Chapter 1 Aboard the Queen Rodericka

In the distance, a colossal behemoth slowly approached, four towering smokestacks spewing out plumes of white steam into the sky.

This “Queen Rodericka” was a long-haul cruise ship under the jurisdiction of the Ruying Sun Shipping Company. It wasn’t really owned by any princess; they had simply chosen the name to give it a luxurious and high-end feel.

The ship's hull rose from the sea to a height of roughly a dozen stories, with at least ten decks visible.

This steel behemoth possessed all the hallmarks of the era: steam, immensity, rivets, and multiple gun emplacements.

Enormous iron plates were pieced together into the hull with thick rivets and painted in black and gold. Unlike ordinary cruise ships, it had a row of cannon rooms along the hull, with thick gun barrels protruding outwards. It made the cruise ship look like a muscular gentleman holding a harpoon. Though not aesthetically pleasing, this would deter most pirate ship attacks.

Suren made out the white lettering on the hull and called to Kama and the Aberke siblings, “Let’s go.”

…

Suren took the two into the small void realm. After a few teleports, he waited in the sea.

When the giant ship was less than a hundred meters away, he found an empty area and teleported directly onto it.

This cruise ship appeared to be about the same size as the Eternal Night Emperor, but the steel cruise ship was much more stable than a sailing warship. Plus, the weather was good, and there weren't any waves. Standing on the deck, it was perfectly steady.

Once on board, Suren took out the Mirror Organization communicator and asked, “Mr. Kit, I'm on the ship. Where are you?”

After a moment, the communicator crackled to life, “Suren, you're here already? Oh~ wait a moment, I'm chatting about life with a beautiful lady."

Suren vaguely guessed what was happening, and his tone turned strange. "Am I disturbing you at an inopportune moment?"

A hearty laugh came from the communicator. "Hahaha... Just a moment, I’ll be right there.”

“No rush, you go ahead…”

Suren listened to the heavy breathing that sounded like exercise and chuckled wryly to himself. "Kit really is as much of a playboy as ever."

He released the Aberke siblings again.

His two disciples couldn't always stay in the lab; it was good for them to see more of the world.

Aberke was still clutching an alchemical text, seemingly uninterested in anything to do with the ship. After being trapped in the [Boyle's Mechanical Puppet Heart] for several years, he had a concentration that allowed him to endure loneliness at any time.

Kama, on the other hand, looked around with great interest, the sea breeze tugging at her coffee-colored braids. A thick sense of emotion welled up in the girl's eyes. "Many years ago, when my father was still alive, I also took a voyage like this. I was only seven then… It’s been so many years."

All these years, she had been searching the pirate circles for the culprits who destroyed their manor. Returning to civilized society once again felt like a lifetime ago.

Aberke cocked his head and looked at his sister, seemingly not understanding the emotion.

Suren listened and turned his head slightly.

He released his senses and quickly familiarized himself with the layout of the ship.

…

The three of them were looking at the scenery by the railing.

Before Kit arrived, several young students of about Kama's age passed by in the corridor.

They were called students because they were wearing the same uniform, with the eagle crest of the “Ruying Royal Academy” pinned to their chests.

This was Ruying's premier alchemy academy.

Suren hadn't expected to meet students from the Ruying Royal Academy on the ship and glanced at them.

The uniforms were made of a high-end burgundy fabric, which was clearly expensive. The collars and cuffs also had meticulously crafted gold buttons and silver thread. The boys were wearing neat suits and shiny leather shoes, while the girls wore plaid pleated skirts and looked youthful and beautiful.

Almost all the students in the Royal Academy were the children of nobles.

The temperament of these six or seven passing students was indeed different from anyone Suren had met before. They were confident, arrogant, and high-spirited.

However, that good impression shattered in an instant.

As these youngsters passed by, they glanced at Suren's group, revealing obvious disdain. They swept past like a flock of haughty swans.

Not only did they pass by, but they also whispered to each other.

"Amy, did you see that just now? That kid seems to be reading a very advanced alchemy text.”

"Tch, showing off. How could a little brat like that understand Master Basil Valentine's *Triumphal Chariot of Antimony*? Oh, don't be silly. Even the senior students wouldn't necessarily understand such a complex alchemical text. People from the countryside always want to stand out."

"Let's go quickly, we still have to go to the exhibition hall. The professor assigned us to 'write a report on ancient relics,' and I'm going to study that 'Twenty-Two Arcana Tarot Card.' It's said to be a genuine relic passed down from the Dawn Era.”

