Chapter 1 This Day

This was the fifth day that Suren and his disciples had been on the "Queen Rodericka" cruise ship.

Two days ago, Suren discovered that the professor leading the Royal Academy students was suspicious, and he originally wanted to learn more about the situation.

But the guy hadn't left his room for the past few days, so he hadn't found a good opportunity to contact him.

These days of investigation hadn't revealed what the Outer God cultists were planning to do.

Fortunately, there was a charity auction tonight, and almost everyone on the upper deck would be participating. Suren also wanted to try his luck and see if that professor would go as well.

And also to see that [Hanged Man] card.

In the evening, in room A2077.

"Aberk, do...do I look good in this? Is it too revealing?"

"My sister, this is the fifth time you've asked me. I told you it looks great. If you don't believe me, ask Teacher. He'll definitely say it looks good too."

"Teacher, is it okay for me to wear this? Is it... a bit too exaggerated?"

"It looks good. People in Luding would all dress like this. There's nothing strange about it."

"Oh."

In front of the dressing mirror, Kama was trying on a court-style dress, looking conflicted.

It was a rather sexy, off-the-shoulder black dress. Her figure wasn't too voluptuous, so she looked a little delicate in it. But her temperament wasn't bad. It was just that she had been in the pirate circles for so many years, and she wasn't used to wearing formal attire, which she hadn't worn in a long time.

Suren hadn't forgotten Kit's reminder that if she went to the charity gala in her usual clothes, she would definitely become the center of attention, a "bumpkin."

It was much easier for him and Aberk, two men. They just bought two sets of exquisitely made tailcoats on the ship.

It had to be said that the threshold of high society was very high. The three sets of clothes cost nearly 300,000 Liso, which was probably half a lifetime's savings for the lower-class commoners.

Hearing Suren say it looked good, Kama finally stopped worrying about the dress.

She put on a little light makeup, and she looked quite presentable. She had found a lot of jewelry in Hai Xu before, and she picked a few pieces that suited her age to wear, adding just the right amount of extravagance.

"It's about time. We need to go over early and take a look."

"Okay."

The siblings followed Suren out the door.

......

Suren was in a black and white tailcoat, with a slightly timid Kama on his left, holding his arm, and an Aberk on his right, with a bored look on his face.

Because he was attending a banquet, he couldn't keep reading, so Aberk was playing with a mechanical cube in his hand.

This wasn't purely for fun. Just like Suren used to practice finger flexibility with gold coins, this mechanical cube was specially used to practice finger flexibility and multitasking control. It was an excellent professional practice tool for puppeteers. It was also a small antique handed down from the Boyle mechanical puppet lineage.

"Click," "click," the rhythm was very smooth, solving the complex cube into various patterns, and then restoring it. The mechanism inside the cube had super high randomness, requiring both thought and fingers to be very agile. This difficulty was already very high.

Before, some fine needles would pop out and prick his hand, but now Aberk was able to play with it very skillfully.

Suren watched his disciple grow day by day, and he was very gratified.

The three arrived at the banquet hall for the auction gala, showed their tickets, and entered smoothly.

The venue was brightly lit, and there were already many people when they arrived.

At this sight, Kama finally didn't think there was anything inappropriate about her dress.

The guests attending the conference, both men and women, were all dressed very gorgeously.

Luding was indeed the capital of fashion. The styles of those dresses were luxurious and bold, making them very pleasing to the eye. Especially those ladies and young ladies from the imperial capital, their dresses were more sexy than the other, wishing to show off their graceful figures with the least amount of fabric.

The auction hadn't started yet, and guests could eat some buffet snacks and drinks.

Suren and the others didn't know anyone, so they wandered around the venue.

This place was previously the antique exhibition hall of that mysterious collector. There were various antiques displayed in glass display cabinets throughout the venue, with spotlights on, giving it a historical atmosphere.

Suren led Kama and her brother through the exhibits, occasionally introducing the origins of those antiques.

Not to mention having the All-Knowing Eye, his knowledge of antiques was also beyond that of ordinary experts. He could tell the origin of almost any antique he saw.

"Teacher, why are there sealing runes on this display case?"

"This crystal skull is an ancient object from before the Dawn Era. It should be some kind of sacrificial object, and there is still some transcendent energy remaining on it. If it is not sealed, the energy will overflow and cause the surrounding people to feel dizzy and nauseous."

"Oh... then Teacher, that painting looks very special. I always feel like there is a monster sealed inside."

