Lord of the Mysteries

Finally, the elderly man, with gray hair by his temples, took a sip of tea and sighed with a smile.

“In truth, this is already much better than my previous situation, and it’s much better than many of the people here. For instance…”

He pointed out the window to the tramps huddled in a corner.

Klein and Mike looked over and saw a group of cowering tramps lying on the ground in a filthy place that provided shelter from the wind. They were of all sexes and ages.

It was possible for them to never wake up again in the coldness of late autumn.

It was then that Klein noticed an old woman in her sixties standing by the street. Her dress was old and worn, but she was relatively neat, and her hair was neatly trimmed.

The white-haired old lady had the usual tired look of a tramp, but she still persisted in not squeezing together with the group. Instead, she slowly walked by the roadside, occasionally gazing into the coffee shop numbly.

“She’s also a pitiful person.” The former tramp who had eaten the leftover black bread also noticed the old lady and sighed, “She was said to have led quite a good life in the past. Her husband was a grain merchant and had a very spirited child, but unfortunately, he went bankrupt and her husband and child died not long after. She’s different from us, really, and you can tell at a glance… Sigh, she won’t be able to hold on much longer, unless she’s lucky to be admitted into the workhouse every time.”

As he listened, Mike’s expression changed from quiet to somber. He slowly let out a sigh and said, “I want to interview her. Can you invite her for me? She can eat and drink whatever she wants here.”

The man wasn’t surprised by this request. He merely looked at Klein and Mike separately, as if to say: “the both of you are indeed colleagues.”

“Yes, I’m sure she would like that.” He drank his tea, got up, and walked out of the greasy coffee shop.

Not long after, the elderly woman in her old but tidy dress followed him in. Her pale face slightly lightened thanks to the warmth of the coffee shop.

She continued to tremble, as if she wanted to release the coldness in her body, bit by bit, and absorb the relatively high temperature within the coffee shop. Even after she sat down on the chair, it still took her a full minute before she could truly warm up.

“You can order whatever you want. This is the reward for accepting this interview,” Klein spoke on Mike’s behalf.

After Mike nodded, the old lady modestly ordered toast, low-quality cream, and coffee. Then she smiled and said, “I heard that one cannot eat greasy food after not having eaten in a while.”

Very polite, very self-restrained, not like a tramp at all… Klein sighed silently.

Before the food arrived, Mike asked casually, “Can you talk about how you became a tramp?”

The old lady revealed a look of reminiscence and said with a bitter smile, “My husband was a grain merchant who mainly bought all kinds of grain from domestic farmers, but we rapidly went bankrupt ever since the Grain Act was repealed.

“He wasn’t very young to begin with. After suffering that setback, his body quickly collapsed. Not long after, he passed away.

“My child, a brilliant young man, had been learning the ropes of doing business from his father. He couldn’t suffer the blow, and he ended up jumping into the Tussock River on a moonless night.

“His first suicide didn’t work. He was sent to the magistrate’s court, and the police and judges were very impatient, feeling that he was wasting their time.

“If you want to commit suicide, please do so quietly and successfully. Don’t trouble us… Yes, that was probably what they wanted to say, but they found it too direct.

prison. Not long after, he committed suicide for the

very calmly, as though

for some reason, Klein felt a deep sense of

dead heart… He suddenly recalled the saying he had

only prohibited by the Churches,

of them turning into a water ghost. Second, the suicider often had very abnormal emotions. Thus, under such states, ending

them after their deaths would carry strange

Puppet behind Tingen City’s

seven Orthodox Churches forbade their believers from committing suicide through their own doctrine, and the royal family also promoted the

Klein. How could a suicider be afraid of punishment by

was taking notes, he was about to say something when the owner of the coffee shop brought the

your stomach first, we’ll talk later.”

old lady ate the food

not ordered much, she

her temples

problem,” Mike

before she sat down on the chair and curled up into a ball as she

this place. I wish to hire you as our guide. How’s three soli for

much. I only earn one soli a day most of the

me

soli a day. You

cup of coffee, when he suddenly sensed that something was wrong. He turned to look at the old lady who was curled up, asleep

had turned ruddy due to the coffee, was pale again.

and subconsciously extended his hand to check the old

Mike and Kohler looked at him in surprise, he said heavily,

mouth, but no words came out. Kohler tapped his chest thrice and said with a bitter smile, “I knew

every day in

filled her stomach and died in a warm place. I hope—heh heh, I hope it will be the same for

a moment before he said, “Kohler,

his chest thrice once more and ran out of the

It was as though

a black-and-white checkered uniform,

Klein a few questions, then he waved his hand and said, “That’s all there is to this. The three of you

it?” Mike blurted

obviously not very familiar

The policeman sneered.

incidents happen in large numbers

and looked at Klein

look like people from around here. Who

produced his press identification, and Klein said that he was a private