Capítulo 13: 12. Demon Hunting Bullets
After hastily packing up, Angel left home with the three "Night Watchers."
Before this, she had requested to bring her own weapons, a dagger and a revolver inherited from Cole Granger, and a ladies' derringer she had picked up again last night from under the Iron Cross Street, which she got from a stalker.
Dunn Smith did not object, but insisted that during the period Angel was "under protection," these weapons were to be entrusted to another night watcher accompanying them, Leonard Mitchell, for safekeeping.
This might as well mean not bringing them at all... Angel pursed her lips but agreed anyway.
When retrieving the guns from the study, she sneakily glanced at the secret compartment under the desk, where a Beyonder artifact of unknown purpose was stored. It seemed untouched by the visitors, but she dared not inspect it closely in front of Leonard, who was following beside her.
After taking out the weapons from the drawer and handing them over to Leonard for safekeeping, and taking a few pounds of cash with her, she then left the house under the "escort" of several night watchers.
It was already the next morning outside, with a continuous stream of pedestrians on Daffodil Street, and carriages driving through the crowd towards various destinations. Parked at the door was a police carriage that Angel had seen a few nights before, adorned with two crossed longswords and a crown representing the royal family, displaying the class nature of the police system serving the will of the royalty.
The street was not wide, and the carriage parked like this already caused quite an impact on traffic, but the detouring crowd showed no complaints, instead looking with surprise at Angel, who was about to board the carriage, surrounded by several policemen.
This surely made her famous in the neighborhood... Angel just wanted to find a hole to crawl into, regretting not wearing a hood before leaving. Seeing the crowd showing a tendency to gather further, she quickly stepped on the carriage's step and got on.
The interior of the carriage was relatively spacious, with thick carpets laid on the floor, curtains covering the windows, and a faint scent of incense lingering.
Following her was Daly Simone, dressed in a somewhat Gypsy style. She seemed also uncomfortable with the people's gaze, having worn a hood before leaving, and only revealing her face, which was made up with eyeshadow and blush, after entering the carriage. She sat opposite Angel, her body tense but relaxing.
The carriage door remained open, but the remaining two night watchers did not come in.
Could it be that the carriage requires two to drive?
Angel wondered curiously, parting the curtains and looking out the window.
…
The Granger family's residence is located at No. 6 Daffodil Street, near the end of Iron Cross Street. This area is filled with terraced low-rise buildings, with doors that open directly onto the street, unlike the wealthy residences in the northern district that have their own gardens and lawns.
Next to No. 6, at the entrance of another two-story residence, three men and a woman were speaking in low voices. One of the middle-aged men, holding a set of keys, introduced to the other three—who were clearly familiar with each other and stood closer together:
"Daffodil Street is close to Cross Street, convenient for transportation, and surrounded by well-equipped facilities. The neighborhood is inhabited by respectable people such as teachers and government employees. No. 4 next door houses a lawyer, and then there's No. 6..."
He was pointing towards the door of the Angel family's house when he happened to see several people walking out of the gate, among them two men wearing the distinctive black and white checkered uniforms of Tingen City Police, escorting two ladies onto a police four-wheeler. This caused him to swallow the words he was about to say.
I was just boasting about how the neighborhood is filled with respectable people with legitimate jobs, and here the police are, making a big show of arresting someone...
Mr. Skarte of the "Tingen City Housing Improvement Company" had beads of sweat on his forehead as he racked his brains on how to smooth over this situation, only to see the young man among the three clients greeting the police officers by the carriage with a look of surprise:
"Captain, what are you doing here?"
They know each other? Skarte stared at the two police officers, especially the stars on the epaulettes of their uniforms, lost in thought.
…
Beside the carriage, Dunn Smith and Leonard Mitchell were exchanging pleasantries with a young man dressed in formal attire. Angel, listening from beside the window, learned that this young man, newly joined to the "Night Watchers" of Tingen City, was named Klein Moretti. He had come to Daffodil Street today with his brother and sister to visit the houses for rent or sale.
