Seeing the pale, fine foam of the Southwold beer placed before Sherlock Moriaty, Carlson finally woke up to the realization. Once the bartender had moved away, he spoke softly, "What do you want?" Caine lifted his glass, took a sip, and paused for several seconds to savor the bitter notes giving way to a rich malt aroma, followed by a subtle aftertaste. "To health!" he said, turning his head to Carlson and raising his glass with a smile. Carlson immediately shook his head, declining the toast, and murmured, "Your beer, my spirits—our drinks aren't suited for a toast." Caine himself only went through the motion, took another sip of the Southwold beer, looked steadily ahead, and chuckled, "What I want is simple." "I don't know what exactly lies inside the tomb, so I can only describe it rather vaguely. Um... I'd like to select one item from among the things you find during your exploration. I'm not particularly greedy—something of high value would be wonderful, but even if such items exist, I wouldn't dare ask for them. If you come back empty-handed, or if the tomb holds only high-value items, then I'll take nothing at all. Of course, I'm certain that in the latter case, you'll be generous enough to offer me a suitable cash payment, in recognition of my contribution." After learning yesterday from Miss Sharon about the tomb of the Amun family, he had a general plan in place. His first proposal was to blow the bronze horn, contact Mr. Azk, and join forces with him to explore the tomb together. However, the plan faces several potential issues. First, it remains unclear how much of his strength Azk has recovered, as he himself does not know. Second, Azk is currently being pursued by the Ninth Directorate, and making a sudden contact could easily cause complications for both parties. Third, Klein is likely to once again come under the scrutiny of the seal "0–08." While he has considered using the gray mist for communication and exploration, the fact that blowing a copper horn atop the mist fails to summon the messengers has effectively stalled all further developments. More importantly, Klein is still hesitant and unwilling to reveal the secrets of the gray mist to Azk Egos, whose identity remains unconfirmed. Therefore, he ultimately opts for the second plan—leveraging his informant status to deliver intelligence to the "Heart of Mechanism" and securing a reasonable, appropriate compensation. As for the number of high-tier entities, can there be any organization that surpasses the seven major churches? According to Klein's knowledge, within the Church of the Goddess of Night, there are nearly ten high-sequence strong members—meaning that out of the thirteen archbishops and nine senior priests, nearly half have reached or surpassed Sequence 4. This figure does not include the goddess's followers, nor the current patriarch, who oversees the church. Although the Church of the Gods of Steam and Mechanics falls slightly short in this regard, their gap is not significant—Bishop Horamik Haydon of the Beckland diocese, for instance, is itself a high-sequence strong member. Such well-established, deeply rooted churches, however, do not place exceptionally, exceptionally, exceptionally high value on mid-sequence matters. Klein believes he has a reasonable opportunity to negotiate a fair price. In short, the core of the second proposal is: When you face difficulties, reach out to the organization! Upon hearing Klein's proposed terms, Carlson paused for a moment, then asked immediately, "You're not a believer in the gods, are you?" "Always, the goddess has resided within me," said Kline, drawing a triangular holy emblem on his chest. "It is because of my faith in the gods that I have shared this news with you, rather than through Mr. Stanton to the night watch. 'Let the strong grow stronger,' the gods say. Only by becoming stronger myself—by accumulating more wealth—can I access broader channels and secure greater resources, thereby providing you with better, more effective intelligence." To persuade the "Mechanical Heart," he had特意 flipped through the *Sacred Codex of Steam and Machinery* he had purchased earlier to adorn his home, carefully memorizing several divine quotations that aligned with his message. Carlson found himself momentarily unable to respond, standing there, forgetting to drink his wine. Klein quickly added, "Moreover, this will help you establish a harmonious and efficient new relationship with your sources. As long as you publicize the compensation I receive as a result of this arrangement and emphasize your unwavering commitment—never backing down—I'm certain other sources will be deeply moved and inspired, and will go above and beyond to gather valuable intelligence for you. Of course, I'd like to be credited under my own name." And now the other party... Caine took a sip of beer and chuckled. "Everyone has a different face. It's easy to make mistakes when you replace the whole with just one face—this is something that must be kept in mind during reasoning." Carlson calmed himself for a moment, then stood up and said, "I don't have the authority to agree to such requests. I'll immediately report this up and you'll wait here a while." "Very well." Caine waved to the bartender and ordered an extra order of fries. After he had slowly finished his meal and finished off his beer, the steward of "The Heart of Mechanism," Ikonse Bernard, brought Carlson back to the bar. "Your request is valid, but there's one condition: items with strong side effects and curses will not be included in the selection." Ikonse glanced around, noticing that the room was mostly empty, and then spoke in a measured