"The Forsaken Land," Silver City.
Derrick Berg returned to the real world, took a deep breath, and lamented that God had already fallen.
I wasn't particularly sad; it was just that after waiting for so many years, I felt somewhat helpless and... relieved after finally knowing the result.
Of course, it was also because he found new hope in "The Fool" that he did not feel so hopeless.
Derrick realized that this message could not be told to anyone else unless that person was also willing to believe in "The Fool".
Then he thought of the research on the "Hermit," so he immediately got up and went to the Round Tower to see the chief.
Soon, Chief Colin met with Derrick. The chief, who had gray hair, asked, "Do you have something important to discuss with me?"
"Actually, I don't know if it's important or not." Derrick had already gained some experience in dealing with superiors by this time: "It just feels strange the more I think about it, and I feel I should report to the chief as soon as possible."
Colin nodded. "Go ahead and say it."
"Last time I was patrolling outside the city, when I passed through the swamp north of Silver City, I seemed to sense a strange power," Derrick said earnestly.
"I had never felt this way before, and it disappeared quickly, so I didn't pay much attention to it and didn't report it at the time."
"But last night, I had a lot of dreams, and I kept dreaming that I was searching for something in the swamp. It felt like there was something very important in the swamp!"
The experienced Colin said almost immediately, "Perhaps you saw some important information at the time, but you ignored it because it would cause you some harm. Those dreams are your spirituality reminding you."
He thought for a moment and said, "I will immediately organize a team to conduct an investigation, and if necessary, I will also have you join the investigation team."
Derrick breathed a slight sigh of relief and was about to say goodbye and leave.
Chief Colin suddenly asked, "I heard from the patrol that they saw you catching fish in the swamp?"
"Ah, yes…yes." Derrick had previously provided the "Hermit" with a strange fish during a deal.
In the past, Derrick wouldn't have thought anything was wrong if the chief suddenly brought this up, but Derrick is not the same Derrick as before.
He realized that the chief might have noticed his lie, but the chief also said that he would immediately set up an investigation team, which seemed to mean: I know you are lying, but I also know that your reminder is important.
...
Backlund, 66 Rose Street.
After the Tarot session ended, Odis returned to the real world. He stared at the ceiling for a while, as usual, before getting up to prepare for the ritual and complete the deal with the "Hanged Man."
This Tarot meeting yielded £630 from the sale of magical items and extraordinary weapons, and £1000 from the intelligence exchange with Alger, for a total of £1630.
Odis took a deep breath; the Tarot Club was now one of his main sources of income.
After tidying up the altar, Odis went to the basement and used the "teleportation array" there to return to her residence at 77 Hailin Avenue, transforming back into the owner of the Gar Herbal Shop. She then took a taxi to the herbal shop.
Today is the day to check and organize the accounts, a task that Odis has always done personally.
After Mandy's assistants Bella, Enoch, and Kena showed the ledgers to Odis, Odis made some notes and spoke with each of them for a while.
Then he looked around the herbal medicine shop again, and seeing that there was nothing wrong, he left the herbal medicine shop and returned to No. 77 Hailin Avenue.
Odis rested at his lodging on Hailin Avenue for the night, and the next morning he changed into his wizard's attire and returned to 66 Rose Street, where he studied witchcraft while waiting for new clients to come to his door.
Ding-a-ling~
I waited until the afternoon before someone finally knocked on the door.
Odis opened the door, and there stood the old gentleman, York Elton, who had previously doubted whether his son was his biological son.
Behind him stood another middle-aged man dressed like a gentleman, with a clean-shaven beard and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking very refined.
The other person adjusted their glasses and carefully observed Odis.
York politely removed his hat: "Hello, wizard, this is my friend Verdu Jackson. He has something he would like to ask you for help with."
Odis examined the other person's glasses carefully, as long as they weren't monocles made of crystal.
"Please come in." Odis invited the two gentlemen in, and after everyone was inside, he waved his hand slightly, and the door closed by itself.
