Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 40 God’s Blessed One

Is it appropriate for us to do this kind of side job?

Lu Ze asked.

"Of course it's suitable."

Leonard typed the contract terms on the typewriter without looking up as he answered, "Our team's rule is that we can take on side jobs as long as we don't have a regular job. Half of the money we earn goes to the team's slush fund, and the other half is split equally among the people who do the work. Like your welcome dinner the other day, that was paid for with money from the team's slush fund."

After he finished typing, he looked up at Lu Ze and smiled:
"Look, now we have the money to buy your sister a dress."

So that's how you make extra money.
Lu Ze seemed to be deep in thought. And that made sense; security companies that didn't take on jobs were actually more conspicuous.

Leonard quickly drafted the contract, making two copies. He took the document off the typewriter and leisurely returned to the front hall.

"Madam, this is our contract. We will investigate your husband and find the woman he is having an affair with, and you will need to pay him a reward of 10 pounds for this."

"Find out all of that bitch's information! I'm going to bring people to catch her in the act!"

Mrs. Pound waved her arms with great flair.

“I’ve written all your requirements in the contract,” Leonard said with a smile, handing over the contract. “Of course, regardless of whether it works out or not, you’ll have to pay a £3 deposit first.”

"I know this."

Ms. Pound paid the money, wrote her name on a pen, and then Rosanne stamped the Blackthorn Security Company seal on it. The contract was then complete. "Then I'll wait for your good news!"

After seeing Ms. Pound off, Leonard turned to Luzer and asked, "Frye is going to inspect the public cemetery this afternoon, so how about the two of us work?"

"sure."

Lu Ze replied, "But I haven't studied tracking, so don't blame me if I'm exposed."

Meanwhile, he was calculating in his mind that with a reward of 10 pounds, after deducting the 5 pounds that had to be handed over, the two of them could split it in half and get 2 pounds, which should be enough to buy a decent dress.

“How could we possibly follow her? It would be exhausting and disrupt our daily work,” Leonard laughed. “I was wondering if you had any way to find out where her husband was having an affair? Using your ritual magic.”

So that's why they contacted me.

Lu Ze thought for a moment and nodded, "Yes, but it might require her husband's personal belongings."

“Then let’s go to her husband’s company,” Leonard said. “Tonight, there will be fewer people, and I can use my abilities. Maybe I can find something out at their company.”

The two agreed on a time and place to meet, and that little incident was over. They cleared away their plates and began their afternoon work.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Meanwhile, in a space that does not exist in the real world.

An endless gray fog flowed like water, filling everything before our eyes. Colossal stone pillars rose high, supporting the magnificent dome. The grand and imposing buildings stood silently in the gray fog, as if they had stood eternally at the end of time.

Directly beneath the dome, in the thickest part of the gray fog, sat a long bronze table. High-backed chairs were placed on both sides and in front of and behind the table, their backs gleaming and deep red, outlining various strange and mysterious patterns.

At this moment, at the head of the bronze table and on the chairs on either side, there was a figure. Grayish-white mist also shrouded their bodies, making it possible to vaguely discern their shapes and the color of their clothes.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."

Audrey Hall called out in a light tone, bowing her head in greeting to the lofty and mysterious figure at the head of the table.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Hanged Man,” she said to the blue-haired man opposite her.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Justice."

The other two also replied to her.

After the greetings were over, the Fool, also known as Klein, remained enigmatic and tapped the edge of the long table with his fingers.

The other two people turned their gazes to him at the same time.

“I want to know information about the Aurora Society,” Klein said calmly. “The reward is two pages of Russell’s diary.”

Because of his colleague Lu Ze, he became more interested in this sequence and the corresponding secret organization.

"Mr. Fool, I wonder which direction your question about the aurora borealis relates to?"

"The Hanged Man," Alger asked cautiously.

In his heart, he had already begun to guess the purpose of Mr. Fool's question.

Is Mr. Fool, an ancient god seemingly from the past, gradually reviving and beginning to understand the current situation through Alger? But why start with the Aurora Gathering? Could it be that Mr. Fool wants to use the Aurora Gathering to deduce the current state of the true creator?

Klein had no idea about the convoluted thoughts that were swirling in Alger's mind in that instant, nor did he know what he wanted to know, so he simply replied calmly, "Just say whatever you know."

"Yes, Mr. Fool."

Alger suppressed the jumble of thoughts in his mind and respectfully said, "The Aurora Society is a secret organization that has emerged in the last one or two hundred years. They believe in the true, fallen creator and that everyone possesses divinity and can be elevated to become an angel by undergoing trials."

Klein nodded slightly; this was consistent with what he had learned from the Night Watchers' internal files.

Seeing this, Alger continued his explanation:
"The Aurora Society will have five Saints and twenty-two Divine Envoys. These Divine Envoys will use letters as code names and call themselves Mr. A and Mr. X... They are at least Sequence 7 Extraordinary Beings, and the strongest are Sequence 5. They are all quite good at concealing themselves... If a Divine Envoy dies, a new Divine Envoy will take his place."

Klein had never heard of these things.

"But apart from that, most of the Aurora Society members are lower-sequence Extraordinaries, basically concentrated in the Mystic and Listener stages."

Audrey, the "Justice" who was listening intently, couldn't help but interject, "Mr. Hanged Man, what kind of extraordinary abilities do they possess?"

"The Mystic People are basically harmless; they only possess some knowledge of rituals and a small amount of ritual magic."

"Small amounts" of ritual magic?
Klein recalled Luzer's story; Luzer had told him that he had learned a great deal about rituals from potions.
Is Lu Ze's situation somewhat special?
Klein thought to himself. Startled, his body involuntarily twitched slightly, the movement a little too pronounced.

Sensing Mr. Fool's unusual behavior, the two who were talking immediately stopped and looked at Klein, as if waiting for him to say something.

"Don't worry about me, you guys continue." Klein felt a little awkward, unsure of what to say to smooth things over. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he simply chuckled:
“I have seen a cryptid who mastered a large amount of ritual magic right after drinking a potion.”

He had originally intended to just mention it casually, but to his surprise, Alger's body jolted, as if he had thought of something.

"Mr. Fool, please forgive my inaccurate description."

He bowed his head in apology, recalling a record in an ancient book from the Church of Storms. He had initially thought it was merely a fabrication by the book's author, but it turned out to be true.

"As you said, there are indeed a very small number of Mystics who, after taking the potion, immediately master a large amount of corrupt and evil ritual magic."

"In ancient records, they were called the chosen ones!"

(End of this chapter)