North Shore of Conquest, Navaja.
In the afternoon, Dorothy walked slowly and alone through the streets of Navaja with a focused expression. At this time, she was using the small Corpse Puppets widely distributed throughout the city to scout the homes of patients suffering from the senile decay syndrome. She quickly discovered useful clues. In the abandoned home of a patient, one of Dorothy's small Corpse Puppets found a strange altar in a locked wardrobe.
Afterward, Dorothy continued to use the small Corpse Puppets to search the homes of several other patients. The result was that in certain hidden corners of their homes, they all found this moth-shaped mark, to varying degrees. Some wealthy families with spacious houses set up hidden altars for the marks, while some poor families simply carved the marks on their headboards. The homes of families who had all been admitted to the hospital were almost derelict, and the family members who were still living there also looked universally listless.
After seeing the condition of several patient's homes, Dorothy was almost certain of her previous conjecture. The cause of the senile decay syndrome rampant in Navaja was not a disease, but a secret belief targeting the so-called 'Pan Moth'. From the current information, it seems that believing in the so-called Pan Moth leads to gradually developing senile decay syndrome, eventually resulting in mental derangement and being sent to a mental hospital.
This secret belief is spread privately among friends and family, which is why there is a phenomenon of relatives gathering and getting sick. The mental state of the patients' family members who have not yet been sent to the hospital is also clearly poor.
So now the question is, what exactly is this so-called Pan Moth? Why does believing in it cause this situation?
'Pan Moth... the Pan Moth that brings beautiful dreams. There is a hidden worship of moths in this small city. What do the moths here refer to?'
Walking along the street, Dorothy ate a potato pancake snack she had just bought while pondering in her heart. The name Pan Moth sounded somewhat similar to the names of deities like the Spider Queen, the Gluttonous Wolf, and the Abyssal Serpent. For a moment, she wondered if this might be the name of another deity, a deity related to the Dream World.
'The words next to the altar want the Pan Moth to bring beautiful dreams... The person who tried to steal information from Vanya also has the ability to unknowingly pull people into dreams and invade dream cocoons... The mental patients are diagnosed with senile decay syndrome...
'A lot of signs indicate that the society entrenched in Navaja is a society related to the Dream World. Dreams are related to the'Shadow' and 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) types of Spirituality. Now that Extraordinary who are primarily 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) have become extinct, they are likely Extraordinary who are primarily'Shadow' and secondarily 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment)... Isn't this the Little Fox's Dream Eater Path, which is primarily'Shadow' and secondarily 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment)? Is the society here related to the Little Fox?
'What's even stranger is... in this era, not only are Extraordinary who are primarily 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) extinct, but Extraordinary who are secondarily 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) are also extremely rare. Only those with opportunities like Teacher Adele and Aldrich can accidentally become Extraordinary who are secondarily 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment). There isn't even a lineage; promotion relies on archaeology. And yet, a seemingly decent society of secondary 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) Extraordinary has appeared in Navaja. It's incredible.'
While gnawing on the potato pancake, Dorothy thought to herself. From the information feedback from Vanya, there were two people who came to investigate. One died directly due to a large Spirit Sight backlash, and the other ran away immediately after his companion had an accident. This action of sending out two henchmen for reconnaissance at once does not show much value placed on the so-called secondary 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) Extraordinary.
'Sending out two secondary 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) henchmen of around the Black Rank to carry out such a task feels like these people are not too scarce for that society. It's like the level of normal Black Rank Extraordinary in a medium to large society. But thinking this way doesn't make much sense. If secondary 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) Extraordinary are not rare for that society, then as long as they have a Golden Rank leader to resist the rank difference penalty, couldn't they use abundant divination resources to divine other societies into oblivion?
'And if they don't even have a Golden leader, then there is a qualitative difference in strength compared to other large societies, making it impossible to contend with other societies. Without the protection of powerful strength, wouldn't so many secondary 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) Extraordinary be like fat meat in the eyes of other societies? They would have been dismantled and divided long ago; it's impossible for them to still be here intact.'
Slowly finishing the potato pancake in her hand, Dorothy thought to herself. At this time, she felt a deep curiosity about the secret society hidden within Navaja. Now, she planned to use more methods to further investigate this society.
Dorothy now planned to continue monitoring the patient families who still had people living in them to see what their secret religious activities were like. This secret missionary activity must have superiors and subordinates, and the ultimate superior must be the society itself. As long as she observed for a period of time and clarified the organizational structure of this cult, she would quickly be able to find the members of that society.
