Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader

"Southern Continent?" This was the first time Xio had heard of such a place, and she looked at Vera with confusion.

"I received a mission a few days ago to escort a valuable item to a colony in the Southern Continent… There might be danger along the way, so I hadn't planned on bringing you with me. However, the Capim case is far more complicated than it seems. If I'm not in Backlund, I can't guarantee your safety…"

Vera paused briefly, refraining from elaborating further, before continuing, "You should stay in the dormitory at headquarters tonight. Tomorrow morning, say your goodbyes to your friends, pack your luggage, and meet me at the train station. We'll depart for Pritz Harbor at 1 PM."

Xio could feel Her Highness Vera's genuine concern, and her heart warmed slightly. However, after pursing her lips, she couldn't stop herself from asking, "Behind Capim… are there people from our MI9? Or perhaps high-ranking officials within the kingdom?"

"All plans were carried out in Mr. Fool's Kingdom, and the ones who took direct action were Mr. Fool's Favored Ones. I shouldn't be under suspicion… Yet, Her Highness Vera still believes they might target me. Could it be because of my father?

Is this enormous force, entrenched within MI9 and even the upper echelons of the kingdom, the true mastermind behind framing my father?"

Xio couldn't stop her thoughts from spiraling.

"You are not yet qualified to know so much," Vera said, shaking her head and refusing to answer.

The response echoed what Ebner had been telling her all along.

What had her father discovered? Why did Capim kidnap that girl? Was she meant to be sacrificed to an evil god?

After a brief silence, Xio nodded. "I understand."

"After this escort mission, you should have accumulated enough contributions to obtain the final material for advancing to 'Judge'."

Noticing Xio's gloomy expression, Vera added the reminder with a faint smile, which managed to lift Xio's spirits slightly.

After Xio left the office, Vera stood up and walked to the window. Her gaze fell upon the sprawling palaces and the towering Gothic clock tower dominating the skyline of Queens. She let out a faint sigh:

"Black Emperor? Is such sneaky, deceitful behavior truly worthy of that title?

"Let alone His Majesty Solomon… You can't even compare to Roselle's boldness."

...

Following Vera's advice, Xio didn't return home. Instead, she headed straight to the MI9 dormitory. She was no stranger to the place, having spent countless nights here after long interrogations.

After a quick wash, Xio lay down on the narrow bed. Her thoughts drifted back to the events surrounding the Capim Villa incident.

Two Saints had suddenly descended. Mr. Fool's Favored Ones had appeared on the rooftops as if deliberately provoking them, only to vanish without a trace under the Saints' watchful eyes.

The mangled bodies in the villa, tarot cards scattered across the remains…

The overwhelming blessing of Mr. Fool's Angel that had shielded her and Hazel…

The terrifying moment when they were almost taken away for "interrogation."

"If Her Highness Vera hadn't intervened personally, I'd probably still be in the custody of the Augustus Family's Saint."

These thoughts swirled in Xio's mind until, slowly, she drifted off to sleep.

She wasn't sure how long she had been sleeping when suddenly, she saw a sacred and radiant light.

The light condensed into a humanoid figure, twelve pairs of dark wings unfurling majestically from its back.

The wings folded inward, wrapping her in their embrace.

Xio woke with a start, instantly aware that she was dreaming—but not an ordinary dream. She realized that someone had invaded her dream!

She could feel something shadowy and sinister wandering in the gray sky above. Thoughts and memories surged uncontrollably from the depths of her mind, forming vivid scenes in the dream.

Most prominent were the events of the past few weeks:

Receiving a commission from Mr. Skade, investigating alongside Hazel and Freya, and capturing Capim's men who had targeted Hazel.

In her dream, Xio forced herself to remain calm. She focused her mind and attempted to control her thoughts, realizing—much to her relief—that it wasn't as difficult as she had feared.

In East Borough, Xio, whose dream was invaded by a dragon, quickly calmed down, tried to control her thoughts, and found that it wasn't difficult.

So, she hid her memories involving the Tarot Club, leaving only those parts that aligned with her actions in reality.

Of course, to cover up any flaws she might have revealed in front of the Saint, Xio rewrote the events surrounding the death of the man with red spots on his face. She made it seem like she had attempted to break through the restrictions in his mind but failed, and in anger, beat him to death before disguising it as suicide out of fear of punishment.

At that moment, Xio suddenly heard a familiar cold snort, and her dream began to turn chaotic, as if it had lost its guiding force.

She recognized this as a sign that the intruder had left.

After forcibly escaping the dream, although Xio was fully awake, she kept her eyes closed and maintained her sleeping posture to mislead potential enemies. She quietly thought:

Was that last voice... Her Highness Vera?

Can the Disciplinary Paladin also detect dream invasions?

...

In a villa not far from the Capim family estate in the Cherwood Borough, a mature middle-aged man with golden eyes looked at the embarrassed figure emerging from the void and asked with a smile, "What happened? Even entering the dream of a Sequence 7 is dangerous now?"

"Is Her Highness Vera really just a Disciplinary Paladin? If she hadn't recognized who I was, I might have been killed on the spot..." the embarrassed figure said in a low voice.

"Vera is His Majesty's youngest and most favored sister. It's entirely normal for her to carry some powerful magical items or protective charms." The middle-aged man chuckled and shook his head before asking, "Did you discover anything?"

"No... The girl from the Dere family actually knows nothing. Even Capim's men provoked them... The reason she looked uneasy when she saw you was probably because she had just accidentally killed someone."

The embarrassed figure recounted what he had seen in Xio's dream and added, "I've also verified these details in the dream of the girl named Hazel... It's essentially the same. However, there was a very powerful spirit beside Hazel... likely a creation of the Church of Mother Earth. My current embarrassment is partly thanks to it."

"A powerful spirit? What did it look like?" The middle-aged man's thoughts drifted to the black figure that had suddenly vanished, and he asked with a flash of insight.

The person who had invaded Xio's dream shook his head and said, "It couldn't have been that. It lacked the power of the Black Emperor."

"You should be aware that the ghost that attacked Capim carried the aura of a true Black Emperor. That's the main reason His Majesty ordered a thorough investigation."

The middle-aged man nodded silently, then sighed:

"That ghost's anti-divination ability is incredibly strong. Neither I, Snake, nor any other lords in the military skilled in divination have managed to uncover any useful clues... Even when we focused on the lost Roselle's Grip, we failed.

"So, the only clues we have are the Joker, who scattered tarot cards in the Lanevus case, and the Iron Man, who also appeared back then.

'Dark Emperor', 'Iron Man', 'Joker'... Is this some new organization, using tarot cards as their symbol and posing as so-called 'heroes'?"

...

After interrogating the man who sold the medicine, Ebner and Bayam roughly understood why they had been targeted. In short, their deterrent power wasn't sufficient, and they occupied a manor that others coveted, drawing unwanted attention.

I originally planned to keep a low profile during my time in Bayam... Why must you force my hand?

Ebner sighed, used the Nightmare ability to put the drug seller into a deep sleep, then lifted the spiritual blockade and opened the carriage door.

Helene, who had listened to the entire interrogation, stepped out of the carriage and couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Bryan, where are you going?"

"To 'solve' the problem, of course!" Ebner turned around and gave a "kind" smile.

(End of this chapter)