Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 40 A Deal in the Shadows

Recalling the "Mist Exchange" sign in her mind, Suren felt a pang of doubt: "Mrs. Howard didn't come to the 'Starry Club' but went to the 'Mist Exchange'? Could she be a 'Filthy One'?"

If Suren's guess is correct, then this mission is not a simple one of catching adulterers, but Suren is not surprised.

Suren recalled the fragmented texts provided by the Revelation. Although the texts were unrelated, Suren still extracted a very striking word—"oath."

"The Eternal Oath Knights..." Suren murmured the name to himself. It was the organization that Deacon Corrigan had mentioned a few days ago.

"[Insight] The images provided may not be real-time. Regardless, first look for clues at the 'Mist Exchange.' If things become too complicated, give up."

Having made up his mind, Suren stood up and patted the wall plaster off his clothes.

Carl was still standing there, staring intently at the club's entrance. Suren patted him on the shoulder, amused. "You keep watch for now. I'll go look for clues elsewhere."

Karl turned around and heard Suren's words. He opened his mouth in confusion, but in the end, he didn't say anything and just nodded.

Watching Suren's departing figure, Karl scratched his head and turned his gaze back to her.

"After automatically joining the Deathbird, this guy has been acting all mysterious."

He muttered something to himself, then shrank back, put his hands in his pockets, and continued to stare at the door.

When he arrived at the familiar alley, Suren's breathing was still a little rapid. He had jogged all the way here to get here as quickly as possible.

By this time, he had changed his clothes using the "Mandala Ring". He was no longer wearing the conspicuous Death Bird uniform, but a dark worker's uniform with a flat-topped cloth hat, just like an ordinary dockworker.

This time, instead of looking for "Crippled Tom," he went straight to the abandoned warehouse and knocked on the floor.

It was the same old man again, and the process was the same as last time. After passing through that door, Suren once again stepped into the "Mist Exchange".

Although this was only Suren's second visit, he still felt a strange sense of familiarity.

Suren searched the whole area but couldn't find Mrs. Howard.

"Perhaps the other party's transaction was already completed, and the [Revelation] provides a picture of the past."

Suren, who had long considered this possibility, was not disappointed. Coming here was just an attempt, after all, even if he waited in the "Star Club", there was no guarantee of success.

But he was still somewhat unwilling to give up. This time, he walked around the room even more carefully, secretly observing every corner.

When he reached the free trading area, Suren stopped. A scent caught his attention, so faint that it was almost drowned out by the murky atmosphere inside the exchange.

In Mr. Mercury's bookstore, Suren had smelled that scent before, that unique, soft, sweet apricot scent—that of the girl with silver-white hair.

Suren didn't immediately start looking around. He casually squatted down, like an ordinary buyer attracted by the goods on the stall.

He reached out and casually fiddled with the items on the stall, then stood up, shook his head, and slowly walked towards the central counter.

He leaned against the counter, glancing casually at the area he had just been looking at.

After careful observation, Suren discovered a figure hiding in the shadows of that corner, a figure that would be easily overlooked if one did not look closely.

The man was dressed in light black leather armor that outlined his slender figure. His hood was pulled down very low, covering most of his face except for the curve of his chin.

However, a few strands of silvery-white hair still peeked out from the edge of the hood.

"Is it just a coincidence? Or is she actually a member of the 'Eternal Oath Knights'?" Suren wondered to himself.

Suren withdrew his gaze from the white-haired girl, glanced at the exchange's clock, and thought to himself: if there's no result in another 10 minutes, I'll leave.

Just then, the exchange door opened, and two figures walked in one after the other. They were two ordinary-looking men dressed in worker uniforms, similar to Suren's attire.

Suren glanced at it subconsciously, then looked away.

But at that very moment, Suren's "Source of Knowledge" began to tremble. The "Cognitive Fog" deep within his consciousness was forcibly pried open by "Source of Knowledge." He only felt a blur before his eyes, and the figures of the two men swayed in his vision, like ripples spreading on the surface of water. Then the image gradually became clear—it turned into two women.

The woman standing at the back had blond hair that shimmered softly under the lights, and wore a well-fitting long dress that looked quite expensive. She seemed completely out of place in the atmosphere of the stock exchange.

Suren paused, the woman's appearance was exactly the same as the photo Mr. Howard had given her.

The woman standing in front of Mrs. Howard looked to be only in her thirties, but her demeanor was unusually weathered.

She had long, jet-black hair, with a few stray strands clinging to her cheeks and neck. Her clean-cut face bore several shallow scars, her cheekbones were slightly prominent, and her deep gray eyes were sharp as an eagle's.

She wore a set of deep black leather armor studded with metal rivets, with heavy shoulder armor extending from the shoulder armor to a wide black cloak. A brown belt was tied around her waist, from which hung several daggers and other equipment pouches. Most striking were the slightly ornate longbow and quiver slung across her back. The whole person looked like a medieval ranger straight out of a fantasy story.

Suren noticed that the woman was wearing an iron ring on her finger—exactly the same one as the white-haired girl's.

The wandering swordsman cautiously looked around, but fortunately, there were many people like him around Suren, so he didn't attract the swordsman's attention.

Out of the corner of her eye, Suren saw the black-haired woman nod to Mrs. Howard, and the two of them walked one after the other through the chaotic crowd toward the corner where the girl was.

The three of them were in that small patch of shadow. Suren didn't turn his head directly to look; he just stared at the object in front of him, using his peripheral vision to catch the scene over there. Suren couldn't see their interaction very clearly, but from the atmosphere of their conversation, he could sense that Mrs. Howard wasn't the one being coerced; it seemed they had reached some kind of agreement.

The transaction went smoothly. Mrs. Howard exchanged a notebook for a small box from the white-haired girl, after which the girl left.

Mrs. Howard and the woman dressed as a knight-errant did not rush to leave. They stayed in place for a moment, seemingly trying to make the transaction seem less deliberate.

Suren straightened up, removed his fingers from the counter, then turned around and walked slowly toward the door.