"Shit! An adventure? And I have to follow you?"
Danitz heard Lin Huai's casual remark about "Mr. Ten Thousand Pounds," and the veins on his forehead almost burst on the spot. He was instantly incensed.
"Who's Mr. Ten Thousand Pounds?! Besides, why should I go to my death with a bunch of guys who look like nothing but trouble?! I've given you the mission briefing; what you do with it is your business! I'm just a messenger!"
Lin Huai ignored his roaring, merely raising the parchment in his hand. "Just this nonsensical nursery rhyme? Are you joking, Mr. Danitz? If you want us to just wait here until that guy named 'Edward' tears all of Bayam apart, then I have no objections."
Danitz's complaint got stuck in his throat. He stole a glance at the people behind Lin Huai.
"Fine, fine, let's talk business." Danitz finally yielded, clearing his throat and adopting a more serious expression. "Recently, three strange deaths have occurred in Bayam. The higher-ups want us to solve them, but we have no clue at all."
He began to recount, ticking them off on his fingers:
"The first was the owner of a small inn in the dock district. He was found dead at his front desk one morning. He looked fine otherwise, but his skin had turned completely black. The weirdest part was his eyeballs—they'd turned pure black, with not a hint of white visible."
"The second was at a Sailor tavern by the harbor. I heard two drunk bastards got into a fight over a barmaid. It seemed like nothing at first, but the next morning, both were found dead at the tavern entrance. Their appearance was exactly the same as the owner in the first case."
"The third was in a fishing village outside the city. A villager dug up an old antique from his field, and a local thug set his sights on it. That thug went to steal it that night, but he ended up dead at the family's doorstep. The cause of death was the same: skin turned black, eyes pitch dark."
Danitz swallowed hard, his tone becoming even more solemn. "At first, these cases were treated as ordinary vendettas or some malignant disease, until the Church of the Evernight intervened after the third incident. They found relevant information in the church archives..."
He took a deep breath and uttered a name that sent chills down the spine:
"This state of death is exactly the same as those killed by the 'Sinful Angel,' who was personally sealed by the Church of the Evernight a hundred and twenty years ago! That masked fellow also received a divine revelation from My Lord, knowing that this is an omen that the Sinful Angel is about to break free."
Danitz spread his hands helplessly. "As you can see, our Church of the Fool was only founded recently; our foundation can't compare to established ones like the Church of Storms or the Church of the Evernight. But this mess just had to happen in Bayam, so we have no choice but to deal with it."
Lin Huai listened in silence, the parchment in his hand feeling much heavier. The nursery rhyme about 'Edward' came to mind, and he quickly linked it with the information Danitz provided.
His gaze turned toward Madam Kaelan-Blossom beside him.
"Do you know that Sinful Angel?" Lin Huai's voice was direct. "He was the teacher of that Saint My Lord of yours. Do you know his name?"
However, Kaelan only shook her head frantically, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion.
"Shit! Stop asking!" Danitz suddenly lowered his voice, interrupting Lin Huai's questioning irritably. "They won't know! All information regarding the Sinful Angel has been 'Concealed' by the power of the Evernight Goddess. If we don't investigate this quickly, it won't be long before we forget everything we just discussed!"
As he spoke, he irritably scratched his yellowish hair.
"Let's go, let's go!" Unable to stand the heavy atmosphere, he pushed Lin Huai's back and led them out of the church. "I'll treat you to some food. First, try the local specialties of Bayam while we scout for information. Standing here all the time is just blocking the way for people coming to pray."
At the mention of food, a name subconsciously slipped from Lin Huai's mouth:
"Tevatia? I actually miss it quite a bit."
"Hmm?" Danitz's footsteps paused as he looked back suspiciously. "How do you know the signature dish of the 'Red Theater'? Have you been here before?"
Lin Huai was also stunned for a moment, then shook his head and covered it up, saying, "I just... saw it in a book somewhere."
Danitz muttered skeptically, and the group soon left the church, blending into the noisy streets of Bayam, which were filled with the scent of the salty sea breeze.
In a noisy corner of the "Red Theater" restaurant, the atmosphere was somewhat peculiar.
Thor looked at the plate of fragrant grilled giant octopus legs in front of him and introduced himself boisterously, "I am Thor, Son of Odin! The future King of Asgard!"
"Shit, another Lunatic," Danitz muttered under his breath, shooting Lin Huai a look that said, "Where did you find these freaks?"
Loki elegantly wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin. He had no interest in the food on the table, merely scrutinizing the crude pirates and Sailors around them with a look of disdain.
Lin Huai didn't join their interaction; his ears keenly caught the conversations of the diners around them. Soon, the dialogue of several drunken fishermen at the neighboring table caught his attention.
"Hey! Have you heard? At the Crying Coast to the east, there have been strange sounds every night recently, and the ground even shakes!"
"Of course I heard! It must be a large school of fish from the deep sea coming over! My brother went there last night to cast his net, and when he hauled it up this morning—boy, it was full of rare Deep-sea Crystal Fish!" another fisherman said excitedly, spittle flying. "Plenty of people are rushing there to claim a spot; everyone's saying they're going to strike it rich!"
"But I heard the sound is a bit creepy... like sobbing."
"Sobbing? That's damn Gold Pounds crying for you to come and pick them up! You idiot!"
Hearing this, Lin Huai put down his knife and fork. He glanced at Kaelan and Danitz, who had also caught this snippet of conversation.
The coast, vibrations, and strange sounds.
"To be honest, I'd rather not have heard that. Having clues just pop up in front of me like this makes me nervous; I'd much prefer to have investigated and found things myself." Lin Huai shrugged and then said to Danitz, "You get what I mean, right?"
Danitz rolled his eyes. "I've studied mysticism too; alright, don't think about it anymore."
Thor: "This is delicious. Loki, you eat some too."
Loki looked at the three people discussing and realized he couldn't get a word in at all. How did I end up at the same table as someone with a brain like Thor's?