In the West District of Tingen City, opposite a collapsed house, a unmarked carriage was parked on the street.
Two people, a man and a woman, were sitting inside the carriage.
The man by the window was not old, with dark hair and sharply defined, aggressive facial features. He had a pair of blue eyes, a cold gaze, but a smile played on his lips.
He looked at the house across the street through the window, and after a moment, he withdrew his gaze and brushed a few strands of dark hair from his eyes with his white-gloved hand.
"The Seer is truly unlucky. I remember he hadn't lived here for very long, had he?"
"One month and three days."
Sitting opposite this man was a tall woman, dressed in an elaborate black court gown, with rare silver hair styled in a retro fashion.
She said, flipping through the documents in her hand, "According to the records from the Police Station, there was a gas pipeline leak accident here, which triggered an explosion, causing the house to collapse."
"Care to make a bet with me, Miss Dina? Those curly-haired baboons in white uniforms definitely took money from someone, for example, the Hunter Club. Anyway, I won't believe such nonsense."
The dark-haired man said with a smile.
The silver-haired woman in the court dress looked up and said, "Your judgment is correct, Mr. Murphy. With the help of 'Licamona's Crystal Ball,' I've roughly reconstructed the events of that night."
"It's certain that a supernatural battle took place here. One side was likely a 'Demon' or a 'Scarlet Scholar,' while the other might have been a 'Priest of Light.'"
"However, as you know, that item's drawback is that it always gives us unclear images and always hides the truth within them, so everything seen can only be used as a reference."
The dark-haired man Murphy nodded and said, "That crystal ball hides the truth, but it won't intentionally mislead us. That is to say, there was no Pyromaniac present in the supernatural battle at that time."
"So, it wasn't our old friend Mr. Duke? I thought he came to visit the Seer, then discovered the poor Intisian was in danger, and a battle ensued. That's quite logical, isn't it?"
The woman in the court dress continued to flip through the documents: "After we arrived in Tingen City, we reviewed the target's activity trajectory and found that these trajectories were not continuous, which confirms one thing: the target has another identity."
"Additionally, we found he has two friends in Tingen, at the Hunter Club: Kaven, the Seer, and Nafi, the Fighter."
"We employed remote surveillance and stakeouts for these two, hoping to see the Duke again."
Dina looked up, saying expressionlessly, "But unfortunately, it seems the Duke has not returned to Tingen yet."
"However, a few days ago, the Seer and the Fighter accepted a commission to protect and guide a reporter from Backlund to the Evil Dragon Bar's underground trading market for an undercover investigation."
"It's worth noting that this commission did not go through the Hunter Club; it seems they took it on as a private job."
"I've checked; the reporter who calls himself 'Rayleigh,' besides investigating the underground trading market, also had contact with a pie shop named 'Hardy's Pie Shop' on Red Moon Street."
"Rayleigh."
Murphy tilted his head slightly, looking at the carriage ceiling: "Speaking of which, a notable Hunter has recently emerged on the Sea, and he's also called Rayleigh."
"However, it shouldn't be the same person, as that individual is not an 'Apprentice' and is unlikely to appear in Tingen City."
Dina put away the documents: "So, what are your plans? Are you going to investigate that pie shop? Perhaps that reporter is connected to the Duke. If we find that reporter, maybe we can catch the Duke."
"No, no."
Murphy shook his head: "Not long ago, the Night Watchers made a move and seemed to have caught a member of the Aurora Order."
"Next, the official personnel of this city will definitely take action. At this time, all we can do is wait."
"Monitor that pie shop. If that reporter appears again, we'll have a good talk with him."
"Also."
Murphy chuckled: "I find something quite interesting: not long after Mr. Duke left Tingen, a Hunter named Rayleigh appeared on the Sea, and he is a Pyromaniac."
"The Duke is most likely a Provoker. So, what do you say, could these two be one and the same?"
Dina shook her head coldly: "I don't know. I only believe in concrete intelligence."
"You should learn to relax, Miss Dina. Always being tense will make you age very quickly," the dark-haired, blue-eyed man said with a smile.
---
On the Golden Dream, Lex was in his room, reading a few pages of notes.
These were granted to him by The Fool through a ritual, a chapter from 'spiritual world anecdotes' paid for by Fors.
As Lex read line by line, he suddenly noticed that he seemed to be becoming somewhat agitated, with an urge to shout and destroy things.
What's going on?
Is this a precursor to my losing control?
But he found that when his attention left those few pages of notes, his emotions became stable again.
"The problem should be with 'spiritual world anecdotes,' but why?"
Lex frowned, pondering: "These words are very common, and they themselves don't possess any spirituality. Paper? This is just ordinary paper, not a magical item or a sealed artifact, so it couldn't be the effect of negative influence..."
"Could it be the content?"
"Yes, it must be the content!"
"It describes certain existences, and in this world, those hidden existences, even if not in the real world, have various ways to exert influence."
"The written content describing Them might establish a connection with Them. Of course, this connection is not stable enough and won't be obvious, but it will still cause people to experience various influences."
"Just like this chapter copied by Miss Fors, it describes the Light in the Spirit Realm; those lights are actually alive!"
"Clearly, these lights also belong to high-ranking hidden existences."
Lex conducted an experiment and finally concluded that as long as the reading time did not exceed 5 minutes, he could control that agitated and confused mood.
So, every three or four minutes, he would stop to rest and use meditation to calm himself down.
Soon, this chapter of 'spiritual world anecdotes' was finished.
"It's truly incredible. The seven pure Light, each of a different color, in the Spirit Realm, originally contained infinite knowledge from different fields. They reside high in the Spirit Realm, covering everywhere."
"They are alive, just like the various spirit bodies wandering outside. They have also gathered many Spirit Realm creatures and formed a secret organization dedicated to teaching knowledge, called the 'Brotherhood of Pure Light'!"
"This is so interesting. I wonder if I'll have a chance to encounter one of those seven-colored pure Light when I enter and exit the Spirit Realm?"
"If I could receive their guidance, it would be infinitely beneficial..."