Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1598: Chapter 325: The Pigeon That Will Die From Obesity

The academy has actually arranged accommodations for every teacher.

As a star instructor in the academy’s physics department, Lamias naturally is no exception—and this is a relatively well-appointed independent house.

As soon as she returned indoors, Lamias hurriedly walked back to her bedroom… She quickly found her teacher’s ID card on the table.

“Indeed.”

Lamias shook her head, confirming that the mansion’s owner didn’t know her name through the teacher’s ID from the start—but even if this matter is proven true, what can be done about it?

Nothing much.

She took a deep breath, then grabbed her phone. After sending a text message to the academy’s director, who was also in the scheme, she finally turned on her laptop.

The communication is private, utilizing a satellite in the sky to achieve it… The satellite is publicly owned by a certain country, but secretly serves the Black Religious Congregation.

Unlike the Holy Church, which has revealed divine powers before people for thousands of years, the Dark Cult has always existed silently in the shadows—developing quietly within the land, merely over a century old, yet with a national strength considered the highest in present-day human society.

Because of its mere century-long history, the Holy Church hasn’t been able to establish influence strong enough to affect the national policies of that land.

The dark-red Inverted Cross emerged on the laptop’s screen, soon followed by just the pale, bloodless face of a middle-aged woman on the entire screen.

“Lady Katerina!”

Before this middle-aged woman, Lamias appeared very solemn—even if separated by an ocean, even if separated by the screen.

“Lamias.” The woman on the screen… Lady Katerina’s face showed a slight smile, “I heard that your first attempt to capture Stretta failed, and after that… Fortunately, you finally contacted me after disappearing for eleven hours.”

“I’m very sorry; this time, I missed Stretta’s power.” Lamias quickly said, “The strength of the Reversed Holy Relic is unquestionable; Vasco the Iron Fist of the Holy Church could only exert less than thirty percent of his power within the Field of Corruption. However, Stretta didn’t seem to be affected at all… This detail never appeared before in our intelligence system and has never even been estimated.”

“Now known.” Lady Katerina furrowed her brows, “Unaffected by the field… From the looks of it, Stretta seems to have indeed abandoned his original faith.”

Lamias was amazed: “Abandoned faith? Having abandoned faith, how can he consolidate such a vast amount of divine power!”

“No, what I meant is he abandoned his original faith, not that he has forsaken faith altogether.” Lady Katerina shook her head, “This is a rather complex issue regarding the origin of power; it’s a war of faith. You haven’t truly entered the realm of Non-Human, so I can’t explain it to you in detail now.”

Lamias was silent… The fingers under the table quietly clenched into fists—not yet Non-Human.

“Should we change the plan in the next step?” Lamias suddenly asked.

Lady Katerina replied, “What are your thoughts?”

“I intend to continue with the task of capturing Stretta.” Lamias said firmly.

Lady Katerina paused, then said, “It’s rare to see you so determined… It seems the New Faction has indeed put immense pressure on you.”

Saying this, Lady Katerina’s face seemed to have a trace of melancholy, “It’s just unfortunate that more and more people in the Old Faction have turned to the New Faction recently… Now, under the frenzy of the New Faction, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for us to maintain. That visitor from Another World is really…”

“Lady Katerina!” Lamias took a deep breath, suddenly said, “I might have found a way to use Alchemy without relying on the powers of Pride!”

“What!” Lady Katerina on the other side instantly found it difficult to keep calm, and slightly lost her composure, “Do you know the seriousness of this matter? Lamias, I hope it’s true!”

“It is true, I saw it with my own eyes!” Lamias quickly said, “I encountered a mysterious magician here… He might be a freelance magician, or possibly someone hidden by the Magician’s Association. Anyway, he doesn’t seem to exist on our watch list. His background is incredibly mysterious, and I personally witnessed him using a Transmutation Array in front of me to complete an alchemy process… I can be very sure, he absolutely hasn’t signed any alchemical pact with Pride! He completely activated the power of Cycle through his own means!”

“Since Pride went on vacation, he hasn’t interacted with any outsiders, I can assure you of that. However…” Lady Katerina suddenly fixed her gaze, “Lamias, you’ve revealed one of the highest secrets while on vacation to outsiders!”

