Looking at the familiar city before him, Odis smiled: Backlund, I'm back again.
Moreover, this time he is returning in an official capacity, so there is no need to worry about MI9 or the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery making things difficult for him.
At least on the surface, they won't make things difficult for the Lenburg ambassador to the Kingdom of Loen.
After the train arrived at the station, Odis thanked the guards for escorting him and disembarked with two attendants and a dozen diplomats.
According to the agreement between Rune and Remburg, unless the King of Remburg himself visits, the accompanying guards are not allowed to disembark from the train.
If they get off the train, it would be tantamount to an invasion of Rune territory.
Of course, when an ambassador from a country takes office, the Kingdom of Rune must also show corresponding respect, especially for an ally like Lunburg; the formalities must be properly observed.
The station had already been taken over by the Ruen police, and the deputy minister of foreign affairs of Ruen was on the platform to greet them.
Outside the station, a carriage was ready. Escorted by the police, Odis went to the Remburg Embassy in the western district to hand over his duties to the previous ambassador, Count Connery.
The main buildings of the Reimsburg Embassy consist of an office building and a reception building; the former is the office space, and the latter is the place for holding talks and receiving guests.
Behind the two buildings is a sizable courtyard, and behind that courtyard, separated by a wall, are several residential buildings where the staff live.
There's not much to hand over. Recently, there have only been two transnational cases between Remburg and Ruhnn that require the Remburg ambassador's coordination.
Then it would be best to hold a dance party at the end of this month.
Since Earl Connery had already attended many balls, it was customary to reciprocate at the end of the month.
Finally, Connor introduced the main officials of the embassy, including two deputy envoys, a military attaché, and six civil officials, and Odis shook hands with each of them.
The elderly Earl Connery made no stop. After the handover ceremony, he boarded a carriage and headed to the train station, where he would take the same special train that Odis had used to return home.
Afterwards, as was customary, Odis went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ruhnn, had a brief meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and presented the credentials of the Ruhnn government.
This concludes the entire process of the Remnburg ambassador's appointment.
In the evening, a ball was held inside the Rembrandt Embassy to welcome the new ambassador.
The day's activities finally came to an end around 10 p.m.
Odis did not rest immediately, but instead used his "Earth Escape" ability to move swiftly underground like a ghost.
He soon arrived near Pesfield Street, emerged from a corner of the street, used a magical artifact to change his appearance, and then entered the Church of St. Samuel on that street.
All the churches of the Church of the Goddess of Night stay open until late at night, and there are usually many believers who come to pray at night.
When Odis entered the chapel, there was no room to sit, so he stood in a corner and prayed in a tiny voice to the "Dark Symbol," explaining to the "Goddess of Night" that he had received the "warning letter" from the "Hidden Sage."
After praying several times, just as Odis was about to fall asleep, she vaguely heard someone say in her ear, "I understand."
He suddenly opened his eyes. The chapel was still the same chapel, and the "Dark Symbol" was still the "Dark Symbol," but an unprecedented sense of tranquility filled the chapel, making the believers smile knowingly, as if they had felt the comfort of the gods.
Odis scratched his head; it seemed that the "I understand" was the reply from the "Goddess of Night."
Having achieved his goal, Odis quickly left the church. As long as he had the "Goddess of Night's" reply, he would be safe from any danger to his life in Rune.
The next morning, Odis arrived at his office early and had his secretary Erica deliver two business cards, one to the current Minister of Defense of Rune, Emilius, and the other to Count Brandon, hoping to meet with them.
The former was a high-ranking member of the Kingdom of Rune's navy whom Odis had met in the Raging Sea, while the latter was someone Odis had helped resolve the "curse" problem in his family when he was still a "wizard".
When Odis left Backlund, he asked Count Brandon to protect the "Bamboo Ballroom," and Count Brandon kept his promise.
Although the two were not very familiar with each other, if Odis identified himself as the "wizard" and visited as an ambassador, the Earl of Brandon would most likely meet with him.
Odis visited these two people hoping to make use of his existing connections, since Ambassador Remburg also needed the help of some connections when doing communication work.
Odis thought back and realized that he only had two useful connections that he had accumulated before.
The former were high-ranking officials, while the latter were relatively prestigious nobles.
As for Hugh's "Mysticism Research Society" and "Kusun Wood Ballroom" intelligence network, they certainly couldn't visit them openly.
Just as Odis had predicted, Emilius readily agreed to the request for a meeting, and Count Brandon, after learning the details, also agreed to meet with Odis.
