The circus clown returned to the large tent.
He heard others discussing something, apparently related to a merchant and some men and women. But he turned a deaf ear to it.
The corners of his mouth hung with a foolish grin, carrying the demeanor from his performance into his daily life. However, people knew that this clown was always a bit crazy and eccentric. People from the Ashless Lands were always crazy and eccentric; it wasn’t anything unusual.
The clown walked further inside the large tent. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking through the tent’s hazy mesh screen, and saw what was happening in the small tent next door.
He saw a hand, a woman’s hand. Behind the woman was covered by a man’s body. He saw that hand clench convulsively and then relax.
The clown nervously licked his lips, then murmured, “No… that’s not right. This is bad.”
He shook his head, suddenly kicking and tapping into a clumsy, comical dance as if he were on stage. After a moment, he stopped, his gaze turning murky and dull again.
He muttered, “There are many… many… people. People’s thoughts, gathered together. They want to obtain…” The clown thought for a moment. “What they desire to obtain.”
The clown let out two silly chuckles and said, “Yes, yes. Desire to obtain.”
He didn’t know where he learned this phrasing.
“…What are you doing?” The circus ringmaster, a thin and capable-looking man, suddenly appeared behind him, frowning and glaring at the clown. “Your job is done, get back to your room and stay there!”
The clown reached out and pointed at the scene across the mesh screen. He said, “I’m watching… this.”
The circus ringmaster leaned over to take a look. As if seeing something filthy, he sharply withdrew his gaze and scolded angrily—though he subconsciously lowered his voice.
He said, “They—they are doing business! What are you looking at!”
The clown chuckled foolishly: “I often see it… what’s the big deal.” He said, “I’m used to it.”
The circus ringmaster’s frown deepened.
“Regardless…” He wanted to say something, but finally gave up. “Anyway, this year is an exception. Stay in your room properly, and don’t come out except when you have a job.”
The clown muttered, “I know.”
He looked as if he didn’t understand, yet also as if he had understood. So he took another look at the small tent next door, and then left.
The circus ringmaster stood there alone. After a moment, someone walked over and asked him, “Today is the first day, how is business?”
He turned around and saw a merchant—the very merchant who had recommended they come to Lamifa City. This merchant had a large belly, was dressed decently, and wore a brooch on the collar of his suit.
The circus ringmaster subconsciously squeezed out a fawning smile and said, “Not bad. Sir, however, I’m terrified something might happen…”
“What could happen!” The merchant glanced at him, then peered through the mesh screen at the small tent next door. He nodded in satisfaction and said, “It seems they are… ‘playing’ quite happily.”
The circus ringmaster still had that forced smile on his face. He said, “We… you know, we have always done this kind of business. But, doing this in Lamifa City…”
“What are you worried about!” The merchant cursed. “With me here, you don’t need to be afraid.”
The circus ringmaster was in a daze for a moment, then nodded vigorously, saying even more ingratiatingly, “Naturally, naturally.”
The merchant left.
The circus ringmaster stood quietly in place, hearing some unspeakable sounds coming from the small tent next door. He was used to hearing such sounds when they were in the Ashless Lands.
People in the Ashless Lands always needed this kind of pleasure, this kind of release. People hovering on the edge of life and death would occasionally indulge in sensual pleasures, and the circus was one of their choices.
Regardless, in a place like a circus, there were always people, always animals, always mysterious tents. Here, nothing that happened was surprising.
But… but now, this was not the crazy and desolate Ashless Lands. This was the capital of the Duchy of Const; this was a prosperous land of civilization.
The circus ringmaster felt an inexplicable sense of anxiety and unease.
When that merchant first asked him to come to Lamifa City and do this kind of business under the guise of a circus, he felt some doubt and was at a loss. But now, they had arrived, and the business had begun.
He could already hear the voices of those men and women.
…Even the clown knew…
The circus ringmaster suddenly shuddered. He subconsciously turned his head and looked at the small tent through the mesh screen. He thought, this was not a scene they were “used to.”
“Lamifa City…” he murmured, thinking of what that merchant said—this can make you rich.
Subsequently, he coughed, crossed his arms over his chest, and walked away with arrogant strides.
Monday, October 11th.