“If I can acquire an alternative means, then let it offset the guilt of revealing secrets!” Lamias had already figured everything out. She just needed the internal support of the party on vacation to get the time necessary to acquire the new means.

Silence.

“I’ll do my best to navigate for you.” Lady Katerina nodded, “But I hope it won’t be too late… The New Faction has become increasingly aggressive recently. Besides time, what else do you need?”

Lamias thought for a while, “I am still trying to obtain new alchemical methods from him… But his origins are extremely mysterious and seem hard to move.”

She dared not disclose that the mansion’s owner seemed to know everything about the Reversed Holy Relic; this intel might even be enough to unsettle Lady Katerina across the ocean.

“Magicians have always been a bunch of neurotic folks, indeed difficult to sway.” Lady Katerina thought for a moment, “Rest assured, whatever you need, I’ll do my best to help you… If we can obtain a new means, then we don’t have to continue worshipping Pride as a deity. The New Faction… The New Faction is still too young. No matter what method you use, Lamias, make sure you get this new means, and thoroughly investigate the magician’s origin… Generally speaking, be cautious!”

“Understood.” Lamias nodded.

Lady Katerina was the backbone of the Old Faction, and with her assurance, Lamias felt much relieved, as if the fog before her eyes was finally lifted, rediscovering her direction.

“Considering your disappearance after yesterday’s operation, and the anomaly of Stretta’s combat strength, I’ve already dispatched the Battle Nun Squad to support you.” Lady Katerina now said seriously, “Now that there’s a prospect of new alchemical means, we can pursue it gradually. But the urgent task is still to capture a high-quality divine power source! We’ve been dormant for a hundred years, prepared for a hundred years, and cannot afford any mistakes!”

“Understood.”

The laptop closed, Lamias exhaled, resting fully against the chair back, muttering to herself, “The real top priority for me is obtaining new alchemical means, which is my ultimate trump card for self-preservation… Judging by the current internal situation, even Lady Katerina probably can’t support for too long.”

Do not disappoint me… She thought about the young mansion’s owner.

Checking the time, it was almost the appointed hour.

…

…

Boss Luo has always been a punctual person; not only is he on time, but he even arrives early.

At five forty-five, in the town square, Boss Luo is feeding the pigeons with a bag of bread in his hands.

At some point, a large group of fat pigeons gathered around him… Probably due to their corpulence, the pigeons appeared to walk with difficulty.

At this time, the roaring sound of an engine was heard.

A black motorcycle drove straight into the square… The hurried motorcycle seemed like a monster, frightening the pigeons into panic, making them want to flee.

However, they were so fat; even though they startled into flight, they could only rise a few meters before landing back on the ground, clumsily escaping in all directions.

On the black motorbike, Lamias stretched out her leg to steady the bike, then took off her helmet, her long hair cascading like a waterfall, “You’re in high spirits, still having time to feed pigeons here.”

Boss Luo just smiled and handed out the feed, “Would you like to try it too?”

Lamias opened her mouth to speak, but thinking about how she needed to build a good relationship with him to access new methods of Alchemy, she reluctantly took the feed and casually scattered some bread crumbs on the ground.

Immediately, a group of fearless pigeons swarmed around again.

“Some say that pigeons lingering in such squares usually don’t live long,” Luo Qiu said with a slight smile.

Lamias thought for a moment and said, “No way, humans adore them; they’re symbols of peace, reluctant to harm them, and even feed them… It’s much safer than being in the wild.”

Not harming them is mostly true in the West. If it were in Huaxia, it would probably be a different scene… After all, things like roasted pigeons are something Boss Luo quite enjoys.

This was just a passing thought.

Boss Luo pointed at the pigeons on the ground and said, “Look at them, generally they’re much plumper than their wild counterparts, do you know why?”

Lamias looked at the ground covered in pigeons and frowned, “They know there are people here who will feed them, so they don’t leave and don’t need to search for food anymore, just stay safely nearby. Over time, more people come to feed them, their food increases, they lack exercise, and in comfort, they stop flying, even walking becomes difficult because of their weight… eventually dying of obesity?”

