Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 942 Actions of Both Sides

On the way to the nearby city park to look for the Queen Anne's Revenge docked in the park's lake, Angel learned about what happened to Klein and Georgina, who appeared in the same place with him last night.

"Sure enough...soon after you showed up, you were also received by a special person..."

Knowing that there would be a receptionist dressed similarly to Cliff to greet them, Angel chuckled and was acutely aware of the difference in treatment between the two sides: in addition to Cliff, there was also a short but well-built woman named Valentina who came to look for Angel, while there was only one receptionist on Klein's side.

Of course, there were ostentatious guards of honor on both sides.

"After that, the Duchess and I were taken to a hotel with fairly good decoration and stayed there for one night. We studied the laws of this city all night..."

Like ordinary people without extraordinary abilities, Angel, Klein, and the secret doll that followed him strolled on the streets that were not prosperous but had a sense of relaxation that Backlund did not have, and exchanged their experiences of last night.

"Have you found any 'loopholes' that can be exploited?"

Although he didn't hold out much hope, Angel still asked.

"Not yet. Thanks to the Beyonders who mistakenly entered this city before, the laws against Beyonder powers are very detailed, covering almost all avenues and all opportunistic methods. Even if I... let the puppets control the spiritual lines of the residents here and form puppets of puppets, they can't escape the punishment of the law."

Qonas, who was walking outside the two of them, suddenly spoke, making it difficult for Angel to tell whether he was Klein who had just "swapped" positions and disguised himself again, or Qonas Kilger who had changed back to his original appearance.

"You turned the Marionette back to its original form. Are you planning to try to find a loophole in the city's laws?"

Angel asked with a frown as his eyes swept over the smiling face of the "Fallen Count".

"That was my original plan, but that Archon Gerdruf immediately pointed out the fact that Qonas was a secret doll and had irreversibly died... After leaving the City Hall, Georgina said that in her eyes Gerdruf was just an ordinary person and did not have extraordinary abilities. So his ability to see through my secret doll should come from the characteristics of the 'Hand of Order'."

Klein smiled and said as if he was mocking himself.

"Now, Qiunas belongs to my 'personal property', not a person. Anything he does, any crime he commits, will be counted on my head."

It sounds like the same situation as my mirror double... Angel nodded, and then asked back:

"Could Geldruf be a Sequence 3 Saint, or even an angel? When Georgina saw me disguised as Christine, she didn't see through my true Sequence, which means her judgment of Beyonders above Sequence 3 is not accurate."

"She mentioned this possibility, but even if the angel is disguised as an ordinary person, the 'Law Mage' can see that the 'position' he is in is not an ordinary person. He just can't see through the specific sequence."

Klein answered as if he had expected it.

So, the one who punished me just now was indeed the "Hand of Order", which is equivalent to a Sequence 1 Archangel... Of course, it does not necessarily have real intelligence, but just rigidly follows the current laws. It is equivalent to a powerful "0" level seal. The range of influence is roughly the size of a city, but the power is difficult even for angels to resist, just like the "0-08" Alesuhod's Pen...

"So, if we want to obtain the treasure of the Ghost Empire, we have to find a way to break through the laws created and maintained by the Hand of Order. On this basis, we must also deal with the Archons who can use this characteristic to exercise their power. Only then will we have a chance to obtain the extraordinary characteristics that maintain the Dream City..."

Angel concluded with a grimace, not holding out much hope for the outcome of this adventure.

Of course, if she just wanted to escape from here, she already had an immature idea, but thanks to Nast's reminder, Angel didn't plan to say it out until she needed it, so as to avoid being known by the omniscient "law enforcers" in advance and amending the law to respond.

"Don't worry. As long as we don't commit serious crimes, at least our safety can be guaranteed here." Klein smiled and comforted Angel. Then he looked forward and said, "That should be the lake where Annie is."

In front of the two people, the buildings in the style of the late Quaternary period gradually became sparse, and the tree-lined avenue planted with maple trees led to an artificial lake that was not very large in area. However, the originally beautiful scenery was ruined by a black sailboat stranded in the middle of the lake, just like a ball of black oil paint in the center of a beautiful oil painting.

Although this was not a sign of respect for Anne, a large ghost ship parked in the park was indeed eye-catching, like an amusement ride that was placed in the wrong place... Angel complained inwardly, and walked with Klein past the maple trees that should have shed their leaves in late autumn but still maintained lush canopies in the "City of Dreams" where it was spring all year round, and came to the side of the "Queen Anne's Revenge".

Because the artificial lake was not deep, the entire ghost ship tilted to one side. Angel could see that some of the cannons that had slid from the deck to this side were squeezed together, looking chaotic.

Suddenly, a small head popped out from the cannons. It was the humanoid incarnation of the ghost ship, Anne Gustave the Balancer.

The girl with long black hair and golden eyes glanced at the two of them and nodded.

"You are finally here, come up quickly," she said, "By the way... I allow you to enter my 'home' by any means."

This is legally consenting to our use of extraordinary abilities to "break into" this ship... This thought popped into Angel's mind, and he immediately used the "mirror world" to quickly travel to the deck, igniting two balls of black cursed flames beside him.