When Verdu saw this, he became somewhat nervous.
York, however, already trusted the wizard completely because of Odis's previous performance, so he smiled at his friend, his eyes seeming to say: See, I told you this wizard was amazing.
After they were both seated, Odis said, "I'm sorry, I don't have any drinks for you here."
York recalled that the wizard Gandalf had said that his drink was poisonous to ordinary people, so he quickly said, "We are not thirsty."
Odis smiled slightly: "Then let's get straight to the point. What brings you here?"
Did Mr. Verdu also suspect that he had become a father by accident?
Verdu said, "Mr. Wizard, please keep what I am about to say a secret."
Odis thought to himself: Why does this sound so familiar?
Verdu took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind, and said, "My daughter Delia seems to have been possessed by something evil, and her temperament has changed drastically!"
"Sometimes she would stand on the terrace in the middle of the night, as if waiting for something."
"Sometimes he'll suddenly give a sinister smile, especially at night, and that smile is really scary."
"Sometimes she would hum some very melancholy songs at night, which would give you goosebumps."
"Delia used to be a very gentle and lovely child, and would never do such a thing."
The middle-aged gentleman finished speaking in one breath and looked at Odis with expectant eyes.
Odis pondered for a moment before saying, "I suggest you go to the church you believe in and tell the pastor about these things."
"I asked the bishop of the Church of the Goddess of Night to come and take a look," Verdu said with a wry smile. "The bishop said that Delia was frightened in a dream, which is why she became like this."
"They gave Delia some medicine, which did work after she took it, but soon Delia's behavior became strange again."
Odis was taken aback: It seemed the "Night Watcher's" judgment was correct; either in a dream, she had unintentionally sensed something polluted. Judging from Delia's behavior, it wasn't very serious, and it shouldn't have relapsed.
He thought for a moment and then asked, "How long has Delia's condition lasted?"
Verdu replied, "It's been over a month."
"Have you experienced any extreme pain, or said anything incoherent?"
"No."
Odis frowned: "Has anything strange happened in your house lately?"
Verdu smiled helplessly: "No, not really."
The previous bishop had asked the same question, but after thinking about it for a long time, he couldn't recall anything strange that had happened.
Odis then asked, "Besides the changes you mentioned before, has Delia undergone any other changes?"
Verdu was silent for a moment before saying, "Please keep my following description a secret."
Odis nodded: "Go ahead and speak."
"Delia's eyes seem more expressive, and her demeanor has changed somewhat." Verdu said somewhat awkwardly, "She… she's only a teenager, but she exudes the aura of a mature woman in many ways."
"Moreover...moreover, Delia used to be very introverted, but now she really enjoys chatting with young male servants. Because I'm afraid something might happen, I've dismissed several male servants in the past month or so."
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
It's no wonder that Verdu repeatedly asked for secrecy. In the relatively conservative Loen, a woman, even a minor, would easily be labeled as "not reserved enough" for such behavior.
Odis, however, seemed to have found a clue: "I should know what's going on now. It's understandable that the bishop of the Church of the Goddess of Night doesn't know this, since it's very obscure knowledge."
He also stumbled upon the relevant knowledge by chance in the "wilderness of knowledge".
The church should also possess this knowledge, but because such situations rarely occur, it may not be disseminated to members at the captain level or below.
Such cases, which do not exhibit significant or extraordinary harm, are at most investigated by the team leader.
Verdu breathed a slight sigh of relief: "Then... what should we do now?"
Odis thought for a moment: "I must go to your house to confirm again. Hmm... you two wait in the carriage first, I'll make some preparations and then come find you."
He is increasingly realizing that preparation is extremely important for a "wizard".
This approach may not be good at direct combat, but in Odis's view, if sufficient preparations are made, he dares to confront it head-on!
Therefore, one needs extensive knowledge and experience to predict potential difficulties and make corresponding preparations in advance.
