Chapter 31: Star Watch

Once the Aces team member walked out of Jimmy's house, he breathed out a sigh of relief, went near his wooden bed, and then sat on it.

"Good acting, Jimmy." A creaky laugh filled with evilness came from his unique red bracelet, causing his body to tremble uncontrollably. It was the voice of an older man!

"Don't be sad. Your time hasn't come yet." The old voice muttered like a devil.

A chill crept up to Jimmy's spines as he heard those words from his unique bracelet. He soon shook his head and then asked in confusion.

"Why didn't you reveal your true identity to your inheritor? If you reveal your presence to Charles now, it would be easier for you to gain your freedom, right?" Jimmy leaned his back against a cotton pillow and asked.

"No. I felt something strange about his arrival. Moreover, there is still some time to get my freedom so I don't need to act rashly." The red-bracelet shone as it said in a cold tone and then asked after some deliberation,

"Why did you reveal your personal matter to them? Do you think that they will show some pity and tries to save you when the 'right' time comes?"

A bitter smile crept on Jimmy's face as he hung his head in helplessness. Yes, he did reveal his personal information to gain some help from Emilia in the future. But he knew that it was just false hope. Even so, he wouldn't give up his life easily.

'I will find a way to save myself and then escape from this devil.' He clenched his fist and swore to himself.

"Your thoughts are leaking outside, Jimmy. I like your resolve to live longer. Too bad, I don't have any plan to leave any loopholes behind." After saying those words, the red bracelet dimmed for a second and then went silent.

Meanwhile, Jimmy sighed heavily and laid on his wooden bed. He knew that his end was nearing and became depressed.

...

In the meantime, Aces Team member hopped on the silk-curtained carriage, and soon the coachman drove the carriage from Slum Street. Emilia sat beside Charles inside the carriage like the last time and started asking Luke a few questions. After that, she cleared her throat and said about the current mission's progression.

"After asking the four suspects, I came to a conclusion." She paused for a second and continued with a solemn tone.

"We have two more suspects. The first one is Jeffery's employer 'Red Prince' and another one is 'Watcher'. But we know nothing about them. We only have one clue and that is that they both seem to be after A-035, a Series-A artifact. Now, if we want to find the real kidnapper, we need more details about them. So, for the next few days, I will go to the security department and search for them in the confidential files. As for you guys, I will give you guys a separate mission and you have to search for clues about the abnormalities on your own."

After that, she started to take out a blue quill and wrote a detailed report in a notebook.

As the carriage drove past Gold Street, Emilia finished her writing and then turned her attention towards Charles.

"Charles, go and get the copy of Runal Language Book from Russell. Higher-ups already sent that book two days ago." Saying so, she leaned her back against the leather seat and closed her eyes.

In the meantime, Charles widened his eyes in surprise and soon nodded his head.

'Why is she helping me again?' Although he was puzzled by her motive, he didn't put much thought into it.

While he was in muse, the carriage reached the main street and soon went to Ivy Street. A few minutes later, Aces Team members walked out of the curtained carriage as the carriage reached 35 Ivy Street and went inside the building.

Recalling Emilia's earlier words, Charles walked into the reception hall and soon arrived in front of Russell's office room.

He stood there for a moment in hesitation and soon knocked it twice.

"The door is open," The Branch Head Russell's old voice came from inside.

Raising his brows a little, Charles pushed the door open and then walked in with light footsteps. In the meantime, Emilia also followed after him and then walked along with him like mimicking his footsteps.

Charles's gaze swept past the table and soon landed on Russell. He sat on the ladderback chair and appeared to be in the middle of reading while adjusting his monocle from time to time.

"Branch Head, Charles is here to get that Runal Language Book. Did you forget to give it to him?" Emilia went near the wooden table as she spoke in a loud tone and casually placed a notebook on the table.

Meanwhile, Russell glared at Emilia for a moment, opened the cupboard, took out a black-covered book from it, and then tossed it to Charles.

On the other hand, Charles skillfully caught the black-covered book and placed it inside his leather bag.

"You can go now, Charles," Russell said while looking at Emilia's notebook for a second and then stared at her in confusion.

In the meantime, Charles bowed lightly towards Emilia and walked out of the office room silently.

Once Charles closed the reception door, Russell heaved a deep sigh and asked in a gloomy tone.

"Why did you tell him about the Runal language book? Don't forget that you are working under me, Emilia."

Upon hearing those cold words, Emilia curled her lips upwards and asked with a mischievous smile on her face,

"Is that so? Indeed, you are in a higher position than me, Branch Head. But, that doesn't mean that you could do whatever you want. Charles has potential and I'm already planning to take him as an Aces team member. I don't care about your personal matters. But if you plan to make trouble for him, I won't sit back and watch as most members would."

Anger swelled up in his head as Russell glared at Emilia in an icy face.

"He has yet to become a member of Aces team, Emilia. The final decision lies with me."

A deep sigh leaked out of Emilia's mouth as she heard those words from Russell. Shaking her head, she took out a sealed letter from her backpack and placed it on the table.

"I know that you would say something like this. That's why I asked Archbishop Abel Wilson and got his permission from the Snow Cathedral."

A troubled look appeared on Russell's face as he heard her words. He suddenly remembered that the person in front of him was not a normal member and got a headache.

"Why are you interfering, Emilia?" He asked in the same gloomy tone.

A chuckle leaked out of her mouth as she stared at him in amusement for a second and soon asked coldly.

"Why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't I try to recruit a member of the Nightwind family into my team? Do I look like a dumb idiot to you?"

