Hearing Max banging on the door outside, Odis snapped fully awake.
This squad captain of the Machinery Hivemind rarely came looking for him outside of work hours. A visit at a time like this generally meant something important...
After opening the door, Odis cast a vigilant glance along the street. Seeing no one suspicious, he said to Max, "Come in, let's talk inside."
Once inside, Max did not immediately state his purpose. Instead, he studied Odis carefully.
"What's wrong?" Odis asked, noticing his good friend's odd behavior.
"Nothing." Max withdrew his gaze, "I just read in yesterday's paper that the Mysticism Research Society is holding another gathering today, so I came to tell you that we are no longer purchasing Emperor Roselle's relics."
Odis nodded, watching Max and waiting for the 'important matter' he had mentioned.
"That's what I came to tell you." Max said.
"Huh?" Odis thought he had misheard, "You came banging on my door first thing in the morning just for that?"
"What else?" Max smiled, "If you acquire more of the Emperor's relics and the Machinery Hivemind can no longer reimburse you for the cost, wouldn't you call that a serious matter?"
The way Max put it, Odis immediately grasped the implications: 'This really is a serious matter!'
"Alright, I was on duty all night. I need to go home and sleep." Max yawned, "At times like this, one can't help envying the Nighthawks, only needing two or three hours of sleep a day..."
As he turned to leave, he took one last deep look at Odis. The Church's higher-ups had once speculated that three years ago, an ancient and mysterious existence had awakened within Odis's body.
Over these three years, Max had long since come to see the person before him as simply Odis, pushing those speculations to the back of his mind. But the urgent dispatch from headquarters last night had brought those matters rushing back.
'Is the person before me truly just an ordinary man? Can an ordinary man advance twice in a single month?' Max pondered, but quickly withdrew his gaze and hurried away.
Watching Max's departing figure, Odis sensed something was off. As he brewed himself coffee, he pondered his friend's strange behavior.
Soon, a startling thought surfaced in his mind: 'The Church of the God of Steam and Machinery knows about my advancement!'
Soon after, he realized this was hardly surprising. After all, he had been involved in a case concerning a high-level Mystery Pryer three years ago.
Three years was nothing, all things considered, and the Steam Church was unlikely to have forgotten it.
Odis took a deep breath and suddenly noticed his coffee had overflowed the cup, spilling all over the counter. He hurriedly bent down to slurp a mouthful, then wiped the counter clean with a cloth.
Sipping his coffee, Odis felt a creeping despair. The Church's attention on him had not diminished in the slightest. Or rather, the God of Steam and Machinery still maintained a heightened level of watchfulness over him.
He realized that even if he were to leave Backlund, he would likely be found with ease. After all, he was dealing with a True Deity.
Odis had always known the God of Steam and Machinery was probably aware of him, since the Machinery Hivemind had handled his case back then. And since the matter involved a Sefirah, it was impossible that 'He' hadn't noticed.
That was why Odis always made sure to make himself appear sufficiently normal. He even prayed to the God of Steam and Machinery for power, requesting that the Beyonder weapons he developed have longer operational lifespans.
That's also one of the reasons why he dared not bring the advanced research he conducted in the Knowledge Moor into the real world...
Overall, Odis appeared to be a talented young man with an interest in mysticism research, someone who used his studies to refine traditional classical arrays.
He knew that as long as he did not use the Knowledge Moor's power in the real world, the God of Steam and Machinery would merely continue to observe. Perhaps the deity would one day grow bored and stop paying attention to this ordinary person named Odis Gale.
Apparently, however, his low profile thus far had not diminished the God of Steam and Machinery's scrutiny. To a god, let alone three years, even thirty years was but a fleeting moment.
If Odis truly had a problem, what did it matter to observe him for a lifetime? It would only be a few decades.
If there were no issues, there was no loss either, but if Odis could truly be used to obtain information related to the Knowledge Moor, then all this time spent watching would yield an immense return.
Of course, this observation was probably something akin to Bernadette's Invisible Servant, meaning an occasional glance, not constant, round-the-clock surveillance. After all, there were many people and matters requiring a god's attention.
Odis speculated that the God of Steam and Machinery had likely placed a special mark on him. If he advanced, for instance, or visited some special location, 'He' would sense it...
Feeling an unprecedented sense of powerlessness creeping into his heart, Odis set his cup down on the counter: 'A whole god, a high and exalted existence...'
Even if the God of Steam and Machinery did not personally watch him, even if 'He' merely assigned an Angel of the Church, or even just a Demigod to keep an eye on him, it still wasn't a gaze Odis could currently escape.
