The black sun hangs high

Chapter 82 Sleepless Night
The events that occurred at the manor hotel gave Hugh a strong sense of déjà vu.

He entered Ernst Manor with the intention of finding out about the Ernst family's situation and preparing for a new storm, but what he saw there was clearly not quite right.

What happened here didn't seem like the expected selection and announcement of an heir at all; instead, it looked more like the beginning of a bizarre case in some detective stories.

"An aristocratic estate, a gathering of the younger generation, a relatively secluded hotel, rooms filled with unusual signs, and a few guests who seemed to have sensed something amiss beforehand..."

Sitting on the sofa, Hugh couldn't help but narrow his eyes: "These elements are just too classic, it's like we're about to enter a conspiracy and assassination phase."

"But the people here, although they differ in their abilities, status, and position, are all members of the Ernst family. Could someone possibly harm these young nobles within Ernst Manor?"

Hughes wanted to completely reject his deductions, but the elements of the current environment were too complete, leaving him no choice but to speculate in that direction.

"Miss Hannah, are there any other signs besides what you've mentioned?"

Hughes asked, "For example, clearly seeing the movement of objects, or being able to feel the touch of something?"

"nothing."

Hannah quickly shook her head and said, "If it comes to that, I will definitely insist on moving out of here. Even if the family makes some demands, I will never stay with such a terrifying being!"

Hugh nodded in agreement. Hannah's reaction was completely normal. As an ordinary person who did not possess magic or other supernatural powers, if she remained calm and composed in the face of this series of bizarre situations, Hugh would have questioned her condition.

"So those strange phenomena were discovered yesterday? Are they still happening today?"

“I haven’t been back to my room for a whole day.”

Hannah shook her head helplessly: "That place is too terrible. I've already asked the housekeeper to change my room..."

"So, besides Miss Hannah, didn't anyone else notice?"

Upon hearing this, a hint of annoyance finally appeared on Hannah's scholarly face: "I've told so many people, but... Mr. Hugh, you've seen it yourself, they simply refuse to believe me. They think I've been reading too many random novels, and that there's no such thing!"

After venting her frustrations, Hannah thought back carefully and then added, "However, I also asked my neighbor Elena, who lives next door. She also heard some noises while she was sleeping, but she's always a deep sleeper, so she's not sure."

"Could I ask for Miss Hannah's room number? I mean, your previous room number."

"Ah, it's room 411."

Hannah replied, "However, the fourth floor has always been reserved for female guests only, so it might be difficult for Mr. Hugh to go there."

"Thank you for reminding."

After chatting for a couple more minutes, Hugh said goodbye to Hannah and turned to walk towards the housekeeper in the hotel lobby.

The housekeeper was already deeply impressed by this young man whose temperament was so different from the other members of the family, so she quickly nodded to Hugh.

"Mr. Hugh, is there anything you need?"

"I'd like to ask if I can still change rooms now?"

The housekeeper was clearly puzzled, but she nodded nonetheless: "It's still possible for now, but more family members should be returning to the manor in the next day or two, at which point we probably won't be able to change rooms as we please... May I ask, is there a problem with your current room?"

Hugh glanced at the hotel floor plan hanging next to him and said, "There's no problem, but I don't really like the direction the room's windows are facing. Looking at the woods in the manor makes me feel uninspired; I prefer to look out at the wide grasslands."

The housekeeper was taken aback by the young man's strange request, then she smiled and said, "I'm very sorry, Mr. Hugh, the manor hotel was designed and built with the scenery of the woods and artificial lake as its core. No room has a view of the grassland."

Hughes nodded: "If I want to change rooms on the third floor, what other rooms are available for me to choose from?"

"Rooms 304, 305, 307, and 310 and beyond are all available. If you need to change rooms, please feel free to contact me or the waiter."

"Thank you."

By this time, it was already quite late, and there were very few people left in the hall. Apart from Miss Hannah, who was still restless, only the two brothers who were still engrossed in playing cards remained. Although Hughes couldn't help but feel itchy when he saw the Dragon Tooth cards, this was not the time to be engrossed in card games, so he walked to the elevator and returned to his own floor.

Standing in the empty corridor, Hugh closed his eyes slightly. As he channeled his magic, the metal disc in his mental world began to slowly rotate. With the sound of the invisible and highly regular gears turning, Hugh's perception of his surroundings had reached its limit.

To his surprise, there was no trace of anything unusual about the place. The walls, paintings, sculptures, and vases were all ordinary objects unrelated to magic.

Hugh then returned to his room, went to his desk, and picked up the incense that the hotel waiter had brought him earlier.

This is a common type of "maple leaf magic incense" on the market. It uses traditional techniques and has a relatively light scent that can uplift people's spirits to some extent. Many government officials who need to work at night like it.

Out of caution, Hugh decided not to use it for the time being. After all, his knowledge of incense and alchemical potions was limited, and who knew if it might contain any strange ingredients.

As for the Enchanted Ash Grass, it wasn't anything special, but Hugh didn't dare use it casually either. He piled these items aside and then summoned the Running Rat Sniggy. It landed next to the incense and the Enchanted Ash Grass, and curiously turned its head to smell it, only to be stimulated and sneeze.

"Hurry up, it's time to get to work."

Hugh reached out and picked up Sniggy, throwing him onto the carpet. Under Hugh's forced "exploitation," Sniggy once again meticulously searched and inspected the room. This time, Hugh's orders were even more detailed; he even demanded that Sniggy crawl under the carpet to search bit by bit.

