In Duke Negan's mansion, in a private little study.

The fat and tall duke sat in a high-backed chair behind the table, smoking a cigar and looking at the "Singer of the Gods" and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, Agushid, and others opposite.

After discussing the possible origin of the powerhouse who killed Ziringus, they agreed that it should be a high-level powerhouse, and the motive was unknown, and it might even come from a new covert organization.

Prime Minister Agushid, who is also the younger brother of Duke Negan, said solemnly:

"We must find out the identity of that high-ranking powerhouse as soon as possible, figure out what his purpose is for coming to Beckland, figure out if he is just chasing Ziringus, and why he wants to kill Ziringus."

Ace Snake, the "Singer of the Gods", who was late because of his walk, immediately got up and said:

"I'll arrange it right away, and contact the Church of the Night and the Church of Steam, so that they can also assist us in the investigation."

"His Majesty will also get the military and intelligence agencies to cooperate." Prime Minister Agushid nodded and promised.

After the "Singer of the Gods" and the others had left, Duke Negan took a cigar and asked the secretary next to him, "Are any of the guests at the ball hall hurt?" If there is, arrange an itinerary, and I will visit them one by one and compensate them. ”

His secretary was a thin, fair-eyed young man with a clear eyebrow, who looked polite and restrained, but his biggest drawback was that his hairline had receded beyond his age.

After hearing the duke's question, the young man opened the notes in his hand and read them meticulously: "According to the summary of the doctors in the mansion, only Baron Ralph, Lord Wright, and Miss Betty have suffered some skin injuries......"

"It was so much better than I expected...... And that's thanks to the timely intervention of that Brian detective. Duke Negan sighed with emotion, and asked cautiously, "By the way, how did he catch such a heavy chandelier?" ”

"He used the 'Golem' of the 'Mother Earth God' Church, and because of this, he left the mansion in a hurry, because the 'Golem' had to be resealed as soon as possible after it was activated." The blonde secretary reported.

"'Golem'...... I remember that this detective also used the 'Golem' to save people in the incident at the headquarters of the Daily Observer? Duke Negan asked casually as he recalled the information he had seen in the past.

"Yes, Duke. Abner Bryan is suspected to be a child of Mother Earth God, and the Earth Church takes great care of him, and the 'Golem' is supposed to be used to protect him. The blonde secretary replied in the affirmative, and then pulled out the information about Abner and placed it on the duke's desk.

Duke Negan was very satisfied with the efficiency of his secretary, picked up the information and looked at it casually, and then said happily: "It seems that our 'hero detective' seems to be very unlucky, and there are always some problems at the balls and banquets he attends." ”

With his open-mindedness, he naturally would not blame unrelated people for his faults, not to mention that Abner had just helped him recover a lot of losses - reputational losses.

He was just joking when he said this, and seeing that his secretary was still expressionless, he suddenly felt bored, and said to himself: "Earl Hall just came to me and told me that this detective should be given the credit for seeing through Ziringes' disguise, and he should be rewarded with fame......

"Hehe, the Count is thinking about his daughter!

"Since the young detective really helped me, a little reputation compensation seems to me to be too stingy......"

At this, the Duke paused, looked at his secretary again, and asked, "Lockhard, how do you think I should reward that detective?" ”

The blond young man named Lockhard seemed to have been prepared, and replied seriously without hesitation: "Detective Bryan came from a merchant family, and his family went bankrupt due to the Grain Act more than three months ago, and the house was also repaid...... If you can redeem his house and return it to him, Mr. Detective will be very grateful to you. ”

Duke Negan nodded appreciatively when he heard this, and said with a smile: "Very good, this matter will be left to you." ”

Lockhard replied respectfully, and then asked again, as if unintentionally, "Duke, where is Miss Hall?" ”

"Hehe, that brightest jewel of Bakeland saved my life...... Find someone as soon as possible to get back the bounty of the countries against Ringus and deliver it to that young lady! Well, it's up to you to do that. Duke Negan waved his hand.

"Yes, my duke." Lockhard replied again.

Then, seeing that the Duke had no other orders, he bowed and withdrew. When the door of the study was closed, his eyebrows suddenly furrowed, and he thought to himself, "Could Miss Hall have anything to do with the high-ranking powerhouse who killed Ziringus?" Well, if it really mattered, that bounty of simply thirty thousand pounds would most likely be delivered to the strong one...... Now with the convenience of handling it yourself, it's time to keep an eye on the flow of that money! ”

……

At nine o'clock in the evening, after escorting the Hézel family to the Harvest Chapel, Abner took a horse-drawn carriage back to his villa on Kinster Street.

