Steampunk Era: Mad Abield

Malin’s first stop was to find Todd. The wizard was easy to locate thanks to the Wizard Council—Madam Dorothy merely needed to shake a scrying glass, and she would know where Todd was. And once Todd was found, how hard could it be to find someone else?

Malin showed him the badge, and the wizard immediately spotted the flaw—the badge was pristine, yet there were no burrs on the hammer. This was because, during the production of the first batch of badges, substandard metal was used. Even later, when Northernism had sufficient funds, they refused to rectify this detail. The burrs symbolized the hardships of the old era. Every Northernist, upon receiving their badge, would personally use sandpaper to grind off those burrs, signifying their act of erasing past suffering with their own hands.

"Moreover, this badge has no member initials on it," Todd said as he picked up a magnifying glass and pointed to the engravings on the hammer. "If it were genuine, it would bear the initials of the member’s first and last names, as well as their surname initials. If by chance, all four initials matched, the initials of their birthplace would be added as well."

"What if those matched too?" Malin asked out of curiosity.

Todd tossed the badge back to Malin. "Members who joined later would have an identifier number. These letters and numbers would form a pattern that requires a magnifying glass to discern. Your badge, however, bears mere decorative engravings. So I’m relieved—our Majesty and old Hagelberry haven’t succumbed to fear of assassins and begun reckless doubt."

After hearing Malin recount King Manheim and old Hagelberry’s reactions, Todd seemed much more at ease. However, Ragelov, who had just arrived, poured cold water on his optimism: "This should only be the most basic judgment, Todd. You should be thankful that Lord Malin played a significant role there. Otherwise, if the royals and nobles truly wanted to target us, this would’ve been their best pretext."

"Indeed. You must remain vigilant. Although Mendel was killed and the attempt on Hagelberry failed, these assassins typically lie low for a while. But don’t underestimate them—they might take the opposite approach. You must strengthen the security measures for Lord Antoine and Lord Eric. My operations team has just begun, and they’ll need some time to establish an intelligence network," Malin warned Todd and Ragelov.

After receiving their assurances, Malin departed from the rendezvous point first. He returned to the Royal Palace to report the situation to King Manheim. Of course, he only mentioned that the Northernist members had passed Malin’s truth-detecting inquiries and that they had not lied about the badge—it was indeed a malicious slander orchestrated by their enemies.

King Manheim seemed noticeably relieved. With nothing further to discuss, Malin prepared to leave. However, just as he was about to go, the king called out to him again.

"Malin, thank you for everything you’ve done for this kingdom." In this moment, the king appeared as a helpless elder. The Queen, standing beside him, smiled wryly at Malin. "Thank you, Malin. My husband is so very tired—you must know how it has been recently."