard this phrase before, but it roughly translates to "a guest from afar" or "someone from a distant place."
Is it my identity as a "visitor" that triggered the new dialogue? Ah, it feels a bit like a role-playing game...
Such a dangerous role-playing game can only be enjoyed by the brave and talented gods who can find joy even in the midst of danger.
"Yes, thank you."
"I want to go to the church and pray."
Edward tried his best to spell out the words he just learned fluently, while secretly observing the movement of the secret dolls around him. Most of the secret dolls had already entered their play state, but there were still a few as motionless as rocks in the tide.
They are surrounded by people who are "talking" to them, talking to themselves, saying hello or goodbye without appearing to be affected at all.
So Antigonus has been rehearsing a play all along?
This demonic wolf's deepest memory is actually a day-to-day life in the Land of Night, truly an anomaly among mythological creatures.
This thought flashed through Edward's mind as he saw the local secret puppet eagerly turn his body and point to a church in the distance, seemingly saying proudly:
"There it is, the Church of the Mother of Heaven."
"Go there to pray, devoutly, and may the Lord of the Night grant you beautiful dreams and peace."
"You, young man, will you not visit the world atop the mountain?"
Mountain top is the world of the dead, and the locals even made a joke that his personality should be the hospitable type.
Edward responded readily: "Okay, I'll be devout. Thank you."
After saying goodbye to the puppet, He strode forward and headed straight for the church several hundred meters ahead.
However, at the moment when He turned around and showed His back, the expression of the local puppet who had just smiled and nodded at him suddenly froze again, becoming stiff and creepy, with its raised hand hanging stiffly in the air.
If a horizontal line is drawn from Edward's current location, the middle-aged woman who is hanging clothes, the child who is running around with a football, the young woman who is chatting on the street, and the young person who is walking with daily tools all stop and turn their heads stiffly to look at Edward's back, silently approaching him.
What Edward saw in front of him was still a vibrant theatrical representation of the Night Country's population.
It's really troublesome...
Edward pretended to know nothing and, when he was about a hundred meters away from the church, he approached the closest passerby in front of him and greeted her with a "Hello."
The hundreds of secret followers behind Him all came to a stop.
The passerby was a young girl, holding a basket of clothes halfway through being cut. Her clothing was also of the Night Country style, but this garment in her hands probably would never be completed.
The girl covered her face with her hand and shyly turned her head to the side. "Hello, sir," she said.
"May I take a look at what you have in your hand? Can I?"
"Sure, sure." The girl stepped back and handed over the basket in her hands. "Please take a look."
Edward took the basket and pinched the finished fabric pieces, scrutinizing them carefully. Every now and then, He would search the Night Kingdom dialect dictionary that He just built to find words to praise the girl's handiwork and act with her secret companion to deceive the following companion. Then, He picked up the scissors, examined them, and suddenly pierced His own palm.
The girl froze, and Edward bent down, gently stroking its face with his blood-stained palm. "Thank you, beautiful girl," he whispered.
"Now, please help me."
A shy and beautiful smile appeared on the girl's secret puppet.
The smile cracked open and spread to the back of the head, revealing a gaping maw. Its body quickly mutated into a bloated and twisted mass of flesh, emitting joyful screams. The pollution followed the spiritual thread backwards and then broke apart instantly. This puppet, contaminated and abandoned by half a fool, became a demonic puppet, crawling towards the secret puppet crowd with new arms and swollen tumors.
Edward took off his tattered and blood-stained coat and threw it into the secret compartment. The demonic blood on it instantly contaminated dozens of nearby secret compartments, sparking a bizarre and escalating battle in the quiet Night Kingdom.
Just as the fight was intensifying, a dark cloud appeared out of nowhere, covering the moon and emptying the streets in an instant. The only thing left behind was a tattered coat lying on the ground.
Edward happily whistled and wrapped himself in the embryonic form of the divine kingdom before walking into the church briskly.
342
After chatting for a long time with Mike and Allen, who were talking about Talim, Klein finally found an opportunity to leave. To be honest, he had limited knowledge about Talim and only had the role of a listener during the conversation. However, Allen and Mike mentioned something that excited him, and that was that Edward Vaughn did not attend this funeral and seemed to have moved away.
"King Street in Joewood has been cordoned off due to problems with the sewage and gas pipelines, and is currently under repair."
Ellen said: "I was passing by there on my way over this morning and wanted to call Mr. Vaughan to walk together, but found that Number 5 had been blocked off. I don't know where he went."
Edward left? It's unbelievable. As an angel, why would he suddenly leave Beckland? Could it be that my anonymous report was really effective? The background of the church is really unfathomable. Anyway, maybe I am safe now... Klein breathed a sigh of relief.
