Chapter 343 "Black Cat" (the last two and a half days to ask for monthly tickets) Opera district, Lombard Street. This street is famous for selling candies, and colorful candies of various colors can be seen everywhere. The Mechanical Café is located at the bottom of Lombard Street, next to a small candy factory. Its appearance is plain and even looking through the row of glass windows, one cannot see any connection with machinery. The black triangular holy emblem on the heavy wooden door is probably the only thing that can make people think of "machinery". Lumian pushed the dark brown door and found it motionless, as if it was locked from the inside. He observed for a moment and pulled the doorbell hanging on the side window. Amid the clanking sounds, Lumian heard the slight collision of metal and saw the door slowly push back. There is a mechanical arm fixed behind it. This metal structure extends all the way to the bar counter and looks more like a decoration. While taking in the surroundings, Lumian approached the corner of the cafe, where there were two single-legged tables with five or six people sitting around them. The most eye-catching one among them was a middle-aged man with red hair. His skin was very white due to the makeup, and there was a circle of black lines around his eyes, which made his brown-red eyes look even deeper.
He was beardless and wore an open brown velvet coat and an untied red shirt, looking both sophisticated and casual. This is exactly the "Count" Puif that Lumian is looking for, a member of the former royal family of Intis, the Soren family. He inherited his father's generous legacy, but did not enter politics, join the army, or become a businessman. Instead, he mingled in various art circles as a literary critic, and he could most often be seen at "Black Cat" gatherings. Lumian walked over and asked with a smile: "Are you the Count of Puyfur?" Puif Soran looked up at him and asked casually: "Are you the friend Martin was talking about?" "Yes, Charles Dubois." Lumian was not shy and simply pulled over a chair and sat down. Puif looked him up and down, then smiled with satisfaction and said: “Yes, a beautiful friend. "What do you like best, literature, painting, sculpture, poetry, or music?" “Novel,” Lumian answered without hesitation. Puif stretched his body and pointed to the short and fat middle-aged man across from him. "Anoli, the most literary writer in recent years." The erotic writer who forgot his purpose and wrote about human nature? Lumian naturally thought of Aurore's evaluation of the novelist. His early works used love to highlight human nature, but later he became more and more obsessed with the former. If it were not for official control, Aurore believed that he would definitely write an erotic novel similar to "The Monk Chasing the Dog". Of course, Lumian doesn't care about human nature, he just loves to see those embellishments. "Your novels have made me grow," he said to Anoli from the bottom of his heart. Anoli, with black hair and blue eyes, smoked his pipe and said: "Fortunately you didn't say you liked my Death of the Pioneers." Death of the Pioneer... Isn't that Adri's work? Well, Aurore said that the spellings of these two writers' names are similar and are often confused... Lumian asked back with some understanding:
"You mean Adrian, the one who is supported by the government, earns tens of thousands of dollars a year, but can only write a bunch of shit?" Anoli burst into laughter: "That's worth a glass of absinthe!" As he spoke, he tapped the silver-gray metal button on the one-legged table in front of him three times in a row. Count Puyver was also quite impressed with Lumian's performance and introduced several other members of the "Black Cat" organization: They are the pale and tired painter Maren, the slightly harsh-looking literary critic An Yong, and the poet Ilett who smokes a cherry wood pipe. Just as Lumian finished his round of greetings, he saw the iron surface of Anoli's one-legged table suddenly crack and bloom like a flower. At the "stamen", a glass of green absinthe with a dreamy luster is placed on a tray, placed in a mechanical lift, and slowly rises. The writer Arnold took the glass of wine and threw a silver coin worth 1 fiel gold into the tray. The mechanical lift sank smoothly, causing the cracked metal surface to close, and the one-legged table returned to its original appearance. Anoli pushed the absinthe to Lumian and said with a smile: "For what you just said!" It really is a mechanical cafe... Lumian got to know this place all over again. He turned his eyes to the wide and thick leg of the table, believing that it should be hollow and connected to a pipe buried underground. After taking a sip of absinthe and feeling the familiar bitterness, Lumian looked at the one-legged table again: "No change?" "Here, a glass of absinthe costs 1 Fergold." Anoli smiled. Isn't this too expensive? The Breeze Ballroom and the Basement Bar only sell for 7 ricks, and the quality is similar... Lumian silently complained. 1 Felkin is equal to 20 ricks. At this time, the painter Maren, who looked pale as if he had not slept for a long time but was definitely handsome, took a sip of coffee and said: "I heard that an elephant came to Trier Zoo. It's a very rare animal." The short and fat Anoli muttered: "What's there to talk about with an elephant? Don't you think it's meaningless?" Count Puyver laughed: "Then let's talk about the conflict between Parliament and the two major churches, the high-ranking government officials who can't do anything right, the abominable publication censorship, and the spies who are lurking around us like hyenas?" Anoli sighed helplessly: "Let's talk about the elephant." As the other members of the Black Cat organization laughed, Count Puif raised his right leg and said: "Since we have new friends, why not play a game involving the occult." A game involving the occult? Lumian's eyebrows twitched. "What game?" asked the poet Elaite, who was smoking a pipe. Count Puyver laughed and said: "The King's Cake Eating Game."
