“The details all match up,” Ms. Cecil said after listening to Jack's account.
“According to the files from Landon, the portrait and description also match perfectly.”
Hearing this, Jack finally let out a long sigh of relief.
He felt as if the resonant sword of Damocles hanging over his head, which could fall at any moment, had finally shifted aside by an inch.
“However, Mr. Soren.”
The voice coming from the bird's beak became cold once more.
“I must still ask you to leave this vicinity for the time being.”
Jack's heart, which had just settled, instantly leapt back into his throat.
“Those words you overheard outside the door earlier, I expect you to keep them entirely to yourself.”
Ms. Cecil's tone grew solemn.
“The following conversation is strictly confidential.”
“And I don't think you want to know the price of leaking it.”
Jack nodded repeatedly.
“Understood! Understood! Ma'am, I'm leaving right now. I've already forgotten how many fish I caught today!”
As if granted a grand amnesty, he ran to a spot twenty meters away and stood there staring blankly at the sea like a student in timeout.
“Damn it!”
Ms. Cecil cursed.
“Rockland, you are my informant now!”
“Such an important survivor, a living clue to the Landon massacre, why didn't you report this to me sooner?!”
Elias shrugged helplessly, his face a picture of pure innocence.
“Ms. Cecil, be reasonable.”
“I only found out last night that this kid planned to stay here.”
“Before that, I thought he was just free labor sent by the Wayland Company to share my unpaid workload.”
“Besides, I had to do a background check first, right?”
“You must understand the severity of the situation.”
The special envoy's voice sank, and the surrounding air seemed to grow a few degrees colder.
“Those lunatics from the Mist Veil Society are currently searching the entire world for anyone with Fortville blood.”
“I know.”
Elias nodded.
“You knew?”
The raven twisted its head to a bizarre angle, its eyes filled with a fierce light.
“You knew, and you didn't tell me sooner?!”
Ms. Cecil said, annoyed.
“I also just found out,” Elias muttered, curling his lip.
“...”
A few seconds later, Ms. Cecil finally seemed to calm herself down.
“Although the curse on Mr. Soren does indeed have a slight concealing effect, reducing the probability of those cultists finding him through bloodline rituals,”
Ms. Cecil spoke coldly.
“The tracking spells of the Origin Web are incredibly varied and bizarre. It is not entirely impossible for them to find him.”
“You had better be careful.”
Elias curled his lip indifferently and nodded in agreement.
But suddenly, a nerve in his brain labeled 'protective older brother' throbbed.
He suddenly realized something.
Since Ms. Cecil had already arrived at Hastings Port...
Then...
“Wait!”
Elias's expression instantly changed.
As if propelled by a spring, he bolted upright from his wooden chair.
“If you're here, where is my sister?!”
His voice rose sharply, filled with undisguised panic and anger.
“You didn't bring her along, did you?!”
“Hey!”
“What are you saying, Rockland?!”
Ms. Cecil's voice sounded somewhat annoyed.
“We made a promise back in Hope County.”
“Of course I wouldn't bring her here!”
“Calm down, kid.”
Ms. Cecil snorted coldly, continuing to speak through the raven's beak.
“Didn't I tell you before?”
“Charlotte has good talent, but she still has a lot to learn before she can officially join the Seventh Agency.”
“The supernatural world is no playground for little girls.”
“Therefore, she must temporarily remain at the Hope County branch.”
“That's good, that's good...”
Elias patted his chest and let out a long sigh of relief.
Only then did he calm down and slowly sit back down on the wooden chair he had been reading in.
“Wait, something's not right.”
Elias crossed his arms, adopting a slow, deliberate tone.
“Old Crowley said he wanted to ask Sarah a few things.”
“Did you guys get any new information from that jellyfish?”
Hearing this question, the raven's gaze clearly faltered.
“Whatever intelligence Crowley obtained from Sarah, he clearly has no intention of sharing it with the authorities.”
Ms. Cecil paused.
“In any case, at least we now know there is another half to the pendulum.”
“And the Mist Veil Society is looking for it.”
“What?”
Elias asked, feigning shock.
He opened his mouth slightly and even leaned back in surprise.
He had to make sure he didn't reveal that this wasn't the first time he had heard this news.
When he had asked Old Malcolm during the Dream Prayer Ritual previously, he had already learned that the pendulum had another half.
Ms. Cecil clearly did not notice anything unusual about Elias.
“Yes, so the situation is even worse than you think.”
Anxiety flickered in the raven's bead-like eyes.
“The best-case scenario is that we find the other half of the pendulum a step ahead of them and nip the crisis in the bud.”
“As for any information regarding Wayland Capital, Sarah was completely in the dark.”
“Oh! Speaking of that.”
Elias suddenly sat up straight, interrupting Ms. Cecil.
“Regarding that, I have a friend.”
“She's a journalist.”
“Her younger brother was also a keeper who died at the lighthouse.”
“I had her document the evidence.”
Elias tapped the tabletop casually.
“Combined with the physical evidence she already had, we might need to find a trustworthy newspaper to publish it.”
“I believe this should stop Wayland Capital from obtaining the firing clearance for the Octowin.”
“Oh?”
The raven's head jerked up, and a trace of genuine surprise finally entered Ms. Cecil's voice.
“This is critical, Elias.”
“You've made the right choice.”
Ms. Cecil's voice grew animated.
“The Royal Council is currently debating the firing clearance for the Octowin, and the two factions are arguing endlessly.”
“Once this report is published, the Kingdom's Council will re-examine all the data sources provided by Wayland.”
“This is equivalent to shooting a massive hole right through their wallets.”
Ms. Cecil's voice sounded significantly more cheerful.
“I will apply to get you some of the rewards you deserve.”
“No need to thank me, Ms. Cecil.”
Elias stood up and adjusted his collar.
He bowed slightly, offering a highly standard gentlemanly salute.
“I do all this for the kingdom!”
“Then should I cancel it for you?”
Ms. Cecil let out a playful chuckle.
“Ah, wait, wait, wait!”
Elias waved his hands frantically.
“Look at you. You have to let me express my utmost sincerity, right?”
“Since you've already offered it, taking it back would be far too impolite.”
“Hmph.”
Ms. Cecil snorted, having long since seen right through his nature.
“However, I suggest you keep an eye on my friend.”
Elias put away his smile, his tone turning serious once more.
“She is currently a thorn in Wayland's side.”
“Ophelia Moore?”
Ms. Cecil asked suddenly.
“The Landon Post journalist who stole critical files from Wayland?”
Elias was taken aback.
“Our people are still looking for her.”
Ms. Cecil sighed.
“The divination spells only told us that she was on the sea of Moon Bay.”
“It made me think she had already jumped into the sea to feed the sirens.”
“Where is she now?”
A peculiar smile played on the corner of Elias's mouth.
“Hastings Port.”
“That's wonderful!”
Ms. Cecil finally breathed a sigh of relief, the raven's posture visibly relaxing.
“This is incredibly important.”
“However, there is one more thing I need you to do.”
The raven's bead-like eyes locked onto Elias.
Ms. Cecil's voice was slow and clear.
“Once it is done, I can give you the Scale Three potion.”
“There's actually such a good deal?”
Elias suppressed the excitement in his heart and asked in a low voice.
His rationality quickly sounded alarms in his mind.
This might not be an easy task.
The raven's two small eyes stared at him seriously.
“In two weeks, take a trip with me.”
Rate on N.U.
