Mage Manual
Chapter 335 - Chapter 335 Chapter 284 Red and Black

Chapter 335: Chapter 284: Red and Black Chapter 335: Chapter 284: Red and Black The 51st floor below the observatory tower, the original location of the Funeral Service Office, now lay in complete disarray.

“Crying Red Hat” Cleos landed gently on the balcony, with the blue flames of her Balance Boots quickly extinguishing.

Although as a Holy Sanctuary Mage she could have soared through the skies on her wings long ago, Red Hats like her had been trained in Balance Flight since their One-winged days. With over thirty years of experience, Cleos naturally preferred to tread the skies on her own feet.

Azura’s First Red Hat strode into the living room, with the staff from the Family Reunion Office parting ways to make room for her.

Several Red Hats followed her in, only to see the office agents rummaging through cabinets and shouting, “What are you doing? According to–”

“According to the ‘Public Safety Management Regulations’, we are authorized to search for items related to wanted criminals to gather intelligence in the event of citizen’s arrests,” an agent retorted.

On the only crimson leather chair in the living room that had not been completely destroyed by gun bullets, an elderly woman sat. Gaunt in her stature, with makeup that didn’t mask the wrinkles, dark circles under her eyes, dry thin lips, a pure red shawl, and a simple long dress made of coarse fabric… Even with such careless attention to appearance, it did not diminish this lady’s imposing presence.

She closed the Gospel Book in her hands and said, “Now that the Red Hats have arrived, the scene is yours to handle. Children, put down what you’re holding and don’t interfere with the Red Hats’ work.”

“Anna Aldo,” Cleos said coldly, “when you attacked the Funeral Service Office, the warrant hadn’t been issued yet; even if you can search for items related to wanted criminals, the majority of the assets here belong to Hanna Doran. Your Family Reunion Office has already committed the crimes of illegal intrusion and property damage.”

“Is that so?”

Anna stood up slowly, standing opposite Cleos, the gaunt old woman lifted her head to look at the tall Red Hat Elf.

The atmosphere in the living room immediately became tense, with the smell of gunpowder filling the air. The office agents and Red Hats surreptitiously disengaged the safety on their hand cannons, seeking the best position to fire. This devastated living room seemed on the verge of another, even more brutal, multi-person onslaught.

If anyone hated the offices the most, it would certainly be the Red Hats.

For Red Hats, offices were just clusters of pests who often exploited loopholes in the Gospel Book, engaging in shady business that needed cleaning up after by the Red Hats–like the recent case of the Beastman Mage murder, clearly the work of an office.

Anna, the “Red Cicada Duchess” of the Family Reunion Office, was particularly a thorn in the Red Hats’ side.

Unlike other more discreet offices, Family Reunion plastered advertisements all over the city. Moreover, with their unique loophole techniques, they had committed several sensational extermination cases in Azura, virtually spitting in the faces of the Red Hats, who could not pin anything on them despite the Gospel Book.

The most law-abiding Red Hats could not find a single clue to stick to this group who were Teflon to legal action, unable even to lash out in anger, so Cleos seeing them in a good light was out of the question.

But the “Red Cicada Duchess” Anna was also a Three-winged Holy Sanctuary Mage, and with her control over the Gospel’s loopholes, she had dominated Azura for decades, starting from scratch. Although she had no official title, she was honored as the “Duchess” … The Family Reunion Office was indeed not inferior to the Red Hats.

In the tense standoff, Cleos did not yield an inch, but the mist in her eyes grew thicker, as if she might burst into tears at any second.

Seeing this, Anna stepped back and flipped open a page of the Gospel Book: “Here’s the compensation Contract between the Funeral Service Office and the Family Reunion Office, which has been overdue for 26 years, so I am here as a creditor to enforce collection, not as an illegal invader damaging property.”

Cleos glanced at it and her face darkened: “‘In July 1631, Lex Doran activated the ‘Communication Message’ service from the Aslan Communication Company and failed to pay the service fee on time, resulting in a debt of …’ The Aslan Communication Company has been out of business for a long time, hasn’t it? I’m impressed you found this debt.”

“Knowing and abiding by the law is the foundation of office management,” Anna responded. “Excuse me,”

“Wait,” Cleos said. “The person who ordered the attack on Ash, the Red Hats need them to assist with the investigation.”

