I will be crowned king

"good, very good."

On a sunny morning, Sophia Franz, who was enjoying the rare good weather in the capital, was holding fragrant hand-ground coffee and her favorite orange jelly in front of her, listening to the little maid's report like a concert. The result of "People's Announcement".

How smoothly it went went completely beyond her expectation.

In just three days, intelligence about "Draco Vertes" poured in like a flood; although nine-tenths of it was meaningless information or false information... but after careful screening, it was still possible to Find some clues or commonalities.

Of course, the "screening" work was taken on by the "loyal" maid, and Sophia only needed to spend fifteen minutes listening to it during breakfast time.

With aggravated dark circles under her eyes and messy hair, Angelica weakly flipped through her notepad and made three points of summary in a toneless tone like a eulogy:

First, all the clues are located in the outer city;

Second, none of the clue locations are repeated;

Finally, the last time anyone saw the novelist was before the incident on Old Wall Street.

"So our clever novelist has been lurking in the outer city to avoid being pursued by the Guards, and has become more cautious after the incident in Old Wall Street?"

Sophia took a sip of coffee and thought for a moment with her lips curled up.

The little maid desperately opened her bloodshot eyes:

"Maybe?"

"If that's the case, then why did he send that novel to Clovis Truth?" Sophia frowned slightly:

"Showing off, using smoke bombs, or sending a signal to someone? Or...there are some other hints hidden in this novel, predicting what will happen in the capital?"

After thinking seriously for a minute, Sophia, who had no clue at all, shook her head: "Well...it seems that the only way to know the answer is to ask him in person."

The little maid, who was so sleepy that her head was dizzy, rubbed her eyes and asked to cover up her yawning:

"My dear lady, do you really think that you can find Mr. Novelist by offering rewards and missing persons notices?"

"Of course...impossible."

Blinking playfully, Sophia stretched her waist; her waist, wearing only close-fitting silk pajamas, evoked a beautiful arc in the sun:

"But this will cause him a lot of trouble - because from now on, our novelist will have to be nervous about eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom."

"And the price I have to pay is, at most...um...two or three new dresses, right?"

"Until he is found?" the little maid with blurred eyes asked.

Sophia shook her head and kept raising the corners of her mouth: "Until he comes to see me in person."

"What about His Excellency Anson Bach?"

Putting the notepad behind her back, the little maid deliberately changed the topic.

"That liar, he has been in my hands from the beginning!"

Sophia bit off the croissant on her fork fiercely: "The Storm Group's budget expenditures are all under my surveillance, and every move he makes cannot escape my eyes."

"For example..." The little maid blinked.

"For example, I know that in addition to embezzling military pay and depositing the budget for purchasing ordnance into four private accounts, the leader of our Storm Regiment also lied...well, probably more than once."

Wiping the corners of her mouth elegantly, Sophia continued to enjoy her breakfast: "He probably doesn't know yet that the Old William Cafe on Red Brick Street is owned by the Church of Order, and the Franz family is one of the members of the board of directors of Renai Welfare Institute. .”

"The owner of the cafe told me that he once saw His Excellency Ansen Bach and Mace Honnard entering the same box; and just the day before yesterday, the director of the Westgate Street Welfare Home said that His Excellency Ansen Bach was pretending to be Bang. Mr. Bull, took away the belongings of a man named Oliver from the orphanage."

Sophia took a sip of her coffee: "This is only a small part. When the matter of Draco Vertes is resolved, the secrets of this liar will definitely give me more surprises!"

Looking at the master who kept twitching at the corner of his mouth, the little maid suddenly felt a chill:

"Then...how do you plan to punish him?"

"Punishment, why punish him?"

Sophia smiled, a dangerous smile: "Isn't it interesting to see him jumping up and down like this without even realizing how exposed he is?"

"As my father said - every time he decided to lend money to people who went out of their way to prove themselves honest and trustworthy, he never expected them to pay back the money, and even the more they wanted to show off, the more he was happy to lend. for the more they borrow, the more they sell themselves, until from head to toe there is no part left that belongs to them.”