Siles woke up very early, but he was awakened by the sound of rain hitting the window glass. He got up, walked to the window, and saw the blurry rainy scene outside the glass and the gloomy sky.
On the windowsill, the puppet also quietly felt the invasion of the chill.
Such weather also cast a hazy layer of gloom over his heart.
He looked for a moment, then went to wash up, quickly changed clothes, took the items he needed to bring, grabbed his long-handled umbrella, and then went out. He was going to the West City today.
He first went to the cafeteria to eat breakfast. To save trouble, he directly took a rental carriage. The rain was getting heavier, and it was still early, so Siles saw hardly anyone on the streets.
Because he was about to go to 13 Milford Street, because he was about to see the things Alfonso Carte and Emmanuel left for him, and because of such weather and such streets, Siles felt very depressed the whole way.
He remained silent, quietly watching the changing scenery outside the carriage window.
Crossing the massive and magnificent bridge over the Kanla River, passing through quiet and leisurely neighborhoods, Siles soon arrived at Milford Street.
He paid the fare, then looked up at this apartment building—his earliest residence when he came to this world.
After a moment, he shook his head, not allowing himself to immerse too much in such emotions. He took a deep breath, and then walked in. He first went to knock on the door of the first-floor room.
The person who opened the door was Mrs. Eric Collens.
“Oh, Professor Noel, good morning,” Mrs. Collens said. “Eric went to Ernestine, he’s on shift today.”
Siles nodded and said, “Good morning, I’m just coming to say hello. I have a friend living upstairs who left temporarily for a while, so he asked me to come help pack things.”
“I see,” Mrs. Collens said. “Then go ahead.”
Siles nodded, and added, “Are you still doing some handicraft work at home recently?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Collens said softly. “Knitting sweaters, weaving blankets, making pottery… I learned some knowledge about making metal wares, but haven’t produced any results yet. Regardless, since moving here, life is always getting better.”
Siles smiled slightly and said, “You’re right.”
He said goodbye to Mrs. Collens, and then went up to the second floor. His former room was at the east end, while Alfonso Carte’s room was at the west end. The middle room was occupied by a young couple who left early and returned late.
As for the tenants upstairs, Siles wasn’t as clear. Neither the original owner of the body nor he had any contact with the tenants upstairs.
He took the key out of his wallet, then unlocked the door and walked into Alfonso’s room.
The layout of this room was very similar to the room he used to rent, just mirrored. Alfonso seemed to have been gone for several days; the room was filled with stuffy air, carrying a faint damp smell.
Siles walked to the window, opened it to let the cold, fresh air from outside rush in, and then turned to look at the room. He scanned it roughly and quickly determined that everything Alfonso and Emmanuel left was placed on Alfonso’s desk.
The desk was piled high with things right now, roughly divided into left, middle, and right piles. Thick books were piled on the left and right, and placed on the very top of the left pile of books was the explorer’s travelogue. In the middle was a small cardboard box.
Siles walked over, picked up the travelogue and put it in his bag, then first looked at the books. As expected, they were all ancient, thick books, the vast majority of which were unheard of.
He thought to himself, these books alone were worth a fortune. If Professor Calverley saw these books, he would probably be extremely excited.
He counted roughly and found there were twelve books in total. The vast majority were related to the Era of Silence. Just as Emmanuel said in the letter, they had put thought into selecting the “gifts” left for Siles.
Subsequently, Siles picked up the cardboard box. After opening it, he found a business card and a strangely shaped key inside.
Underneath the cardboard box was a piece of paper, and on it was Alfonso’s handwriting.
“The business card is from an underground black market in the East City of Lamifa, and the key belongs to a shop we once bought in the black market.
“When we came to Lamifa City from the Ashless Lands back then, we planned to run a business with some merchandise from the Ashless Lands, but I was always obsessed with the tribal ruins we found, and soon after, we had no time to manage the affairs of that shop.
“Therefore, that shop is still vacant now, entirely useless. I figured you work at Lamifa University, and your salary is probably hard-pressed to afford your life in the city, so I thought this shop could be given to you to use.
“If you feel guilty about it, you can consider it as us leasing this shop to you for free.