“I heard that ‘Phantom Thief Kit’ threatened to steal that Tarot card before. It seems it must be the real thing. After all, that guy only steals good stuff…”

“Oh, don't mention that damned thief! Last month, my family's jewelry store safe was broken into. That guy stole an antique necklace from the Tetra Dynasty, and my father was furious.”

“I heard people say that ‘Phantom Thief Kit’ is a super handsome guy. They say he’s a gentleman, romantic, and charming… Oh, I wish I could meet him.”

“That’s right, I heard that too. Everyone who's seen him says he's super handsome.”

"Oh! Lina, Elizabeth, stop being infatuated. He’s just a despicable rogue. Besides, he specializes in seducing upper-class ladies; he's not interested in young girls like you."

“…”

Suren and his disciples were just standing in the corridor, enjoying the breeze, yet they were inexplicably caught in the crossfire.

Aberke had been reading his alchemical text and didn't pay any attention to them. It was precisely this act that these guys mocked. After all, his body was only six years old.

But now, under Suren's guidance, he had already come into contact with a lot of advanced alchemical knowledge.

This *Triumphal Chariot of Antimony* was a high-level material crafting book commonly used as a reference by alchemists. Normally, alchemy academy instructors wanted their students to build a solid foundation before they came into contact with such profound and complex knowledge.

But Suren’s teaching was different. As long as Aberke could understand it, he would continue to guide him in depth.

After all, geniuses and ordinary people learn in different ways.

As a result, Aberke's knowledge was now rather specialized, but in some areas, he far surpassed his peers.

Despite being ridiculed, Aberke seemed oblivious and continued to read his book.

Kama, feeling indignant for her brother, said softly, "Those guys are really arrogant."

"Heh."

Suren also smiled.

He had heard before that the people of Ruying's capital had a natural arrogance, looking down on everyone else as country bumpkins. He hadn't expected to experience it on the ship before even arriving in Lington.

However, he was more concerned about other information.

"Kit really has quite the reputation…"

Suren chuckled wryly.

Just then, a head popped out from a window on the deck above, calling out enthusiastically, “Hey, Suren!”

Suren looked up and saw the handsome, blond-haired, blue-eyed man. He replied, "Kit… over here."

He had originally wanted to call out his name, but thinking about his bad reputation, he stopped himself.

This person was none other than "Magician" Curteis M. Kit, one of the veteran members of the Mirror Organization.

Suren still vividly remembered the first time he saw Mr. Mirror and the others hunting the bizarre in the Dawn Ruins, and this guy used a card to fly around in a dashing manner.

Just like now, this guy leaped down from the deck above and swung down by holding onto the railing.

Incredibly flashy.

Any girl who saw him would definitely be unable to take her eyes off him.

…

Although Suren didn't think this guy was as handsome as he was, he had to admit that Kit had a better look.

He was wearing a neat white suit, shiny leather shoes, the trendiest slicked-back hairstyle, and even his eyebrows were meticulously trimmed. He also had a faint scent of men's cologne.

No matter how you looked at it, he was a handsome, rich, young gentleman.

This temperament wasn't feigned.

Suren knew that Kit had originally been the young master of a prominent family in Inner Lington.

This guy was a natural at making friends. After Suren joined the Mirror Group, he had worked with him a few times, and they had naturally become close.

When Kit saw Suren, he gave him a warm hug. "Oh, my friend, long time no see."

Suren was used to this kind of enthusiasm. He joked, "Kit, aren't you afraid that one day you'll be caught under someone's bed and have all three legs broken?"

Kit didn't care at all and corrected him. "Oh no, Suren, you don't understand. That's love."

Suren laughed. "You certainly have a lot of experience with love."

Kit shamelessly proclaimed his playboy philosophy, saying with deep affection, "How can a person only fall in love with one person in their life?"

Suren looked helpless and didn't let this guy ramble on. He introduced, "These are my disciples, Kama and Aberke."

Kama and Aberke also politely greeted this senior member of the Dawn Organization.

After exchanging greetings, Kit conjured three tickets from his pocket like a magic trick. "These are first-class tickets. Sorry, Suren, it’s not that I didn’t want to get you something better, but special-class tickets require registration with a noble's seal and would attract too much attention."

"Thanks."

Suren didn't care about any of this and took the tickets.

He didn't mention it at all and asked directly, "What's going on with the 'Hermit Giants' Order' on this ship?"

