New Gods of North America

In TV dramas, you often see scenes like this:

Following the good guys for clues might mean slogging through from "Season One" to the "Final Season,"

but getting clues from the bad guys sometimes involves a quick cut, and the protagonist is suddenly outside the final BOSS's "lair."

They say, "Life is like a play,"

and Wayne's feelings today were largely similar.

Luke Matthew spent half the day getting a "check-up" at the cathedral, and although he was confirmed as a Rank 0 Beyonder in the "Holy" domain, they didn't find any solid evidence of problems.

Moreover, the cathedral neither explicitly rejected Wayne's charitable proposal, nor did it directly acknowledge the detective agency's subsequent idea of "contracting" a portion of the church's cheese production.

Back in Georgeburg,

Wayne gathered a few "stealth specialists" from the detective agency and, following the address Mr. Wiseman gave them, found a manor that wasn't too "suburban."

There, they quickly spotted the two attackers who had tried to visit the detective agency last night.

The detective agency's file collection work was still in its "initial" stages,

but because Seth had been doing clerical work, and with the help of a beautiful girl with extraordinary memory like Inessa, they had at least managed to piece together a rough outline of Georgeburg's basic situation.

For example, the manor where Wayne and the others found the men,

according to the records in the Exorcism Department's files, was the local property of a wealthy man from South Carolina.

Perhaps because it wasn't too far from the city, the total area was relatively small compared to those large manors that pursued so-called "rustic charm."

There were no small plantations or mills, and it didn't seem suitable for riding horses around,

but the luxury of the buildings inside was not low at all.

The main house and the villa were hidden by dense trees in a spacious courtyard, with neatly trimmed flowerbeds and lawns.

In terms of temperament, it seemed a bit "unproductive,"

more like the residence of a "businessman" than a "landlord."

Perhaps because they didn't have to manage those impractical auxiliary facilities, there didn't seem to be many servants in the manor.

Only two or three florists and gardeners could be seen working in the courtyard; the rest were probably in the main house or the villa.

Wayne and his team were lucky.

After sneaking into the manor, they found the two attackers from last night near the villa.

These two guys seemed quite relaxed, smoking, drinking, and playing pool in what looked like an entertainment room.

Lina took out two steel wool balls. "Should we just tie them up and take them back?"

"It's broad daylight, trespassing on private property. I don't think that's a good idea."

Wayne rummaged through the bushes again, finding the Georgeburg map with various annotations.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "It looks like they won't be leaving here today, and they're staying in the villa. Let's first confirm who the owner of the manor is."

Many files in the Exorcism Department were actually backed up from places like the city hall or the police station,

so although the information existed, the accuracy was questionable.

For example, the detective agency's current small courtyard was still registered under the landlord's name in the records, but in reality, Wayne and his team were using it.

The detectives split up, heading towards the villa and the main house.

Damon McReady and Willie teamed up, quietly climbing through a window into the seemingly quieter villa,

while Liam, who rarely got a chance to show off, used his Beyonder abilities to sneak into the main house in broad daylight as part of the "Chameleon" plan.

Wayne and Lina were peeking around in the bushes with small binoculars,

as the two of them had been seen in Georgeburg relatively frequently, and it wouldn't be good if they ran into acquaintances.

The great spider Peter was the freest of all,

and quickly disappeared.

...

The owner of the manor didn't seem to be home today,

but it was quickly preliminarily confirmed that there was "something wrong" with this manor.

At the detective agency, simple diagrams were drawn one after another and placed on the conference room table.

Liam tried to give a key report, holding one of them in the style of the detective agency's investigators:

"There's a basement on the first floor of the manor's main house. Judging from the layout, it might have originally been a wine cellar or a special storage room."

"My Beyonder abilities felt interference when I got close, so I can confirm that there's an influence of Beyonder power inside.

But the entrance is a double-locked door, and there are servants walking around all the time, so I can't get in without being discovered."

After scouting around, Wayne and the others returned to the detective agency in two groups,

and Doug, Conner, and "Static" took over the watch.

The birds were responsible for continuing to keep an eye on those two guys and flying back to notify the main force when they left the manor,

while Conner and "Static" were mainly there just in case.

A total of thirteen servants were seen in the manor today: eight male servants and five female servants.

Their identities are currently unknown, but the guy who seemed like the butler and at least four of the male servants looked relatively alert and capable.

It's temporarily impossible to confirm whether they're Beyonders, but their temperament suggests they're at least on par with bounty hunters.

Inessa looked at the name of the manor owner noted on the map, pondered for a long time, and finally shook her head:

"From the newspapers and files I've seen recently, this person doesn't seem to have any obvious connections with Cohen Pharmaceuticals."

"Although it can't be ruled out that they're falsifying or deliberately hiding their experiences, he and that Mr. Baker, and that Mr. Wiseman, don't seem to have any overlapping parts in their public resumes."

This is a bit strange...

It's normal that the manor's address was given by that Mr. Wiseman and has nothing to do with him,

but the two guys attacked the detective agency last night, aren't existing wanted criminals on the market, and didn't leave immediately.

Either they still have tasks that haven't been completed temporarily, or they're using it as a temporary "safe house."

According to Mr. Wiseman, that Mr. Baker once secretly visited there,

and the two attackers from last night also appeared there today.

Rounding it off, the probability that it's related to Cohen Pharmaceuticals or that Mr. Baker isn't low.

Cohen Pharmaceuticals isn't some kind of spy organization; they shouldn't hide their relationships this deeply, right...

Wayne pondered for a while, then quickly gave up thinking.

He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to figure out this kind of thing even if he racked his brains, so it was better to find a chance to catch those two guys and ask them after they left the manor.

The situation in the manor hasn't been figured out yet, so the detective agency doesn't need to carry out too risky operations,

otherwise, if the servants inside counterattacked, it would be impossible to tell whether they were reasonable defenders who were unaware or accomplices who colluded with the attackers.

Night quickly fell again. There were no owls on duty tonight, so the rotating detectives had to keep watch more cautiously.

One of Doug's pigeons flew back after dinner.

Wayne casually grabbed a handful of beans to feed it, then opened the small note tied to its leg and took a look.

Huh?!