The sun was bright, and the sky was clear.
On the vast and boundless Sea of Conquest, green waves rippled, spray splashed, and seagulls soared. A snow-white passenger ship cut through the waves like a sharp sword, sailing into the distance. It left a striking white wake on the blue sea.
This passenger ship was massive and incredibly luxurious. It had three towering chimneys and sides over ten meters high. An open-air banquet was being held on its spacious foredeck, which was as large as a square. The weather was pleasant, and the atmosphere was joyful. More than a dozen round tables were laden with a variety of delicious food and delicacies. There were sweet and tasty pastries, soft and smooth noodles, mellow and fragrant wine, tender and juicy steaks... The dishes were colorful, fragrant, and flavorful, a feast for the eyes. These foods seemed to blend the characteristics and flavors of different countries and regions.
Around these tempting dining tables were many passengers. They were impeccably dressed and had elegant temperaments. The gentlemen wore neat formal suits, appearing respectable and dignified. The ladies wore gorgeous dresses, beautifully adorned. They were the elites of society, enjoying the pleasure of sailing. While tasting the food, they chatted and laughed, exchanging their experiences and insights. If one listened carefully, they would find that the passengers spoke different languages, seemingly from different countries. They formed small circles based on their languages, but they did not exclude each other; instead, they showed mutual respect and appreciation. They seemed to come from all over the world, with different cultures and backgrounds.
In a corner of the ship's banquet, at a table near the sea, Dorothy, wearing a straw sun hat, sandals, a light white dress, and with her silver-white hair braided, was sitting on a comfortable chair. She was looking at a newspaper placed on the table beside her while slowly sipping a cup of juice. In front of her sat Naifnis, wearing sunglasses, a black shirt, and loose white trousers. She rested her bare arm, adorned with various gold ornaments, on the armrest of her chair while observing the lively banquet scene.
"Another gathering like this... As expected, wealthy people never miss any opportunity for amusement." Looking at the scene before her, Neff, who had witnessed similar occasions many times, commented. Then, with a slightly puzzled expression, she spoke again.
"It feels like... there are so many foreigners on this ship. Although it's international shipping, if I remember correctly, our destination is Tivian, right? Are there really that many people coming to Tivian for tourism?" Neff said candidly, slightly confused. Although Tivian is the capital of Prit, it is not a tourist city. The severe pollution and vast slums in the major countries of the Main Continent make Tivian not a great place for tourism.
Therefore, generally speaking, while there are many foreigners coming to Tivian, almost none are here for tourism. That's why luxurious tourist cruise ships rarely go to Tivian; Prit's tourist cities are elsewhere, which are the actual destinations for tourists.
Listening to Neff's words, Dorothy, who was beside her, took another sip of juice before placing the cup on the table in front of her. Then, while slowly adding sugar spoonful by spoonful, she spoke slowly.
"You're practically a native of Tivian, and you're asking this question? See for yourself..." Dorothy said, then pushed the newspaper in front of her forward. After leaning in to take a look, Neff suddenly understood.
"The World's Fair? So that's it... This fair has been in preparation for so long, is it finally going to open?" Looking at the news on the newspaper, Neff said frankly. As a resident of Tivian, she was very familiar with the World's Fair.
This is a grand international event that the Prit government has been preparing for many years. It was personally initiated and organized by Prit's current king, Charles IV, with the aim of showcasing national strength, promoting Prit, and creating an opportunity to strengthen ties with countries around the world, promoting economic cooperation and industrial development.
The Prit government began preparing for this fair a long time ago, and several years have passed since then. For this fair, Prit even opened a new urban area, spending a great deal of manpower and resources on its construction. It is a major project that the Prit government attaches great importance to.
Not long after Dorothy arrived in Tivian, she learned about the fair from various sources such as newspapers. The first time she saw information related to the World's Fair in a newspaper was also the first time she saw news about Adele, which was a very long time ago.
