"Another failure..."
With a sigh, Mr. Sarrie—dressed in a crisp white shirt and a snug brown vest—appeared near the pitch-black figure and casually removed its disguise.
It turned out to be a mechanical puppet, its surface unnaturally smooth.
Unlike the others around it brandishing six-barreled machine guns, this puppet was made of an unusually refined material. Just from the sheen alone, it resembled obsidian, with bubble-like internal structures forming a snowflake-like pattern.
Ebner wasn't surprised. He had already learned through the "magic mirror" that the black figure wasn't human.
This must be crafted from shards of "Shadow Stone"... From what I know, the core of Shadow Stone is one of the main ingredients in the "Hermit" potion... Its fragments are indeed excellent for channeling shadow-based spells.
Is Mr. Sarrie trying to develop a stealth-type mechanical puppet?
While speculating, Ebner watched with interest as Mr. Sarrie detached the puppet's head to inspect what had gone wrong.
After observing for a while, Ebner more or less figured out the issue: the defensive mechanical puppets mainly relied on thermal and acoustic detection. Although this shadow-stealth puppet, thanks to its Shadow Stone material, could block heat and sound, its body shape was far too irregular—full of sharp angles and flat surfaces. That was probably the main reason it got "caught" by its peers.
A puppet, after all, wasn't a true "Hermit." Its use of Beyonder abilities lacked flexibility.
Seeing that Mr. Sarrie couldn't pinpoint the problem, Ebner lifted the psychological aspect of his "Ivans' Secret Barrier" and, smiling, offered a suggestion:
"Why stick to a humanoid design? The arms, legs, even the head are purely decorative—entirely unnecessary, aren't they?"
He had come here to warn Mr. Sarrie and Fanny about potential danger. Since he'd already encountered one of them and no outsiders were present, he figured he might as well show himself.
Startled by the sudden voice, Mr. Sarrie instinctively activated all three of the mystical items on his person, and the villa's ritual alert level surged to maximum.
To his astonishment, however, the puppets—each armed with six gun barrels—remained utterly unresponsive to the intruder, as if they couldn't detect him at all.
"Don't be alarmed, Mr. Sarrie..." As Ebner spoke, he employed his "Psychiatrist" abilities, subtly calming the other man's emotions.
Cotton Sarrie steadied himself, scrutinized the intruder carefully, then frowned and asked, "Mr. Ebner Bryan?"
"It's me… Apologies for dropping in unannounced." As he spoke, Ebner retrieved the Roselle diary booklet he'd prepared beforehand—the very one Mr. Sarrie had handed him during that banquet months ago. He presented it now as proof of identity.
After glancing at the booklet and confirming it was indeed the one he had given away, Mr. Sarrie exhaled softly, though he still remained cautious. "Mr. Bryan, I must say, this is quite the surprise..."
After a pause, he asked, "If you went to the trouble of sneaking in and revealing yourself, I assume it's something important?"
Ebner nodded, just about to respond, when a voice full of surprise rang in his ears: "Ebner? You're back in Backlund?"
Looking toward the voice, he saw a chestnut-haired woman appear at the stairwell—Miss Fanny.
She wore close-fitting riding pants made of fine cotton beneath her spacious beige gown, with a pair of tall black boots on her feet. The outfit didn't restrict her movements at all while also accentuating her excellent figure, making her appear both seductive and capable.
She had clearly sensed the villa's ritual alert level rise and had come down without hesitation to help her grandfather…
Should I say—truly worthy of being a "Pugilist"? When you can't rely on law or rules, you solve things with strength instead?Ebner's gaze was momentarily drawn to her. After a brief thought, he made no effort to hide it and openly gave Fanny a once-over before smiling and greeting her, "Fanny, it's been a while."
—For a lady from Intis, averting one's eyes to avoid looking at her is actually an insult.
"It has been a while." Fanny responded briefly. She was about to approach Ebner, but then seemed to notice that something about the scene and atmosphere felt… off. She paused and asked in confusion:
"Grandfather, did something happen?"
"That's something you'll have to ask the good detective here… His visit wasn't exactly by the book—he trespassed into the villa," Mr. Sarrie chuckled. By now, he had realized Ebner bore no malicious intent, and tried to ease the tension with a laugh. However, the ritual's alert remained fully primed for activation.
Trespassing? That sounded a bit like the dream from the other night…Fanny's expression tinged red as some thought crossed her mind. With a hint of shyness, she asked, "Ebner, why didn't you send someone ahead to notify us of your visit?"
Miss… I know what you're thinking. The "Magic Mirror" even replayed that dream of yours for me… But I didn't come here today to reenact any dream scenario… Please, don't get your hopes up…Ebner grumbled inwardly, simulating a "mind-reading" complaint, but on the surface, he explained calmly:
"It was Emma who wrote to me. She said you might be in danger, so I came to investigate the potential source of that threat."
As he spoke, he tossed Emma's letter to Fanny and also taught her how to decipher it.
"This is definitely Emma's handwriting… and the encryption method is also her usual style."Fanny confirmed the letter was genuine, but then frowned in confusion. "But I'm not in any danger…"
At that moment, Mr. Sarrie, who had been quietly observing from the side, suddenly spoke as if something had occurred to him:"This isn't a place to receive guests… Come with me."
With that, he picked up the dark puppet, subtly instructed the surrounding mechanical constructs to loosely encircle Ebner and Fanny, and took the lead.
They crossed the hallway and soon entered a room at the rear of the villa, sealed behind a heavy metal door.
"That's Grandfather's steam workshop," Fanny whispered to Ebner. Since the mechanical puppets walked between them, she kept her distance, but her whisper was still loud enough for Mr. Sarrie at the front to hear. He glanced back at his granddaughter helplessly.
Ebner gave a small nod and activated his "Pure White Eye" to survey the area. Compared to Mr. Gaston's and his own workshop, Mr. Sarrie's lacked some finesse in structure, but far outstripped them in scale… Its power core was also considerably stronger.
Once the three of them were inside, Mr. Sarrie immediately activated the surrounding barriers. Only then did he seem to truly relax in Ebner's presence, instructing the mechanical puppets to step aside as he cautiously spoke:
"Lately, our Sarrie family has encountered a number of inexplicable difficulties in Trier, as if we're being deliberately targeted…
"My guess is that the 'danger to Fanny' Miss Emma mentioned is likely related to this."
(End of Chapter)