The next room is not Charlotte, but another agent named 'Stranger'.
He knocked on the door.
"Please come in." came the emotionless male voice.
Walking into the room, a mummy-like man covered in bandages was lying on the bed with a beak mask on his face.
The room was spotless, but it had a sickly sweet smell like rotten apples, which was unsettling.
"Hello, senior. Mr. Eaton invites you to the conference room for a meeting."
"Oh well."
He gave a short answer, but the other party didn't move.
Ed was a little confused. 'Stranger' tilted his neck slightly, his beak mask showing no expression:
"Is there anything else?"
"there is none left……"
The other party stopped talking. He had no choice but to bow slightly and exit the room.
Okay, the last person who needs to be notified should be Charlotte. Ed walked upstairs.
It seems that because it is closest to the sky, the light on the top floor is brighter. Blurred, scattered light pours down from the frosted glass windows in the corridor, and tiny glowing lights hang in the air.
This is Charlotte's room on the third floor. Her code name is written on the textile door sign:
'Blue Butterfly'.
He knocked lightly on the door with his knuckles and said in as calm and gentle a voice as possible: "Hello?"
"Is this Mr. Edgar Waikolo? Please come in."
A timid whisper came from the door. She was the only one who pronounced Ed's name correctly.
Ed stretched out his hand and smoothed the corners of his lips so that they did not appear to have any curvature, then slowly pushed the door open and went in.
Passing through the room, the balcony was shrouded in pure white gauze curtains. The quiet wind flowed slowly, and a bitter aroma wafted in the face.
Pots of plants filled the entire space, and the blooming blue hydrangea looked like a cluster of butterflies. It seems that with just a gentle blow, it will fly and dissipate like bubbles.
Wearing a black cloth robe, the thin and frail girl stood in the center of the sea of flowers. The boundless skylight rising from the east cast a deep and long shadow on her body.
Charlotte turned around slowly, holding a pair of scissors in both hands, and the juice from the pruning plants dripped from the edge of the knife. Her eyes were like dull and withered sapphires, losing their luster and emotion:
"You are Mr. Edgar Waikolo, right? Lord Dylan mentioned you in his letter."
Edburn was worried that he would see a hideous gaping hole, but a white cotton mask covered Charlotte's cheeks, making her look like a demure lady.
Sisters of the Green Church. He guessed the identity of the other party, but he still asked knowingly:
"You know Dylan?"
"Yes, I once listened to the grace of God under the teachings of Lord Dylan. He is a good man."
Good guy? He can be considered a semi-good guy at most, I guess. Ed thought.
"By the way, Miss Charlotte, Mr. Eaton invites you to the conference room for a meeting."
"I understand." She nodded calmly and politely and said, "Thank you for the special notice. Please allow me to tidy up my clothes."
"Okay, please do as you please."
Ed wisely closed the door. It seemed that things were not as serious as he thought, and Charlotte seemed to be the most normal person among the group.
When he went downstairs to report back to Eaton, he found that Mr. Eaton had already entered the conference room. Byakuya was the only one left in the hall, still looking like he was doing nothing, sitting at the bar and pouring himself a drink.
"Why don't you go to the meeting?" He sat down on the chair next to him.
"The stranger hasn't come yet. It's not too late to go after drinking. Anyway, it's a trivial matter - about you."
Byakuya swirled the glass and took a sip.
"Do you often drink alone?"
"No, Anvil and Hound often drink with me. The sea monster comes occasionally, but he keeps burping when he drinks. It's so smelly, like an exploding stranded whale carcass."
He raised his little finger and fanned his nose, and suddenly said hypocritically:
"I heard that Anvil gave you trouble? I should have warned you, ugh..."
"It's not too troublesome. Rather than this, you should remind me about Miss Charlotte." Ed replied tit for tat.
"Hmph, I guess the great detective has told you about the Blue Butterfly a long time ago." Bai Ya's absurdly whitewashed face was full of disapproval, "Anyway, even if he didn't remind you, the sea monster would have told you. He is such a warm-hearted person."
Having said this, he raised the cocktail shaker, took out a tall glass, and poured a glass for Ed:
"Well, this cup will be compensated for you, so feel free to drink it."
Ed glanced at him suspiciously, raised the cup and sniffed for a moment, and a strange plant aroma poured into his nose.
It's not something weird. He raised the cup and took a sip. The other party would not be able to poison him openly in the branch of the Bureau of Divine Intervention.
"Not bad. What kind of wine is this?"
"Homemade cocktail - 'Miss Hound.'"
"Why is it called this name?"
"Because the ingredients are gin and tonic water. The flavor ingredient of tonic water is quinine, which sounds a lot like quinine, so we called it that."
Quinine is a malaria treatment derived from the bark of the cinchona tree. Ed stared at the wine glass and nodded, then asked:
"Speaking of which, what's with the makeup on your face?"
Upon hearing this, the other party held up her cheeks charmingly, looked at Ed and said:
"What good can I do by telling you?"
"My friendship?"
"You should know one thing: Friendship is earned, not given."
After saying that, Byakuya drank the remaining wine in the cup:
"I don't need the friendship of the dead. As long as you live long enough, you will know sooner or later. Now, I am going to the meeting. I wish you health and longevity."
After that, he walked into the conference room together with the stranger who staggered downstairs like a zombie and remained silent.
Ed sat alone at the bar, imitating Bai Ya's example, gently shaking the special cocktail of the Divine Blending Bureau in his hand. The pale golden wine swirled in the cup, and the aroma was alluring, but he had no intention of getting drunk.
It can be seen that most of these people do not reject Ed, but they do not trust him either.
Maybe, I should find a chance to prove it?
About half an hour later, Mr. Eaton was the first to walk out of the conference room. He did not directly tell Ed the outcome of the meeting, but first called Ed to the corner.
"What do you think of them?"
"It's hard to say. But I guess I'll like this group of people one day."
"As for the direct appointment of you as an official agent, the vote has been passed. However, the difference between the support vote and the opposition vote is not huge."
Ed was not surprised. Needless to say, Quinn and Eaton, Charlotte and Mr. Sea Monster should also support him. From this point of view, his probability of passing the vote is not low.
"Trust is a slow process." Ed continued, "If I can be useful, maybe everyone will change their view of me."
"Oh, by the way..." Eaton muttered, "Speaking of this -"
"There is indeed a mission right now, and I'm afraid only you can complete it successfully."
