Chapter 46: Invite

“It was about half a month ago. The boss found that guy somewhere and told us to treat his words like his own…” Bill didn’t hide anything, quickly telling her everything he knew.

The owner of the Merry Drinking Club had returned half a month ago, bringing a mysterious person with him. According to Bill, it was someone “wearing a robe, whose face couldn’t be seen.” After returning to Schwerdt Town, the boss told them to obey this mysterious person’s every command.

Considering the boss was offering extra money, everyone accepted this somewhat inexplicable request.

About seven days ago, the mysterious person gave Bill a mission—go to the cemetery and report back to him about the situation.

As he spoke, a sharp pain shot through his bandaged leg, interrupting him. He’d probably been instructed by the doctor not to move, so he could only grit his teeth and endure the pain. His hands clutched the tattered sheets, looking incredibly pathetic.

Selene pondered his words.

This was consistent with the information Duquesne had given them… He had confessed everything himself, saving her some effort… No, wait, in his eyes, she was a superhuman who had suddenly appeared… Why did he think it was related to her…? Was there more to this story?

Selene considered several possibilities. She glanced at Bill’s injured leg and frowned.

Even through the bandages, she could see that it was a horrific wound, as if crushed by countless sawtooth gears. The flesh around the wound was mangled. There were cuts, almost severing his thigh… This wasn’t something that could be caused by a simple stumble.

…Something happened to him on his way back!

Selene realized this.

She rubbed her forehead, took out the red potion from her hip, and said coldly,

“Drink this.”

“…This is…?”

Bill, his mind preoccupied with pain, took the potion. He didn’t get an answer, so he simply opened the vial and poured it into his mouth.

A few dozen seconds later, his pain subsided. He felt an itching sensation in his wounds… Afraid to look at them, he didn’t check, but he suspected that they were closing rapidly… Thinking of this, he felt even more grateful to Selene, and no longer felt guilty about betraying his boss.

“… If left untreated, this wound would have killed you in two days,” Selene asked in a low voice. “Why didn’t you go to the church and seek help from a priest?”

“…Whew,” Bill took a few deep breaths. He felt a surge of strength through his body. Superhumans were truly something. He answered Selene’s question. “That mysterious person didn’t let me go to the church. He found a doctor for me.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Selene glanced at the bandages, which were almost completely black with blood, and wasn’t surprised. Bill was incredibly lucky. This kind of injury, on someone less fortunate, would have been fatal eight times over. Even if the doctor had arrived in time, all they could have done was treat the corpse.

She didn’t show her surprise, but nodded slightly, as if she understood, and gestured for Bill to continue.

“The first half of the mission went smoothly. The cemetery is a bit creepy, and the old graveyard keeper looks like a ghost himself, but I still stayed there for three hours, observing the situation…” Bill recounted, then grimaced, “On my way back, I ran into a patrol. You know, those cops don’t like people like me. They’re always looking for excuses to make things difficult. So, I went into an alley…”

Selene perked up, knowing that this was the important part.

“It’s a little-known shortcut that can get you from the east of town to the center quickly. I’ve used it before, so I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it…” Bill said, his face twisting. “When I was passing Reeves Street, I ran into a strange mural. It looked like a mass of flesh and blood, painted in red. There was also a bunch of writing next to it that I didn’t recognize. There was a statue under the mural…”

Bill swallowed, his voice trembling. Even after several days, remembering the scene still terrified him.

“I was tired, and I wanted to take a break, so I sat down there and picked up the statue… And then… and then, the statue came to life!”

Bill gestured wildly, drawing chaotic lines in the air.

“I don’t know how to describe it. It was like a lot of blood flowed out of the statue, and then something with a lot of mouths jumped out of the blood and bit my leg… And then, and then I passed out. The boss’s people found me and brought me back. That was the next day.”

Selene pondered for a moment, suspecting this was related to the heretics.

“I understand. So you told your boss and the mysterious person about this,” she asked, her voice affirmative, not waiting for Bill to answer. She stood up, preparing to leave. “Don’t tell them I came here.”

She had enough clues. If she continued, that mysterious person, who clearly wasn’t simple, might discover her intrusion.

It would be hard to explain herself then.

But before she could reach the door, she heard the click of a key in the lock and the doorknob turning. A moment later, a middle-aged man in a double-breasted suit, wearing a fedora, pushed open the door.

The three looked at each other.

Bill was the first to speak.

“Boss, this is my friend. He heard what happened and came to see me…”

A clumsy lie. Though his attempt to cover for her surprised Selene, it was no different than if he had exposed her. After all, there was an obvious flaw—the door was locked, and only Bill was in the room. His legs were broken. Who opened the door for her?

It was a lie that was easily exposed.

Selene’s eyes darted around. She put her hands on her hips, ready to resort to brute force. Although she wasn’t enhanced in any way, and her strength was only slightly greater than a child’s, a surprise attack still had a high probability of success.

But the “boss” didn’t panic and didn’t give Selene a chance to attack. He merely glanced at Bill, then looked at Selene, bowed deeply, performing a standard servant’s bow, and said respectfully,

“The master requests your presence.”

Selene instantly guessed that the mysterious person was the so-called “master.” She asked calmly,

“Can I refuse?”

“You are certainly entitled to do so,” the boss immediately replied. “But the master told me to say this if you refuse—a voice that suddenly appears in your mind isn’t a good thing, especially if it occasionally rambles unsettling phrases.

“The master said he can answer your questions.”