Chapter 284: Red and Black |
The former office of the Funeral Firm was now in complete disarray.
Cleos, the ‘Weeping Red Cap’, gently landed on the balcony, the blue flames of her Yuheng Boots quickly extinguished.
Although as a Sanctuary Sorcerer she had long been able to soar the skies with her wings, Red Caps start their Training with Yuheng flight from One Wing. Cleos, with over thirty years of experience in Yuheng, naturally preferred to tread the heavens with her feet.
Azura, the foremost Red Cap, strode into the living room, parting the Moonlit Harmony Home Firm’s agents to make way for her.
Several Red Caps followed her inside and saw the firm’s agents rummaging through everything. They immediately shouted, “What are you doing? According to—”
“According to the ‘Public Safety Management Regulations’, when citizens apprehend a fugitive in an act of valor, we have the right to search the fugitive’s belongings for intelligence.”
On the only red leather armchair in the living room, which had not been completely destroyed by Shot Bullets, sat an elderly woman. Her gaunt figure, minimal makeup that did not conceal her wrinkles, dark circles under her eyes, dry thin lips, and a plain red shawl over a simple cloth dress… Despite her negligent appearance care, her presence was undiminished.
She closed the Gospel she held and said, “Now that the Red Caps are here, you may hand over the scene to them. Children, put down what you are holding and do not disturb the work of the Red Caps.”
“Ina Aldo.”
“Is that so?”
Ina slowly stood up, facing the tall Red Cap Elf, the gaunt elderly woman lifting her head to meet Cleos’ gaze.
The atmosphere in the living room instantly tensed, filled with the scent of gunpowder. The firm’s agents and the Red Caps subtly unlocked the safeties of their Handguns, searching for the best shooting positions. This battered living room seemed poised to endure a second, even more brutal, assault.
If anyone despised firms the most, it would undoubtedly be the Red Caps.
For the Red Caps, firms were nothing but pests who often exploited loopholes in the Gospel, engaging in unsavory wet work, and frequently requiring the Red Caps to clean up their messes—such as the recent case of the Orc Sorcerer’s murder, which was clearly the handiwork of a firm.
Among them, Ina from the Moonlit Harmony Home Firm, known as Baroness Cicada, was particularly loathed by the Red Caps.
Unlike other more low-key firms, Moonlit Harmony advertised all over the city and had committed several shocking mass murder cases in Azura using their unique exploitation of legal loopholes. It was like spitting in the face of the Red Caps, yet the Gospel could not pin them down.
The most law-abiding Red Caps couldn’t find a single clue or even let off steam, and it would be odd if Cleos ever showed them a friendly face.
But Baroness Cicada, Ina, was also a Tri-wings Sanctuary Sorcerer, and with her mastery of the Gospel’s loopholes, she had dominated Azura for decades starting from scratch. Despite having no official title, she was revered as ‘Baroness’… Indeed, the Moonlit Harmony Home Firm was no lesser than the Red Caps.
In the tense standoff, Cleos stood her ground, but the mist in her eyes thickened, as if she was about to burst into tears at any moment.
Seeing this, Ina stepped back and flipped open the Gospel to a page: “This is a compensation contract between the Funeral Firm and the Moonlit Harmony Home Firm, which has been overdue for 26 years. Therefore, I am here as a creditor to enforce collection, not as an illegal intruder destroying property.”
Cleos glanced at it, her expression darkening: “Lex Dolan in July 1631 subscribed to the ‘Communication Message’ service of Ashe Communication Company, and has failed to clear the service fees on time, now owing… Hasn’t Ashe Communication Company gone out of business? It’s quite something that you managed to dig up this debt.”
“Adhering to the law is the foundation of our firm’s operation,” Ina stated. “If you’ll excuse me.”
“Wait,” Cleos said. “Bring in the person who ordered the attack on Ashe. The Red Caps need their cooperation for the investigation.”
