Westminster Bank

Baron was stunned.

'Fla is Lankao's daughter... If I remember correctly, aren't his wife and daughter both dead?'

'Or was everything Lankao revealed that day just a carefully constructed lie? Was the real situation completely different?'

The Blood Twin ritual allowed the spirits of his wife and daughter to inhabit the souls of Lady Eleanor's family. But then, because he and Jack disrupted the ritual, Lankao's wife and daughter dissipated completely, unable to get a fresh supply of blood in time.

'But now that I think about it, that was all just Lankao's side of the story. It might have matched the newspaper reports, but that doesn't mean he didn't hide or embellish things.'

'But if I think about it that way... if his daughter is still alive, doesn't that mean his wife should be alive too?'

A chill ran down Baron's spine.

Bagins said, "She's not his biological daughter."

"Not his biological daughter? Adopted, then."

Baron frowned, but Master Bagins continued, "Strictly speaking, she's the product of an Alchemy experiment... To be more precise, she's a soul that doesn't belong to this era."

'A soul that doesn't belong to this era...' A chill ran down Baron's spine. His PTSD was acting up.

"She is an artificial spirit Lankao accidentally created through a special Alchemy Ceremony. A Taboo created to be compatible with the Twin experiment."

'An artificial spirit...' Baron thought. 'Is Alchemy really that powerful?'

Bagins continued, "The fact that you know that name means you've uncovered the key to this whole affair... I'm not interested in how you found out about Fla. I just hope that if you get caught, you won't rat out an old man like me, will you?"

Baron nodded. He sensed fluctuations of Spiritual Pressure outside the Cigarettes and Alcohol Clinic. 'It must be the Law Enforcement Organization, here to capture me.'

A faint whistle of wind came from the rooftop. 'That must be the Hestia Family's Griffin Knight Order. I don't know how they did it, but they pinpointed my location this quickly...'

Baron looked at Master Bagins. "Master, you reported my location."

"A tip-off gets me one thousand pounds, and a Dwarf never turns down money. Besides, a Druid's nose is very sharp. You have a strong aura of 'Mystery' about you. Since you dared to come here at a time like this, it means you must have a plan."

The Dwarf Master took a puff from his pipe. "This way, I clear my name and make a profit, all without getting in your way. Why wouldn't I do it?"

'Are all Dwarves this shrewd?'

As Baron silently thought this and turned to leave, Bagins motioned to him. "Go out the back. Let them see you were here before you leave."

The next moment, a knock echoed from outside the Cigarettes and Alcohol Clinic. Don Quixote moved to open the door, but Master Bagins stopped him.

"Don Quixote, you're an eyesore. Scram into the closet. Don't come out without my permission."

Only after Don Quixote had disappeared, holding Sangji, did Master Bagins leisurely open the door.

Three people stood outside: a Saint and two Battle Nuns.

The Saint in the lead held a copy of the *Holy Scripture* and wore an affable smile. "Mister Dwarf, were you the one who made the report?"

The Dwarf Master took a deep drag from his pipe. "A man with a Cross Scar on his face. Looked a lot like the description in the papers. He came to my clinic for his injuries. I managed to trick him into waiting in the parlor..."

Elvin gave Lian and Camilla a meaningful look. The two Battle Nuns slipped in, hugging either side of the doorway. Elvin followed close behind and, just as expected, saw Baron in the parlor.

"Don't mess up my parlor! You bastards!" Bagins yelled.

Baron, noticing their sudden arrival, instantly vaulted over something and bolted for the back door. The Battle Nuns and Elvin gave chase immediately.

Soon, the chase spilled out of the building.

Once he confirmed that the sounds of the Griffins outside had faded into the distance, Master Bagins re-latched the front and back doors. He sat on the sofa, pipe dangling from his lips, and stared blankly at the burning closet.

He then struggled to pull a photograph from his breast pocket. He had only been studying it for a moment when a hand snatched it away.

He looked up. It was Constantine.

He had no idea when the man had appeared.

Baron said, "Master, that wasn't very sporting of you. What kind of person reports someone after telling only half the story?"

Baron, the Escape King, was meticulous and cautious. The timing of the report had felt far too convenient, so he had circled back to the clinic. As expected, he found an unexpected prize.

It was a group photograph of Master Bagins with several other people. In it were him, a slightly younger-looking Lankao, and a woman he'd never seen before. She was beautiful; even in the photograph, you could tell her skin was very fair.

He pointed at the unfamiliar woman in the photo and asked, "Is this Fla?"

Master Bagins: "..."

He sighed. "Fine. I can tell you everything. But in exchange, you have to tell me where you got that Time Grass."

"Swear it on the Dwarf King, Pulansite," the Dwarf Master stressed.

'Time Grass... The Master is still thinking about that, huh?'

"Deal," Baron said. "So, who is this woman? What exactly is Fla? Why did Lankao infiltrate the Lancelot's Family? And was Freya also involved in the Twin experiment—"

Bagins said, "Those questions can wait. I think you should try asking some of the questions buried deep in your heart. To be fair, I think only a sufficient number of your questions can be equal in value to the answer you might give me."

'Questions buried deep in my heart? Master, what are you talking about?'

Baron cleared his throat. "I don't have any questions buried in my heart. I just want to know the connection between Freya and Fla, and who this woman in the photograph is."

"And no other questions besides those?"