The next morning, before dawn, No. 86 woke up to the roar of his stomach. Yesterday evening's cart of flower fertilizer and miscellaneous debris almost tortured him crazy, coupled with the fear of being attacked after nightfall, No. 86's sleep situation is more than indescribable.

He rubbed his bloodshot eyes and stood up, and found that little Timke, who had been sleeping in the room, didn't know where to run, well, it seems that this little guy has indeed been suppressed for too long, No. 86 thought to himself. Not only Tik, but even Mott disappeared without a trace, and of course, the guy didn't need sleep at all.

No. 86 stretched his waist vigorously and filled a basin of water in his hand, he needed to wash himself too much now. The cold liquid lapped against his cheeks, and he felt his heavy head sober up in an instant. After wiping the water from his face twice on his sleeve, No. 86 looked in the mirror, and it was only now the first time he had carefully examined "himself" in this mission.

Strictly speaking, there is nothing impressive about this Mr. Al Black. Beneath his short dark brown hair was a slightly emaciated cheek, and his large round eyes were larger against the pale skin. It seems that due to the lack of exercise, his body is very thin, and his thin limbs protrude out of his empty clothes. In short, all the characteristics that can be seen everywhere in passers-by can be found in this "gardener".

"I hope this body won't be tossed apart by me......" 86 tapped on the mirror and muttered with wicked amusement.

"Good morning, Boss!" Mott's voice crashed into 86's head, the talking skull that came out of nowhere and was floating not far behind 86, "How did you sleep last night?" quack ......" the skull quipped deliberately.

Number 86 glanced through the mirror. "I'm not sleeping well, I'm afraid you know better than I am......" He dipped his palm in the water and tucked his unkempt hair away. "Where have you been? Why are you gone?

"Of course it's to find the way! What you can't do is easier for me to do it!" said Mott, "and the little fellow got up early, and ran straight out of the manor, so I guess I'm going to have some fun." ”

"Well, good luck to him, cunning stinky boy!" Eighty-Six rummaged through the closet to find himself a breakfast pad, but he hadn't eaten a bite of decent food since he arrived. "Did you find anything? I mean there could be a clue to the mission in this manor?" he finally gave up his intention to continue rummaging, and it seemed that the "gardener" was not a man of a very regular life.

"Clues, of course I did, and there's a good chance it's related to our mission. Mott said as he flew out of the cabin, "Come on, I guess you can still see the first scene." ”

No. 86 was stunned, quickly pushed open the wooden door, and walked out with the skull. The scent of the earth mixed with the cool air lifted his spirits, but the only discordant thing was the faint smell of flower fertilizer. The thought of yesterday's cart full of fertilizer makes No. 86's forehead beat a little unconsciously, well, they are a little too "fresh......

The wooden house where No. 86 lives is located in the southeast corner of the estate, clinging to the high courtyard wall. The early morning fog had not yet lifted, and by the cold light, No. 86 faintly saw a group of figures standing straight in front of the fountain landscape. Although it was impossible to make out what was going on there, there were still bursts of vague words in the quiet of the morning, and it sounded as if someone was reprimanding them.

"What are they doing?" asked Eighty-Six, nodding his head.

"Your big boss, the housekeeper of the estate, a guy named 'Albert' is giving a lecture to newcomers...... Mott quipped.

Number 86 automatically ignores the current identity of the "gardener". "Newcomer?" he said, confused.

"Strange, isn't it?" Mott's gaze didn't seem to be hindered by the fog, "From common sense, a manor of this size is basically unlikely to produce large-scale personnel changes, basically an old servant retires, and his nephew takes over directly. Different positions have been passed down from generation to generation by different families, and have always served the owners of this place...... "Skull said, "but unfortunately, something strange is happening on this estate. ”

"Strange things?" said 86, looking up at the skull.

"That's right, six servants have been missing from this manor in a month. The purple flame in Mott's eyes shrank into a thin point, "The groom, the kitchen, the handyman, and even the guards, there are people missing...... it said, "There are all kinds of rumors, although the words of these servants are not credible most of the time, but they should not talk nonsense about such things." ”

No. 86 was shocked when he heard the words brought by the skull, after all, six big living people, this is no small matter. "What if the demon did it? It shouldn't be difficult to make a few people go missing, right?" he thought of the main messenger who had attacked him.

Mott shook his head slowly. "Don't you see a dead body?" the skull whistled, "even a demon can't do it so cleanly." ”

No. 86 didn't speak, but just refocused his gaze on the vague figures, and the atmosphere around him immediately became heavy. But at this moment, a loud grunt came from his stomach, and Number 86's face suddenly turned red and he scratched his hair in embarrassment.

Mott's playful voice came as expected. "Ha! Hunger, I forgot that you still occupy the body of a living person!" it tilted its head and thought, "You should thank me for accidentally finding the place in the back kitchen in the process of exploring the path!

The skull teased 86 as it turned and flew out, and 86 closed the door and followed it. The task is certainly important, but the heavier thing at the moment is obviously filling the stomach.

It must be admitted that the owner of the manor seems to have been a very generous fellow, and even the breakfast provided to the servants was sumptuous. When Number 86 walked out of the servant's dining room with his belly bulging high, he even felt a sense of satisfaction from the delicious food in his heart. However, this behavior annoyed Mott as he flew in the air, because for a skull that was almost "spirited", eating was an unusually extraordinarily extravagant affair.

As the day began to shine, 86 had to do all the work related to the "gardener" out of the demands of his duty, and that he did so with his assistant, Tick Jr., taking a day off.

