In a corner of St. Yong Cathedral, Ed and Misha sat not far apart. Their transaction was nearing its end. After hearing Misha's intelligence, Ed, controlled by Dorothy, slowly spoke.
"Listen up, Madam. The Eight-Pointed Nest spy who infiltrated your investigation team is now named Weihan Valder, from Kexete in South Lem County. You'd best remember that."
"Weihan?"
Listening to Ed's words, Misha's brows furrowed slightly. The image of the seemingly cheerful young man appeared in her mind. After spending the past few days together, she had a good impression of him, but she didn't expect him to be an insider.
"I've seen Weihan's profile. His record is clean, and there are no records of any Eight-Pointed Nest activity in all of South Lem County. Is he really an insider?"
Misha asked Ed with a tone of suspicion, while Ed replied in a relaxed tone.
"If it were the real Weihan... then there would naturally be no problem. But the question is, is the person in front of you the real him? You should know, right, what the ability of the Eight-Pointed Nest's Blood Darkness Path is? What is the name of their Black Rank?"
Holding up a finger, Ed said to Misha. Hearing Ed's words, Misha was suddenly startled, then immediately understood and said.
"You mean... this Weihan was replaced by an Eight-Pointed Nest's Shadow Masked Man? That's not the original him?!"
Misha's eyes widened, her expression filled with a hint of disbelief, while Ed on the side nodded in response.
"That's right. According to the clues provided by our insider within the Eight-Pointed Nest, the intelligence about your bureau selecting candidates from across the country to form an anti-espionage investigation team was leaked by that major insider in your bureau from the start. So the Eight-Pointed Nest planned to eliminate and swap the people you selected halfway through, thus allowing them to openly infiltrate your investigation team. And this poor guy who was swapped, is Weihan."
Ed explained to Misha. Listening to Ed's words, Misha still had her eyes wide with disbelief. She shook her head slightly and murmured.
"The information on the investigation team members was all leaked? That shouldn't be... Could this be...?"
Seeing Misha's expression, Dorothy raised her eyebrows slightly, then she controlled Ed to ask Misha.
"Did you think of something, Misha?"
"No... nothing."
Hearing Ed's words, Misha immediately replied, then she immediately looked at Ed with a serious expression and spoke.
"You are accusing Weihan of being an insider. Do you have any evidence? How can we prove you are not slandering him?"
"You'll have to find the evidence yourselves. If you have ample funds, you can use a 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) to divine whether Weihan Valder is still alive. If you don't have ample funds, you can also capture that impostor and use 'Light' to intensely detect the extraordinary traces on his body. It will probably consume about a dozen 'Light', draining all the'Shadow' on him, and then he won't have the Spirituality to maintain his disguise. If he doesn't resist the 'Light' detection, the extraordinary effect of the disguise will be directly exposed."
Shrugging, Ed said to Misha. After hearing Ed's words, Misha couldn't help but sneer and speak.
"Heh... no matter which plan, the cost is a bit high... But at this time, some costs cannot be too calculated."
Misha finished speaking, then she changed the subject and continued.
"Alright, now I have the information I wanted. The transaction part is finished. Next, let's talk about other things. If I remember correctly, we still owe you something, right?"
Misha said so. What she said they owed was very clear: the reward that the Detective should have received after returning the documents from Alster.
"Thank you for remembering this matter. The reward we need won't be much, just two secret transmission related to'Shadow' or 'Light'. You should have extra secret transmission confiscated from other organizations, right?"
Ed responded to Misha. Hearing Ed's request, Misha couldn't help but speak with some surprise.
"You actually want secret transmission? That's a rather special request. Okay. Also, given that my answer in the previous transaction didn't fully meet your requirements, I can add one more secret transmission. How about a total of three?"
"That would be greatly appreciated. You can send these secret transmission through the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild. The recipient is still the Detective."
With a slight smile, he stood up and said to Misha, while also extending his hand to her.
"Then, all matters of our meeting have been settled. Now it's time to say goodbye. I hope we have the opportunity to cooperate again next time, Madam of the An Yin Bureau."
Looking at the hand extended to her again, Misha paused slightly, then stood up expressionlessly and extended her hand to shake his.
...
