Lord of the Mysteries: I Married the Queen Mystic

The name 'Leader' was quite renowned in Backlund's intelligence circles. Coupled with the fact that Odis was escorting Xio Derecha for MI9 this time, several of Cyril's superiors came out personally to greet him...

The official in charge was the director of the Operations Department, a portly man in his forties with a moustache, "Mr. Leader, please, come in, come in!"

Odis raised his hand, not needing any introduction, and said, "Director Danesi, let's talk right here."

Both of them worked in intelligence, and though they had never met, they had undoubtedly seen each other's resumes and profiles.

Odis turned slightly and introduce, "This is Miss Derecha. She accepted Hound's commission to investigate Bruce's case. During the investigation, she encountered a pursuit for unknown reasons and asked me for help. I brought her here. Due to your commission, Miss Derecha has encountered many inconveniences. Because of this, I have three demands."

Danesi, the director of the Operations Department, quickly said, "Please, go ahead."

"First, this commission was overly dangerous. Double the reward," Odis said.

As he spoke, he looked at one of Danesi's subordinates, a man in his thirties with short hair and a very prominent Adam's apple, as if he had an egg stuck in his throat.

From the other's expression and gaze, Odis sensed an anger that was being forcefully suppressed. But he had never seen this person before, nor did he remember offending him, so he didn't pay it much mind.

Meanwhile, Danesi immediately asked those who had accompanied him, "How much was the bounty promised at the time?"

One of his subordinates replied, "The bounty offered at the Mysticism Research Society was 20 pounds."

Danesi said readily, "I'll give 50 pounds."

Odis continued, "Second, tomorrow at noon, Miss Derecha will be treating me to lunch to thank me for the protection I provided. I hope your investigation does not affect our lunch together, nor will you use any Beyonder means to interrogate her!"

Xio had not made any such promise beforehand, but she understood this was an excuse to ensure MI9 would release her by tomorrow noon.

She then began to consider: 'How should I thank Mr. Leader?'

Danesi immediately said, "I know what you're worried about. For a talented individual like Miss Derecha, we would prefer to develop her as an informant, not persecute her."

Odis continued, "Third, for the near future, you must protect her and her family while minimizing the impact on their normal lives."

"That goes without saying," Danesi said with a smile, "It's also highly likely we will find other clues during the protection period."

Odis extended his hand, smiled, and said, "Mr. Danesi, it was a pleasure meeting you today. Your subordinates are excellent, calm in handling matters, and strong-willed. I believe this is inseparable from your outstanding leadership."

Danesi also eagerly shook Odis's hand, "You flatter me. It's your actions that are admirable. I don't even know how to thank you for your help today."

The two shook hands vigorously, appearing very close, like old friends who had known each other for over a decade...

"Our cooperation has always been very pleasant," Odis smiled and added, "Our respective goals have never really conflicted."

Danesi nodded, "You are right. But the gratitude that needs to be expressed must still be expressed. I will send someone to deliver it shortly."

"How can I possibly accept that?"

"It is what you deserve."

"..."

After a good deal of back-and-forth, Odis finally took his leave.

Danesi immediately arranged for a carriage to send 'Leader' off.

He stood at the entrance of the courtyard, watching the carriage disappear into the distance, then said to his subordinates, "Please escort Miss Derecha inside so she can give her statement."

After Xio followed one of the subordinates into MI9, the smile on Danesi's face vanished instantly. He said to his subordinates, "Upgrade the threat assessment for 'Leader'. Dispatch a higher-level investigation team to look into his background."

He had just heard from Cyril that the Machinery Hivemind had issued 'Leader' a powerful Beyonder weapon, while MI9 didn't even know what 'Leader' looked like yet. Such a figure warranted sufficient attention...

...

Odis returned to Unit 199 Hailin Avenue and, sure enough, received the 'gratitude' from MI9... It was a Good Citizen Award certificate and a 60 pound bonus.

He laughed, "This guy is really just going through the motions."

Odis had long heard that this Danesi was a man who appeared amiable on the surface but was sinister and cunning behind the scenes. But he hadn't expected the guy to be so stingy too!

After pondering for a moment, he had an attendant post the award certificate in the most prominent place in the living room. Then, after giving each of the two attendants a 1 pound bonus, he left using the Teleportation Array in the basement...

...

Taking a carriage back to the herbal shop, Odis first applied some bruise-reducing liniment to his chest.

Feeling much more comfortable, he continued crafting Flamebolts.

That evening, he stayed at another stronghold, Unit 176 Riverbay Avenue.

By his calculations, Chipman's accomplices should have found Simon by now.

....

~North Borough, Unit 16 Ernst Avenue, Rosewood Pavilion~

Late in the evening, upon hearing that Lord Ashbourne had come to visit in person, Lady Mandy, who wore a professional suit and looked quite dignified, had an attendant usher him into her office...

Prior to this, Ashbourne's steward had come twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Following Mr. Gale's instructions, Mandy had not met with him either time.

