The Secret Code of Monsters.

Chapter 108 Ch.107 Complex Relationships

Shandel's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Miss Shirley's head.

She quickly lost interest in the news.

However, the lower class also has its own way of survival - overturning the table.

She cunningly asked Shandel: "Since you have offered a price... well, you decide the price. If I don't like it, I would rather let it rot in my stomach..."

Hearing this, Shandel's eyes turned away for a moment.

"I can only pay you one pound... Don't be greedy, miss. And you have to make sure it's true. By the way, how long has this happened?"

"Maybe two days, four at most."

Shandel looked in the direction of the sharp-nosed bear.

Shirley understood something and stood up with a sweet smile. She stretched out a hand, stood up and held the candle in front of her: "Come with me, Miss Caramel."

The darkness enveloped their figures and appearances, and only in the dim candlelight could the two distinguish each other's shadows.

They didn't go far, just talked in low voices about seven or eight feet away from the round table.

But the interesting thing is that Roland couldn't hear anything.

The fire in sight was steady and silent.

The darkness enveloped their voices and movements, allowing people to vaguely distinguish two blurry shadows.

There is no need to worry about the conversation being known by others.

A few minutes later, they slowly returned to their seats and put the candles away.

It seems that we have negotiated.

After a while, someone continued talking.

As time passed, the feeling of suffocation gradually increased.

Based on their words and the knowledge they possessed, Roland guessed that most of the participants in this secret meeting were at the apprentice stage - ordinary people could not light a candle.

I just don't know if there are any ritualists who have entered the ring besides Shandel and Fernandez.

"I have a commission..."

After the previous person finished speaking, someone suddenly spoke.

"Commission?"

"Yes... Mr. Gold Pocket Watch." The man's voice was not very natural, as if he was pinching his throat. "It's a small matter... I got into some trouble recently."

"Tell me."

I'm quite interested in the gold pocket watch.

"A group of unruly guys have entered the city..." The man paused here, hesitating about what to say, "...a very troublesome group of people."

No one spoke.

"They call themselves the Elephant Gang."

The gentleman who got into trouble was codenamed Match.

The whole thing gradually became weird in his staccato phrasing.

"You mean, a group of women stole valuable jewelry from your store - are you sure it was women? I mean, women without 'elephants'?"

Gold pocket watch has a subtle sound:
"This seems to have nothing to do with the occult, but it also seems to be closely related to the occult. After all, a woman's ability... ha, to become a thief, doesn't sound right, don't you think?"

Mr. Match ignored the sarcasm in the other party's words.

"…Mr. Sharp-nosed Bear said that the gathering is not only about sharing knowledge of mysticism, we can also discuss trivial matters in life——"

"Of course, so where is your store? Where can I find them?"

After the interruption from the gold pocket watch, Mr. Match's voice became much higher in pitch, and Roland could clearly hear the tremor in it when he spoke - this man seldom spoke loudly, or perhaps there was a cowardly side to his character.

"I, I can't tell you! Sorry... I, my identity..."

Gold Pocket Watch: "Ah, yeah. So, it's just 'The Elephant Gang', a name?"

The other party remained silent.

After a moment, he added in a low voice: "...Many stores have been affected, you can find out if you ask around..."

"So, what is your commission? Find these women who should have stayed in the bed and the kitchen and take them to the police station, or find your lost items at the same time. Excuse me, I don't want to find out your identity, but if you don't tell me, how can I know where to send the things?"

Jin Huaibiao seemed to be very interested in this emerging gang. The two of them chatted with each other, and soon they held candles and had a private conversation in the dark.

The feeling of suffocation has increased.

not much time.

Roland had no intention of selling anything at the secret meeting, nor did he find anything that interested him. He had nothing to do during the entire transaction, and was thinking about the time of a certain banquet.

Until the golden pocket watch and the timid Mr. Match came back.

After the two of them sat down, this simple secret meeting was about to come to an end.

As the feeling of suffocation became stronger, the shadows hiding behind the candlelight hurriedly spoke:
Some people exchanged useful information for gold pounds, while others expressed the intention of exchanging gold pounds for certain knowledge.