Hearing the serious matter, Kit restrained his playful expression and replied, "Didn't the leader say to pay close attention to this church organization? Black happened to get a top-secret intelligence report that a bishop of that church was on board, the highest-ranking cleric known in that sect. So I came along personally. I've been observing that person these days and confirmed that he has contact with people in rooms V3011, A2022, and B1066, a total of about a dozen people. They seem to be preparing some secret missionary activities…”

Suren frowned slightly as he listened. "Have those people shown anything unusual?"

Killing these Outer God believers wasn't difficult, but it wouldn't solve the problem.

The purpose of "Dawn" was to promote alchemical civilization.

Mr. Mirror once said that she didn't care who the Ruying Emperor was, but it absolutely couldn't be a god believer!

Now that it had been confirmed that the "Hermit Giants' Order" had a direct relationship with the Ruying royal family, the matter could only be completely resolved by tracing the connections to find the high-level figure in the royal family.

Kit shook his head. "Not yet. Those guys are very mysterious and haven't shown many clues, or even met each other. I vaguely feel that there may be ‘bigger fish’ behind them, so I haven't made any moves to avoid alerting them."

"Mm."

Suren nodded as he listened.

This guy Kit looked frivolous, but he was very reliable when it came to getting things done.

Intuition told Suren that something was wrong, so he asked, "Have you found anything special about this ship?"

Kit had obviously investigated thoroughly, saying, "So far, it seems no different from an ordinary cruise ship. This type of cruise ship sails twice a month, at the beginning and middle of the month. There are nearly five thousand people on board, mostly passengers and merchants, and a small number of nobles. There's also a group of students from the Ruying Royal Academy on the ship, who are on a normal ‘ocean observation trip’... As for anything else, there's an 'Ancient Artifacts Exhibition' held by a mysterious collector on the ship, and there will be a charity gala auction in a few days."

"Oh."

Suren listened, lost in thought.

He had all the necessary information, but nothing stood out.

After thinking about it, he asked again, "Are there any special exhibits at the exhibition?"

Kit said, "Basically nothing special. A mysterious collector is exhibiting his family's collection, mostly precious antiques, and some cursed objects. I went to take a look and didn't see anything special. There's no accurate information about the collector's identity yet. I learned from Mrs. Marjorie that the collector is a plantation owner from the South. But yesterday, Mrs. Silas said it was a fallen old noble family..."

“…”

Suren also thought that Kit had been very thorough.

It was already impressive to have investigated so much information in this short time since sailing.

However, this guy's source of information seemed to be those noble ladies?

Kit seemed to see the strangeness in Suren's eyes and winked to defend himself. "You have to know that when it comes to information about high society, no intelligence organization is more well-informed than the little circles of noble ladies."

Suren gave an awkward laugh and shook his head slightly.

Kit continued, "I suspect that the mysterious collector may be problematic. And it just so happens that there is one of the 'Twenty-Two Arcana Tarot Cards,' the [Hanged Man Card], in this exhibition. That's a very precious real thing. Many people are coming to this charity auction for it. I plan to use this as an excuse to steal it and see if I can lure out that collector..."

Tarot cards were very common in this world and were usually popular among mystics, mostly used for divination.

Suren had never heard of the "Twenty-Two Arcana Tarot Cards."

But he became interested when he heard the words [Hanged Man Card]. "Is there anything special about that card?"

Kit was not only a phantom thief, but also a collector himself, and had a great knowledge of treasures.

When he mentioned treasures, his expression was like seeing a beautiful woman, and he spoke eloquently. "That thing has quite the origin. It's said that one of the five elders of the Rosicrucian Order in the Dawn Era created a set of special Tarot cards, a total of twenty-two. Each one holds a great secret.”

"This isn't just a rumor. There are many records in the surviving autobiographies of great adventurers that someone obtained the original card and found a great opportunity by deciphering the encryption methods on the card. This is what later generations called the 'Twenty-Two Arcana Tarot Cards.' Of course, there are a lot of fakes on the market. The major museums and private collectors have no less than eight thousand, if not ten thousand, 'Twenty-Two Arcana Tarot Cards'..."

After a pause, his eyes gleamed, and he said, "And the one on display this time is the [One-Eyed Hanged Man Card], which is said to be related to the inheritance of a supreme god of an ancient mythological civilization. I've seen it before, and I can't say if it's the original, but it's definitely an antique from the Dawn Era!"

Suren also became very interested as he listened.

He had once seen a complete stone carving left behind by the ancient giants in the cursed space of Cursed Valley, which depicted the story of the high-ranking deity who wanted to obtain "knowledge" and hung himself upside down next to the Well of Wisdom.