Another point is that the abnormal number of mental patients in this area has not attracted the intervention of the Church or even Castile's secret departments, which indicates that the city government should be controlled by that society. Under the control of that society, the city government did not report the situation here and even ordered the mental hospital to remove its sign. Therefore, continuous investigation of the city government can also catch the Fox's tail of that society. Dorothy has also kept some small Corpse Puppets in the city hall to monitor all abnormal situations.
Under normal circumstances, after a full day of investigation, Dorothy would have probably found their headquarters by now. However, due to the deterrent power of the Church fleet, these people have clearly stopped or slowed down the normal activities of the entire society, which has significantly hindered Dorothy's progress in following the clues. Although she has achieved many investigative results so far, she has not found their stronghold yet. Dorothy estimates that it may take some time to get concrete results.
"Phew... it's getting late now. I'll go back to the hotel and monitor slowly. Also, I'll try to figure out what this so-called 'Pan Moth' is all about?"
After eating, Dorothy clapped her hands and murmured this as she looked at the darkening sky. Then, she turned and walked back to the hotel where she was staying.
After having a Castilian specialty dinner at the best restaurant near the hotel, Dorothy returned to her hotel room. After sitting down at the desk, she took out her magic box, then drew out "wen hai hang zhi" from it. She then turned to the communication page specifically for Grego. After thinking for a while, she began to use other notes to write her first message since leaving for her trip, under the name of Detective.
...
North Tivian, a quiet road in front of a residential area.
In the evening, a carriage stopped by the side of the road. Grego, wearing a vest, lightly jumped down with his briefcase and clothes. After smiling and turning to bid farewell to the coachman, he turned and walked towards the residential area.
Grego, who had just finished a life of endless overtime, got off work early today as usual. After taking the bureau's special carriage to the residential area where he lived, he quickly walked towards his place. He planned to go back, change clothes, and then find a place to have a good dinner.
'Ah... I feel like eating out every day is a bit of a waste of money. Should I just eat at the bureau's cafeteria from now on and then come back? But that would feel too late... mainly because I can't cook or make food myself.
'I wonder how Dorothy eats every day in Tivian. She probably goes to the school cafeteria. After all, I didn't give her too much pocket money, and she doesn't ask me for more each month, which proves that she should be saving it... just like when she was in the village, she's a sensible and thrifty child...
'But this time I gave her more money for her trip, so I guess she can live more comfortably.'
'
Grego thought this to himself. In fact, with his current income, he was already in the wealthy class in the whole of Prit. Although he could give Dorothy a lot of money so she could live like a rich young lady in Igwinte, as a parent, in order to cultivate Dorothy's habit of being thrifty and not spending money recklessly, Grego's living expenses for Dorothy were not excessive.
In front of Dorothy, Grego often said that although he had a little money, it wasn't too much, and that it was earned through great effort. He tried his best to create an image that his own life was not too wealthy, so that Dorothy would not become arrogant and decadent because her family background suddenly became too affluent, losing the spirit of hard work and thus affecting her studies.
Grego planned to tell Dorothy that he was actually very rich only after she graduated from at least middle school. He imagined how wonderful his sister's expression would be at that time.
While thinking about such things, Grego walked to the terraced apartment he rented. After opening the door and entering the room, he was about to go straight to change clothes. However, at this moment, he felt a slight abnormality on his body.
"This is... The Detective is reminding me?"
Grego murmured with a slight frown. Then, he abandoned his original plan to change clothes and immediately went to his bedroom. After sitting down at the desk, he took out a small notebook from the drawer.
This was something Grego received at home shortly after the Duke's assassination. According to the accompanying letter, this was a means of communication with the Detective and others in their organization, similar to the Eight-Pointed Nest's Spider-Man and the Placenta's Five Senses Altar. The method of communicating through gods to convey prayers was only used by them at more critical times.
Just now, Grego received a "reminder" from the mark on his body. According to the letter from before, there should be words specifically written for him on it now.
Grego opened his notebook, and after flipping through a few pages, he indeed found a series of unfamiliar handwriting appearing on the pages.
After carefully observing the words on the page, Grego frowned slightly.
"Hmm... The Detective wants me to ask that little ancestor, Miss Fox, for something?"
...
