Chapter 157: Garden Villa

In the end, it was Ebner who expressed that he had not found a suitable gift due to the short amount of time. He would definitely make up for it when he returned. Only then did he appease Cullen's resentment and the atmosphere at the table gradually became more lively.

After the plates on the table were empty, everyone returned to the Harvest Church.

Come to think of it, Captain Asenov was the biggest of them all, but he was a terrible drinker. He closed his eyes and fell asleep after just two bottles of champagne. It was only after Cullen gave him some hangover medicine that he regained consciousness.

Judy, on the other hand, looked young, but she was actually an old drunkard. She drank more than 50% of the wine that she had called over, and she was still in high spirits and did not seem reluctant at all.

Ebner went to the first row of chairs in the church and sat down. His gaze fell on Bishop Utravsky, who was praying earnestly in front of the altar.

Seeing Hazel return underground, he asked Cullen beside him, "Do you know what 'Thousand Phantom' is?"

"'Thousand Spell Phantom'? That's a type of giant dragon, or maybe it's a pseudo-dragon. It's good at many strange spells and can simulate abilities that I've seen before. It's much smaller than ordinary dragons, and it's between reality and illusion. That's why it's called 'Thousand Spell Phantom'… I saw it once when I was a Potion Professor at Lenburg University," Cullen answered after thinking for a moment.

A kind of… Lenburg of dragons? Could it be raised by the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom? That was what Ebner thought, but he asked, "Do you have a way to get the 'Thousand Phantom's Crystal'?"

Cullen shook his head and glanced at Ebner. He said playfully, "I've never seen this alternative dragon anywhere else… I'm guessing that it's the main ingredient of Sequence 6 or 5 of the Reader. That's why it's being reared by the Church of Knowledge."

This is just as I thought. It's no wonder that apart from the Church of Knowledge, even among the Mandated Punishers, Beyonders of the Reader pathway can only advance to Sequence 7 Knowledge Keeper… I wonder if "He" will give me one if I pray to the God of Knowledge and Wisdom…

Just as Ebner was letting his imagination run wild, Cullen said with a smile, "By the way, the Church of Storms gave us a garden villa in Cherwood Borough. It was originally an asset that belonged to Earl Lorena."

The Church of Storms is that generous? Ebner quickly did a mental calculation. An ordinary single house in Cherwood Borough cost at least a thousand pounds. If it was a garden house, it would be worth at least five thousand pounds.

"That's to repay us for arriving in time and saving Captain Kuhn." After explaining with a smile, Cullen organized his words and continued,

"I only received the news not long ago. The Mandated Punishers suffered heavy losses this time. Not only did they lose a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, but they also lost a Wind-blessed… Yes, after investigations, that Wind-blessed should've been a helper summoned by the Demoness and turned into a marionette."

"Marionettist?" Ebner blurted out a question. Back then, other than Klein, there was only one marionette master who had appeared in Backlund, and that was the Intis embassy's Rosago.

Could Rosago have done it?

Just as Ebner had some guesses, he heard Cullen continue, "That's right. The Church of Storms suspects that someone from the Secret Order has infiltrated Backlund, so they are jointly investigating with the Church of Evernight."

I remember that the Secret Order's lair is in Intis? Although Rosago is working for Intis's official organization, he's most likely a member of this organization. Yes, I can tell Klein about this in the next Tarot Club. It just so happens that Mr. Fool wants information on the Secret Order.

Seeing that Ebner was deep in thought, Cullen didn't disturb him. Only after the other party snapped back to his senses did he continue. "After we reported this matter to the Holy Cathedral, the reply we received was' deal with it on your own. 'Captain Arsenov felt that this property was given to the Mother by the Church of Storms, and it wasn't suitable to be auctioned for money, so he decided to temporarily keep it."

"Why are you telling me this?" Even though Ebner had some guesses, he still asked in surprise.

"Captain, Judy, and I will be leaving Backlund tomorrow. As for Bishop Utravsky, he still has to stay in the cathedral. He really doesn't have anyone to watch over that house, so I hope you can help…" Cullen answered with a deep meaning.

"You mean you want me to stay in temporarily to watch over him?" Ebner pointed at himself and said in surprise.

Is there such a good thing? No… the maintenance of such a house is quite expensive. In addition, I must hire servants to clean the house… Do I have to pay for it?

With that thought in mind, Ebner asked without hesitation.

Cullen laughed and said, "Hehe, you don't have to pay for it. That house is very big, and I've already found two tenants for you. They'll pay for those trivial matters."

"A tenant? Who is it?" Ebner asked warily.

"Don't worry, it's someone you know. No danger," Callum replied, leaning back in his chair.

Ebner eyed him suspiciously, then nodded in agreement when he saw that he didn't want to say more. At the same time, he decided to check out the house first. If there really was a problem, he would move out immediately.

After taking the house key from Cullen and asking for the specific address, Ebner was about to go to the room behind the church to look for Judy, hoping to exchange for some Human-Faced Golden Phoenix Flowers from her.

But before he reached the corridor, he heard Cullen behind him say again, "By the way, because you killed the Demoness, it can be considered as avenging Kuhn and that dead Wind Blessed. The Church of Storms also gave you a huge gift."

Ebner turned at that, looking interested. "What great gift?" he asked.

Cullen replied with a strange expression, "Soon—tomorrow morning, you will become the headline of all the major newspapers again! It's said that this is a reward that His Excellency, God of Songs, has personally selected for you. Yes, there are actually some newspapers controlled by the Church of Storms that have published additional articles today. It's just that they don't have enough influence. The matter hasn't spread yet."

"Thank you so much!" Ebner's face fell.

He didn't object to becoming famous, but to avoid Beyonder elements, every time he became famous, he would fabricate all sorts of so-called "reasoning shows". That was too embarrassing… Especially when the "reasoning process" made up by various newspapers was different!

With a heart full of "grief and indignation," Ebner found Judy, who had taken all her strength to help the captain to bed, and made her own request.

And Judy did not let him down. Without saying anything, she found a small bottle of the juice of the Human-Faced Golden Phoenix Flower, dripped five drops into the sealed container, and handed it to him.

Ebner had planned on paying. Although it was only five drops, the Golden Phoenix Flower was a rare flower, so its value wasn't low. It would cost at least 100 pounds on the market.

But Judy waved her hand and didn't ask for her money. Instead, she hoped he would help her collect some strange plants in the future. It was a long-term commission.

…

Backlund North Borough, in a room under Saint Samuel Cathedral.

Daly, who had applied blue eye shadow and blush again, gave a bewitching and cold beauty as she handed the report she had written to Crestet Cesimir on the other side of the table. She said, "That Detective Bryan and I don't know much. We just happened to kill the Demoness."

Cesimir glanced at the ring on Daly's hand before turning his gaze away. He calmly asked, "Do you know where Detective Bryan obtained the badge that can ignite desire?"

Daly shook her head and replied, "How would I know? After all, I only spent five minutes in the carriage with him…"

At this point, she saw that Cesimir's expression was still solemn. She couldn't help but ask, "It's just a mystical item. Even if it's somewhat evil, why do you care so much?"

"Because the fifth case… there have been five cases of suspected demon murders."