"Is it appropriate for us to take on private jobs like this?" Caesar asked.
"Of course it is," Leonard replied without looking up, his fingers clattering against the typewriter as he drafted the contract terms. "Our team's rule is simple: as long as we don't have official work, we can take on private jobs. Half the money goes into the team's petty cash, and the other half is evenly split among those who did the work. For example, your welcome dinner the other day was paid with money from the team's fund."
He finished typing, looked up at Caesar, and smiled. "See? Now you'll have money to buy your sister a dress, won't you?"
So that's how it is… they can earn extra money this way. Caesar pondered. It made sense; a security company that never took on jobs would be far too conspicuous.
The contract was quickly drawn up in duplicate. Leonard removed the paper from the typewriter and leisurely returned to the front hall.
"Madam, this is our contract. We will track and investigate your husband, discover the person he's having an affair with, and the total fee will be ten pounds."
"Find out everything about that slut! I want to catch them in the act!" Mrs. Pond waved her arm with an imposing air.
"All your requests are written in the contract," Leonard said with a smile, handing it over. "Of course, whether successful or not, you will need to pay a three-pound deposit first."
"I know that." Mrs. Pond paid the money, signed her name, and then Rosanne stamped it with the Blackthorn Security Company seal. The contract was complete. "Then I'll be waiting for your good news!"
After seeing Mrs. Pond off, Leonard turned to Caesar. "Frye has to patrol the public cemetery this afternoon, so it'll just be the two of us working?"
"Sounds good," Caesar replied. "But I haven't learned tracking, so don't blame me if we get exposed."
At the same time, he was already calculating in his mind: ten pounds in remuneration, minus the five pounds handed over to the fund, left two and a half pounds each. That should be enough to buy a decent dress.
"How could we actually track someone? It's not only tiring, it interferes with our daily work," Leonard said with a smile. "I was thinking—why not use your ritual magic? Do you have a way to find out where her husband goes?"
So that's why he came to me. Caesar thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, but it might require a personal item of her husband's."
"Then let's go to his company," Leonard suggested. "Tonight, when there are fewer people around, I can use my abilities. We might even find something left behind there."
The two agreed on a meeting time and place, and this small interlude came to a close. They cleared their plates and returned to their afternoon work.
— — —
Meanwhile, in a space that did not exist in the real world, endless gray fog flowed like water, filling everything in sight. Giant stone pillars rose skyward, supporting a magnificent dome. The grand and majestic architecture stood silently in the gray fog, as if eternally present at the end of time.
Directly beneath the dome, where the fog was densest, stood a bronze long table. High-backed chairs were arranged along both sides and at either end. On the backs of the chairs, brilliant dark-crimson patterns outlined strange mystical symbols, flickering with an eerie light.
At this moment, figures sat at the head of the table and in the two seats on either side. Their bodies were shrouded in grayish-white mist, making it only barely possible to discern their physiques and the colors of their clothing.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool," Audrey Hall said lightly, bowing toward the lofty, mysterious figure at the head of the table.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hanged Man," she then greeted the blue-haired man opposite her.
"Good afternoon, Miss Justice," the other two replied in turn.
Once the greetings concluded, the Fool—Klein—maintaining his profound and inscrutable demeanor, lightly tapped the edge of the long table with his finger. The gazes of the other two turned toward him simultaneously.
"I want information on the Aurora Order," Klein said indifferently. "The reward is two pages of Roselle's diary, which may be used to offset the cost."
Because of his colleague Caesar, his interest in this Sequence and its corresponding secret organization had deepened.
"Mr. Fool, may I ask what specific information you are seeking?" the Hanged Man, Alger, asked cautiously.
In his mind, he had already begun speculating about Mr. Fool's motives.
Was this ancient god, suspected of being from the past, gradually recovering and trying to understand the current era through him? But why start with the Aurora Order? Could it be that Mr. Fool wanted to infer the True Creator's current state through them?
Klein had no idea about the intricate thoughts swirling in Alger's mind. He wasn't even sure what he wanted to know himself, so he calmly replied, "Just tell me what you know."
"Yes, Mr. Fool." Alger respectfully bowed, suppressing his racing thoughts. "The Aurora Order is a secret organization that emerged within the last one or two centuries. They worship the True Creator, believing that everyone possesses divinity and can ascend to become angels through trials."
Klein nodded slightly. This aligned with what he had learned from the Nighthawks' internal dossiers.
Seeing this, Alger continued: "The Aurora Order has five Saints and twenty-two Messengers. These Messengers use letters as codenames—Mr. A, Mr. X, and so on. They are at least Sequence 7 Beyonders, the strongest reaching Sequence 5, and all are highly skilled at concealment. When one Messenger dies, another takes their place."
Klein had never heard these details before.
"But aside from them, most members of the Aurora Order are low-Sequence Beyonders, mainly concentrated in the Secrets Suppliant and Listener stages."
Audrey, listening intently, couldn't help but interject: "Mr. Hanged Man, what kind of Beyonder abilities do they have?"
"Secrets Suppliants are basically harmless. They only possess some sacrificial knowledge and a small amount of ritual magic."
A small amount of ritual magic? Klein's mind flashed to Caesar. He had once told him that after drinking the potion, he had learned a vast amount of rituals.
Could it be that Caesar's case was special? Klein's body shifted involuntarily in surprise, his movement more obvious than he intended.
Sensing Mr. Fool's abnormality, the other two immediately stopped and looked at him, as if awaiting clarification.
"Don't mind me. Continue." Klein felt slightly awkward, unsure how to cover it up. Then, with sudden inspiration, he chuckled lightly:
"I once saw a Secrets Suppliant who, immediately after drinking the potion, mastered a large number of rituals."
He had meant to mention it casually, but Alger trembled as if struck by a thought.
"Mr. Fool, please forgive my inaccurate description." He bowed in apology, recalling a record in an ancient Storm Church tome. He had once dismissed it as mere fabrication, but now…
"As you said, there are indeed a very small number of Secrets Suppliants who, immediately after consuming the potion, master a great quantity of corrupted, sinister ritual magic."
"In ancient records… they are called God's Blessed."
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