“Regardless, I hope everything goes smoothly for your life in the city. As for the matters of the Ashless Lands, I still hope you stay as far away from these things as possible, even if you possess the talent of a prophet.”
A shop in the black market. Siles couldn’t help but be taken aback.
This feeling of surprise and being touched even dissolved the helplessness of Alfonso mentioning “prophet” once again.
Siles stood there, silent for a long time, and finally sighed softly. He said in a low voice, “Given the circumstances, how could I possibly stay as far away as possible.”
He looked at the address on the business card—No. 32 Dawson Street. He had no impression of this street and would probably have to consult a map of Lamifa City after going back. Regardless, he would go take a look in the future.
Siles put the business card and key into his wallet, then looked at the two stacks of books on the desk, feeling a bit troubled.
He felt he wouldn’t have time to read books for a while, and besides, it was raining outside now. If the books got wet, that would be terrible.
So, Siles decided to temporarily leave these books here. Alfonso had said that after he left, if Siles had anything inconvenient to carry, he could store it here. He could use this place as a safe house.
The troubling part was that this place was a bit far from Lamifa University. If he always came here to read, it might consume a lot of time…
Thinking of this, Siles suddenly froze.
Safe house. Consuming time… Books.
He thought of what Mrs. Longman once said, that the time Professor Cabel returned books was always very late, and there would be some dirty spots on the returned books.
What if… Professor Cabel also had a secret safe house?
This was a possibility the previous Siles had never thought of, but looking at it now, it wasn’t impossible.
Neither the police nor the Church of the Past had been able to find any reasons regarding why he disappeared from Professor Cabel’s office and residence. They had always believed that Professor Cabel carefully took all relevant materials with him.
But now, the idea of a “safe house” made Siles’s eyes light up.
He thought, why couldn’t it be that Professor Cabel put all the materials in a secret location?
Professor Cabel wasn’t that careful and thorough: he accidentally left an extremely important manuscript in the pile of documents in his office; his office was chaotic; every time he returned books to the library, they were a bit dirty.
He even left those three items—the woman’s head sculpture, the scale necklace, the fountain pen—in his office, two of which had already been proven to be out-of-control time tracks.
Shouldn’t these be very important things? Why did he just leave them casually in his office?
All these signs, along with the impression Siles and other students had of Professor Cabel—a crazy, eccentric old man—were enough to prove that Professor Cabel couldn’t possibly be so careful as to not leave a single clue behind.
They had always been frowning and clueless because they hadn’t found the true breakthrough point.
Siles believed the police must have investigated all of Professor Cabel’s interpersonal relationships and social activities thoroughly. Under such circumstances, they still hadn’t found any possibility of a safe house… Where exactly was this safe house?
Perhaps it was related to Cabel’s teaching assistant, Mervyn Brière? That was a descendant of a destitute noble, perhaps he had some hidden real estate that was unknown to people.
Or perhaps it was related to Professor Cabel’s life before entering Lamifa University. A scholar studying ancient texts like him definitely had some unknown connections and networks.
Siles thought like this, his thoughts expanding on this possibility.
Conversely, would Professor Cabel seek a safe house?
Siles believed he would. He was researching a topic related to the fall of the gods, and he very likely had found and obtained some very important relevant materials.
He valued this project so much that he didn’t hesitate to break his years of reclusive habits to specially come teach at Lamifa University; he even groomed a noble descendant to be his teaching assistant just for the collection of books in his home.
But even so, in such a long time, not a single person knew what Cabel was actually researching.
Professor Cabel’s various behaviors showed that he was conducting an extremely important and secretive project.
Being so important and secretive, he naturally needed a safe place to store all his research materials.
As for his office and home?
The former might have students visiting after class, and after Professor Cabel left his position, this office would be used by other professors. When Professor Cabel left, he didn’t even take the documents and papers in the office.
For the latter, Siles remembered hearing from Dominic, the investigator from the Church of the Past, that Professor Cabel’s relatives would occasionally visit him, and it was precisely because of this that the police knew about Cabel’s disappearance.
So neither of these places was safe enough, nor were they sufficient to conceal what Cabel was doing.
Siles’s thoughts gradually leaned towards the idea that Professor Cabel really did have a safe house.
Perhaps he could give Dominic a hint.