"That's a cursed object. Don't touch it and you'll be fine. It looks like this collector likes to collect dark-style collections. But I have to say, he is a true expert, and his taste is good."

"..."

Suren had visited the exhibition hall before, but now there were some fine products that hadn't been displayed before.

Collections reflect character, and he became more and more curious about who this collector was.

.......

While Suren was leading his two disciples around, he didn't forget to scan the venue from time to time.

He didn't wait for the bishop of the "Giant Hermit Society" he was looking for, but he did wait for that Kit guy.

That guy was as elegant as ever, holding a glass of champagne and chatting and laughing among various wealthy women.

Kit also saw Suren, but he didn't intend to say hello.

Suren was thinking about why that guy was so blatantly chatting with other people's wives without being caught. At this time, the guy's secret message came from the communicator: "Suren, I'm being watched by people from the Luding Military Intelligence Agency."

Suren was also a little surprised when he heard this, and asked, "Military Intelligence Agency? How did they find out?"

Kit was still chatting and laughing in the distance, but a response also came from the communicator: "Someone moved my luggage. I suspect they left a special elemental marker on my clothes. But they shouldn't have realized that I've already noticed it, so I'm pretending not to know. They're probably waiting for me to take action at tonight's auction so they can catch me. So, I need you to help me a little..."

"Oh. So, you're still planning to take action?"

"Yes. I must take action to separate my several identities from 'Phantom Thief Kit'."

"..."

Suren learned about that guy's plan and didn't think there was any problem with it.

Those who walk by the river all year round must have some means to escape.

The two exchanged a few words and settled on a plan.

So far, Suren hadn't discovered what the "Giant Hermit Society" was planning to do.

But the calmer it was, the more his intuition told him that things would get worse.

Now that people from the Military Intelligence Agency were involved, he didn't know if there was any connection.

Before long, a group of young men and women walked into the banquet hall in groups of three or five, about twenty or thirty.

Although they weren't wearing school uniforms, Suren still recognized that these were the students from the Luding Royal Academy.

These second-generation nobles were all dressed in bright clothes. The men were heroic, and the girls were wearing low-cut, backless long dresses. Although their faces were still a little immature, their figures were already graceful.

Aberk looked at the flamboyant female students and muttered faintly, "Sister, I told you that there's nothing wrong with what you're wearing. You're much more conservative than them."

Kama blinked her eyes, and her bright eyes sparkled, "Ah... it seems so."

If nothing had happened back then, she should have been a student at the Luding Royal Academy now.

Suren smiled slightly.

He glanced around, but still didn't see the professor who was leading the team.

He didn't look any further and continued to look at the collections in the exhibition hall.

He didn't know if it was his imagination, but Suren always felt like there was a faint gaze on him.

It didn't feel like he was being watched, but more like a curious gaze.

He thought it was probably because he looked pretty good in his tuxedo?

At least just now, several wealthy women had been giving him flirtatious glances.

......

The group of Royal Academy students also wandered around the exhibition hall.

As they wandered, several students walked near Suren and the others.

One of the slightly chubby male students had a raven with glossy feathers standing on his shoulder. He was boasting to his companions: "Let me tell you, it's very popular to raise ravens in the imperial capital now! The price of ravens in the bird market has skyrocketed more than tenfold. Especially some raven-like magical beasts with special abilities, each one can now be sold for a sky-high price. My [Soul-Shrieking Raven] can release sonic attacks, which is very rare among first-order magical beasts..."

Suren felt a little puzzled when he heard the chubby student boasting so much.

Ravens usually symbolize misfortune, and few people raise them.

Especially nobles.

He didn't expect that Luding, that trendsetting capital, would be popularizing this?

But then, he realized that this trend of raising ravens was actually because of himself?

At this point, another student also said, "Wow... Alex, I also want to get a raven magical beast, it's super cool! The two-dimensional raven of the [Death Puppet Master] was so powerful before, it resisted the firepower coverage of the Mafia Mechanical Legion. It's the top-level magical pet that everyone dreams of. The newspapers for the past half month have almost all been about the news of that great battle in the Roman Kingdom. Oh my god, if my second-order advancement choice hadn't been the fire mage path, I would have chosen to be a puppeteer."

At this point, everyone started talking at once.

"I heard that the [Death God] has now become everyone's idol in the alchemist circle. The originally unpopular puppet department is now overcrowded."

