"Lord Steward?"
Edric froze upon hearing the name of this prominent figure, momentarily unable to process it. After three seconds, he realized that "Lord Steward" was not a name but an official title, responsible for managing the royal household's daily affairs, including meals, ceremonies, and other logistical matters.
At first glance, it seemed like just a royal butler, but in reality, his power was immense. He was also responsible for the royal family's security, reviewing the king's letters and gifts, and even deciding who was eligible to have a private audience with the king.
Such a high-ranking official actually died in a slum he'd probably never set foot in his entire life, and at the hands of a lowly serial killer? Not to mention Adrian Gray, even Edrick couldn't believe it.
"This... this is absurd," Edrick exclaimed sincerely.
Adrian Gray nodded, 'You're right, it's absurd, but after all, he was a high-ranking official, so I had to cut my vacation short and rush back to work..."
"The Ripper seems to be taking the fall,' Edrick shook his head, "A man of his stature couldn't be killed by a commoner."
Adrian Gray smiled: "I think so too, but in a city as big as Stellaxis, who would dare to touch Lord Steward?"
Edrick suddenly felt that heroes must have a lot of free time. Sensing that Adrian Gray meant no harm, Edrick felt that he could reveal some information, which might come in handy in the future, or perhaps cause some trouble for his enemies: "I have indeed heard some rumors recently."
"What kind of rumors?"
"It seems that the royal family and the church... um... are having some conflicts?" Edrick chose his words carefully, as the hero before him appeared to be affiliated with the church. "Of course, this is just what the street thugs are saying. They claim the royal family is seeking more autonomy?"
At that moment, Edrick was completely making things up. He hadn't heard a single rumor about this, though there might have been some. However, Edrick's fragmented memories didn't include any such information.
He dared to say this purely based on reasonable speculation. Given the thousand-year history of Earth, the struggle between royal and ecclesiastical power had never ceased. He was even somewhat surprised that in a world where industrial civilization had already developed to such an extent, the Church still held such significant power. If the royal family had no ambitions, that would be the real oddity.
Adrian Gray nodded in agreement. She had long been aware of the tensions between the royal family and the church, but she hadn't realized that these tensions had escalated to the point where even the lowest-ranking laborers were aware of them. She felt fortunate for her decision: "I do suspect that Lord Steward's death... You didn't know, did you? Lord Steward was actually a member of the church."
Edrick looked at Adrian Gray with suspicion: "Why are you telling me this?"
First of all, this wasn't a top-secret matter. It might even be in the newspapers in a couple of days. Besides, everyone in Stellaxis knew that Lord Steward supported the Church, except for Edrick and other people who couldn't even afford to eat.
Of course, there was no need to say that.
"Well, you could call it a hero's intuition, but I have more compelling reasons to keep an eye on you..." Adrian Gray was carefully choosing his words, 'To be honest, I was impressed by your fight. You haven't received any training, but you have the courage to fight to the death and the instincts of a beast. That's rare."
Edrick caught the meaning behind Adrian Gray's words: 'Are you recruiting me to be a hero?"
"What? No, of course not. You're far from being a hero. But you do have potential." Adrian Gray spoke honestly, "Think of it as an act of grace, just a whim to chat with you. After all, I happened to witness a good show. How should I describe it? It's karma."
If Edrick had received some basic education in the occult, he might have understood the deeper meaning behind Adrian Gray's words. Unfortunately, he hadn't, so at that moment, he could only look at the hero with a slightly bewildered expression.
"If you really want to become a hero, go learn Ethercraft, get into college, and become a Pathseeker. Only then will you have a chance to become a hero." Adrian Gray's words completely took Edrick by surprise. He had already attended college for eleven years on Earth, so why was someone here telling him to go back to school?
But Adrian Gray had already finished his investigation and turned to leave: "If you have any clues, you can contact me at any Watchpost."
