Lord of Mysteries:The Good Witch

Over the next few days, Angel's daily routine became more structured. Each morning, she reported to the Black Thorn Security Company as usual. Together with Klein, she went to the Zotlan Shooting Club at 3 Zotlan Street for shooting practice, using up their daily allotment of practice ammunition. Afterward, she studied divination and ritual magic with Old Neil.

At noon, Angel had lunch at the security company before returning home to Daffodil Street. She spent the entire afternoon crafting "Storm Convergence" and "Phantasm Eruption" bullets. For dinner, Angel chose restaurants she hadn't visited before, savoring new culinary experiences. This was one of her few pleasures, given her lack of social activities and entertainment. After nightfall, she attempted to create talismans she had learned from Old Neil using leftover materials from bullet-making. Though the success rate was low, it served as practice for her craft.

On Saturday, two days after recovering the lost ring in the dock area, Mrs. Green returned to the Black Thorn Security Company. She happily paid the remaining fee and retrieved the ring. Angel and Klein's first commission was successfully completed, but the investigation into the mysterious assassin and the organization behind him had made no progress.

The day Angel sketched the assassin's portrait, Dunn Smith had wanted posters plastered all over the city through the Tingen City Police. A reward of 100 pounds was offered for providing crucial information or assisting the police in capturing the target. Unfortunately, no one had claimed this substantial reward.

Angel even suspected that the assassin had already fled Tingen City. After all, he had been wounded in the fight and couldn't recover quickly, plus his face had been seen. "If it were me, I'd do the same," Angel concluded, putting herself in the assassin's shoes.

Divination attempts using the assassin's dropped dagger yielded no results. Old Neil tried dream divination and spirit communication rituals. The former allowed brief sleep to visualize the subject of divination as if witnessed firsthand, while the latter achieved similar effects through ritual magic. Both methods failed completely.

Old Neil believed the divination results were deliberately interfered with, suggesting the use of some "anti-divination" technique that rendered divination and spirit communication ineffective. After discussion, the group concluded that this ability was beyond an "assassin's" capabilities, implying the involvement of more Beyonder individuals behind the scenes, possibly even mid-sequence powerhouses.

Dunn Smith had also questioned Mrs. Green's identity. He obtained relevant information through the police to verify whether she had any connection to the mysterious "assassin" or the rogue extraordinaries behind him.

"Mrs. Green's full name is Erna Green. Her husband was Vincent Green, the founder and major shareholder of the 'Green Printing Factory' in Tingen City. A month ago, Vincent Green's carriage plunged into the river one night. Mr. Green and his personal attendant drowned on the spot, with only the coachman narrowly escaping," Dunn explained, holding a dossier bearing the Awwa County Police Department seal. He pressed his hand against his temple, looking fatigued.

In recent days, not only did he have to write reports for the Sanctuary, but he also needed to liaise with Tingen City police and other church factions. Even though as a "Nightmare," he hardly needed sleep, the prolonged mental and physical exertion was taking its toll.

It was Monday morning of the new week, the day Angel was to deliver her specially crafted bullets. When she arrived at Dunn Smith's office carrying the small wooden box that previously held materials, she found the captain unusually reclining in his chair, resting his eyes.

"Was it really an accident?" Angel expressed disbelief upon hearing about Mrs. Green's identity and her husband's death.

"According to the coachman's testimony, visibility was poor that night. When passing another carriage, Mr. Green's horses were startled and accelerated, plunging directly into the river at a street corner. The coachman only managed to save himself. By the time he swam ashore, the carriage had completely sunk. The police arrived later and only retrieved two bodies," Dunn continued.

"The other carriage was also investigated. It was a hired carriage carrying two Tingen University students. They had no motive. Just a coincidence."

Dunn handed Angel a sheet from the dossier. "The deceased was a follower of the God of Steam and Machinery, so the 'Machinery Heart' participated in the investigation. They issued a brief report concluding that no Beyonder powers were involved."

"I mean, it doesn't necessarily have to be an Beyonder's doing, but could someone have... hired an assassin, for instance?" Angel felt that Dunn, or rather these official beyonder, had a somewhat limited perspective. Did they think that without Beyonder abilities, there were no murders in this world?

"The case has been closed. Tingen police ruled it as accidental death," Dunn shrugged. "I've reviewed the files and found no loopholes."

"The interesting part comes next. The Greens had no children or other direct relatives. According to kingdom law, after Vincent Green's death, his printing factory shares and other assets, worth over 15,000 pounds, would all be inherited by Erna Green."

"But she needed Mr. Green's ring?" Angel realized.

Dunn nodded with a smile. "Exactly. Although according to inheritance law, Mrs. Green could unconditionally acquire all the property, she had numerous conflicts with other shareholders regarding the factory's management. Mrs. Green wanted to sell her shares and leave with the money, which required that ring."