Speaking of which, he didn't want to take the credit for catching the chandelier, but neither Hazel himself nor the Maher and his wife wanted her to be in the limelight, so he, the "hero detective", had to admit it.

As for why the Hazel family is reluctant to be in the limelight...... If the matter of the delicate girl catching a chandelier weighing hundreds of pounds with one hand is in the news, Hazel may be in a more difficult situation in the social arena in the future.

Fortunately, the rescue itself was initiated by Abner, and he also played a large part in it, so this time it was not as embarrassing as when he took the credit in the past.

Isn't that a step forward? Should the "expected promotion" in the positive interpretation of the Wheel of Fortune be here?

While complaining, Abner walked into the villa, went up to the third floor, and pushed open the door to the study.

Then he saw a gentleman with a bronze complexion, soft features, and a small mole under his right ear standing at his desk, looking at the stack of papers he had placed on it.

Sirika stood on the gentleman's shoulder, her head tilted to the other side, staring at the storage room on the side of the study.

This look...... And the ritual trap I laid in the realm of "death" was not activated...... This person must be Mr. Azik, right? Heh, Sirika is pretty reliable!

Suddenly seeing the intruder, even though he already had a guess in his heart, Abner went into a state of alert and asked in a low voice, "Who are you?" ”

"Friend, don't be nervous, my name is Azik, Azik Eggers. I don't mean it...... Well, Celica can testify. Mr. Azik put down the stack of documents and said in a gentle tone.

Sure enough, it's Mr. Azik! Abner let down his guard and pretended to cry, "Sirika? ”

When Celica heard this, she immediately called out happily a few times, and frequently glanced at the storage room with her small eyes.

What a foodie! Abner sneered, but first took out a bottle of the potion he named "Amanda Hydrosol (Modified)" from the cabinet next to him and placed it on the table.

It's a new recipe he's learned from the Necronomicon, but it's not actually practical. Because the effect of this potion on the nerves is almost the same as that of ordinary "Amanda", but the materials used are at least ten times more expensive than ordinary "Amanda...... The only good thing is that it tastes better, and for now, there is no use for anything other than bribing Celica.

He even suspected that Jane's ancestor who wrote the book had developed this potion because the Grim Reaper had fallen and had no supporter, so he wanted to please the goddess......

However, it would be outrageous for an extraordinary person in the "Reaper" path to have such a high level of development elixir.

While Abner was thinking, Sirika had already flown over to grab the bottle, opened the lid, and happily inhaled the taste.

"It seems that she was not coerced by you." Abner seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief and say so.

In fact, he just didn't want Mr. Azik to see that he knew about him a long time ago. And waiting for him to arrive.

"Detective Bryan, sorry for being uninvited...... I also took the liberty of looking through your information. Mr. Azik apologized, then pointed to the stack of materials, "But I couldn't help but flip through it because I saw something I was interested in." ”

That stack of materials was actually Abner's previous investigative report to Klein, but he added some personal goods at the end.

Hearing Mr. Azik's explanation, Abner looked at the other party carefully, and then said pretendedly: "That's an investigation I conducted for a friend...... If your face wasn't disguised, I think you might be the one in the report, right? ”

"Yes...... It seems that you have recognized it......" Mr. Azik graciously admitted, and then exclaimed, "the world is really small, and I think I already know who the friend entrusted to you is...... Hehe, after all, I got a similar document from him, but I didn't have this complete ......"

At this point, Mr. Azik straightened his face, and then said solemnly to Abner: "Detective Bryan, I am very grateful for your investigation, it has reminded me of some things and pointed out the way for me to find out where I came from. ”

Abner was about to say something polite when he heard this, but he was suddenly stunned.

Because, at this moment, the "Keeper of Knowledge" potion in his body was completely digested.

……

In a warehouse in the dock area, Jane, dressed in a black robe, observed the police who were constantly searching nearby, and said to the "star general" who was ready: "I don't know what happened...... Why are there so many official officers patrolling tonight? ”

Gadelia shook her head and said expressionlessly, "Accidents are always inevitable...... Such a situation is not suitable for action, inform you of the 'bait' you have prepared, so that she does not have to leave today.

"Whether or not we will act tomorrow night is to be determined."

Jane sighed. Said helplessly: "That's all it takes......"

……

At the same time, their target, Baron Conva, was still sitting in the dark library, staring at a mathematical theorem, scribbling on it.