Lord of the Mysteries

A unique wide jaw, his hair is in a bun like an ancient knight’s, eyes that look at you with the intent of an icy smile… Xio Derecha was half slumped on the sofa as she scrutinized the portrait that Audrey had handed to her.

In her eyes, the man might as well have been a living, walking pile of money.

After committing the looks of the great pirate Qilangos to her memory, she proceeded to read the description written at the bottom of the page:

“Brown hair, dark green eyes.

“The portrait can only be used as a general reference as the target possesses the ability to transform into another person. It is unknown how long he can maintain the transformation.”

The portrait can only be used as a reference… The target possesses the ability to transform into another person… Only as a reference, transform into another person… Then why did I spend so much time memorizing his facial features? Xio wore a dazed look, as if it was the first time she had witnessed the evil intentions the world had for her.

She looked up and saw Fors Wall slumped languidly in a sofa across from her. She seemed to be muttering to herself, “There’s no way to look for this person. We don’t know what he looks like. All we know is that he’s not from Backlund. There are far too many foreigners who come into Backlund every day.”

Fors attempted to sit up, but failed even after three tries.

“I’m only an Apprentice, not an Arbiter…” She pouted as she placed her hand on the armrest of the sofa, successfully pulling herself up into a sitting position.

“Does that lady think that we are prophets?” Fors jested.

Xio was about to answer when she realized that there were still footnotes she hadn’t gone through yet.

She recited them out softly, “The suggested ways of searching are as follows:

“1. Qilangos has an evil object with him. It needs to devour the flesh, blood, and soul of a living person every other day. You can consider looking for missing vagrants.

“2. Search for Qilangos’s information thoroughly and build a profile of his unique hobbies and behaviors.

“3. A person’s facial features might change, but as long as he hasn’t received any special training, he will often act like himself, such as the things he prefers to eat, his gait, actions he’s used to performing, and many other details.”

Fors nodded as she listened.

“Miss Audrey isn’t the innocent, naive teen that the rumors about her suggest. She has a meticulous heart and a calm sense of observation.”

“Is that so?” Xio asked, doubtful. She didn’t expect an answer as she changed the topic by suggesting, “I’ll be in charge of gathering the information. Can you consolidate that pile of gold pound’s, no—that admiral’s hobbies and unique traits?”

Fors opened her eyes wide open and shook the steel box containing her cigarettes.

do this? How can you bear to make a

she exuded an

on deduction in your

as she said, “Do you know how much of my hair I pulled out, how much sleep I

her head and looked at Xio Derecha, then lowered her head once again and grumbled, “Life is short. There

nearly nodded in agreement. She fought hard to keep her authority as

this problem?” She suppressed her voice, making her childlike

twenty seconds before looking up

erase the name and hand it over to an excellent detective, then ask him to do the consolidation and deduction. All we have to do is

Xio’s mind went blank. Fors and Xio

the atmosphere became awkward, she cleared

it according to your

quickly

…

Howes Street, Divination Club.

afternoon, Mr. Moretti.” The pretty receptionist Angelica looked at Klein in surprise. “You

for the house with the

It always brings us

had expired on the carriage he rented; thus, he came for a cup of

this would serve as the final layer of the foundations. With the new “experience” at the Divination Club, he would logically mention the application to

are always

for a moment before saying with deliberation, “I might not come to the Divination Club too often in the future, so you need not recommend me to others

had already digested his potion, so he had

made a name for yourself in the club. Most people know that your divinations are very accurate and miraculous. In fact, we were considering

for every divination I perform, then I would keep doing this regardless of how tired I was… Besides, I still have to investigate the houses with red chimneys and find the culprit as soon as

convince me to stay; this

the Divination Club entirely, it’s just that my visits

anyway… I will come down occasionally to monitor the

will be at the

wasn’t as surprising as she imagined after the initial shock had

who could be

“Sibe black tea?”

Klein returned

black tea before leaving the club. He took a public carriage back

habit and saw that there was a letter placed inside not