No wonder Mrs. Green didn't even blink at the 120-pound fee—there was a fortune of 15,000 pounds behind it.

"So Mrs. Green simply lost an important ring, then hired a private detective to locate it, and then commissioned us to retrieve it. I just happened to discover the Labor Union's involvement in human trafficking during the process?" Angel summarized. "Just a coincidence?"

"Correct, just a coincidence," Dunn agreed. "Of course, the Labor Union won't get away with it. Their current chairman, Jick Horton, left for Emmat Port by ship a week ago. Wanted notices have been sent there. To avoid alerting them, Tingen City police won't take action against the union until he's captured."

"Once Jick Horton is apprehended, we should be able to get quite a bit of information about that assassin and the organization behind him from him. For now, we can only wait."

Dunn put the dossier back into a file folder, sealed it briefly with glue, and placed it in his desk drawer. He then took out a slightly smaller folder bearing the emblem of the Nighthawk Church, opened it in front of Angel, and pulled out a few thin sheets of paper.

Angel pretended to glance casually, immediately averting her gaze, her heart pounding. The topmost sheet was an identity certificate bearing her name—undoubtedly the one she had purchased for 40 pounds from "Wild Heart." Of course, her own copy still lay in her home at 6 Daffodil Street. The one Dunn produced must have been obtained from the Backlund police.

Dunn laid out the papers from the folder on the desk and looked up at Angel, who was trying to maintain her composure. "Since you've finished making the bullets I need, I'll submit these reports along with the bullets this afternoon. The Sanctuary should respond within a week."

"This is your identity information, which I requested from the Backlund parish. They obtained it from the police department," he said slowly, pointing to the leftmost identity certificate. He then moved his finger to the second sheet filled with text.

"This is a summary of the 'Cole Granger disappearance case' you were involved in, as well as the crimes he committed."

Angel's gaze swept over the letter. Although the text was upside down, she could roughly make out Dunn's handwriting.

"Finally, this is the full account of Sharon Hoey's invasion of the Nighthawk base and her subsequent death, written by Leonard. Take a look and point out any issues if you find any."

Dunn pushed the third sheet towards Angel, who turned it over and quickly read through it.

True to Leonard Mitchell's self-proclaimed poet status, even his battle record was written with artistic flair. Apart from slightly exaggerated expressions, the report accurately documented the ambush and counter-ambush battle that night, allowing Angel to revisit the deadly struggle with a mid-sequence powerhouse from another perspective.

"It's well-written. I have nothing to add," Angel said after finishing Leonard's work, rotating the paper 180 degrees and pushing it back to Dunn.

"Are you sure there's nothing else?" Dunn didn't take the battle record but instead placed his hand on the other two sheets, his gray eyes steadily fixed on Angel, implying something.

Of course, there was more. The woman before him was actually a man just two weeks ago—Cole Granger, the one with a 500-pound bounty on wanted posters. He had committed multiple murders and instigated crimes in Tingen City over two years, causing headaches for the police. Unfortunately, he failed in his attempt to advance to Sequence 7 "Witch," dying on the spot. His body was then occupied by a consciousness from another world, successfully infiltrating the Nighthawk Church's armed forces beyonder, the "Nighthawks," in an attempt to deceive everyone, clear his name, and incidentally explore the hidden knowledge of the mysterious world to find a way back to Earth—

"There's nothing else," Angel could only answer, steeling herself.

"Alright then," Dunn replied, to her surprise. He didn't press further but efficiently gathered the three sheets back into the folder. He then lit a nearby candle, took out a piece of sealing wax from the drawer to heat, solemnly sealed the folder, and pressed his own seal onto it, as if completing a ritual, blowing gently on the wax seal.

After finishing all this, he looked up again at the stern-faced Angel.

"No need to be nervous. I've already sent a telegram to the Sanctuary about this. They've agreed in principle to your transition to a formal member. These documents are just a formality."

Captain... is it really okay to celebrate halfway like this? And when you asked me earlier if I had anything to add, were you probing or just asking casually?

Unable to discern Dunn's intentions, Angel could only respond with a smile.

"By the way, although I've already understood your intentions before, I still need to formally confirm once more."

After letting the sealed folder cool and solidify on top of the wooden box full of special bullets, Dunn straightened his posture, his expression serious, and spoke slowly:

"Miss Angel Granger, are you willing to officially join the Tingen City Nighthawks team and become one of us? This means an official position, a more generous salary and benefits, but it also means being ready to fight against danger and madness at any time, even to the point of sacrificing your life."

"Your salary will immediately double, half paid by the church and half by the Awwa County Police Department. You will also become a probationary inspector for Awwa County."

"Once you join, you will be bound not only by contract and law but also by the church's precepts. Leaving without the team's approval will be considered desertion."

"You may not leave Tingen City for any reason without the team's approval."

"You can make your final decision when the Sanctuary's approval comes through."