Dunn concluded thoughtfully:
"So, either this Miss Fors Wall is special in some way, or…her disappearance has nothing to do with the others."
"Captain."
Edward raised his hand.
"This Fors you mentioned is actually a friend of mine."
"…."
Dunn finally showed a flicker of surprise. After thinking for a moment, he asked:
"Then do you know what might be special about her?"
"Hm…as far as I know, Fors is a very lazy lady. Her usual routine consists of writing novels or lying around on the sofa. If it weren't for her friends dragging her out, she'd skip socialising altogether. Oh, right—she's also a Beyonder."
"Meaning her social circle is clean, and she's unlikely to have made any enemies?"
"Exactly."
Dunn clamped the pipe back in his mouth, sinking into thought.
Edward quickly added, "Of course, it's also possible that I don't know her well enough…and she might've done something in private that I'm unaware of."
"Alright. I'll continue looking into her. If I find anything new, I'll let you know immediately."
"Be careful, Captain."
Dunn tipped his gentleman's hat back onto his head, then smiled and tapped the brim with two fingers as he turned to leave.
If it weren't for that thick beard on his face, the whole motion would've been extremely suave.
"How much does Xio know about Fors' disappearance?"
Not wasting any time, Edward immediately prepared to leave.
Lilith, having just finished a hearty meal, was now contentedly grooming herself.
But when she noticed Edward getting ready to head out again, she leapt up to his shoulder with two quick hops and chirped:
"Edward! Where are you going? I'm coming too!"
——
[Cherwood Borough—Fors and Xio's shared apartment]
Edward found the place empty.
Not surprising. Given the close bond between Fors and Xio, it made sense that if one of them disappeared, the other wouldn't just sit around at home.
Murmuring a quiet apology in his heart, Edward slipped into the apartment.
Lilith immediately sprang from his arms and began curiously exploring every corner.
"Ah! Edward, this place is so messy!"
The living room was a chaotic mess. The couch cushions were all tangled into a nest, and there was a clearly visible dent formed by someone lying there for far too long.
The trash can was overflowing with crumpled manuscripts—likely drafts Fors had tossed.
The desk was covered with manuscript pages; the topmost one half-written. A fountain pen lay beside it, capless—clearly, Fors hadn't expected to vanish so suddenly.
The ashtray was full to the brim with cigarette butts, evidence of her nicotine frenzy the previous night.
Frankly, if she weren't a Beyonder, smoking like this would have ruined her lungs long ago.
"Technically, two girls live here."
But the mess had nothing to do with gender. It was all about work and personality.
Xio was brash, always out and about working as an "arbiter." Expecting her to keep house was unrealistic.
Fors? She was either lying on the sofa smoking, writing while smoking, or asleep, pretending to be dead. She was the true source of this chaos.
Honestly, being a writer is the worst career choice.
Edward walked over to the desk and, after glancing at the ashtray filled with chewed-up cigarette butts, hesitated—then turned into the bedroom.
Sure enough, he found a few long strands of hair near the pillow. Definitely Fors's.
He wrote "Current location of Fors" on a piece of parchment, then pulled over a chair and sat down to begin his divination.
After a swirl of hazy, fragmented images, he saw Fors standing at a shop counter, holding a pack of cigarettes.
Just as the shop owner turned around to grab something, she suddenly stumbled—like stepping off the edge of reality—and vanished into thin air.
A second later—snap!—everything shattered into darkness.
The dream broke.
Exactly the same result as when he had tried divining Klein.
Edward flipped a coin:
"Klein and Fors are currently together."
The coin slipped from his hand and rolled far away—divination failed.
He frowned and thought for a moment, then made up his mind:
Time to go see Arrodes.
———
Arrodes' personal chamber.
As soon as Edward entered, shimmering words filled the mirror with a distinctly sycophantic tone:
"Mr. Edward, have you brought news of my dearest, greatest master?"
(The sentence ended with an overly eager emoji of sparkling eyes.)
"More or less."
The mirror gleamed as if lighting up:
"Where is he?"
Edward replied:
"Someone told me he's likely in some kind of anti-divination or hidden space…"
Then paused, frowning, "Wait a second. Which of us is the magic mirror again? Why are you the one asking me all the questions?"
Arrodes flickered once or twice.
"You may now ask two questions in a row."
Edward held up one of Fors's hairs.
"I want to know where the owner of this hair is."
The mirror rippled, and the image changed.
A blizzard filled the screen.
Beneath the thick snow, a small town came into view. The lens zoomed in quickly—Fors was standing outside, a cigarette in her mouth (unlit), saying something.
The screen flashed again—now Klein was beside her.
They were walking together through the snowy streets of the strange town, chatting.
"She's in the same independent space as my master."
If Fors truly had ended up in the same place as Klein, then her case was different from the others.
But what exactly made her different?
Edward thought for a moment.
"What about the other people who went missing in Backlund? Are they in the same situation?"
"Yes. Actually, that question was asked by Machinery Hivemind earlier. Back then, I couldn't sense any of the missing people at all. But now that my master is in that space, I can detect it indirectly—through something on him."
After a pause, Arrodes asked:
"Anything else you'd like to ask?"
"What makes Fors different from the others who went missing?"
"She disappeared in a different location. All the others vanished outside Backlund. She did not."
Edward rolled his eyes.
"What I meant was—why was her disappearance location different? Is there something special about her?"
The mirror's surface turned blood red, and glowing letters appeared:
"According to the principle of equivalence, it is now my turn to ask."
