The Combined Truth

As he still needed to hire a rental carriage, Klein didn't spend too much time above the gray fog. He only took a few glances at the conclusion from the "tower" before returning to reality.

After taking a carriage and a group of Nighthawks back to the company, Klein finally finished reading the notebook after using the opportunity to head to the bathroom several times in the afternoon.

Mr. Tower guessed that the Lamud family is related to the Death of the Fourth Epoch, and the other Baron Kilgor is related to the Solomon royal family. He was used by the Loen brass to conspire for a high-level item of the Lawyer pathway… Only when the emperor reached the peak of the Lawyer pathway was he forced to give up…

So the Solomon royal family's Beyonder pathway began with Lawyer, but the emperor of this dynasty is collectively called Black Emperor. Is this hinting that Lawyers are good at manipulating the rules? That's not right. There was probably no Lawyer in that era… I wonder what its ancient name is.

But isn't the Emperor a Beyonder of the Savant pathway? Could it be that Savant and Lawyer can be interchanged at high levels? The Emperor later switched to the Lawyer pathway? Sigh, I hope Roselle's diary will mention this in the future.

Yes, although Mr. Tower is only making assumptions, I have to say that he lives up to his reputation as a famous detective! Let's not talk about Kilgor. Baron Lamud, or should I say, Mr. Azik might really be related to Death!

"Tuesday at Morse Town, I tried to divine the origins of the haunting created by Mr. Azik, and I ended up seeing an inverted pyramid that extended underground. This is undoubtedly a symbol of Death, an honor that only his descendants can receive.

Crouching on the toilet in the bathroom, Klein thought about Mr. Tower's inference as he muttered to himself.

Until the bathroom door was knocked.

"Klein, it's time to get off work!" Rozanne's voice came from outside. "I know you're very sad about Old Neil's death, but don't be too sad…"

What does she mean? Does she think I'm secretly crying in the bathroom? Klein was speechless. He packed his clothes and walked out the door. When he saw Rozanne looking worried, he forced a smile and said, "I'm fine… I just had a stomachache yesterday…"

"Klein, I know all about it… Actually, it's the same for me," Rozanne said with a hoarse voice, as though her nostrils were blocked.

She was clearly still very down.

…

After leaving the Blackthorn Security Company, Klein went home and told his sister to remember to leave dinner for him. Then, he took a trackless public carriage to Azik's house.

Ding dong, ding dong.

Amidst the crisp bell chimes, Azik opened the door in his white shirt and black vest.

After exchanging pleasantries, Klein entered the foyer, put down his cane, took off his hat, and followed Azik to his activity room.

The activity room was decorated with a fireplace, rocking chair, sofa, and coffee table. Klein sat in his usual spot.

Azik lit the cigar and took a cigar to warm it up. At the same time, he asked,

"Have you settled the matter at Morse Town?"

"I have to thank you for that," Klein said sincerely.

While he was fiddling with the cigar, he took the initiative to say,

"Mr. Azik, I got my friend to find a set of information regarding Baron Lamud. Oh, and that friend's inference regarding the information."

"You've put in a lot of effort. I have to thank you for your kind intentions, for remembering my matters all this time." Azik looked up and sized up Klein for a moment before nodding.

"It's my friend who's very concerned about this matter." Klein didn't take credit for it as he passed the copied information and the relevant conclusions to Mr. Azik.

As for the original item, it was naturally still above the gray fog. No matter how much trust he had in Mr. Azik's character, he wouldn't hand him the item of a Tarot Club member.

Mr. Azik didn't say a word as he solemnly received the documents. Then, he read them with a serious expression.

The living room was so silent that it was almost frozen. Time ticked by.

About half an hour later, Mr. Azik put down the documents and closed his eyes as though he was trying to squeeze out his memories.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and said in an emotionless tone,

"Upon seeing this, I recalled something… I remember that in the later stages of Baron Lamud's life, I had investigated Tana's death…

"And the results of my investigations back then can be used as evidence for your friend's inference."

Having said that, Azik lit his previous cigar once again and pointed at the cigar case on the coffee table.

