Chapter 356 "Reunion"
Why did this guy shave his beard? How is he going to go out and meet people tomorrow?
——That was Angel’s first reaction.
When her brain truly understood the meaning of the person in front of her, she subconsciously took two steps forward, blinked her sore eyes, and carefully observed Klein's face with pursed lips.
"It feels weird without a beard..." After a moment, Angel suppressed his inner joy and commented with a frown, "Are you the 'Faceless Man' now?"
"I was promoted at noon."
Klein spoke in an odd tone, first loud and then subdued, as if it were the voices of several different people strung together. The flesh and skin on his face seemed to be dissolving and wriggling, undergoing subtle changes. His cheeks swelled slightly, his chin drooped slightly, and small thorns quickly grew around his mouth, soon forming a thick beard.
In less than a second or two, Klein transformed back into Sherlock Moriarty. Compared to the Nighthawk a few months ago, Backlund's private detective focused on nutrition, but lacked regular exercise, so he inevitably gained some weight.
"What about the body? Can only the face be transformed?"
Having used the Beyonder characteristics of the Faceless Man to disguise himself before, Angel was not surprised by the change. However, he was curious: Could a true Sequence 6 Faceless Man only be able to do this?
Hearing her question, Sherlock's smile became even wider. He took two steps back, took off his hat, bent down and put it on the sofa. When he raised his head again, he looked completely different.
Delicate fair skin, perfectly proportioned facial features, a slightly pointed chin, thin lips tightly pursed, and a hint of curiosity in her purple eyes.
If it weren't for the fact that his light blond hair was still growing longer, Angel would almost think he was looking in the mirror, at another version of himself.
He could even imitate the expression... but unfortunately the height was still a little different.
As soon as this thought came to Angel's mind, he heard the crisp sound of bones and ligaments being stretched, and Sherlock Angel's height arched up a little, making up for the missing few centimeters.
At the same time, his figure also changed accordingly. The shirt under his tuxedo was tight at the chest, loose at the waist, and his hips also changed in shape.
"This is the limit. The body shape can't be changed too much, and there's no way to actually change gender..."
After explaining in Angel's voice, Sherlock took a few seconds to transform back into himself—Backlund's self.
Angel was about to laugh when he saw his shirt was a little loose due to the two changes in his body shape, but suddenly realized:
"Didn't the magician conjure up this tuxedo and shirt of yours?"
"Of course it's specially prepared. This way it feels like, um, a ritual?"
Straightening his wrinkled clothes and shaking out the collar of his tuxedo, Sherlock replied with a smile.
He spent 10 pounds on this outfit, which was slightly more expensive than the one he bought in Tingen City, but he was extremely satisfied with the effect.
But before Sherlock could maintain his deliberately handsome pose for even a second, Angel pulled him by the hand towards the guest room next door.
"Wait, wait..."
He guessed what was going to happen, but he was completely unprepared and panicked. He shouted out twice subconsciously, but felt a sense of surprise in his heart.
Why does it feel like the roles are a bit reversed!
But when he saw Angel taking off the "Ring of Madness" and turning his hair back into light golden hair, he finally shut up.
"Change back."
Pushing Sherlock to sit on the bed, Angel gave the order in a vicious manner.
"What... okay..."
After a moment of daze, Sherlock quickly used the Faceless Man's ability to transform back into his beardless self. Just as he was about to continue speaking, he was pushed back by a strong force and fell directly onto the bed that he had become extremely familiar with in these days.
Why is it the same as the first time...
Such a thought popped up in his mind uncontrollably.
Then, soft lips covered his mouth, and smooth but comfortable arms wrapped around his neck.
After a long time, their lips parted.
"Welcome back, (Kline)."
A faint whisper came into his ears, as if the voice was afraid of being heard by someone. The last name was expressed only by the movement of the lips, without any sound.
But this almost inaudible call carried endless temptation, bringing him back to his senses from his surprise. He was immediately ready to deal with the next "battle".
The smugness of the newly promoted Faceless Man and the other party's unexpected initiative gave Klein an inexplicable confidence. He suddenly wrapped his arms around Angel's slender waist, rolled over and switched positions, looked into her eyes filled with tears and the corners of her mouth with a smile, smelled the faint body fragrance on her body, and slowly moved closer to her body.
During this period, Angel had some crazy behaviors caused by the desire accumulated in her body, and some forced herself to be shy and hide it under the guise of "acting", but only today did she fully and actively show the ultimate temptation of the "Pleasure Witch".
Klein knew that this was her response to being "reunited" with him.
So today, he's on top!
————
Worried that Klein had just reached Sequence 6 and his spirituality wasn't stable enough, Angel didn't continue after releasing her overflowing joy. As she finished washing, changed into her long-placed home clothes, and exited the bathroom, the joy of "seeing" Klein again gradually faded.
