Chapter 674: The Chancellor
In the northern part of Faraluo, in Froz.
During the day in Froz, the sky is clear and sunny. In a suite of a high-end hotel not far from the city center, Doro sits on a couch with her legs crossed, dressed comfortably in a cotton dress, using Spiritual Threads to control her Zombie Puppets in the distance.
These Zombie Puppets are gathered in a room somewhere else in Froz, flipping through one ancient document after another under Doro’s control. They pull out yellowed texts from file bags to examine, making it seem as if a group of scholars is conducting research.
At this moment, the documents being reviewed by Doro’s Zombie Puppets are still the ones provided by Sander, concerning some materials from the late Bourbon Dynasty, particularly those relating to the Faraluo Chancellor during Robert’s period, Dubois. Among these are records of Dubois and even his personally issued decrees and handwritten letters.
As Doro reads through these century-old records, she gradually gains a clear understanding of Dubois, the last Chancellor, who is described as greedy, cunning, and wicked. While examining these materials, Doro attempts to use her abilities to create a psychological profile of Dubois.
Although more than a century has passed, and Dubois likely no longer walks the earth, Doro knows that personality profiling can still be applied to the deceased. While she cannot hypnotize a ghost, she can uncover some information from the person’s lifetime, especially regarding personality habits. Doro believes this might help her find clues about Dubois.
After browsing through extensive materials about Dubois, Doro’s personality profiling officially begins. However, it soon becomes apparent that this profiling is progressing much slower than usual.
Very slowly, almost painfully so… With the ample correspondence available, Doro has never felt a profiling session take this long before. After reviewing almost all the materials Sander provided on Dubois, she raises her brows in concern: the progress barely increases, leaving a significant gap from completing the profiling. This situation makes Doro’s expression grow serious.
One must understand that the volume of materials provided by Sander should be sufficient for Doro to profile two or three Extraordinary Beings of the White Chalk Tier. Yet, when it comes to Dubois, the progress has only increased slightly. Doro understands what this situation indicates.
‘Although I suspected this Dubois had ties to some secretive power and was an Extraordinary Being, I didn’t anticipate he would be a Red Tier… It makes sense; someone in the position of Chancellor, who stole from the treasury of a great nation, couldn’t just be an ordinary figure. He might very well be part of some high-level secretive organization…’
Doro thinks to herself, feeling somewhat unsurprised by the current situation. She had already prepared herself psychologically for a potential profiling failure. However, the attempt isn’t an utter failure; the accumulated profiling progress, though minor, does have a bit of effect. This effect is likely enough for Doro to recognize Dubois at a glance if she sees him in a crowd in the future. Though it’s minimal, it’s better than nothing.
‘If this Dubois really is a Red Tier, he should still be alive. This complicates things… An influential Red Tier with a backing force, and the profiling fails… How am I going to find him?’
Sitting on the couch, Doro ponders while stroking her chin. After a moment of thought, she quietly takes out her Magic Box, opening it and retrieving the Navigation of the Literary Sea.
Setting her legs down and sitting upright, she places the familiar Extraordinary item on the coffee table and begins flipping through its pages. Upon reaching a certain page, she pauses slightly and takes up a pen to write.
“Hey, are you there?” Doro’s handwriting quickly merges into the page, and within moments, a neatly printed response appears before her.
“Of course I’m here! It’s been a while since you contacted me on your own. Did you become a bit of a big shot after your promotion to Red Tier?” The response comes from a certain clockmaker. After seeing this, Doro smiles gently and replies.
“It’s not about being a big shot; I simply haven’t had much to discuss with you lately. You’ve been busy at home tinkering with things, and I didn’t want to disturb you unnecessarily. If you’re feeling lonely, I can catch up with you after I return.”
Doro responds to Beverly, who quickly replies in her own ultra-fast manner.
“Ah, forget what I said! Do you really think someone who can spend years holed up in a lab would feel lonely? Don’t be ridiculous… Anyway, let’s get to the point. What do you want from me this time? Business? Or intel?”