"That's right. The mentors all say that the [Death Puppet Master] is very special. Generally, the physical bodies of puppeteers are weak, but that person is ridiculously strong. That excellent melee ability makes it no exaggeration to say that he is a melee professional. I really don't know where this freak came from. I've never heard of this person in the imperial capital before..."

"Haven't you heard? He's a member of a mysterious organization called 'Dawn'. It's said to be a neutral alchemy organization, probably similar to the 'Alchemy Guild'."

"I also want to be a puppeteer. During that battle in the Roman Kingdom, that [Death Puppet Master] was really too powerful. He fought against 200,000 people alone and killed 50,000 to 60,000 pirates! The teachers all said that no other professional can do that in the high-order professional field..."

"Isn't that right? That day, a meteor fell from the sky in the Molos City State, kicking off the great battle... In the end, the pirate corpses in the central arena were all piled up."

"..."

At their age, it was the age when heroism was budding, and they all wanted to become dragon-slaying teenagers.

Being able to kill so many pirates in the pirate base camp that blood flowed into rivers, wasn't that the hero in every boy's dream?

Suren's expression was a little strange as he listened.

After all this time, these people were actually boasting about himself?

Moreover, the more he listened to those news, the more outrageous they became, boasting that his combat power was almost enough to directly fight against the eighth-order Oleg.

Aberk and Kama on the side were full of pride, because these people were talking about their teacher!

Although they hadn't personally experienced that battle, and even because they had been at sea all these days, they hadn't seen the newspapers and didn't know how intense that battle was.

Now, listening to these Royal Academy students boasting, their eyes were filled with intense shock.

Looking at the scorching gazes from Aberk and Kama, Suren smiled wryly and explained helplessly, "It's not that exaggerated."

.......

That chubby student said triumphantly, "Hahaha, I told you. What's the use of advancing so quickly? Now my puppeteer lineage has finally risen!"

Someone immediately exposed him: "Alex, stop bragging. You're just lazy and can't advance to the second order, and you're still a puppeteer... Aren't you a fighter sequence?"

The chubby student immediately retorted: "Isn't it okay for me to switch to puppeteer now? Haven't you heard that the [Death God] has the fighting skills to fight against sixth-order professionals. That's how he advanced, so why can't I?"

Someone else laughed: "Now everyone is inquiring about that person's advancement route, but no one has figured it out. How do you know that he advanced from the fighter sequence? According to the teachers' analysis, that person can have such terrifying strength at the fifth order, at least in the low order, the advancement materials were very high-end, and even fused more than one 'sealed object'-level material. He may be a descendant of some ancient family that has continued for thousands of years. And Alex, you can barely fuse silver materials, and you still want to become that kind of puppet master?"

The chubby student's face was slapped, and he said arrogantly, "Hmph, you don't understand! Let me tell you, the most important thing for a good puppeteer is to have good puppets. The most important thing that allowed the [Death God] to kill 70,000 to 80,000 pirates was his special puppets. My father just sent me a message saying that he spent a lot of money to buy a fifth-order puppet. When I go back and get it, I'll directly have fifth-order combat power! Anyway, I don't care, the puppeteer professional is the strongest professional! If you want to refute, first give an example of what professional at the fifth order can kill 100,000 pirates alone!"

Everyone: "..."

The more people there are, the more exaggerated the boasting becomes.

Suren's eyelids twitched violently as he listened.

The truth was that he hadn't even killed 10,000 people, and it was almost 100,000 now?

But it had to be admitted that if one's talent wasn't good enough and one wasn't diligent enough, alchemists could indeed improve their combat power by relying on external objects.

And the puppeteer was one of the transcendent professions that improved the most significantly by relying on external objects.

As long as one could have a few puppets that surpassed their own level, they could indeed beat others of the same level.

However, this was only limited to the low-order field.

Or the "touch-and-stop" sparring in noble academies.

If one really encountered a life-and-death battle, no matter how powerful the puppet was, if the control ability couldn't keep up, or if the ability to save one's life wasn't enough, the enemy could kill them in the blink of an eye.

......

Aberk had received Suren's teachings on weekdays, so he scoffed at this point of view.

Hearing the fat man talking nonsense, he couldn't help but mutter in a low voice: "Puppeteers don't just rely on puppets. This guy has put the cart before the horse. Without control, a random musket can kill him."

Kama listened to those increasingly unreliable words, but didn't try to argue. Instead, she covered her mouth and chuckled, looking at her teacher and saying in a low voice, "Teacher, that [Death God] is so amazing~"

Suren smiled and shook his head, not saying anything.

