Mysteries: Arcana Wars

Chapter 437 Meeting in the Square

Backlund time, 23:00, the eve of Winter's Eve.

There are 21 hours left until the outpost launch.

Backlund, Cotopapa Plaza.

Dressed as the wandering magician Merlin Hermes, Klein sat in the corner of the square, holding his large, fully automatic wishing machine.

In one hour, it would be the Winter Festival, one of the most important festivals in all of Loen.

The New Year's market had already been going on in Cotopapa Square for a long time. Loon's sweet cake tea, fish and chips, and mulled wine limited to Winter Festival Eve were everywhere, interspersed with various representative traditional snacks from the north and south continents.

The Kingdom of Loen itself has relatively few traditional recipes handed down, and its food culture is not as rich as that of surrounding countries. Coupled with the social atmosphere that advocates for industrial food, it is rare to see such a bustling natural food market in Loen.

Business at the festival market is booming. In addition to the middle class who have the habit of eating real food in their daily diet, the working class who mainly rely on nutritional pastes and industrial foods are also willing to splurge on this good day of the year, having several good meals at the market, or buying some to take home as a holiday meal.

After people have eaten and drunk their fill, they always want to see something else. Performance halls of all sizes and temporary stands are scattered throughout Cotopapa Square and surrounding buildings.

Most of the people in the building were performing groups with fixed theaters. Scattered across the square beneath the colorful signs were street performers who looked more like Klein, and cheers could be heard from time to time.

Klein watched the street performers. From their performance styles, he could guess their stage names. Those who used ingenious equipment to create unique effects were mostly from the "Rama" school; those who focused more on their own performance skills were mostly from the "Hermes" school like himself.

Several Hermes displayed amazing skills before the eyes of the god Hermes. They used their nimble fingers and played with their vision to create amazing magic effects; or they bent their limbs and lifted heavy objects, challenging the limits of the human body...

The flourishing atmosphere of the stage made Klein miss his low- to mid-Sequence days. Back then, he had just learned many tricks from his Beyonder characteristics and was always looking for a suitable opportunity to show off his fancy performances in front of others.

However, life at that time was neither long nor short, but I could never find a relaxed gap to accommodate a little show-off.

The flickering neon lights suddenly dimmed, and Leonard blocked Klein's dazed sight.

"I am back."

Leonard pointed at Audrey behind him with an expressionless face and gave a simple and crisp introduction.

"This is Audrey, my current assistant; this is Merlin, my former assistant."

After receiving the call, Audrey immediately went to Cotopapa Square to meet Leonard.

Klein was a little surprised that Audrey came alone.

Leonard said he needed a helper, and Klein thought he would go find one of Pales's clones, or that incredible reporter. At the very least, even if he wanted to find Audrey, the real target should be Audrey's guardian—the guardian dog, the extraordinary creature Susie.

Moreover, this is a dangerous extraordinary disaster resistance operation, and Audrey is now just an ordinary person with no memory and sealed extraordinary power.

If the reason he had bravely entered the dungeon with the unrestored Fors was to protect her from assassination, then Klein wasn't completely sure he could protect Audrey the same way he had protected Fors by adding her to this hasty and fierce operation.

"Ms. Audrey is much more powerful than you think and will not hold us back.

"On the contrary, she will be a particularly important key support for us."

Leonard understood Klein's train of thought and explained calmly.

"Since I'm willing to let her be a detective assistant, it means she's more than capable now."

Recalling Leonard’s previous detective assistants, it was either Klein, who dressed up as Merlin Hermes, or the very wild Geraldine. The selection criteria have always been very fierce, and only gods will be chosen.

At this point, Klein had no choice but to trust Leonard's judgment and acknowledge that Audrey was a remarkable person comparable to Geraldine.

"I've also made some other preparations," Leonard added.

"What?" Klein asked in confusion.

"I'll leave it to the old man. You'll know later."

Having said that, Klein had nothing to worry about.

Audrey, who was reading the air, seized this opportunity and took a step forward to ask a question.

"Good evening, Mr. Merlin, and happy holidays."

As she spoke, Audrey tilted her head and raised her eyebrows.

"Have we seen Mr. Magician, the cult-mongering wizard, somewhere before?"

“…Ahem… Indeed…”

Recalling their last meeting at Carlo's clinic, Klein coughed awkwardly.

"...Uh...Long time no see, Miss Carlo."

"It's all just a misunderstanding," Audrey smiled. "Just call me Audrey, Mr. Merlin."

She stretched her limbs. She had specially worn sportswear today to facilitate movement, which made her look energetic and decent.

"So, gentlemen, how can I be of assistance?"

"Well, we are interpreting a divination..."

Klein moved the fully automatic wishing machine in front of Audrey and repeated the cause and effect of the divination in appropriate language.

Audrey, who had listened carefully to the entire conversation, frowned, her expression somewhat serious, and she showed a restrained expression of disapproval.

"First of all, this may be a little offensive, but I have to remind you, Mr. Merlin.

"Divination is just a superstitious activity. It can't predict your future, nor can it influence your destiny. At most, it can only provide a little psychological comfort and some emotional value. Sometimes it can even give you some wrong psychological hints - it's just a means of entertainment.

"In short, I don't approve of using this kind of entertainment to decide the direction of a crucial mission. It's too frivolous, even a bit of a joke.

"If it's really as Mr. Leonard said, this operation will determine the fate of countless people in Backlund. I think we should adopt a more practical strategy and report it to the higher authorities promptly."

Audrey seriously took out her electronic notebook.

"First, what is our specific mission?"

"...I don't know."

"...So, who is our enemy?"

"I think it's the Ferris Wheel, but I can't guarantee there are other people trying to take advantage of the situation."

“What is our ultimate goal?”

"……do not know."

"..."

Audrey held her forehead with her hand. She suddenly felt like she was on a pirate ship.

How could Mr. Leonard, who is always reliable, also have such messy moments!

? ?Please comment and read on!