"Do you want one?"

"No." Klein shook his head firmly.

Meanwhile, he silently lampooned,

Mr. Azik, before you lost your memories, you must've left quite a bit of wealth for yourself. Otherwise, how could a teacher who isn't even an associate professor enjoy cigars so frequently?

Mr. Azik took a puff on his cigar and continued,

There's only one point. The last piece of information that Tana left wasn't for the Church, but for me… From the beginning to the end, he had never thought of betraying the kingdom he was loyal to… But the Loen royal family clearly didn't believe him. They thought that the Church had received some news, so they did something unnecessary!

When Klein heard this, combined with Mr. Tower's inference, he felt his heart turn ice-cold. His impression of William I, who had been imprinted with 10 pounds, instantly dropped significantly.

"At that time, Tana didn't know that I could really see his message, so he didn't make it very clear… But there are still two things that can testify to your friend's inference.

First, before the 'secret mission' mentioned in the information, that little fellow, Kilgor, had actually explored another ruin with a member of the Augustus family named Grue…

"I don't know the exact process, but ever since then, Tana accidentally discovered that Kilgor was no longer Kilgor… And after that mission, the Kilgor family was bestowed with a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact, Concerto of Light and Shadow."

This is… because the first Baron Kilgor found an item he couldn't get his hands on, so he was silenced and replaced? After all, the royal family only needed to control Kilgor's bloodline, and the baron himself, who knew some of the truth, naturally couldn't keep it. Otherwise, it would increase the risk of exposing the secret.

As for the Concerto of Light and Shadow, could it be formed from the true Baron Kilgor's Beyonder characteristic?

Just as Klein thought of this, he heard Mr. Azik continue,

Second, the location of Tana's last mission should be somewhere dangerous in the Underworld. According to his guess, it should be the ruins of Death.

Heh heh, it was precisely in such an environment that Tana was able to leave some 'messages' for me… Unfortunately, Augustus, who was monitoring him, misunderstood.

"That child was actually determined to return to the Underworld to complete his last mission."

With that said, Mr. Azik stood up and sucked at his cigar at the activity room's window. Only when Klein finished digesting what he had said did he say,

"By the way, I'll be leaving Tingen soon."

"Why?" Klein asked in surprise.

Didn't you say that you were going to find the mastermind who affected my fate and stole your child's skull?

Azik held his cigar and explained with a sigh,

"The target might've noticed my attention and investigation. There hasn't been any movement recently, leaving me with zero clues. Therefore, I plan to leave Tingen for Backlund for the time being. On the one hand, the information from before touched me quite a bit. Perhaps I should use this clue to find traces of my memory loss. On the other hand, it will lower the target's guard.

That's right. Mr. Azik's last memory loss was near Backlund University… Unfortunately, you can't find a red chimney house for me… Klein nodded solemnly and said,

"I will pay close attention to this matter. Once the target takes action and exposes himself, I will inform you immediately."

"Well, Mr. Azik, how can I inform you in time?"

In Klein's opinion, if Azik was a descendant of Death, or if he had some connection with Death, his strength should be close to that of the Corpse Collector Sequence. He definitely had the means to create something similar to Daly's messenger.

In other words, this could prove whether Azik was related to Death, or if he was "His" descendant.

Azik took a puff of his cigar and thought for more than ten seconds. He took out an accessory from his left sleeve.

It was an exquisite, ancient copper whistle. There were many strange patterns that filled it with a mysterious charm.

"This is an item I carried with me when I woke up in Backlund. As long as you blow it, you can summon a messenger that belongs to me."

…

The Tussock River ran through Backlund, leaving behind many docks.

Jane Grant, or should I say, the present Jane, was wearing a black hooded robe as she slowly walked down the inner river liner.

She saw people coming and going at the harbor. Countless workers were sweating as the scene was bustling and noisy.

Just as she was about to sigh, she heard a deep sigh from behind her, revealing her inner thoughts.

"Long time no see, Backlund."

Jane couldn't help but look back. It was a man with a head of blue seaweed and a bishop's robe of the Church of Storms.