In the spacious hall of Jun Hai Fort, the aged pirate Edward sat at the head of a long table, his gaze fixed on a letter he held in his hand, silent and unmoving.
Looking at the contents of the letter in his hand, a raging fire seemed to burn deep within Edward's eyes, but this burning flame was not allowed to burst forth unchecked; instead, it was firmly suppressed by Edward. His breathing was heavy, and an invisible sense of oppression radiated from him, making the surrounding space extremely stifling. Under this rather uncomfortable atmosphere, Lao Lan, who was nearby, couldn't help but swallow and then tentatively asked Edward in a low voice.
"Father... Who sent that letter? What does it say?"
Hearing his son's words, the previously silent Edward paused slightly, then crumpled the letter in his hand into a ball. After letting out a long sigh, he replied.
"Nothing... It's not something you should concern yourself with."
"Understood..." Hearing Edward's words, Lao Lan immediately bowed respectfully, indicating that he would not ask further about the details of the letter. Edward, holding the crumpled letter, thought for a moment, then spoke to Lao Lan again.
"I need to go out for a short trip next, it might take a few days. You will handle the matters of Moncarlo in my stead."
"Ah... Is Father going on a long journey? I will go down and prepare immediately." Hearing Edward's words, Lao Lan's eyes first showed a hint of surprise, then he asked. Edward waved his hand again.
"No need to prepare anything. This time I'm going out alone, a secret trip, no need for too many people to know. Just call your few problematic brothers here, and I'll give them some instructions..."
"Just Captain alone...? Alright, I understand."
After hearing Edward's words, Lao Lan respectfully and slowly retreated. In the vast hall, only Edward remained sitting in his seat, staring into the void, lost in thought.
...
Eastern Coast of Iweig.
During the day, a gentle sea breeze blew across the azure sea. Under the clear sky, flocks of seagulls flew continuously with joyful calls. In the waves, a large white passenger ship was emitting thick smoke, slowly moving forward. Countless passengers were gathered on the front deck of the ship, leaning on the railing and gazing at the distant coast. The faintly visible outline of a city already indicated that the destination of many people was approaching.
At the edge of the deck, Dorothy, dressed in a light-colored, simple, and thin dress, sat on a fixed white seat, reading a newspaper that had been added at the previous port, catching up on news from various places. Her attention was currently focused on a not-too-large section.
...
"The Church's new Relic Curator, Sister Vania Chafilun, recently completed her first relic exhibition in Moncarlo, achieving unexpectedly complete success.
"For a long time, Moncarlo has been known as the City of Pirates and the City of Gamblers, a fallen city lacking faith, where the residents and those who yearn for it do not take the Lord's teachings to heart, and in the flow of desire, they do not take the Church seriously. So-called faith is merely superficial.
"Therefore, no one had much confidence in the effect of Sister Vania's first relic exhibition. Many newspaper commentators believed that Sister Vania should have chosen a city with a stronger foundation of faith for her first exhibition to ensure a good outcome. No one thought that a religious event in Moncarlo would attract many attendees, and a relatively unsuccessful first exhibition might dampen the confidence of this promising young Sister.
"However, the reality was unexpected. Sister Vania's relic exhibition in Moncarlo achieved immense success. During the short exhibition period, tens of thousands of local residents and tourists came to visit, causing Moncarlo's originally small Church to be overcrowded for extended periods, even leading to traffic congestion in the streets due to the crowds. As a religious event, the grandeur of this exhibition was rare in Moncarlo's history. The last such grand religious event in this city dates back over a hundred years to the conversion ceremony of Moncarlo's founder, the pirate city lord Edward.
"After this, the Moncarlo authorities even announced that they would follow Sister Vania's suggestion to rebuild a large Church in the city to commemorate this exhibition. In the Church's millennia-long history, there have indeed been many examples of Churches built to commemorate certain events, but these Churches were mostly built to mourn martyrs in holy wars, often occurring during special periods after wars. Building a large Church because of an ordinary relic exhibition during peacetime is the first such case in Church history, not to mention that this Church is to be built in a city like Moncarlo, which is generally considered to be 'lacking in faith'. This shows how significant the impact Sister Vania had on Moncarlo after being there for only a few days.
"Now, many commentators believe that Sister Vania has enlightened the dormant Light of faith in Moncarlo, allowing the confused people in this city to feel the Lord's Light again, just as she did before in the Conquest Sea native islands and Adus.
"However, it is worth noting that while countless evaluations are now praising Sister Vania for bringing faith back to Moncarlo, there are also some critical voices from conservative elements within the Church who believe this is merely superficial. Some say that the residents of Moncarlo were interested in the relic exhibition not because of the relics but because of the Sister herself, and they were interested in the Sister not because of faith but because of impure desires. This exhibition will not be a reappearance of the Light of faith but a blasphemy. The Church's current frequent publicity of Sister Vania has had a negative effect; clergy should not be so excessively public-facing, like a dancer."
