An orange glow appeared on the horizon, and one by one the manors on the north bank of the River Tussok awakened in the dawn mist.
Tall and fat Frankie Catie went to the guest bedroom where Chunarus Colger had slept the night before, and knocked on the door, planning to have breakfast with the deputy director of Military Intelligence Department Nine.
But there was no answer.
"Has the Major General already gone to the dining room?" Frankie Catie turned around with slight confusion and left the floor.
It was only after breakfast that everyone noticed Chunarus Colger was missing. Led by Dwayne Dantès, they went to the guest bedroom and watched as the manor steward
It was empty.
"Does Major General Colger have a habit of morning walks?" asked Councilor Mahhter, pinching his cheekbones.
Frankie Catie shook his head without hesitation:
"No."
"Did any of you hear anything last night?" asked Portland Momont, president of
Councilor Mahhter thought for a moment:
"No, it was very quiet here, perfect for a vacation."
Beside him, Hazel glanced curiously into the room, but couldn't think of a possible explanation.
Then Frankie Catie offered his guess:
"Major General Colger is an important military figure; he often has urgent matters to deal with. Perhaps he left the manor early and returned to Backlund."
The steam carriage tycoon was clearly trying to downplay the situation.
He seemed to know something, at least suspecting that Chunarus Colger had his own purpose in coming to Meige Manor… Klein listened to their conversation, his expression grave, and said to the butler
"Ask the servants if they saw Major General Colger last night or this morning.
"If not, send someone back to Backlund to visit Major General Colger's family, inform them of this, and let them decide whether to call the police immediately."
Having given the orders, Klein stroked his graying temples and said to Councilor Mahhter and the other guests:
"The situation isn't clear yet; maybe Major General Colger really did leave on urgent business. Let's not let this ruin everyone's vacation. Let's continue with the hunting plans, and once the police arrive, we'll come back."
Since Major General Chunarus Colger's companion Frankie Catie had given a convincing reason of urgent business, Councilor Mahhter and the others agreed with Dwayne Dantès' opinion and left one after another.
Hazel was the last to leave. She glanced at the guest bedroom and the room next to it, feeling that something was off. She instinctively wanted to use the abilities of the "Mystery Scholar" to reconstruct the scene.
But deep in her heart, a strong fear surged up, and she didn't know what she was afraid of. In the end, she gave up the plan.
She vaguely felt she had some experience in similar matters, and that experience told her: don't look at things you shouldn't see, don't listen to sounds you shouldn't hear.
After all the guests and servants had left the floor, in the room next to the one where Chunarus was, a thick carpet with a coffee table on it suddenly moved.
It slowly pulled its body out from under the sofa and table, making no loud noises.
Then, the yellowish-brown carpet stood up vertically, revealing what was on the other side.
It was congealed flesh and blood!
The flesh writhed and reorganized, and soon the carpet turned back into a person — a young man with a mixed-race appearance.
This was Dwayne Dantès' personal valet, Enyuni.
And now following Dwayne Dantès was Chunarus Colger, with the same face, the same body!
For Klein, there was actually no need to make Enyuni, the "Winner", disguise himself in this way. It would have been simpler and safer to turn him into someone else, mix him among the servants, and use illusions to disturb their senses so they wouldn't notice an extra person. But "acting" was still important for a demigod; it was a key to speeding up potion digestion and fighting against losing control and madness. Therefore, Klein deliberately sought "mysteriousness" in the handling of many details.
Of course, he didn't want to harm the innocent. Even when creating a strange and scary atmosphere, he tried not to let others notice it, to avoid causing excessive fear and psychological trauma.
That eerie and terrifying atmosphere was mainly used to get himself and his potion to recognize it. This would undoubtedly accelerate his digestion progress, but lacking feedback from the audience meant that the "acting" was not complete. The digestion speed of the "Faceless" potion wouldn't be as fast as expected. Even after doing so much and performing so many acts, Klein didn't think he could break through to Sequence 3 within this year.
…
In the East Borough of Backlund, in a rented two-room apartment.
Xio sat on an unsteady chair, staring blankly out the window, with an unusually gloomy expression.
Fors drank some water, walked over, and sat opposite Xio, blocking her view:
"Seems like you've lost your drive?
"Is it because that answer left you without a direction? Because the king is unreachable for you?"
Xio's eyes moved, and she slowly came to life:
"Whether it's restoring my father's honor or revenge, when facing a king, hope is so slim. I simply can't think of any way to accomplish something like that…"
"That's because you're still too weak. Once you have Sequence 4 and become a demigod, you'll find that there are plenty of ways, just dangerous!" Fors encouraged her. "Also, you can use others. For example, that monitor of Sherman — she also wants to know who Viscount Stafford is loyal to, and she's definitely very interested in the king's secrets."
"Sherman…" Xio repeated the name, and her mental state suddenly recovered.