"We're being followed."
Silas said to Audrey.
He saw the blonde girl across from him first freeze, then reveal an expression full of anticipation.
"Are you certain?"
"Absolutely. And it's a Beyonder."
The Shepherd spirituality within Silas was issuing a warning, telling him that a lamb was approaching.
"It seems the fish has taken the bait."
Looking out through the carriage window, there was nothing unusual on the street outside.
But the potion's intuition allowed him to quickly lock onto the target.
It was an unremarkable black carriage, the type one would glance at and immediately forget, currently following behind them at an unhurried pace.
Is it that guy?
The first person Silas thought of was that Sequence 6 hiding in the corner at the gathering. After all, as the organizer, he was the most suspicious.
"How do you plan to handle this?"
Silas asked Audrey.
"Handle?"
Audrey didn't understand what he meant.
"Right."
Silas said matter-of-factly. "Do you need me to capture him for you and interrogate him properly? I have some methods.
He probably wouldn't hold out long before confessing everything."
"That won't be necessary."
Audrey quickly stopped him.
"Mr. Anderson, your approach would be far too extreme!
I'm planning to pretend I'm interested in the Spectator pathway and let them come find me themselves, then naturally join them. This way, I can achieve my goal more naturally."
"I see. Alright then."
Silas said indifferently. Since his employer didn't agree, he could only give up.
In any case, as long as he could make contact with the Psychology Alchemists Council, that was enough.
Hopefully those people will be a bit friendlier.
After all, my impression of this pathway isn't exactly positive... Recalling that red-haired, golden-eyed woman, his brows couldn't help but furrow.
"Brother, hide in my shadow and rest for a bit."
His sister beside him, as if sensing something was wrong with his state, gently pressed his hand and said softly.
"Mm, we're almost at the Earl's residence anyway. I should hide."
Silas nodded, transforming into shadow and disappearing within the carriage.
That carriage continued following at a moderate distance.
Only after confirming that their address was at Earl Hall's mansion did it quietly depart.
To actually let the other party learn her background on their own initiative, she's bold enough.
Perhaps it's also because her family's status is sufficient that she doesn't need to worry about persecution after being targeted by them.
They'd be too busy trying to curry favor.
Silas thought to himself.
"Excellent. My efforts during this period haven't been in vain."
Audrey smiled, then said to them, "Tomorrow I need to attend an important banquet. I hope you can serve as my bodyguards then."
Finally, a somewhat normal bodyguard task...
"That's fine."
Silas said.
"Brother, should we catch up with that guy and shepherd him?"
After leaving Earl Hall's residence, Silas heard his sister's suggestion.
"Not necessary for now."
He shook his head.
Since the Psychology Alchemists Council had already set their sights on Audrey Hall, finding them would be much more convenient.
If there was really a need, it wouldn't be too late to act then.
They hired a carriage to leave Queens District. After hearing that their destination was the East Borough, the coachman shook his head repeatedly.
In the end, he proactively reduced the fare and negotiated that he would only stop outside the East Borough and wouldn't go in.
This coachman from Queens District indicated that not only was it because the East Borough was dangerous, but more importantly, after going there once, he would need to clean his carriage wheels.
Otherwise, customers wouldn't be willing to board his dirty carriage, and the police would also give him trouble.
Who knew even coachmen had regional discrimination...
Silas muttered as he boarded the carriage with his sister.
"By the way, Cecilia, what do you think of Miss Audrey?"
Watching the Intis sycamores rapidly receding outside, he suddenly remembered something.
"Miss Audrey? What, brother, are you planning to pursue her?"
The black-haired girl raised her head, staring at him with her blue eyes.
"What are you thinking..."
Silas froze, then said helplessly. "I'm asking about your opinion of her dresses... Just in these few days we've spent with her, I haven't seen her wear the same dress twice.
What do you think? If you particularly like the style or color of any of her dresses, your brother will go buy it for you."
"...Not really?"
The blue-eyed girl thought for a moment. "Besides, I think we probably can't buy Miss Audrey's dresses... She likely hires designers specifically to come to her home and custom-make them."
"Even so, you should still buy some new clothes."
Silas urged.
He felt his sister's appearance was no less than Audrey's.
The only problem was that for his convenience recently, she'd been wearing ordinary dresses from the slums, which was simply a waste of such a pretty face.
"Ah!"
"Quick, get out of the way!"
"Catch him!"
The two were chatting when they suddenly heard shouting from outside.
Through the carriage window, he saw several police officers running out in a mess from a police station billowing with smoke, angrily cursing.
A short figure was running swiftly ahead, occasionally looking back and grinning at the police with mocking intent.
His movements were exceptionally agile, moving freely through the crowd. He looked like a Beyonder.
People on the street all saw this scene, but no one helped the police. Instead, they cheerfully watched the spectacle.
From this alone, one could tell how poor the police's reputation was in Backlund.
Hmm, this street, this police station seems to be one of the Queen's assigned tasks.
Silas recalled vaguely.
Not just this police station.
These past few days on the streets, he'd witnessed many sudden incidents, basically all adding some trouble to Backlund's order and keeping certain people busy dealing with them.
Are those places related to MI9's arrangements?
Silas thought. From the looks of it, the Queen might be preparing to take action soon.
Returning to their rented place and pushing the door open, their young landlady Emily was reading at the table.
"How come you're back at noon today?"
Silas was somewhat surprised.
Because according to normal routine, although school would break at noon, due to the inconvenient commute, she would choose to rest at school during lunch.
"Something happened at school today. Only a half day of classes."
Emily looked quite depressed.
"The school's water system suddenly broke. The water pipes burst and no one can enter the teaching building."
"Was anyone hurt?"
"I heard from classmates that a teacher seemed to slip and accidentally broke his leg," Emily recalled.
"Everyone was pretty happy because that teacher is usually fierce and loves criticizing people.
But for some reason, he's very intimidating, so no one dares talk back to him..."
Sounds like someone from MI9 without a doubt.
Silas nodded.
"Well, there's nothing to be done about it. Just spend this afternoon at home..."
He smiled and consoled her, then his expression suddenly changed slightly.
Behind Emily, a figure he hadn't seen in a long time appeared. The red-haired, golden-eyed Ma'am M looked calmly toward him, then reached out her hands and covered her ears.
Why has she appeared again?
Silas was about to curse, but quickly noticed her gesture of covering her ears.
What's this supposed to mean? A warning?
After hesitating for a second, he proactively summoned the illusory ocean tide in his mind.
Immediately following, the True Creator's voice sounded in his ears. Madness, corruption... but also, somehow different.
Within those twisted ravings, there seemed to be some kind of information.
At the same time he heard the ravings, the flesh and blood within Silas's body seemed to react.
After briefly thinking, he extended a finger and with a "crack," broke it.