With dark blue eyes, Qonas Kilgor, who had crew cut hair which was seldom seen among members of high society, held a cup of champagne as he walked up to Dwayne Dantès. He said with a smile, âYou had great luck today. You also had plenty of courage.â 1
If heâs referring to me immediately folding after receiving a Bribe, with me rather losing a big blind, thatâs not luck but knowledge⌠As for the other times, playing cards with all of you has pretty much drained all of Enuniâs recently accumulated good luck⌠Klein swirled the cup with pale golden alcohol in his hand and said with a laughing sigh, âFor a person who doesnât care about the outcome, thereâs naturally nothing to fear.
âHeh heh, Praise the Lady!â
He was using a Loen-style euphemism to indicate that he was mainly here to lose money and that his good luck was all thanks to the blessings of a deity. It had nothing to do with himself.
Qonas hadnât lost much tonight-approximately one to two hundred pounds. Although this was already a considerable amount when compared to his purported salary, to a brigadier general deputy director of MI9âa hidden demigodâhis salary was the most trivial part of his income. Therefore, he didnât mind it. He shook his head with a smile.
âHumans often have no way of seeing through the arrangement of fate.
âYou are an interesting person. Itâs a pleasure to meet you.â
His final sentence was both a form of praise and also a part of the formalities. It indicated that their conversation was over.
However, Klein had âactedâ all night to acquaint himself with this demigod of the Black Emperor pathway, so how could he give up? He first replied, âItâs my pleasure as well.â Then, he asked in a seemingly random manner, âYour Excellency, are you familiar with the manors in the Backlund suburbs? Itâs best if they come with forests for hunting.â
According to the information Klein had received from Miss Justice, Qonas Kilgor didnât enjoy holding banquets, balls, or saloons at his place. Neither did he accept invitations on such matters. It was unknown if it was a problem with his character or due to his job.
He had very simple hobbies. First, he enjoyed smoking cigars, especially Chieftain Cigars from East Balamâs Mikent-recognized as the best cigars in the world. Second, he enjoyed playing cards, especially Texas Holdâem. Third, he enjoyed hunting. He often headed to the Backlund suburbs during autumn and winter. He even headed to Awwa County or East Chester County for hunting.
Klein was already planning on buying a manor, an expenditure meant solely to integrate himself into high society. He hadnât made any decisions yet, but after meeting Qonas Kilgor today, he suddenly added this request in a bid to garner his interest. When the time came, he could even invite this MI9 deputy director to hunt in the suburbs over an enjoyable weekend. He could then seek out an opportunity to take action.
Qonas Kilgor drank a mouthful of champagne and said after some thought, âIâll help you take note of it. If thereâs anything suitable, Iâll send someone over. BĂśklund Street, right? Yes, someone will inform you there.â
âThank you very much,â Klein earnestly replied.
At the same time, he pitied his former valet, Richardson, who had now become an assistant butler. This young man who wished to better himself recently went out early in the morning and returned late at night. He had been gathering information about manors in Backlundâs suburbs, filtering out those that met the requirements and the ones which were on sale. He had been personally visiting them in a bid to list down options which were all flawless. He didnât wish for his employer to spot something he fancied only to find out that it wasnât for sale, or that the actual conditions were far worse what was described.
And after Klein suddenly changed his request, all the work that Richardson had done was undoubtedly made useless.
The all-evil âParty Aâ in contracts always changes their requirements and requests⌠Yes, after this is done. Iâll get Taneja to raise his annual salary by 5 pounds. As an assistant butler, he should naturally earn more than his time as a valet⌠5 pounds⌠It was gone in just one or two raises in todayâs game⌠Richardsonâs annual salary is only enough to play a few rounds of Texas Holdâem⌠Klein sighed inwardly when he sensed eyes looking at him.
He directly looked back and realized that it was Admiral Amyrius Rieveldt.
This old-fashioned and stern middle-aged man nodded gently and retracted his gaze. He had no intentions of communicating with Dwayne Dantès, nor did he get anyone to arrest this unaffiliated Beyonder. After all, he was considered a working partner of the military, and it wasnât rare for a merchant, an adventurer with wide connections, to be able to obtain a potion.
At this moment, Colonel Calvin and Member of Parliament Macht walked over to Dwayne Dantès with wine glasses in hand.
âWhat happened?â Calvin asked with an exasperated and suppressed voice.
As Dwayne Dantès had won nearly 1,000 pounds, he and Macht had to change their strategies to prevent Admiral Amyrius from losing any money. They went from a tight strategy to an unrestrained one. They felt quite the pinch from losing several hundred pounds each.
As such, adding to everyoneâs losses, Admiral Amyrius had won a total of nearly 300 pounds.