Among the many legends about the [Hanged Man Card], Suren felt that this mythical legend was more reliable.

He also guessed that this might be related to the origin of the [All-Knowing Eye] talent.

Moreover!

Others didn't know what the "Five Elders of the Rosicrucian Order" were, only that it was a distant legend, but Suren knew it and had personally seen the legacy they left behind!

Mr. Mirror once said that the five stone sculptures in the basement of Storm Manor in the Dawn City Ruins were those five!

Suren's [All-Knowing Eye] and [Death Reaper] were inherited from the five stone sculptures.

If that card was really left behind by one of the Five Elders, wouldn't that coincide with the origin story of the [All-Knowing Eye]?

Kit looked at Suren with interest and said, "That card is currently in the heavily guarded exhibition hall, so there's no chance to get it. But it will be taken out at the charity auction in five days. Do you want to get it out then so you can take a look?"

Suren smiled. "No need. I'll go take a look myself then."

He had the All-Knowing Eye, so even if he didn't get it in his hands, he could just go see it.

Just then, a shout that sounded like a noble lady came from upstairs, "Hey, Jack, where are you?"

Kit heard this, cocked his head, and looked out. "Miss Ruth, just a moment, I've met a friend."

Suren's eyelids twitched.

This pseudonym... how lecherous.

He was clearly a repeat offender.

Kit didn't plan to stay long and turned to Suren. "Alright, I have to go look for clues. Contact me through the communicator if anything comes up."

"Mm…"

Suren rolled his eyes as he listened.

These clues were being found…

As Kit left, he looked at Suren's group's attire again and reminded him, "Oh, right, you'll have to change your clothes. I guarantee that if you wear those northern Ruying country bumpkin clothes on the upper deck, you'll definitely be looked down on by those arrogant Lington people. Especially when attending the charity gala..."

Suren's expression turned strange as he listened.

It wasn't that they would be looked down upon, but that they already had been looked down upon.

Looking again, Kit was already gone.

…

Suren took the three tickets and quickly found the first-class cabin A2077.

As he passed by room A2022, he paid special attention to it.

These first-class cabins all had some simple restrictions, such as soundproofing and preventing detection.

But they couldn't stop soul perception.

Suren discovered that there were four people in the room, and without disturbing them, he made a mental note.

Then he returned to his room.

The first-class cabin wasn't too big, but it was more than enough for the three of them.

It had a bed with snow-white sheets, a separate bathroom, and a window with a sea view, which was a nice environment.

Suren and his disciples were just like they were in the lab before, doing what they needed to do.

Later in the evening, he went to the exhibition hall but didn't see the [Hanged Man Card]. There was only an exhibit labeled "Replica."

He asked the staff and was told that it was to guard against "Phantom Thief Kit" and would only be taken out on the night of the auction.

Suren gave up on it.

…

In the following days, Suren took Kama and Aberke around the ship to explore.

From the first-class cabins to the lower-level common cabins, they visited them all.

One was to learn about the local customs of the various regions of Ruying, and the other was to confirm how many people from the "Hermit Giants' Order" were on the ship.

Kit could only rely on experience and clues to judge,

But Suren had a way to directly identify the believers.

From the information he currently had, those Outer God believers all had that red mysterious parasite in their bodies!

And Suren had obtained a live sample of the parasite from Baron Siegel when he killed him in the Sea Ruins. After Dr. Banks studied it, although he hadn't fully understood the characteristics of the parasite yet, he had developed a rapid-response reagent.

Once that reagent came into contact with the parasite, it would trigger some special "allergic" reactions.

Banks adjusted the concentration and created a more subtle "perfume."

As long as the perfume was sprayed on the body, the Outer God believers within a certain range would experience slight discomfort and sneeze.

Suren had tried it and sprayed a little at the door of room A2022.

Then, the people who came out of that room did show the corresponding slight allergic reaction.

Suren also used this method to find a few more god believers on the ship.

But they all seemed insignificant, just small-time characters.

Until this day, Suren discovered a big problem.

The leader of the students from the Ruying Royal Academy, their professor, actually had an allergic reaction to the "perfume"!

And this was information that the Dawn Organization didn't currently have.

Black and Kit only thought that there was a high-ranking "Pope" level figure on this ship.

But it would definitely not be this sixth-tier professional professor!

Suren realized that with so many believers gathered on this "Queen Rodericka," and at such high levels, they were very likely brewing a major conspiracy!