Chapter 667

If the "Dream Festival" truly has fixed dates as I suspect, it should be one or several days in the coming days...

For the next few nights, I'll sleep every night in the "Siso" house to avoid missing the Dream Festival, and I must also gather as much information as possible about the basic rules of that strange dream—like how to exit the dream normally without entering the primeval forest...

Lu Mi closed the golden-shell pocket watch and placed it inside the shirt pocket hidden beneath his waistcoat.

He did not continue sleeping there; instead, he descended the stairs and entered the streets of Tizamo Town—first, because in twenty minutes it would be time for Ludwig to have his second midnight snack, and according to their agreement, if Lu Mi didn't return on time, Ludwig would come to forcibly wake him; second, he needed to report his current findings to the "Magician" lady.

As Lu Mi stepped out of the "Siso" house, a voice suddenly came from behind:

"What exactly are you investigating?"

From the shadowed corner untouched by the crimson moonlight stepped Giam Castiglia, wearing a white shirt and an unbuttoned yellow waistcoat, his tousled hair disheveled from sleeplessness.

The young leader of the Patrol Team's combat squad from Pelos Port had been waiting here all along.

Lu Mi was not the least surprised, as if he had sensed it all along; he answered without addressing the question:

"Many scenes appear differently by day and by night."

"Indeed." Giam had handled numerous occult incidents matching this description; the simplest and most common case was that certain haunted houses behaved perfectly normal under sunlight.

As Lu Mi walked toward the Brieu Inn, he smiled and teased Giam:

"Have you been staying awake all night, lurking in the shadows outside the inn, watching my movements?"

"How exhausting—be careful you don't drop dead."

Had he not known that Louis Berry had close ties to the "Fool" Church and didn't mind being followed, Giam would have thought this teasing was a warning.

Do you think I want this? Giam gave a self-deprecating laugh:

"I'm on duty tonight; tomorrow it'll be Maxlo or Reya."

Lu Mi stopped chatting, as if lost in thought, walking step by step back to the Brieu Inn.

Giam wanted to press further but dared not speak.

He then saw the great adventurer pause at the inn's entrance, his back turned, speaking calmly:

"Tevanako mentioned a term before he died: 'Dream Festival.'"

"I found traces inside his house—confirming that Tizamo Town harbors a special dream."

"Gather all local folk legends related to dreams in this area as quickly as possible and send them to me."

"Uh..." Giam was first bewildered, then suddenly alert, as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped on him on a scorching summer day.

Of course there was more to Tevanako's case—of course something major was hidden here! Giam wasn't overly surprised, but his heart tightened.

He answered instinctively:

"Alright."

Only after agreeing did Giam realize he had unconsciously obeyed Louis Berry's orders—as if the man were the Patrol Team's captain.

After watching Lu Mi enter the Brieu Inn, Giam analyzed why he had reacted that way.

He believed the cause lay both in the intimidation of Lu Mi's strength and in the accumulated reputation and reliability from past deeds.

"I need to send a telegram to Pelos Port requesting support..."

"Also, quickly familiarize myself with Tizamo Town—try to transfer my jurisdiction here within a few days..."

After deciding on the next few tasks, Giam sighed again:

Ever since meeting Louis Berry, the problems have never stopped!

I came to Tizamo Town just to monitor his behavior and prevent accidents—how did I end up investigating the Dream Festival?

………

Inside the second-floor suite of the Brieu Inn.

Lu Mi greeted Ludwig, who wore a child's sleep cap and had just walked to the dining table, then returned to the master bedroom.

He hadn't yet begun thinking about how to write his letter to the "Magician" lady when he noticed a folded square of paper on the desk.

A reply after midnight—this was indeed the "Magician" lady's style... Lu Mi chuckled inwardly, picked up the letter, and conjured a sphere of blazing white fire above his head.

—Tizamo Town had no gas lighting.

Under the blazing white light, Lu Mi unfolded the paper and read:

"I have completed the astrological reading and received some insights regarding the remaining parts of the 'Pus-Swollen Severed Hand':"

"Its remaining body is divided into three parts: one is highly likely in the Underworld, and the other two are closely tied to the capital of Lemburg, Isaara—but not actually located there. This reminds me of the 'Exile City' Morola, where the '0—01' is sealed; it too has the same trait—present in Lemburg, yet not in Lemburg."

"My interpretation is that the two remaining parts of the 'Pus-Swollen Severed Hand' are within the 'Exile City' Morola."

"Doesn't this seem too coincidental?"

"No, not at all. My astrological reading shows that three months ago, those two parts were still one in the burial grounds of the Pas Kingdom in the South Continent, and the other tied to a folk legend in the Zhongnan region."

"Do you understand my meaning now?"

This... three months ago... As the "Conspirator," Lu Mi instantly understood what the "Magician" lady meant:

"When I accepted the data on '0—01,' the most terrifying sealed object, and pretended to be Ludwig's godfather, I effectively accepted the Olive Branch extended by the Church of Knowledge—I agreed to pay a certain price for it..."