Time passed quickly, and soon the sky was completely dark. Night officially descended upon Tivian. After eating out, Grego quickly returned home, then took out the phonograph, played melodious music while writing the investigation report due tomorrow on his desk. After finishing, he let out a big yawn, then put the report back into his briefcase, turned around and took a shower in the bathroom. After putting on his pajamas, he looked at the time on the wall, then turned off the Light, lay down on the bed, and pulled up the covers.
After completing the method of conscious entry into the dream, Grego quickly fell asleep. Remaining conscious in the dream space, he chanted the mimicry spell, and immediately transformed into a large black Black Dog, then let out a roar.
Amidst the roar of the Black Dog Grego, a phantom door opened in the dream space.
Without hesitation, Grego, in his Black Dog form, immediately drilled into the door. After passing through the door, he left his dream and arrived in the Dream Woodland. Standing on his dream cocoon, Grego looked at the endless towering trees in front of him.
"Yo~ Black Dog, you're quite punctual today too. It seems you've really finished working overtime."
At this moment, a familiar clear voice came from below Grego. Listening to this voice, Grego looked down and saw the familiar little white Little Fox squatting in front of a Dream World teleportation gate, wagging her tail.
"Yes... Miss Fox, the overtime work has finally finished recently, and I can finally have a normal sleeping time."
While responding to the Little Fox below, Grego leaped onto the grassland of the Woodland using the branches of the giant tree. The Little Fox glanced at Grego, then nodded and spoke again.
"Hmm... Not bad, not bad. If you can resume normal sleep, then it's fine. You haven't been to the Dream World for several weeks in a row. I thought you died on a mission. I asked the Dragon, and it said you were actually working overtime."
"Hehe... If I had to work overtime for another week or two, I probably really would have died..."
Black Dog Grego complained like this, and at this time the Little Fox was preparing to turn around and walk into the teleportation gate behind her.
"Let's go, I found a good hunting spot today. It's not far from the Dragon's territory and is very safe. If we're lucky, maybe we can hunt something big~"
The Little Fox was about to enter the dream anchor teleportation gate, and at this moment, Grego immediately spoke.
"Please wait a moment, Miss Fox, I have something I want to ask you."
"Something you want to ask me? What is it?"
Listening to Grego's words, the Little Fox turned around with some surprise and said, while Grego squatted on the grass and continued to speak.
"It's about some dream questions. I want to ask Miss Fox, do you know 'Pan Moth'?"
Grego said this to the Little Fox, and after hearing Grego's words, the Little Fox immediately froze in place. After being stunned for a while, she spoke again, and this time her expression became somewhat intense.
"Moth... You, where did you learn about 'Moth'! How do you know about that false dream god! Did you encounter those traitors in reality!"
The Little Fox said excitedly to Grego, and seeing the Little Fox's reaction, Grego was first taken aback, and then continued to speak to the Little Fox.
"False dream god? Traitors? Miss Fox... What is going on? What exactly is this Pan Moth? Who are the traitors you mentioned? Do you have any relationship with them?"
Listening to Grego's questioning, the Little Fox paused slightly. It was only then that she realized she had suddenly said a little too much. Remembering her Grandpa's instructions, she immediately stopped talking, temporarily unwilling to reveal more information, but cautiously asked.
"You tell me first how you know about Moth, and then I'll consider whether I can tell you more."
Listening to the Little Fox's question, Grego did not hide anything, but directly explained to the Little Fox.
"It's like this, this question was asked by a colleague of the Detective who helped me last time. He seems to be on a business trip and has encountered some situations, so he wants to ask you."
Grego said to the Little Fox, and the Little Fox felt suspicious after listening.
'Ask me? Isn't that Detective part of the same secret society as the Dragon? Why ask me this question instead of the Dragon? Do they think this question is not too important and doesn't need to bother the high-level members of the organization? Or does he want to test me with this?'
The Little Fox was suspicious for a long time in place. After finally coming up with a result, she opened her mouth and said to Grego.
"Then... tell me about the situation the Detective encountered, and I'll see if I can answer you anything."
The Little Fox said this, and Grego did not hold back, directly telling the Little Fox about the abnormal phenomenon in a small town in Castile that the Detective had written to him about. As soon as the Little Fox heard it, she blurted out.
"Wasting Sickness? Moth worship? The dreams of the residents of this small town have been 'captured' by the 'Imitation Chrysalis' of the Pan Moth, cultivated by the Black Dream Hunter Group, right? They use this to help that 'the chrysalis' feather."