Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1300: Section 1301: Letter from the Detective

In a room devoid of any light, a shadow sat in the pitch black.

Seated in solitude.

The only thing left in the air was a repetitive murmur, “Not yet… why is there still nothing…”

Just then, light suddenly rose. It was as if in a world sealed by darkness, someone had carved out a hole, and the light from the walls beyond shone in, reaching the gloomy, dispirited soul.

The shadow lifted its head to look. The source of the light was actually the door being opened by a man clad in a White Bear costume, carrying an oil lamp that emitted a dim glow as he walked in.

The light from the flame in the oil lamp dispelled the darkness. Accompanied by the sound of steady footsteps, it eventually stopped in front of the shadow.

… “Lord Red Hair,” a deep voice emanated from the White Bear.

The light then illuminated the area in front of the shadow, where that bold head of red hair, under the dim light, flickered with a faint luster.

“Why have you come?” Suise’s voice was somewhat hoarse.

White Bear: “Seeing that all the lord’s Alchemy Golems had returned and had not been dispatched again, I thought…” maybe you have already finished investigating the nearby area.

The White Bear’s unspoken words were naturally understood by Suise.

“No, within the maximum range that the Alchemy Golems can control, I have not detected any energy fluctuations.” Suise: “He is not nearby.”

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The White Bear also guessed this result, hesitating for a moment, “So, what should we do now? My sister, she…”

Even with White Bear’s stimulation, the situation remained bleak without finding Rolando. As time passed, Eulica’s even-tempered mood turned mad once again, and she had escaped from the Exile Space last night, causing trouble in the manor. However, she was knocked unconscious by Sanders with a slap.

A silence filled the air, the flame in the White Bear’s oil lamp flickered non-stop, casting Suise’s handsome face into a chiaroscuro of light and shadow.

After pondering for a long while, Suise finally sighed softly.

“It can’t be helped, it seems we have to ask Illusion Demon for assistance. Hobson, please inform the Illusion Demon and… Angel, to meet in the hall later.”

…

Outside Gru Town, hooves thundered across the ground, a knight clad in dark armor, braving the journey’s dust and wind, arrived at Pat Manor.

By the side of the dark knight was Gru Town’s current guard knight: Jordan.

“Are you sure this letter is not to be given to Viscount?” Jordan looked perplexedly at the tall knight beside him, who claimed to be from Waterford and had come to deliver the message.

“Yes, the sender asked me to personally hand it to a noble young master named Angel,” the dark knight said, his muffled voice escaping through the gaps in his helmet.

“Young Master Pat has already returned to the manor? Why have I not been informed?” Jordan murmured to himself, saw the dark knight looking at him, and nodded, “Alright, I’ll go knock on the door.”

Angel was originally in the hall exchanging cultivation experiences with Lyon when Bru fluttered her wings into the hall, informing him that a knight had brought a letter.

Half a moment later, Angel met the dark knight who had come with Jordan in the hall.

Upon seeing him, the knight executed a chest salute with strict knightly decorum, presenting the letter with both hands.

Angel was initially puzzled about who could be sending him a letter, but when he saw the wax seal on the paper, he suddenly realized.

The design on the wax seal depicted the shape of a pipe, with a line of fancy script underneath.

Anger couldn’t recognize the abbreviated letters at the front, but the words “Detective Agency” at the back were very clear.

Having connections with a detective agency, and this knight, as Jordan said, coming from Waterford, it must be the somewhat disheveled detective he had encountered before, Mr. Richard Kafu.

Since Richard had sent the letter to Pat Manor post-haste, it seemed he must have discovered some information.

Considering the population size and area of Waterford, for Richard, as an ordinary person, to have found results within a week, truly lived up to his reputation as a detective. Angel couldn’t help but inwardly express his admiration.

He thanked the dark knight and then rewarded him with a silver coin.

It was only after Jordan led the knight away that Angel took the letter back to the sofa.

“Who is this letter from?” Lyon asked curiously.

“A detective agency, I had asked someone to help me investigate a sailor on the White Gull,” Angel said, breaking the wax seal as he spoke.

“A sailor on the White Gull?” Lyon’s curiosity was instantly piqued, “Do you suspect that person is Rolando?”

“Not suspecting, I am almost certain that the person is not Rolando,” Angel replied casually.

“So, you’re still investigating him?” Hearing that it wasn’t Rolando, Lyon’s curiosity was doused with a splash of cold rain.

“It’s just to be on the safe side.” Angel took out the letter, and the thin piece of paper carried a faint, delicate fragrance of wisteria and orchids.

“This detective really gets the customs of the nobility,” Lyon said as he sat beside Angel and naturally also caught the scent of the cool fragrance.