Adrian Gray's departure was as sudden as her arrival, as if Edrick had blinked and she was gone.
Was this also a kind of magic?
Edrick, covered in wounds, returned home with his father's body. Hannah and Miryam couldn't say a word, only hugging Edrick and crying silently.
Edrick didn't know what to say to ease the sisters' pain.
The death of their father and mother was a huge blow to the Croft family. As a transmigrator, he should have been numb, but he felt more like he had lost two close friends at the same time.
However, the fusion of Edrick's memories and a little bit of his own emotions made him especially sad.
At the same time, he was also a little relieved, because if he hadn't been resurrected as Edrick, his sister Hannah and Miryam would have suffered a terrible fate.
As a modern man with a strong sense of right and wrong, he was naturally angry at this kind of bullying, so angry that he wanted to kill that damn Griff and rip him open... Just thinking about it, the fragments of Edrick's remaining memories were like a series of nightmares. Although they were merging with the transmigrator's past experiences, he had not yet fully accepted them.
E-dric's face was a little pale. From the perspective of a transmigrator, the main reason for the goal of "Griff must die" was that the other party would obviously not let the Croft family off easily.
The fact that E-dric and his father had both met with accidents at the same time showed that the other party had planned this in advance. Now, only one side could survive, so the choice was simple.
After making up his mind, E-dric immediately set out to take action.
However, he was cautious, far more so than Edrick. The deadly battle in the boiler room had made him acutely aware that acting rashly in this unfamiliar world was extremely dangerous.
Not to mention the church patrolmen, the steam spirits at home clearly indicated that supernatural abilities existed here. Even if the street thugs truly possessed magic, he wouldn't find it surprising.
Edrick's memories were fragmented, and he was just a poor man who had grown up in hardship, so he was unfamiliar with everything outside the Rust District.
Edrick rubbed a coin-sized piece of ore in his hand and fell into deep thought.
This was his father's secret stash of crushed crystal ore, which he had secretly saved from a broken ore crate while unloading cargo at the docks last month.
The ore was dark gray with mica-like blood-red patterns on the surface, glowing coldly under the steam lamp. The Transmigrator had never seen this kind of ore before.
His father's hands, covered with calluses, had rubbed warm indentations on the surface of the ore: "This is Bloodline Crystal. Of course, it's just low-quality crushed crystal ore, worth only a few shillings, but if it were a complete Bloodline Crystal, a piece this big would be worth several pounds!"
It was said that this ore was a specialty of Stellaxis. In legends and tavern literature, Bloodline Crystals were formed from meteorites that fell on Stellaxis thousands of years ago.
Of course, this was an exaggeration, because Bloodline Crystals had been mined for over a hundred years. How could a meteorite from outer space be mined for a hundred years?
Setting aside its origins, these worthless fragments are currently the family's only lifeline. Rent is due in three days, and Miryam and Hannah's laundry wages won't be paid until the end of the month.
Normally, Edrick and his father earn the family's main income by loading and unloading goods at the docks. Rent is primarily covered by Miryam and her mother's wages, while Edrick and his father's wages are paid daily to cover their daily expenses.
However, with his father now deceased, Edrick's injuries still unhealed, and the bodies of his father and mother still lying at home, even if Edrick wanted to go to the docks today, it was already too late. The docks don't wait for anyone; if you're late, there's no work, and without work, there's no food.
Hannah slammed the hot iron on the ironing board, and steam filled the entire attic. Her vision blurred, but she forced back the tears. She knew very well that the Rust District did not believe in tears.
Miryam hummed a laundry room folk song, the melody off-key but resolute. As she washed clothes, she used this off-key tune to encourage her older siblings. Perhaps she was the strongest one in the family.
Edrick suddenly seemed to remember something. His mind returned to the dilapidated temple on the mountaintop, where he carved a few lines into the green stone slab with a small pebble:
Survival Guide for the Other World
1-Ensure food, water, and medicine. Survival is the top priority.