Tuesday morning.
Having completed his mysticism curriculum, Klein stayed in the break room to play cards with Leonard, Kenley, and Royale.
Dunn entered and said, "There's a situation in Morse Town. Leonard, please handle it."
Klein asked, "Captain, what kind of situation?"
Dunn explained, "Recently, there have been a few paranormal cases in the area. Firstly, people would hear sobs when walking past the cemetery and see vague figures flash by. Then, a widow encountered her deceased husband in the middle of the night. The people in the town are believers of the Goddess, so the local priest reported the situation."
Klein said, "Captain, there might be a secret link for these paranormal cases to happen so suddenly. In this situation, divination could provide an important clue. I think I can help Leonard."
Klein added, "Some of these things might require ritualistic magic to purify them."
"Makes sense." Dunn said, "You and Leonard will head to Morse Town then.
Hmm, you won't be able to make it for your combat training in the afternoon. I'll send someone to inform Gawain."
Klein then said, "Captain, I think we should prepare for the worst. If there's a powerful wraith behind the paranormal events, it might be very dangerous for only Leonard and me. Plus, it takes two, uh—three hours to get to Morse Town, right? Even if we manage to send a telegram to request backup in time, we would still have to hold out for quite a while."
"So?"
"I want to get the assistance of another teammate." Klein said, "And, according to the rules, a mission with three or more Nighthawks involved can apply for a level three Sealed Artifact. Yes, 3-0782 is most suited for this job."
Leonard said, "Exactly your style. Careful, cautious, taking no risks."
"Captain, what do you think?"
"We should really take extra care against any accidents. There have been too many coincidences lately." Dunn nodded. "Kenley, join Leonard and Klein on their trip to Morse Town. Oh, hurry up and write an application. After I sign it, retrieve Sealed Artifact 3-0782 from Chanis Gate."
Klein left the recreation room and put on his black tuxedo. He took his hat and cane, then waited together with Leonard for Kenley at the stairway that connected to the basement.
Leonard said, "I think you'd better give up on any unrealistic dreams."
"Ah... What?" Klein replied.
"Even during a mission, it will be impossible for you to discover my secret and understand my uniqueness."
Klein asked, "How can you be so sure that my uniqueness won't help to reveal your secret?"
Leonard smiled and said, "It will, huh? I shall wait for you to discover it then."
Soon, the small-framed Kenley brought the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem up the winding stairs.
Then, they walked towards the carriage that belonged to the Nighthawks.
...
They finally arrived at Morse Town around lunchtime.
The dates representing the Volcanic constellation were coming to an end, and the Bumper Harvest constellation was going to rule everyone's life.
At that moment, a middle-aged man in a black priest's gown walked over and said, "Praise the Lady. Are you the friends that Saint Selena Cathedral sent to help us?"
"Yes, Priest Siur. May the Goddess bless you." Leonard jumped off the carriage and replied, "We're here to take care of the recent paranormal incidents."
"Seemingly. Seemingly." The gray-haired, blue-eyed Siur saw many townsfolk approaching as he quickly emphasized.
Morse Town wasn't big. Regardless of which direction one chose to travel in, one would enter the plains within ten minutes. The people who stayed there knew each other, so what happened earlier had spread.
Many townsfolk were waiting for the Church of the Evernight Goddess to send people to resolve the problem. Hence, when they saw that the priest was greeting three strangers, they quickly surrounded them out of curiosity.
Leonard chuckled and said, "Priest, don't worry. We're professionals. Look, we brought holy water, silver daggers, dark sacred emblems, and also garlic."
He took out the described items from the inner pockets of his clothes as though he was pulling a magic trick.
Leonard said, "Let's have lunch at the church first. Then, we shall take care of those matters."