Lord of Mysteries: Yao Guang

"I've heard it, of course I've heard it. These stories..." Esther smiled with a look of recollection, "We are all familiar with them. They are all the imagination given to children by adults."

"The words you said don't seem to be words in the Loen language. They seem to be pieced together." The lady opposite her expression moved slightly, and she silently recited "familiar" again, confirming that it was very blunt and difficult to understand. if.

Esther's smile froze: "Huh? Didn't the emperor say this word? I thought he might have said it..."

This brown-haired lady, whose demeanor naturally showed the dignity of a high-ranking person and whose speech was very elegant and gentle, stared at Esther with a deeper look: "He didn't say that, or he didn't use you to be so blunt. way of expression. Do you know him well?"

The other party's tone when talking about "Roselle" was too deliberate, which made Esther have some doubts in her heart. Did she really know Emperor Roselle?

Esther's smile was very polite: "Miss, I have never met Emperor Russell. He has disappeared from this world for so many years. Even if I really want to get to know him, he and I are not the same person. A person of an era."

Seeing that the other party didn't speak, Esther pointed to the strange-looking pumpkin carriage again: "I think you should know him better. After all, he is willing to share even these very childish things with you."

She deliberately left a little trap in her language, trying to test whether the other party was really related to Emperor Russell himself.

The lady in the carriage was silent for a long time and shook her head: "I dare not say that I understand him. Maybe I have never understood him."

"But he told you these fairy tales?" Esther's guess was confirmed.

"If you really know something special about him, there is nothing to hide," the woman smiled. "You can call me 'Queen of Mysteries,' Miss Hamel Brooke."

Esther's pupils dilated for a moment. She remembered this name, one of the famous four pirate kings, the owner of the "Dawn", and the "Queen of Mystery"!

The "Queen of Mystery" noticed her nervousness and her expression became softer: "I know your identity, but the person I initially tracked was not you, but the 'Black Emperor of Thieves'."

Esther smiled and shook her head: "I'm not sure who you're referring to, ma'am, but it looks like Captain Aaron has told you my name."

"No, it's not Aaron. On the night of the incident at Caping Mansion, the report said that there was a 'smooth-faced female thief' who acted with the 'Black Emperor'. Unlike the 'Black Emperor', her There were many witnesses but little information, and it was quickly forgotten.”

Before Esther interrupted, the "Queen of Mystery" sped up her words and quickly spoke out her subsequent statement:

"But that night, I received 'special reminders' when there were two unusual movements in the East District."

She raised her hand, holding a card that looked like a poker between her flexed index finger and thumb.

After the card shimmered, it showed a disk surrounded by four strange beasts, jackals and snakes. The one above the disk was not a regular sphinx, but a sphinx dressed in white. Emperor Russell is wearing a classical robe, cross-legged and holding a sword with an indifferent expression.

A bright star appeared in the upper left corner of the card, condensing into a line of text in ancient Fusac language:

"Sequence Zero: Wheel of Fortune!"

There was a buzzing sound in Esther's hair, and the tarot card with a pattern similar to the "Wheel of Fortune" also vibrated at the same time, emitting a strange buzzing sound of the same frequency.

Esther's breathing quickened, and she stared closely at the tarot cards in the opponent's hand: "What do you want?"

"This card was originally made by him, and my request is also related to him. I hope you can help me find the whereabouts of Russell Gustave."

"The reward is-"

"Queen of Mystery" smiled and retracted her hand, letting the tarot card disappear from Esther's sight: "This 'blasphemous card'."

Esther was so moved that the so-called "blasphemous card" could trigger the "Zoya" in her mind, enough to make her use a more powerful power besides "The Stealer"! What's more, that card looked too familiar to Esther. On Mr. Fool's long bronze table, there was another card with a similar appearance when it was not activated.

Esther had an inexplicable premonition that these two were "blasphemous cards"!

But while her heart was beating, Esther had no clue about this request: "I don't understand, why are you so sure that I can help you?"

"I conducted a divination this morning. The divination was not about your threat to the 'Clover', but the possible impact on me. And he... Russell Gustave appeared here The divination results were obtained.”

"So I also told you, I don't even know if he is still alive."

"Queen of Mystery" nodded: "But the result of this divination is very clear, and after meeting you, I realized that you may really have some special connection with him."

Esther choked on her words.

This is because she showed her understanding of these fairy tales before, so the other party caught the abnormality in her. Otherwise, how could a normal person suddenly mention the irrelevant word "Cinderella" when seeing a pumpkin carriage?

Only those who know the content of fairy tales would come up with such a title.

The time traveler pits the time traveler, Russell, I remember you...

Of course, when facing this "Mysterious Queen", Esther maintained superficial respect: "If you really find him one day, I will do my best to help you rescue him, although I think you are far away from me." For someone with a higher sequence than me, what I can do should be very limited.”

