Lord of the Mysteries

Tap! Tap! Tap! The sound of footsteps echoed through the dark, narrow corridor, which was otherwise silent.

Klein kept his back straight as he kept up with the priest’s pace. He did not pose questions or chat idly with him, remaining silent like a windless body of water.

After passing through the heavily guarded passageway, the priest opened a secret door with a key and pointed down a stairwell made of stone. “Turn left at the intersection to reach Chanis Gate.”

“May Goddess bless you.” Klein gestured the sign of the crimson moon on his chest.

Commoners practiced etiquette, while the religious partook in ritual blessings.

“Praise the Lady.” The priest returned with the same gesture.

Klein did not speak further as he walked down the dark stone stairwell with the aid of the refined inlaid gas lamps on both sides of the wall.

Midway, he subconsciously turned back and saw the priest standing at the entrance. He was in the shadows and appeared like an immobile wax statue.

Klein looked away and continued to proceed down. It did not take long before he hit ground laid with ice-cold stone slabs. This led him to the intersection.

He did not turn towards Chanis Gate because Dunn Smith, who had recently finished his shift, was definitely not there.

He turned right and saw the familiar path. Klein went back up another flight of stairs and appeared inside Blackthorn Security Company.

Seeing doors that were tightly shut or half-closed, he did not rush into them. Instead, he went to the reception and saw a brown-haired girl focused on a magazine with a sweet smile.

“Hi, Rozanne.” Klein came to her side and deliberately rapped the table.

Knock! Rozanne stood up suddenly and knocked over a chair and said in a fluster, “Hi, nice weather today. Y-you, Klein, why are you here?”

She patted her chest and heaved a few sighs of relief. She was like a young lady afraid that her father had caught her skiving.

“I need to find Captain,” answered Klein simply.

“…You gave me a fright. I thought Captain came out.” Rozanne glared at Klein. “Don’t you know how to knock!? Hmph, you should be thankful that I’m a tolerant and kind woman. Well, I do prefer the term lady… Is there a reason why you are looking for Captain? He’s in the room opposite Mrs. Orianna.”

Even though he felt uptight, Klein was so amused by Rozanne he smiled. He pondered for a moment before saying, “A secret.”

“…” Rozanne’s eyes widened and while she reeled in her disbelief, Klein did a slight bow before bidding her farewell.

He went through the reception’s partition and knocked on the door of the first office on the right.

“Come in.” Dunn Smith’s deep and gentle voice sounded.

door behind him. He took

and hat were hanging on a clothes stand to his side. He was dressed in a white shirt and black vest. Even though his hairline was rather high, his gray eyes were deep, and

Klein honestly

eyes silently looked at Klein’s eyes. He did not follow up on the topic of being followed and instead, asked, “You came from

“Yes.” Klein answered.

switched the subject back. “It might be that Welch’s father doesn’t believe the cause of death that we reported and had hired a

City was also known as Wind City. It was a region with extremely advanced coal and steel industries. It was one of

his opinion, Dunn continued, “It might also be a result of that notebook. Heh, we happened to be investigating where Welch received the Antigonus family’s notebook. Of course, we

should I do?” Klein asked in a serious

hoped that

his coffee mug and took a mouthful, his eyes not showing the sliver

Klein returned

do not scare

breath and bade him farewell.

gas lamps on the two walls, he arrived silently to the

footsteps echoed, making him sound more

at the stairwell. He went forward and saw a shadow standing there—the

two did not say a word when they met. The priest turned around in

prayer hall. The circular holes behind the arched altar were still as pure and bright, while the darkness and silence of the building’s interior remained. There were still men and

for a moment, Klein slowly left the prayer hall with his cane and newspaper as though nothing

the familiar feeling of being observed. He felt like he was

surfaced

have still used the dark environment and the priest to conceal my temporary disappearance, would it be hard for him to continue monitoring me by pretending to pray? If he had not done something wrong, there would be no problem walking in with an open and aboveboard manner, right? Unless the person has some dark

as nervous as he was previously. He took a casual stroll before going around and to the back of

mottled walls. The address on the door was ‘3.’ Its

police department’s underground shooting range was opened to the public as a way to earn some additional

instantly. He took this

he was led underground to

he retrieved the revolver from his armpit holster and the box of

made his desire to protect himself win over his procrastination. Therefore, he could not

silver demon hunting bullets. Following that, he filled the

off his formal attire and halved top hat. He planned on practicing in his usual getup. After all, it was impossible for him to shout “wait a minute, let me change into something more comfortable” after encountering

cylinder and rolled

he held the gun in both hands, raised it up straight, and

in no hurry to shoot. Instead, he recalled his experience at military training 1 , how to form

aiming and his holding stance. He was as serious as a student taking

retreated to the wall and sat down on a long, soft bench. He placed the revolver to the side, began massaging his arms, and rested for quite

recalling his practice before he picked up the revolver with the wooden handle and

his body moved back