Generally, the practice of specifically infusing or fumigating letter paper with scent is something only nobles, who have a passion for ceremonial presence and who pursue a finer life, would bother to do. Typically, noble families would employ a special servant for fumigation. Pat Manor had such a servant too, but after their death, this task was handed over to the personal maids.

Upon unfolding the letter, rows of neat and beautiful handwriting were revealed on the paper. Even Angel had to admit that this Richard’s writing was very beautiful.

The aesthetics of the handwriting heightened Angel’s initial lack of interest.

He began to read from the start, word by word.

By the time Angel finished reading the letter, Lyon had also seen most of it.

The gist of it was about a sailor named Fullington who came to Waterford looking for relatives. After searching for several months, he had recently found his family members and was now living in the slums of the lower city district. According to the neighbors, he would take his relatives back to Sea Moon City soon.

“Looks like you were right, this Fullington probably isn’t Rolando,” Lyon said.

After Lyon spoke, he noticed that Angel didn’t respond but saw Angel frowning and staring at the letter, seemingly deep in thought.

“What’s wrong? Is there something off about the investigation report?” Lyon asked, puzzled.

Angel fell silent for a moment, “Indeed, something isn’t right.”

“Really something not right?” Lyon took the letter from Angel’s hands and read through it again, but even after finishing, he still couldn’t spot any discrepancies.

As Lyon was perplexed, Angel asked, “When we were in Sea Moon City, White Bear gleaned some information from the other crew members on the White-headed Elder. This Fullington left Sea Moon City on the tenth day of the latter half of the Month of Repose.”

“Take a closer look at this report, when did he arrive in Waterford?”

Lyon picked up the letter and quickly found the information provided by Richard: “According to the neighbors’ clues, on the first day of the Harvest Moon, Fullington moved into the slums?!”

From the tenth day of the latter half of the Month of Repose to the first day of the Harvest Moon, the time spanned less than a week!

Moreover, that was just the neighbors providing Fullington’s move-in time. Fullington’s arrival in Waterford must have been even earlier!

The spring breeze of the Steam Revolution from the Flourish Continent’s Yirong Country hadn’t yet reached the distant other side of the sea. On the Old Earth Continent, there were no railways or steam trains; long journeys were mainly undertaken by carriage.

Lyon had been to Sea Moon City and knew all too well that even with a fast horse and continuous relay changes, the trip from Waterford to Sea Moon City would take half a month. If one were to travel leisurely, it would take at least a month.

How had Fullington managed to travel from the coastal lines of the Goldfinch Empire to the inland areas in less than a week?

“There’s definitely something fishy here; could this Fullington really be Rolando?” Lyon inquired.

“In the records by Richard, it states that Fullington had a quarrel with someone two months ago, resulting in a fight where both parties were injured to varying degrees. Considering how Transcendents regard their own dignity, I think it’s unlikely that Fullington is Rolando.” Angel paused, “However, there are indeed some suspicious points about Fullington that require personal verification.”

Fullington was very likely connected to certain Transcendents, of course, Rolando being one of them. But given that there are more Transcendents on the Old Earth Continent than just Rolando, it’s still too early to draw conclusions.

“I shall go to Waterford now to take a look.” Angel stood up, ready to leave.

“Wait, if that person really is Rolando, he might be involved with King Gumman… Although I don’t know how formidable King Gumman is, even the Mentor showed fear when mentioning him. So it’s better if you don’t go alone,” Lyon said with worry in his eyes.

Even though Angel still insisted that Fullington wasn’t Rolando, Lyon was right; it would be best to report this matter to the Mentor first.

Just as Angel was about to find Sanders, he saw Sanders, Suise, and White Bear enter from the outside.

White Bear looked surprised to see Angel: “I was just about to look for you in your room, but here you are in the hall already.”

Looking for me for what? Angel was puzzled, but he didn’t dwell on that for now and instead handed the letter to Sanders: “I had a detective investigate Fullington before, and the news has arrived.”

Sanders was aware of this matter, but Angel’s earnest manner of handing it to him implied there were doubts regarding this Fullington, right?

Without saying anything, Sanders picked up the letter and started to read.

White Bear had encountered Richard together with Angel, so he was well aware of the investigation. Looking at Angel suspiciously, he asked softly, “Did that sloppy detective really dig up something?”

“It’s hard to say, I need to verify it in person.”

Hearing Angel’s response, White Bear was stunned. At the time, he had been somewhat skeptical of the man named Richard. Could it be that he had brought some unexpected news?

Although he didn’t know the contents of the letter, given Sanders’ flickering eyes and Angel’s solemn expression, White Bear suddenly had a premonition—perhaps the tail of that Rolando had really been caught by a mortal detective…