Other "wizards" may need time to accumulate experience before they can achieve this.
But Odis is already able to do this, firstly because he has the help of the "wilderness of knowledge" and possesses a very broad reserve of knowledge.
Secondly, he has a "God's-eye view" and a thorough understanding of all twenty-two pathways. Combined, these two factors make Odis a "veteran wizard" even though he has only recently been promoted to "wizard".
After making the necessary preparations, he boarded an outside carriage and followed two gentlemen to Verdu's house.
Seeing the "wizard's" confident demeanor, Verdu finally saw a glimmer of hope. His daughter's recent troubles had left him exhausted, and he truly didn't know how to resolve the problem.
York was also pleased that the wizard he had introduced could help his old friend solve the problem, which made the old gentleman feel very honored.
The atmosphere in the carriage was very harmonious, and the three of them chatted as they arrived at Berklund Street, where many wealthy people and politicians lived.
Verdu's house is a large villa with a big yard and a garden in the backyard.
The main body of the villa is a three-story building, which looks spacious and grand.
After the carriage entered the courtyard, Odis said, "From now on, you must follow my instructions without making any mistakes. Otherwise, the monster may escape, and it will return to affect your daughter at some point in the future."
Verdu quickly nodded: "Okay!"
"After you enter, take me to a reception room. Don't let too many people know I'm here," Odis said, "so that the monster won't be on guard."
Verdu nodded repeatedly, and after thinking for a moment, he had an idea.
After the carriage stopped in front of the villa, Verdu got off first and gave various instructions to the servants who came to greet him, telling them to do them immediately.
Once there were no more servants at the door, Odis alighted from the carriage and, guided by Verdu himself, arrived at a reception room that was not usually used.
The meticulous Verdu had his personal valet wait at the door. The tea, snacks, and fruit brought by the servants were all delivered by the valet. If anyone asked, he would say that he was discussing important matters with Mr. York Elton.
After all this was arranged, Odis, who was sitting in the superior position, said to Verdu, "Go and take a look at the inside of Delia's left arm, around the elbow. Are there two small, round wounds?"
"There should be a similar wound on the inside of the leg, around the knee, but it's not easy to see from there. Just confirming one of them is enough."
"Okay." Verdu left the reception room, pondered for a moment, and then went upstairs. Delia was having an art class, and her personal maid was waiting outside the study.
Verdu then beckoned to Delia's personal maid: "Delia hasn't acted strangely today, has she?"
The personal maid replied, "No."
Verdu hummed in agreement and then asked, "When Delia was getting dressed this morning, did she have any unexplained wounds on her body?"
The personal maid said, "It looks like there are two small, round wounds on the inside of the knee."
Verdu took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down: "Okay, I understand."
Because Verdu had been frequently inquiring about his daughter's condition, it did not arouse the maid's suspicion.
After thinking for a moment, Verdu decided to be on the safe side and check on Delia's arm wound. So he had a servant bring tea and snacks and went into the classroom.
There were only two students in the classroom: Verdu's youngest son and daughter. Verdu's eldest son was already in university, while his youngest son and daughter were preparing for university entrance exams under the tutelage of a private tutor.
Upon entering the classroom, Verdu first exchanged pleasantries with the teacher, and then had his servants serve him tea and snacks.
Then Verdu let his son and daughter rest, while he looked at their easels as if checking if they had made any progress recently.
Just as the servant was serving Delia tea, Verdu, quick-witted and agile, knocked over the teacup, spilling the tea right onto Delia's arm.
Verdu immediately knelt down anxiously, rolling up his daughter's sleeve as he asked, "How are you? Are you burned? Ah, I'm getting old, my hands and feet are so clumsy..."
He saw two small, round wounds on the inside of Delia's arm, around her elbow, which looked like they had been made with a thicker needle.
Verdu tried his best to keep his hands from trembling, and continued with a smile, "...I accidentally knocked over the teacup."