tone. What I'm looking for is materials... Caine immediately smiled. "Excellent!" "I may have one more question—this decision is entirely yours, or is it a response from upper management?" "I have the right to make such a decision," Eikons said, tucking his hat slightly against his voluminous hair. "However, since this involves the fourth-century noble tombs, I've sent a telegram to the Archbishop, and he has not objected." "Good," said Kline, drawing the triangular saint's emblem once again. "I'll now inform you of the details." Eikons instinctively shook his head. He glanced around, then pointed toward a billiards room. "Let's go in there and talk." Indeed, the steward—always known as Arodes—had handled the public execution of the mirror with such composure... Kline murmured under his breath, following Eikons and Carlson into the billiards room, making sure no one was present in the adjacent rooms. Kline paused for a moment, then said carefully: "The matter is this: a member of the extraordinary order discovered a hidden tomb at the river bend of the Stafford River in White Cliff Town, and explored the outer areas, uncovering several artifacts." "Later, they recruited personnel to conduct further exploration, but no one ever returned. When you go there and look carefully, you'll definitely find corresponding traces." After listening carefully, Ikonse asked, "Confirmed as a noble tomb from the Fourth Age?" "The items found in the outer areas can confirm the presence of members of the Amun family of the Tord dynasty." Kline replied, adding, "The extraordinary beings who died within are neither weak nor few in number. In my opinion, this tomb cannot be explored by anyone below a high sequence." "Amun..." Ikonse instinctively furrowed his brow. It was clear that, as a steward, he had access to certain ancient secrets. Without waiting for Kline to emphasize further, he raised his gaze and said, "We will first gather relevant materials before taking any action. Noble tombs from the Fourth Age are extremely dangerous. Do not share this information with anyone else, nor should you personally explore it—otherwise, you and your friends will lose your lives." "If I were truly confident, I wouldn't be sitting here... Caine chuckled to himself. "My reputation has always been solid." After finalizing the deal and seeing Ikonser and Carlson depart, he donned his hat and strolled slowly toward the door of the 'Lucky One' tavern. For the fourth age's great nobles, and especially for the Amun family, the 'Heart of Mechanism' has been remarkably cautious—perhaps they would need several days to launch their actions... cautious... Caine's loosely flowing thoughts suddenly settled on a single word. He recalled another instance of exceptional caution: after Roscel joined the ancient organization rumored to be the 'Sunset Hermit Order,' he had never mentioned the organization's name in his own secret diary written in Chinese—each time, he only described it by its characteristics. This was a caution so profound it raised doubt! Why, even in Chinese, would Emperor Roscel hesitate to name that organization? This is entirely different from his usual style—what is he afraid of? What is he worried about? Does merely naming the "Twilight Hermit Society," regardless of the language used, automatically reveal it to them? Could one of their members or one of their seals possess such a capability? Klein had a hunch, but could not verify it unless he were willing to take a risk and try. Let us assume it's true—for now, I remain undetected because the "Spiritualist" Apostle is above the gray mist, and the "Justice" lady is also responding to our appeals through the gray mist... Ah, it's already Monday again. I'll need to remind the "Justice" lady at the Tarot meeting to avoid mentioning or recording the name of the "Twilight Hermit Society." As for the reason, I'll just give her a glance—she'll understand on her own. Klein quickly made further arrangements and then strode out of the "Lucky One" bar. He noticed it was still early, so he took the carriage directly to the Cragg Club, intending to spend the afternoon there. As soon as he entered the hall, he spotted Talim Dumont, the equestrian instructor, sitting in a corner, sipping a glass of deep red wine, his face rosy and his spirits high. "Talim, you seem in great spirits," said Caine with a warm greeting. Talim chuckled warmly. "Because the new year is approaching," he replied, then with genuine excitement asked, "Sherlock, have you ever truly felt the taste of being in love?" ...Caine offered a polite smile. "I'm sorry, I'm still single." "That's quite a pity. Well, I must be off to attend to some matters," Talim finished off his wine, rose, and waved. "By the way, thank you for introducing me to Mr. Franmi Ketch," Caine remembered the investment in the bicycle project, and sincerely thanked him. "When would you be free in the near future?" "I'd like to taste the cuisine of Beckland," he said. "After the new year," Talim replied, donning his hat and smiling as he walked toward the reception hall. Is he finally entering the season of love? Klein couldn't help muttering it under his breath. Just as he turned around and took a few steps, he suddenly heard a heavy, crashing sound of falling. Klein spun around sharply and saw Talim Dumont lying on the ground, his left hand firmly pressed against his chest, his body convulsing. What...? Klein rushed over. But by then, Talim had already expelled a stream of white foam and was barely breathing—his final breaths fading away. In just a few seconds, the man who had just been full of spring energy had turned into a lifeless corpse.