However, Professor Cabel and his teaching assistant had been missing for so long. From July to now, three months had already passed. It was highly likely that things boded ill for the two of them.
Thinking of this, Siles couldn’t help but sigh.
The Ashless Lands. He thought of this place.
Whether it was Alfonso, Emmanuel, or Professor Cabel, Teaching Assistant Mervyn, or Bertram, Lanmir, Angela’s stepmother who made a fortune through the Ashless Lands, and even the upcoming Withered Wasteland development plan…
The fates of many, many people were entangled in that mystery.
No one knew what hid behind the mist of the Ashless Lands. No one knew what hid in the historical shadows of this world.
This world was concealed in secrets.
Siles took one last look at Alfonso Carte’s room, and then left.
He locked the room door and turned around, planning to go to the Ernestine Tavern. Anthony’s friends were waiting for him nearby.
Just as he was about to step away, suddenly, the door of the middle room on the second floor opened. A young man walked out from inside. He was originally walking out expressionlessly, but upon seeing Siles, his eyes widened in surprise.
Siles noticed this young man.
He had always known that a young couple who left early and returned late lived in the middle room on the second floor of 13 Milford Street. This piece of information was introduced by the landlady, Mrs. Fenn, when the original owner of the body first moved here.
Of course, he occasionally ran into them as well, but it was just a passing acquaintance. He didn’t know their names or professions.
This couple was very outstanding in appearance, dressed decently in daily life, and didn’t look like residents of the Old City. However, housing rental fees in the Old City were cheaper. If Lamifa University hadn’t provided free dormitories, Siles would have likely chosen to rent in the Old City as well.
Another situation for living in the Old City was like Alfonso. The Old City obviously accommodated more secret activities and private transactions, facilitating the Revelators and some other… less reputable professions.
The young man’s surprised expression was too obvious, so Siles stopped and greeted him: “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” The young man reacted very quickly, immediately putting away the surprised expression on his face, and said in a gentle tone, “You are a former tenant here, right?”
“Yes.” Siles nodded, without explaining much.
The young man seemed to hesitate as if wanting to say something, but looked ahead and behind, not daring to act rashly. He seemed very concerned about the reason for Siles returning here.
Siles narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly, “Goodbye then.”
The young man hesitated for a moment, and finally just said, “Goodbye.”
This chance encounter with the young man made a subtle premonition flash through Siles’s mind. He felt that the man seemed to be hiding some secret in his heart… He thought, was this the intuition of a Keeper of Secrets?
That look of wanting to speak but stopping and hesitating made Siles feel a bit curious.
But when he walked towards the Ernestine Tavern holding an umbrella in the drizzle, he put this matter to the back of his mind. About half an hour later, he arrived at the Ernestine Tavern.
Ernestine was still open for business, but there were only a scattered few guests.
Siles waited for a moment at the corner next to the tavern, and then heard a whistle. He looked up, glanced around, and saw a young boy’s head pop out from the window of an abandoned house not far away.
So he walked over.
“Good morning.” Siles sized up these young children.
There were six of them in total, around fifteen or sixteen years old. With the harsh winter approaching, they were wearing thicker, newer-looking clothes.
One of the boys, who looked like the leader and had a more mature expression, said, “Good morning, sir. Thank you for the deposit you gave us. That gave us money to buy some secondhand winter clothes.”
Secondhand. Siles thought. As expected.
Even though that money was enough for them to buy brand new clothes, new clothes weren’t a good choice. They were the children of beggars and vagrants, naturally knowing how to survive in such a chaotic and impoverished place.
New clothes would make people suspect where they got the money, while secondhand old clothes would only make others sigh that these children had good luck to get well-fitting clothes from the trash dump or charities.
Adults couldn’t fit into the clothes of fifteen or sixteen-year-old boys; this was the luck of this group of children.
Siles nodded, not inquiring too much about the daily lives of these children. He knew that fifteen or sixteen-year-old boys always had strong self-esteem. He hired them, gave them money, and let them live. That was enough.
More sympathy and pity would only make this group of boys angry.
Siles walked into this abandoned house, and was surprised to find a pitch-black hole in the corner of the wall.
