This wasn't a complicated truth, but Mike had deliberately or inadvertently overlooked it until now...
Deep down, he didn't want to believe that society's elite could be so cold and ruthless. He preferred to imagine that the upper class was like him... simply unaware of certain issues, but eager to solve them once they came to light.
Odis leaned back on the sofa, then spoke with a voice tinged with weariness, "What I'm doing is the same as you, just with different methods. I don't expect understanding or help from those in power. They'll never understand, and sympathy alone is unreliable, because that sympathy might vanish by tomorrow..."
"...You've probably heard that I once tried to open factories. It wasn't an investment. I just wanted to give streetwalkers another path. After all, no one chooses that life unless they're desperate. But I failed. Right now, only the Rosewood Pavilion is still turning a profit."
Mike quickly interjected, "I've heard about it! What you're doing is truly noble–"
Odis raised a hand, cutting him off. "No flattery needed. I know what I'm doing isn't noble. On the contrary, it's a bit dirty..."
He pointed to his mask and continued, "Once you put this on, you can't take it off. But I don't regret it, because I've actually solved some problems. The sad part is, all I've gotten in return are cold stares and mockery from high society. To this day, there hasn't been a second Rosewood Pavilion..."
Mike grew emotional, "No, what you're doing is truly great. You've given so many streetwalkers security and prevented so many tragedies."
"Thank you." Odis suddenly stood up, "Thank you, Mr. Reporter."
Mike scrambled to his feet as well.
Odis continued, "Those who want to understand the Rosewood Pavilion will find their own way to learn about it. But that way can't be through newspapers... it's too easily misunderstood and exploited."
He tapped his mask again, "And let me remind you, there are too many secrets of powerful people beneath this mask. For your sake, for mine, and for Rosewood Pavilion, please don't publish another report like yesterday's."
Mike immediately assured him, "Don't worry. It won't happen again... at least not in the Daily Observer."
Odis took another puff of his cigar, "Thank you."
They chatted a while longer before Mike took his leave. Mr. Gale escorted them all the way to the staircase.
Once outside the Rosewood Pavilion, Mike remarked, "He's a man worthy of respect."
Klein nodded in agreement, though he was already planning to divine where he'd seen Mr. Gale before as soon as he got back...
....
~Third Floor, Rosewood Pavilion~
Odis puffed on his cigar as he said to Enoch, "Bring people to the dance hall tonight. Put it on my tab."
Enoch bowed gratefully, "Thank you, Mr. Gale."
He was one of the few people who knew that Mr. Gale was actually Odis...
Only after Enoch left did the elegant Lady Mandy speak up, "Mr. Gale, Lord Ashbourne sent another invitation yesterday. This is already the second time he's asked you to attend his ball."
Odis smirked, "He still refuses to give up, huh?"
The massive profits of Rosewood Pavilion had many people salivating. They were all eager to take a piece for themselves.
Fortunately, as a gray-market business, nobles and parliamentarians disdained dirtying their hands with it. Ashbourne, however, had bought his title rather than inheriting it. He was a man without real power, and thus far less restrained in his greed...
"Ignore him," Odis said, exhaling smoke, "Tell him I'm too busy. If he tries anything underhanded, I'll deal with him."
...
After a bit more small talk, Odis prepared to leave...
He intended to resume his combat training. He was eager to master his newly acquired Beyonder abilities.
Returning to the room with the auxiliary teleportation array, Odis shut the door behind him and activated the formation, transporting himself back to the basement of Gale's Herbal Shop...
After changing clothes, he was once again the unassuming herbalist.
Seated in the lounge, Odis suddenly chuckled. He hadn't expected to run into 'Sherlock Moriarty the Great Detective' today...
Had the man realized he was 'Mr. Hermit'? Or noticed that Rosewood Pavilion's business model felt familiar?
As he pondered Klein's thoughts, Odis packed his pipe with tobacco. Lighting it, his mind drifted back to the early days of founding Rosewood Pavilion...
When he had first transmigrated, he was caught in an Extraordinary incident. It had happened in the northern outskirts of Backlund.
The original owner of his body had been the youngest son of a small farm owner. Though grain prices had been falling for years, the farm hadn't gone bankrupt, and life had been tolerable.
The moment Odis arrived, every living thing across multiple farms and workshops transformed into mindless monsters... Everything except him.
Not only did he remained unaffected, but he had also become a 'Mystery Pryer'.
The area had housed many small workshops that produced industrial goods, so most residents were followers of the 'God of Steam and Machinery'. The 'Machinery Hivemind' swiftly intervened after receiving reports.
Their investigation suggested the incident might be linked to high-level Beyonder Characteristics or Sealed Artifacts from either the 'Mystery Pryer' or 'Savant' Pathways.
Even the Church of Steam and Machinery's headquarters had repeatedly inquired about the case. As a result, they had interrogated Odis for a full two weeks.
Fortunately, their Spiritual senses only detected connections at that level. Had they traced it back to the 'Knowledge Moor', the God of Steam and Machinery might have personally paid Odis a visit...
After over half a month of fruitless investigation, the Machinery Hivemind had brought Odis to Backlund, settling him in housing near the 'Backlund Institute for Mechanical Research' for further observation.
However, through the 'Knowledge Moor', Odis had already deduced the cause of the incident.
When he arrived in this world, he had carried Knowledge of the Great Old Ones and the Cosmos... Knowledge that had triggered a localized catastrophe.
As for why the disaster hadn't consumed all of Backlund, or why he remained unharmed and even became a Beyonder? Odis suspected the 'Knowledge Moor' was responsible.
He wasn't entirely sure, but it was the most plausible explanation...
While studying his own predicament through the Sefirah, Odis had also stumbled upon new patterns and applications for Spirituality and arrays. This led him to develop methods for large-scale rapid cultivation of mystical herbs...
So while cooperating with the Machinery Hivemind's investigation under their close surveillance, he studied Mysticism, feigned enlightenment, and begun leasing land to grow Spiritual botanicals.
At first, he only sold them at underground Beyonder gatherings. But after securing a contract to supply the 'Machinery Hivemind' with mystical ingredients, he had earned enough to open Gale's Herbal Shop...
As a healthy young man, once Odis had money, of course he planned to patronize the ever-present streetwalkers.
But very quickly, he had grown disillusioned with this world's sex industry...