This was already quite distant for Dorothy, but for Neff, a local of Tivian, it was even more so. For many years, Neff, as a Tivian resident, had become used to the state of 'the World's Fair is in preparation'. Now, suddenly switching to 'preparation is complete' made her feel a bit unaccustomed for a moment.
"Well, well, so these foreigners are going to Tivian to attend the fair that's about to be held? No wonder... I thought this fair would take a while longer to prepare before being held. I didn't expect it to start now? After the assassination of Duke Barret early last year, I even thought this fair would be canceled..."
After taking the newspaper in her hands, Neff said while looking at it. In her impression, the Duke's assassination case last year had significantly affected Prit's international image, undoubtedly casting a shadow over the holding of the World's Fair.
"The Kingdom government has already invested so much financial resources into it, they definitely have to hold this fair. Although the assassination of Duke Barret had a significant impact, that was over a year ago. After the impact has slightly diminished, it is possible to hold such an event. This is precisely an opportunity for Prit to mitigate the negative effects of the assassination case..."
"I see, so if this fair goes well, it can just offset the previous impact?"
"Of course, but whether it can truly successfully mitigate the impact ultimately depends on how the fair is held... On this point, I currently reserve judgment."
Dorothy said, analyzing the situation. In this World's Fair, not only will tourists from all over the world come to visit Tivian, but some political figures from around the world will also attend. At that time, the security pressure faced by the Kingdom government will be unprecedented...
But now, Prit's secret police agency has been infiltrated by the Eight Point Nest like a sieve. The secret police are one of a country's most important security forces. Holding an international event of this scale under the An Yin Bureau's current state... Dorothy finds it hard to guarantee that no problems will occur during the process.
'I can only wish it all goes smoothly...'
Dorothy thought to herself. Then she picked up her juice, which she had finished adding sugar to, and swirled it around. After swirling it, she started drinking again. Meanwhile, Neff, who was beside her, looked at the news in the newspaper again before speaking with curiosity.
"Perfect, Miss Dorothy, we can just catch the opening of the fair when we go back this time. How about we go have some fun together then?"
"Having fun is fine, it'll be a good chance to relax. The timing is quite good; after I finish my business and return to Tivian, I can catch the opening."
Dorothy said while drinking her juice, and Neff, after hearing Dorothy's remarks, asked with great curiosity.
"Finish business? Miss Dorothy, do you still have something you need to finish before returning to Tivian?"
"Yes... I can't go back directly just yet. When we reach the next port, I'll disembark and transfer to another place first. You can go back to Tivian ahead of me; I won't be long."
After taking another sip of juice, Dorothy said candidly to Neff. The mysterious implication in her words couldn't help but make Neff curious.
...
After sailing for a while with the luxurious cruise ship, Dorothy and Neff arrived at another port. This port is located in Faloro. From here, crossing the strait will bring the cruise ship to the most important stop on this journey, Tivian.
However, Dorothy, who was originally on the ship, did not stay to continue the journey to Tivian. Instead, she temporarily bid farewell to Neff at this port, bought other ship tickets after disembarking, waited, and boarded another ship.
The passenger ship Dorothy newly boarded was considerably smaller than the one she had been on before, but its destination was also Prit, just like the cruise ship, though it was a different city in Prit.
The city Dorothy was going to this time was named Contified. It is a port city in southwestern Prit. After traveling by ship for a short period, Dorothy successfully reached this place.
Next, Dorothy did not stay long in this port city. Instead, she directly took a train north from here. After a train ride of less than half a day, she reached her destination for this trip, Glamorgan.
"Hoo... Visiting the old place again..."
Standing on a hill in the suburbs of Glamorgan, Dorothy looked at the vast Star-Moon Lake before her, which was as calm as a mirror as always, reflecting the blue sky, and couldn't help but say with emotion.