The boy leading the group noticed Siles’s gaze and whispered, “That’s an entrance for the underground gangs.” He paused, and added, “We don’t plan to join the underground gang anymore, but… because of previous matters, we still have some connections with them.”
This kind of connection was unavoidable.
Siles nodded, indicating he understood. He asked, “What should I call you?”
“Jimmy.” He said simply, “I don’t have a surname. My parents are both dead, and I don’t know their names.”
Siles said, “Jimmy. I understand. So, what have you all investigated?”
Jimmy looked relieved.
The other boys consciously went nearby to observe the situation.
Jimmy said, “Sir, you spent a large sum of money to hire us. We won’t let this money down.” He said earnestly, “We investigated many aspects of the Greyson Food Company, and I will tell you slowly.”
Siles glanced at the rain outside, then said, “Of course, I have plenty of time.”
Jimmy nodded: “The Greyson Food Company, we checked carefully, this company has many shops in the West City, but the most popular shops are only three types: butcher shops, spice shops, and dessert shops.
“Greyson’s meat is the cheapest in the whole Lamifa City, not just the West City. We asked Anthony to go to the East City to investigate, and found that Greyson’s meat is at least a third cheaper than other butcher shops in Lamifa City.
“Because of this cheap price, people all like to go there to buy meat. Not just ordinary people, but also restaurant and tavern owners. They say Greyson’s meat tastes pretty good and is very fresh.”
Siles nodded.
Greyson butcher shops. He first knew of Greyson because he saw a Greyson butcher shop in Logan Market. At that time, Greyson had even attracted the hostility of other butcher shop owners because of its low prices.
“With Greyson’s prices so low, are the other butcher shops unable to hold their ground?” Siles asked.
“Yes.” Jimmy answered in a low voice. “The vast majority of butcher shops in the West City have already gone out of business. For the few remaining ones, we asked Anthony, and those are chain brands that also have shops in the East City.”
Siles nodded: “Did you find their source of goods?”
“It’s said to come from outside Lamifa City. As for exactly where outside, we didn’t find out either,” Jimmy said. “This is related to those spice shops. Greyson’s spice shops only sell one thing, which is… MSG? People call it liquid beef.
“We asked around, and they said MSG indeed requires beef to make. And the MSG in Greyson spice shops comes in cans, transported from outside the city. So we think the source of their butcher shops’ meat is also outside the city.”
Siles nodded: “A good deduction.”
A thought faintly emerged in his mind, but he didn’t think about it carefully.
He asked, “What about the dessert shops?”
“The desserts in the dessert shops are made on the same day,” Jimmy said. “We used the excuse of being hungry and wanting to steal some pastries to eat—we never steal, you have to know, this was just an excuse—and then sneaked into their back kitchen.”
Saying this, he suddenly shivered.
“What’s wrong?”
Jimmy hesitated for a moment: “Sir… honestly, that scene was shocking enough. Those pastry chefs… I mean… those cooks. The expressions they had when making desserts… was like…”
He revealed an expression that was hard to describe, as if a bit afraid, yet also a bit yearning.
He said, “Like they were making the most wonderful thing in the world.”
Siles observed his expression, then calmly asked, “Do you also wish to make desserts?”
Jimmy immediately shook his head and said, “I’m just saying… my meaning is, I’ve never seen such… happy expressions. People in the Old City, whether men or women, old people or children, they all feel desperate.
“But those people, the expressions on their faces… were like they had hope… like they desired something.”
Jimmy murmured.
Siles listened quietly, then said, “Your expressive ability is very good. Jimmy, have you been to school?”
Jimmy looked at him in surprise, and after a moment, he shook his head.
He said, “I just… secretly listened to some classes. There’s a small school nearby, I don’t have money for classes, but occasionally I’d secretly listen to some content. Those teachers… they wouldn’t chase me away.”
Siles nodded. He didn’t ask much more, because he knew that children of Jimmy’s age might feel their self-esteem bruised by his one or two sentences of doubt.
Jimmy wasn’t Anthony. The latter was spoiled by Mrs. Fenn and the family’s money; although fundamentally a kind and reliable boy, he was too mischievous and willful.
But Jimmy was more mature, more steady, and could even be called ambitious. He was even willing to proactively learn, even if it was just secretly listening to some classes. This meant he had the desire to escape the identity of an Old City vagrant.
