CHAPTER 96: WINNER TAKES ALL

Kael’s heart raced when he heard about the dragon’s treasure, and he almost agreed on the spot. Wayne elbowed him and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him outside.

“The risk is too great, so we need to think it over. It’s late. We won’t disturb you further. We’ll give you an answer tomorrow night.”

Once they were in Kael’s room, Kael closed the door and said with an eyebrow raised, “Wayne, it’s a great dragon’s treasure we’re talking about. Aren’t you tempted?”

Wayne shook his head and checked around the room to confirm the walls had no ears before finally saying, “Of course I’m tempted. I’d love to agree immediately.”

“So you’re haggling, huh? You’re like a prostitute on the street!”

Great analogy. Don’t use it again!

Wayne rolled his eyes, finding Kael’s reaction absurd. He said bluntly, “And since it’s a dragon’s treasure, why would the cunning woman just tell us about it? The risk has to be too great for her to handle alone, so she has us share the burden.”

“I know. She needs expendable pawns to scout ahead. It’s likely that she already knows where Mr. Bart is. However, I have to admit I’m willing to take the bait.” Kael poured Wayne a cup of tea.

“Same for me.” Wayne agreed wholeheartedly. After all, it was a dragon’s legacy. Anyone would be rubbing their hands in anticipation. Didn’t it make perfect sense for a great dragon’s treasure to be hidden on Dragon Heart Island? At least he was already half convinced.

‘Dragon’. The word seemed to possess magical power. When people heard it, they immediately thought of sparkling diamonds, jewelry, and precious metals. As a mage, Wayne also imagined magical artifacts on top of the treasure. The reason he was half convinced rather than fully convinced was that he remembered Kristen saying there was no dragon on the Chosen Land.

But then, where did Dragonbloods come from?

He regretted not asking for clarification at that time. Dragon Heart Island was too far from Londan for phone calls. He could send a telegram, but he couldn’t find an operator on such short notice.

As for a letter... that would take longer than sailing there himself!

He smothered a sigh and discussed the issue with Kael. The famous detective was quite the performer, and Wayne suspected that he had additional intelligence he wasn’t sharing.

“Mistress Dana’s soul said that Mr. Bart has been hiding in the estate, even in this very house. I think it’s worth investigating.” Kael made a suggestion.

Wayne neither agreed nor disagreed. The estate likely had secret passages since wealthy people valued their lives. However, if even someone as shrewd as Heidi had failed to find Mr. Bart, could two outsiders like them...

Wait, actually, they might have a real chance. It was entirely possible that Heidi had known where Mr. Bart was all along but hadn’t dared enter for some reason.

After more discussion, Wayne returned to his room. Kael decided to tail Heidi tomorrow to the Bart family company for investigation, while Wayne planned to familiarize himself with the surrounding terrain and scout the area behind the cliff so that he would know where to run in case the Bart family turned hostile.

The night passed uneventfully, save for the old friends joining Wayne. Every day was productive with him getting stronger.

The next morning, Kael went to the Bart family company. Wayne rented a fishing boat to circle the other side of the cliff to survey the terrain. Assuming Bart had gained supernatural power from his deal with the demon, he could very well carve a hole in the cliff face.

Before setting out, he specifically sought out the maid, Olga. She was completely unaware of the previous night’s events. Mistress Dana was offline and couldn’t be active during the day, it seemed. Even if she had come out, it wouldn’t have mattered much. Her soul was too weak to support thoughts, and her blank mind couldn’t provide any important information.

At noon, Wayne arrived at Crescent Town’s square. Looking at the church of the Sea God Order that resembled the Church of Heavenly Father in style, he contemplated whether he should head inside to investigate.

The Sea God Order was the primary faith on Dragon Heart Island. Almost every fisherman worshipped the Sea God, and many returned to pay tribute for their wishes. The members of the order would have to know the island the best, given their long history. If the demon knew about the dragon’s treasure on the island, the order had to know something, too.

In fact, the demon might have come too late, and the treasure had already been claimed by the order.

Flutter!

On a tree by the square, a white dove tilted its head and cast a curious glance at Wayne. He frowned slightly and turned to slip into an alley. Someone was watching him! Was it a mage of the Sea God Order?

He hadn’t brought his messenger bird on this trip. Dragon Heart Island was a sea island and a famous fishing ground, meaning there was no shortage of seagulls here. And as the scoundrels of the avian world, seagulls were notorious for their expertise in aerial defecation and their enjoyment of robbery. When food was scarce, they would even target doves as prey. Even when food wasn’t scarce, seagulls enjoyed bullying the weak. Their reputation had long hit rock bottom.

Wayne didn’t consider his dove disposable. Thus, considering the above risks, he left it with the maids rather than carry it around in his hat.

