For a long time, Odis had often been able to find traces of the Rose School of Thought's Temperance Faction operating in Backlund from various pieces of intelligence.
Sharron and Maric should have been sent to Backlund several years ago to handle all matters related to the Temperance Faction in the city. They also used this metropolis to evade the pursuit of the Indulgence Faction.
But before this, Odis had no need for the Temperance Faction, so there had been no interaction...
On the carriage ride back, he thought of three ways to contact them.
The first method was to try his luck at the Bravehearts Bar, but Sharron had just fought with the Indulgence Faction. She and Maric should be lying low for a while, so the probability of contacting them wasn't high.
The second channel was to contact Sharron through Klein, but whether using the identity of Mr. Gale or Odis, he wasn't very familiar with Klein. If he were to suddenly ask him to contact the Rose School of Thought's Temperance Faction, Klein would most likely simply say: 'I don't know such people.'
The third channel was the Queen Mystic, Bernadette.
Seeing the phrase 'I am here' appear on the table in front of him, Odis said, "I thought you had an Invisible Servant watching me all the time."
The voice of the Queen Mystic came from the surrounding air, "There are many people who need to be watched by my Invisible Servant. You are just one of them."
She continued, her voice sounding somewhat illusory, as if the signal wasn't very good, "Speak, what's the matter?"
Odis looked straight ahead... actually, he didn't know where to look, so he just looked straight ahead and said, "I hope you can help me contact the Rose School of Thought's Temperance Faction."
The surrounding air was quiet for a second or two before Bernadette said, "I do not have such channels."
"You do, but you might not know it," Odis said with a smile, "Do you remember the night that Mandated Punishers' informant was killed?"
"I remember."
"At that time, you said you had just attended a Beyonder gathering," Odis said, half-truthfully, "According to some intelligence I obtained earlier, there indeed was a Beyonder gathering in that area, but the level was very high, and not every Beyonder could join. And I learned from another piece of intelligence that a 'Wraith' had appeared at that gathering. She is an important member of the Temperance Faction."
It was indeed learned from a piece of intelligence obtained earlier; that piece of intelligence was called the original work...
Odis clearly remembered that Bernadette and Sharron had met multiple times at a Beyonder gathering. Additionally, he had indeed obtained some intelligence, knowing there were two very high-level Beyonder gatherings in Backlund, one of which was the gathering attended by Sharron and Bernadette.
And there weren't many gatherings that could interest Bernadette, so Odis boldly guessed that Bernadette had gone to attend that gathering where she interacted with Sharron that day.
The surrounding air was quiet again for a second or two before Bernadette suddenly said, "Compared to your outstanding intelligence gathering and analysis capabilities, my intelligence officers are all idiots."
Odis thought to himself: 'This praise has a bit of Roselle's style to it...'
After a while, Bernadette added, "It just so happens there is a gathering tonight. I can help you contact her." Then she asked, "What do you need from her?"
"It's like this..." Odis did not hide anything and briefly explained today's case.
This wasn't something that needed to be kept secret. Moreover, although they are all secret organizations... slightly more normal secret organizations, such as 'Element Dawn' and the 'Psychology Alchemists' would also draw a clear line with the lunatics of the Rose School of Thought. They wouldn't even mind striking them in passing.
Bernadette was the leader of Element Dawn, whose style differed significantly from the Rose School of Thought. She probably didn't have a good impression of the Rose School of Thought either.
And since he was asking for help, being secretive would be rather pointless. Based on these thoughts, Odis told Bernadette the truth.
Finally, he said, "I want to ask that 'Wraith' if the second person who came to purchase 'Sunflowers' and told me the Werewolf's address was sent by her? Was her aim to make us discover that Werewolf's traces?"
"Alright," Bernadette said, "In return, you must help me get information regarding the Hero Bandit Black Emperor."
Odis was taken aback for a moment before saying, "This task is a bit difficult. I was also there at the time. To be honest, I still don't understand how that guy left the scene? I don't even know which direction to look."
"Just keep an eye out for intelligence on this matter. I'll pay you if you discover anything, but if you don't, it doesn't matter." For Bernadette, it was just a matter of passing a message, so the corresponding reward didn't need to be very high.
Odis nodded, "Okay."
Bernadette's words made the matter easier.
Soon after, the Queen Mystic left.
Odis pondered the case again, but still gained no clues, so he simply went back to writing the 'Outline of Combat'...
....
~South Borough, South of the Bridge, Passion Bar~
There was no fighting match tonight. Simon, the bar owner with yellow teeth who was smoking, planned to leave after finishing the drink in front of him and find a casino to gamble...