"Queen of Mystery"'s eyes widened slightly: "This seems to be beyond... the scope of our conversation. Is this your special prophecy ability?"

Esther was also stunned. She didn't know where her confidence in this matter came from. Was it the hint from "Zoya"? She pressed her forehead helplessly and smiled bitterly: "If I say that I don't know why I say that, would you believe it?"

A moment of silence.

"Queen of Mystery" sighed and lowered her gaze: "No matter what, I am very much looking forward to that day. Listen to you, you urgently need to improve your sequence?"

"Well, if you know where to find the extraordinary characteristics of the 'parasite', it would be of great help to me." Of course, Esther would not be very polite.

The "Queen of Mystery" showed a gentle smile: "If you follow Aaron and the others to explore the small ruins of the Fourth Age, I might consider helping you."

Sure enough, there is no such thing as a pie in the sky. Why are there so few people I meet who are easy to fool? Esther lamented in her heart, weighed the danger, and rubbed her right eyebrow:

"I need to think about it. If I have other things going on, I won't necessarily be able to make time to help them."

"They will not return to Intis until after February 10th, heading to the small town on the edge of the Honakis Mountains. You have enough time to consider whether to go with them."

"I understand, will Aaron contact you then?"

"Queen of Mystery" nodded slightly: "He will convey your decision or your whereabouts to me. If you want to leave, let him share the spell to summon the messenger with you."

Esther was a little confused. If this continued, she would really have to go to Intis. Personally, she didn't care, but when she thought about the Emperor's footprints everywhere in this country, she felt a headache. If the Emperor is really still alive...

Thinking of this, Esther asked one more question: "If I leave the 'Clover' or lose contact with Aaron, will our deal still be retained?"

The eyes of the "Queen of Mystery" were very quiet, and she smiled and gave the answer: "Of course I will keep it, I will not give up any hope, and I believe you will too."

She raised her hand and waved the "blasphemy card" again.

There were faint light spots floating in Esther's hair. This scene made the "Queen of Mysteries" wary, but before she took action, Esther pressed her right hand on her forehead to force the light spots to calm down.

"Sorry, they were a little out of control, that card had too much effect on me."

The "Queen of Mystery" looked thoughtful: "Are you possessed by some kind of power? But it seems that you are not obviously affected, and there are no signs of turning into a monster."

Esther shook her head: "It can also be said to be some kind of divine favor. You also saw what happened just now, so I don't understand why you want me to follow Aaron and the others to explore the ruins. Are you not afraid of me treating them? Do you want to do it?"

"Because your desire for the 'blasphemous card' is so strong, it's written all over your face, Miss Hamel. Has anyone ever told you that your expression reflects your inner thoughts quite frankly?" "

Esther subconsciously rubbed her face: "Okay, I admit that I was a little too excited at the time. It is completely against my interests to do anything to Aaron and the others, and it is difficult for me to meet people who are better than the one you have. Cards are more valuable, that’s what you mean, right?”

"I'm very pleased that our conversation can have such a good result. You are a partner who is good at judging the situation, Miss Hamel."

The "Queen of Mystery" raised her hand again, and a frog was sitting on her palm, looking at Esther and making a "croak" sound.

"This is our contract. Once you accept its golden ball, it means that our agreement today must not be violated."

Esther raised her hand, and the frog jumped hard into her palm: "Otherwise, will you suffer the curse of turning into a frog?"

"Who knows?" The "Queen of Mystery" did not deny it.

The frog opened its mouth and stuck out its tongue, with a golden ball the size of a quail egg rolled on it. After Esther took it off, the frog jumped into the clouds below and disappeared.

Esther watched the golden ball melt in her palm, leaving a circular mark and then disappearing. She bowed to the "Queen of Mystery":

"Thank you. If you don't mind, I need to go back to the ship to sort out the news I got today."

"Of course, nice to meet you."

Esther's smile was a little forced: "I am also honored to meet you, 'Queen of Mystery'."

Stepping on the continuously growing pea vines, Esther descended from the sky again. This time, there were no layers of vines surrounding her. She could clearly see the circular Nahuatl Island and the raised island. brown-red volcano with quiet crater.

The outline of the "Clover" below gradually enlarged until Esther could stand firmly on the deck.

To Esther's surprise, Aaron was also there.

But before Aaron could get closer, the pea vines quickly shrank and rolled up into the sky, with no intention of letting him climb on them to take a look.

Aaron sighed: "Well, it seems you have finished meeting my teacher. Is she okay?"

Esther raised her head and looked at the pea vines that were being taken back without mercy: "Since she is your teacher, why doesn't she want to see you?"

"Maybe it's because of dislike." Aaron said helplessly.