In this place where she achieved Scarlet, Dorothy admired the beautiful scenery. Afterward, she looked at the one or two large pits and flattened mountaintops on the mountains surrounding the lake. After recalling the battle from several months ago through these traces, Dorothy directed her gaze towards the center of the large lake, towards the massive Church that still stood there.
Mirror Moon Church. This was the goal of Dorothy's short trip this time. She was preparing to attempt to summon the will of the Mirror Moon Goddess here once again...
After resting for half a day in the quiet and peaceful city of Glamorgan, Dorothy finally welcomed the night. As the people of the small city gradually entered their dreams, Dorothy began her actions. She started her operation at the specifically chosen time of the full moon.
After the Glamorgan incident, the Mirror Moon Church, which had reappeared in the world, was taken over by the Church and the An Yin Bureau. However, the main control was actually in the hands of the Church. After taking over the Church, the people of the Church had been conducting research and renovations. To this day, the Church is still garrisoned by people from the Church.
However, since a considerable amount of time had passed, and as the Church's investigation into the Mirror Moon Church gradually concluded, the Church's guard strength had also gradually decreased. By now, the strict security that was in place immediately after the Glamorgan incident was no longer present. For Dorothy now, this level of security was nothing at all.
Although they were guards of the 'Light', they were primarily only at the Black Earth level. Even with the assistance of many Extraordinary items, they did not pose a challenge for Dorothy, who was already Scarlet.
Taking advantage of the moonlight and the information gathered through her powerful intelligence network, Miss Dorothy quickly bypassed the guards around Star-Moon Lake and the Church, successfully infiltrating the interior of the Church. Soon, Miss Dorothy arrived at the chapel in the central area of the Mirror Moon Church, where she found that its appearance had changed significantly compared to her original memory.
The originally deep and quiet Mirror Moon Church, in the eyes of the infiltrating Miss Dorothy at this moment, had turned into a giant construction site. Inscriptions and frescoes with the colors of the Mirror Moon faith on the walls and pillars were being scraped off and knocked down, with gravel scattered everywhere on the ground. Scaffolding was erected along the walls, and various tools were placed everywhere. In the center of the chapel, the statue of the Mirror Moon Goddess... or rather, Miss Dorothy's statue, which originally stood there, was now nowhere to be seen, leaving only an empty platform.
"Hoo... as expected, they've already started renovating..."
Standing in the quiet chapel and seeing the situation around her, Miss Dorothy couldn't help but sigh with emotion. Although she had anticipated the current situation, seeing it in person still brought a touch of disappointment.
Regarding the temples and shrines of pagan gods, the Shining Light Church would investigate whether they could be renovated after discovering them. If they could be renovated, they would convert them into churches dedicated to the Shining Light Three Saints. If not, they would directly destroy them. The current state of the Mirror Moon Church clearly indicated that it was undergoing renovation.
"I wonder if it can be used as a basis to strengthen the connection after it's been transformed like this..."
Looking at the messy surroundings, Miss Dorothy continued to murmur. After surveying the area, she began her main task.
In front of the location where the statue originally stood, Miss Dorothy silently sat down cross-legged and set up a "Shadow" magic circle. After the magic circle was constructed, Miss Dorothy began to activate her ability.
Just like a few months ago, Miss Dorothy used the ritual to gather the countless legends about the Lake Fairy scattered throughout Prit, eventually materializing these legends and shaping a graceful and ethereal female figure radiating silver light in the air in front of her.
Under the bright moon, Miss Dorothy once again materialized the Lake Fairy's Anecdote Body in the Mirror Moon Temple. However, this materialization was different from the previous one. Last time, after Miss Dorothy materialized the Lake Fairy, the materialized Anecdote Body quickly broke free from Miss Dorothy's control and revealed a conscious appearance.
This time, the Lake Fairy Anecdote Body materialized by Miss Dorothy remained in the state of an ordinary Anecdote Body, standing still without moving unless ordered by Miss Dorothy, completely lacking the vividness it had when it first appeared.
