Lord of Mysteries: Sustainer of Salvation

Wilson's family made their prayers, praising the Living Wheel, and laid their clothing in the coffin, this time without hurry.

The whole process took almost half an hour. After the family finished their prayers and rituals, the funeral home director closed the coffin.

As the lid was placed on the coffin, it made a sharp, loud noise as the wood hit each other.

With that, it finally dawned on everyone—Wilson was dead; there was no way to deny it.

Gregor couldn't stay any longer, as memories of the events at the Burey's Villa flooded his mind.

That day really traumatized me, huh. I thought being a transmigrator would make it easier for me to not get emotionally connected to people, but instead, it seems I'm more emotional than ever... Michael's memories really messed with my self-identity.

Gregor depreciated himself in his thoughts.

As Gregor left the funeral home, his stomach growled, hungry.

It's almost noon, and I still haven't eaten anything. Skipping breakfast was a bad decision...

Gregor thought.

I want a lola bread. I think I'll put some ham and cheese and make a sandwich, maybe some vegetables... I hope Ms. Harrel's bakery is still open...

Thinking about food only made Gregor hungrier.

Even though he had discovered the killer's identity, he wasn't in a hurry to go after him.

Wilson's death made him realize that acting unprepared would only lead to defeat.

With that in mind, Gregor planned to investigate and learn everything he could about Thompson before taking action.

....

Arabella Harrel was one of the few people who did not attend Wilson's funeral; instead, she kept her bakery open, mainly to distract herself.

After her grandson's tragic death at the hands of the killer, the last thing she wanted was to attend another funeral.

Gregor found this a pleasant surprise, since he was craving a lola bread.

He sat at one of the tables after ordering. He was the only person there other than Arabella herself.

He ordered a lola bread with some ham and cheese, and a cup of coffee. It all came to a cost of 15 pence: 10 for the coffee, 3 for the bread, and 2 for the ham and cheese.

He got his food shortly after ordering. He took a sip of the coffee, which had a bitter taste because he liked to drink it black.

As Arabella was about to return to the counter, Gregor asked, "Miss Harrel, what do you think about Mayor Thompson?"

Arabella thought for a second before answering, "James is a good man; he's smart, kind, and knows what he's doing. His parents were very respected people in our community. Ever since he became mayor, our town has been getting better and better."

"James? Is that his first name?" Gregor asked.

"You didn't know?" Arabella asked rhetorically. "His name is James Thompson."

Gregor nodded. "You seem very familiar with him. He always lived here?"

"Yes, he lived his whole life here with his parents. But he left for a few years to study in Loen. Before he left, he was very rude, always getting into fights with the other boys. But when he came back, he was almost unrecognizable; he was polite, respectful, he looked like a true scholar; he even learned to speak Balanese during his time in Loen. Can you believe that? He was the pride of the town. So when our old mayor died a few years ago, everyone wanted him to take his place."

He probably became a Beyonder during his time in Loen... Gregor deduced.

"But why do you want to know about him, Gregor?" Arabella asked curiously.

"Just morbid curiosity. I met him for the first time today and wanted to know more about him," Gregor answered.

"No one knows much about his personal life; he's a very reserved person. He barely gets out of his house if he's not working."

I'd also be very reserved if I were planning a ritual.

Gregor lampooned.

"Thank you, Miss Harrel, you really know a lot."

"I've lived my whole life in this town; I know the people here even better than they know themselves," Arabella said jokingly.

Gregor took another sip of his coffee.

"While I'm at it, Eleanor's favorite flowers are daisies; keep that in mind," Arabella said, chuckling mischievously.

Gregor frowned as he didn't understand what she meant by telling him that.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I understand why you're telling me this, Miss Harrel."

Arabella chuckled, "This is a very small town, Gregor; rumors spread fast."

Gregor's frown disappeared as his eyes widened in a mix of shock and embarrassment.

What had I had in mind when I gave her flowers? Had I lost my mind that day?

Gregor made a small smile, trying to hide his embarrassment. But in reality, all he wanted was to bury his face in the ground.

....

After that embarrassing situation, Gregor ate his food before paying and leaving.

Since it wasn't even 13:00 yet, he wanted to investigate his next lead: the mysterious relationship between Matthew's mother and James Thompson, the killer.

Unlike Thompson, who was the mayor of the town, therefore people knew him better. Matthew's mother was just a common woman, so Gregor thought that asking someone who knew her personally would lead him further than asking random people.

The only person he knew that had any relationship with her other than Thompson was her son, Matthew.

He was skeptical if asking Matthew about it would help, but since he didn't have any other idea, he decided to do so.

His plan was simple: get dressed in his clown costume and ask vague questions while entertaining the childrens.

With his plan in mind, he went back to the hotel to change into his costume.

....

As Gregor had expected, there was no one at the reception that day. Eleanor had taken another day off, and the other employees had left to attend Wilson's funeral.

He took the keys from his pocket before opening the door.

As he opened the door, the first thing he noticed was that the window was open.

He remembered closing the window before leaving for the funeral, so he knew someone had opened it while he was gone.

Gregor cautiously entered the room.

As he looked around for any signs that someone was still there, he noticed the whole room had been teared upside down.

The drawers were open, clothes were on the ground, and the bed was out of place.

But what intrigued him was that nothing was missing: the small box containing Rebecca's jewelry, his clown costume, money—everything was there, completely out of place and scattered around the room.

There's no way someone entered just to make a mess and leave; they were looking for something, but what? Gregor thought as he began to put things back in their place, trying to see if anything was missing.

While closing the drawers and placing the chair in its place, he noticed something was missing: the paper where he wrote his considerations of the Delusional's acting method.