When the staff of the Remnburg Embassy heard that both men had agreed to the ambassador's request to visit, they took it very seriously and began preparations on their own, without Odis's orders.
Because these two are the true elites of Backlund, and even the entire Loen region, it is rare for ambassadors from small countries like Remnburg to see them outside of balls.
At the same time, the staff realized why the king would send a young man as an ambassador; it turned out that this young man had certain channels and connections in Backlund.
The next day, Odis visited Emilius as promised. Upon seeing Odis, Emilius laughed a few times before saying, "I never expected that we would meet in this way."
"Ambassador Remenberg? That doesn't seem like the kind of job you'd like."
When Emilius was transferred back to Backlund, he tried to persuade Odis to return to Backlund with him, but Odis declined.
Meeting in this way at this time is indeed quite dramatic.
The two talked for over an hour, and Emilius even escorted Odis to the door.
The meeting with Count Brandon was quite formal. The Count Brandon, who was in his thirties and dressed in fine clothes, was taken aback when he saw Odis.
When they met before, Oedipus was dressed as a "wizard" with a long beard, dressed similarly to Gandalf. Now, standing in front of the Earl was a handsome and cheerful young man in his twenties, so he was naturally a little confused.
The rest of the conversation consisted of normal pleasantries and lasted only about twenty minutes before Odis got up and left.
Before leaving, Odis received an invitation from Count Brandon to attend a ball three nights later.
Odis readily agreed, because the ambassador's itinerary did not include the Count Brandon's ball, meaning that the Count had not invited the previous ambassador from Rembrandt.
Back at the embassy, Odis took the invitation and asked her secretary, Erica, to add the ball three days later to her itinerary.
During dinner, Odis overheard people discussing the matter in the dining room, so he asked the two envoys, Viscount Dana Arthur and Karen Sidley, "Is there anything special about the Earl of Brandon's invitation?"
Viscount Arthur, a nobleman of Rembrandt, said, "The Earl of Brandon is a very prestigious political figure; this must be a high-profile ball."
Oddiston had some doubts about the abilities of his predecessor, Earl Connery, who had been in Backlund for over a decade but had never managed to break into the "top" circles of Backlund.
That night, Odis went to 19 Pinster Street in the Joewood district to visit Hugh and Fors.
While it's not ideal to visit the two ladies' residence at night, it's certainly not suitable to visit during the day.
Odis first inquired about the digestion of the potion and promised that once it was fully digested, she would receive the extraordinary properties of Sequence 6 "Judge". She could then start collecting the auxiliary materials for "Judge".
This made Fors extremely envious, and at the same time happy for her friend. It was only after having the help of the Abraham family that she realized that the process of advancing to the level of an extraordinary person was not as difficult as she had imagined.
Now that Hugh has gained a powerful backer in the Extraordinary Realm, Fors is very happy for her.
Then Odis said, "I will be staying in Backlund for the foreseeable future."
This news surprised Hugh and Fors. Hugh immediately asked, "Should I pay special attention to the movements of MI9 and the Lever Church?"
Hugh knew very well how much trouble Odis had caused in Backlund.
"No need," Odis smiled. "I'm returning to Backlund as the Remnburg ambassador, so there's no need to worry about them causing trouble."
What?
Ambassador to Rembrandt?
Both of them were stunned; Hugh couldn't immediately connect the "pirate general" with Ambassador Lenburg.
Fors knew that the "captain" was the "hermit" because he remembered that the "hermit" was the governor of Remburg just last week, and he didn't know why the "hermit" suddenly became the ambassador of Remburg.
Odis smiled and explained, "This is indeed an unexpected appointment, but King Remnantburg must have had his reasons for doing so."
However, Odis didn't pay much attention to what King Lenburg was specifically considering.
After becoming a demigod, Odis had much more confidence when facing these secular regimes.
Especially in small countries like Rembrandt, there are no angels, and the number of demigods can be counted on one hand.
As a demigod, Odis already had the right to overturn the table.
If the king's ideas went too far, Odis would simply resign and return to Vortad to be his "superior governor".
Hugh quickly calmed down and asked Odis, "What do you need me to do?"
"There are two things," Odis said. "Help me compile information on eight ordinary people. It doesn't need to be too detailed; just tell me their general information and addresses."
"There is only one requirement: their lives may change in the near future."
"Well, I need to make an observation, so these eight people should ideally come from different social classes, and include both good and evil individuals."
"I will not hurt them, but if they do something really bad in front of me, I will stop them."
He paused for a moment and then said, "The second thing is to keep an eye out for anything noteworthy happening in Backlund recently."
