“Why me? How could it be me?”
Behind the round fan, his eyes flickered, and Lynch's heart grew alert.
It was too abrupt. Would anyone entrust such an important task to someone they had just met? Wouldn't he worry... Hmm, it seemed there was truly nothing to worry about.
Thinking carefully about his current identity, the Swelling Daughter herself was the most important partner, and he was the Swelling Daughter's representative. He had even pulled out her secret code to scare them earlier, so there was nothing unusual about his identity.
Furthermore, he was from the Swelling Daughter's small world, rarely venturing into the mortal world, and had no ties to any faction. There was absolutely no reason for him to protect anyone, making him the ideal candidate to find a mole.
Combined with his recent actions, the ritual had a chance to proceed smoothly entirely because he had intervened at the last moment to retrieve the gem. If he didn't genuinely want the ritual to succeed, he could have simply ignored it and ruined the operation.
Hiss, it seems he had overdone it a bit while establishing his identity these past few days. With this persona, Mayor Howard would likely suspect anyone in the villa before suspecting him.
“What if I said Walker was the mole?”
His gaze swept across Walker's face. The leader of the Rangers suddenly shivered, looking at the doors and windows in confusion.
There were no gaps, so why did a chill wind blow through?
Never mind. He couldn't always fleece the same sheep; he'd let him off this once. First, to business. He had been worried about not being able to figure out the full story, and now the opportunity had presented itself.
“Heh heh... that's an interesting proposal, but I refuse.”
Feigning reluctance to advance, a meaningful chuckle emanated from behind the round fan. Lynch painstakingly mimicked the behavior of the monsters he had encountered in the monastery:
“Liking to watch the fun doesn't mean I like becoming part of it. Watching from the sidelines is enough for me.”
“Ms. Selene, this matter concerns whether the ritual can proceed smoothly, which will directly affect our transaction with that lady,” Mayor Howard said, frowning seriously. “It's of great importance; please consider it carefully before deciding.”
“Wouldn't that be even more interesting? What does your transaction with the Swelling Daughter have to do with me, Selene? You want my help... heh.”
“I understand.” Howard glanced at Walker, seemingly recalling his recent experience, and nodded thoughtfully. “Please rest assured, we won't ask for your help in vain. However, given your unique preferences, you must surely have no interest in the mortal world's money or possessions.”
Oh no, he had shot himself in the foot... Well, it wasn't that certain. In fact, he wouldn't mind at all if they buried him in Lande pounds.
Unfortunately, Lynch dared only think it, not say it, and merely offered a cryptic smile.
“How about this: the content of our transaction with that lady is information about another manifestation grade mystery relic,” Mayor Howard said after a moment of contemplation. “When the transaction occurs, we will hand the information to you, and you can report it to that lady. This would be a merit sufficient to please that lady, surely...”
Hiss, this risk hadn't been taken in vain. Right off the bat, he was getting such explosive information. Trading news of a manifestation grade mystery relic, which even an evil god was interested in, for that mirror—it seemed this was the true nature of their transaction with the evil god.
He should quit while he was ahead. If he could get such core secrets in return, it would be good. And a rank five mystery relic that even an evil god was interested in surely contained fragments of Divine Authority. The Divine Authority of this mirror was only for replication, useless to him, but that other relic might be different.
“I need to see sincerity.” The gaze behind the round fan grew cold. “The relic's name.”
“Light of Miracles.”
“Light? Neighbor.”
【...】 Silence.
“Good, I understand. At least, there isn't much discrepancy.”
Lynch suppressed the excitement in his heart and said, feigning composure: “Tell me the full story, from beginning to end. Remember, whether you think it's useful or not, even if it's something I already know, tell me in detail.”
“This...”
“If you want my help, you follow my methods. Otherwise, you can figure it out yourselves. That's always been my attitude.” Lynch raised his chin at Walker. “I have my reasons for demanding this; if you don't understand, that's your problem. Now, start with why there are so many inexplicable people here.”
His forceful attitude, on the contrary, dispelled Mayor Howard's suspicions. He finally felt relieved enough to slowly unveil the entire conspiracy before Lynch.
Through certain channels, Prince William obtained information about the Gate of Falsehood and Reality from a secret intelligence organization. Using the method provided by them, after sacrificing over three hundred lives and requiring three to five sacrifices for each entry, he finally established contact with the Swelling Daughter's small world and ultimately struck a deal.
To acquire the Gate of Falsehood and Reality, a complex ritual had to be performed simultaneously in the mortal world and the Swelling Daughter's world. The ritual required ten participants, five from each side.
These special personnel were all recruited from outside. Some had legal identities, some were even wanted criminals like Pirate Davis, twelve in total. Their reasons for being summoned varied, but no one knew this matter involved a manifestation grade mystery relic; they all believed it was just a relatively dangerous ritual.
As for why such an important ritual required outside participants, Howard didn't elaborate, merely stating it was a necessary condition for the ritual. Lynch didn't press the matter, already realizing from the other party's demeanor that these people would likely all die in the ritual, serving as crucial cannon fodder.
Living in this manor now were these enigmatic participants and their accompanying personnel.
But now, a problem had arisen: Mayor Howard and Walker discovered that there were moles among the twelve individuals, and more than one.
With everything ready, preparations could begin tomorrow, and the ritual could officially be held in three days. This unexpected turn of events made Howard extremely nervous. If these important individuals caused trouble during the ritual, it could very likely lead to its failure, requiring everything to start over. At that point, whether the Swelling Daughter would still cooperate was uncertain.
The moles had to be found within three days to ensure the ritual's smooth progress. However, both Howard and Walker were too obvious targets to investigate themselves, and everyone else was under suspicion. They needed to find someone with no vested interest and absolute trustworthiness.
Naturally, that would be Ms. Selene, from the Swelling Daughter's faction.
“You really are good at judging people,” Lynch said with a half-smile.
“Of course. In the mortal world, discerning people is the most important skill.”
Mayor Howard adjusted his monocle, smiling reservedly and calmly.
“I have another question. After so many days without incident, why are you suddenly certain there's a mole? Did something happen?”
“Actually, we've had suspicions all along, but no evidence, until something happened a few days ago.” Howard gestured to Walker, who quickly checked the doors and windows to confirm no one was eavesdropping. Only then did the mayor lower his voice. “You know about that Lynch and Valente today, right? They secretly obtained a method to contact that lady.”
Lynch narrowed his eyes, a shadow rising in his heart.
“To prevent them from investigating further, and also to expose the mole, we revealed this information to those twelve individuals, acting on a gentleman's suggestion. Just recently, someone broke into the Valente mansion and destroyed those contact materials. This makes it quite clear that there's a mole in this manor. We must find and deal with him, otherwise, to ensure the ritual's safety, I'll have to consider temporarily halting it.”
That wouldn't do. Delays breed trouble. To ensure the ritual proceeded smoothly, he had to find the mole and give them a good 'education.' How dare they have his friend's house wrecked? Just you wait, I'm coming for you.
“Alright, I accept.”
Lynch nodded, a strange smile on his face:
“Then, the game is about to begin.”
Rate on N.U.