But probably because Aberk spoke too loudly, that fat student named Alex heard him and looked over unhappily: "Hey, what are you talking about?"

Aberk didn't bother to pay attention to this person. He glanced at him and continued to look at the antique in front of him.

As if saying another word would be a waste of time.

It wasn't intentional neglect. Suren knew very well that his disciple had a very eccentric personality. On weekdays, except for his teacher and Kama, he hardly paid attention to anyone else.

That group of noble students was probably used to being arrogant and didn't intend to make peace. They mocked, "Where did this country bumpkin come from? How dare you say that puppeteers aren't powerful?"

Nobles would reveal their uniqueness in every detail, so even if they were wearing tuxedos, there were noble coats of arms on the buttons or something.

Those people could tell at a glance that Suren and the others weren't nobles, so they had no scruples.

Aberk finally couldn't help but respond, "It's not that puppeteers aren't powerful. It's just that what you said just now was wrong. Puppets are just the weapons of puppet professionals, like the swords of swordsmen, the gauntlets of fighters... You've put the cart before the horse."

Suren didn't intend to interrupt as he listened.

He also wanted to see how his two disciples would handle this kind of thing.

Aberk had a very high professional talent, but he lacked a lot in the ways of the world.

Suren had been keeping them with him all along because he wanted them to gain experience.

Besides, at this time, he finally saw the professor who was leading the team enter the venue.

.......

The fat student looked at Aberk's expressionless face and instantly felt that he had been humiliated by a little brat, and said angrily: "I am a formal student of the Luding Royal Academy, do you know more about puppetry than I do?"

When it came to seeing the world, the people of Luding had the confidence to say this.

Luding was known as the alchemy holy land, and the Royal Academy was also known as the "No. 1 Alchemy Academy".

There was a saying circulating in the field of alchemy that the powerful professionals of the Luding Empire were not necessarily students of the Royal Academy, but the most powerful ones must come from the Royal Academy!

But... there were worms everywhere.

This fat man was just a half-baked one.

Hearing the fat man say that he didn't understand puppetry, how could Aberk, the direct descendant of the Boyle lineage, bear it?

He looked at Suren, as if he had received tacit approval, and then said: "Not understanding is not understanding. Just admit it and study hard. My teacher said that the puppetry lineage is broad and profound, and only by being humble enough can you go far enough."

Suren felt a little strange as he listened, because these words were indeed what he taught Aberk.

The fat student was stunned by the lesson, and after reacting, he shouted angrily: "Country bumpkin, you have successfully angered me, I want to duel with you!"

Aberk seemed to be considering this suggestion very seriously when he heard this.

But then he thought of something and said in a serious manner: "You can't even beat my sister. I don't want you to fight."

"..."

Suren couldn't help but want to laugh as he listened.

Aberk spoke like this... quite choking.

Leaving aside the lethality, the insult was quite strong anyway.

Although they were all true.

Suren even knew that his disciple had really considered whether to fight just now.

He didn't expect that the other party was just saying it casually.

The fat man's face turned red as he listened, and he said angrily: "You have offended a great nobleman!"

Aberk glanced at the coat of arms pattern on his button and said very seriously: "Your family's title is not hereditary, but a military title. So, strictly speaking, your father is a nobleman, but you are not. In Luding, military titles can be bought with money..."

That keen observation allowed him to see through everything long ago.

But before Aberk could finish speaking, Kama, as his sister, was afraid that he would cause trouble, so she finally interrupted, "Aberk, don't talk nonsense."

"Oh."

Aberk looked bored and didn't want to waste any more time with these people.

"You...!!!"

The fat man's background was exposed, and he was ashamed and angry, but he couldn't refute it.

After that, no matter how he mocked, Aberk ignored him and went to the side to look at the antiques by himself.

......

A farce quickly came to an end.

The fat student who wanted to show off his superiority left in despair.

What they didn't know was that a young student had been paying attention to this scene the whole time.

Suren had also been paying attention to that young man. After all, he seemed to have the highest status among this group of students.

Moreover, there were two souls on that person in his perception.

"Secret guard?"

Suren probably guessed something.

That assassin lurking in the shadows was very powerful... The identity of someone who could have this level of guard was definitely not simple.

Seeing that young student came over, Suren also quietly moved away.

That young man walked to Kama and greeted her very gentlemanly: "Hello, beautiful lady, my name is Alex. I'm very happy to meet you."

