Mystery: The Silver Key

Chapter 31 The Intruder

Back in her room, Sirion didn't start writing; instead, she looked at the full-length mirror in the corner.

After the last incident with the crazed vampire, he stopped going out at night to digest the potion. During this time, the "Apprentice's" progress in digesting the potion slowed down again, and it could be said that there was no progress at all.

He actually had a somewhat immature method for digesting the potion: to explore the Mirror World.

Reaching such a special place will likely allow you to significantly digest the "Apprentice" potion, and might even allow you to complete the final digestion process.

Unfortunately, the world in the mirror is too dangerous for him now, especially since last time he felt a terrifying gaze, at least at the level of an angel, just by opening the door on the surface of the mirror. After that, nothing happened. But better safe than sorry.

He turned his gaze away from the full-length mirror, sat down at his desk, and opened the manuscript in front of him.

This is the result of his efforts during this period, a method that might make money: a novel adapted from the plot of a game he played before his transmigration, Teyvat Journey.

"It's because Roselle has almost blocked all the ways for transmigrators to get rich. I hope my writing isn't too bad, and I also hope that people in this world can accept this novel with its novel theme."

With a sigh, he picked up the round-bellied fountain pen that was placed aside and began to write.

...

At the same time, a horse-drawn carriage slowly came to a stop on the street below.

Inside the carriage, a woman wearing a beige long dress, a brown soft hat, and with slightly curly brown hair cascading down her back leaned out and whispered in the driver's ear:

"Hugh, are we really going to come here to investigate like this? Miss Audrey said that the target might be very dangerous, the kind of danger that has come into contact with unknown and hidden beings. What if there is a danger of remnants of an evil god? We might not even have time to teleport."

Ahead of her, the short coachman, named Hugh, raised his hand to lower the brim of his hat and said in a low, helpless voice, "That's why I had you meet me from a distance instead of coming here to risk your life with me."

"If we encounter danger, we won't even have anyone to ask for help."

The brown-haired woman behind her retorted, "With me by your side, at least we can teleport away immediately if we encounter danger. If you're alone, how can you escape?"

Hugh, disguised as a coachman, nodded helplessly: "Remember to follow my instructions later."

"I have investigated and found out that the person in the portrait provided by Miss Audrey is named Sirion, a history student at Backlund University. He is currently on leave at home to recuperate after experiencing a serious incident."

"That must have been an extraordinary incident, handled by the Mechanical Heart Squad of the Steam Church. My informant doesn't know the specifics of what happened, but it's certain that several students died at Backlund University at the time."

The brown-haired woman casually remarked, "I guess it's just another group of occult enthusiasts performing some dangerous ritual. These things are rare, but not unusual."

"As for Cyril who survived, perhaps he was lucky enough to happen to be there when the ritual was successful, or perhaps the mysterious being he encountered had no ill intentions towards him and simply let him go."

Hugh, sitting in the front, nodded slightly. Although she felt the guess was too idealistic, it did fit the current situation.

If an ordinary person who comes into contact with a hidden entity can still live normally with their family afterward, then either there is no problem or there is a big problem.

She personally prefers the first scenario, which has nothing to do with kindness, but rather with the desire to complete the commission in the safest and simplest way.

After all, Miss Audrey was very generous when it came to spending money.

...

On the second floor, at the desk by the window, Cyril, who was engrossed in writing his travelogue of Teyvat, suddenly stopped writing, frowned, and looked towards the living room on the first floor.

Although the thick floor blocked his view, he sensed a familiar spiritual fluctuation from that direction; an "apprentice" was using the ability to open doors, and it was to infiltrate his home.

"Which 'apprentices' are active in Backlund: the Aurora Society or the Gnostic Society?"

"I shouldn't have any conflict with them, so what other reason could it be?"

As he whispered, he turned his head to look at the full-length mirror in the corner, frowning in thought.

If we just stay behind this mirror and don't explore further, there shouldn't be any problems, right?

At the same time, two cautious, furtive figures silently made their way up the stairs to the second floor.

Dressed as a rickshaw driver, wearing a beret and an industrial mask that completely covered his face, Hugh reached out and patted the woman's wrist behind him, then pointed to the nearest door, signaling her to open it.

The latter did not refuse. She walked to the door, reached out and gently pushed it open. The locked door seemed to be non-existent, and she easily pushed it open.

This happened to be Sirien's room, and on the desk in front of the window were a round-bellied fountain pen and manuscripts that hadn't been put away yet.

Hugh entered the room first, cautiously looked around to make sure there was no danger, then turned to the woman behind him and whispered:

"There must have been someone here before, and he or she seems to have just left."

The brown-haired woman behind her exclaimed in surprise, "How is that possible? We didn't see anyone leave!"

"Maybe we should leave first. I have a feeling there's a pair of eyes watching us."

In a corner they didn't notice, Cyril's figure quietly appeared in the full-length mirror:

"An 'apprentice' and an 'arbitrator'—are the requirements to become a thief this high now?"

"We're not thieves, we're..."

The brown-haired woman's voice suddenly stopped halfway through her argument, as if an invisible hand had choked her throat, rendering her unable to utter a sound.

Beside her, Hugh already held a black iron dagger in his hand, his eyes warily scanning the figure that had suddenly appeared in the full-length mirror, his gaze flickering as if he were considering whether to break the mirror.

Ignoring their reactions, Sirien maintained his previous tone and asked, "Gentlemen, could you explain why you trespassed on private property?"

"Of course, you can choose not to say it, but I would consider it a malicious provocation."

As he spoke, he rummaged in his pocket with his right hand for a moment, then pulled out a dark iron dagger.

In the room, Hugh looked at the dagger that Cyril had suddenly pulled out and his own right hand, which was now empty, and spoke without hesitation:

"run!"

Behind her, the brown-haired woman raised her hand and pressed it on her shoulder. The two figures quickly faded and disappeared from the room.

After watching the two people who had suddenly barged into his home leave in a disheveled state, Xireen looked at the dagger in his hand and shook his head with some regret.

Jacob's wallet is not under his control; whatever he can take out of it is random, but it must be something within 5 meters of him, including his own belongings.

Money is a high priority, but if no one around you has any money, you'll take your own money out of your wallet.

It works randomly when everyone around him is broke, like the dagger in his hand right now.

Although this weapon looked to be of good quality, he was actually hoping to steal some cash from the two intruders earlier, or the stone bracelet that Fors was carrying.

Yes, Fors and Hugh.

He recognized the two women, one tall and one short, after they entered the room; to be precise, he recognized one of them.

Fors didn't try to hide himself at all when he broke into someone else's house.

Based on their distinct appearances, as well as the "apprentice" status and teleportation ability they had just revealed, he immediately recognized the two individuals.

"I just don't know why they broke into my house. Whose job were they on?"

He muttered something under his breath and looked back at the dark and deep space behind him, which had real boundaries and unreal, illusory passages leading to different mirrored spaces.

After taking a few glances, he looked away. The world in the mirror was too dangerous for him at the moment and not suitable for exploration.

After suppressing his curiosity, Cyril reached out and placed his hand on the edge of the mirror world in front of him. A faint blue light emanated from his palm, forming a blurry door without any tangible substance leading to the outside world.