However, after this long search, Hugh still found nothing new. Just as Hannah had said before, the walls and floors of the manor hotel were made of solid stone slabs, with no gaps for rats to get in or out.

Another round of searching yielded no results, so Hugh leaned against his desk and began to think seriously.

“Either leave Ernst Manor now out of caution… or stay for the sake of more information and the competition for Ernst’s succession. But as things stand, this hotel is clearly not right; staying in the room is definitely not the right choice.” Hugh thought about it seriously for a moment, and then an idea immediately came to mind.

"Okay, I won't sleep tonight."

He picked up the revolver, put on his coat, and left the room.

……

In the hotel lobby, the two brothers, who were drinking and playing cards, looked at Hugh with surprise on their faces when he reappeared.

Are you going out?

"of course not."

Hughes put down his rifle, then dragged a chair to the table next to them and sat down. He raised his hand and beckoned to the waiter on night duty in the hall: "Give me a cup of herbal tea, the kind that will refresh me."

He then turned to the two astonished brothers and said, “I went back to my room and thought about it. The Dragon Tooth brand is indeed very attractive, but... I currently lack a teacher with enough patience.”

Niels and his companion's expressions immediately shifted from astonishment to joy. They laughed heartily and then clapped their hands in unison.

"Come on, if you're a beginner, I highly recommend the Hein deck. It's simple and straightforward."

"If you ask me, I'd still choose the Wasteland series. You don't need to think at all; you can win just by playing it..."

Although the two brothers, who were obsessed with Dragon Tooth Cards, were still puzzled by Hugh's decision to bring guns to play cards, the excitement of "getting others into the hobby" overcame their doubts, and soon, a lively "newbie tutorial" began.

"Great! I told you, the Hein deck is suitable for all beginners!"

"I think it's just the newbie having good luck, let's go again!"

"...No, no...Have you played Dragon Tooth cards before? How could you calculate it even more clearly than me..."

"I won't let you have your way anymore, let's have a fair fight."

"Want to bet something?"

Time flew by as round after round of card games went by.

The Ernst Manor was eerily quiet at night. From the hotel lobby, one could only see the magical lamps erected at the edge of the manor's woods in the distance. In the light, some of the manor's guards were slowly patrolling.

It was nearly 1 a.m., and snow began to fall again, making the hotel lobby feel rather cold.

The two brothers had been playing cards all night and were somewhat tired. However, as they began to yawn, Hugh became even more alert. His magic was operating at a steady rate, which kept him from getting sleepy and was also constantly enhancing his senses, allowing him to detect any unusual activity around him.

The two young men were not fools who only knew how to have fun. Hugh's slightly unusual behavior made them realize something, so Nils, the older brother, called over a waiter and replaced their drinks with herbal tea that could refresh them.

At this moment, apart from a very few exceptions like Hugh and his two companions, the young nobles in the hotel should all be asleep or preparing to rest.

"If anything is going to happen, it's about time."

Hughes silently said something to himself. Just then, another round of the game ended, so Hughes took the initiative to pick up the deck and start shuffling.

However, before he could put down the cards, a strange fluctuation that Hugh had been waiting for for a very long time finally arrived. His hands immediately froze in mid-air, and his magic began to spread rapidly, trying to pinpoint the specific source of that strange feeling.

To Hugh's surprise, something unexpected happened.

He was certain that he had indeed sensed a sudden fluctuation, but strangely, the fluctuation seemed extremely dispersed—it was as if it didn't exist at all, yet it also seemed to be scattered throughout the manor hotel. In Hugh's magical perception, the shape of this force was like flowing water evenly distributed across the nearby walls, floor, and ceiling...

"What's happening here?"

Just as he was wondering, Hugh noticed that his metal disc had begun to spin faster. With this change, he discovered that the strange magic that had been evenly distributed around him was now moving towards higher places in the hotel and quickly out of Hugh's range of perception.

"Is it going upstairs?"

Based on the direction of the magic, Hugh immediately made a corresponding judgment, so he put down the cards in his hand and stood up from his chair.

Hugh's actions caught the attention of the Niels brothers, but before they could react, a piercing sound of shattering glass came from above the hotel. Immediately afterward, a large number of glass shards, along with an exquisite lamp inlaid with magic crystals, crashed heavily onto the open ground in front of the lobby.

"what happened?"

The waiters in the lobby and the Niels brothers were all dumbfounded, but before they could react, Hugh had already picked up his revolver and strode out of the hotel lobby. He stopped a distance away from the pile of broken glass and looked up.

Just then, a sharp, shrill female scream came from above the hotel, and anyone could hear the fear and terror in it.

The quiet hotel was completely awakened by the screams, and almost all the rooms turned on their lights.

Amid confusion and panic, the ladies on the fourth floor of the hotel opened their windows. They cautiously peered out and discovered that their sister, Miss Elena Ernst, who lived in room 410, was being slowly pushed out of her window.

Poor Elena was clearly awakened from her sleep. She was wearing pajamas, and there seemed to be some bloodstains left by glass shards on her body and face. She was trying to hold onto the window sill to prevent herself from being pushed out any further.

However, no matter how hard Elena Ernst struggled, a force was pushing her outward little by little. Finally, she hung on the edge of the window with a terrified scream, her body swaying back and forth in mid-air, looking like she was about to die.

(End of this chapter)