Though he knew some intelligence about the Blood Reverend, Kons didn't tell any of this to his captain.
First, his blood was still under that person's control.
The other party could inflict a curse on him at any time.
Second, after experiencing what happened yesterday, he'd become hesitant about his work and no longer took it as seriously.
More than anything, he wanted to see his family.
"It's normal to be tired."
Levi glanced at him, seeming to sense something different about him.
The old Kons had been very proactive, working hard to investigate leads.
But today, the guy actually resembled Levi himself somewhat, with a certain beauty to his earnest half-heartedness.
"After we finish this bit of work, we can clock out."
He said casually.
"Alright."
Kons didn't respond dramatically.
He turned back to continue wiping the debris left on the floor. Actually, after Team Two arrived, most of what they did was odd jobs.
The main investigative work was still handled by Team One personnel.
Kons cleaned the floor inch by inch, collecting suspicious items into bags for preservation.
The Team One members just stood there.
Though they saw him, they chose to ignore him, continuing their high-minded discussions.
They thought highly of themselves, looking at Team Two as if they were mere janitors.
"So I think the [Blood Reverend] very likely used a Secrets Suppliant pathway Beyonder item, and he himself is from a different sequence."
One of them said with an air of authority.
Wrong guess, idiots.
Kons thought privately, feeling a dark satisfaction at being "the only one who knows."
After all, unlike these self-important fools, he had actually met the [Blood Reverend] in person.
But he couldn't throw this intelligence in their faces, so though he wanted to refute them, he kept his head down and continued his "wiping" work.
After working a while longer, the entire room had been thoroughly examined.
Kons got up and went downstairs, leaving those people and their hollow conversations behind.
"Good work."
Levi still had that lazy manner, but he was also carrying several bags. His work seemed to have been done quite conscientiously.
"You did well. Leave the rest to me."
He said to Kons.
"Huh? Mr. Levi, that wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"
Kons was taken aback.
"Haven't you been going on about wanting to see your family since earlier? I'm giving you time off. Go see them."
Levi had long noticed something was off with him, though he just assumed Kons had something on his mind that would improve after talking with his family.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Levi."
Kons said gratefully.
"No need to thank me.
You're off duty tomorrow too, so don't come in... Oh, and the day after tomorrow, you're on routine guard duty at the Upper House. Remember to show up on time."
"Got it!"
Kons nodded. He handed over the bags containing evidence and his tools to his captain, then walked excitedly toward the mansion's exit.
Having gone through a life-or-death crisis, he'd realized what he should treasure most.
He needed to have a good talk with his father, mother, and brother. He had a premonition that this conversation would change him. Perhaps his entire future life would be different...
Being a noble, his home was also in Queens. After hiring a carriage, he arrived within minutes.
Pushing through the door, he entered with an eager heart, ready to pour out everything to his family...
And his family was waiting for him in the living room.
"Welcome home, Kons."
His father, Viscount Lierson, said with a smile, holding his mother's and brother's heads in his hands.
Accompanied by melodious music, he placed these two heads on plates.
The white porcelain plates were spotlessly clean, making the blood seeping from the two heads appear all the more vivid and crimson.
Kons's expression froze.
He saw that his mother's face still wore a loving smile, and his brother still looked mature and composed.
Their headless bodies still sat on either side of the dining table, uniforms neat, gown elegant, as if the heads on the plates before them were merely insignificant decorations.
Kons couldn't believe his eyes. He opened his mouth, finally speaking in a twisted, hoarse voice:
"What... Father! What are you doing?!"
Had his father, Viscount Lierson, the culprit behind all this, gone mad?!
"Sorry, I didn't want to be so abrupt."
But the latter only shook his head regretfully.
"It's just that I suddenly received a commission. The payment that person offered was simply too high."
Just as Kons was reeling in disbelief, feeling like he was in a nightmare, he suddenly heard the other speak again:
"Oh right, Kons, there's one more thing. I'm actually not your father."
---
East Borough, in Silas's own house.
After returning from the gray fog, the virtual personality automatically dissolved, transforming into pure memories that flooded into Silas's mind.
He sorted through the memories, instantly knowing what had happened on that gray fog.
"The Sun promised to negotiate with the Chief to thank me... Ouroboros left residual aura in the temple... the extraordinary item was successfully made... there's a deeper conspiracy behind Duke Negan's assassination..."
Beyond that, there was also The Magician's plea for help after consuming an extra characteristic, everyone teaching The Sun to learn Hermes, and so on.
The former made him understand even more deeply the law of conservation of beyonder characteristics.
"Any good news?"
M's figure quietly materialized.
"Yes."
Silas answered briefly, then began deftly pulling out candles and preparing the ritual. "Make another virtual personality for me."
The extraordinary item had sold.
Miss Justice told him she would immediately use a sacrificial ritual to send up the cash once she returned home, and asked Silas to be ready to receive it.
M did as he asked, creating for him a virtual personality that could bypass the ocean waves and contact The Fool.
Silas prepared the altar, used the ritual dagger to create a spiritual wall, then cut his finger and used blood as paint to draw half an eyeless eye and half a twisted thread, the holy symbol representing Mr. Fool.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era..."
After reciting The Fool's honorific name in Hermes, he immediately switched to ancient Hermes and continued, "Your faithful servant prays for Your attention, prays that You accept his offering, prays that You open the gates of Your Kingdom..."
"Whoosh..."
The spiritual wind raged within the wall, bringing the pain of sliced skin. Silas paid it no mind.
His gaze remained fixed on the illusory door appearing before him.
"Clink, clatter..."
As the illusory door opened wide, some gold-gleaming objects came clattering out from within, piling up on the table. Besides these, there were also stacks upon stacks of banknotes.
"Both coins and bills..."
Silas counted briefly, confirming it was 1,800 pounds, no mistake.
The other 200 pounds had already been given to The Hanged Man, for him to pass on to that craftsman.
As for The Hanged Man's commission, he meant for Silas to keep it directly as money toward purchasing the Wind-blessed potion formula and main ingredients later, saving Mr. Fool the trouble of opening the door multiple times.
He didn't know that at this very moment in Queens, a new conspiracy was brewing.
۞۞۞۞
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