"Then, the Church of Knowledge dispatched a high-ranking figure to retrieve two of the remaining parts of the 'Pus-Swollen Severed Hand' and hide them within the 'Exile City' Morola."

"What is this called? It's called: you must go, whether you want to or not—unless you abandon the hope of ascending to Sequence 4 and becoming a demigod."

"Heh, my agreement with the 'Pus-Swollen Severed Hand' was that I could never gain divinity until I recovered its entire body—this blocks any path to becoming a demigod through divine grace without consuming a serum..."

Fortunately, Lu Mi did not resist visiting the 'Exile City' Morola before becoming a demigod; he felt no frustration or annoyance, but rather saw it as saving him considerable trouble.

After brief thought, he continued reading the rest of the letter:

"My astrological reading also indicates that once the 'Pus-Swollen Severed Hand's' body is fully reunited, dangerous events will occur. You should complete this step within the 'Exile City,' using the presence of '0—01' to offset the risk."

"In other words, you must first locate the part of the body in the Underworld."

"Hmm, within the next three months, you should have an opportunity to enter the Underworld. Seize it. Don't ask me what opportunity—I don't know."

An opportunity to enter the Underworld within the next three months... Lu Mi repeated this crucial piece of information.

He was delighted, yet found the phrasing odd—because "entering the Underworld" and "going to hell" were two different phrases meaning the same thing. In this world, aside from a few, no one would calmly accept the statement, "You have an opportunity to go to hell in three months." After all, many people used "May you go to hell soon!" as a curse.

He had no time now to ponder what opportunity might allow him to enter the Underworld; he burned the "Magician" lady's reply, wrote down tonight's findings and his suspicions about the Dream Festival, and planned to mail them to his Major Arcana card tomorrow at noon.

—Though he always felt the "Magician" lady's "schedule" resembled Franca's, he still wasn't sure if this was a convenient time to send a letter.

………

North Continent, Trier.

Winter sunlight pierced the glass window, spilling into the living room, driving away some of the cold and bringing warmth.

Franca lay comfortably in her armchair, eyes half-open, savoring the moment.

Suddenly, she sensed something and sharply pulled her legs back, sitting upright.

She then saw a human skull, seemingly forged from pure silver and radiating a soft glow, emerge from the darkness in the corner, its eye sockets burning with pale flames.

"The messenger of Lady Hela..." Franca stared at the silver skull as it unclasped its teeth, letting a single sheet of paper drift toward her.

She caught the paper and quickly scanned it:

"'007' says he hasn't been able to contact you for four days. He asked me to confirm your condition."

Four days... I haven't logged into the telegraph group for four days... Franca let out a dry chuckle.

What is this called?

It's called: sleeping early and rising late keeps you healthy—now the emperor no longer rises early!

At dawn, Franca sat before the analysis machine connected to the radio transmitter and receiver, while Jianna finally had the chance to venture out under cover of night to seek opportunities to embody the "Witch."

Tap-tap-tap, Franca sent her first telegram in days:

"Sumeria, your emperor has returned!"

Soon after, the mechanical typewriter driven by the analysis machine clacked out a reply from "007":

"'Sleeve Dagger,' where have you been these past few days?"

Cough, cough, Franca cleared her throat and replied:

"Isn't it unhealthy to sleep late every night? Don't you have anyone important in this world?"

"Don't bring up such melancholy topics..."

"'Sleeve Dagger,' have you been practicing the assassination secret of 'Heart-Cutting the Soul'?"

"..."

Other members of the telegraph group protested.

After a while, a telegram arrived from "007":

"I've gathered sufficient intelligence on the previous matter. Let's arrange a time to meet."

"Also, the proposal to trade stories for items has been approved by the higher-ups."

Franca paused, her fingers moving faster than her thoughts as she replied:

"How long has it been since you made this decision? I'd already forgotten about it..."

After all, it was Lu Mi who wanted to learn the story of that humanoid sealed object, not her.

"007" replied with a tone of resignation:

"Can't be helped. Large, established organizations always move this slowly."

"Exactly! Whether official or secret, any old organization is the same—bureaucracy is unbearable!" another group member, "Moon King," agreed.

After arranging to meet tomorrow night to exchange materials on Moran Avini and discuss preliminary assassination plans, Franca stood up and stretched her back.

She wrote both of "007"'s points into a letter, then performed the ritual and summoned Lu Mi's messenger, "Penitent" Bayinfei.

………

South Continent, Tizamo Town.

Lu Mi, about to go sleep in the "Siso" house, saw his messenger emerge from the darkness and hand him a letter.

After receiving the letter, Lu Mi noticed that "Penitent" Bayinfei did not depart immediately as usual, returning to the Spirit Realm, but slowly looked around.

(End of chapter)