"Only three? You're an Assassin, aren't you? Even a single regular client should have had you kill more people than that, right?" Sno spread his two cat paws and spoke with a hint of mockery.
"Get to the point. The Night Watchers around here have increased in number. I have to leave as soon as possible." Seeing that this Black Cat was about to embark on another long, off-topic ramble, Trissy immediately said impatiently.
It wasn't that she had become overconfident. It was simply because, over the past half month of dealing with him, she had come to deeply understand that as long as this cat was given the slightest opportunity, he would spout a pile of bizarre and utterly unrelated nonsense.
"Alright, alright, let's talk business." Sno showed no displeasure at Trissy's attitude. He nimbly leaped onto the dressing table, bringing his gaze level with hers before continuing,
"This matter is simple. Help me attack a Sequence Nine Mystery Pryer. Don't kill him, but expose the fact that he has been corrupted by The Hidden Sage."
"The Hidden Sage? Are you joking?" An exaggerated expression appeared on Trissy's face, but Sno flicked his tail and said while restraining the stupid urge to chase it,
"Don't worry. He's just an unlucky fellow who was normally imparted knowledge by The Hidden Sage. He doesn't have any Extraordinary Items, either. At most, he carries a few low-level Night Pathway charms."
"That's more like it." As a half-core member of the Sorceress Cult, Trissy knew some basic Beyonder knowledge. For instance, The Hidden Sage's fondness for imparting knowledge to Beyonders of the Mystery Pryer Pathway was practically public information.
However...
"This Mystery Pryer has a sensitive identity?" Trissy raised an eyebrow, her tone carrying a trace of amusement. The Black Cat clearly intended to save someone.
And someone worth saving to this fellow—could he have some secret?
"You're far too curious." Sno gave her a cold glance. "He's a Night Watcher. He's quite old and has almost no room left for advancement. I chose him because he is currently closest to Loss of Control. Well, you should have some understanding of Tingen City's current situation. I need those official Beyonders to be a little more vigilant."
"Then wouldn't it be better to make him lose control directly?" Trissy probed, but Sno merely smiled.
"If you dare kill an official Beyonder at a time like this, that would be wonderful. But personally, I still suggest you complete this task by 'informing' him. After all, right now, you are a 'Witch.'"
"Acting?" Trissy immediately understood Sno's meaning. Informing others of misfortune and predicting Catastrophes were inherently among the methods of acting as a Witch. Although she had previously favored the simple and brutal approach of directly cursing others, given Tingen's recent situation, rashly using Beyonder Ability would undoubtedly draw the joint pursuit of the Three Great Churches.
"Fine, I understand. I'll do it. Give me his information." After thinking for a moment, Trissy nodded lightly. She did not believe this cat had proposed the matter merely to provide her with an acting method. Still, she did need one. If saving that Old Mystery Pryer could earn her a favor from him, she would not be losing out.
"His full name is unknown. He is commonly called 'Old Neil.' A Night Watcher, a Sequence Nine Mystery Pryer, skilled at making charms and Ritual Magic. He often visits the Beyonder trading venue behind Dragon Bar to buy Spirituality Materials. He lives in a detached house on the outskirts of the North Borough. His courtyard is planted with roses, gold mint, and other plants used to extract Pure Dew and Essential Oil. He likes to wear a black classical robe. Is that enough?"
Sno slowly recited all the intelligence he remembered. After hearing it, the experience Trissy had accumulated as an Assassin and Instigator immediately brought several plans to mind, and she nodded lightly.
"Enough."
"Very good. Then what payment do you want? Given this target's difficulty, I can answer questions worth no more than one thousand gold pounds. If you are willing to pay more, I can also get you the Sequence Six formula for the Assassin Pathway. After all, you know that the market price of a Sequence Six formula is two thousand gold pounds."
Seeing Trissy agree, Sno immediately put on the face of a businessman beginning negotiations. Watching this Black Cat display an expression completely at odds with his cute appearance, Trissy frowned slightly.
"Can it be split up?"
"Of course. Want to start by asking something worth one hundred pounds?" Sno extended a cat claw, trying to make a thumbs-up gesture. He obviously failed, but that did not prevent him from conveying his meaning to Trissy.
"Then first, can you tell me what exactly has happened in Tingen City? Hmm, don't answer yet. Tell me how much that question is worth." Trissy watched the Black Cat before her warily, deeply suspicious that if she did not ask, this unscrupulous merchant would answer first, then tell her it was worth five thousand gold pounds and demand that she do four thousand gold pounds' worth of work.
"Hmm, this question involves the Three Great Churches, two Sequence Vs, a Level 0 Sealed Artifact, and a bit of divinity. Going further, it can even be connected to a true god. If you want to know everything, charging you twenty thousand gold pounds would not be excessive, would it?"
Sno opened his little cat mouth and revealed a fanged smile. Trissy's scalp went numb. She no longer knew how many times she had wanted to go back in time and strangle herself to death—she should never have looked at this damned cat at the station!
"Tell me only what I can know. Keep it under two hundred gold pounds." Trissy took a deep breath. By now, she fully understood that no number of lives would be enough to compensate for doing business with this Black Cat. But considering Tingen's current state, if she knew nothing, she might not even know how she died. After some thought, she still made her choice.
"Two hundred pounds... Let me think... Got it. Put simply, an Oracle of the Aurora Society came to Tingen to look for something. The Three Great Churches are looking for him and the thing he is looking for. Someone else wants to use this opportunity to steal something."
"That's it?" Listening to the tongue-twister-like statement from the Black Cat, Trissy asked with some suspicion,
"The one you said wants to steal something... that wouldn't be you, would it?"
"You tell me?" Sno tilted his little cat head and put on an adorable pose. To be honest, if one ignored his vile personality, he really could stir a girl's heart like that.
"Put the remaining questions on my tab for now. By the way, can't you give me a more reliable way to contact you?" Trissy slowly mulled over the information Sno had given her while asking aloud.
"I already told you, praying to my lord is the simplest and safest way to contact me. If you really don't want to, you can control an ordinary person and have them pray in your place! I remember Witches should have Beyonder Abilities that bewitch people's hearts, right?"
Hmm, regarding saving Old Neil, it wasn't simply about fawning over a character from the original work. There was also a game involved here. Although it will be explained tomorrow at noon, I'll mention it for now to reduce the possibility of being criticized. Anyway, most of the time, my writing follows logic. Even if I take care of characters I liked from the original work, I will still try to choose methods that suit the protagonist's personality. If you find blatant fawning, then the target must be a long-haired girl with straight black hair... That is outside the scope of discussion. What? Trissy also has long straight black hair... Uh, well, the protagonist really does not intend to experience the taste of a Demoness yet, really! Besides, Trissy is going to become a true man of iron and blood in the future!
Before you continue