“I just need to ask you something. Do you know a guy named Ayman Dubois? He was the last Chancellor of the Bourbon Dynasty in Faraluo, so he should have some reputation.”
Doro writes this in the book page, and it isn’t long before she receives a response from Beverly.
“Ayman… Dubois? The last Chancellor of the Banquet? Interesting… Since you’re asking me about him, it implies you know something about the issues during the end of the Banquet Dynasty, right?” Beverly’s neat handwriting quickly appears before Doro, who casually responds.
“Yes, I’m currently in Froz. Recently, due to a friend’s reasons, I got involved in local Extraordinary powers and Amniotic Sac affairs, learning some secrets about the Bourbon Dynasty and finding a clue related to the First Dynasty. However, this clue ultimately leads to Dubois, so I came to see if you know anything about him.”
“I certainly know. This so-called Dubois, his more commonly used name is Federico. He is one of the ‘high chancellors’ of the Dark Gold Society. Over a century ago, through embezzlement, he made a huge profit for the Dark Gold Society while in Faraluo. Among the current high chancellors of the Dark Gold Society, he is considered to have significant influence.”
Beverly seems to respond to Doro’s inquiry quite seriously. Reading Beverly’s reply, a hint of understanding appears in Doro’s expression.
Upon hearing Sander speak of Dubois’ exploits, she immediately notes several key points: Dubois was born a merchant, gained entry to Robert’s court through donations, ascending from Finance Minister to Chancellor. During his tenure, he urged Robert to seize wealth madly, ultimately taking the treasure away, all while providing a certain degree of ‘shadow’ protection to Robert’s court.
Fraud, wealth, Extraordinary, merchant, shadow… Upon hearing this series of keywords, Doro immediately thinks of the Dark Gold Society, since apart from the White Stone Craftsmen Guild, they are the only ones so closely linked to wealth within the secret world. Realizing this, Doro decides to consult Beverly regarding this Dubois, as the Guild knows the Dark Gold Society better than anyone else, and the outcome is precisely as she expected.
“Federico… So that’s the name of the last Chancellor? It seems he is indeed affiliated with the Dark Gold Society. Involving themselves in a nation’s internal affairs in such a way—what purpose do they have in doing this?” Doro writes her questions on the page, while Beverly quickly responds.
“What purpose could it be but for wealth? The Dark Gold Society, like us, operates all over the world, managing various businesses, engaging in various speculations, and acquiring wealth through various means. In terms of commercial capacity alone, the Dark Gold Society is even stronger than us. Though we hold an advantage in Extraordinary Transactions, in many other fields outside of that, they dominate.
“The Dark Gold Society acts as the hidden financial backers for many large companies and international funds searching for opportunities, a hidden force subtly influencing the capital world. They conceal themselves through layers of embedding, unlike us craftsmen who typically do not directly control specific industries in the mundane capital world but instead seek opportunities in the market to engage proactively, often even creating opportunities where none exist.
“The current Dark Gold Society is led by the Grand Nobles. Each of their high chancellors is responsible for different regions and possesses unique skills. Some maliciously disrupt stock markets, stir up markets, and even instigate financial crises in countries to buy in bulk. Some worsen national internal conflicts to instigate wars, profiting from the chaos. Others conduct covert transactions that the Craftsmen Guild is restricted from pursuing, like large-scale human trafficking and various slave training.
“And some… focus on corroding and infiltrating a nation’s administrative body, controlling key financial positions through various means to plunder national wealth… This Federico is one such case. Over a century ago, he saw the opportunity as the Banquet Dynasty was nearing its end, personally partaking in the downfall, all while making a huge profit for the Dark Gold Society.”
Beverly’s meticulous handwriting continues to flow across the page in front of Doro. As Doro absorbs these words, her expression becomes serious, and she writes back.
“With the Dark Gold Society plundering wealth and accumulating assets, what is their ultimate aim? Is this wealth really so significant to these Extraordinary Beings?”
