Saturday morning, South of the Bridge, 22 Tutwa Street.
Hugh was ready by six in the morning, waiting for the carriage to take him to the party.
Last night's Backlund Post published information about the time of the gathering, which will take place at 9 a.m. today.
Fors, dressed in her pajamas, appeared in the living room yawning: "Hugh, I've come to see you off."
Hugh was both amused and exasperated: "Fors, have you forgotten? Under the influence of Emperor Roselle, 'seeing someone off' has other meanings as well."
Fors ran her fingers through her messy hair. "I'm just saying it literally, literally. Besides, it's not really dangerous for you to go out this time."
Knock knock knock~
Just then, there was a knock on the door, but no one answered.
Hugh waved to Fors, opened the door, and saw a coachman dressed in all black.
He didn't say anything, he just made a "please get in the car" gesture.
Hugh jumped onto the carriage and saw a silver mask with three occult symbols engraved on it, as well as a hooded cloak inside.
She placed the 5 soles in cash on the car seat, then put on a mask and a cloak.
After that, Hugh began to carefully observe his surroundings in order to keep track of his real-time location.
Around 8 o'clock, Hugh arrived at the gathering place.
A waiter was already waiting there. As Hugh was being invited inside, the waiter told him, "Even if it's not the date of the party, if you need help, you can write a letter or come here in person to ask for assistance."
"But the 'leader' only promised that he would provide help if he could."
"If you can't help, please think of other ways as soon as possible."
"In addition, if there is any highly time-sensitive intelligence that you want to trade, you can also use this method to complete the transaction as quickly as possible."
Xiu concealed his voice and said in a rather weathered tone, "Okay."
This is another rather strange point, that the initiator would actually make such a promise.
She chose a corner seat and sat down, waiting for the party to begin.
Soon, another participant arrived, wearing the same mask and cloak as Hugh: "Oh? The new member has already passed the assessment?"
Hugh was slightly taken aback, a little confused as to how the other party recognized him as a new member.
The other person seemed to see the doubt behind Hugh's mask, and he smiled and said, "This gathering has regular members, and we haven't recruited any new members for a long time... Well, well, it's mainly because your height is a bit unusual."
Hugh was somewhat helpless. She was wearing platform shoes today, but she still got caught.
Soon, the other members arrived one after another. Around 8:40, Hugh saw his recommender, Byron. Although Byron was also wearing a mask, Hugh knew that it was him.
A dozen minutes later, the basement door opened, and just as Byron had described, the "leader" came out of the basement and sat down unhurriedly in a chair facing everyone.
At 9:00 sharp, the "leader" announced: "The gathering begins."
"Very good, everyone has come this time."
Wearing a mask, Odis smiled and said, "First, let me introduce the new members."
"The investigation of the new member ended yesterday. As her recommender 'Lion' said, she has stable channels in the East District. People with relevant needs can find the new member."
"In addition, new members should give themselves a nickname for easy reference."
Byron the Lion breathed a slight sigh of relief. As long as Hugh passed the investigation, the information he had been interrogated by Hugh would not be considered a leak, and he would not be punished.
Hugh felt everyone's eyes were on her. After thinking for a moment, she stood up and said, "Owl."
Odis thought to herself: I thought you would choose the Corgi.
After everyone politely applauded in welcome, the party officially began.
"Hound" spoke first: "'Chief,' I've heard that thieves have broken into the Roselle Memorial Exhibition. I'd like to get some information about it."
Hugh was slightly taken aback: What? A thief broke in? I haven't heard of that.
She went there with Fors a few days ago, and everything seemed normal.
The other members were also interested in this, but they knew that such information would certainly not be free, so they were only interested.
"50 pounds," Odis quoted.
"No problem." "Hound" readily agreed.
Odis took the portable writing tablet handed to him by the waiter and, while writing down information that could be used for trade, said, "You may continue."
The giraffe, whose neck was longer than average, seemed to understand something: "So the 'leader' acquired Emperor Roselle's 'relics' in order to..."
He stopped there and didn't continue.
A chubby-looking member chuckled, "The 'leader' doesn't think criminals would be foolish enough to sell Emperor Roselle's 'relics,' does he?"
Everyone turned to look.
The female member, "Peacock," said, "To be honest, it's a miracle that 'Elephant' has survived this long."
"Elephant" was the code name for the chubby member who didn't attend the last gathering.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
"The Hound" said, "It cannot be ruled out that the prisoners might fight amongst themselves over the division of the loot, or that the prisoners might be short of money."
He shrugged: "There are many cases solved using this simple method."
"Alright, alright." "Elephant" waved his hand and said, "I need a supernatural creature for my experiments, preferably a beast, preferably one that has been subdued and is not too dangerous."
The other members were slightly taken aback before realizing that they had finally found an opportunity to satirize the "elephant".
Who would bring a supernatural being with them?
"Is the 'elephant' going to test whether its strength is greater than that of supernatural beings?"
"No, the 'elephant' is also a supernatural being. Its main ability is to provoke, speak rudely, and make people want to punch it."
Haha~
The atmosphere at the party instantly became very cheerful.
"Elephant" tried to argue several times, but was interrupted by the other members. He sat there angrily and said, "Foolish idea!"
At this moment, Odis finished writing the intelligence and had the servant hand it to the "hound." He smiled and said to the "elephant," "You should just stick to selling your potions."
He knew perfectly well that this guy was "Fat Pharmacist," though he forgot his exact name, he remembered the person.
"Elephant" sighed and said, "I brought a lot of medicine with me. You know how effective it is. Just ask if you want any."
"Oh, right, I forgot there's a newcomer. Let me give you a brief introduction. I have potions that quickly heal injuries, potions that make you more ferocious and powerful, and potions that make men... Oh, sorry, you probably don't need those potions unless you're very unhappy with your husband or male partner's activities in bed at night."
Hugh had originally intended to ask about medicine to treat his injuries, but after hearing the rest, he promptly abandoned the idea.
"Elephant's" potion sold out quickly. At this moment, "Peacock" suddenly said, "Gentlemen, I have received accurate information. The killer in the 'serial murder case' has an owner."
At this point, the "elephant" that hadn't attended the meeting last time asked curiously, "What master?"
"Peacock" gave him a brief explanation.
When Hugh heard that the serial killer was actually a supernatural being, she was more surprised than the elephant. Then she exclaimed: Why do I have this feeling that I don't live in Backlund? Why are there so many hidden stories among things that are well known?
The elephant muttered to itself, "It has an owner too? I'd like to talk to him if I get the chance."