A look of astonishment and shock appeared on Russell's face as he realized the situation.

"You knew about his background? How did you find out?"

"My brother came here to see me yesterday and told me everything about Charles's real Identity."

Upon hearing those words, Russell went dead silent for a whole minute.

"Archbishop Abel..." He gritted his teeth as he mumbled Archbishop Abel's name and soon turned his attention towards the notebook.

"Did you finish your mission?" He asked while raising his brows and then picked it up with both hands.

He then flipped the pages as he skimmed through the notebook for the next few seconds and then stopped his hand.

"Where did Jeffery go?"

"How would I know?" Emilia didn't even look into Russell's eyes and responded casually.

Letting out a helpless sigh, Russell started reading the notebook page by page and soon finished it.

"Strange coincidences? Are you suspecting that there is a high-rank Mystic manipulating everything from the shadows?" He stared at Emilia's face for a moment and asked.

"I'm not 100 percent sure. But, I want to dig further and find out the truth about those three [Historians]'s disappearance." Emilia turned her face solemnly and said.

"Are you sure about this? This case looks more like a normal one to me." Russell frowned.

"Nope, we got two more clues." She paused for a second and soon added,

"We would like to do some research about those clues. To do that, our Aces Team members need a permission letter from the Branch Leader of Withering Shadows."

A worried expression appeared on Russell's face as he stared at her for whole ten seconds before raising his hands in defeat.

"I will give the permission letter in an hour. But, don't cause trouble in the city." Saying so, he leaned back on the ladderback chair and adjusted his monocle.

"You can go back now." He then said in a tired tone.

Emilia stared at Russell with a hesitant look on her face and said in a low voice.

"I'm not done yet, Branch Head."

Russell almost shouted in frustration as he glared at her with daggering eyes and then spoke.

"Say it."

"I also got a permission letter from my brother to use the 'Star Watch'," Emilia said while taking out another letter from her leather bag and passed it to Russell.

"Impossible!" Russell stood up from his seat while slamming his fist on the wooden desk and stared at her fiercely.

"You are not its owner, Branch Head. The 'Star Watch' Artifact belongs to Life Church and I have the permission to use it now." Emilia stared into his eyes without minding his angry stare and said calmly.

"Why don't you ask your brother and replace my place?" Russell got infuriated inside and thundered.

'I already submitted a replacement form for that.' She mumbled inwardly and waited patiently.

In the meantime, Russell opened the nearby cabin unwillingly and took out a silver watch from it. It was made from rare titanium metal and looked very ancient.

Unlike the other watches, the outer glass was made of a rare 'Time' elemental crystal, which could even resist the power of 'Time' and 'Fate.' The ticking sound echoed loudly in the office room as he took out the watch from the cabin and placed it on the wooden desk.

"Take it," Russell said as he glanced at the watch for a moment and then sighed heavily.

In the meantime, Emilia locked her gaze firmly on the silver watch for three more seconds and picked it up with both hands. She then looked into the glass-like crystal and furrowed her brows as she noticed a difference.

Instead of needle hands, numbers, and dials, she saw countless star-like dots inside.

"Don't stare at it too much, it will pull your consciousness into it and show you what really a 'Time' can do," Russell spoke as he noticed that she was looked at the Star watch and warned.

Nodding her head, Emilia shifted her gaze hurriedly from the silver watch and then asked in confusion.

"How can I use this?"

"Our church hasn't completely studied the secrets of this 'Star Watch' yet. From the guide, the wielder can activate two abilities now. The first one is an ability called 'Fog of Time.' If you activate this ability, you will be able to completely erase your presence from the world, no, from the 'Time' itself. Even the Churches' divine spells or strange 'Fate' spells won't affect you. Unless you reveal your presence on your own, no one will be able to notice you. Ah, I omit the Divines and the Taboo Existences. They might have a way to track your location using their strange spells.

The second ability is called 'True Vision.' When you activate this ability, you will see one of your most possible futures. But that future might not come true if someone sensed the change in the trajectory of 'Fate' and interfered with it. Both abilities have a cool down time of seven days. So, use it carefully."

Emilia's eyes went wide as she heard Russell's explanation. She then skillfully put the watch on her hand and spoke while placing her hand on her forehead,

"I forget to say goodbye to Charles." Saying so, she turned around hurriedly and walked out of Russell's office room with fast footsteps.

"Are you a kid?" Russell shouted at her from behind and then sat on the ladderback chair with a depressed face.

He then took out a silver ring from his cupboard and started muttering in a weird tone.

A few seconds later, the ring shone brightly in yellow light and formed into an illusionary figure of an old man. He had white hair, a wrinkled, pale face, oceanic eyes, and a long nose. He wore a golden robe and appeared to be in the middle of eating.

"What is it?" The golden-robed man stopped his fork and asked while staring sharply at Russell.

"A change has been occurred, Grandfather." Russell paused for a second and soon started informing Anderson about Emilia's sudden actions.

Upon hearing his words, Anderson fell into deep silence for a whole minute and soon spoke,

"Let her be for a while. Offending her will be more like offending Archbishop Abel himself and it won't do any good for us." Anderson said while stroking his long beard and soon added,

"Although the 'Star Watch' is in her hands now, it doesn't have the ability to perceive one's accurate future like Astronomer class members. Be careful of any abnormalities in Riverdale City. The time is nearing." After saying those words, he tapped his wrist and closed his eyes. A heartbeat later, the whole illusionary image began to dim and soon disappeared, leaving Russell alone in the office room.

...