Boss Luo chuckled and said, “Without rules, they’d follow their appetites, keep eating freely and end up like this.”

Lamias laughed and said, “I will be the one to set the rules.”

The evening bell on the square rang at six, the pigeons were startled again, flapping away comically… Boss Luo said, “It’s time, shall we head over now?”

“Hop on!” Lamias stepped on the clutch, the motorcycle engine roared to life, she tossed a helmet to Boss Luo, “Sit behind me!”

Thinking about the image of getting on, Boss Luo looked at the helmet he was holding for a few seconds, then suddenly said, “If the destination is the church, why not gather there from the start… I’ll go ahead and wait for you there, Miss Lamias.”

Watching him disappear in front of her in a mysterious manner, only the helmet on the ground remained glaringly bright, Lamias was left speechless.

Actually… not getting on?

…

…

In the evening, Mr. Clown was wandering aimlessly inside the church, while several Holy Knight Reservists occasionally appeared in various parts of the church, doing some chores.

Obvious surveillance intentions, both parties clearly understood.

“Who’s living in there?” Mr. Clown caught a female Holy Knight Reservist who was sweeping the already spotless floor and reluctant to leave, asking.

“It’s Father Strala’s friend, supposedly staying here temporarily,” the female Holy Knight Reservist shared the little information she knew.

She felt her heart starting to race the moment the Twelve Knights of Britain held her hand… It’s the feeling of love.

Unlike the male trainees at the Paladin Camp of the Holy Church with nothing but muscles in their minds, the graceful Mr. Clown gave her a fresh and unusual sensation.

“Mai Rada?” Dagonet contemplated upon knowing the name of the person residing in the storeroom.

Surely not an ordinary person, otherwise Father Strala wouldn’t risk the danger of the Black Religious Congregation attacking again to place an ordinary friend here.

But the storeroom’s doors and windows were tightly sealed, even the curtains were drawn, except for occasional movements of the curtains… the eyes inside, perhaps cautiously observing everything outside.

“I’ve heard the Pope of the Holy Church is quite aged, and recently his health is deteriorating… There’s a rumor that Cardinal Torey, who has the highest support, will be the next Pope, right?”

The female Holy Knight Reservist wasn’t completely overwhelmed by sudden love, quickly bowed her head, and hurriedly walked away with her broom.

Mr. Clown didn’t seem to mind the brief ending of this foreign romance, smiling as he walked to the storeroom door.

With his superhuman hearing, it was easy to detect the footsteps inside suddenly halting.

“The weather is great today, burning cloud, it’s really beautiful.”

Mr. Clown inexplicably praised the sky and then leisurely left… The curtain of the storeroom opened slightly, and a pair of eyes surveyed the sunset outside.

A crimson cloud, like it was dripping blood.

…

Father Strala didn’t seem to mind having an additional member of the Twelve Knights from the Briton Knight Organization at home, the dinner was even exceptionally sumptuous.

But Mai Rada didn’t show up for dinner.

At the dinner table, Father Strala graciously offered Happy Water produced last September, to welcome Mr. Clown who came from afar.

Initially, the atmosphere was fine, a few people chatted about various topics, until Mr. Clown suddenly said something untimely.

“Father Strala, I wonder if you’d be interested in coming to the Knight Agency to be our special advisor?” Mr. Clown raised his glass of cola and toasted, “Talent like you, we really need you! There’s no future with the Holy Church!”

The veteran Paladin nearly sprayed his borscht soup.

People had seen poaching before, but not as freshly and elegantly as this… The veteran Paladin suddenly slammed the table, “Clown, are you throwing your life away here!”

Mr. Clown instantly put on a woeful face, “Oh dear! Vasco, you know my profession is a clown, just a joke to make humans happy… Come on, let me entertain everyone!”

Speaking of which, Mr. Clown’s hands opened and closed, and three red balls appeared, being tossed joyfully.

“Good, good, good! It’s been a while since I saw an acrobatic performance!” Father Strala even clapped and cheered.

Vasco refrained from overturning the table and planned to leave.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, darkness once again covered the church’s surroundings… the Field of Corruption silently reappeared at this moment!