They hope that some unknown member of the secret meeting will be able to provide them with what they need when they come next time, and they will also pay attention to other people's purchasing information.

This is much noisier than the quiet atmosphere before when everyone was talking to each other.

In a way, Roland thought it was more like the smelly fish market in Fork County.

It was just a weird shouting voice.

When leaving, Roland had to go back the same way - which meant he had to walk through the dark, damp corridor filled with crying babies again. Some limbs grabbed his trouser legs and the corners of his clothes, and some even climbed onto his back.

Following Fernandez's warning, he endured the chilling sensation on his skin until he returned to the warm office.

Xiandel arrived a little earlier than him. When he saw Roland coming out, he hurried forward to support his arm and asked him to extinguish the candle in his hand.

"You look pale, Collins."

"Oh, you're wrong. He's been pale since I met him." Fernandez, who came back closely, joked and extinguished the candle. "Pale and handsome."

Shandel chuckled.

"It's not pleasant, but it's a wonderful experience, isn't it?"

Fernandez asked the two newcomers to put away the candles and tore a few pieces of bread from the slate and handed them to them.

"If you ask me, this is the real 'mystery'... Welcome to the mysterious world?"

He pretended to be deep as he spoke, picked up his coffee and took a sip, his two big eyes wandering between Roland and Shandel's faces.

Both of them had 'standard' smiles.

"That's right, Mr. Devinsom, Owl of the Inquisition."

The bland response instantly shattered someone's deep disguise.

"I thought you two could show some expressions that are rarely seen..."

Fernandez muttered.

One night when he became an apprentice, at midnight when he went to the "secret meeting" for the first time...

But the adults' were lost.

These two guys... they must be scared to death, but they don’t show it on the surface.

affim.

He opened a drawer, took out a gold pound from a wooden box, placed it flat on the table, and pushed it to Cinder who was sitting across the table.

"Every month, the Inquisition allocates a certain amount of gold pounds, which are used to collect ghosts, alien species, or dangerous objects at secret meetings... Kratov, Roland, you need to pay for the money you put in your pockets, and you can apply for funds from me for the rest. If it's not enough, I can submit another application to the higher authorities."

He explained to Roland and Shandel in detail how to apply and how to write the report.

Of course, it was a troublesome job for Roland, so he could only leave it to him and Cinder.

"Go back. It's rare to have some free time recently. You two should discuss it among yourselves. One of you must be present at every secret meeting."

"I won't go there anymore."

Fernandez prepared to arrange a carriage to take them away, but Shandel refused, saying she had a driver waiting.

And Roland wanted to stay and ask some questions.

"What's wrong, Roland?"

After she left, Roland and Fernandez were the only ones left in the office. The idle man tapped his cane and paced behind Fernandez.

The priest was holding a pen, filling out a report:

"Secret meeting record (year/month/day)"

"Ghost news (unconfirmed, followed up and reported by Cinder Kratov and Roland Collins)"

Price: 10 pounds

Roland: ...

"This bastard is corrupt."

Fernandez did not shy away from mentioning Roland, which means that the matter was almost "out in the open".

The priest lowered his head, signed his name at the end of the report, and glanced at Roland: "When I get promoted, you will have to take this position - it would be helpful if you learn how to scrape the oil in advance."

Roland smiled and shook his head: "I'm afraid Miss Kratov is more suitable."

"She belongs to the church, to the monastery, and even to the Inspectorate... but not to the Inquisition."

Fernandez put the pen back into its cap and threw it on the table. "Although I don't know what Lady Enid and Bishop Kratov think, after all, that vicious lady is not one of ours."

Miss Vicious...

Roland found that Fernandez's face was full of "it's hard to describe".

"Yes, you participated in her 'sacrament', right?" Fernandez shrugged, "Then you should understand. She is indeed qualified, but if it weren't for Lady Enid's order, I personally would not be willing to accept such a subordinate... The more twisted the personality, the more likely it is to cause problems, although this also means better qualifications."

Roland agreed.