With regards to this, Klein spread his hands.
âI didnât even look at my hole cards!â In between the lines, he meant that this was simply the blessings of some deity that controlled luck.
At the moment, the deities, angels, and secret existences who had authority in the fate domain included, but were not limited to, the Evernight Goddess, The Fool, Snake of Mercury Will Auceptin, Pallez Zoroast, Blasphemer Amon, and Snake of Fate Ouroboros.
âThis is really such a vexing matter,â Macht said with a bitter smile while shaking his head. âCalvin and I donât even dare to return home after what weâve lost.â
They had roughly lost about half their purported annual income.
Dwayne Dantès, with grayed sideburns, revealed a surprised look.
âWhen did you guys lose?â
He then pointed at the pile of chips at his seat.
âI just happened to retain the 1,000 pounds I bought in at the beginning. The rest are yours, isnât that so?â 1.
Calvin and Macht were taken aback as they exchanged looks. Then, they revealed smiles.
âWe mustâve counted wrongly due to the anxiety.â Calvin gave an approving nod.
Klein laughed and immediately changed the topic. He then began looking at supper that was placed on the coffee table beside him.
City of Silver, in the spire of one of the twin towers.
Derrick Berg once again met the Chief of the six-member council, Colin Iliad.
âYou said that you have something you would like to ask me about?â Colin, who had quite a number of old scars on his face, calmly asked the youth who wasnât considered too tall.
Derrick bowed and replied frankly, âYes, Your Excellency. In the advancement for Priest of Light, I need pure darkness, but once I do it, it will be extremely dangerous. Iâm wondering if there are any solutions.â
Colin Iliad listened seriously before nodding.
âYou have to confirm one point: Is it pure darkness, or darkness with zero light? These two concepts are very different.
âIf itâs the latter, you can obtain that in the spireâs underground dungeons. Youâve been there for some time, so you should know what Iâm talking about.â
Derrick had a deep fear for the spireâs dungeons because it was there that he first met Blasphemer Amon. Not only did he see the former captain of the expedition team, but he had even been parasitized. Unless it was necessary, he really didnât wish to recall it.
At this moment, after receiving the chiefâs reminder, he began to slowly jolt his memories. He discovered that, under the spire, although each cell was given candles, one would have to wait for the guards to deliver food and medicine and ask for more once they finished burning. This didnât happen frequently, with it happening only thrice a day with the gaps in between being very long.
And in such an environment, phenomena like the appearance of monsters and the vanishing of humans never appeared.
Derrick recalled that he had been in darkness with zero light for some time without encountering any danger.
He pondered for a moment and hesitantly said, âThe darkness with zero light at the bottom of the spire has external powers involved?â
It was this power that prevented the darkness from making people disappear or producing monsters? Colin Iliad looked at the two swords that were hung up in a cross-like fashion on the wall. He looked up and sighed.
âYes, thatâs why itâs called darkness with zero light, not pure darkness.â
Derrick frowned slightly as he tried to recall.
After a few seconds, he said without certainty, âIf thatâs the case, the darkness outside the spireâs basement isnât pure darkness as well. In many historical records, the nights before the Dark Ages didnât make people vanish or produce monsters. Now, the darkness mustâve undergone an abnormal change or had some other forces mixed into it to turn it dangerous.â
âNot bad. For you to make such connections shows that youâve improved⌠Therefore, let me ask you again. Do you need pure darkness or darkness with zero light?â Colinâs light blue eyes revealed a hint of surprise.
This⌠Could it be that pure darkness only exists outside the Forsaken Land of the Gods? Derrick turned gloomy before he pumped himself up.
âYour Excellency, Iâm not too sure either. Iâll take some time to confirm this.â
He believed that the experienced and strong Mr. Hanged Man, Mr. World, and the other members of the Tarot Club could give him a good solution.
Colin Iliad didnât ask further as he said with a nod, âGo on then.
âOnce you reach Sequence 5, even if you arenât able to become a demigod for a long period of time, you will have the chance of wielding certain Sealed Artifacts.â 1
Backlund, Hillston Borough, Xio changed into a brown jacket and wore a cap, pretending to be a very ordinary short man.
She had officially taken the commission and had begun tailing and investing the gentleman named Ernes Boyar. There were also a few other bounty hunters who participated in this mission.
Ernes Boyar lifted his top hat and pointed his cane forward as he instructed the carriage driver, âTo St. George Borough.â
It was southeast of Backlund, separated from East Borough by the Tussock River.
Once he got on his carriage and took his seat, Ernes sniffed. He looked out the window and suddenly grunted.
As a Sanguine Viscount, how could he not have discovered the clumsy bounty huntersâ tailing him?