North Tivian, on a street far from the Church District.
Although the winter streets were cold, due to the approaching end of the year, there were many pedestrians walking on the street wearing thick clothes. The usually ordinary streetside was now bustling with workers busy hanging up trimmed branches, colorful flags, and other beautiful decorations to add atmosphere for the upcoming new year.
Tiny snowflakes drifted down onto the road and melted instantly. On the wet road, various carriages came and went. Inside one ordinary black carriage, Dorothy sat steadily, watching the tiny snowflakes falling from the sky while contemplating the scenes she had just seen and heard in the cathedral through Ed. The expression between her brows was not very bright.
"I didn't expect... even the An Yin Bureau knows so little about the god of'Shadow'. Not only the holy emblem... they don't even know the name... It's a bit of a miscalculation..."
Tightening the cotton coat she was wearing, Dorothy murmured in a low voice. Although the transaction was not without gain for her, her greatest goal was not achieved.
'Three secret transmission of 'Light' or'Shadow', and the scarce Spirituality can be replenished. This gain is actually acceptable, but the key is that the holy emblem of'Shadow' is still not in hand. Although there are some clues... it doesn't seem very reliable.'
Dorothy thought to herself. Although it is not yet confirmed, in her heart, that Moon Saint, the Mirror Moon Goddess, is most likely the main god of "Shadow". There is no other reason. When she saw the message about that goddess in the underground ruins of the King's Campus, the Spirituality she extracted from it, besides the inherent "Qi" (Awakening/Enlightenment), was only "Shadow", and no other Spirituality. This strongly proves the tendency of this goddess's Spirituality.
So after that, Dorothy asked Misha for information about the Mirror Moon Goddess. Although the clues she got were few, at least it was not nothing.
"Duke Saranchi, Barret Despenser?"
Rubbing her chin, Dorothy murmured the name. According to Misha, to further understand the truth about the Mirror Moon Goddess, she could only go to this Duke now. However, the other party was a respected member of the Royal Family, and it was not easy to get in touch with him.
'Although that Misha said this Duke occasionally attends gatherings, and I could take the opportunity to contact him, the circle of Royal Family gatherings is a bit too upper-class. I can't reach it for a while. It might be difficult to contact him...'
Dorothy thought to herself. After arriving in Tivian, she had been mainly dealing with various cult members all day long. Where would she have the time and spare money to develop connections in the upper-class social circle? Now, suddenly, she was being asked to contact and meet a Royal Family Duke named Despenser. She really didn't know where to start.
'Ugh... among my current connections, the person with the highest social status on the secular surface is Adele, right? She is a big star in all of Tivian after all, and it's not impossible to get in touch with members of the Royal Family. Can I think of something from her side?'
Dorothy thought to herself. Sitting in the carriage, she thought and thought for a while, and temporarily couldn't think of a good way to contact Barret. Then, after letting out a sigh of relief, she decided not to think about these troublesome things in the cold carriage for now, but to wait until she got home, light the fireplace, and think of a way while warming herself by the fire.
"Hiss... the weather is really getting colder and colder. My brain is not working well because of the cold. Let's go home and warm up first."
Rubbing her hands and exhaling a puff of white breath, Dorothy murmured, and then she controlled the Corpse Puppet coachman to speed up the carriage.
On the way back, out of boredom, she picked up the newspaper that was always in the carriage and started reading it. Because Dorothy often rode in carriages on the street, and often for several hours at a time, she had accumulated many newspapers and books in the carriage, especially newspapers, which she kept buying and updating. Even in this weather, there were still many newsboys shouting on the street.
Picking up today's Tivian Morning Post, Dorothy in the carriage began to read attentively. Her crimson eyes scanned the various news on the newspaper, and she was first attracted by the news from the colonies.
...
"The situation in the New World is not optimistic. On the morning of the 17th, disputes re-emerged in the border area between the Kingdom's Sand Shore State and Farano's North Forest State. Farano soldiers repeatedly crossed the border and were intercepted by our Kingdom's soldiers. Bloody clashes broke out between the two sides, and the Farano cross-border soldiers were expelled. The casualties on both sides are currently unknown...