When she saw the news about the fire at Lord Ashbourne's house in the newspaper that morning, Mandy wasn't surprised, as Mr. Gale had already decided to warn Ashbourne yesterday afternoon.

What did surprise her, however, was that Mr. Gale had achieved the goal of the warning without having her commission Extraordinary mercenaries.

All day, Mandy had been pondering this matter, feeling uneasy. Resolving this warning without going through her suggested that Mr. Gale was somewhat disappointed with her previous slowness. She had been reflecting on this all day, realizing that she had indeed become somewhat lax in her intelligence work at some point.

Mr. Gale solving the problem through other channels this time was undoubtedly a warning to her!

Just then, an attendant knocked on the door, indicating that Lord Ashbourne had been brought in.

Mandy snapped back to attention, took a deep breath, and focused on dealing with Ashbourne.

In her view, the fact that Mr. Gale left the decision of whether Ashbourne's matter was concluded to her showed that Mr. Gale still trusted her relatively well. She certainly could not betray this trust from Mr. Gale.

Ashbourne brought a land deed. He said he greatly admired Mr. Gale's efforts for the women of Backlund and had therefore purchased the large commercial property to the left of the Rosewood Pavilion to gift to Mr. Gale as a token of his respect.

Mandy felt Ashbourne was very sincere, so she accepted the land deed and chose to reconcile with this lord.

Ashbourne also finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking: 'I can finally sleep soundly.'

....

Around 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Xio Derecha finally returned to the apartment she shared with Fors. She wore a knight's outfit, with her hair messy and slightly greasy from staying up late.

Fors, who was dressed casually, had to meet a writing deadline today, so she had gotten up early. Seeing Xio return, she quickly asked, "Xio, what important commission were you investigating last night? You didn't even come back all night..."

Last night, Xio had asked MI9 personnel to send a letter to Fors, but many things couldn't be said explicitly. The letter only said she was doing some investigation at night and wouldn't be back.

As this wasn't the first time she had a night mission, Fors didn't think much of it, assuming Xio's circumstances at the time limited the details she could include in the letter.

Xio yawned and said, "I went to MI9 yesterday!"

Fors shot up, looked Xio over again, and asked with deep concern, "Are... are you alright?"

It was said that lynchings were rampant there, and even judicial authorities had no right to intervene. For a wild Beyonder like Xio with no backing, being caught and taken there almost meant no chance of coming out alive.

Xio waved her hand, "I'm fine..."

She recounted her experiences from yesterday afternoon. To be honest, even she found it somewhat surreal.

Being chased by a Sequence 7 leading a team, yet only suffering minor injuries. She'd been brought into MI9 to give her statement, and everyone had been polite to her.

'Leader'! All of this was because of 'Leader'! It was 'Leader' who repelled that Sequence 7 and escorted her safely to MI9. It was him who negotiated with MI9 on her behalf, ensuring they didn't use any private punishment or Beyonder interrogation on her.

Thinking of this, Xio said seriously, "It's thanks to Leader's protection, otherwise this commission would definitely have gotten me into big trouble!"

Fors nodded, "We really should thank 'Leader', but... but the 50 pound bounty you earned, 'Leader' probably wouldn't even glance at it, right? How should we thank him?"

Xio said, "At the time, 'Leader' used me treating him to a meal as an excuse to get MI9 to release me this morning. I thought about it and decided I'll do just that. I'll treat him to a meal."

Fors was slightly taken aback, "Really? Just a meal? What else?"

Fors glanced at her friend's flat chest, "I mean... That face of yours is somewhat cute, but as for your figure? Except for some perverts, no one would be interested in you."

Xio rolled her eyes, "Thanks for the compliment!"

....

By Wednesday morning, Odis had finally completed the orders for the Queen Mystic and Klein...

Feeling relaxed, he wrote a letter to the Queen Mystic's subordinate, Aelia, informing her she could come pick up the goods anytime.

He then prayed to the Fool, asking him to relay to 'The World' that the weapons he needed were ready.

Soon, 'The World' replied, hoping to complete the transaction immediately.

So, Odis offered a brand new Flamebolt, along with a letter recording the formula and process for crafting its bullets, as a sacrifice to the Fool.

A few minutes later, Odis used a Bestowal ritual to receive 600 pounds in cash, completing this order.

Odis was just about to go out and buy some Feynapotterian grilled fish or Desi barbecue to reward himself, when his pocket watch suddenly lit up...

He immediately guessed it was probably Xio really wanting to treat him to lunch.

Unfortunately, the character "Leader" was, after all, fabricated. So it was best not to go out for meals with others, as it would expose many of Odis's personal habits.

So, Odis took out a 5 soli note and had his assistant, Kain, go buy grilled fish and barbecue. He then took a carriage to Unit 77 Hilton Avenue, disguised himself as 'Leader', and used the basement's Teleportation Array to go meet Xio...