Clearly, the will of the Mirror Moon Goddess did not attach itself again this time, making the Lake Fairy a manifestation of her will. The Lake Fairy here was merely an Anecdote Body created by Miss Dorothy. Seeing this scene, Miss Dorothy's heart tightened, and she then took other measures, such as trying to strengthen the Lake Fairy's power or offering some prayers to the Mirror Moon Goddess herself.
However, no matter what measures she took, Miss Dorothy could not make the Lake Fairy regain the will of the Mirror Moon Goddess. After struggling for a long time and confirming that the Goddess's will could not descend, Miss Dorothy couldn't help but sigh slightly, dismissing the Lake Fairy's Anecdote Body to avoid wasting Spirituality.
'As expected... is the connection not strong enough?'
Looking at the Lake Fairy Anecdote Body that was gradually disappearing into nothingness before her eyes, Miss Dorothy sighed softly in her heart, saying that this attempt to summon the will of the Mirror Moon Goddess to descend had more or less failed.
From the brief words the Mirror Moon Goddess had spoken a few months ago, Miss Dorothy could confirm that for the Mirror Moon Goddess to project her power into Prit, she needed a strong enough connection as a medium. She needed to combine with things that had many connections with the Mirror Moon to strengthen her connection with Prit.
When Miss Dorothy summoned the power of the Mirror Moon back then, she used three important elements: the full moon, the Lake Fairy's Anecdote Body, and the Mirror Moon Temple, in order to summon the power of the Mirror Moon Goddess here. But now, it seems these three elements can no longer be gathered.
Although it was currently a full moon, and Miss Dorothy had condensed the Lake Fairy's Anecdote Body, the temple had been completely changed due to renovation.
Although Miss Dorothy had previously performed a replacement ritual on the Mirror Moon Church, making herself the main deity of the temple, the replacement ritual had just been used once when she summoned, and besides the main deity changing, there were still many traces of the Mirror Moon left here, so there was still enough connection to guide the Mirror Moon's power.
But now, the state of the Mirror Moon Church... has been deeply renovated by the Shining Light Church. Not only have the massive Mirror Moon faith elements that originally remained in the church been removed, but the temple itself may have undergone another replacement ritual, greatly reducing the traces of the Mirror Moon Goddess left inside.
Because there was a problem with the temple, Miss Dorothy was currently unable to summon the will of the Mirror Moon Goddess to descend. The part of her promotion ritual that she originally thought would be the easiest to complete was now directly blocked.
"This situation... is really troublesome..."
Scratching her head, Miss Dorothy stood up from the ground and couldn't help but frown slightly as she murmured. Although she had anticipated this situation and was mentally prepared, she still felt quite distressed when she actually encountered it directly.
Regarding this Mirror Moon Church, Miss Dorothy had actually considered hiding it again after her promotion, but unfortunately, after Miss Dorothy's replacement ritual was completed, it became very difficult for her to use the ring of concealment to hide the church again, possibly because some key properties within the church had changed. Miss Dorothy had no choice but to leave it here, waiting for the Church people to come and see it, so it was inevitable that the church would become like this.
'Now the Mirror Moon Temple in Glamorgan can't be used... so if I still want to summon the will of the Mirror Moon Goddess... I must find a new Mirror Moon Church.
'This church needs to be temple-level like the one here in Glamorgan, and it must also be within the territory of Prit, allowing me to summon the Lake Fairy's Anecdote Body and perform the ritual with the full moon... But the problem now is, besides Glamorgan, are there other places in Prit with temple-level Mirror Moon Churches? Although Prit is not small, it is not particularly large. During the Empire period, it was just a province of the Empire. Can there be two temples in one province?'
Touching her chin, Miss Dorothy thought seriously in her heart. After thinking it over and over, she found that she was also facing a dilemma under the "Shadow" ritual.
