[Bonus Chapter for 100 Power Stones]
Caesar raised the lantern above his head, using its light to examine the office.
—The security guards were all asleep, so even if the lantern's light reflected on the window glass, it wouldn't be a problem, as long as it wasn't too obvious.
Perhaps because Mr. Pond was the manager, the office's decor was quite high-end, and the space was larger than other offices. In the center-rear of the room, there was a white oak desk and a matching chair. The wood had a warm luster, appearing bright and shiny under the lamplight.
"Hmm?"
Leonard couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Such good furniture for a manager? This company is richer than I thought."
"Is 10 pounds too little?"
Caesar chuckled, looking around.
Against the wall was a locked iron filing cabinet. Beyond the filing cabinet were a sofa and a coffee table. The sofa's leather looked very high-end, and the coffee table was even made of black walnut, more expensive than white oak, with a coffee pot and cups on it.
Besides these, the bookshelf and the coat rack behind the Door also seemed to be of higher quality.
Leonard leaned closer to the desk, sniffed slightly, and frowned, "The paint smell is still very strong; it was bought recently."
"So?"
Caesar felt Leonard was a bit strange. Weren't they here to investigate an affair? Why were they looking at this desk?
Leonard looked up at him, "Business at the docks hasn't been good for the past three months. The stevedores have been working intermittently. How can this shipping company make money and still afford to replace the manager's furniture with such high-end pieces?"
At his questioning, Caesar was also stunned.
"...But they did buy it. Who knows why."
This behavior was, at most, suspicious. Perhaps there were some under-the-table dealings in this company, but they had no way to investigate that now.
Leonard thought for a moment. Buying a desk really couldn't prove anything, so he just smiled casually and said, "Never mind, let's get to business first."
He spread his right hand towards Caesar, indicating, "Please, go ahead."
Caesar nodded, took out the pre-prepared candles, herbs, and essential oils from his pocket, and then lit a candle on the ground.
"Go get that hat from the coat rack."
He told Leonard, who quickly complied.
Caesar took the hat, drew out a silver dagger to create a Spirit Wall, sealing off the entire office space. He sat directly opposite the candle. At this moment, this candle symbolized himself.
Caesar dripped a drop of "Black Rot Essential Oil" into the flame. This was something representing the domain of death. The essential oil burned and evaporated with a "hissing" sound, and an indescribable smell immediately filled the air.
"Feels like entering a hospital morgue."
Leonard commented with a frown.
Caesar ignored him and continued to sprinkle Moon Spirit Flower powder into the flame. This flower only bloomed at night, and it was said that when approaching the flower at night, one could hear illusory whispers.
The unpleasant smell faded, replaced by another serene and mysterious scent. The air around the candle became peculiar, as if something invisible was disturbing it, creating ripples.
Leonard was affected by the atmosphere and stopped speaking.
Caesar took a deep breath and loudly shouted in Ancient Hermes Language, "I!"
The air near the candle trembled in response, as if echoing him.
Caesar switched to Hermes and continued to chant:
"I summon in my name,"
"Spirits wandering in the void, creatures of the Upper Realm whose true form is reflected here, friendly beings willing to answer questions."
Whoosh!
The moment Caesar finished chanting, the candle's flame turned a deep blue, then expanded to the size of a human head. From within the flame, an illusory face emerged.
And then, nothing else.
It was just a face!
The face floated in mid-air, looking at Caesar, seemingly waiting for him to speak.
Caesar had already witnessed many grand scenes and was not surprised by such a strange existence.
The ritual he was using this time was called the Spirit Summoning Ritual, which summoned Spirit World creatures through one's own spirituality to achieve one's goals—the "Upper Realm" in the incantation referred to the Spirit World in the field of mysticism, a unique space that does not exist in reality.
The advantage of this ritual was that it bypassed the restrictions of the gods, and it could enhance abilities by leveraging the mystery of the Spirit World; the disadvantage was its great uncertainty. Spirit World creatures were numerous and strange, and their danger and reliability were unknown.
So Caesar deliberately added constraints to the incantation: "located here" required the summoned creature to know the situation here, and "friendly creatures willing to answer questions" hoped for a better attitude from the other party.
Now that the Spirit World creature had been summoned, it was time to ask questions.
"Do you know the owner of this hat Mr. Pond?"
Caesar asked, holding up the hat.
The face floated, seemingly conveying the idea of [Confirmation] to Caesar.
"Do you know who Mr. Pond's affair partner is? Uh, can you understand what I mean by that?"
Caesar asked somewhat awkwardly. Surprisingly, the other party continued to express affirmation—it knew.
"Then can you draw her, or tell me her name?"
Caesar asked further.
This time, the illusory face did not answer. It floated up and down, seemingly very confused.
"Could it be that Mr. Pond has more than one affair partner?"
Leonard interjected softly from the side.
Ah?
Caesar was stunned by the remark.
Then how should he ask the question?
After thinking for a moment, Caesar got up from the floor and took out a company map from a company brochure on the bookshelf, unfolding it on the floor.
"Is Mr. Pond's affair location within the company?"
The other party gave an affirmative answer.
"Then can you show me the location of his affair?"
Caesar asked.
If the location could be determined, the investigation would be much easier.
After receiving the other party's affirmation, Caesar cut his finger with the dagger and dripped blood onto the map. The blood landed precisely on their current location, the manager's office.
Blood is a material rich in spirituality and can serve as a medium for rituals.
The illusory Spirit World creature stared at the map, and some strange power began to move the blood across the map. Leonard and Caesar both held their breath, watching the path of the blood, which represented Mr. Pond's daily activity route.
The blood left the office, went into the corridor, entered various offices and circled once or twice, but did not stop, continuing downwards until it exited the office building.
"Outdoor affair?"
Leonard's low voice was suppressed with amusement.
The blood crossed the courtyard, entered the back of the company in reverse, advanced along the Tussock River, and finally stopped at a river bend marked "Abandoned Dock," circling continuously.
The blood Caesar had dripped gradually gathered there. Under the lamplight, this spot was blood-red, verging on purple.
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