The night dispersed, and dawn arrived.
Some people stayed awake all night, while others slept soundly wrapped in their blankets.
Inside Saint Samuel Cathedral, in a certain room, there were two hospital beds, each with a person lying on it.
Brilliant morning light streamed in through the window, its brightness stimulating people to wake from deep sleep.
Klein and Leonard woke up almost at the same time. They first observed their surroundings, then looked at each other. After a brief moment of stunned silence, the corners of their mouths slowly spread into wide grins, and they burst into loud laughter.
They had finally killed Lanevus last night!
Although in the end it was still the captain of the Red Gloves squad who finished him off with a sacred relic bone sword.
Still, the three avengers from Tingen had all participated in this kill together!
If not for the sudden appearance of a powerful Beyonder, at the final moment, who snatched away the divinity within Lanevus and spread a terrifying disease, the two of them would not have needed to lie in bed like this.
"Only Ince Zangwill is left," Leonard wriggled a little, propping his upper body against the pillow.
"Do you think he'll feel fear because of our arrival?"
"No. He's an extremely arrogant person. As we are now, we're still not enough to threaten him."
Leonard sighed. Just dealing with a single Lanevus last night had required all three of them to join forces, and even then they still needed the Red Gloves squad to back them up.
If they wanted to face the even more troublesome Ince Zangwill in the future, they would have to seize every moment to improve their strength.
At the very least, they would need the power of Sequence 5 to pose any threat to Ince Zangwill.
Klein folded his hands beneath his head, coughed lightly, and said, "I should be able to advance to Sequence 7 soon. I'm not that far from catching up to Ince Zangwill."
"With your merits this time, it's more than enough. Once you advance to Sequence 7, you'll probably be able to become a true Nighthawks squad captain, just like our respected Captain Dunn."
"Becoming a captain, huh…" A trace of melancholy appeared on Klein's face. Although his current life was quite good, very stable, and with the protection of the Church of the Goddess of the Evernight, he still felt that something was missing. His life path seemed to have suddenly become a little too smooth.
But what's wrong with things being stable? People should learn to be content and not fail to appreciate their blessings.
Klein comforted himself a few times in his heart, and his complicated emotions eased considerably.
Some time ago, he had received a letter from Benson, saying that the two of them were striving to come to Backlund before the end of the year to spend the New Year together with him.
The New Year… it was already almost November now, only two months away.
Should he start preparing some New Year's gifts in advance? He would also need to rent a larger apartment so Benson and Melissa would have a place to stay.
After passing the church's review and advancing to Sequence 7, it would probably take about half a month. His salary would definitely increase by quite a bit again.
If he really could become the captain of a Nighthawks squad, then his salary would rise a little more.
Unfortunately, it would still be very difficult to afford a house in Backlund.
As Klein thought about this, his eyes reddened slightly. He felt a little homesick, for his original home.
The two chatted casually for a while longer before Daly pushed the door open and walked in.
Behind her was the main force who had been holding the line last night, the captain of the Red Gloves squad, Crestet Cesimir, the one who had dealt the final blow to Lanevus.
"How's your rest?" Daly walked over with a smile, bringing each of them a portion of food.
"Not bad. I just feel a bit weak, no strength throughout my body," Leonard said, lifting himself up a little more. He placed the food box on the blanket and started eating. He was truly hungry.
"That should be the lingering effect of the disease ability. Fortunately, there isn't much left, basically equivalent to a minor cold," Crestet explained from the side.
"The person who appeared at the end seemed to possess many different Beyonder abilities?" Klein couldn't quite remember all the abilities that person had used, there were many, and they were very powerful.
"He's a Shepherd of the Aurora Order. He's probably that Mr. A."
"Shepherd…" Klein recalled how Little Sun had once introduced the terror of this Sequence. Experiencing it firsthand, it truly was terrifying.
"The Aurora Order has always been hiding in the shadows, plotting various things. Although we were unable to keep that Mr. A last night, being able to kill the evil god's vessel Lanevus is already a great achievement. You can now make your requests."
Leonard didn't have anything he wanted for the time being, so it was simply recorded as a major merit. Klein, on the other hand, obtained as he wished the Sequence 7 Magician Beyonder potion, not the formula, but the finished product.
After handling these matters, Crestet brought up last night's events again. "Someone helped us from the shadows last night. He seemed to have held Mr. A back for quite some time, creating an opportunity for you to deal with Lanevus."
"Not only that, Klein, weren't you assigned the task of tracking that little black cat? It appeared last night as well. It should have witnessed the entire battle in the sewers."