'Now that the temple in Glamorgan is unusable, I either have to find other Mirror Moon temples in Prit, or go to other places that also have a history and legacy of Mirror Moon transmission to find a Mirror Moon temple, or I can only find a way to go through the Lost Sea in the east to reach the legendary Night Sea... None of these are easy to accomplish...'
Miss Dorothy continued to think. After failing to come up with any good ideas for the time being, she sighed and silently left the scene.
After leaving the Mirror Moon Church in the center of Star-Moon Lake, Miss Dorothy did not end her actions tonight. After the failed experiment of summoning the Mirror Moon, she shifted her attention to another aspect, the Shining Light Church personnel who had come to Glamorgan to investigate and renovate the Mirror Moon Church.
The Shining Light Church personnel had been stationed in Glamorgan for a long time, studying the Mirror Moon Church here for a long period. They must have achieved some research results. Miss Dorothy wanted to see if she could intercept these results to increase her understanding of the Mirror Moon, and perhaps find clues about a new temple.
Under the full moon, Miss Dorothy took advantage of the night to begin searching in Glamorgan. With her powerful intelligence capabilities, she quickly found the location of the investigators dispatched by the Shining Light Church to target the Mirror Moon Church. It was in a residential area next to the Glamorgan Church.
In a row of high-end apartments, Miss Dorothy found the dispatched personnel who had been placed here by the local Church. She found a priest-scholar who seemed to be the leader. While most people had already turned off their lights and were sleeping, this male priest in his forties or fifties was diligently writing a report in his study. He wore thick glasses and there were many books and manuscripts piled on his desk.
Miss Dorothy had her miniature Corpse Puppet infiltrate the apartment of this priest-scholar, secretly searching everywhere for written materials related to this priest-scholar. After a while, she had many gains.
From the identity information, Miss Dorothy learned that the priest before her was named Keber, a priest directly affiliated with the Bureau of Secrets on Holy Mountain. He was a Chalk-level Extraordinary and was dispatched here after the Glamorgan incident to study the Mirror Moon Church. His research had been ongoing since last year, for a considerable period of time.
After confirming the target, Miss Dorothy continued to search in Keber's apartment building, primarily targeting the various texts he had written. As Keber himself was a scholar, he had written a great deal of text, including not only a large number of research reports, articles, and manuscripts, but also many letters and telegrams exchanged with other Church scholars.
After using the miniature Corpse Puppet to find these manuscripts, telegrams, and letters, Miss Dorothy quickly read through them. After reading enough information written by Keber, Miss Dorothy, hidden in the shadows of the Glamorgan streets, took out her magic box, placed it on the ground, opened it, and allowed the Corpse Puppet Edrick to slowly crawl out.
Afterward, Miss Dorothy had Ed brush the dust off his clothes, tidy himself up, and walk out quickly. In less than ten minutes, Ed arrived in front of Keber's apartment building.
After pausing for a moment in front of the row of apartment buildings, Ed reached out and pulled the doorbell. Then he waited quietly. Ed's wait did not last long. Footsteps came from behind the door in front of him, and then the door was opened.
What appeared behind the door was Cabot, wearing home clothes, glasses, his face lined with wrinkles, and looking slightly sleepy. After glancing at the pale-skinned, deep-eyed, aquiline-nosed man before him, he couldn't help but furrow his brows slightly.
"Is that you? What are you doing here so late?"
"Ah, excuse me, Priest Cabot, I have something I'd like to ask Captain about." Looking at Cabot before him, Edrick smiled and politely doffed his hat in greeting. Seeing this, Cabot also nodded and spoke.
"Alright, come in. We can talk about whatever it is slowly."
"Sorry to bother you." After a brief reply, Edrick entered Cabot's home. Cabot glanced outside the door twice before closing it directly. After entering the room, Edrick went straight to the living room sofa to wait. Soon after, Cabot brought a cup of brewed tea and placed it in front of Edrick, then sat on the sofa to the side himself.
