The red moon, high in the night sky, cast a crimson hue over the land. Bathed in the red moonlight, the man's black hair fell loosely, partially obscuring his sharply defined, aggressive face.
He had a pair of lake-blue eyes, and though a smile played on his lips, his gaze was as cold as a frozen winter lake.
He raised his white-gloved hand and, with a single finger, gently brushed away a few strands of black hair that blocked his view, then continued forward with an unhurried pace.
From inside the carriage, a tall lady emerged, dressed in a Gothic court gown. She had rare silver hair, and with her long-gloved, wheat-skinned hands, she held a document.
"Mr. Murphy, we could actually come tomorrow. This place hasn't been cleaned yet, and there isn't even a single worker."
The lady, whose hair was elegantly pinned up, looked at her surroundings, a clear expression of 'disgust' on her face.
"My dear Ms. Dina, we are here to work, not to play. So, I believe that minor environmental shortcomings can be overcome."
The man called Murphy smiled as he pushed open the ornate black iron gate, then blew on his hand, which had gathered some dust, and walked through the gate indifferently.
The lady in the court gown could only sigh and instruct the coachman, "After you park the carriage, please clean the hall and the study."
"Yes, madam," the coachman respectfully replied.
When the gas lamps were lit, the living room, which had been devoid of activity for some time, was finally bathed in light once more.
The black-haired, blue-eyed man used two fingers to pull off the white sheet covering the sofa, then sat down.
"So, what stage is the work progress at here?"
The silver-haired lady frowned, used a handkerchief to wipe the high-backed wooden chair in front of her, and then sat down.
She took out the materials in her hand and, by the light, glanced at them: "Our personnel in Tingen conducted a preliminary investigation and suspect that the person who disrupted Lord Heimerk's plan and subsequently caused the death of Eugene and Hudson, is a Hunter who calls himself 'Duke'."
"After he hunted Hudson, he left by ship. According to information obtained from the shipping company, this Hunter has already left the country and is heading to the South Continent."
Murphy chuckled softly: "He certainly ran fast. So, what do you think, Dina?"
The silver-haired lady put down the materials in her hand and, instead of answering directly, said: "Our personnel also collected other information about this 'Duke'. He appeared in Tingen City in early August."
"He subsequently became a member of the Elk Bar Hunter Club. His first mission was to destroy the Sea Serpent Gang, which was also a gang organization cultivated by our side in Tingen."
"At that time, he recruited five Hunters, which means he couldn't complete that commission by himself."
Murphy's lips curved slightly upwards: "I understand what you mean."
"Even for a gang organization, he needed to team up with others. Therefore, he might have been able to kill Hudson, but he would definitely not be a match for Eugene."
Dina nodded slightly. She changed her posture and continued: "A Sequence 5 Wraith is not that easy to deal with. This suggests that he has accomplices, and they are high-Sequence Beyonder."
"In other words, there is an organization behind him, and this organization must have a profound foundation. This Hunter might just be a pawn they've put in front to attract attention."
Murphy smiled and said: "If we follow your line of thought, then the matter of our 'Duke' Mr. going to sea might be a deliberate misdirection by his organization."
The silver-haired lady reminded: "But we also cannot arbitrarily assume that he is still within the country."
Murphy nodded: "Then let our overseas personnel keep an eye on this person. Also, tomorrow, let's re-examine the places this Hunter Mr. frequented and the things he did, to see if there are any omissions."
He stretched: "It's getting late, you should get some rest."
Dina stood up and said seriously: "I'm not used to staying here. I'm worried there might be fleas on the bed, so I'll go to the city and find a hotel."
Murphy spread his hands: "That's a reasonable request, I can't refuse. Be careful on your way."
Without waiting for his companion to leave, he went upstairs himself, his smile gradually widening as he walked: "Duke, I hope he will be an interesting person."
It was already late September.
Even Enki Town was beginning to feel a hint of autumn.
The 24th, monday.
After lunch, Lex returned to his room. He took out the notebook Osweld had given him last night and turned to the first page.
Here was information on the association's positions.
Within the Antiquities Protection Association, the lowest level were the field agents, who were responsible to their respective committee members. Their main tasks involved exploring ruins, recovering antiquities, and sometimes collecting intelligence, contacting, and protecting important individuals.
"It seems I am currently a field agent. I wonder if they will give me a number."
"For example, 9527?"
Lex smiled and continued reading.
Above the field agents were the action supervisors, which seemed to be a type of on-site command position.
In addition, there were support team members, support team leaders, internal affairs supervisors, internal affairs ministers, committee secretaries, and association committee members.
The two highest positions were the Vice President of the Association and the President of the Association, respectively.
"Osweld is an association committee member, a position second only to the President and Vice President. However, he shouldn't be the only association committee member."
"Each association committee member has three to five field agents under them, plus an action supervisor. This forms a Beyonder team. Beyonder below high-Sequence, if they cooperate and are organized, can solve many problems."
"The association also possesses powerful sealed artifacts internally, so exploring ruins is indeed not an issue."
"Hmm, it seems that the performance of field agents should be linked to the association committee members, which is why Osweld personally went to recruit a new member. After all, my performance directly relates to his interests."
"I wonder what work other positions are responsible for, and who my superiors will be."
Lex held the notebook and flipped through it.
"The association's contributions are directly reflected in numbers, which is quite intuitive."
"Items that can be exchanged include magical items, potion formulas, Beyonder materials, mystical books, Beyonder weapons with a time limit, various Charms… and so on, can even be directly exchanged for gold bars?"
"As for information, there is no specific pricing; one needs to contact their superior, and it depends on the specific situation."
Lex turned to the potion formula exchange list. At a glance, it mostly consisted of formulas below Sequence 7. In terms of Pathways, Pathways such as Bard, Spectator, Sailor, Reader, Arbiter, Mystery Pryer, Savant, Sleepless, and others were predominant.
Lex also saw the Hunter Pathway there, but the association only provided the potion formula for Provoker.
There were only two formulas for Sequence 6 and Sequence 5.
One was 'Machinery Specialist', and the other was 'Priest of Light'.
In the past few days, Lex had intensely studied a lot of mystical knowledge and knew that the Sun Pathway, to which the 'Priest of Light' belonged, was controlled by the Eternal Blazing Sun Church; the Savant Pathway, to which the 'Machinery Specialist' belonged, was controlled by the God of Steam and Machinery.
The Antiquities Association being able to possess the Sequence 6 and Sequence 5 formulas for these two Pathways might indicate a good relationship with these two Churches.
Or, do they have 'business' dealings?