บท 3: Suspicion
Fors was a girl with a lazy demeanor, standing around 1.65 meters tall and wearing a beige, ruffled, high-collared long dress. When she heard Xio's words, she ruffled her slightly curly brown hair with a sigh and replied, "What is it? Can't you handle it yourself? I can at least give you some pointers."
"No, I need to gather evidence against a gang leader, and I need your 'door-opening' ability!" Xio paused, eyeing Fors, who remained sprawled on the sofa in a rather ungraceful posture. She added, "Besides, Fors, you haven't been outside for nearly half a week now…"
"I knew it was for this…" Fors trailed off, catching the frown on Xio's face. She raised her hand in surrender and said, "Fine, fine, I'll help you! But you have to explain exactly what this is about."
Xio nodded and recounted the request from the repairman, Mr. Ryan, ending with, "So, I need some dirt on this gang leader to 'persuade' him more effectively."
"Are you sure you're persuading him and not just provoking him?" Fors thought to herself, but outwardly she kept her expression calm and said, "This is all based on Ryan's side of the story, isn't it? Shouldn't you investigate the situation thoroughly before making a move? For instance, could this gang leader have another motive?"
"Yes, that's why I'm preparing to investigate. I came back to grab some money and equipment," Xio replied.
"Not only that, but you should also check if the gang leader or his subordinates have supernatural abilities… If you don't clarify these things, it might be dangerous for me to open the door and grab the dirt, and even you might not make it back from persuading him," Fors advised sincerely.
"Hmm… You're right, Fors. I was being careless." Xio gave it some thought and found Fors' reasoning sound.
"Alright then, come back to me when you've got the investigation done!" This way, I can buy myself a few more days, Fors thought with self-satisfaction.
"Fine…" Xio went back to her room, grabbed a small bag, and tied it around her waist. Before she left, she glanced back at Fors on the sofa and said, "Fors, even though your reasoning is sound, I still feel like you're brushing me off."
"What? Not at all… See, I'm even getting up!" Fors stood up guiltily and walked Xio to the door with a smile.
Xio frowned. She had initially wanted to tell Fors about the strange person she'd seen at the restaurant, but decided against it. After all, although the person had left her feeling stifled, they hadn't seemed dangerous. Mentioning it to Fors would only cause unnecessary worry.
…
Meanwhile, on Ebner's side, his unexpected encounter with Miss Xio hadn't disrupted his planned schedule. Based on his original memories, he made his way through Cherwood Borough, the North Borough, and the Bridge Borough. He went to various herb shops, flower shops, jewelry stores, and accessory stores to buy different plant powders, thin silver sheets, and other items.
These were essential materials for performing rituals. Since they weren't mystical items, most of them could be found in regular stores. However, they were spread out enough that it took a lot of stops to gather them all. Even though they weren't mystical materials, they weren't cheap either, costing him a total of one pound and twelve shillings. This expenditure caused Ebner, who was already tight on funds, to feel a sharp pang in his heart.
Ebner needed these items to perform a ritual to create a spiritual wall, so he could have a clean and safe spiritual environment to test his Pure White Eye. He also hoped to decipher the formula for "Reader" in the process. As for how he knew about the ritual? Naturally, it was because Old Neil in Lord of the Mysteries had practically taught Klein how to set up the spiritual wall step-by-step. And when Ebner activated his Pure White Eye, he remembered every detail from that novel scene.
At four in the afternoon, Ebner returned to his small one-bedroom rental, exhausted. He took a nap for an hour and a half, quickly ate some dry food he had bought during the day, and by six o'clock, he had fully readied himself. Using powders from deep sleep flowers, dragon blood grass, crimson sandalwood, and mint, he prepared the "Holy Night Powder" – ingredients required to build the spiritual wall.
Even though Ebner knew the method, he was nervous handling the materials for the first time. Fortunately, he had already integrated part of his supernatural characteristics, and his concentration now exceeded that of an ordinary person, which allowed him to quickly succeed.
After sprinkling the Holy Night Powder in a specific sequence around him, he pinched another bit of powder and sprinkled it around himself in a circle.
As a strange, pungent aroma rose into the air, a barrier of invisible power formed around Ebner, separating him from the surrounding environment within the room.
With a deep breath, Ebner took a gem from his iron cigarette case, a gem representing the Sequence 8 "Student of Ratiocination." He concentrated all his attention on it and silently chanted "Activate," giving himself a prompt. Due to last night's accidental activation and the incident with Xio in the morning, he had roughly figured out how to control his golden finger.