"I've heard there are unusual spiritual fluctuations in the East District. Could you keep an eye out for me?"
Odis specifically instructed, "Don't inquire proactively; just keep an eye out for me when listening to your subordinates' reports."
"You should write to me with the information and intelligence."
Fors, standing to the side, paused for a moment. She remembered that the "Hermit" had asked about this matter at the Tarot meeting. Then she guessed that something big was about to happen in Backlund, and that the "Hermit" had received some information. Otherwise, why would he have come to Backlund?
Finally, Odis gave Hugh a crystal ball: "As long as I am in Backlund, if you infuse this crystal ball with spirituality, I will be able to sense that it is you contacting me."
"If there is any emergency, you can contact me this way."
Then Odis got up to take his leave.
As Hugh carefully put away the crystal ball, he saw Odis suddenly jump and leap into the floor. The two of them were stunned for a second or two before they realized that Odis had left in a very mysterious, even somewhat eerie, way.
Hugh suddenly said, "I don't know why, but I always feel that 'Captain' will suddenly pop out of the ground again."
"He's not a groundhog, why would he come back?" Fors said, but in his heart he was thinking: This is the power of a demigod. I can't understand what kind of power this is at all.
...
Odis "recreated" the most secretive "earth escape" technique and returned to the embassy.
He then prepared a simple altar in his room, summoned the messenger, and told her to deliver any letters to the embassy office.
Because he is the "favored one of the night," even messengers cannot locate him. Therefore, whenever Odis wants to go to a new place to develop, he must first summon the messenger and tell her the new "address for receiving mail."
The messenger grunted in acknowledgment, then scrutinized Odis for a moment: "You have already ascended to the level of a demigod."
Odis then remembered that the two of them had made a promise that after he became a demigod, he would help the messenger further restore his strength.
"This is another thing I want to tell you," Odis said without batting an eye. "Once I've stabilized my condition after a while, I can fulfill our previous promise."
The messenger said, "Alright, no rush."
After saying that, she disappeared from Odis's room.
Because they had already cooperated once before, Odis trusted the messenger.
However, she cannot act with the messenger for the time being. After all, this is Elbera Steiano, the sister of the "God of Steam and Machinery". Although she was betrayed by the "God of Steam", once she reaches the high sequence of the Extraordinary Path, she cannot use common sense to speculate on such personal grudges.
If this is an arrangement by the "God of Steam," then it will be troublesome. After all, Odis doesn't know Elbera Steiano and can't be sure if the messenger's identity is real.
Therefore, Odis planned to either become a "Master of Prophecy" or find out what actions the "God of Steam" had taken against him before fulfilling his previous promise.
The next morning, the messenger delivered the information that Hugh had collected for Odis.
Odis glanced through the list and found that all eight people met his requirements. He then chose his first target: a bakery owner.
The bakery owner, Godfrey, has been running a bakery for over a decade, and recently he's been using his savings to open another one.
His business expansion means his fate is indeed likely to change in the near future.
After Odis summoned his secretary Erica and confirmed that there was nothing else to do that day, he left his office, returned to his room, changed into clothes that were easy to move in, and took with him the leather bag containing the scrolls and the "Gus Staff," and quietly went to the outside of Godfrey's Bakery.
Odis used invisibility to conceal his presence, then entered the bakery and stood in a corner, quietly observing the Godfrey family.
Like most bakeries, Godfrey was in charge of baking the bread, while his wife sold it at the counter.
Because this bakery has been open for many years, it has many customers who come to buy bread.
Godfrey's wife treated them very warmly, listened to their needs, packed bread for them in paper bags, and thanked them for their patronage.
Occasionally, when there are no customers, the couple will talk about the newly opened bakery. The new bakery is currently under renovation, and they go there to check on it every day after the local bakery closes.
They planned to hire a bread baker after the bakery over there opened, with Godfrey's wife running the shop there and their daughter selling bread at the bakery here.
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Listening to their plans, Odis also sensed the hope in their lives.
It wasn't until after 4 p.m. that Odis left and returned to his office to record his observations for the day.
They observed at a leisurely pace for two days, and soon the day of the Earl Brandon's Ball arrived.
Around 5 p.m., Odis, dressed in a high-class formal suit, rode in a carriage to attend the Earl of Brandon's ball.
As for that high-end formal suit, it was naturally not paid for by Odis himself, but rather paid for by the embassy.
Odis originally wanted to ask for several tens of pounds more, but considering that he was now quite wealthy, he didn't do so.
As the two deputy envoys of the embassy said, the ball was a very high-end event with only about a hundred attendees, many of whom were family members brought by the invitees.