In the midst of his contemplation, reporter Mike and surgeon Allen bid farewell with heavy hearts, and Crane left the cemetery at a steady pace.
As he looked around for a rental carriage, a familiar carriage emerged from a hidden location and stopped in front of him.
Although the emblem on the black carriage was skillfully concealed, Klein still recognized it at first glance as the carriage of Prince Edesak. Silently, the door opened and the impeccably groomed old butler stepped out, making a gesture of invitation:
"The Prince is waiting for you."
"Okay." Klein entered the spacious and warm carriage without any trace of nervousness.
Prince Edesak was dressed in a dark blue coat with a decoration made of gold ribbons and other such items, making him look exceptionally noble.
He caressed the diamond lapel pin, and his narrow eyes showed a hint of a sigh:
"Even when attending a friend's funeral, I am restricted and cannot be there in person. I can only watch from afar and send someone to lay flowers on my behalf. This is the lack of freedom within the royal family."
"If Talim's grandfather had not lost his title, then you wouldn't need to avoid anything," Klein sat down across from Prince Edesak, following his gesture.
Prince Edesak raised a glass of deep red Orlmir wine and said, "I had intended to help Talim's father restore some of his title, but unfortunately..."
He didn't delve into the topic and instead asked, "
Sherlock, have you received that package?"
"Yes." Klein answered truthfully, without offering too much description.
Edsack nodded lightly and asked, "Any progress?"
"I've done several divinations using Talim's hair, flesh, and personal items, but the conclusion I got was that he died of a sudden heart disease," Klein smoothly narrated without any emotional color, crazily implying "my sequence is not high," "my level is limited," "although I am good at divination, the other party is even more powerful," "I'm sure I can't investigate the truth," and so on.
Edessa showed a look of disappointment that was hard to conceal and sighed:
"What's your plan for investigating further?"
"Starting with the people and places Talim had contact with in the days leading up to his death," answered Klein according to the plan.
Edsac glanced at the old butler and said, "This must involve coercion and bribery, hmm... give Sherlock £100 for investigation funds."
"Yes, Your Highness." The old butler pulled out a stack of bills that he had prepared in advance from his pocket.
直接给100镑做经费？克莱恩再次感受到了埃德萨克王子的慷慨。
"I will do my best to investigate," he took the £100 cash and stuffed it into his pocket without counting.
"I hope we can bring Talim to rest." Prince Edsac clenched his right fist and tapped his left chest.
As he spoke, he turned his head to look out the window at the nearby Imperial Crown Cemetery.
He still had some feelings for Talim... Klein sighed inwardly and left the carriage with the old butler.
Watching the prince's carriage gradually disappear, Klein quickly adjusted his mindset. He decided to continue playing the diligent detective, striving to the best of his ability within the scope of ordinary people and low sequences, and then find an opportunity to give up.
现在时间还早，克莱恩先坐马车回到了市区，然后准备购买一些食材回家准备午饭。
与此同时，他今天还有另一件重要的事情要做。
After recent research, Klein has discovered the use of the "glass bottle" that Edward gave to him. He feels that he may have formed some kind of contract with Dunne inside the bottle, allowing him to completely control Dunne's every move. Therefore, he took the time to look through the relevant information of occult rituals and tried to erase the contract with the power of mist, which he successfully achieved.
现在，邓恩是自由的，并且已经忘记了“夏洛克·莫里亚蒂”这个人，以及这几天的记忆。
克莱恩绕路来到了一家客人较多的书店，拿起一本书坐在阅读区仔细观看，十多分钟后，他站起来，前往距离盥洗室最近的书架。在路过一个不起眼的书架夹角时用纸人替身和本体交换了位置，让纸人替身站在那里看报纸，自己趁机跟着另一个客人的背后闪进盥洗室。
Klein carefully disguised himself by flipping his reversible jacket inside out, attaching a fake beard, removing his glasses, switching hats, and then following someone out of the restroom, conveniently leaving the bookstore as well.
On the way, Klein didn't feel like he was being monitored, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
At the same time, he had less than ten minutes, and if his paper clone stared at a page for too long, it would also raise suspicion.
Fortunately, the Church of St. Samuel was not far away, and Klein carefully wrapped the glass bottle containing Dunne's soul in an envelope and skillfully used magic as a distraction, dropping it into the mailbox of the Black Night Church.
Then he hurried back to the bookstore without stopping to take the long way. It had only been five minutes, and Kline smoothly swapped out the paper mannequin and left empty-handed.
tbc
——————
Decline: While being imprisoned, they also excavated a lost language.
Night: Give Him a chance to freely communicate with Charat.