"These critical voices believe that a Sister should pray devoutly in the Church rather than move around so frequently and appear in newspapers. Sister Vania's exceptional beauty gives rise to lewd thoughts rather than piety, and she should wear a veil every time she appears. However, not many people pay attention to such voices; after all, if they were not genuinely moved by true piety, the Moncarlo authorities would not spend a large sum of money to rebuild a large Church. For the Church as a whole, they are happy to see such things; this is an important manifestation of their expanding influence in the new century."
...
'Heh... I really didn't expect it, Edward would actually directly promise Vanya to build another Church in Moncarlo? It takes effort to curry favor to this extent... But thinking about it, it makes sense. As the official Church personnel present during the Moncarlo Incident 29, how they report to the higher-ups is crucial for Edward. Edward could only rack his brains to leave a good impression on Vanya and others, asking Vanya not to say anything bad when reporting to the higher-ups.'
Looking at the newspaper in her hand, Dorothy thought this to herself. Dorothy hadn't quite expected Edward's move to curry favor at first, but this was also beneficial for Vanya's status within the Church, so she was happy to see it. In the eyes of the Church, Vanya must have had another stroke of good luck.
"Miss Dorothy, we can already see Adria port! We are almost there!"
Just then, a familiar voice came from beside Dorothy. Next to her, Naifnis, wearing a loose short-sleeved sheer long dress, a sun hat, and sunglasses, was gazing at the distant city skyline and speaking to the young woman beside her, her tone showing a hint of happiness. Dorothy turned her head to look at the scenery and also spoke softly.
"Adria... It's been a few months, and I'm back again..."
Since successfully escaping from Moncarlo, Dorothy had used her Corpse Puppet to pilot a small ocean-going yacht to the nearest island town to Moncarlo. Because she couldn't continuously operate the boat without entering a state of complete sleep, she couldn't just sail that boat directly to the Main Continent; she had to find a place to transfer and let her main body rest properly.
After nearly a full day of sailing, Dorothy relied on her precise navigation skills and the nautical charts she had long memorized to reach a settled island called Bjor Island. She rested there briefly, sleeping for almost a full day to recuperate. Afterward, she found an opportunity to have the Corpse Puppet sail the ship she had taken from Moncarlo out of the island's coastal waters. She then sank it in the sea at the limit of the Corpse Puppet's control range to erase any traces. Following this, she and Naifnis bought tickets and took a regular passenger ship to the Main Continent. After several days of transfers, they arrived at the large coastal city of Iweig where they had previously stayed, Adria.
"I didn't expect to see this city again... Speaking of which, Miss Dorothy, your current goal is to find a White Stone Craftsmen's Guild outpost in a large city, right? There are many large cities along the Conquest Sea coast, so why did you choose Adria again?"
Standing beside Dorothy, Neff withdrew her gaze from the distant city and looked at the young girl beside her, speaking. Dorothy, on the other hand, replied simply and clearly.
"There's no particular reason. If I had to say one... it's that this place is relatively far from Moncarlo, and my impression of it isn't bad. Anyway, every large city has a White Stone Craftsmen's Guild outpost, so I might as well choose a comfortable place to stay and rest for a few days."
Dorothy said this. In this era of rapid industrialization and expansion, almost every large city on the Main Continent had established industrial zones of varying sizes. When people had little environmental awareness, these industrial zones brought various degrees of pollution to these cities. Dorothy had visited many large cities by now and hadn't given them high scores in terms of livability.
The situation in Adria, however, was slightly different. Due to its geological issues, it couldn't develop industry on a large scale. The city's administration also began to realize the benefits of tourism to the city earlier than other places. Therefore, intentionally or unintentionally, they had started to develop it in the direction of a tourist and trade city, making it one of the few prosperous cities with almost no heavy industry. The environment was naturally much better.
Dorothy felt pretty good during her stay in Adria those few days. Aside from the streets being easily flooded during high tide, there was nothing bothersome. So, when choosing a large city to find a White Stone Craftsmen's Guild outpost, she chose this place. This was something she had already booked while still in Moncarlo.
Standing on the ship's deck, Dorothy gazed at the port getting closer in the distance. She then took out a ticket from her clothes and unfolded it to check. The arrival date on the ticket was July 10th, which was today. Eleven days had passed since the Moncarlo incident.
'Arriving on the 10th... quite punctual. There are still 5 days until the appointed time. I wonder if he will be on time for the meeting?'
