The Members

I know the answer to this one.

The moment Lynch saw the flash of light, he instinctively took a step to the side, backing up right behind Karl Jones.

As a result, Karl Jones, whose line of sight was blocked by Lynch, didn't even have time to blink before the colorful light slammed into his face, causing him to let out a howl and cover his face.

‘Fortunately, I'm no lady and don't have the habit of ladies first. My reaction was a step slow, otherwise I would've been the one getting hit in the face. Mr. Jones, you're a good man. I'll miss you...’

While gloating in his heart, Lynch suddenly frowned, feeling as though this scene was somewhat familiar.

But before he could think further, he heard Karl Jones raise his voice:

“Dr. Jenna, thank you for your fiery passion, but please put away your mystery relic and do not frighten this beautiful lady.”

“Have you ever seen a mystery relic that doesn't go out of control? Because I haven't,” a lazy, casual female voice called out from inside. “Don't worry, little Karl. It's safe now. Come on in.”

“Honestly, how many times has it gone out of control over the past few days? You really need to be more careful,” Karl Jones grumbled under his breath. Suddenly remembering something, he turned around, instantly regaining his elegant, gentlemanly demeanor. He bowed and said, “My deepest apologies, beautiful lady. I have frightened you.”

“Not at all,” Lynch replied with a mysterious smile, his charming eyes resting on Karl. “I wasn't the one who got hit in the face, so why would I be frightened?”

Karl Jones was left utterly speechless. Lynch merely chuckled softly behind his round fan, bypassed Karl who was blocking the doorway, and walked inside with elegant ease.

The recreation room was styled somewhat like a bar. In the corner, the large horn of a phonograph played a melodious orchestral tune. Under the bright gas lamps, the billiard table sat unused, with only two cues resting across its surface. Several card tables stood empty, still holding cigars and empty wine glasses.

Right ahead was a small bar counter, with a waiter standing inside acting as a bartender. A young lady in her twenties sat outside the counter, holding a small pendant in her hand.

The woman was thin and frail-looking. Her blonde hair was pinned up on her head beneath a wide-brimmed hat with rolled edges, and she wore a sturdy, green, men's hunting suit. Her face was dotted with light freckles. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but she had an appealing, unobjectionable look. She wore a perpetual, lazy expression, as if nothing in the world could bother her.

Including human life.

Dr. Jenna Letty, an archaeologist who had been expelled from the Archaeological Association for repeatedly causing casualties by activating dangerous items inside ruins and ancient tombs. In plain terms, whenever she found something interesting in a ruin, she would curiously study it and try to crack its secrets. If her team was lucky, they might lose about half their members; if they were unlucky, only a handful would make it back.

Compared to Karl Jones, who was a simple grave robber, this woman was far more terrifying.

Of course, that was the official reason given by the association when she was expelled. Whether there was more to the story was hard to say. Regardless, a deep-seated hatred had formed between the two parties ever since. Jenna had publicly criticized the association on multiple occasions, and the association had completely blacklisted her in return, causing Dr. Jenna to vanish from the public eye in recent years.

Lynch, however, paid no mind to that at the moment. His attention had already been drawn to the small pendant in Dr. Jenna's hand.

It was a shark with a gaping mouth.

【Ocean Currents in a Dream, King Henry's childhood dream. Every night, it carries him to swim through the world of dreams and happily meet with other companions.】

Sure enough, it was that useless mystery relic he had seen once in the grand museum, the one that gave people a fright.

According to the law of uniqueness for mystery relics, this should be the very same one that was in Professor Green's hands just a few days ago. Now this was interesting. What happened to the deep-seated, irreconcilable hatred between her and the Archaeological Association?

‘Could you be the mole?’

“This is a mystery relic I brought along. It's fear grade, so it's practically harmless,” Dr. Jenna said generously, placing the pendant on the bar counter upon seeing Lynch looking at her toy. “It's not very useful either. When it goes out of control, it just randomly shoots a ray of light at nearby living creatures.”

“What about these?” Lynch sat down beside the doctor, waving away a few mosquitoes circling nearby.

“It requires high-level souls, which generally refers to humanoid beings. These things don't count.”

The doctor didn't carry the scent of perfume typical of a lady, but rather a scent similar to Madam Bessie's. Hearing her answer, Lynch said thoughtfully, “There's no need to bring a useless mystery relic here, is there? Does it have some sentimental value?”

“Not really. It should be useful in ruins for finding companions and a way out.”

‘Should be... Heh.’