It seemed he was planning to rent next to the Granger's house? Angel observed the two men and a woman standing at the entrance of No. 2 Daffodil Street behind him. Among them, a middle-aged man was holding a copper door key, similar to Angel's, apparently a real estate agent introducing the residence.
The housing prices on Daffodil Street were not cheap. Buying a house could cost between 600 to 1000 pounds, depending on the specific location and size, and even the rent was about 15 Solis per week, amounting to around 40 pounds a year. This was close to the income level of an average worker in Tingen City. However, income obviously couldn't be spent on rent alone, so the residents here were all "high-end workers" with incomes far above the average.
The salary of a "Night Watcher" must be much higher than the average income, allowing this "newcomer," Klein Moretti, to eagerly transfer to a better rental housing to improve his living conditions as soon as he got the job.
She looked at Klein Moretti, who was thanking Dunn Smith for the advance on his salary, suddenly recognizing the young and scholarly face from her memories.
It was the young "official's son" who shared a carriage with Dunn Smith late at night. It seems that it was a routine for the "Night Watchers" to go out on official duties late at night. Remembering Dunn Smith's potion "Sleepless" and his ability to invade dreams, Angel thought it wasn't strange for them to prefer going out in the late night.
Feeling the gaze from inside the carriage, Klein Moretti looked up at Angel. Their eyes met for a moment; he was startled at first and then quickly diverted his gaze, looking back at Dunn Smith.
"This is Angel Granger, a distant relative of Cole Granger who lives here. We've received a report that Cole has been missing for several days, so we asked this lady to return for the investigation. She is not a suspect, just a witness."
Dunn Smith took the initiative to introduce Angel, but his voice was clearly louder than necessary for their conversation, loud enough for the surrounding crowd to hear.
Was he afraid the neighbors would misunderstand, explaining on my behalf?
Seeing the change in the crowd's gaze after hearing Dunn Smith's words, Angel looked at him again, feeling that this serious "Sleepless" didn't make her as nervous as when they first met.
Klein Moretti seemed to still have some doubts. He opened his mouth, ready to continue questioning, but then, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly stopped. He then bid farewell to Dunn Smith and Leonard Mitchell before heading back to the entrance of No. 2 Daffodil Street.
The remaining two exchanged a few words briefly, with Dunn taking over the task of driving the carriage. He got Leonard onto the carriage and drove away from Daffodil Street under the gaze of the Moretti family, other neighbors, and passersby.
Leonard Mitchell, with his black hair and green eyes, looking more like a poet than a policeman, bent over to enter the carriage and casually closed the door. The two opposing benches inside were occupied by the "Spirit Medium" Daly and Angel. Seeing Daly sitting in the middle with a cold face, showing no intention of making room, Leonard could only smile apologetically at Angel. Angel raised an eyebrow and moved to the other side of the door, making room for Leonard on half of the bench.
"Thank you."
Leonard breathed a sigh of relief and sat down after thanking Angel.
The carriage once again fell into a strange silence, with only the occasional cries of street vendors and the regular clatter of wheels rolling over cobblestones coming from outside.
Within two minutes, unable to stand the silence, Leonard Mitchell took out a box of bullets he was keeping on behalf of someone. He took out one bullet and carefully observed it.
His gaze swept over the intricate engravings on the bullet casing, finally resting on the emblem of the goddess of the night.
"Is this a Demon Hunting Bullet? Did you make it yourself?" Leonard turned his head to ask Angel Granger, who had been staring at him ever since he took out the bullet.
"I made it myself, but it's not the Demon Hunting Bullet you're talking about. I've never seen a Demon Hunting Bullet," Angel honestly replied, not knowing what a Demon Hunting Bullet was.
Leonard Mitchell took out his revolver from the holster under his arm inside his police uniform, flipped open the cylinder, removed a bullet from the chamber, and handed it to Angel.
"This is a Demon Hunting Bullet. The engravings and crest on it grant it extra lethality against Beyonder creatures."
Angel took the bullet and observed it closely.
It was a silver-white revolver bullet, clearly expensive to make, smaller in size than her "Storm Convergence," approximately .38 caliber. Both the bullet head and casing were engraved with complex patterns, and the base had a black and red emblem of the goddess of the night.