Siles thought that if Jimmy and these young boys were reliable, and if the shop Alfonso gave him was in the West City, then he could try letting these children run that shop.
He wasn’t in a hurry to use money, but since Alfonso left the shop, Siles also hoped to run it in some way. It was just that he himself probably wouldn’t have enough time to do this.
And Jimmy seemed like an option. He was very smart, very sharp, and a native of the Old City. He also had certain underground gang connections, as well as manpower from vagrants and beggars.
The only problem was that he might be too young, might be deceived, or might be looked down upon.
However, this didn’t seem to be a big problem either. The shop was always there, and it was impossible for anyone to snatch it from the black market’s hands. As for the shop’s business… Siles now had some savings too, and wasn’t worried about money.
Of course, this was just a concept and a guess. The current Siles had no time to realize it; he wasn’t even sure of the situation of the black market and that shop, and hadn’t even thought about what kind of shop to open.
So Siles said, “You are a smart child. Continue, did you find anything else?”
Jimmy nodded honestly, and then said, “The things in Greyson’s shops are pretty much sold out every day, but occasionally there are some leftovers. At this time, they are basically thrown into the trash can.
“If beggars or vagrants go ask for food, the clerks are very happy to give those leftover things to us… to them. But this kind of situation doesn’t happen often.”
Siles asked, “Is there any problem with that food?”
“No problem,” Jimmy shook his head. “I’ve eaten it too… it’s very delicious.”
He subconsciously revealed an expression of nostalgia and yearning: “I think… it should be the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten. Those desserts.”
Siles observed his expression.
He noticed that it seemed anyone who had eaten Greyson’s food would reveal this kind of expression.
Jimmy, Anthony, Mrs. Fenn, Bertram, Eric… and even Lorenzo who only went to Gourmet Town to eat Greyson desserts; they all showed the exact same look of reminiscing and longing.
“If a piece of Greyson’s classic dessert were placed in front of you right now,” Siles said calmly, “Your favorite flavor, and you just have to reach out to get it, you can eat it in the next second, and your tongue is already secreting saliva…
“Suddenly, someone snatches your dessert away…”
Siles stopped, he didn’t continue, because he found that before he could say “what would your reaction be,” Jimmy’s expression had already answered this question very clearly.
He revealed a ferocious expression like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey. He said unbelievably, “On what grounds… why would someone snatch it from me?” He said anxiously, “But… but that’s what I really, really like!”
Siles felt a slight unease. He realized that this uniform reaction from different people symbolized a very terrifying, yet already confirmed possibility.
Siles was silent.
His silence made Jimmy realize something. He blinked, and then said, “Sir, you’re just joking, right?”
Siles said, “Yes.”
Only then did Jimmy sigh in relief.
Siles asked, “Do you know anyone who hasn’t eaten Greyson’s food?”
“Hasn’t eaten?” Jimmy thought for a moment. “It seems everyone has eaten it, at least among the people I know… Anthony’s family, people from the underground gangs, people from the tavern, many, many people in the West City… they should all have eaten it.”
Siles nodded slowly.
Among the people he knew, perhaps only he himself, and some people who always lived in the East City, hadn’t eaten it.
However, because of Gourmet Town, young people like Lorenzo and some other families had probably already tasted it. Greyson even occupied quite a few stalls at the October Market.
Coupled with Greyson Food’s almost magical attractiveness, and extremely cost-effective prices…
Siles thought, perhaps Greyson would soon occupy a large portion of the East City’s market.
Even now, although Siles had confirmed that Greyson definitely had a problem, he still didn’t know what this food company was planning to do.
Were they just adding some special, addictive ingredients into the food for commercial competition (there might be Revelators involved), or… was this a conspiracy from Old God followers?
Siles wasn’t sure, nor did he have any evidence to prove his guess.
His guess merely stemmed from the excessive, almost unbelievable greed and reminiscing shown by people who had tasted Greyson’s food—as well as those unbelievably low prices.
An outsider from Earth instinctively suspected there was a problem here.
