Gun of Ashes

Lorenzo remained silent, staring at the blood-red handwriting. So, this message is meant for me?

”What are you planning to do? Catch Shermans?” Lorenzo asked.

”Naturally, he’s worth quite a bit at the Evangelical Church, but that’s a minor issue. The main thing is to open the route to the Holy Evangelical Pope Kingdom,” Oscar replied. ”Our influence in Ingwig is pathetically small; otherwise, we wouldn’t trouble you.”

”But this isn’t as simple as it seems, right?” Lorenzo asked.

He fixed his gaze on Oscar, exuding a subtle madness. Lorenzo had known Oscar for a long time, but even now, he couldn’t fully understand him.

”Indeed, we don’t know who received this intelligence, how they got it, or what the purpose is.”

Oscar’s expression became serious.

”Not to mention he didn’t have to inform us at all. The Florence mission is right there in Old Dunling; he could have completely bypassed us.”

”This looks like a conspiracy,” Lorenzo remarked.

”Actually, it’s an open conspiracy. He laid everything out in front of us. Even knowing something’s off, you can’t help but act.”

Oscar hesitated for a moment before speaking to Lorenzo.

”This matter is suspicious. If you don’t want to, you don’t need to force yourself with this task.”

”Is this your idea of a mentor-student bond?” Lorenzo teased.

”Just a feeling of unease, Lorenzo. The Florence mission, the Church’s exiles, and now some unknown guy has exposed it all, clearly wanting us to fall into this trap.”

Oscar continued, ”I’m a writer, but I’m also part of Nordro. When ’gathering material’ abroad, I went with fleets to many places and met various people... This situation makes me uneasy, like facing a beast’s lair—you can’t see it, but you can smell the blood in the wind.”

Lorenzo’s face was emotionless, but after a few seconds, it suddenly relaxed, and with a bitter smile, he sighed deeply.

”But once he laid all this out before us, he succeeded... This is a message for me.”

Lorenzo picked it up, bringing the coarse paper to his nose, then gently sniffed it.

Suddenly, Lorenzo grabbed a shotgun and aimed it at Oscar’s head, doing so swiftly, leaving no time for reaction.

”I’m a detective. Though others think I’m not very professional, I at least consider myself first-rate,” Lorenzo said.

”Oscar, how much do you really know?

First, this ridiculous mentor-student relationship, then the ’chance’ meeting on the train... That wasn’t a coincidence, right? And then, this mysterious Nordro. In your view, Oscar, I should be nothing more than a somewhat violent detective, yet you bring a job entirely unsuitable for my capacity.”

His gray-blue eyes were filled with suspicion. Earlier, Lorenzo hadn’t cared about these things. Everyone has secrets; he’s not Heracles, obsessed with secrets. But with pressure from the new Order and his own mysteries, he had to be completely alert toward everyone.

”Shermans... This isn’t a coincidence either, right?”

Oscar seemed surprised by Lorenzo’s rapid change, suspecting him for a long time but disguised it well until now.

”Alright, I have to admit I know quite a bit.”

”And this task?”

”It’s genuine. We need Shermans to give the Evangelical Church an explanation.”

”And what else?”

Oscar remained silent while Lorenzo, not being polite, pressed the shotgun firmly against Oscar’s forehead, leaving a shallow red mark.

”I’ll pull the trigger.”

”You won’t.”

”For the sake of this mentor-student bond? Oscar, you should know I’m not exactly a student. I merely attend classes sometimes, at most called self-learning, and you don’t count as a formal teacher.”

Lorenzo disregarded personal relations, frustrating Oscar, who was readying to play on emotions but failed before he could even start.

”How could such a mentor-student bond restrain you? Besides, waking others would not be a good idea.”

The situation turned silent. Selyu seemed accustomed to this, sitting to the side like nothing happened. After a long pause, Lorenzo slowly lowered the gun.

”You’re right, blood everywhere, Mrs. Van Rudd would kill me.”

It was a strange reason, but it was enough for Lorenzo to lower the gun. He never brought trouble home, nor allowed iron and blood to transpire here. It was merely an ordinary house, inhabited by ordinary people, and these matters were unrelated to them.

”Nation-Builder.”

Oscar suddenly spoke.

Lorenzo was a bit puzzled, but Oscar continued.

”You can call us Nation-Builder,” Oscar confessed.

”We know a lot, about things like the Purification Mechanism and even more... After all, compared to this world, Old Dunling is just a city.

Shermans’ task is genuine; we need him to open the route. Moreover, the exiles’ forces have infiltrated Old Dunling, and in Ingwig, our influence is pathetically small, not to mention employing any private armed forces.

Due to these various considerations, we ultimately decided to find you.”

Oscar explained.

”Not just that, is it?”

”At least I believe what I’ve revealed should convince you.”

Lorenzo said nothing, leaning back in the chair, furrowing his brows.

He carefully eyed the letter, pondering something as soft footsteps sounded. Mrs. Van Rudd awakened, her eyes groggy. Upon seeing the intense Lorenzo and the unfamiliar Oscar, she instantly became alert, unsure whether to grab a gun or scold Lorenzo for bringing trouble home. Selyu swiftly calmed her down.

”I’ll complete the task, but I want to add one condition,” Lorenzo said.

”I thought you’d refuse and then torture me,” Oscar replied.

”How could that be, we do have this mentor-student bond, after all!”

Lorenzo donned a joyous smile, extending his hand to grip Oscar’s firmly, rubbing it like a precious gem.

Oscar’s expression changed. Earlier, he seemed unfazed, yet facing Lorenzo like this made one’s skin crawl.

”Your influence in Old Dunling is small, but you do have some sway, don’t you?”

Lorenzo’s smile suddenly turned cold and softly asked.

”You...” Oscar seemed to grasp Lorenzo’s intent, saying, ”This is Old Dunling, we are insignificant before the Purification Mechanism.”

”I don’t expect you to do much... but...”

Leaning close to Oscar’s ear, Lorenzo seemed to whisper something, known only to the two men.

Oscar’s expression subtly shifted, while Lorenzo sat right back and appeared fully in control, as if everything earlier was merely his disguise and strategy.

Oscar’s expression was complex. After brief contemplation, he smiled again.

”Never thought you’d accept ’new things’ so quickly,” Oscar remarked, never guessing Lorenzo had no interest whatsoever in this so-called ”Nation-Builder” and wouldn’t be surprised either.

”The world is huge, Old Dunling is merely a city in comparison,” Lorenzo repeated Oscar’s earlier words, ”I should’ve realized sooner. Just the Holy Evangelical Pope Kingdom and Ingwig have so many peculiar occurrences, not to mention Gaulunaro, Leiber, the Viking nations... Moreover, across the sea lies Jiuxia in the Far East.”

”Precisely because it’s such a big world, you should exist. If Old Dunling were the only mysterious place, then something truly would be wrong.”

Speaking, Lorenzo picked up the letter, gazing at the blood-red handwriting.

”Moreover, this is not just for your sake, Oscar.”

The familiar scent, under thorough examination, Lorenzo finally discerned where his unease originated.

”This isn’t red ink, it’s blood.”

Lorenzo placed the letter back onto the table.

”It’s Secret Blood.”

A scent all too familiar, as if some Evil Ghost he once killed returned from the land of the dead, sending him an invitation.