It is reported that this is the third such conflict this month. Governor Mitchell called on the Kingdom government to pay attention to the Faloro problem in the New World. He stated that the threat posed by Faloro in the New World to the Kingdom's colonies is far greater than that of the natives, and he needs more soldiers to defend the Kingdom's interests."
...
'The situation in the New World doesn't seem to have eased, on the contrary, it has become increasingly tense recently. And as far as the Prit colony is concerned, their conflict has shifted from the conflict with the natives to the conflict with Faloro. Now the governor there has even started to request reinforcements from the mainland to the colonies. Is this going to be a war?'
Looking at the report in front of her, Dorothy thought to herself. She had been following the news about the Prit New World colony. From May to December this year, the tension there had been gradually increasing. Half a year had passed, and now the tense situation there seemed to have reached the point where the governor was requesting conscription from the mainland.
"All in all, I hope nothing happens..."
Dorothy said so, and then she shifted her attention to the next piece of news.
...
"Regarding the explosion that occurred in the Adoton District on the 15th, there is now an official investigation result. The army stated that the explosion was caused by improper transportation of military supplies, and the relevant responsible persons have been held accountable. There is no possibility of deliberate sabotage by other forces in this incident, and the explosion has not caused any casualties so far. Please rest assured, citizens."
...
'Hmm... the official handling result of the previous explosion incident is out. Although that area is sparsely populated, it's not completely empty. Such an explosion always needs a public explanation. I wonder how those Corpse Coffin guys are eating in the bureau?'
Looking at the report that was deeply related to her, Dorothy thought to herself, and then without much thought, she turned the page and looked at the subsequent content of the newspaper.
Then, the next piece of news immediately caught her attention.
...
"Breaking news! Princess Isabel announced that she will hold a New Year's Eve party on the evening of December 31st at Bishop Square in the South District, declaring that she will spend the last moments of this year with the general public and welcome the arrival of the new year!
Princess Isabel has held various speeches and gatherings for common people many times, and this will be the first time she holds a party on New Year's Eve.
According to Princess Isabel herself, this party will be different from the various speeches she has held in the past. This party will be a performance party for the general public to enjoy together. In addition to being open to the public for free, she has also invited many important figures from all walks of life in Tivian and even other members of the Royal Family, and she has also prepared an unexpected surprise for everyone.
It is understood that, according to Princess Isabel's usual practice of holding events, this party is likely to develop into a charity donation event for the poor later on. However, even so, many important figures invited by the Princess have already announced that they will attend the meeting at that time, among whom are important guests such as Duke Saranchi, the esteemed Duke Barret Despenser, who is also a member of the Royal Family like Princess Isabel..."
...
Sitting in the carriage, holding the newspaper, her eyes fixed on the name that appeared in the news: Barret Despenser, Duke of Saranchi.
Misha had just revealed that the possible holder of the Mirror Moon Goddess intelligence would attend the New Year's Eve party hosted by Princess Isabel on the 31st! And this party has both esteemed guests and is open to the public. Isn't this an opportunity?
"This party... if handled well, it might even create an opportunity to contact that Duke..."
Looking at the newspaper in front of her, Dorothy said thoughtfully. For her now, to contact this Duke Barret, this was an opportunity, an opportunity to try.
Closing the newspaper in her hand, Dorothy glanced at the date in the corner. Today was December 19th, and there were still more than ten days until the party.
"Heh... it seems that it's necessary to visit a live New Year's Eve party in another world this year..."
Putting away the newspaper in her hand, Dorothy looked out the window again at the falling snowflakes and murmured.
...
Somewhere in Tivian, in a beautifully decorated room, on the open balcony, a young man with a clean and handsome face, wearing a vest and shirt and with neat brown short hair, was standing in the cold wind.
The biting cold wind blew on the young man's thin body, but the young man didn't react at all. At this moment, he was holding a newspaper and reading it in the wind. This newspaper was today's Tivian Morning Post, and the part he was reading was the section where Princess Isabel announced she would hold a New Year's Eve party.
Just as the young man was reading the newspaper, a large, terrifying black spider quickly crawled out from his sleeve and climbed onto the newspaper along his hand. After scurrying around on it for a while, it stopped next to a name on the newspaper. This name was Barret Despenser.