Inside the carriage, Annie and Susie both breathed a sigh of relief.
Susie never imagined that one day she would have a gun pointed at her; it was absolutely terrifying.
Anne wiped the sweat from her forehead before saying, "Miss, what that bandit just said must have been a bluff."
"It doesn't look like it to me," Audrey smiled. "For your safety, we shouldn't tell anyone what happened today."
She realized that Lelouch's last words were just to scare Anne, but the more he did that, the more she wanted to help this mysterious Mr. Lelouch keep today's events a secret.
She is also an extraordinary person, and being able to help one today gives her immense satisfaction.
...
Odis strode into the church of the God of Steam and Machinery and showed the priest the "mechanical emblem" hanging around his neck, which consisted of a set square, lever, and gear.
This is the holy emblem given to him by the "Heart of the Machine," which allows him to receive certain assistance at any time and in any church of the God of Steam and Machines.
Upon seeing the holy emblem, the priest immediately invited Odis into the confessional.
After closing the door, the pastor asked, "What do you need?"
Odis replied, "I might be being followed, so I need to disguise myself here."
"Okay, after the dressing is over, I'll open the other side of the confessional door, and you can go out through the side door of the church."
"Thank you." Odis removed his mask, took off his knight's uniform, and wrapped his cane inside the uniform. "Please cover my belongings and deliver them to 51 Henry Street. I'll leave you 8 sole for the fare."
This distance certainly wouldn't cost 8 soles; the extra money besides the fare was for the priest.
The pastor did not refuse. Under his guidance, Odis left the church through a side door without attracting the attention of the believers in the chapel, and transformed back into Odis Gar, the owner of the herbal shop.
...
On Sunday, Klein spent most of the day keeping an eye on Mr. Garr's subordinate, Enoch.
But this gang leader spent the entire morning playing cards and drinking at the bar, and also resolved a disturbance caused by some patrons.
He went out around 2 p.m. and didn't return until around 4 p.m.
Klein did not follow Enoch, but instead used the time to communicate with several of Enoch's subordinates. They did have some memories of Mr. Gar, but they were all orders issued by Enoch on behalf of Mr. Gar.
For example, they should be told to avoid causing trouble, and that they should not kill anyone or cheat or swindle others when they fight.
Aside from these orders, Enoch's gang members were relatively well-off in terms of their livelihood.
Mr. Gard actually paid them wages, and if they were injured in battle, they would receive a certain reward and have their medical expenses covered. If they died, their families would receive a large sum of money.
Because they have basic living security, these scumbags have surprisingly developed a noble character by rarely voluntarily harming others.
This made Klein realize that even villains can have the idea of reforming themselves if the living environment isn't too harsh.
However, he found no clues about Mr. Gar. Enoch did not do anything suspicious. He spent most of his time in bars, occasionally taking people to help out at the "Nanmu Ballroom." He would go out once every morning or afternoon, seemingly to conduct some intelligence transactions.
Klein estimated that he would have to keep an eye on Enoch for a long time before he could find any clues.
So he decided to follow Ms. Mandy again tomorrow to see if there would be any clues.
If there are still no clues, then there's nothing else we can do but try to go to Mr. Gale's residence in the gray fog.
However, since I have only met Mr. Garr twice and do not have enough information, it may be impossible to meet the conditions for divination.
...
Late at night, Odis, as usual, continued to study the connection between occult symbols and the "recordant's" "recording" ability.
Only after achieving certain breakthroughs did they leave the "wilderness of knowledge".
Monday morning was the day for Odis and his two main subordinates to settle accounts.
Early in the morning, Odis went to the herbal shop to calculate the income and expenses. Although the herbal shop was doing well, and Odis could grow most of the products herself, she couldn't make much money due to the limited scale of the business.
It's only fair to say that it's much better than the middle class in Backlund, but it's far from the level of the wealthy.
Around nine o'clock, Mandy's assistant, Bella, came to hand over the accounts and reported, "Mr. Garr, Ms. Mandy just heard that Asiburn has hired a private investigator to investigate you."
Odis casually asked, "What's the private investigator's name?"
"His name is Sherlock Moriarty, a detective who has only recently gained some fame."
Odis was taken aback: "When did this happen?"
"Asiburn's butler commissioned the detective to conduct the investigation on Saturday morning."
Odis jumped up: "Why are you only reporting this now?"
This charlatan—no, this detective—never investigated by looking for clues; he simply used divination to solve cases. Two days was enough time for him to find this place.
But then Odis realized: No, I have the protection of the "Wilderness of Knowledge". If Klein were to investigate me directly using divination, he probably wouldn't be able to find any information.
He could only look for clues in the "Nanmu Ballroom" and in Mandy and Enoch.
In that case, it might not be possible to find this place in two days.
Bella was a little flustered: "Asiburn may... may have realized that we have spies around him, so he is now paying close attention to secrecy regarding your operation, which is why this news has been delayed for two days."
