Chapter 32

The Thirty-Second Night Meal

In Igewent on a dark and cloudy night with the moonlight fading, a secret corner of the town hosted an extravagant banquet in a dimly lit room.

The strong scent of bl**d permeated the house. On a luxurious dark red carpet, there was a long table covered with a pristine white tablecloth. The table was set with exquisite utensils and candlesticks. Red candles flickered, casting light upon the shattered and bloody flesh on the plates.

On both sides of the table sat four male figures dressed neatly as gentlemen, using their forks and knives to eat the meat before them.

At the head of the table was an empty high-backed chair, unoccupied at that moment.

“Gentlemen, how has the investigation for Edric progressed?” asked a middle-aged man with a thin face, gloomy eyes, neatly combed brown-black hair, and a small mustache. He wiped the bl**d from his mouth and looked around the table.

“Nothing…” replied a young man who was carelessly cutting a piece of meat.

“I’ve used all my resources, but there’s been no trace of him since that day,” said a bald middle-aged man of average build, the owner of No. 22 Elmwood Lane, Burton.

“There’s no sign of Edric in this city. My men searched the downstream of Iron Mud River thoroughly but found no one who had come ashore. He either drowned or left the city… or…”

An old man with disheveled clothes, one eye larger than the other, slightly hunched over, and a napkin stained with bl**d, looked at Burton across the table with a mocking tone.

“Or perhaps your information is wrong, Burton. Your underlings might have mistaken someone else, wasting our time these past few days!”

“What do you mean, Colif? Are you questioning my intelligence?”

Hearing the old man Colif speak, Burton became angry. He sternly looked at the old man and denied his words.

“Hey… so what if I am? If Edric betrayed Abbott in Vukan, he should have run far away by now. How dare he come openly to Igewent and sell us out right under our noses! Who gave him the nerve to challenge us like this? Where does he get the confidence? So, I think your information is wrong!”

“You…” Hearing Colif’s words, Burton grew anxious and turned his gaze to the man nearest to the main seat.

“Buck, why don’t we use divination to find Edric’s location? Regular methods won’t work anymore!”

Listening to Burton, the man with a mustache named Buck took a sip of “wine” and turned to Burton calmly.

“The master left only one chance for divination, which is very precious. I will not use it unless it’s a matter of great importance to the guild’s safety.”

“But… Abbott is dead…”

“It doesn’t matter if he’s dead. It’s not the right time. The master is preparing for promotion and doesn’t have time to manage the guild. According to his wishes, everything here is up to me.”

Buck looked at Burton sternly, and Burton swallowed his words.

After scanning the scene, Buck continued.

“We’ll keep an eye on Edric, but due to possible misinformation, we shouldn’t invest too much energy. We have other matters to attend to next.”

After a brief pause, Buck waited for everyone’s attention and continued.

“According to new intelligence, the sister of Gregorius, the captain of the Third Division of the An Yin Bureau, has arrived in Igewent. Although our task assigned to Edric may have failed due to his potential betrayal, it doesn’t mean we should abandon our original plan…”

“Buck, do you mean we should continue targeting Gregorius’ sister?”

Colif narrowed his eyes and said to Buck, who nodded in agreement.

“Gregorius’ talent is evident. He became an apprentice ‘Shadow Hider’ within two years of entering the secret world, causing us significant trouble. If we could solve this issue… the best would be to tempt him to join us… The pressure of the An Yin Bureau on us in Igewent would be greatly reduced.”

Listening to Buck, Burton nodded in agreement.

“Yeah… Compared to other captains of the An Yin Bureau, Gregorius is the youngest, least cautious, and least experienced. He is the easiest target. If we control his only sister and use her to approach Gregorius, then James’ fastest blade will become ours…

“So Buck, what’s the situation with his sister now?”

Taking another sip of “wine,” Buck slowly replied.

“According to the intelligence, Gregorius sent his sister to St. Amanda School the day before yesterday.”

“St. Amanda? It’s not easy to act there…” Colif frowned, listening to Buck, who nodded in agreement.

“Yes, so we must act outside the school. I’m already arranging it. Although it’s risky, I’ve decided to have our people handle it personally this time.”

As he spoke, Buck picked up a piece of raw meat and put it in his mouth, chewing on it. Dark red bl**d flowed from the corner of his mouth.

…

On a clear morning, in the western suburbs of Igewent by the Iron Mud River, St. Amanda School.

In a spacious room, bright sunlight poured through the open window, illuminating a low table. The table held several geometric plaster shapes, which cast clear black and white shadows under the sunlight. Around the table, students stood with their drawing boards, focusing intently on the shadows of the plaster shapes, striving to recreate them on their papers.

Among them was Dorothy.

“d*mn… I never thought art would be a required subject in this school… This is my first time seeing such a school…”

Sitting at her drawing board, Dorothy scrutinized her sketch of the geometric shape again and again, feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

“Ah… Why is something requiring obvious talent like art a required subject? This is really hard to deal with…”

Dorothy erased the partially drawn shape and prepared to redraw it.

“d*mn, if I keep doing this, it’ll never end… I can’t afford to miss submitting my homework by the end of class…”

At that moment, one of the male classmates accidentally knocked over the low table while picking up an eraser, causing the geometric plaster shapes to fall to the ground with a loud noise that startled everyone.

“Nice move, kid! I wasn’t happy with how those plaster shapes were arranged anyway. This is perfect for a reset…”

Seeing the scene, Dorothy couldn’t help but feel excited but bent down to pick up the scattered plaster shapes.

She picked up a cube and frowned.

“How heavy… How cold… This texture and weight don’t seem like plaster at all…”

Then, Dorothy carefully touched the cube in her hand.

“This feels more like… stone? Are all these geometric shapes made of stone? Shouldn’t they be made of plaster for still life? What’s going on here?”