Just as there was only one sip left in the glass, three men pushed the door open and came in.
Simon glanced at them and immediately realized they weren't here to drink.
First, these men were dressed too flashily, unlike patrons of such a small bar. Second, after entering, they looked around as if searching for someone.
Simon immediately realized they might be looking for him and quickly turned his head away... But it was too late. One of them had already spotted him and pointed in his direction.
The three of them quickly approached and surrounded Simon.
Simon's subordinates immediately stood up, confronting the three.
The leader of the group was a man in his thirties with brown hair. He ignored Simon's subordinates and directly asked Simon, "I'll only ask you one question, and then I'll leave. Where does Lelouch live?"
Simon was nervous inside but still pretended to be calm and composed, smiling to reveal a mouthful of yellow teeth, "Who are you talking about? I've never heard of him. Buy a drink, and maybe I'll remember."
The leader recalled the bar's rules and said to the bartender, "A drink."
At Simon's glance, the bartender mixed the tavern's most expensive drink and pushed it towards the brown-haired man, "1 pound."
Just as one of the man's subordinates was about to question the bartender, he was stopped by the man. He took out 1 pound from his wallet and placed it in front of Simon, "Speak."
Simon put the note away and smiled, saying, "I am Lelouch's agent, but I don't know where he lives!"
The brown-haired man didn't waste words; he slapped Simon to the ground. His subordinate punched the bartender in the face.
*Crash!*
The bartender crashed into the liquor cabinet behind him, causing many bottles to fall and shatter on the ground.
Simon's subordinates immediately rushed to rescue their boss, but were easily dealt with by the brown-haired man's two subordinates.
At first, the patrons clamored to help Simon, but seeing how skilled the opponents were, they scurried away, some even snatching chairs and glasses.
The brown-haired man grabbed Simon by the collar, lifting the bar owner, "Your teeth are too ugly. Let me help you pull them out. Maybe new ones will grow in a few days."
"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Simon quickly said, "I heard him tell a carriage driver his address... It was Unit 176 Riverbay Avenue!"
The brown-haired man tore open Simon's clothes and pulled out his wallet. He not only retrieved his own 1 pound, but also took all the cash he found on the wallet, about twenty pounds.
Then he threw Simon to the ground, gave a look to one of his subordinates to keep an eye on Simon, and took the other subordinate to the address Simon had just given.
Sitting on the ground, Simon held his cheek and thought: 'Even my molars are loose. It seems my acting was convincing...'
...
~Unit 51 Henry Street, Gale's Herbal Shop~
In the evening, Max sent someone to deliver 200 pounds in cash, which was the intelligence fee for this case...
Currently, the Machinery Hivemind had killed one 'Werewolf'. With no clear leads, the case was temporarily concluded, so he applied for the intelligence fee for Odis.
Regarding Odis's intelligence fees, Deacon Ikanser had previously given special approval, saying, "Settle everything and pay him on the same day."
After all, Odis was their ace intelligence officer, who had repeatedly helped the Machinery Hivemind solve major cases. Thanks to this, whenever Ikanser met with the captains or deacons of the Nighthawks and Mandated Punishers in Backlund, he always held his head higher...
After receiving the money, Odis recalled that Max had promised 160 pounds, but now gave 200. Then he realized, "At that time, I shot four arrows... So 10 pounds/per shot?"
Chuckling, he put away the money and continued selling herbs, leaving the shop after 10 p.m.
Today, he also planned to rest at Unit 176 Riverbay Avenue. Having failed to meet his opponents from the Extraordinary Arena yesterday, he expected them to arrive today.
Odis got off the carriage on a street adjacent to Riverbay Avenue. He entered a small inn, spent 1 soli for a relatively clean room, then took out Lelouch's mask and costume from the 'Knowledge Moor' and put them on.
He opened the window and looked around. Seeing no one on the street shrouded in a thin fog, Odis jumped out of the window and quickly made his way to Riverbay Avenue.
When he was still some distance from Unit 176, his Spirituality sensed eyes watching him.
He sighed inwardly: 'In this world, there are always people who like to court death...'
As if unaware of those gazes, he quickly opened the door and entered, making final preparations to welcome the guests who would arrive tonight.
Unit 176 Riverbay Avenue was actually a room Odis had prepared for 'Leader' to establish his authority.
He had intended to use it to eliminate those who were seeking to spy on him and establish his reputation. But after renting it for about two years, no one has managed to find Leader's traces, so these arrangements have never been used.
Today, however, the arrays inside would finally be put to use...