Chapter 2070: Chapter 2070: Grey Glove Liaison
After saying these words, the stranger wearing a clown mask stood up and left. Shard watched his back and continued to ponder:
"After the later stages of the Battle of Green Lake, the Dragon Feast Cult withdrew from the final battle because they unexpectedly learned of a fragment of a poem Chapter related to the Chosen of Light. At that time, I was too busy with matters in the Green Lake Region and didn’t investigate deeply. I didn’t expect them to appear again so soon... Dragon Feast Cult, Chosen of Light, ancient Dragon Nest, the local legend of the Seven Families of Glory related to dragons... Speaking of which, I remember that Brightness’s Ancient God is titled as..."
[Dragon of Radiant Light.]
"She" whispered the answer in Shard’s ear.
"Long-Haired Luvia told me in a dream that dragons would be very useful next, could this be it? Chosen of Light... dragon."
Although there’s no evidence yet, if the Chosen of Light really appears in the Moon Bay Region, the corresponding poem Chapter fragment will inevitably contain content related to ’dragon’.
"A dragon slayer? No, the legendary Ancient God is a dragon. Is a Dragonborn identity required? That’s possible, but I’m not a Dragonborn, maybe this time, the identity of the Chosen is finally not overlapping with mine."
"She" laughed gently, and there seemed to be other meanings in that laughter.
Even though he sensed the possibility that the Chosen One’s story might unfold again, Shard did not hurry back to share with Luvia or do a divination. Instead, he continued his actions in the Moon Bay Region.
He posted a long-term commission on the black market for the purchase of special coins and antiques related to fairy tales, and it was only ten o’clock in the morning.
Considering he had to meet the witch in the afternoon, there wasn’t enough time left for him to accomplish any big tasks.
After thinking carefully, he temporarily gave up the idea of going to the museum in the morning and instead headed to the Parsifal Club.
As the owner of a club that gathers high-ranking local technical personnel, the female store owner Mrs. Frei was also a well-known local informant. This time, Shard did not transform into a butterfly to sneak in but used an illusion technique to change his face and walked in through the front door.
The scent of powder made Shard uncomfortable as soon as he pushed the door open, but surprisingly the music and laughter were not very annoying.
Shard thought he would have to find Mrs. Frei himself, but as soon as he entered, the woman with a feather fan, half-gray hair, and looking in her fifties, came twisting her waist and laughing:
"A new guest from out of town, look at this handsome appearance. I bet my girls here will all like you. Do you need me to introduce you?"
She walked up to Shard familiarly, laughing with her face partially covered by the feather fan, showing no signs of a woman in her fifties.
Worried that staying here too long might cause him to pick up inappropriate scents, which could affect his afternoon meeting with the witch, Shard made his remarks brief:
"The Boatman sent me."
"So you know one of the girls? That kid is really lucky. Follow me, I’ll take you there. People say it’s more comfortable here than at home."
So Shard followed the woman dressed in a blue top and red skirt through the first floor, the second floor, and into the third floor, encountering many people along the way. Everyone was quite courteous to Mrs. Frei.
The room she opened happened to be the same one Shard had threatened Freeman Hawthorne in a few days ago, though this time it was empty.
"Boatman? I knew that a favor would eventually need repaying. What do you want to get from me here? Money? Information? Or a Roder card?"
Once the door was closed, Mrs. Frei put down the fan and asked with a smile still lingering in her tone.
"I want information... but what do you mean by a Roder card?"
Shard asked, but Mrs. Frei didn’t answer, nor did she invite Shard to sit down; they spoke while standing on the round red carpet in the center of the room. The carpet was quite thick, the kind you’d find comfortable to lie on... Shard roughly knew its purpose.
"What do you want to know? Don’t worry about security here; what you say will only stay between us."
Shard didn’t definitively reply:
"I want to get in touch with someone from the Grey Glove, someone high enough in rank. Yes, just contact."
"You don’t need to explain what you want to do to me, I only sell information. If it weren’t for the Boatman’s introduction, even if you gave me 1000 krone, you wouldn’t be able to get this information, but who am I to refuse a favor owed?"
She hid her face behind the feathered fan and sighed, but it was obvious she was just pretending. She then informed Shard of the location and the names, but also stated her own request:
"No matter what you want to do, remember, the information you have did not come from me. By telling you this, I’m breaking my own rules."
"I came here for peace, not to go against anyone. Besides, this is Carsonrick territory; are Grey Glove’s people really worried about their own safety?"