Doro asks Beverly, and after a moment, the response springs up on the page.
“The so-called mundane and Extraordinary are merely definitions used by many arrogant people who think they have surpassed the common masses. In essence, there is no clear boundary separating the mundane from the Extraordinary. It only pertains to the depths of the world, the vitality of spirituality, and the abundance or scarcity of wealth. One cannot dismiss the mundane simply because it lies at a superficial level of the world, nor can one claim that less spiritually vibrant means no spirituality exists. Quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes… The assets of the Dark Gold Society, once accumulated to a certain level, possess the potential to create impacts at the level of deities.”
Doro furrows her brows slightly upon reading Beverly’s response and quickly replies.
“Impacts at the level of deities… Are you implying that the Dark Gold Society’s massive accumulation of assets is part of a grand scheme?”
“Ah… honestly, I can’t say. That said, we seem to have gotten off-topic. What you should be more concerned about right now isn’t their motives but rather finding Federico, right?” Beverly’s response appears before Doro. Doro doesn’t believe for a moment that Beverly is entirely oblivious to the Dark Gold Society’s motives, but since Beverly doesn’t wish to delve deeper, she doesn’t press the matter.
“Yes, I am currently looking for him. You’ve dealt with the Dark Gold Society for years—do you have any leads on him?” Doro continues writing, and Beverly quickly responds.
“I’m afraid this is where I must disappoint you. Unlike the church’s archbishops, the whereabouts of those involved in secret societies are often hard to pin down. The Dark Gold Society members are among the most elusive; they don’t have fixed bases, frequently changing locations, making them extremely hard to track. The last time we confirmed Federico’s whereabouts was twelve years ago, during the civil unrest in Sokok.”
“You don’t know either? Then if I want to find him, do I have to take matters into my own hands?” Doro’s brows knit in response to Beverly’s message, but Beverly’s answer only frustrates her further.
“I’m afraid so. We don’t currently have any leads on Federico either. If you manage to find him later and want to take action, perhaps we could lend a small hand. If you create some trouble for him without our help, we might even reward you, but all of that hinges on you finding him first. I have faith in your capabilities.”
‘Easier said than done…’ Doro silently scoffs in her heart as she reads Beverly’s message. After realizing that she can’t draw any further conclusions from this conversation, Doro shares a few more pleasantries with Beverly before concluding their chat. After closing the Navigation of the Literary Sea, she reclines back on the couch, letting out a long breath.
“Phew… The Craftsmen Guild doesn’t have any reliable leads either. What do I do now?”
With a puzzled expression, Doro mutters while leaning back. Then, she begins to think carefully about how to strengthen the fragile clues about Federico and find the lost Light of Maria.
Deep in thought, Doro opens her Magic Box again, retrieving the golden base she had acquired from Sander, holding it in her hand. Examining the intricate patterns on its surface, a thought begins to bloom in her mind.
‘This golden base combined with those four crystals should constitute a composite version of a high-level Key to Vision, and the characteristic of the Key to Vision is that it inherently lacks Extraordinary meaning. Only with authorization from the Grand Library will it exhibit obvious Extraordinary characteristics.
‘For over a century, this Key to Vision’s base hasn’t shown any Extraordinary traits, likely because it has been disassembled and cannot normally receive the Grand Library’s authorization. Essentially, the spirit of the Key to Vision is granted remotely by the Grand Library. The Key itself is an Extraordinary item capable of accepting the spirit of ‘Enlightenment’; however, it differs from many other Extraordinary items in that its spiritual conversion rate is incredibly high, with very little residue. After use, it becomes like an ordinary object. But what if I now substitute the Grand Library and grant it spirit myself?’
As she looks at the golden base, Doro is momentarily struck by this idea and thus begins her attempt, channeling her ‘Enlightenment’ into the object.
As Doro infuses her spirit, the open eye design on the golden base flashes with a faint purple glow, followed by the faint emergence of Extraordinary characteristics in Doro’s vision.