After a brief observation, Odis discovered that nearly half of the attendees were nobles who had successfully transitioned to other professions.
In other words, these were nobles who gained substantial benefits during the Industrial Revolution and whose political leanings were towards reformism.
The other half consisted of lords or the very wealthy, whose net worth was in the millions or even tens of millions of pounds. They would be big shots elsewhere, but here they were simply there to serve the reformist nobles.
High-ranking nobles, through their own channels, found or discovered a way to make money. They would often not make the money themselves, but would instead partner with several other nobles and wealthy individuals to run the business.
This effectively hedges against risks, and any difficulties encountered during the operation can be easily resolved through their respective channels after discussions among several nobles and wealthy individuals.
Odis felt somewhat out of place at the banquet. Firstly, he did not have the status of a nobleman, and secondly, his savings amounted to only tens of thousands of pounds, making him a complete pauper compared to the wealthy tycoons.
He observed carefully and noticed that he was the only diplomat at the ball, so he guessed that Earl Brandon might need Lenburg's connections to invite him to the ball.
As the ball was about to begin, Odis, sensing something, looked towards the entrance.
His gaze skipped over Count and Countess Hall and landed on Audrey Hall, "the most dazzling jewel of Backlund," behind them.
This instantly reminded Odis of the "General of Disease." It wasn't that they had anything in common, but rather that every time Odis saw Audrey, the image of the witch would always come to mind.
He thought to himself: Luckily, "Justice" isn't a witch, otherwise who could resist her allure?
If you look closely, Audrey's appearance and temperament far surpassed those of the "ill-stricken general".
Odis thought to herself: The witch's appearance seems to be designed to complement her "bewitching" abilities, while Audrey's looks are not meant to complement any extraordinary ability, nor to cater to anyone's aesthetic preferences. That's why this noble lady has such an extraordinary air about her.
These thoughts formed instantly in Odis's mind, so he didn't stare at Audrey but quickly turned his head away.
Staring at a woman for an extended period of time is considered very impolite.
...
Upon arriving at the ballroom, Audrey's spirit was stirred, and she immediately discovered Odysseus.
This discovery immediately pulled her out of her "spectator" mode, and she briefly showed a surprised expression: Was that the "Hermit"? How could he be here?
Audrey had seen the first draft of the "Mysterious Admiral's" bounty poster, so she knew what Odis looked like.
The bounty was said to have circulated widely in Bayam at the time, and the girls at the Moulin Rouge were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the "Mysterious Admiral" to their business.
Many young girls also treasured the bounty poster for the "Mysterious Admiral," fantasizing about what kind of romantic story could happen with this pirate general.
After the girls all fantasized about the "Mysterious General", the boys naturally began to learn about this pirate general, and some even gradually regarded him as an idol.
Perhaps the navy felt that a "pirate general" shouldn't look so sunny and handsome, so they changed the second version of the bounty poster, making Odis's appearance somewhat ugly and portraying him as sinister and ruthless.
But this still fits the image of a pirate general in everyone's mind, and many pirates began to imitate the expressions and attire on the bounty poster.
So the Navy issued a third version of the bounty poster. The portrait on this version of the bounty poster no longer had any of Odis's features and was extremely ugly.
Odis originally wanted to protest, but then he realized that this was the safest version of the bounty poster, because if the bounty hunter had this poster, even if Odis stood in front of him, he wouldn't recognize it as his target.
At this moment, in the ballroom of Earl Brandon, Audrey quickly concealed her emotions, but her heart was surging with turmoil.
She was both delighted to have met Odysseus at the ball and puzzled as to why he was there.
It would be considered very ill-mannered for a noblewoman to initiate a conversation with a young man, at least in Rune.
However, Audrey could find out from others, and so, while talking to the Countess of Brandon's wife and daughter, she easily learned that Odis was now the Remnburg ambassador to Ruhnn.
This surprised Audrey, but it didn't seem too unexpected, since both the governor and the ambassador were officials from Remberg.
However, further inquiries yielded no concrete information about Odis.
Audrey thought to herself: Apart from not knowing that he was already an ambassador, I am the person here who knows him better than anyone else.
...
After the ball officially began, Odis sat in a corner. No one invited him, and he didn't plan to invite anyone else for the time being.
At this point, he was quite certain that Earl Brandon had come to him with a purpose, so he was waiting for someone to come and talk to him.
But after sitting for more than half an hour, no one came. He had eaten and drunk his fill.
Odis glanced around again; he had just noticed that many people were looking at him, intentionally or unintentionally.