"And Anson Bach's handle was his debt: At first I could forgive him like my father forgave those people's debts, but he would not know how to repent, and would only make bigger mistakes step by step until he was completely helpless. Save me... and obey the Franz family's words."

"Haha... From this perspective, I have to thank him. Thank him for making me understand my father's words more and more."

The little maid, who was holding back her tiredness and a little scared, swallowed:

"Dear Miss Sophia, your current behavior is becoming more and more like the villains in those detective novels..."

"exactly!"

Sophia smiled gracefully, with a strange brilliance in her clear eyes: "I have always fallen into a certain misunderstanding - the protagonists in those novels can always find the only possible solution in the villains' layered arrangements and careful plans. Take advantage of the opportunity, why?”

"The answer is simple, because novels only need to be enjoyable, but reality requires logic; in the real world, a person who controls a large amount of wealth does not need to deliberately target anyone, as long as she has a little idea in this regard, it is enough to make her The protagonists are 'tired'."

"That's it?" the little maid asked without missing a moment.

"Only one aspect."

Putting down the coffee cup, the energetic Sophia picked up the orange jelly on the table, scooped up a spoonful and put it into her mouth, licking the corners of her lips with satisfaction:

"More importantly, don't you think it's satisfying to be a villain?"

Seeing the girl's happy expression, the considerate little maid decided not to ask the question "The villains in the novel seem to think so", which would definitely make her angry.

But when she thought of the fate of those villains...especially the female villains, the little maid couldn't help but feel a little worried about her master's future.

………………

"You really want to let me go?"

In the cafe next to the Truth-Seeking Club, Karin Jacques, who had changed into a priest's uniform again, looked at Anson in fear, holding a glass of water without adding anything in his hand.

"There's nothing you can do if you don't believe me." After taking a sip of coffee, Anson shrugged helplessly:

"Of course, this does not mean that you are completely free - you are now a registered spell caster in the religious trial, and your daily actions must be reported to the Seeking Truth Cultivation Association; in addition, your 'goods' are still there, they said they hope You can continue to remain the same and pretend this never happened."

When he heard the last sentence, the corners of Karin Jacques' mouth twitched unnaturally, and then he nodded repeatedly:

"I understand that I will do my best to cooperate with the work of the trial as a devout believer!"

Anson was deeply suspicious of this. From the moment he met this black-robed priest, he would not tell the truth as long as there was a chance.

But he didn't care much, and he believed that the judges of the Truth Seeking Order wouldn't care either - as a group of law enforcers with the power to use vigilante justice, they certainly wouldn't mind if someone added some "extra fun" to their work.

After some polite exchanges, the two finally started talking about business.

"The last time I saw Draco Vertes was before the incident on Old Wall Street: he commissioned me to send his just-completed "The Detective Yassen" to the "Clovis Truth" for publication, and then gave me the royalties. Stay in the attic of the Crown Tavern.”

Karin Jacques recalled while drinking water:

"At that time, I had just learned about the Iron Sky. I thought he was just being targeted by the Guards and didn't think much about it. But then more and more people wanted to find him or capture him! People from the Guards, the Army People, the Church of Order, the nobility, the Old Gods..."

"wait!"

Anson interrupted with a frown, suddenly realizing something was wrong: "You said... there are also nobles and the Old Gods?"

"The first one is more polite, and the latter one is more direct." Karin nodded, drank some water and continued:

"You probably don't come to the outer city much - the nobles in the royal capital don't care here. Those who are looking for Draco Wirts have fought more than once. I saw it more than three times!"

"There are also various reasons for looking for him: there are admirers - this is the most outrageous - people who want to kill him, people who have lost things, people who want to ask for his help, people who want to help him..."

Having said this, the black-robed priest suddenly paused and looked at Anson carefully: "What about you...what are you going to do if you find him?"

"I?"

After thinking for a moment, Anson chuckled and said, "I want to chat with him and help him by the way."

