Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength
Chapter 172 - 171: Reflections at Home

Chapter 172: Chapter 171: Reflections at Home

Patricia’s conversation with Nicole came to a close along with the end of their lunch.

Leaving the investigator’s little cottage, Ronald straightened his coat as he stood at the curbside.

Nicole lived on an ordinary residential street.

So at this time of the afternoon, the street saw more women and children, with older boys and adults rarely near their homes.

Ronald glanced back subconsciously.

Nicole’s plant-filled house nestled within such a calm and ordinary street—yet there was nothing about its exterior that gave anything away.

It could only be said that over time, each mystical society had developed its own methods of concealment.

At least...

Nicole’s fence was built to be strong and sturdy, wrapped as it was in gray thorns.

A common thief, prioritizing efficiency, wouldn’t waste time on it.

And should someone accidentally break in.

Ronald thought the vivid plants in Nicole’s garden would probably be effective, too.

"Sigh—"

He exhaled and turned to walk away from the street.

He had gained quite a bit from today’s conversation with Nicole.

Although there had been substantial progress, it was far from enough to unravel all the mysteries.

Perhaps the greatest takeaway from today was Nicole’s promise to help.

As an elite investigator from Berlingwich, after receiving information from the warden, Nicole reached the exact same conclusion that Ronald had.

Unless they found conclusive evidence, the Investigation Bureau would definitely not rashly investigate a political figure.

As an agency with the power to enact violence, the Bureau was under extremely strict constraints regarding its use of force.

Unless it was a situation as pressing as a world alteration.

For high-level individuals involved in politics, they certainly wouldn’t investigate without due cause.

Not to mention the warden, that individual,

Who also had the formidable dual identities of a political figure and an original text controller.

Walking leisurely back to the apartment,

Ronald pondered over the information he had gathered that day.

For safety, he hadn’t immediately told Nicole about his cooperation with Swift today, instead planning to wait until the weekend after returning from the suburbs to introduce them at their next meeting.

Four days as a buffer period was safer for both Nicole and Swift.

He returned leisurely to his lodging house.

After entering the door, at this time, Mrs. Hudson was unusually not at home.

"..."

"She must have gone grocery shopping..."

Checking the kitchen and seeing no one, Ronald then comfortably headed back upstairs.

After locking the doors and windows, Ronald lifted the notebook used to prop up the table leg and took out the encrypted letter from within.

Still laying it flat on the desk, he stared at the paper and started to reflect.

Firstly, it was confirmed that the paper was indeed the same as the original—every torn edge matched perfectly.

Furthermore, once the message on the paper had been decrypted, its contents were successfully solved.

Then, what was the significance of it as an invitation?

According to Nicole, both her and Mr. Yajin’s encrypted letters had been received at locations different from the party venue.

This ruled out the possibility that Hellebore Manor was the intended place hinted at by the invitation.

He lifted the paper, turned, and approached the window to examine it in the sunlight.

Aside from the clean paper and neat black typography, there were no other markings.

Surely this group wouldn’t have penned an additional layer in invisible ink?

Dab it with iodine solution?

Soak it?

Singe it with a flame?

...

Just as Ronald pondered how to handle the innocent piece of paper, someone knocked on his door from outside.

Knock, knock, knock—

"Ronald, are you home?"

The sound that came from outside was the landlady’s voice.

Ronald stuffed the ciphered letter into his pocket and then walked over to open the door for Mrs. Hudson.

Upon opening the door, the person standing outside was indeed her.

So, Ronald politely nodded and asked,

"Mrs. Hudson, how are you?"

Mrs. Hudson smiled at Ronald and then began to speak,

"I just bought some fresh vegetables and meat from the market. Do you have any preferences?"

"I can prioritize making something you’d like to have for dinner tonight."

Ronald hesitated for a few seconds before he replied,

"If it’s possible, I’d like something light and refreshing."

"After all, I just had a big meal with a friend at noon."

Mrs. Hudson nodded with a smile and said,

"Of course, that’s possible."

The landlady turned to head downstairs, but before she descended the staircase, she turned back to Ronald and said,

"Mr. Ronald, just a reminder,"

"Miss Patricia used to have a habit, she didn’t particularly like food with alcohol in it."

"Eh—?"

Ronald was taken aback upon hearing this piece of advice.

It wasn’t until the landlady’s figure disappeared around the stairwell that he came back to his senses.

After standing at the door for several breaths, Ronald shook his head with a smile and returned inside the room.

He had to say, he quite liked the landlady.

Although Patricia had been gone for a while, Mrs. Hudson still encouraged him in such a manner.

Shutting the door, Ronald sat back down at the desk.

He completely understood Patricia’s aversion to alcohol.

Though they were a noble family, the Nicholas family was also a famously mysterious lineage group.

The use of such precise and swift swordsmanship would naturally demand attention to such matters.

Just like at the dinner party they’d attended before.

Except for the uniformly dressed investigators, Patricia was the only woman wearing boots,

Instead of the kind of high heels that would enhance one’s charm.

Mysteries, it seemed, were truly the province of the mysterious...

"Right!"

At this moment, Ronald casually prepared to pull out the ciphered letter from his pocket, planning to verify its nature as he had initially intended.

However, just as his fingertips touched the piece of paper,

A bolt of lightning streaked through his mind.

—Ronald suddenly realized the potentiality within the ciphered letter.

Mysterious it was, indeed the nature of the mysterious!

The other party could miraculously stuff the ciphered letter into the pockets of himself, Nicole, and Yajin from years past.

And they had protection against fate interference of primal canonical level.

—Under normal circumstances,

Such an organization sending out an invitation would surely employ mysterious means, how could ordinary people merit their attention!

But what they had sent was a plain piece of paper, devoid of any mysterious characteristics.

And the content of the cipher could be unraveled solely by the human mind.

—So from the other side’s perspective,

’My mysterious powers are immensely strong, so now the only requirement is that the selectees need to possess a wealth of knowledge and exceptional logical thinking!’

Seasoned experts in the mysterious often devoted themselves to the study of mysterious knowledge.

But the young people grown up in this new age could have advanced notions, distinct from the medieval logic of mysticism.

—So the conclusion emerged.

This was an organization deeply concealed within the mysterious side, yet in need of newcomers with outstanding thinking abilities.

As such, they would never use invisible ink or similar means to hide their intentions.

Employing logical thinking to ponder and starting from the very nature of the ciphered letter.

That was the key to unlocking the truth!

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