BXBX NOVEL Chapter 493: The Anomaly
"Then from today, The Whispering Hall will be under his management. He is the director of the Intelligence department in our group so, I hope all of you will help me within this department alongside him." Daniel said to the ghostly figure to formally assign Albert to his role to manage this Whispering Hall.
Daniel turned to Albert. "Mr. Worseley, is there anything else you require from me?" Daniel asked, recognizing the value of professional expertise in intelligence gathering.
"Thank you, my lord. I\'ll need some equipment, such as communication devices and teleportation portals, from Astral Corp. Especially the teleportation portals. Those are quite difficult to requisition, as Odysseus is rather stingy with them," Albert said, throwing a bit of shade at Odysseus.
"Mr. Worseley, I hope you\'re requesting resources in moderation," Envy warned in a stern tone.
"My apologies, Lady Envy, but these are investments. I could manage without them, but having them at the start of the operation would significantly boost our information-gathering capabilities. As I\'m sure you know, we\'re quite lacking in that department compared to older organizations like the Hightower," Albert explained with a smile.
Hearing the banter between Albert and Envy, Daniel chuckled. "Alright, I\'ll specially authorize two sets of teleportation portals for use in the Whispering Hall. But beyond that, you\'ll need to go through the requisition system. Teleportation portals aren\'t cheap, you know,"
Daniel said, earning a side-eye glance from Greed when he mentioned not being rich. [What about the vast resources and wealth you had plundered from Mammon\'s entire hell realm that have the size larger than an entire earth?] she thought
"Thank you, my lord. I\'ll definitely make it worthwhile. You can relax and enjoy the kickbacks from the information fees we..."
"You misunderstand," Daniel interrupted, gesturing for Albert to stop. "The goal of your department is to gather information for internal use. Profit is not the priority. Only after you\'ve gathered enough information and deemed some of it non-vital can you sell it.
It\'s good to make profits from time to time, but it\'s not the department\'s primary goal," Daniel instructed, ensuring Albert understood his role and the department\'s purpose.
"Of course, my lord. I\'ll do as you instruct," Albert replied with a bow.
After that, Daniel, Envy, and Greed excused themselves. Daniel had brought them along to tell them that they could request information from Albert to further their goals, especially Greed, who relied on information to increase her company\'s prosperity.
Although Daniel hadn\'t explicitly told Albert this, Albert as an old fox, was of course understood and would provide information services to any of Daniel\'s women upon request.
— Evening - Daniel House —
In his study, filled with strange artifact prototypes, Daniel planned to utilize his newfound Clockmaster knowledge in his inventions. While writing down his ideas, he heard a knock at the door. "Come in," he called, inviting the guest inside.
Envy entered, her face a mask of conflicting emotions. She seemed to want to say something but hesitated, her expression shifting as she struggled to find the right words.
"Go ahead, Envy, you can say what you want," Daniel encouraged, waiting patiently for her to speak.
"Are you aware of the term \'anomaly\'?" she began, pausing for his response.
"You mean... in terms of magical academia?" he asked.
Envy nodded.
"No, I don\'t know about it. What can you tell me?" Daniel asked, sensing that Envy was starting with a gentle approach.
"The term \'anomaly\' in our understanding refers to objects, places, phenomena, or even entities that cannot be explained by either scientific or magical approaches," Envy explained.
"They exhibit extraordinary power or abilities that can alter reality or how the world works, without adhering to magical or scientific theories. It\'s very difficult and rare to find explanations for how these anomalies work, and most of the time, they simply work without cause or effect. That\'s the anomaly."
Daniel listened with interest, this being a new concept to him.
"You mean... like this thing?" he asked, showing Envy a small clockwork golem the size of a tennis ball. He placed it on the table.
The golem comically walked towards Envy, swaying left and right as a prototype creation that Daniel created from his short spare time. It then looked at her, tilted its head, and transformed into a spherical ball, rolling around the table.
Intrigued, Envy picked it up and scrutinized it while the golem adorably peeked out from its spherical form before quickly hiding again. Envy smiled slightly, then used several identifying spells to examine it. Surprise registered on her face.
"Wait... Danny, you know the art of creating clockwork artifacts!? The closely guarded secret of the Beaumont family!?" Envy asked with a mix of surprise and apprehension.
"Yes, I know about it, but I assure you, it\'s not from any Beaumont family. It\'s from this," Daniel explained, showing Envy the Clockwork Stiletto, the artifact with the power to bend the rules of time.
"You mean... you created it yourself from studying this? But this is an Atlantean artifact, drawing its energy from the user. The Beaumont clockwork arts use the movement of time as their main resource!" Envy explained, she had already half-believing Daniel due to the many miracles she had witnessed him perform.
"So... is this thing an anomaly or not?" he asked, pointing at the small golem in Envy\'s hand.
"No... it\'s not," Envy shook her head and continued. "Even though this little one doesn\'t use mana or other scientific power sources, using the movement of time as a power source can be explained by magical theory.
The study of time in the Hightower is more advanced than what scientists currently know, so it\'s not considered an anomaly." She placed the golem back on the table, and it adorably rolled back towards Daniel as if afraid of her.
"I see... so, what are you trying to convey, Envy? I know you still have something on your mind," Daniel asked again, patiently waiting for her to speak.
Envy sighed before continuing. "Danny... do you know that the Whispering Hall is an anomaly? It might not look like it, but it has the power to allow all ghosts in this world to freely travel without obstruction, unless they encounter boundaries or holy areas they can\'t enter." She explained, but Daniel still seemed confused.
"You see... Danny, wandering ghosts are usually confined to the place they died or a place of great significance to them. They can\'t wander outside that area. The Whispering Hall\'s existence changes that rule, making them no different from normal humans and allowing them to travel all over the world. This will upset the balance," Envy explained.
"How so? I still don\'t get it," Daniel asked, still puzzled.
"For example, vengeful spirits from deep forests tend to be more ferocious than normal ones. If this happens, there will be many unexplained deaths and paranormal events in cities. Also, most vengeful spirits can\'t leave their areas, but by changing this rule, they\'ll be free to roam the world and take unsuspecting victims\' lives.
"The Vatican usually controls the vengeful spirit population by hunting them down or giving them last rites and cleansing their souls. Their workload will suddenly increase, and they won\'t be happy about it. Eventually, they will trace the cause and find you," Envy explained.
"Well... that\'s quite troublesome," Daniel admitted.
"Just troublesome? What about the innocent people who might die because of the roaming vengeful spirits?" Envy asked, worried.
"That\'s something we need to address. I\'ll create a separate department to deal with this problem within our territory," Daniel firmly answered.
"What about Europe? The Hightower\'s territory?" she asked.
"This might be my problem, but once those vengeful spirits cross into Europe, they\'re no longer our problem. Just because I created this issue doesn\'t mean I have an obligation to solve it for the Hightower," Daniel replied coldly, still harboring resentment for the Hightower opening the hell gate near his city.
Hearing this, Envy sighed. "Okay, that\'s good enough." She hadn\'t expected Daniel to let her destroy the Whispering Hall again. This was a good enough outcome, with him taking responsibility and implementing countermeasures.
Afterward, Envy and Daniel discussed how the new department would address the vengeful spirit problem. Their conversation eventually drifted into playful flirting, culminating in a kiss before Envy excused herself to her bedroom.
Daniel gazed out the window, pondering Envy\'s words about "anomalies." A question gnawed at his mind, growing louder and more logical with each passing moment: was he, too, an anomaly? There were many things he didn\'t know about himself, especially why he had survived that fateful night.