"Thank you."
After saying thanks, Edrick picked up the teacup and took a slow sip. Cabot, who was watching him, spoke directly.
"Speak, what is it that you've come to find me so late at night?"
"It's nothing much, Priest Cabot, I just wanted to inquire about your recent work situation. May I ask when you started working here? Where did you come from? And what are your main work responsibilities?" After taking a small sip of the tea in his hand, Edrick looked at the priest before him and asked directly. The other party immediately answered.
"Originally, I belonged to the saint church's Holy Mountain Canon Court. Due to the appearance of important pagan ruins during the Glamorgan incident, I was sent here in September last year to conduct research. Regarding the work content, the early stage involved investigating and identifying the nature of the pagan ruins, collecting and studying pagan documents, and searching for dangerous or valuable information. The later stage involved assisting the subsequent members of the Fundamental Court in the transformation work of the pagan ruins. This work is currently still in progress."
Cabot responded to Edrick unhurriedly, and after listening to the other party's words, Dorothy had Edrick continue to ask.
"So, what were the results of your early work?"
"Results... well, there are quite a few. This Church is the Church of the Night Sky Empress from the Third Era. Its specifications are very high, reaching the level of a temple. I have transcribed many texts inside. Although I don't know much empire language, and the content I can translate is limited, judging from the content I can translate, this information will be of great help to the Canon Court in their future research on the faith of the Night Sky Empress..." Cabot continued speaking, and Edrick's eyes lit up when he heard his words.
"Oh, Mr. Priest, you also know empire language?"
"I know a little, but very little. Due to the limitations of Spirit Sight, it is extremely difficult for us scripture officials in the Canon Court to learn ancient languages. Each person can only master a small portion of one ancient language. Deciphering an ancient document requires a large group of people to spend a long time to achieve. Since I happen to know some empire language, I can decipher some of the content..." Leaning back on the sofa, Cabot continued speaking to Edrick, and Edrick immediately responded.
"Then, could I ask you to teach me the empire language you know afterwards?"
"Of course, that's no problem. As long as you're willing to learn, I will definitely teach you. Of course, remember to guard against Spirit Sight. I spent twenty years mastering this part of the empire language while being almost unaffected by Spirit Sight. You need to be careful when I help you learn..." Listening to Edrick's words, Cabot reminded him, and Edrick also spoke with a smile.
"Thank you so much. Then, let's continue talking about your results this time, Mr. Priest. We can talk about teaching the language later."
Next, Edrick began to listen carefully to Cabot's research results during this period. In Dorothy's view, most of his results were actually meaningless, consisting of deciphered hymns, ritual customs, activity culture, and other content related to the faith of the Night Sky Empress. At most, they allowed Dorothy to understand a little more about the faith of the Night Sky Empress.
Among the content that Cabot had researched, only one sentence made Dorothy somewhat concerned.
"'The Envoy of the Moon holds the ring, awe-inspiring in the Night Court; the Envoy of the Moon acts on behalf of the sacred will of the Shadowy Sky...' What does this mean? Who is this Envoy of the Night?" Using Edrick's mouth, Dorothy, who had listened carefully to what Cabot had said earlier, asked curiously. Cabot answered directly.
"The Envoy of the Moon is the messenger of the Night Sky Empress. According to our research, the faith of the Night Sky Empress in the Third Era had a structure similar to a kingdom. The title of Empress in Night Sky Empress had actual significance; She seems to have truly ruled a country and its subjects as an Empress, thus Her messengers are also a kind of 'Imperial Envoy'."
"It is said that the Night Sky Empress had numerous Envoys, with a hierarchy from high to low, managed by a unified organization. High-ranking Envoys would hold a ring as a credential, and the ring held by the highest-ranking Envoy would be personally endowed with special characteristics by the Night Sky Empress. The bestowed Envoy could be immediately promoted in status..."