This was truly intriguing. A mystery relic that was in Professor Green's possession just a few days ago had suddenly ended up in her hands. Especially since this place was under strict lockdown for security, and none of the participants were allowed to contact the outside world before the mission ended. How did she get it?

If he hadn't encountered this thing once before, it would have been impossible to notice. But once he paid attention to this mystery relic, the more he thought about it, the more suspicious it became.

‘Is my luck really this good that I found the mole right off the bat?’

While calculating rapidly in his mind, Lynch settled into his seat beside Dr. Jenna. Karl Jones also slid over next to Lynch with a grin. Suddenly, with lightning speed, Karl snatched a mosquito that had just flown past Lynch's ear, flipped a wine glass over with his other hand, and trapped the live mosquito underneath. The entire movement was as smooth as instinct. Only then did he wave to the waiter:

“Tom, mix a Burning Heart. I want to offer it to this beautiful lady as an apology for my rudeness earlier. Oh, dear lady, beneath your beautiful face, you must surely possess a beautiful soul. You wouldn't have the heart to watch me suffer under the torment of guilt, so you will definitely accept my apology, right?”

‘Would you like me to drop my disguise and show you my beautiful soul? It's a blessing from my neighbor that I don't disgust you to death.’

With malicious thoughts swirling in his mind, Lynch was about to respond when his heart suddenly tightened. His subconscious felt that something about what had just happened was off.

What was going on?

He rapidly flashed back through every single detail since he entered the manor, and suddenly realized a problem.

He had seen this smooth, flowing mosquito-catching technique before—and more than once.

Those idiots who sat at the bar staring at lizards all day often did this, otherwise they wouldn't be able to start their bets. Aside from them, probably no one else would be so bored.

Such a detail was unlikely to be noticed by anyone except someone like Lynch, who had also hung out with those idiots. It was only because the lizard-betting was so bizarre that it had left a deep impression on him. While the action itself proved nothing, once he recognized the connection, associations began to sprout uncontrollably.

‘Don't tell me you're the undercover agent sent by the Watchers—the kind that even Officer Natalie doesn't know about? Are Watcher undercovers even allowed to hit on the mission targets? Tsk, did I suspect the wrong person just now? Is Dr. Jenna innocent, and you're the actual mole?’

Mr. Karl Jones, completely unaware of Lynch's inner thoughts, naturally leaned a bit closer and chatted him up with a grin, “Beautiful lady, how should I address you? I haven't seen you before. Could you be one of those mysterious figures who have been keeping themselves locked up in their rooms?”

“Of course you wouldn't notice if you only keep your eyes glued to the woman beside you. How could you see anything when you aren't even looking?”

The sudden voice caused the four people present to turn their heads in surprise. Sitting upright on the sofa next to the phonograph was a middle-aged man in a gray formal suit.

His suit was pressed, his hair was neat, and he wore a serious expression. A thick book lay open on his lap.

There clearly hadn't been anyone there just now. While Lynch was wondering about this, Karl asked in surprise, “Rooney, when did you get here? I didn't notice you again.”

“I arrived when Tom was wondering if something was happening tonight since no one was coming. You didn't notice probably because you didn't bring your eyes, or perhaps you never grew them. As for this lady, considering Walker just informed us that the most critical item has been obtained and the mission can officially begin, and then a fresh face suddenly appears, is there any need to guess her identity?”

‘Hiss, so he's the ancient book broker, Rooney. This guy's mind is sharp.’ Lynch felt a slight sense of crisis. It seemed he would have to hide his tracks better, or he might end up exposing his identity.

As for not noticing him earlier, it was likely because he carried some form of concealment authority. After all, many Soul Severers of fallen gods possessed such authorities, so it wasn't particularly unusual.

【Warning. He carries a holy blessing upon him. This is a characteristic possessed only by Soul Severers of the Major Gods, and only the Supreme can distinguish it.】

‘Huh? So he isn't actually a Soul Severer of some anonymous fallen god as the files said? Instead, he's a Soul Severer of the Church of the Major Gods? He intentionally hid his identity to infiltrate this place?’

This was no longer a question of whether his luck was good or not. How long had he been here? He had already encountered three suspicious targets.

And the only reason there were only three suspicious targets was because he had only met three people, not because there were only three.

Was the suspicion rate here literally one hundred percent?

No, what is wrong with you guys? Don't tell me everyone here besides me is a mole.

‘Mayor Howard, what the fuck kind of crowd did you gather here? Myself included.’

For a moment, Lynch felt his vocabulary was too lacking to even begin to complain.