Odis pondered for a moment, and realized that if Klein had followed the herbalist to this shop, he might have already discovered that Mr. Garr was the "Hermit".
If we hadn't followed up, we wouldn't have made this discovery.
Whether or not, Mr. Gard can no longer sit idly by and wait for his doom.
So he said to Bella, Mandy's assistant, "Go back and tell Mandy that intelligence work emphasizes timeliness."
Then Odis added, "Have her prepare the carriage; I need it this afternoon."
Bella immediately replied, "Yes."
At that moment, Enoch pushed the door open and came in.
Odis asked, "Are you being followed?"
"No," Enoch said firmly.
Odis nodded and took the ledger.
To prevent anyone from following them here, Odis had Enoch go out at irregular intervals every day. That way, even if someone followed them to the herbal shop, they wouldn't pay too much attention and would just think it was another business owned by Mr. Gar.
Mandy, on the other hand, pretended to have headaches and had her assistant regularly buy calming incense from the herbal shop in order to confuse the stalker's judgment.
But Klein was different. Odis had once asked the Fool for help in the backyard, and he could tell as soon as he arrived at the herbal shop that it was the Hermit's stronghold.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
While one might not immediately connect the "Hermit" with Mr. Gar, they will certainly pay close attention to this place. When they see Enoch and Mandy's assistants running here, they will definitely feel that something is wrong.
Odis thought for a moment: "The Fool" is a false god, and it seems there will be no danger if he finds out that Odis is "The Hermit".
He didn't dwell on the matter, but instead asked Enoch, "I've just developed a magical technique that can quickly make someone proficient in combat. Go back and ask your men if anyone wants to use this technique."
"Oh, right, make it clear to them that the side effect of this technology is that it can cause a headache for about three minutes."
Enoch nodded: "I'll go back and ask."
After Bella and Enoch left, Odis stayed at the front counter, waiting for Klein to come.
But Klein didn't show up all morning. Perhaps he found this place but didn't intend to come in to look for more clues.
It's also possible that he simply didn't track them down here.
Regardless, Odis intended to take action in the afternoon.
After lunch, Odis went to the backyard, first checking on the progress of the "Flaming Arrow" project, and then continued writing the "Combat Manual".
At 2:50 p.m., Odis lay down in the armchair and pretended to take a nap.
At exactly three o'clock, his vision was shrouded in gray mist, and this week's tarot reading officially began.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool." The greeting from "Justice" Audrey rang out first around the ancient bronze table.
Klein, the "Fool" shrouded in gray fog, nodded slightly: "Good afternoon."
Audrey, unable to contain her curiosity and excitement, didn't rush to ask about the truth behind the Capin incident.
She continued greeting the other members while observing them: Hmm, "Sun" seems anxious. Has something gone wrong with the former exploration team leader?
Furthermore, Fors is in a state of wanting to ask but not daring to ask... She must have seen the reports about Capin's death and guessed that the Tarot would do it, but she doesn't know who the "Emperor" card represents.
Soon, the greetings were over, and "The Hanged Man" Alger turned his head to look at the person at the head of the table, saying in a humble tone, "Dear Mr. Fool, I have collected three new pages of Russell's diary."
Although "The Sun" Derrick was very anxious, he did not immediately consult the members of the Tarot Club. He knew very well that the opening period belonged to Mr. Fool, unless no member submitted Roselle's diary.
"The Magician" Fors was somewhat bewildered: A diary? Russell's diary?
Klein smiled and asked the Hanged Man, "What do you want to trade them for?"
Alger glanced at the card covered by the Fool's hand: "I'd like to know what the card next to you is?"
Odis thought to himself: That was a perfect timing. This is probably the question Klein most wanted to answer.
Fors vaguely understood one thing: he could use the so-called Russell's Diary to get answers to certain questions from Mr. Fool.
She recalled Russell's notes written with special symbols, never imagining that they were actually a diary.
Then Fors recalled that Miss Audrey had quite a few books, but last week, or the week before last, Miss Audrey said that many of her books and notes had been chewed up by the dog! There was no way to buy or borrow them from Miss Audrey.
"I hate dogs!" Fors thought bitterly to herself.
Klein smiled and said, "Sure."
Do you want everyone to hear it, or do you want only yourself to know?
Alger answered without hesitation: "Only I know."
Klein then blocked the other members' senses, and soon the private conversation ended. The other members could see the lingering shock and joy in Alger's eyes.
This made Fors quite curious about the card in front of Mr. Fool.
A few seconds later, Alger recovered from the shock of the "Blasphemy Card" and materialized the three pages of the diary.
After waiting a few more minutes, Mr. Fool finished reading.
Odis then spoke up, "If I'm not mistaken, the Russell's Diary that Mr. Hanged Man mentioned earlier is what is commonly known as Russell's Notebook, isn't it?"
Audrey answered enthusiastically, "Yes, Mr. Hermit, do you also have Emperor Roselle's diary?"