"The engravings are different, so the effects are different too. My bullets are mainly designed to enhance penetration and power, without specificity towards any particular target," she explained, returning the "Demon Hunting Bullet" to Leonard.
Leonard nodded, placed the silver-white "Demon Hunting Bullet" back into its chamber, secured the handgun, and then picked up the crudely made but seemingly more intimidating .45 caliber "Storm Convergence" bullet.
"The Demon Hunting Bullet is the standard ammunition used by the Night Watchers in battles against Beyonder forces, uniformly manufactured and distributed by the church. Even the team captain cannot make it. Where did you learn to make this bullet?" he asked casually.
Angel was about to fabricate a lie to get through the moment when her gaze inadvertently fell on Daly, the "Spirit Medium" sitting opposite her. Daly had, at some point, straightened up, holding the copper wine cup she had been holding the first time they met at the Cole's residence.
Feeling a tightness in her heart, Angel recalled the conversation with Dunn Smith in her dream, his occasional strange poses, and the way he looked behind her. She swallowed back the lie she had prepared and answered honestly:
"It's a manufacturing method from the religious heritage I originally belonged to, intended to be used against Mrs. Sharon."
"Originally belonged? You mean another orthodox church?" Leonard Mitchell first looked at Daly, who subtly nodded, before continuing to inquire.
"Not one of the seven major churches, just a religion that no longer exists in this world," Angel said with a touch of sadness. This was not an emotion she feigned; remembering that she might never be able to return to her original world, her words carried a hint of depression and regret.
"But rest assured, it's not an organization that worships evil gods. Moreover, I should now be considered a follower of the Evernight Goddess. See, She responded to my prayers and blessed this bullet with power."
Angel picked up a "Storm Convergence" bullet, released a slight amount of spirituality to her fingertips, sensing her spirituality, the engraving on the bullet casing faintly flowed with crimson, and the holy emblem of the Evernight Goddess shone brilliantly in the flowing light.
Leonard Mitchell's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared intently at the bullet for a long while before coming back to his senses, as if asking someone or talking to himself, "Is this really the power of the Evernight Goddess... Hmm, it seems right. After the divine power is added, this has indeed become a Beyonder item. If it weren't confirmed that you're an 'Assassin', I would almost think you were an 'Artisan' from the Steam and Machinery Church."
Confirmed... It seems they indeed have a way to verify the truth of my words in the dream, and now it seems very likely to be the effect of the cup Ms. Daly holds. Good thing I didn't lie just now…
Additionally, what exactly is an "Artisan"? He mentioned the Steam and Machinery Church, is that the Church of the "God of Steam and Machinery"? Angel captured the keywords in the conversation, silently analyzing in her mind, yet her speech did not cease:
"This indeed is the power bestowed by the Evernight Goddess. Last night, when I was making bullets, I prayed to the deities but received no response. I was almost in despair, never expecting that the Evernight Goddess would respond to my prayers at that moment, granting me her blessings, allowing me to complete the making of these bullets. Praise the Goddess."
Having said that, Angel drew a crimson moon on her chest, expressing gratitude for the blessings the Evernight Goddess bestowed at a critical moment.
"Ah... Praise the Goddess." Leonard Mitchell also hurriedly followed suit, his face still bearing an indelible confusion: "Made last night? You mean you first prayed to the previous deities for blessings?"
He hesitated for a moment but still asked: "Forgive my abruptness, may I ask how long have you been a follower of the Evernight Goddess?"
Angel glanced at Mrs. Daley, who remained silent yet still holding a copper cup, and had no choice but to tell the truth: "I have not been a follower of the Evernight Goddess for long, mainly influenced by recent events, especially..." She said euphemistically, then felt that this was nothing secretive, "...specifically, it's been less than 24 hours, I guess."
Ah?
Leonard Mitchell turned to Daley Simone, who held the "Cup of Truth-telling" with the code 3-0688, and saw her looking back at him with a puzzled face as well.
The truth?
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