Chapter 353: The Man Of Thousand Faces
Chapter 353: The Man Of Thousand Faces
“…” Delicious Wind Goose observed the old man who had been dead for many days.
The dead body was as thin as a rake, but his abdomen was slightly bulged.
It was cold and underground, so the Goose didn’t hear the humming of the flies. He could still see grayish-white moths covering the old man’s face.
Delicious Wind Goose felt like something was clogging up his throat.
Is that sadness? Or fear?
Without thinking too much, he turned around as if nothing had happened.
“Yes, I have made up my mind. I don’t need to waste my time here.” He turned his head and replied respectfully and humbly to Klaus, “I will tell you whatever you want to know.”
“Great.” Klaus nodded slightly in satisfaction.
There was still vigilance in his eyes.
While standing outside the cell, Klaus asked, “What do you know?”
“Don Juan Geraint at the Freezing Water Port, who is also our feudal lord, is an impersonator.” Delicious Wind Goose replied quickly, “This is what the Roseburg’s Viscount said personally.”
“Alvin Barber?” Klaus frowned slightly and called the dead man by the name, “What did he say?”
“He addressed ‘Don Juan’ as ‘His Royal Highness Annan’.” Delicious Wind Goose lowered his voice and replied seriously, “I have investigated… There is only one Annan in my knowledge.
“I’ve seen Don Juan Geraint incarnating the [Frost Sword]. I’m a [Swordmaster] myself, and I certainly recognize that it’s definitely the [Frost Sword] without a doubt. I don’t have any further proof, but I think that’s enough to prove that ‘Don Juan’ is actually ‘Annan Austere-Winter’.”
“Annan Austere-Winter.” Klaus frowned slightly and murmured in a low voice, “No wonder… Well, that explains a lot.”
He was silent for a while, then raised his head and said seriously, “Are you serious with what you have claimed?”
“Look for an Edict Wizard. I can swear upon what I have said.” Delicious Wind Goose answered with certainty, “That’s because I have no reason to lie.”
Although he hadn’t seen it, he knew that Viscount Alvin must have called Annan “His Royal Highness”, and the viscount knew Annan’s true identity; he also saw Annan using the [Frost Sword] with his own eyes. Even if an Edict Wizard came to verify, he wouldn’t change his statement.
Klaus frowned slightly after sensing the confidence coming from Delicious Wind Goose. Then, he was also a little hesitant.
“You are quite forthright. Why didn’t you say that previously?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to say it.” Delicious Wind Goose replied calmly, “To tell you the truth, I want to sell this piece of information for a higher price. While you made me wait, isn’t that what I’m doing too? After all, this information has no value for me, but it may influence the decision of His Royal Highness Philip.
“His Highness Annan isn’t the real ‘Don Juan Geraint’ after all, and he’s an Austerian. I’m the Noah Kingdom’s Transcended. My loyalty to him has no value. If it isn’t the circumstances, I will not serve him.”
That’s true. Klaus nodded involuntarily.
He is right.
If Annan’s identity was exposed, Delicious Wind Goose could not safely leave the Noah Kingdom.
The only way for Transcended to cross the border was through the Papal Kingdom’s steam airship or underground railway.
This meant that even if the Old Goose served Annan and dedicated all his loyalty, it wouldn’t be possible for him to move along when Annan completed his secret mission and evacuated. Worse still, if Annan were exposed, the Old Goose would be wanted.
A wanted Transcended wouldn’t be able to leave Noah by any means. Even if the authorities did not hunt him down, he had to be on guard against [Hunters] while staying low in the country.
On the other hand, His Royal Highness Philip was one of the few royal heirs who offered much more perks as the boss. If he becomes the new king, the followers would soar in their careers. Taking a step back, even if His Highness Philip failed, the followers would still be recruited by the new king as long as the candidates were in Silver Rank or Gold Rank.
Once Old Goose surrendered his loyalty, he would receive better treatment than before.
Klaus couldn’t help but give Delicious Wind Goose a second glance.
Klaus knew already this prisoner was quick-witted. After this talk, he found the captive simply too bright and possibly thought of the entire narration before being captured.
Smart people would tend to advance in rank just because they could resolve nightmares more quickly and perfectly.
In Klaus’ interpretation, smart people liked to play petty tricks and made themselves appear more intelligent than they actually were.
Delicious Wind Goose made no secret of his plans. He even told Klaus his plans directly.
He knew the value of his intel and his worth to His Highness Philip as a calm and composed young Transcended. So even if he was left hanging by himself for two days, he didn’t have the slightest fear. Then, he told Klaus the critical information directly, and he didn’t worry that Klaus would kill him.