At this time, Jimmy suddenly said, “Ah, I remember, there is one person who hasn’t eaten it… and, he also wouldn’t let others eat Greyson’s food. He was isolated by others, and I don’t know where he is now.”
Siles froze slightly and asked, “Who is he?”
“His name seems to be… Bourne,” Jimmy thought for a moment, saying uncertainly. “He’s a vagrant in his thirties, nobody knows when he appeared in the West City. Anyway, he has lived here for a long, long time.
“A while ago he disappeared. People say he died because he was unwilling to eat Greyson’s food… You know, people like us… most of the time we have to rely on food discarded by others to live.
“And Bourne was unwilling to eat. He said those things—he meant Greyson’s food, whether discarded by people who couldn’t finish it, or left over in the shop—he said those things were very dirty, very smelly.”
Speaking of this, Jimmy subconsciously lowered his voice, muttering softly, “But I think it’s very delicious.”
Siles had frozen at this point.
Bourne! The Vagrant Bourne!
Siles suddenly took a breath, thinking to himself, truly unbelievable, he had encountered another character from the tabletop RPG game.
Of course, he had already encountered quite a few.
Merchant Lanmir, Knight Commander Bunyan, archaeology student Herman, Doctor Chester, circus clown… and now, Vagrant Bourne.
Vagrant Bourne was not a true vagrant in the real sense. This identity was just used by him as a cover.
In the game, even the player using the Vagrant Bourne character sheet couldn’t know Bourne’s true identity at the beginning without finding relevant clues.
In this world, probably only Bourne himself, and the current Siles, knew this secret.
Vagrant Bourne was exactly the contact person the Apostate Hamlin was going to find. He needed to hand the list of priests stolen from the Church of the Past to Bourne.
However, due to Siles’s influence, the Apostate was arrested ahead of time, and that list was missing for a long time. Therefore, Siles guessed that Vagrant Bourne had disappeared because he couldn’t complete the task.
Before making contact with Jimmy, Siles had also wondered if he could start from these children of beggars and vagrants to make contact with Bourne. That was a very vigilant person.
Before his transmigration, the player using the Vagrant Bourne character sheet once said solemnly: There are no clues in this world that can escape Bourne’s eyes, because his Spot Hidden stat is a whopping 89!
Siles’s own Spot Hidden stat was only a pitiful 30 points.
At this point, the Apostate Hamlin had already been caught, and the stolen list had returned to the hands of the Church of the Past. Siles guessed that Bourne had probably abandoned the vagrant identity and switched to another identity to hide himself.
Of course, he might also continue maintaining this identity. After all, a vagrant… who would pay attention to a vagrant?
Now Siles got exact news from Jimmy’s mouth—Vagrant Bourne had been missing for a long time. And, in the past, he was unwilling to eat Greyson’s food.
…Could he have seen that there was a problem with Greyson’s food?
That wasn’t surprising either. After all, with his Spot Hidden stat so high, he could probably discover some problem. That might not even necessarily be discovering a problem from an Revelators’s perspective.
Siles said, “Bourne? Do you know where this person is now?”
Jimmy heard from Siles’s tone that Siles actually agreed with Bourne’s thoughts on Greyson. So Jimmy widened his eyes and looked at Siles somewhat in confusion.
After a moment, he said, “I’m not sure either. His last appearance seemed to be… a month or two ago.” He thought for a moment and said, “It was on a street, Dawson… yes, Dawson Street.”
…Dawson Street. Siles thought to himself, what a coincidence.
He had just learned that there was an underground black market on Dawson Street, and now he learned that the place Vagrant Bourne last appeared was exactly on Dawson Street. Bourne appearing there was probably no coincidence, but he went there specifically.
So, was Bourne still there now?
Siles thought of the business card in his wallet, feeling somewhat tempted. It was still early; perhaps he could take a trip to Dawson Street?
Thinking this, he asked Jimmy again, “Regarding Greyson, is there anything else you can tell me?”
Jimmy seemed to be a bit restless because of Siles’s attitude. He hesitated for a moment and said, “Sir, can I ask you something? Of course, I still have some clues to tell you, it’s just… can I ask you…”
“You can, tell me.”
Jimmy kept his brown eyes open, looking earnestly at Siles, and said, “Can you tell me—is there a problem with Greyson’s food?”