“It is their honor.” Ina did not refuse, beckoning Menard and Leman to come over: “However, their spirits have been severely traumatized, and they need to go home to Rest. Therefore, they cannot return with you for the investigation. Ask your questions here—unless you can produce a warrant to assist in the investigation right now.”
Cleos looked at the two men and realized that Ina was not merely stalling her.
Menard and Leman were both draped in hot towels. Leman’s throat showed significant discoloration, clearly having just undergone emergency treatment. Yet, beyond their physical appearance, the terror deep in their eyes was the most glaring wound.
They did not look at Cleos, their gazes locked on some distant, intangible point, still immersed in their inner worlds, utterly unable to attend to the changes in reality.
“What happened to you?”
It was like they had been pricked by a needle; the two shivered like frightened hamsters.
They were not resisting Cleos’s questions, but were desperately trying to contain the monsters struggling to break free within them—monsters that had already corroded their minds, warped their worldviews, and tainted their nerves. The bloodshot in their eyes was a distress signal sent to the outside world from their self-awareness.
Fleeing had not taken them out of danger; it had only plunged them more quickly into a nightmare.
“Ashe Heath…”
“What?”
“Ashe Heath!”
Menard clutched Cleos’s shoulders, and the Weeping Red Cap did not push away this nearly hysterical young man: “Kill him, you must kill him, or it’ll be too late, too late!”
Leman collapsed weakly to the floor, and then a foul smell began to spread—she had urinated.
Cleos’s expression remained unchanged: “…the influence of the Demonic Trench Coat and Twisted Mask?”
“Most likely,” Ina said. “But according to the Art Ranking, the Demonic Trench Coat is supposed to prevent malice, and the Twisted Mask enhances first impressions and disrupts probing… However, as you can see, there is a significant discrepancy between the Item descriptions and their actual effects.”
“Perhaps the Ranking List did not fully explain the rewards, or perhaps… the Coat and Mask indeed have only those functions, but the presence of the holder has caused their power to undergo a qualitative change.”
“I was uncertain of which possibility it was,” the elderly woman said. “But since the Empire has issued a warrant, it means that the capital, Nabistin, already knows the correct answer.”
Cleos gestured for Menard and Leman to be taken away and spoke calmly, “Ina, what are you suggesting?”
“Let’s cooperate.”
The Baroness’s voice was deep yet clear, rich but not muddled, slow yet compelling: “The Mermaid adheres to neutrality and will never break the rules. Miss Dolan has been running the Firm for many years; dealing with Red Caps is a basic Occupation skill for us… You need us, and we need you.”
“What do you want?” Cleos’s expression conveyed more disgust than her words.
“To exploit the Loophole Annan has discovered, to gain access to those foreigners, to have a hand in the Weaving Festival,” Ina explained. “I have no intention of hiding my motives, just as you have never concealed your desire for the rankings—but we both know, these are merely our personal interests.”
“The Gospel is our common interest.”
The city’s most formidable elderly woman enunciated every word: “Without the Gospel, we are nothing. We are all children of the Gospel, thriving only because of its nourishment.”
“Now the Gospel is calling for our help, why should we not do our part?”
“Now it’s our turn to repay the Gospel.” Cicada extended her hand to the Weeping Red Cap. “Let’s save the world together.”
Cleos was silent for a moment, then suddenly summoned her Gospel.
The Baroness realized something: “I’ve heard that Miss Dolan and the Weeping Red Cap are friends…”
“She is my best friend,” Cleos declared. “I cannot make this decision alone.”
Soon, Cleos heard the answer from the Gospel.
Tears quickly gathered in the eyes of the Weeping Red Cap, streaming down her cheeks, yet her smile was both sorrowful and joyful.
“Did the Gospel tell you to kill your friend?”
“No.”
Cleos gently shook her head, grasping Ina’s hand.
“The Gospel only told me that if I could fulfill the Empire’s warrant, I could directly top the national Red Cap rankings.”
“As my best friend,” Cleos sniffled, “Annan will understand.”
“Because the Gospel says she must understand.”
For the first time, the red and black of Azura blended into a new color.