Hearing this, Klein could only sigh inwardly. Everything really was such a coincidence.
After filling his stomach, Leonard thought seriously for a moment and said, "Could it be that the existence who helped us hold back Mr. A last night was that little black cat?"
"..."
"..."
Klein and the others exchanged looks, staring at one another in silence. In the end, Klein sighed and said, "Leonard, you still need to rest some more."
Miss Daly also laughed. "Your guess is very imaginative."
....
Empress Borough, Earl Hall's residence.
Audrey was very happy today. Not only had she bought a copy of The Complete Collection of Emperor Roselle's Quotations, which Susie had been longing for, she had even bought On How to Cultivate a Puppy's Intelligence as a free bonus for Susie.
"Audrey, did something good happen to you today?"
"Yes, I've finally been able to join the Psychology Alchemists Association!"
Audrey's face was filled with a radiant smile. During this period, she had openly expressed her curiosity and longing for psychology at various tea gatherings. Sure enough, after some time of baiting, a fish finally took the hook.
And that person had even tried to use Beyonder abilities to probe whether she was telling the truth. Unfortunately, such little tricks were naturally useless against her.
"Audrey, congratulations."
"Don't worry. Once I advance to Sequence 7, Psychiatrist, I'll help you look for an advancement opportunity as well."
Susie wagged her tail, very satisfied with this statement. It eagerly opened The Complete Collection of Emperor Roselle's Quotations and began flipping through it.
"Susie, do you need me to get you a pair of glasses?"
"I want the kind with gold rims."
"...Where did you see that kind of glasses?"
"In the book, of course." Alright then. Audrey now understood that it would be very difficult for her to ever win an argument with Susie again.
Especially with Susie now focusing intently on conquering Roselle's quotations, in the future it would definitely start saying things like "as Roselle once said" at every turn.
"Susie, how about we go to Mr. Hastur's house together this afternoon?"
"I want to read."
"You can read after we come back."
"But, "
"There's no 'but.' Susie, you need to understand the balance between work and rest. Reading all the time will make you stupid."
"Audrey, have you never read much because you're afraid of becoming stupid?"
"..." Audrey took a deep breath and decided to be magnanimous and not argue with Susie.
In the afternoon, a little past three o'clock.
Audrey arrived at Hastur's residence by carriage.
She had another purpose in coming here today, she wanted to purchase a few pages of Roselle's diary.
Last time, Mr. Hastur seemed to mention that he had recently acquired a new batch of Roselle's diaries.
"Good afternoon, Miss Audrey." Hastur came out holding Ariella, intentionally letting it meet Susie.
Sure enough, at their first meeting, Ariella and Susie seemed to produce some kind of chemical reaction.
A cat and a dog stared at each other from top to bottom. Ariella lifted its head in a rather noble manner, looking down at Susie from above, as if saying, "I'm far more noble than you. I can stay in my master's arms, while you can only be led by your master with a leash."
"Woof!" Understanding this meaning, Susie looked toward Audrey, signaling her to pick it up as well.
"..." Audrey was speechless. This request was a bit too difficult for her.
Although Susie's current weight wasn't very heavy, it looked a bit chubby. Holding it like that wasn't elegant at all.
She could only smile and say, "This little kitty is really cute."
"Meow." Ariella became even more smug, half-closing its eyes and looking at Susie with the gaze one might use on a foolish dog.
"..." Susie silently found a suitable spot to lie down, closed its eyes, and chose not to bother with Ariella.
"Ariella, go play with Susie."
"Meow!" Ariella showed strong unwillingness, its claws gripping Hastur's sleeve as it looked at him with pitiful eyes.
"Go on. It's good to make another friend."
Hastur still placed Ariella on the ground. Audrey also smiled and said, "Susie, don't bully Ariella later. Be good friends with it."
After giving these instructions, Audrey and Hastur went up to the second floor to chat, leaving their respective maids to look after Susie and Ariella.
"Meow!" Ariella walked gracefully, passing in front of Susie and deliberately letting out a meow, as if saying, "I'm not going to get along nicely with you, you silly dog."
"Woof!" Susie opened its eyes, glanced at Ariella who had walked some distance away, and let out a disdainful mockery.
When Ariella turned its head back, Susie stood up and also began to walk with an elegant gait.
Thanks to Audrey's long-term influence, and Audrey's own natural elegance, Susie only needed to imitate slightly. Its level of elegance immediately surpassed Ariella's.
"Meow!"
"Woof!"
"Meow!"
"Woof!"