Back to the Future 1999: Raining at the Same Time

"There should have been a telegram from headquarters beforehand, instructing you to investigate the people around Theofel von Dietersdorf."

"Yes, well, that's a pity, ma'am from headquarters. Here you go... everything's here, everything's here!"

"And here, this..."

Among a pile of documents bearing the foundation's logo, Carl pulled out two gold tickets.

"If you see Mr. Richard, please be sure to hand over these two tickets to the Royal Court Theatre to him... and my sincerest greetings."

Ms. Hoffman stood still, maintaining a polite but distant distance.

"I will."

Marcus:

"...Who is Mr. Richard?"

"The liaison between headquarters and the Vienna branch in 1914...a phantom that no longer exists in a historical crack."

"At that time, people still believed that their fathers' golden age would continue naturally, and that their own positions in the government would be as eternal as the ancient empire."

Hoffman nodded slightly, watching as old Karl tapped his cane, stroked his beard, and disappeared into the passage opened by Golian.

"……Um?"

The stickiness appeared at an inopportune moment, instantly throwing old Karl into a panic.

"Damn it, it won't let me through!"

“Mr. Carl, you were not joking when you told me that.”

"That's definitely not it! What the hell? What happened? Has this thing been in disrepair for years?"

"No, I'm stuck... in my stomach! My custom-made suit in Paris!"

The ancient knight slowly awoke, raising dust as thick as the history of the empire.

"What's going on! How did its defense mechanism get activated...!"

A comical sound came from inside the stone statue, sounding like a rubber ball bouncing back and forth inside.

"Ugh."

A long sigh escaped Hoffmann's lips, all the impatience that had been building up before turning into a deep sense of powerlessness.

"...Marcus, can you access its internal magic?"

"Hmm, it moves very slowly... I think it's okay. But..."

She looked down at the bottle Chenxi had given her, wondering if this was the unexpected situation Chenxi had mentioned.

"Okay. Be careful. This is also a good opportunity for you to practice."

The mentor didn't give her much time to think, leaving her enough room to work out before stepping aside.

Just then, Goren swung his stone greatsword, which almost grazed her nose as it hit the ground in front of her.

"Waaaaah!"

"Marcus!"

Upon realizing his hasty decision, the mentor tried to stop him, but it was too late. Goren, whose movements had suddenly quickened, had already raised his greatsword high above his head. If it were to come down, the consequences would be unimaginable.

“Ahhhhh——!”

In the chaos, Marcus threw the bottle of liquid at Goren.

As if it had been specially treated, the glass shattered the moment it hit Goren's helmet, and golden liquid instantly seemed to come alive, adhering to Goren's surface and spreading rapidly.

The areas that had been exposed to the liquid looked as if they had been polished, reflecting a metallic effect in the sunlight, and even had golden patterns inlaid on them.

After thoroughly cleansing the entire Goren, the liquid began to focus on the golem's true core—its driving formula.

After a few malfunctioning tremors, the Goren finally calmed down. However, it now looked even more threatening than before.

Like a majestic knight, it stood quietly before Marcus, extending its hand to her from a superior position.

"Marcus!"

Having missed his first opportunity, Hoffman quickly unleashed the eyestone he always carried when he had another chance.

However, the spell that was supposed to blast a normal adult away was thrown at it, but it was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, leaving nothing but a strange ripple on its surface.

As the shadow cast by the armored hand on Marcus's face grew larger, Hoffman tried to shove her away, but it was too late.

"Well--"

The little seagull resigned itself to its fate, closing its eyes tightly and anxiously awaiting death.

"Thump—Buzz—"

However, the knight did not choose to harm his master. Instead, he knelt down on one knee before her, bowing his head to show his absolute loyalty.

The brand-new iron sword was stuck to the side, emitting a sharp hum.

“Oh no! Ms. Hoffmann, these Golians are symbols of the Vienna branch's spirit... You can't do this..."

Upon recovering, Karl immediately began to criticize the two men's behavior. But before old Karl could finish speaking, the knight had already drawn his iron sword from the ground, and with a flash of silver light, pointed it at Karl's nose, instantly freezing him in place.

"Don't...don't get agitated, we can talk things over."