Odis looked back, which made it clear to him where those gazes were coming from and what their general intentions were.
It was clear that most people were just looking around out of curiosity, not knowing who Odis was or why he was at such a high-class ball.
Odis noticed that only Count Brandon, and a well-maintained man in his fifties beside him, were actually observing him.
Although their observations left no trace, Odis, who had become a demigod, could not be wrong in his spiritual senses.
Finally, Odis's gaze fell upon Audrey.
As an "observer," she observed Odis very discreetly, but Odis still noticed.
After thinking for a moment, Odis suddenly stood up and walked toward the ladies and young women.
The ladies were immediately filled with anticipation, because at today's ball, the younger men were all in their thirties or forties, and only Odis was such a handsome young man.
Finally, Odis approached Audrey and extended his hand: "Miss Hall, may I have this dance?"
"Of course." Audrey returned the greeting gracefully, then took Odis's hand and they stepped onto the dance floor together.
The other ladies weren't disappointed, after all, they'd seen handsome young men before. However, they all secretly thought Odis was a superficial man who judged people by their looks.
On the dance floor, as new music began, Odis and Audrey danced, their elegant movements attracting the attention of many.
However, Audrey soon noticed: "Why do you always seem to be looking at the people around you, intentionally or unintentionally?"
"Because I don't know how to dance this dance," Odis smiled. "So we need to learn the movements of those around us while we continue our dance."
To be precise, he rarely attended such formal balls before.
However, as a demigod, Odis could understand the essence of the dance moves just by glancing at the people around him, make certain optimizations, and then command his muscles to accurately complete those movements.
Although Odis learned it on the spot, she danced better than the others.
Audrey murmured to herself, "This is one of the benefits of a promotion."
Odis smiled slightly and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I'm currently in Backlund and need to investigate an important matter. Please keep an eye out for anything noteworthy happening around you."
He invited Audrey to dance, mainly to ask her to observe whether there was anything unusual about the nobles around her.
Odis suddenly realized that since the arrangements made by the "Hidden Sage" and the "God of Steam" couldn't be directly targeted at him, it might be possible to start with the people around him.
Most of the people Odis knew in Backlund have already gone to Cruz Island or Vote State.
The remaining members were Audrey, Hugh, and Fors, three members of the Tarot Society, as well as his good friend Max Livemore from the Steam Church.
After the first three Odis arrive in Backlund, they will definitely have some contact, but the latter Odis does not intend to take the initiative to contact him. If she does, she will be harming Max.
So Odis just realized that if the arrangements of the "Hidden Sage" and the "God of Steam" were made around the people around him, Audrey and the others should have been able to sense something was wrong beforehand.
Upon hearing Odis's request, Audrey recalled his question at the Tarot meeting and asked, "Is there going to be another big event in Backlund soon?"
Odis smiled and said, "Backlund is a city where great events often occur."
He then said, "I hope this sudden invitation to dance hasn't caused you any inconvenience."
Audrey smiled and said, "If you're just here to ask me to dance, it will indeed be inconvenient for me."
Oddess immediately understood what the other person meant: "I will ask other ladies to dance later."
The food at the Earl of Brandon's ball was delicious, and even Odice, who never liked Western food, ate quite a bit. She decided to dance a few more dances to help digest her food.
After finishing their business, the two chatted casually, and Audrey asked, "How did you suddenly become the ambassador of Remenberg?"
Odis lamented, "My actions in Vote were too great, which attracted the king's attention, so he banished me to Backlund."
Audrey paused for a moment, then asked, "Besides fighting bandits, what else have you been doing?"
"We didn't do much," Odis said. "We just built railways and factories, and without taking a single penny of aid from the Remnburg government, we restored order to the Vote region and made it more prosperous."
As a noblewoman, Audrey immediately understood: "It's because you did an excellent job."
"That should be it," Odis said nonchalantly.
Then Audrey seemed to realize something: "You did this on purpose?"
"I'm just doing what I think is right, according to my own ideas," Odis said with a smile.
Or perhaps he simply didn't care what the King and the Minister of the Interior thought.
Audrey thought to herself: It doesn't seem to make any difference, does it?
She took a deep breath and asked again, "How long do you plan to stay in Rune?"
Audrey had a feeling that Odis was only back for a short time and might leave again at any time.
Odis pondered for a moment and said, "Probably in late October, or at the end of the year."
Audrey immediately asked, "Will something important happen at either of these two times?"
Odis was about to deny it, but then he changed his mind: "I have received two high-level prophecies, and indeed something will happen during these two periods."