By the same logic, no one other than mages would keep white doves on Dragon Heart Island.

He suspected his blatant observation had attracted the attention of a mage of the Sea God Order. Since they had numbers on their side, he’d let them off the hook today for the sake of the Sea God.

While he wanted to leave, though, the other party wouldn’t let him. The white dove followed him around, and two figures approached from a distance and pressed hard until they cornered him near the dark reefs on the beach. They wore black with top hats pulled low over their eyes, their collars raised to cover the half of their faces that wasn’t concealed by their scarves, making it impossible to identify them by appearance. Wayne smelled the air instead, looking at the two uninvited guests with surprise.

Veronica and Vera. Why were they here?

Veronica, especially, shouldn’t have come. If Auston learned that his precious daughter had crossed the sea to chase after a pretty boy, who knew how many barrels of cement would he have bought?

“Kekekeke—”

The shorter figure in black—Vera—lowered her voice and made a creepy laugh like she were still William, striding toward Wayne. She wore leather gloves and was covered from head to toe. When she was three meters from him, she charged and threw a punch.

It was so Vera. Fine, if she wanted to play it like this—

Wayne raised an eyebrow. The punch was soft and powerless, purely thrown in mischief. In that case, he had no choice but to take it seriously.

He sidestepped to avoid the punch, and as soon as they passed each other, he reached out both hands to knock her chest with his palms. She staggered and seemed stunned for a moment, but didn’t make a sound. Instead, she lowered her voice and made unintelligible taunting noises before throwing another punch.

He dodged again, this time shoving her bottom.

She wanted to continue her assault, but Veronica couldn’t bear to watch anymore. “Idiot, that’s not how you do it!”

She charged at the two tangled people and dropkicked Vera on the back, sending her flying two meters before sliding along the ground face-down. Vera whimpered without getting up, her face in the sand and her bottom raised.

“Oh, that voice... Veronica, what a surprise!”

Delighted, Wayne spread his arms to give her a bear hug.

“Pervert, stay away from me!” Veronica shook her fist, warning him not to ask for punishment.

Wayne reluctantly gave up and strode up to Vera, helping her up and brushing sand from her hair. He sounded convincingly apologetic as he said, “Vera, why didn’t you just say something? If I’d known it was you, I wouldn’t have fought back.”

“Wayne, it hurts!” Vera pouted, spitting sand with tears in her eyes.

Unable to bear the sight, Wayne hurriedly comforted her, “It’s okay. Where does it hurt? I’ll rub it for you.”

“It hurts everywhere, especially my bottom.”

“It won’t hurt anymore after I rub and blow at it.”

“Oh.”

Bam!

With a flying kick from Veronica, both of them slid across the beach.

A moment later, Wayne brushed sand off his face. It didn’t hurt at all, as thick-skinned as he was. He looked curiously at Veronica and asked, “Why are you two here? And why did you sneak around like that? To give me a surprise? Honestly, I didn’t recognize you at first, so I was quite shocked.”

“Stop playing dumb. You clearly recognized us.” Veronica scoffed, telling the pervert not to flatter himself. “I came because Vera invited me. She was bored and wanted to come check out the ocean at the beach.”

“That’s right.” Vera raised her hand. “I even brought a swimsuit.”

“What does it look like? Would you show me?”

Wayne looked curious, but when he saw the swimsuit in Vera’s suitcase, he was deeply disappointed. The style was old-fashioned and extremely conservative, completely at odds with what he believed a swimsuit should be. Soon, though, he realized it was a new business opportunity. If he remembered correctly, bikinis didn’t exist yet in this era, and swimwear hadn’t undergone a revolutionary transformation.

“Veronica, where’s your swimsuit?”

“I didn’t bring one.”

“Liar, I saw—”

“Ahh!”

***

At a restaurant on the Crescent Bay, Wayne invited the two to join him for afternoon tea. Veronica was still hung up on him taking advantage of Vera earlier, insisting that the pervert had recognized them but pretended not to on purpose.

Don’t make accusations without proof. Society operates by law now. Watch out, or I’ll sue you for slander!

Wayne put on an innocent look. The two pretty girls had covered themselves so thoroughly and greeted him with a punch. How would he know that his friends were playing a prank on him? They seriously overestimated his intelligence.

Vera agreed that Wayne didn’t do it on purpose. Veronica was so mad that she downed two glasses of juice in a row.

“How’s the case?” she asked with a huff. “When are you returning to Londan?”

“It’s a little complicated...” Wayne explained the process of his investigation and added in a lowered voice, “You couldn’t have come at a better time. The Bart family is rotten from top to bottom, and the detective I’m working with is a cunning and treacherous fox. It’ll be difficult for me to obtain the great dragon’s treasure alone.”