The only thing that is more fortunate is that this body still retains a minimum of instinct, in Mott's words, this is a conditioned reflex that remains in the depths of the muscles and mind, so in the face of all kinds of flowers and plants, No. 86 does not show too rusty side. But even so, the entire manor was pruned and consumed a lot of time on 86. By the time he took Mott, who had disappeared from time to time and appeared from time to time, to the flower bed in front of the mansion, it was even early afternoon.

At this time, a magnificent carriage was parked at the main entrance of the mansion, and the groom leaning on the pedestal lowered his hat and pricked up his ears and dozed off. "Boss, it looks like a guest has arrived. Mott flew into the air, as if searching for something.

"And then, can you sneak in and find out the news?" said Number 86, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

The skull flew panning to the west. "Boss, move your position and come here. "Didn't I tell you that the living room of this mansion is in the west wing of the building?"

"Ahem......" No. 86 cleared his throat, glanced around without a trace, and quietly moved under the window where Mott had signaled. Sure enough, a few muffled voices came from inside, and it seemed that there was a conversation going on in the living room.

“......”

"If you may, please give a brief description of the situation of the missing person, the more detailed the better...... said a stern voice.

"Yes, Sheriff. He replied in a meticulous voice, as if every rise and fall of the tone had a rigid requirement. The owner of Number 86 who heard this voice was Albert, the butler who spoke in the morning. "The missing man is a second-class servant of the manor, named Agri, who is mainly responsible for some chores in the back kitchen. The first person to find him missing was the head chef of the estate, just before breakfast was prepared yesterday morning. He paused and added, "We've searched everywhere we can, and unfortunately, we haven't found anything." ”

The sheriff let out a clear "uh-huh", apparently listening very carefully and taking detailed notes. "Well, I have one last question here. He pondered for a moment, "This missing person, like everyone else, is there no anomaly, or an enemy or anything like that?"

"As far as I know, yes. Albert's answer was very crisp.

"Thank you for your help...... "Sheriff's interlocutor changed to another person, "I've lost your time, my lord, I have no other questions here." ”

As soon as the sheriff's words fell, another voice rang out. "Dear Madam, are you sure you don't need me to bring in guards from Simachi to protect you?" the voice was relatively restrained, but the worry hidden in it could still be heard. "I solemnly ask you to think about it. ”

"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Earl......" A gentle voice sounded, and Number 86 and Mott looked at each other in surprise, they had no idea that the owner of this manor was actually a lady. "As you can see, the situation here is not so serious that it would have to take your energy into it, and I'm sure that the sheriff of Simach will be able to do it, won't you?"

"Yes, ma'am!" replied the sheriff at once, "to-morrow I will send my most able men to your land to investigate. I believe that it will not be long before the perpetrators will be brought to justice. ”

The Earl, who was standing next to him, did not speak for a long time, but finally spoke with concern. "Madam, if you need help, please inform me as soon as possible, and I will come with my personal guards......"

"Thank you, Lord Torien......," said the hostess.

The Count said no more, but as if he had made his own promise, he slammed the iron boots together with a "snap". Then, a small sound of footsteps faded away from the room. "Quick, boss, change places!" Mott glanced at the window and hurriedly reminded, "It's over if you get caught eavesdropping!"

No. 86 hurriedly bent down and dodged farther along the flower bed. It didn't take long for the butler Albert to send two men in formal suits out of the main entrance. One of them, a slightly thinner man, boarded the carriage first, while the other, a man in full uniform, stayed behind. He turned back and whispered a few words to the butler, then nodded, boarded the carriage and left the manor.

Subconsciously, No. 86 hid in the distance and looked at the window of the living room. Through the crystal glass window, a beautiful and elegant woman stood quietly in front of the window. Her skin was unusually fair, she looked like she was in her thirties, and her long and fine and healthy hair did not pull any fancy, but was simply tucked back of her head. The silver-gray high-necked dress was worn on her body, rendering a layer of distant and graceful temperament.

"Praise the master! what a beautiful woman! The years have precipitated in her an intoxicating taste...... I can guarantee that she will be in the top 10 in my more than 1,000 years of experience!I swear!" Mott fell into a hysterical madness, he glanced at No. 86 who lowered his head, and quickly changed his voice, "What's the matter? Are you going to put the masterpieces of the gods on your fingertips?" ha...... I won't!" it looked at the van that was moving away, "but it's a bit of a problem...... Before I could say the last sentence, I made a love rival......"

"Do you only have females in your head......" 86 grumbled helplessly.

"Don't you feel strange, though?" said Mott's voice with an eerie drift.

"What's wrong?" asked 86, puzzled.

"Look at these flowers," the skull nodded in the flower bed in front of 86. Following its gaze, I saw a snow-white flower without a trace of variegation, closing its buds and quietly taking root in the soil. The most striking thing is that their flower stems are crystal-like, showing a translucent color.

"What is this?" asked Number 86, looking at the white flowers that occupied a relatively remote corner of the entire flower bed.

Mott fell, squinting slightly. "Boss, give it a drop of blood. ”

Hearing this, Number 86 drew his dagger and slashed it on his index finger. With a little force, a drop of crimson blood fell from between him and dripped onto the budding bud. Almost instantly, the drop of blood seeped into the snow-white petals as if it had been absorbed. The next moment, its buds bloomed in an instant, and what was even more strange was that the flowers that were originally snow-white were dyed with a layer of intense, bewitching and abnormal blood red.

"How can it be ...... like this" The "white flower" in No. 86's eyes seemed to be given a new life, trembling slightly, as if it was thirsting for blood dripping again.

"Quack quack...... It's called 'Ionora's Temptation' - a flower named after the Blood Queen of Hell, more colloquially known as 'Scarlet Kiss'. Mott said quietly, "I'm more curious about what kind of people will plant the flowers of hell in their own manor......

No. 86 was startled and looked up sharply to see that the beautiful woman had disappeared in front of the window of the living room. (To be continued.) )