The next second, the flames exploded, and bright yellow flames gushed out from inside. Klein and Qiunas appeared on both sides of her, like bodyguards who arrived one step later than their master.

"Well, this way, I look more like the 'Golden Queen'..."

Anne, who was standing in front of them, said, she was still wearing the white dress that seemed to never get dirty, her feet bare, forming a very strong contrast on the slightly tilted deck where all the unfixed guns were crowded to one side.

But both of them and the secret doll knew that most of the combat power of this ghost ship built by the Trunsost Empire was actually concentrated on this seemingly fragile girl.

The Trunsost Empire... Angel suddenly realized that the "Queen Anne's Revenge" also came from the empire controlled by the "Night Emperor". Of course, according to Anne's previous narration, it was built by the Trunsost side during the period when Trunsost had not yet become the "Night Emperor" and was jointly ruling with Tudor.

With this information, Angel, with the keenness of an "instigator", discovered a trace of loneliness hidden behind Anne's indifferent expression. Worried that Anne would be too depressed after seeing the "City of Hope" of the Trunsost Empire, she did not immediately talk about how to find loopholes in the law and try to seize the treasure of the "Ghost Empire", but asked in a soft tone:

"You met the Archon this morning and have your own 'resident' status. Have you walked around the city and seen the Quaternary-style streets?"

"No."

Anne answered dryly, looking past the woods surrounding the ghost ship to the street not far away. People passing by looked over here from time to time, their eyes full of curiosity, but no one was nosy and approached here.

"Don't worry, after so many years, I have long forgotten what happened back then... I'm just curious about why the 'Consul' asked me...

"…Are you willing to take over his duties?"

Retracting her gaze and frowning slightly, Annie said in a puzzled tone.

----

Taking a public carriage, Nast Solomon arrived at the Archives Bureau not far from the City Hall.

This short journey cost him two Nars, accounting for 1/500 of his current "total assets".

This currency is different from the circulating currencies such as gold pounds, gold horns, and gold Louis in the outside world. It is a tool used within the "Dream City" to calculate the quotas of everyone. Before leaving the city hall, he and the "Golden Queen" Angelica each received their own 1000 nars, including some easy-to-use copper coins and large-denomination banknotes.

This is their “base quota” for one month after becoming a resident.

"According to the prices outside, one nar is roughly equivalent to two to three pence, and a month's quota is roughly equivalent to ten pounds. No wonder the 'Consul' said that you can survive without working, but you must stay away from extravagant consumption and public services that require charges...

"The drivers of the public carriages, the street cleaners, and even the young men delivering newspapers all smile, not considering their work to be low-level or hard. They work according to the needs of the city and distribute the resources produced by the city...

"The Dream City has existed for more than 1500 years, which means that this system is already very complete. However, I'm afraid that it relies on the power of multiple high-sequence characteristics. Even the output of food and water depends on certain specific sequences... Can such social relations operate stably on a larger scale?"

With many questions in mind, Nast walked into the deserted archives bureau and came to the department that kept the files of outsiders. He explained his purpose to a young lady:
"I want to check the records of outsiders who have entered this city in the past two hundred years."

"Okay, please fill out this application form and come back to borrow it after the city hall agrees."

The lady in a black dress with retro ruffles on her cuffs and collar answered in a businesslike manner and handed a blank form to Nast.

The latter did not take it, but said in a somewhat anxious tone:
"I think this matter is very urgent. There is no time to go through the formalities. The Archon just asked me to find the foreign 'residents' who are still alive to discuss some important matters, and this requires the immediate review of their files."

As he spoke, he moved his hands hidden behind his back slightly, using "distortion" and "enlargement" at the same time. His target was not the staff in front of him, but himself.

This does not violate most prohibitions on attacking or influencing others, and what he said was "the truth", so it does not constitute deception or misleading.

This "Mad Mage" simply magnified and distorted Geldruf's suggestion that he go talk to those foreign Beyonders into "find them as soon as possible, so he needs to check the files."

The staff member's eyes became dazed for a moment, and he inexplicably felt that what the tall and strong man in front of him said was right, so he nodded and said:
"Okay, but you must submit this application afterwards."

Then, she walked into the inner room, and after a moment, she returned to Nast with a not-so-thick file bag in her hand. She handed him the bag and the application form, and pointed to a corner of the room and said:
"This is the archive of outsiders who came to the Dreaming City and became new residents in the past 300 years. You can only look at it here. You are not allowed to take it out of this room. Remember to wear gloves."

"Okay, thank you for your accommodation."

Nast replied with a smile, like a polite gentleman.

He sat down at the table in the corner, took the silk gloves on the table and put them on, and couldn't wait to open the file bag. He glanced at the names on the overview page that were arranged from new to old in chronological order, skipped those with more recent dates, and looked at the names of those who entered here more than 100 years ago.

"There is no Savini Solomon..."

The list was not long, and Nast finished reading it in a few seconds. The corners of his mouth twitched, and then slightly curled up after a moment.

“But there was William Kidd, which was his pseudonym oft-used…

"Sure enough, the time of entry was 130 years ago..."

Muttering to himself, Nast quickly turned the file to the pages about William Kidd, pulled them out, and placed them on the table one by one.

The first thing that caught his eye was the mark written in red on the first page.

"He has died of illness."

(End of this chapter)