As expected, with the mental prompt, his pupils vanished, leaving his eyes completely white. A fast-moving stream of data surged through his mind again. His thoughts were involuntarily pulled along by this data flow, racing through memories, conclusions, analysis, and interpretation…
After five seconds, as his face turned noticeably darker, Ebner managed to force himself to close the Pure White Eye, and he gave a faint smile, murmuring weakly, "It seems that the limit is five seconds under optimal conditions…"
Before he could finish speaking, he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
…
Late at night, in the crowded Daraway Street in the East Borough, at a narrow but bustling tavern.
Xio Derecha, covering her nose and mouth, squeezed her way through the crowd. To her, the place reeked of alcohol and sweat, and the tall people around her forced her to face their armpits, a smell intense enough to knock out a normal person.
After considerable effort, and even using her "Arbiter" ability, Xio finally reached the bar and found the person she was looking for.
He was a middle-aged man with a friendly smile on his plump face. But Xio knew that beneath this kind of façade, he was a brutal and vicious thug who had once broken a thirteen-year-old thief's hand simply because the boy had hidden some of the loot.
If it weren't necessary, Xio would have preferred not to see him. But when it came to gathering intel on a gang leader, there was no one better than him – not only was he a gang leader himself, but he also had a grudge against that particular leader.
"Darkholm, I need a word with you." Xio knocked on the wooden bar counter hard.
Her rude behavior immediately attracted a few angry glares, but they quickly retreated under the harsh stare of the "Arbiter."
"Oh, Xio! Long time no see! You seem tougher than before!" Darkholm slurred in drunken surprise.
Of course. Back then, my Arbiter abilities were only inherited from my father, but now, I'm a full-fledged "Arbiter!"
Xio thought proudly to herself, but maintained a serious face as she said, "I want all the information you have on Rosen!"
"Oh? 'Two-Face' Rosen? Haha, Xio, are you targeting that bastard this time? Fine! If you put him in his place, I'll tell you everything I know!" Darkholm's expression shifted from surprise to a schadenfreude smile.
"'Two-Face?'" Xio raised an eyebrow, sensing the nickname might mean more than it seemed.
"Yes, Rosen disguises himself as a humble and polite gentleman, always claiming to help those in need, but he's actually a loan shark with outrageous interest rates! I don't know how, but he always manages to manipulate contracts to trap people. Almost everyone who borrows from him ends up losing everything! That bastard is far worse than me. Xio, you've got to teach him a lesson!" Darkholm spoke with a clenched jaw, giving example after example of people Rosen had ruined.
Xio listened, frowning deeper with each story until she interrupted him, "So, every time, he alters the contracts, and the borrowers realize the trap only after signing?"
"Yes, that's why I say he's found some new method. Not every borrower can be that foolish. He wasn't this successful before," Darkholm agreed, nodding.
"Before? When did his success begin?" Xio's sharp mind pinpointed the crucial question.
"Seven months ago. I remember it clearly because that's when our grudge started. Since then, he's been making a fortune, so I haven't dared to retaliate," Darkholm said with a clenched jaw.
"Seven months ago… Why did you fall out with him?" Xio pressed further.
"Well…" Darkholm didn't want to answer but shivered slightly under Xio's stern gaze and confessed, "Back then, one of my top guys stole Rosen's briefcase, which contained things he'd just seized from a debtor's home. Rosen quickly found out, beat up my guy, and took back the case. I thought that was the end of it, but soon after, he had my guy and the rest of that group silenced. It was a slap in my face!"
"What was in the case?" Xio asked.
"Hmph, I thought there might be something sensitive in there, but when I asked the debtor, he told me it was just his collection of badges. It's his hobby, so nothing of great value to others unless Rosen could sell it to another badge collector. So, I think Rosen was simply trying to make a point, nothing more," Darkholm sneered.
"What's the debtor's name? Where is he now?" Xio continued.
"That guy's long dead. He paid off all his debts, his family was sold off, and he jumped into the river afterward," Darkholm said indifferently.
Xio nodded, feeling she had gathered enough information. She tossed a bill onto the bar as payment for the intel and turned to leave.
"Badges… Could it be some kind of enchanted item? I need to investigate further," Xio mused as she left.
At midnight, Ebner opened his eyes, massaging his temple. After reinforcing the nearly failing spiritual wall, he picked up the supernatural stone that had fallen and activated his "Pure White Eye" once again.
"Tonight, I'll finally analyze the Sequence 9 'Reader' formula!"
(End of Chapter)
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