Delicious Wind Goose knew that he wouldn’t die here.
He could guess that Klaus must have already reported this information to His Royal Highness Philip. No matter what he said, Klaus could not kill him or even interrogate him through violent means.
Otherwise, Klaus would be under suspicion.
That was why Klaus was standing at the cell door in the first place, keeping a distance from Delicious Wind Goose.
He was worried that the Delicious Wind Goose would suddenly attack and subdue him. Never mind the hatred, the injury alone might make His Highness Philip doubt him.
Of course, the argument above came with the premise that Delicious Wind Goose was a Noah people.
“I take your word for it.” Klaus’s tone softened a lot, “You are brilliant. This is going really well. After you join us, it will surely reduce a lot of troubles for His Royal Highness Philip.”
“Does your Highness Philip not have an advisor?”
“Of course there is, but not everything can be said to advisors. Ordinary people’s brains are not fortified, and they don’t even have the right to know about slightly deeper secrets.”
Klaus approached Delicious Wind Goose’s cell, opened the door, supported the Goose from the ground, and flicked away the dust for the Goose.
Klaus said earnestly, “You may be our colleague in the future. But for the sake of safety, I can’t return your curse vessel to you for the time being. After all, His Royal Highness Philip still has to verify your intel and capability personally, but I think you will be fine.”
“Thanks for your kind words, senior.” Delicious Wind Goose responded politely.
After Old Goose walked out of the cell, he casually glanced at the cell next door and asked, “Speaking of which, who is this old man? I don’t think this is an ordinary prison, right?”
“Of course not. Don’t look at the fact that there are only two cells here. There are barriers here. If someone tries to break through the wall to escape, they will be killed by the electric current. The prisoners here are all Transcended… Oh, the old man is not.”
It was no secret, so Klaus replied quickly, “He’s a ritualist.”
“Ritualist? What crime did he commit?”
Delicious Wind Goose asked, “Can you tell me? I’m a little curious.”
It was expected to be a little curious after seeing his body for several days.
Klaus nodded and explained, “Actually, he doesn’t seem to have committed a crime.”
“No crime?”
“Yes, he was sent here by the patrols. According to the statute, a ritualist can be arrested without committing a crime because they possess the knowledge of danger. Someone owning a weapon can be disarmed, but what if they possess dangerous knowledge?”
Klaus shrugged, “If you don’t want to have your knowledge cleared up, the only option is to be jailed. Of course, the Soul Snatch wizard also requires money. Usually, when they are locked up, food and drink are adequately served.
“Maybe I’ll need to recruit a ritualist in prison one day.”
“But you didn’t dispose of the body.” Delicious Wind Goose had a thoughtful expression on his face, “Is it to cause psychological pressure on me?”
“Ah, that’s not it.”
Klaus couldn’t help but laugh and then replied casually, “I only noticed that he was dead when I interrogated you that day. In my mind, I was going to dispose of his body when I went out, but I have too many things to remember. After I went out, I just forgot. It wasn’t intentional.”
“Well, I think so too.” Delicious Wind Goose smiled, “This wouldn’t scare off anyone.”
“You’re right. We’re all Transcended and not mortals. Who hasn’t killed a few people? Putting a corpse here is nothing but putting people in disgust only.” Klaus responded casually.
Delicious Wind Goose glanced at the old man’s body.
I always feel like something is wrong.
Did I forget something?
As a Transcended of Silver Rank, Old Goose had undergone growth. His memory and logical thinking ability were utterly different from the mortal stage.
Would he easily forget something?
Or perhaps someone had altered his thinking?
This old man knew so much about the ritual. Even if he was imprisoned, he shouldn’t be imprisoned here, right? Why wasn’t there any traces of torture?
Why didn’t Klaus realize something was wrong here even after Old Goose hinted at it?
Did he not see the five apples? What about the bowl? Why didn’t the delivery man see the old man but didn’t drag the body away?
It didn’t look natural either way.
Delicious Wind Goose took a deep look at the old man’s corpse, then turned and left.
Shortly after he left, the old man who had been dead for a long time and had rotted moved slightly and calmly opened his eyes.
“…Well.” He reached out and picked up the top apple that was still fresh, took a bite, and chewed slowly.
After eating the apple, the old man got up.
The traces of death disappeared. His face melted silently, turned into another person in the blink of an eye, and changed again. It then shriveled, and the thin body became plump again.
His face was still changing, and he muttered, “Annan? When did he come to Noah?
“Why wasn’t I notified via letters?”