The word ‘dragon’ made Veronica’s eyes light up. She asked about the dragon’s legacy.

“I don’t know what it is. I’m still investigating.” Wayne smoothly brought up his question. “Speaking of the dragon’s treasure, are there really no dragons on the Chosen Land?”

“None.” Veronica nodded definitively. Facing his doubts, she revealed her mother’s secret without hesitation. “Mother’s dragon blood came from the Goddess of Nature’s blessing. It was granted through an inheritance ritual and has something to do with her master.”

There were no dragons on the Chosen Land, but powerful mages could find one somewhere, especially in churches with vast resources. They had plenty of ways to improve their disciples’ constitutions.

Wayne got a crucial piece of information. The churches had many tricks in their repertoire, and each one had more hidden talent than it seemed.

“Oh, do you know about the Sea God Order?”

Both Veronica and Vera shook their heads. Vera then pointed out, “There’s a base of the Church of Moonlight on Crescent Bay, Wayne. We’re all part of the Life Alliance, so we can seek help there.”

Crescent Bay, Church of Moonlight. So the name of the location meant something.

***

Half an hour later, the three arrived at the base of the Church of Moonlight. The followers hid within an opera house, and after confirming that they were allies of the church, an elder received them.

She talked about the Sea God Order and their faith. The god didn’t actually exist. The islanders both feared the capricious ocean and yearned for its wealth, and over time, it evolved into the faith. It was completely spontaneous with beautiful aspirations and pure intentions. Moreover, the members of the orders were all ordinary people with no mage among them.

Without mentioning the treasure, Wayne then asked about the origin of Dragon Heart Island.

“Legend has it that Dragon Heart Island is a great dragon’s heart that fell from the sky like a meteor, but it’s only a myth, not to be taken as truth.” The elder took out a geography magazine. “The story is related to the storms that ravage the island in winter. People say those are the dragon’s roars, and combined with the island’s shape, the island was thus named Dragon Heart Island.”

Wayne flipped through the magazine, studying the aerial map of the island and identifying the Bart Estate. Before he could ask anything else, the elder left.

Veronica and Vera were staying overnight at the base. Instead of joining them, he returned to the estate with the magazine.

Soon, Kael sought him out.

“There’s something wrong with the location of Bart’s company. I looked into it today, and the new company was built two years ago, coinciding with the time Mr. Bart’s health began to improve...” Kael’s eyes glinted. “He’s likely hiding in the company, and Heidi knows, too. She can’t possibly be completely ignorant.”

Wayne didn’t say anything. The possessed maid had said last night that Mr. Bart had been in the main house of the estate all along. The two clues contradicted each other.

“Mr. Bart has been hiding in the company. Heidi, not being a mage, can’t trigger the magical mechanisms, so she pretended to know nothing and had us take the risk.” Kael held his gaze seriously. “What do you think? Do we wait, or take the initiative?”

“I prefer waiting,” Wayne answered, guessing that Kael thought the same way. Otherwise, this guy would’ve gone himself instead of kindly sharing intelligence with him. At the end of the day, Kael was looking for cannon fodder, too.

Bah, what a despicable man!

Kael nodded. What a coincidence. He believed it was better to wait and see as well. While the dragon’s treasure was tempting, he only had one life. There was no reason to charge forward knowing there was danger.

“I’ve heard a thing or two regarding the Bart family’s faith, Blood Worship,” Kael said. “Have you heard about the councilors in Londan going mad some time ago?”

“I have, but not much.” Wayne put on a curious look. “What happened? I’ve always suspected that there’s more to the incident. Do you have insider information?”

“I know several devout nuns at the Church of Heavenly Father. It’s said that the worshippers of hell’s evil gods have been active in recent years, and they found themselves short-staffed. They thus plan to seek help from the other churches.” Kael shared the information in whispers. It was strictly confidential, and he warned Wayne to keep it a secret.

Wayne solemnly vowed to do so.

“Worshipping evil gods never ends well, especially not for followers who have betrayed their gods. The Bart family is placed under a curse. Heidi has to be more anxious than we are...” Kael shared his speculation. “I’d bet in a few days, she’ll accidentally discover Mr. Bart’s hiding place and invite us to go with her.”

Good. Wayne nodded and clutched his antique silver ring. He had welcomed a growing number of old friends into the temple that was his body, and he could use these few days to fully light up his hexagram. He hoped the dragon’s great treasure wouldn’t disappoint him.

The Bart family, Kael, Blood Worship and its evil god... Well, the evil god didn’t count since they couldn’t descend.

Wayne calculated his odds in his mind. With two hidden helpers, he had a good chance of double-crossing everyone successfully.

Sorry, everyone, but those are the rules. Winner takes all!