Chapter 133 Odis's Intelligence Network

When the Tarot Club ended, Odis stared blankly at the ceiling for a while as usual before getting up to fetch the gauntlet-shaped Mystical item he had prepared beforehand for the transaction.

After completing his trades with Miss Justice and The Hanged Man one after another, he praised The Fool and counted his earnings for the day.

Trading the item with The Hanged Man earned him 800 pounds, and translating the Ancient Elvish later brought in another 100 pounds, totaling 900 pounds.

In addition, trading intelligence with Miss Justice brought in 1,000 pounds, bringing his total harvest from this Tarot Club gathering to 1,900 pounds…

Odis let out a sigh. He was still far from his goal, and there were many places where he needed to spend money at the moment.

He decided to wait until he received his share of the profits from the Rosewood Pavilion before considering discussing the trade of a Mystical item with the Queen Mystic.

Today was Monday, so it was time to check the accounts again. Enoch and Mandy’s assistants arrived one after the other to submit the books, and Odis agreed with Enoch that in a few days he would send someone with the ‘special method’ mentioned earlier to equip Enoch’s subordinates with combat capabilities.

After settling the financial matters, Odis called Kain over.

“You’ve been working here for about two years now, and you’re already familiar with everything at the herbal shop.” He said, “I need to go out frequently these days, so I’m promoting you to manager of the herbal shop. For now, your salary will be raised to 1 pound 10 soli. If your performance is good, it will go up to 2 pounds.”

When it came to his confidants, Odis always paid what was due, yet he would frequently offer additional bonuses.

For instance, when Kain helped craft the Flamebolts, Odis gave him over 1 pound, equivalent to a full week’s salary, as a bonus once he was finished.

Kain smiled, “Understood, Mr. Gale. I will definitely take good care of the herbal shop.”

“We also need to find you an assistant,” Odis said, “For the time being, we’ll start them at the wage you had when you first arrived as an apprentice: a weekly salary of 12 soli.”

Kain hesitated for a moment before speaking in a pleading tone, “Mr. Gale, could I bring my sister in as an apprentice?”

Although the salary Odis offered couldn’t compare to that of formal clerks at large firms, it was always paid on time, never with any delays.

Most importantly, over these past two years, as long as Kain was willing to learn, Odis was willing to teach, and he now essentially understood the medicinal and extraordinary effects of most herbs. Having a skill was the only way to gain a firm foothold in this great metropolis.

Comparatively speaking, Kain was lucky. At a young age, he had become the pillar of his family and the envy of his peers. At the same time, he also knew that Mr. Gale had always maintained a rigorous standard when it came to hiring staff, which was why he brought up his sister with such a supplicating tone.

Odis was slightly taken aback before answering, “Very well. But let me remind you, you should know very well how I deal with subordinates who run into financial misconduct.”

Kain immediately said, “I know. We will definitely work hard.”

Odis nodded, headed to the backyard to pick up the manuscript of the Outline of Combat, and then took a rented carriage to a secluded post office.

Finding an empty spot, he turned his coat inside out and put on the Lelouch mask.

The coat he wore had different colors inside and out, making it perfectly suited for a quick, simple disguise.

Still, Odis didn’t go to mail it in person. Instead, he spent 1 soli to hire a paperboy to send the manuscript to reporter Mike through the post office.

Having done all this, Odis didn’t return to Gale’s Herbal Shop. Instead, he made his way to Unit 77 Rose Street, the residence of the Gandalf.

He would basically be staying here until his Warlock Potion was fully digested.

However, considering how inconvenient it would be to return to his current residence in his Warlock persona, and in order to fabricate the illusion that Gandalf truly lived here, he had also set up a teleportation array connecting his current residence and Gandalf’s residence.

The Arhona crystal used for this teleportation array was the very same crystal that had previously connected his residence to Unit 176 Riverbay Avenue, which Odis had reclaimed back then.

The gemstones from that array could no longer be reused, however. He had purchased several modestly sized gems along with an assortment of spiritual materials, spending several hundred pounds in total to scribe a new array.

Only after finishing the drawing did he sigh ruefully in his heart: ‘This was a necessary expense. Hopefully Gandalf the warlock could earn it back as soon as possible…’

Odis gave the array a test run, conveniently returning to his own residence. He wasn’t worried that the Machinery Hivemind would lose track of him, as they already knew he had a means of achieving short-range teleportation.

Max had previously inquired about this array, but after taking it back to study, he discovered that its cost was quite high, the teleportation distance was limited, and it required ongoing maintenance.

The ultimate conclusion was that it was far too troublesome and not nearly as practical as simply using an appropriate Sealed Artifact.

Thus, the wealthy Church of the God of Steam and Machinery showed no interest whatsoever in Odis’s research.

*Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling~*

The doorbell suddenly chimed just as he was preparing dinner.

He noticed it was already dark outside, so he first picked up his cane by the door before glancing out the window.

Aided by the glow of the gas streetlamps, Odis spotted a carriage bearing the Sacred Emblem of Storms parked on the street.

He sighed…

What was bound to come had arrived at last.

He maintained sufficient vigilance while opening the front door. Then putting on a smile, he greeted, “Good evening, gentlemen.”

The man standing outside was none other than the Mandated Punisher deacon, Conard, who had visibly thinned down. Beside him stood two Mandated Punisher agents, as well as a member of the Machinery Hivemind.

Over the past week or so, the Mandated Punishers had exhausted every method at their disposal, yet they had failed to turn up a single clue regarding Lelouch.

Whether in Backlund or its surrounding districts, no one had witnessed him anywhere.

Two well-formed conjectures had already emerged within the Machinery Hivemind regarding this outcome.

The first was that Lelouch had departed using a Sealed Artifact with the ability to Travel, and after escaping Backlund, had gone into hiding in parts unknown.

The second was that he had taken off his mask. Lelouch never revealed his true face, leading Conard to suspect that he ordinarily went unmasked, so after setting the fire at the arena, he simply discarded the mask and returned to being himself.

But this presented another problem: Simon and the few others who had seen Lelouch’s true face were dead, leaving no one who knew what he looked like.

Logically speaking, such a case would normally end here. There were simply no further leads to pursue. Backlund had a population of five million, and there was no guarantee Lelouch was even among them.

However, the conservative faction in Backlund’s political circles kept pressuring the Church of the Lord of Storms, urging them to solve the case as quickly as possible.

Left with no choice, the Church of Storms ordered Conard to continue the investigation. Yet, after running around for about a week, this Mandated Punisher deacon still hadn’t found a single clue.

Only then did he recall that, according to the confessions of Simon’s subordinates, Odis had been seen at the underground fighting ring.

Conard had no idea that Odis was Leader, nor had he ever dealt with this herbal shop owner, but he did know that the man was an informant for the Machinery Hivemind.

In theory, Conard wouldn’t have known about an informant belonging to another official Beyonder organization. He only knew of Odis because the man was a well-known informant among the official Beyonders…

Although Odis wasn’t as famous as Leader, his herbal shop brought him into contact not only with occult enthusiasts, but also with Beyonders, allowing him to provide the Machinery Hivemind with many valuable leads over time.

Naturally, the Machinery Hivemind hadn’t gone around broadcasting that they had such an informant. Conard learned of the young herbal shop owner through high-level classified documents.

Since there were no other leads anyway, he decided to find something to keep himself busy, if only to have an answer ready for the nobles.

Thus, he obtained Odis’s address from the Machinery Hivemind and paid him a visit at night, showing the nobles just how dedicated he was to his work.

As a precaution, the Machinery Hivemind also sent a member along, partly to prevent Conard from making reckless arrests under immense pressure, and partly to keep the Mandated Punishers from employing Beyonder methods during the interrogation.

They knew very well that Odis couldn’t withstand that kind of interrogation…

Conard explained the purpose of his visit, stating that he had a few questions for Odis.

The latter had long been prepared for this, so after inviting them inside, the questioning began.

Odis had a solid alibi. He claimed that on that day, he had delivered several types of herbs to a viscount; herbs he had spent a long time gathering. The viscount was so pleased upon receiving them that he had his butler invite Odis to stay for dinner.

Conard immediately dispatched someone to verify the story, and within half an hour, received confirmation that such an event had indeed occurred.

Odis was thus cleared of suspicion.

Naturally, that noble hadn’t been kind enough to commit perjury for Odis out of goodwill. He was only willing to do so because Odis held evidence of a scandal big enough to ruin the viscount and strip him of his title.

In truth, the intelligence network Odis had planted among the nobility using the Rosewood Pavilion was his most vital, crucial asset.

He possessed far more than just one or two noble scandals, though he never used them lightly and always kept the secrets of those involved, maintaining an impeccable reputation.

Furthermore, the people who gathered intelligence were entirely separate from those who delivered the threats, making it nearly impossible for the nobles to trace who had leaked their secrets.

Conard only had a few questions left: “You have a stable income, so why did you go participate in underground fights?”

“Because I was looking for opportunities to practice,” Odis said bluntly, “I’d learned some fighting techniques, but never had a chance to put them into practice, so…”

“Then how did you achieve a three-match winning streak?”

Odis smiled slightly and said, “Because my opponents were too weak.”

Conard took another good look at him before nodding with an air of sudden realization: ‘He’s a Beyonder, that’s why he claimed his opponents were too weak…’

The matter should have ended right there, but Conard asked a question that was rather difficult for Odis to answer: “Where did you learn to fight?”