Chapter 442

Chapter 349 Transaction

In the St. Hymn Cathedral within the Church District of Northern Tivyán, under the vast dome supported by rows of thick columns, Misha stood there in ordinary winter clothes, scrutinizing the man smiling and extending his hand to her. There was nothing unusual about him on the surface. After a moment’s hesitation, Misha reached out and shook his hand.

“Your pattern magic left quite an impression… Detective, I’ve seen for the first time these extraordinary text effects that only occur in my eyes. It’s quite enlightening.”

Misha asked Ed this question, clearly curious about the effects of General Language. Ed, manipulated by Dorothy, smiled and replied.

“There’s nothing special about it; it’s just an extraordinary item obtained by chance. It can secretly convey information to designated individuals, but aside from that, it’s not very useful.”

Dorothy had Ed respond like this. This wasn’t modesty; with the General Language Feather Pen, Dorothy could do little more than this.

Regarding the General Language Feather Pen, Dorothy had already experimented. She discovered that the pen allowed her to write General Language rather than master it. At least, the General Language written with this pen had limitations—more precise encryption conditions required less spirit energy, while broader conditions consumed more.

Currently, the General Language written by Dorothy with this feather pen could only be precisely set for specific individuals or a few people. It couldn’t yet be set for conditions like those found in ruins, as setting broad conditions consumed several times more spirit energy than precise personal settings. Even if she used the least important “Enlightenment” spirit energy, the feather pen’s consumption would still be too high. Thus, Dorothy could only use the General Language Feather Pen to set private information for individuals.

This was likely a flaw of the feather pen itself, not the General Language. Dorothy thought that if she truly mastered General Language, the spirit energy consumption would be much better.

“You’re very punctual, Mr. Detective.”

“Of course, making a lady wait for me would be ungentlemanly. Ms. Misha, trusting me enough to meet here is a great honor for me.” With an unchanged smile, Ed continued politely to Misha. Misha then scanned her surroundings and spoke.

“To dispel my concerns, you chose such a place for our meeting. Such sincerity is worth wasting, so I came.”

Looking around, Misha released her grip and then asked Ed.

“So, shall we talk here?”

“Of course. Today, there are fewer people praying, and this cathedral is so large that this corner will suffice. On church grounds, we don’t need to be overly cautious about those fellows.”

As Ed spoke, he walked to an empty seat at the end of a row in the church. Misha followed and sat nearby.

“What kind of society are you? Why are you hostile to the Eight Pinnacle Nest? How much do you know about the Eight Pinnacle Nest?”

Glancing sideways at Ed, Misha asked bluntly. Ed responded with a shrug and a smile.

“Ms. Misha, your questions come too quickly. I’m here to trade information with you, not to report to you. Information outside the scope of our transaction cannot be disclosed.”

Hearing Ed’s words, Misha’s expression darkened. She stared at Ed for a few seconds before continuing.

“Then, what can you tell me?”

“Didn’t I write it in the letter? Your investigation team has a traitor. The intelligence within your team is completely exposed by that traitor. Relying on a small traitor to find a big one is impossible. We know the identity of the small traitor because we have a spy in the Eight Pinnacle Nest. That’s all I can tell you today, Ms.”

With a light tone, Ed said to Misha. Misha then countered.

“Since you have a spy in the Eight Pinnacle Nest, do you only know the identity of the small traitor? Do you know nothing about the big traitor?”

“As for the information on the big traitor, it’s highly classified within the Eight Pinnacle Nest. Although we have infiltrated them, our current infiltration level is insufficient to reach that level. If we acquire relevant information someday, perhaps we’ll have another transaction, but this transaction doesn’t include that.”

With an explanatory tone, Ed continued speaking to Misha. Listening to Ed’s words, Misha fell silent for a moment, then after a pause, she spoke.

“Then… what do I need to pay to obtain the information on the small traitor?”

“In exchange for information, I have some questions for you. If I receive valuable answers, I will disclose the information honestly.”

Looking into Misha’s eyes, Ed continued. Misha responded with a sarcastic laugh.

“Hmm… Valuable answers? If I answer, wouldn’t you be the one judging their value? What if you renege after I answer?”

Misha challenged Ed, who then straightened his collar and replied seriously.

“Ms. Misha, since we’ve come this far, it means we have a basic trust in each other. You don’t need to doubt me here. If you don’t trust me even a little, this transaction won’t proceed.”

Listening to Ed’s words, Misha’s expression tightened. After some thought, she took a deep breath and, unwilling to miss this opportunity to gain intelligence on the Eight Pinnacle Nest, said.

“Alright, ask whatever you want.”

“Very well… Ms. Misha, we want to know about some deities in the ‘Shadow’ domain. Has your An Yin Bureau conducted any research or even worship regarding deities in the ‘Shadow’ domain?”

Ed asked Misha this. Hearing Ed’s question, Misha was taken aback. She hadn’t expected such a question.

“Is it… about information on other gods? Hmm… Asking me these questions, you might be disappointed. The An Yin Bureau is an official extraordinary institution under the kingdom government. There is no worship of other gods within it.

“We do not worship other gods. Researching other gods could lead to their worship, causing instability within the bureau. Therefore, our research on other gods is superficial and not in-depth.”

Misha explained to Ed. Hearing her words, Ed was stunned and furrowed his brow.

“Then… have you conducted any research on the pure color deity in the ‘Shadow’ domain?”

“The pure color deity of ‘Shadow’? You mean the core faith in spiritual domains like the King of the Underworld concerning ‘Silence’ and the Cup Mother concerning ‘Cup’? I’m sorry, due to the low activity level of pure color societies compared to others, the King of the Underworld and the Cup Mother have some influence within the Underworld Coffin Cult and the Placenta Sect. Other pure color deities, except for the Savior of Radiance, I haven’t heard of them. Our understanding of them is very limited because studying unnecessary knowledge for work is both energy-consuming and risky.”

Misha explained to Ed. Dorothy, listening through Ed’s senses, felt a sense of unease. A bad feeling rose from her heart.

“No way, does the An Yin Bureau really have no information about the main god of ‘Shadow’? Are you still an extraordinary organization of ‘Shadow’!”

From a carriage on a distant street, Dorothy muttered to herself as she sat in her seat. She originally planned to use the information about the traitor to exchange for intelligence on the main god of ‘Shadow’ and the holy emblem from the An Yin Bureau. But hearing Misha’s words, they had no information about the main god of ‘Shadow’, not even its name. This left Dorothy feeling quite depressed.