Edward: "…"
"Apologies. As a mystical item, while I can sometimes break the rules, I cannot fully override them."
It gave a quick explanation, then immediately followed up with its question:
"So, you want to know why Fors's disappearance occurred in a different location than the others, yes?"
"Mm-hmm."
The surface of the mirror flickered briefly, and then it responded:
"Based on the information I can access, there are a few possible explanations:
First, Fors' occupation is different from the other missing people—she's the only one who's an author.
Second, she may be the only one afflicted by a certain unknown curse.
Third, she's also the only one among them on the Apprentice Pathway."
Edward thought for a moment.
"What else do you think I should ask you?"
"Apologies. At the moment, I am unable to provide further assistance in rescuing my master."
Useless piece of junk!
"Arrodes."
Edward's tone suddenly turned earnest.
"At this rate, you're never going to be of real help to your master in the future. It's time you seriously considered growing stronger."
"I'll do my best, Mr. Edward."
—[Serious face].
"Catch you later."
Edward didn't linger to chit-chat. He turned and left the room, soon finding Ikanser again.
"Deacon Ikanser, I've finished questioning Arrodes."
"Any progress on your friend's disappearance?"
Edward shook his head.
"Not much."
After a pause, he added:
"But, Mr. Ikanser, I have reason to believe my friend's disappearance is not an isolated incident. As far as I know, there have already been dozens of such missing persons cases in Backlund—likely all connected."
Ikanser's expression grew solemn.
"In fact, we've been investigating this matter for some time already."
"Yeah, I heard. But I'm beginning to suspect that it may involve a high-sequence Beyonder… or even a sealed artifact."
"!!"
Ikanser acted without hesitation.
"I'll report this to the higher-ups immediately!"
"Thanks for your hard work."
After leaving the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, Edward went straight to the Church of the Evernight Goddess, where he swiftly submitted a formal triple-report combo.
This time, he even included a conjecture that the Demoness Sect might be planning a Sequence 3 advancement attempt.
As for the final place—the Church of the Lord of Storms—Edward hesitated.
He had serious doubts that if he walked in to report something, those old brutes might just turn around and arrest him as a suspect.
So instead, he had one of the Nighthawks from the Evernight Church pass along the message to the Punishers on his behalf.
———
[Loen Kingdom—Military Intelligence 9th Bureau Headquarters]
Deputy Director Qonas Kilgor lounged in a luxurious wide-backed leather chair.
This Brigadier General had an exceptionally broad frame—his white dress shirt and black vest looked like they were about to burst at the seams.
He had a tall, straight nose, deep navy eyes bordering on black, and a face that never showed any strong emotions—like a still pond.
Some claimed this was the result of years of spy training—after all, a spy who couldn't hide their emotions wouldn't live long.
He toyed with a finely crafted pocket watch in his hand and asked in a flat tone:
"So…you're saying the three major Churches are now all looking into this incident?"
The subordinate standing before him was visibly tense.
"Y-yes, sir."
"It's been over a month, and not only have you failed to locate a maid, you've managed to alert everyone. Do you really think you're still fit to serve in Military Intelligence?"
The subordinate lowered his head, not daring to speak.
Kilgor flipped the pocket watch between his fingers.
After a long silence, he waved his hand casually:
"If you find the girl before the three Churches do, this matter can be dropped. If not…transfer to Site No. 1."
"Understood!"
Kilgor then turned his head slightly and looked toward the empty single-seater sofa nearby.
"Mr. Rambis, any thoughts?"
The air distorted slightly.
What had been an empty seat was now occupied by an elderly gentleman.
He wore a shirt, waistcoat, and a dark red bow tie. His hair was fully white yet thick and well-kept. He carried an aura of gentle sophistication, and his blue eyes seemed filled with wisdom and knowledge.
"Apologies. I can only tell you that the person you're looking for is at the boundary between reality and illusion. I don't know where it is, and I don't know how to get there. But the place is man-made. If you find that person, you'll find what you're looking for."
"Tch. Could you be any more cryptic?"
The old man smiled gently.
"Then let me put it plainly—the person you're searching for is probably an author."
"Got it. So it all comes down to finding people again."
Kilgor rose to his feet.
"Sigh…that damn Hero Bandit, and the group connected to the Tarot Cards—still no progress. Now this."
———
Having completed all his reports, Edward finally made it back home and was ready to rest.
But no sooner had he sat down than Phoenix came flying out of the spirit world, bearing a message from Vampire Countess Akasha.
"Lilith, I'm going to meet with the vampires. You'll stay home—there's no point dragging you around for this."
Edward gently set Lilith on the sofa.
Although his current relationship with the vampires was good, out of caution—and respect—he still didn't think it was wise to bring Lilith along.
Lilith yawned and curled up, covering her head with her tail:
"Okay~ Miss Lilith will wait right here for you to come back."
"Mm."
He opened the Traveler's Gate and stepped into the spirit world.
A few seconds later, he re-emerged in the same chamber where he had previously met with Akasha.
As soon as she saw him step out of the spirit world, Akasha smiled approvingly.
"That fast? You've advanced already? Heh—now I'm feeling more confident about teaming up with you to take down Klarman."
Today, she wore another of those infuriating outfits—clearly conservative with no skin exposed, yet somehow still making her figure stand out like a flame.
"You've got a lead?"
Akasha replied smugly:
"Of course. You think we Sanguines have survived for thousands of years doing nothing? Tracking a few missing persons? Child's play."
Edward's eyes lit up.
"So—where's my friend?"
"No idea."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.