"real?"

Karin Jacques' expression was full of doubt.

"Of course it's true." Anson looked at him inexplicably:

"Do you think I look like a devil or a villain?"

"...It doesn't look like that."

The black-robed priest swallowed his saliva and forced out a sincere smile.

Anson took a sip of coffee and decided not to compete with this guy who looked like a villain.

"So do you have any contact information with Draco Vertes? I mean before the Old Wall Street incident."

"Usually he takes the initiative to find me." Karin Jacques put down the water glass in his hand, rubbed his hands and said with some embarrassment:

"But if I want to inform him of something, I will publish an announcement in the "Clovis Truth", starting with 'To Mr. Detective Yassen,' and the rest can be made up as you like. Only the time and place must be accurate. .”

This is a good method... Anson nodded in surprise.

But having said that, after being arrested by the Guards and the building explosion, the "Clovis Truth", as a novelist said, "a second-rate news newspaper, a first-rate public reading", can still survive tenaciously, and the newspaper is fully distributed. It is really surprising that it is not affected.

"Your Excellency Anson Bach, can I make another small suggestion?"

Karin Jacques, who came closer, whispered.

Anson nodded slightly.

"If I were you, I would never take the initiative to find Draco Vertes now - he is now the core of all storms in the entire city of Clovis. It can even be said that everything happened because of him." Black Robe The priest said seriously:

"The fact that he is hiding everywhere proves that he is well aware of the danger if he shows up now. Needless to say, the people who want to kill him are all big shots that we cannot afford to offend. You may think that the Ordered Church can serve as a shield. It’s very safe, trust me, it won’t.”

"The eldest lady of the Franz family has now completely shown off her cards and openly spent money to arrest people. It won't be long before this guy can't even stay in the outer city. It's only a matter of time before he takes the initiative to show up."

"My suggestion is to 'wait' - with the Guards around, he doesn't dare to show up directly in the inner city, so if he decides not to hide anymore, he will definitely be in..."

"Crown Tavern?" Anson said subconsciously.

Karin Jacques raised the corners of his mouth calmly and straightened his body slightly: "If you are willing to believe me, I can be responsible for helping you meet him when the time comes."

"I trust you."

Anson nodded sincerely: "Priest Karin Jacques, you are free now."

"May the Ring of Order bless you and go well today."

After saying the polite words, Karin Jacques stood up decisively, not intending to stay for a second.

"Wait a minute!" Anson stopped him and took out a letter from his coat pocket:

"Send this letter for me, anonymously."

"no problem!"

After taking the envelope, the black-robed priest left the cafe without looking back.

Watching him leave, Anson put down the coffee cup in his hand and poured every drop of water in Karin Jacques' cup into the flowerpot next to the door. There was still some unnoticeable white powder on the bottom of the clean cup. shape object.

According to Cole Dorian, this "magical little powder that makes you want to vomit when you lie" and "a magical little pill that keeps talking" are contraband in the trial; what he gave to him was the last of his inventory. , the exchange condition is that the Storm Regiment must really pay him wages and allowances according to the standards of a "skirmishing company commander".

Anson agreed as a matter of course - he was not the one paying the money anyway.

The only pity is that this thing is ineffective against awakened talents and fourth-level spellcasters and above, and can only be used to deal with ordinary people. Otherwise, I can take a gamble and get all the information about the black mage from Blown's mouth. intelligence.

But he doesn't need it now.

Now that he knows the reasons and goals of the Black Mage's use of him, all that's left is to devise a perfect plan that will lead to a head-on conflict between the Black Mage and the Church of Order, and at the same time, he can escape smoothly.

[Dear Professor Mace Honnard, hello. 】

[After spending the good time last time, I learned more about the Church of Order and Saint Isaac, and became very interested in the history of the birth of the steam engine and the difference engine. 】

[I don’t know when you will have time to meet with me. I hope to meet with you to ask questions in this regard. 】

[You are loyal and will always love your students. 】