“It would be an honor for the children,” Anna did not refuse, gesturing Maynard and Liman to come forward: “However, they have suffered severe trauma and need to go home to rest, so they can’t go back with you to investigate. If you have any questions, ask them here — unless you can produce an order for assistance in the investigation right now.”

Cleos looked at the two individuals and realized that Anna was not putting her off.

Maynard and Liman were wrapped in hot towels, with Liman’s throat showing a distinct discoloration, clearly having just received emergency treatment. But more than their appearances, it was the fear deep in their eyes that was the bloodied wound.

They didn’t look at Cleos at all, their gazes locked on some elusive distance; they were still absorbed in their inner worlds, with no capacity left to pay attention to the changing reality.

“What… happened to you?”

Like pricked by a needle, both twitched like frightened hamsters.

They were not resisting Cleos’s questions, but were desperately trying to barricade the monster attempting to emerge from within — that monster had already corroded their minds, warped their values, and polluted their nerves. The bloodshot in their eyes was a distress signal from their own consciousness to the outside world.

Escape had not freed them from danger; it only hastened their descent into nightmare.

“Ash Heath…”

“What?”

“Ash Heath!”

Maynard grabbed Cleos’s shoulders, and the Crying Red Hat did not push away the nearly hysterical youth, “Kill him, you must kill him, otherwise it’ll be too late, too late!”

Liman sat weakly on the ground, then a stench began to pervade–the smell of her urine.

Cleos’s expression unchanged, “…The influence of the Demonic Coat and Distorted Mask?”

“Most likely,” Anna replied. “But according to the ‘Art Ranking’, the Demonic Coat merely prevents the harboring of malice, and the Distorted Mask enhances first impressions and disrupts investigative efforts… However, as you can see, the description of the objects differs greatly from their actual effects.”

“Perhaps the rankings haven’t fully disclosed the rewards, or maybe… it is true that the coat and mask have only those functions; however, the existence of the holder has caused a qualitative change in their power.”

“I was still unsure which possibility it was,” said the old lady. “But since the Empire has issued a wanted order, it also means that the Imperial City of Nabistin has discovered the correct answer.”

Cleos signaled for them to take Maynard and Liman away, speaking calmly, “Anna, what are you trying to say?”

“Let’s cooperate.”

The Baroness’s voice was deep without dullness, rich without muddiness, slow-speaking but irresistibly compelling, “Mermaids adhere to neutrality and will never break the rules. Miss Doran has managed her office for many years, knowing how to deal with Red Hats is a basic professional skill in our line of work… You need us, and we need you.”

“What do you want?” Cleos’s expression of disgust was more evident than her words.

“To seize the loopholes Hanna recently found, to get those foreigners, to dip into the Weaving Festival,” said Anna. “I have no intention of hiding my motives, just as you have never concealed your desire for ranking–but you and I both know, these are just our personal interests.”

“The Gospel is our shared interest.”

The city’s most fierce old woman said word by word, “Without the Gospel, we are nothing. We are all children of the Gospel, our accomplishments today depend on the nourishment of the Gospel.”

“Now the Gospel is crying out to us for help, why shouldn’t we contribute our efforts?”

“It’s our turn to give back to the Gospel.” Red Cicada extended her hand toward the Crying Red Hat. “Let’s save the world together.”

Cleos remained silent for a moment, then suddenly summoned her Gospel Book.

The Baroness realized something, “I heard that Miss Doran seems to be friends with the Crying Red Hat…”

“She is my best friend,” said Cleos. “I cannot make up my mind on my own.”

Soon, Cleos heard the answer from the Gospel.

How quickly the mist in the Crying Red Hat’s eyes congealed into rivers, flowing down her cheeks, yet her mouth turned up in a faint smile, crying yet laughing, laughing yet crying.

“The Gospel Book said you need to kill a friend?”

“No.”

Cleos shook her head slightly, grasping Anna’s hand.

“The Gospel Book just told me that if I can complete the Empire’s wanted order, I can directly become the top-ranked Red Hat in the nation.”

“As my best friend,” Cleos sniffled, “Hanna will surely understand me.”

“Because, the Gospel said she has to.”

Azura’s red and black, for the first time, blended into a new color.