"This content was obtained from my previous research, and I don't know much more... I only know that the Envoy of the Night seems to correspond to a side of the ruling bureaucracy within the Night Sky Empress faith system, forming a counterpart to the priest side which focuses on faith rituals. Among them, the high-ranking Envoy of the Moon has a closer connection with the Night Sky Empress than at the ritual level."
"After all, the Night Sky Empress is different from other deities; She is both a deity and an emperor. The system under Her rule has characteristics of both sides..."
Cabot said this to Edrick. In the Canon Court, his most focused research direction was on the faith of the Night Sky Empress, which is why he was sent here.
'The ritual side and the bureaucratic side? The faith system of the Mirror Moon Goddess is still more complex than other deities. So, my ring of concealment is actually the credential of a high-ranking Envoy of the Moon? Is my mother, whom I've never met, also an Envoy of the Moon? But it doesn't feel that simple... Can an Imperial Envoy look exactly like the Empress?'
Dorothy thought this in her heart. After thinking for a moment, she controlled Edrick to continue asking Cabot.
"One more question, Mr. Priest, besides Prit, where else are there remnants of the Night Sky Empress faith?"
"Remnants of the Night Sky Empress faith... Besides Prit, there are only some in Castile and Osotris. However, the remnants of the Night Sky faith in these two places are very few, not as much as in Prit." Cabot replied to Edrick, and then Edrick continued to speak.
"Then, do you know if there are any other Night Sky ruins in Prit of the same level as the one on Star-Moon Lake?"
"Ruins of the level on the lake? Heh... To be honest, this is the first time I've seen Night Sky ruins of the scale of that Church on the lake. If you ask me where else there are ruins of this magnitude, I really don't know."
Shaking his head with a smile, Cabot continued speaking. After hearing Cabot's response, Dorothy couldn't help but furrow her brows slightly. After a slight pause, she had Edrick continue to ask.
"Alright, thank you, Priest Cabot, for your cooperation. I've almost finished asking the questions I wanted to understand. Finally, I just want to ask you again, during the time you've been working here, have you felt anything unusual... Mmm, just something out of the ordinary that's worth paying attention to?"
Dorothy had Edrick ask Cabot this. The reason she asked this was to confirm whether the people from the Eight-Pointed Nest had returned afterwards to scheme something again. Therefore, she wanted to confirm with Cabot if there were any anomalies in order to find any clues. The Eight-Pointed Nest had put in a lot of effort to gain this temple, so they might not give up easily.
Listening to Dorothy's words, Cabot first pondered for a moment, then slowly began to speak.
"Anomalies worth noting... It seems there aren't any... If I absolutely had to find one, it would be that not long ago, some people from the Bureau of Secrets suddenly came here to investigate the local hidden circles and also pulled me in for a consultation."
"Bureau of Secrets? What did they come here to investigate?"
Listening to Cabot's words, Dorothy curiously had Edrick ask again. If she remembered correctly, the Bureau of Secrets should be the Church's external intelligence agency. Could their appearance here be to investigate the Eight-Pointed Nest?
"The people from the Bureau of Secrets came to Glamorgan, seemingly to look for traces of a secret transmission..."
Stroking his chin, Cabot said, recalling, while Dorothy murmured with slightly furrowed brows.
"A secret transmission?"
...
In the night sky, under the full moon.
Above the surging sea, high above the distant clouds, a massive metal behemoth was flying forward at high speed in the shadows of the night, its speed rapid, yet silent.
On the deck, which the moonlight could not illuminate, a slightly petite figure in a trench coat and robe stood there, ignoring the cold and howling wind, gazing into the dark night sky ahead.
"Your Excellency Atchellie, we are already approaching the southwest of Prit, and will soon arrive at Igwinte... Are we really not going to Tivian first?"
Behind that petite figure, a voice with a mechanical texture suddenly sounded. The figure, after nodding, replied in a cold female voice.
"No, continue forward."