Seeing that everyone else looked puzzled, Count Puif said with a smile: “You all have no childhood and no family, and you have never played this game? "The rules of the game are to cut the king cake into equal pieces. The number of participants plus 1 is the number of pieces. The extra piece is dedicated to a certain god we believe in or an ancestor we worship through a ritual. There is a piece of the remaining cake that contains a bean or a coin. Whoever bites it becomes the king for the day and can order the other participants to do anything. Of course, it must be within a certain limit." The part involving mysticism is about sacrificing the extra king cake? Lumian glanced at Anoli, Maren and others who were eager to try, wondering if there were any extraordinary people among them. Of course, judging from appearance alone, none of them look alike. In just a dozen seconds, Count Puyfer's proposal was responded to by everyone except Lumian. He began tapping the corresponding button on the pedestal table the corresponding number of times to tell the kitchen to send over a king's cake. It is said that this dessert has been popular since the Sauron Dynasty. ………… Under the St. Robert's Cathedral, inside the Inquisition. Valentine, Imre and other Purifiers gathered in Deacon Angoulême's office. Angouleme, who was wearing a light gold shirt and light white trousers, picked up the file in his hand and said: "It has been confirmed that the body at 50 Vincent Street in the Red Princess District belongs to the wanted former priest Guillaume Bennet. Remember to contact the police headquarters to withdraw the wanted order for the market area." This case was not under the management of the "Purifiers" in the market area. Valentine just knew that such a thing happened, and now it has finally been confirmed. He was wearing a blue formal coat and looked at Angouleme. "Deacon, have you found out who killed Guillaume Bennet?" "There are no suspects for now." Angouleme, a man with blond hair, golden eyebrows and golden beard, glanced at the file and said, "What we can confirm at the moment is that there are obvious traces of fire at the scene, and Guillaume Bene is likely to have died from the witch's curse." “A ‘Hunter’ of at least Sequence 7 and a witch? Such a combination is rare.” The half-blood Imre was quite surprised. As far as he knew, most of the "witch" paths were controlled by the witch family, a powerful secret organization that did not need to cooperate with others. "Less doesn't mean none," Angoulême retorted. As a deacon of the "Purifiers", he can read files with higher confidentiality levels, and his experience is richer than that of Imre, Valentine and others. He has even executed two members of the witch family himself. Valentine frowned and thought for a moment. "Could it be Lumian Lee who did it? "He has plenty of motivation." "But he doesn't have enough strength." Imre shook his head. "It's only been a short time since he left Cordu Village. How could he have already been promoted to an 'arsonist'? Isn't he afraid of losing control? Moreover, according to your description, even if he is an 'arsonist', he is definitely no match for Guillaume Bene." Valentine sticks with his guess: “That’s why he needs the witch’s help. "Will he join the witch family for revenge and become a 'witch' in the future? "If that's the case, things will be very troublesome. Lumian Lee has very serious problems, and you said that the Witch Family is keen on spreading disasters." Angoulême nodded: "This does require special attention. I will report it to the higher authorities. At the same time, we will intensify the investigation of suspicious persons in the market area." After making the decision, he comforted Valentine with a few words: "Don't be too nervous. Lumian Lee is not the only one who has the motive to kill Guillaume Bene. There are also powerful bounty hunters, official members of the Aurora Society, and other recipients of the evil god's gifts." Valentine said "hmm" to indicate that he understood it very well. After discussing several extraordinary cases that needed to be handled recently, Valentine and Imre walked out of the deacon's office, passed by Charlie who was learning how to use a mechanical typewriter, and walked towards the tunnel leading to St. Robert's Church.
"Tell me, what is the business that the quasi-witch wants from us? What valuable information has she discovered?" Imre started to communicate with his teammates with some curiosity. Valentine thought for a moment and said: "Could it be the death of Guillaume Bene?" Imre was stunned for a moment: "You mean, she came into contact with the witch family?" Without waiting for Valentine to respond, Imre shook his head: "Impossible. The Witch Family hates female 'assassins' very much. Once they encounter one, they will definitely eliminate it." PS: The last two and a half days to ask for monthly tickets~ (End of this chapter)