But for now, it seems that Shandel Kratov is able to 'control' herself - she knows how to do the right thing in the right situation.

The so-called 'distortion' did not have any impact on him or the mission.

Roland didn't think this was a big deal.

Sort of…

Personal hobby?
"Because she is just a link."

Fernandez lowered his chin, half of his face in the shadows. "You will know in the future that what I said today is absolutely correct... Roland, sometimes we are also contradictory."

"I want to work with talented and gifted ritualists, not dull idiots."

"But we are also worried that these overly 'smart' and 'talented' brothers and sisters may become unlike themselves at some point."

Apparently, Fernandez has classified himself as a 'dull idiot'.

"You are tall and strong, with eyes as sharp as a hawk. No villain can escape your eyes. I don't understand why you classify yourself as 'untalented'."

Fernandez tapped the wooden table with his thick fingers, staring at Roland from the shadows without saying a word.

After a while.

"…Say a few more words, Roland."

Roland: ...

His embarrassed look was met with exaggerated laughter from the priest.

"Honestly, Roland, if your face and mouth were better than yours, you would be better off..."

"You'll be a real charmer."

“I think he is now.”

Fernandez laughed and shook his head, denying what he had said before: "No, I should say that you are now."

"Look what I said."
-
Since you like him so much, why don’t you go and live with him.

"..."

"I don't know what you've been going through recently... ahem, what I mean is... you've grown up... oh, I should say, matured."

Perhaps thinking of what had made Roland mature, Fernandez coughed twice to cover up and changed the subject: "By the way, what do you want to know?"

Roland: "The Parliament of Truth."

He said.

Fernandez frowned, "Did you hear this from Lady Enid again?"

"Is this also a 'secret' that I cannot know?" Roland asked back.

It’s not that we can’t know.

The Parliament of Truth...

Fernandez sighed silently in his heart.

He actually had a feeling.

Roland Collins is teetering on the brink.

This kid has a chilling madness in his bones, which is different from Lady Enid.

That's different.

Enid is the burning flame of rapist, while Roland is like an elusive phantom...

He couldn't figure out what this kid was thinking about all day.

I don't want him to 'liberate' this energy either.

"The Council of Truth sits above the Inquisition."

Fernandez rubbed his brow, a little reluctant to tell him this: "It is also located above the church, the monastery and the Inspectorate - if the Holy Cross is a tall tower, then the Parliament of Truth is at the top."

As he spoke, he also supplemented Roland's knowledge about the last rule of the Father of All Things.

"Wisdom," he said.

“Some principles correspond to multiple roads, and some roads correspond to multiple principles.”

"Wisdom is the former. Unlike judgment and mercy, it possesses two great paths at the same time."

"The Thinker and the Artisan."

Among them, the craftsmen mastered the manufacturing process of the holy silver bullet. Many ritual objects in the church were made by the craftsmen and their organization - the Craftsmen's Guild.

And the other path, "The Thinker"...

The Parliament of Truth was formed.

They concentrate almost all the power of the Holy Cross, and are the path that most people regard as the most valued and favored by the Father of All Things.

perhaps.

"People say that the 'thinker' under 'wisdom' is the most powerful and representative great path of the church."

"That's all bullshit." Fernandez curled his lips in disdain. "Those old guys can only figure out how ants build nests. Wisdom? I think if they could harm fewer people under ten years old..."

So much for the topic of children under ten.

"We are not afraid of the Parliament of Truth."

Fernandez said firmly.

But Roland could see some subtle insincerity on his face.

and…

Why does the court dislike everyone?

They have a bad relationship with the Inspectorate, don’t interact much with churches and monasteries, and now they don’t like the Truth Council…

“We don’t seem to have many friends.”

"Things here are a bit complicated, Roland." Fernandez rubbed his brows. "In short, before you arrive at the High Ring, you should not have any dealings with the people from the Parliament of Truth."

After saying this, he began to look at Roland suspiciously again.

I always feel that this guy is a little strange these days...

Indescribably strange.

"It's just to satisfy my curiosity." Roland nodded obediently: "Good night, Fernandez."

(End of this chapter)