Karl was startled when he quickly raised his hands and saw the iron sword already in front of him before he could react.

If that sword hadn't been pointed at my nose, but instead plunged into my throat, I would be nothing more than a corpse lying on the ground right now.

Thinking of this, Karl couldn't help but swallow hard, but he remained standing still, not daring to make any rash moves.

But the knight didn't have such a rich inner world; his hand holding the sword still trembled slightly, and he twirled the sword across the man's face, shaving off the mustache he had always been so proud of.

Trading a tuft of beard for a life is a very worthwhile deal.

The knight sheathed his sword and stood beside Marcus again, faithfully protecting her safety.

"Sigh, sigh, sigh?"

The death threat that was hanging over his head just a second ago suddenly moved to Mr. Karl's head, along with the sudden appearance of the Knight Goren.

One incomprehensible thing after another occurred, and the little seagull, shaking its head from side to side, began to gradually shut down.

Our old Karl plopped down on the ground, his face flushed red, but he didn't dare to utter a single complaint for a long time.

Looking at this scene that resembled a painting of hell, Hoffman rubbed his twitching temples and loudly questioned:

“Investigator Marcus, I need an explanation for what’s happening now.”

"Yes Yes!"

The flustered little seagull immediately straightened up, its eyes drifting to the side, unable to look Hoffman in the eye.

"Mr. Chenxi gave me a small bottle, saying that I could throw it out in case of special circumstances."

Where is Chenxi?

Hoffman, whose expression had returned to normal, glanced around and reached the same conclusion as Marcus's answer:

"Chenxi/Mr. Chenxi is missing/disappeared."

"Ah--"

Another long sigh escaped Hoffman's lips; this time, he didn't even have the strength to rub his temples. However, upon hearing the name Chenxi, Karl, who had been slumped on the ground, seemed to have a switch flipped, and he sprang to his feet.

"A lady from headquarters!"

He was even reluctant to call Hoffman by his name.

"Shouldn't headquarters give us an explanation regarding this matter?"

"The Goren is an important tool in our country with both historical and practical value; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a 'national treasure.' But now it's..."

He turned to look at Goren, who had already betrayed him and become a knight, and Goren also turned to look at him.

"..."

An eerie silence was born at this moment.

Although I don't want to admit it, Gorlian's appearance at that moment did indeed trigger the Viennese people's deep-seated pursuit of art and beauty.

Karl wanted to find a reason to hack the Goren, but he was threatened by the knight who noticed his idea. The thumb of the hand holding the sword immediately popped out, and the three-foot white light that pierced the sword sheath made him quickly look away.

"Cough um."

It was Hoffman who first broke the strange silence.

“Marcus, try to see if you can turn this Goren back to normal.”

"Yes!"

The "reading" technique unfolded, and Marcus faithfully and swiftly carried out his mentor's orders. However, after a long while, only bad news arrived.

“Ms. Hoffman, I…I can’t read it.”

"Ah."

Upon receiving this news, the mentor said nothing. Even without specifically inquiring, there were already many rumors circulating within the foundation regarding Chen Xi's special circumstances.

So she wasn't surprised by the result.

He walked up to Karl confidently, extended his hand, and firmly grasped the hand that Karl angrily slapped at him.

“This matter is indeed our responsibility. The foundation headquarters will assess the value of the Goren and provide reasonable compensation.”

"As for Chenxi..."

Frankly, Hoffman did not have the authority to punish him, or rather, even within the foundation, few people were capable of judging Chenxi in his current state.

But that didn't stop her from telling a little lie to soothe old Karl's wounded and broken heart.

“His actions have seriously violated the ‘Code of Conduct for Outsourced Investigators of Foundations’, and headquarters will impose severe and profound educational penalties on him.”

Hoffman was forced to learn how to take care of a child, especially a bratty kid, which was a real headache. But thankfully, the method worked well, and the expression on Old Karl's face visibly relaxed.

“That’s good. After all, order is the first law of God. I really hope that all those who make mistakes will receive their due punishment. Isn’t that right, Ms. Hoffman?”

After saying this, the branch manager muttered to himself and finally walked into his office building.

The remaining instructors looked at the trembling students who knew they had committed a terrible crime.