Pressing his hand to his forehead, Odis supported his head with one arm. He suddenly considered whether he should change his plans: 'What if I abandon the idea of leaving Backlund and instead join the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery?'
If he did that, although it would be difficult to escape 'His' control, he could still feign ignorance. Until Odis clearly demonstrated a connection to the Knowledge Moor, the God of Steam and Machinery would not tear through that paper-thin veil, much less descend in a Divine descent to have a chat.
'Then I might as well play dumb and use the Church of Steam to continue advancing... But living like that would be too suffocating–'
Odis suddenly recalled the powerful arrays he had just seen in the Knowledge Moor, the ones used by the Giants, Dragons, and other civilizations of the Second Epoch.
He abruptly sat straight: 'I can use that new knowledge to try and find a way to temporarily conceal myself! Those things from that era are a bit like Soviet engineering: crude, rough, but carrying a distinct sense of overwhelming force achieves miracles!'
Odis rallied himself: 'So what if it's a god? I come from a place where gods aren't exactly believed in! We used to burn incense to all the gods and buddhas, asking for their protection, but if they couldn't protect us, we'd ignore them all the same.'
Of course, the buddhas and gods of that time were different from the deities of this world. The deities of this world truly existed.
Still, this gave Odis the idea to take a gamble, rather than immediately compromising with a god.
However, he knew this was not a problem that could be solved overnight. Meals had to be eaten one bite at a time, tasks handled one by one. And when breakfast time arrived, one still had to eat breakfast first...
.
.
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~West Borough, Unit 25 Lily Street~
Lisa's maidservant had gone out early with her basket, searching the neighborhood for a place to buy breakfast, as well as fresh vegetables and meat.
Lisa was Viscount Verde's favored mistress. The previous night, her residence had suddenly caught fire, forcing her to relocate here to Lily Street in the middle of the night.
There hadn't even been time to notify the cook, so breakfast this morning could not be prepared at home. They could only buy something outside and ask the viscount to make do.
At that time, the viscount had left in a hurry, and the servants at his mansion likely had no idea of his whereabouts. There had been no time to send word for them to deliver breakfast here.
Moreover, sending someone to notify them would not have been ideal either, because the viscountess might have interpreted it as a provocation from Lisa...
Passing a bakery, the maidservant caught the scent of bread. She went inside and bought two loaves of white bread. There, she also saw exquisite and delicious-looking crispy croissants for sale.
The maidservant naturally knew these were the viscount's favorite, so she bought some without hesitation. After buying vegetables and meat elsewhere, she returned to the new residence and laid out the purchased breakfast on the dining table.
Around eight o'clock, Viscount Verde rose and made his way to the dining room, chatting and laughing with Lisa. The 50-something viscount was pleasantly surprised to find his favorite crispy croissants on the table.
After asking the maidservant where she had bought them and having his valet sample one, Viscount Verde bit in without hesitation. He found they tasted acceptable, and soon, one croissant had been devoured.
And so, a little over half an hour later, the viscount found himself utterly unable to leave the toilet...
Upon learning he had consumed food laced with laxatives, he roared from within the toilet, ordering his bodyguards to find the culprit.
The two bodyguards brought the somewhat shaken maidservant downstairs to see Mr. Beavis, to whom they recounted the viscount's ordeal in detail. This Beavis was a Sequence 6, a Beyonder bodyguard hired at great expense.
A Beyonder of this level was treated somewhat differently from other bodyguards. He could protect his employer on late-night visits to a mistress, and even stand guard while the employer was intimate with her, but he could not be expected to stand watch outside all night.
Even a noble employer with bloodline-supremacist views like Viscount Verde dared not order him around too much like a servant.
This had also been factored into Odis and Mandy's calculations. Having just moved into a new place, even the most refined noble on the first morning would either skip breakfast or eat hastily. A noble like Viscount Verde would likely prefer to go hungry rather than eat food from outside.
However, if his favorite crispy croissants were available, that changed things. He would probably try a bite or two. And the laxative Odis had concocted required only a single bite to be effective.
To ensure the valet's taste-test wouldn't reveal the laxative too soon, the substance was designed to take effect only after half an hour. A hurried breakfast would never last that long, so the probability of success was high.
When Mandy learned that Viscount Verde's bodyguards had brought the maidservant back to the bakery, she knew Mr. Gale's plan had succeeded. As for the bakery's owner and assistant, they had already been sent out of Backlund by that time.
All this Mr. Beavis would find was that they had packed up and left in a hurry, with no clues to be discovered...