Gazing at the ticket in front of her, Dorothy thought this in her heart. Immediately, she began to look forward to an appointment that was scheduled to arrive two days later.
...
After Dorothy and Naifnis arrived in Adria, they got off the ship and found a hotel to check into. Over the next five days, they also had a good rest and relaxed. Dorothy, in particular, eased her nerves, which had been tense from the planning of the Moncarlo incident to her escape. After five days passed and the calendar turned to July 15th, it was time for Dorothy to start her real business.
On a bright morning, Dorothy sat in a riverside cafe in Adria, sipping tea while controlling a distant Corpse Puppet to walk into an art wood carving shop in a secluded corner. She made the young male Corpse Puppet, dressed quite appropriately, walk up to the counter before the owner could speak.
"Hello, I need to customize a Saint Child column sculpture about 4.25 meters high, made of oak. Can you do that?"
Listening to the words of Dorothy's Corpse Puppet, the young service staff at the counter was slightly taken aback, then smiled and spoke.
"Of course, you can. However, Mr., your custom order is a bit large. You'll need to explain the details and specific requirements to the master craftsmen. Please follow me."
Saying this with a smile, the young man at the counter left his workstation and walked through a small wooden door on the adjacent wall. Dorothy also had the Corpse Puppet briefly scan the dazzling array of wood carvings in front of him before following behind.
This was the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild outpost in Adria. Through Beverly's connections, Dorothy easily found this place.
Dorothy's Corpse Puppet followed the young man at the counter through the small wooden door. What came into his view then was a dim, narrow corridor. The young man at the counter, hearing the guest behind him catching up, also spoke softly.
"Guest, do you require a confidential transaction service?"
"No, I don't plan to buy anything for now. I need to use your No. 4 telegraph room for real-time telegraphy. I will be waiting there to receive messages," Dorothy said, controlling the Corpse Puppet to speak to the young man at the counter ahead. The other party immediately responded upon hearing this.
"Real-time telegraph communication? Heh... The guest is quite well-informed. This service hasn't been available here for long, and not many people have used it yet."
Saying this with a smile, the young man at the counter led the Corpse Puppet forward. After turning left and right, they arrived at a private but well-decorated small room. There was carpet on the floor, and comfortable sofas inside. A telegraph machine was placed on the coffee table, its wires connected through several small holes in the wall to the outside.
After Dorothy's Corpse Puppet sat on the sofa, the young man who led the way closed the door and left. Before leaving, he asked if translation services were needed, but Dorothy had the Corpse Puppet refuse. Then, Dorothy had the Corpse Puppet silently adjust the telegraph machine in the small room. After the adjustment was complete, she began to wait. After waiting for several tens of minutes, the telegraph machine placed on the coffee table suddenly started beeping. With rhythmic sounds, it spat out a long strip of paper. Listening to the sound of the telegraph machine and looking at the dots and lines on the paper strip, Dorothy immediately understood the meaning. It was some confirmation information.
Next, Dorothy had the Corpse Puppet use the transmitter to respond to the message for confirmation. Soon after, the telegraph machine began to output meaningful content.
"I am Blood Wave, in a Craftsmen's Guild profiteer's outpost. I have telegraphed you at this time point as you requested, you thief."
After the beeping sounds ended, Dorothy, who had finished translating the telegram content, couldn't help but smile slightly. Then, she controlled the Corpse Puppet to quickly press the key, responding to the other party.
"Hello, Captain Blood Wave. I am the thief who stole fifty gold bricks from you. Now, are you ready to take back a portion of them?"
"Cut the nonsense, what do you want?" When Dorothy responded, the reply from the other end of the telegraph was impatient words. Upon seeing this, Dorothy directly sent a telegram getting straight to the point.
"What I want is information about the Sea Abyss Church. Since they have leverage over you and went to great lengths to bring you back, there will naturally be times when they need you in the future. You might also have guessed what major undertaking the Sea Abyss Church... or even the entire Fetal Garment Cult is brewing. If they find you again in the future and threaten you with leverage to do something for them, just tell me their demands. I will return a portion of the gold bricks to Captain based on the value of this information."
"Of course, I also know that the gold bricks I currently hold are urgently needed by Captain. Therefore, I can also pay Captain a little in advance. Captain only needs to provide me with a sufficient amount of secret transmission about the Sea Abyss Church and even the entire Fetal Garment Cult, and then I can first return five gold bricks to Captain, allowing Captain to alleviate the immediate crisis. What does Captain think?"
Controlling the Corpse Puppet, Dorothy sent a new telegram to Edward in the distance. Some key points in these telegrams had been encrypted by Dorothy, and the decryption method had been left in the letter given to Edward beforehand.