Raphael once again scrutinized Audrey, who was currently sporting a large fake beard, and used the ability granted by the white-jade pearl to re-examine her spirituality.
The result was the same as before, he still couldn't detect any trace of a Beyonder's spiritual energy from her.
Raphael fell silent for a few seconds before stomping out the cigarette that had fallen earlier. Then, fixing his gaze on Audrey, he asked, "So, what is your purpose in approaching me?"
After the initial shock, he quickly regained his composure, realizing there were only three possibilities for this bizarre situation: First, the ability granted by the jade pearl had malfunctioned; Second, Audrey was under the protection of a high-level entity, nullifying the pearl's ability; Third, Audrey herself was a high-level Beyonder.
He immediately ruled out the first possibility. As for the latter two, regardless of which one it was, killing a mere Sequence 8 like him would be as easy as squashing an ant for Audrey.
Yet she hadn't done so. Instead, she had voluntarily allowed him to kidnap her and had never revealed her abilities. From this, Raphael deduced that she must have some purpose in approaching him.
Seeing his calm and intelligent gaze, Audrey felt a slight hesitation: 'How could this person switch so effortlessly between a madness and intelligence?'
Her hesitation lasted only a moment before she smiled, saying, "It seems I don't need to do much explaining." Then she gave the reason she had prepared beforehand, "As a noblewoman, there are many times when it is inconvenient for me to act directly or conduct investigations personally. Therefore, I require some subordinates to serve me. And since they are to be subordinates, of course they must be thoroughly vetted."
"Oh." Raphael, however, didn't seem very interested. Then he asked, "And that Miss Susie?"
Audrey suppressed a smile, "She's a friend I invited to help me evaluate you."
Raphael remembered he had even used Susie to intimidate Audrey earlier, he couldn't help finding that amusing.
"I'm curious. If I weren't a Beyonder, did you truly intend to release me after receiving the ransom?" Audrey asked.
"After receiving the ransom, I would have disbanded the Mafia and hidden you in a secret location," Raphael replied, "Then, by letter, I would have informed Earl Hall of your whereabouts. By the time the letter reached him, I would already have left Backlund."
Audrey was taken aback, "You'd abandon the Mafia you built for a single Sequence 7 characteristic?"
Raphael spread his hands and smiled, "For me, enjoying life is more important." He paused, then added, "So, I don't wish to be anyone's subordinate. But if your offer is suitable, I could certainly help you with some investigations and solve certain problems for you when it's inconvenient for you to act."
He wasn't overly worried that refusing Audrey would get him killed.
Although Miss Hall had remained incredibly calm throughout, making her true thoughts difficult to guess, Raphael reasoned that if she were truly screening subordinates, she could have let Miss Susie handle it.
A noble young lady like Miss Hall didn't need to take such risks personally to observe him. Therefore, Raphael guessed she must have another purpose, and he wouldn't be harmed until that purpose was fulfilled.
Raphael's refusal also somewhat surprised Audrey. For a wild Beyonder, joining an organization or becoming the subordinate of a high-level Beyonder offered better advancement resources.
However, Audrey wasn't actually there to recruit subordinates. Establishing a connection with Raphael was sufficient...
So, she feigned slight regret, "Such a cooperative arrangement could work as well."
Raphael suddenly smiled wryly, "Looks like I can't demand a ransom anymore..."
The 'hostage' he had kidnapped was a Mid-Sequence Beyonder who could leave anytime she wished. Even if Raphael were truly mad, he wouldn't try to obstruct her.
"If you complete the tasks I assign you exceptionally well in the future, I could use a 'Werewolf' Beyonder characteristic as payment." Audrey said with a smile.
Raphael didn't answer immediately. Instead, he thoughtfully took out his metal cigarette case, retrieved a cigarette, and lit it unhurriedly.
After taking a drag, he said, "I don't mean to speculate, but based on common sense, even for a prestigious noble, it's quite rare for someone as young as Miss Hall to advance to the Mid-Sequence... most likely Sequence 5. So I can surmise there must be an organization behind Miss Hall. I wonder if your organization would be interested in striking at the Indulgence Faction of the Rose School of Thought?"
In the Beyonder world, the Indulgence Faction of the Rose School of Thought is an organization that everyone despises and wants to eliminate.
Generally, organizations leaning towards justice certainly wouldn't miss such an opportunity to demonstrate their righteousness.
And evil-aligned organizations would also see it as a good money-making opportunity. After all, the Beyonder characteristics of the Indulgence Faction members were worth pounds.
Of course, the key factor was that this organization's power in the Northern Continent was relatively scattered, without a reasonable layout, which was why they were hated by everyone.
But in the Southern Continent, apart from the orthodox Churches, no one is willing to antagonize this group of madmen from the Indulgence Faction.
Audrey, codenamed 'Justice', was naturally interested, "Oh? Please elaborate."
"I believe you've probably noticed that I'm a Beyonder of the Prisoner Pathway," Raphael started, "The characteristic I used to advance to Sequence 8 came from the boss of the Skull Gang. After I killed him, a 'Werewolf' named Baven approached me. He said the Skull Gang was actually a gang they supported. They admired the madness in me and wanted to sponsor me to become the new boss of the Skull Gang. At the time, I only had two choices: either be killed by him, or periodically provide them with intelligence, funds, and manpower. After contacting Baven several times, I learned that he was a formal member of the Indulgence Faction."
Raphael took a puff, then smiled meaningfully, saying, "How to describe these people? Their indulgence is one thing, but their habit of frequently discarding their brains makes them exceptionally idiotic teammates. They are essentially curly-haired baboons. With teammates like that, I'd surely die a miserable death one day. I very much want to get rid of them. So, can I take you to Baven and have him eliminated?"
Audrey felt somewhat disappointed, "Just eliminating a Sequence 7..."
Raphael raised a hand, "I haven't finished. After killing Baven, even if the Indulgence Faction members are idiots, their forces in Backlund will conduct some investigation and likely send Sequence 6 members... hmm, possibly even a Sequence 5 member. And as Baven's contact, they'll certainly come to me for information. Then you can eliminate them. That would significantly cripple the Indulgence Faction's strength!"
Audrey was momentarily speechless: 'Why do I even feel a little sympathetic toward the Indulgence faction members handling Backlund affairs now?'