Shard asked with a smile, and then Mrs. Frei also laughed:
"Let me think, where should I start mocking your words. For peace? Grey Glove worried about their safety? No—the funniest thing is that this is Carsonrick’s territory."
This encounter was relatively pleasant, so Mrs. Frei also invited Shard to come here and "play" in the future. Of course, aside from "playing," she was also willing to sell Shard paid information. For example, Shard spent 1 Ore, which is more than 1 pound, to find out that the "Roder Card" mentioned earlier referred to three rumored rare Special Rule Cards that have appeared locally.
After the merchant originally holding the three cards was killed by the Black Hand Gang, the three cards have ended up in different hands, and Mrs. Frei has already tracked down the whereabouts of one of them and knows it belongs to the ancient "Holy Sword" series.
She stated that if Shard was willing, 20 Krones could buy the clue she held.
"But the average auction price for the Special Rule Cards is only five to sixty Gold Pounds. Twenty Krones, even at the current exchange rate, amount to 228 pounds."
"This only shows that those cards hold such value."
Mrs. Frei continued to laugh behind her hand, but Shard had no intention of buying. He had already spent enough for the day, and with so much happening recently, he needed to handle what was already on his plate before concerning himself with obtaining the Roder Cards, even with information in hand.
Taking advantage of the morning, Shard went to meet the Grey Glove agents before lunch. Margaret was unable to fully control the Grey Glove, so Shard refrained from bothering her and took care of these matters himself. Moreover, since this was for Lecia, employing Margaret’s power would have felt inappropriate to Shard.
The address provided by Mrs. Frei was right in the heart of Moon Bay City, directly across from the City Council. Mr. Dylan, who ran a bookstore there, initially thought Shard was there to buy books, but when Shard tossed the "grey-headed eagle" badge in front of him, the man was so startled that he trembled as he looked up at the young man before him:
"You..."
"It’s not about who I am; the important thing is the holder of this badge has something they need you to do."
As the ace of the Grey Glove, the "grey-headed eagle" held the top-tier status within the organization, and such cross-regional contact with agents by anyone else would be highly irregular, but it was fitting for the "grey-headed eagle."
Unlike the departed Detective Sparrow, who concealed his identity and mission until his death, Shard did not need to be overly cautious. He still held the mission of "discreetly contacting local nobles in Tobesk," but Margaret’s involvement enabled him to take on even more tasks.
"Alright, it’s my honor. Sir, after more than a decade, you’ve finally returned to Moon Bay... This way please, let’s talk upstairs. For you to contact us is truly our honor."
The bookstore owner eagerly invited Shard to the study upstairs, nervously preparing tea while inquiring whether Shard’s current mission involved the same work as over a decade ago. They were ready to activate the special intelligence network to gather information on the Seven Great Families.
It was only then that Shard realized he misunderstood:
"I’m not here to kill this time; those separatists received their lesson over ten years ago... At least, I’m not here to kill right now."
Shard then instructed the local agents to assist with four tasks.
Check the current status of the safehouse that "grey-headed eagle" himself used more than ten years ago;
Over the next month, closely monitor the movements of the Black Family within the Seven Families of Glory;
Investigate the usage of funds for the Moon Bay Bridge project and oversee the family expenses of accountants and financial personnel involved;
Accelerate the examination of potential connections between multinational trading companies and fleets with MI6, confirming whether anyone is engaging in arms trade. It’s preferable to complete this within a week; if time is tight, initially omit those without concrete evidence, focusing on primary suspects.
Among these four tasks, the first appears as the grey-headed eagle attempting to reactivate a safehouse; the second is a diversion, as Shard has no vendetta with the Black Family; the third is something Grey Glove was already doing, and they could complete the task by compiling information; the fourth is Shard’s true aim but also falls under the local department’s responsibilities.
Shard did not directly instruct the Grey Glove department to order customs to clear "Princess Trading Partners," but rather to expedite the audit. After all, Lecia had nothing to do with MI6, and she wasn’t involved in arms smuggling this time. Even "Princess Trading Partners" wasn’t the primary suspect; otherwise, customs wouldn’t just be using the "quarantine issue" as an excuse to withhold approval.
In short, what Ms. Annie Bonnie, Mr. William Kidd, and Baron George Robert considered the most troublesome issue was, for Shard, the easiest to handle. Although finding a Grey Glove contact took quite a detour, it merely consumed some time and a few cups of tea.
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