Chapter 415 - 196: Return to Blake City

"Mr. Writer, aren’t you being a little too bold?"

"Bold?"

"Very."

Elise said seriously, "Bolder than you were last night."

"That’s an exaggeration," Sean said. "Isn’t this just a very ordinary plan?"

"Ordinary?" Elise gave him a strange look. "Do you hear yourself right now?"

It would be one thing to casually fool an information broker, but Sean wanted to impersonate Lord Blake. That was the great man who had founded the Era of Polymath, a figure revered by countless Wizards as their faith and their god... Was Lord Blake’s name something one could use so casually?

Not to mention, Lord Blake was still alive.

"What do you think will happen if Lord Blake finds out you’re using his name to run a scam? Think he’ll stick his head down from the heavens and give you a couple of punches?" Elise asked.

Sean said thoughtfully, "You know, that’s not a bad idea."

’A fighting style of fists descending from the heavens... now that would fit Mr. Blake’s profound and distant aura.’

Elise said, annoyed, "I’m not joking."

She was different from Kate; she wasn’t some fervent believer. While she respected Carl Black, she also had her own mind and opinions. She wouldn’t blindly defend someone, not even a great man. Therefore, if even she found this offensive to Lord Blake, then it most likely was. Had it been Kate, she would have absolutely lost it with Sean.

Sean didn’t answer, merely sizing up the woman before him with an intensely aggressive gaze.

Elise subconsciously touched her face and asked, baffled, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sean: "Not gonna."

Elise: "?"

Sean added, "I’m looking at you because you’re beautiful."

Elise froze for a moment, then started to laugh. Her gaze turned sultry as she said, "What’s this, Mr. Writer? Getting all honest now? Finally discovering your big sister’s charms? You don’t really want to do it, do you? We’re in the middle of the street."

Sean pursed his lips.

He was observing.

Observing Elise’s expression and demeanor when she spoke of Blake, trying to determine if she knew his true identity.

But whether it was because Elise was a master of disguise or she was genuinely clueless, Sean couldn’t detect anything unusual in her expression. When she spoke, it was as if she truly saw him and Blake as two separate people and was genuinely afraid he would anger Lord Blake.

But Sean was still suspicious.

His experiences over the past six-plus months had taught him that many people wore two faces, and perhaps Elise was one of them.

After all, under the pressure of the Witch Hunt Operation, everyone essentially had to play a role in public. No Wizard was a bad actor; there were only the good and the even better. Sean felt Elise belonged to the latter group.

So, he deliberately adopted a meaningful expression and said, "You have hidden depths, Miss Elise."

Elise, however, extended a finger and tilted up Sean’s chin. "You haven’t even been inside, so how would you know how deep I am?"

Sean: "?"

’Here we go again, huh?’

He realized something.

With Elvire not around, this woman seemed to have cast off all restraint, becoming incredibly forward and flirting with him at every opportunity.

"I can’t help it. Who asked you to be so sweet and delectable?" Elise blinked innocently. "I don’t want to, but I can’t control myself... Could it be because you’re a cultivator of Desire Magic?"

Desire Magic was one of the Twelve Paths, commonly known as Charm Art.

Sean rolled his eyes. "You’re the one using Desire Magic."

’When it came to seduction, he was no match for the Elise he’d seen last night.’

"Is Mr. Writer complimenting my Charm?" Elise said with a grin. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome." Sean couldn’t be bothered to banter with her any longer. It was time to get down to business.

Two hundred wasn’t a lot in the "New World," but it wasn’t a little either. At the very least, it was enough to get a room.

He confidently led Elise through several streets to a hotel he had stayed in before and rented a room for a couple. Afterward, they headed to the grey-market district, which local Wizards called the Dark Alley, and had some fake identification papers made.

As they made their rounds, Elise watched and asked questions, finally getting a clear picture of this "New World."

This place was actually the Era of Polymath. In many places, Elise saw sights that matched her memories from a past life: Crow Postmen, Magic Steam Cars, delivery workers on broomsticks... and so on. The advancement of technology had not impeded the progress of Mysticism; the two coexisted in harmony. People who preferred technology used technology, while those accustomed to Magic used Magic. Others fused the two to create new inventions.

For the people of the Empire, it was the best of times.

The only difference was that the Holy Sanctuary was gone.

There was something Elise had never understood.

The First Saintess, Olivia, was Blake’s wife. Logically, that made Blake practically part of the Church Court; he was the Pope’s son-in-law. So why would the Pope move against his own son-in-law?

Before the Church Court laid siege to the Holy Sanctuary, everyone had believed their relationship was excellent. The two organizations frequently held academic exchanges. Elise’s own memories ended at that point; she couldn’t imagine any reason for the Pope to attack the Holy Sanctuary.

"Have you asked Lord Blake about this?" Elise asked Sean.

Sean nodded. "I have."

"And what did Lord Blake say?" Elise pressed.

Sean replied, "He said he doesn’t know either."

Elise: "..."

"I don’t think that’s important," Sean said. "Regardless of the reason, the Holy Sanctuary was overthrown, Kovri City was reduced to ruins, and countless Wizards were buried beneath the rubble. They died without even knowing what they’d done wrong, only to be branded as Heresy. This score... must be settled."