Kama looked at the polite blond teenager in front of her and also returned the greeting politely: "Hello."

The young man named Alex conjured a tarot card out of thin air and smiled: "The tarot card tells me that you are a very special person."

Kama frowned. She didn't feel anything when a stranger greeted her like this.

She didn't act like other girls and fawn over him. She just asked calmly: "Hello, do you have anything you need?"

She instantly had an evaluation in her heart: Although the blond guy with the duke's coat of arms on his tuxedo button gave a good first impression and didn't have the arrogance of those nobles just now, he was far worse than Teacher.

"Uh..."

This cold tone seemed to make Alex doubt his charm for the first time, and he forced a smile.

But he didn't have the slightest hint of anger. He still said politely: "Hello, if possible, I would like to buy this Rubik's Cube in your brother's hand. I am a collector and also a tarot warlock. This mechanical Rubik's Cube is the best finger exercise tool I have ever seen..."

He had seen very clearly just now that the boy playing the Rubik's Cube listened to this girl very much. In other words, they were likely siblings.

Kama shook her head and said: "I'm sorry, this is an ancestral item of my family and is not for sale."

"Oh, that's a pity."

Alex didn't force it. He seemed to have also seen that they were not from the imperial capital. He naturally handed over a business card and said: "If there is a chance to meet in Luding in the future, I would be a qualified guide. I also hope that I have that honor."

The other party's performance was impeccable, and Kama politely took the business card, "Okay. If needed."

Alex showed a very friendly smile and didn't waste any more time. He just walked away.

This was the true heir of a noble family with a real foundation, without the arrogance and arrogance of that nouveau riche little fat man just now.

Suren had been silently paying attention to everything and also captured some keywords, tarot warlock?

He was here for that [Hanged Man] card?

Suddenly, he thought of something and contacted Mr. Black in Luding with the communicator.

After asking about the origin of this "Alex", it seemed that everything was clear.

.......

After that young man left, Suren also walked over.

They had seen enough of the antiques, and Aberk and Kama also obediently followed their teacher.

Suren smiled and asked: "What do you think of that young man just now?"

Kama hooked Suren's arm and said with a playful tone and an uninterested expression: "I'm not interested at all. After all... he's far worse than you, Teacher."

Suren smiled and shook his head.

Aberk on the side keenly knew what Suren wanted to ask, and said: "Teacher, are you suspecting that those Outer God believers are here for that person just now?"

Suren's eyes narrowed slightly as he listened, "Oh? How did you see that?"

Aberk said: "The coat of arms on that person's button is a hereditary first-class duke. There are not many in the entire Luding. Most likely his family has an important seat in the parliament. And he is also a tarot warlock, so he will definitely not let go of that "Twenty-Two Secret Vault Tarot Cards". If I were the planner, this would be the best bait to deal with him. Now those cultists have unknown motives on the ship. At present, it seems that the biggest possibility is that they are here for him."

Speaking of this, he tilted his head and thought for a while, and said: "If I guessed correctly... it should be some kind of political conflict. As for whether those people want to kidnap or kill him, it's hard to say..."

Suren showed an extremely gratified expression as he listened and praised: "Aberk, your thinking is very clear and your judgment is also good."

Aberk showed a happy smile when he heard this, "Thank you for the praise, Teacher."

At this time, Kama also stuck out her tongue.

Only then did she realize that what her teacher wanted to ask was this, not gossip.

Suren had been keeping the two of them by his side, so they knew everything about the "Giant Hermit Society".

But being able to connect the whole thing with this bit of sporadic clues, Aberk's crisis insight and logical thinking skills were indeed extraordinary.

Moreover, the truth of the matter was likely as he guessed.

Suren had also thought of this just now, so he asked Mr. Black.

After asking about it, he immediately deduced the whole story.

That "Alex" had a duke's coat of arms, and there was no second family in Luding.

It was none other than Alex Roberts, the young master of the Roberts family, the "Duke of Misty Mountain", a first-class duke.

This was not an ordinary nobleman, but a first-class powerful family in Luding.

Their family was as old and powerful as Yekaterina's Lance family and was also one of the five "Great Senators" in the parliament.

Moreover!

Most importantly, the Roberts family was the biggest opponent of the "Freedom of Religious Belief Proposal" proposed by the Bonaparte royal family!

Now there was also a motive.

So many believers of the Giant Hermit Society had come to the ship, even the leading professor was a believer.

Now there was also the son of an opposing member of the parliament on the ship. Who would dare to say it was a coincidence?