After showering, Sherlock, who had also changed into a shirt and vest, wore the same pair of gold-rimmed glasses and had grown a thick beard again. He sat at the coffee table by the bay window, pouring coffee, leaving the best seat for Angel.
Seeing this, Angel sat down on the single sofa with a smile on his face, took the coffee and took a sip, then frowned because of the heat.
"You called me over here, isn't this the reason?"
After Sherlock also tasted the coffee, Angel asked about the reason for today's meeting.
"Ahem, you didn't even give me a chance to speak..." The energetic detective responded with a dry cough, but quickly regained his composure under Angel's sharp gaze. "The most important thing is, of course, my promotion. I've already demonstrated my new abilities to you. In addition, the extraordinary abilities that originally belonged to the 'Magician' have all been enhanced."
"So, the most important improvement is the ability represented by the name 'Faceless Man' itself?"
Angel asked curiously. Her Sequence 6 brought more than just that much improvement, but in terms of practicality, the Faceless Man was indeed superior to most of the Beyonder abilities she had seen. In addition, the "Magician" could change clothes through illusion, which was countless times more convenient than the "Ring of Madness".
"Yes, fortune-telling, clown, magician, and now face-changing, I feel like I'm a whole circus by myself..."
Sherlock smiled helplessly and asked:
"What about you? Joy... I mean, how's the progress?"
It feels a bit weird to talk about these things right after getting out of bed, as if interests are mixed into the relationship... Angel complained in his heart.
But she was able to distinguish priorities. The top priority at the moment was to digest the potion as quickly as possible and improve her control over her extraordinary abilities. Therefore, she did not hesitate, but nodded and replied directly:
"After these few days of role-playing, I feel like the only thing left to fully digesting the potion is summarizing the key points of the role-play. I asked another witch of joy about this progress, and she believes that this progress is far beyond normal. She believes that the higher the order of the role-playing object, the better the feedback effect..."
After listening to Angel relay Laura's analysis, Sherlock also frowned, thinking about this problem, but soon gave up the effort - he was indeed only a Sequence 6, and had just been promoted.
I can't say that I'm special because of that mysterious gray fog, right?
After decisively skipping this topic, Sherlock quickly thought of another thing:
"Do you remember the friend I mentioned last time who died under a curse? Talim Dumont. At the time, we believed it was the work of the Witch Cult and the royal family. But just three days ago, Prince Edessak, the prince we suspected had ties to the Witch Cult, approached me and asked me to investigate his death under the guise of Talim's friend. He even provided me with his personal belongings, including his hair and flesh. Using these, I performed a divination, eliminating any interference. He indeed died from a witch's curse, but I can't see her face; all I can see is that she wore a sapphire ring."
Sapphire ring?
Angel's brain, which had been a little groggy from drinking the hot coffee, suddenly became alert as if it had been electrocuted.
Witch, sapphire ring...
She immediately thought of Triss, the Witch of Pleasure, who was unable to escape the arrangements of the Witch Cult.
After describing in detail the appearance of the ring worn by Triss, Sherlock's expression became serious.
"It looks like this one. The murderer I saw in the divination must be Triss, and she's by Prince Edessak's side. He actually asked me to investigate Talim's death... Is he just crying thief, or is he completely unaware of the existence of such a dangerous person lurking around him?"
"And the reason for Talim's death is now clear. He must have fallen in love with Triss and tried to take her away from the prince. This aligns with Triss's own wishes, but goes against the arrangements of the Witch Cult and 'that'. So, under the manipulation of these forces, Triss killed her only hope of escape with her own hands. How ironic."
Angel took over and analyzed.
"Whether the prince has been kept in the dark or is involved in these conspiracies, you must not get involved anymore," she said, looking at the worried Sherlock. "After your contact with the prince, you may even be caught in the sight of those behind the scenes. If you don't get out of this quickly, you'll be 'set up' again soon."
"Don't worry, I have no intention of exhausting myself in conducting an in-depth investigation for the prince. But I can't act too aggressively, as that would only arouse suspicion that a detective like me, who's only putting in the work, has a bigger secret," Sherlock replied with a forced smile. "The prince has stationed people near my house, ostensibly for protection, but actually for surveillance. I'll pretend to conduct an investigation over the next few days and eventually submit a report stating Talim's death was caused by natural causes. That's what the royal family told Prince Edessak, anyway. He can't possibly execute me for my incompetence and cowardice."
Although they both had different methods of countering divination, they still did not dare to mention "0-08", and were even more reluctant to discuss in depth the commission from Prince Edessak, but quickly changed the subject.
"Finally, let's talk about 'Lady Despair'."
Looking at Sherlock's serious face, Angel realized that he had put the most important thing last.
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