Mr. Witch Regrets

"Only three? You're an Assassin, aren't you? Surely a regular client would have you kill more than that," Sno said, spreading his two paws with a hint of amusement.

"Let's get to the point. The Night Watchers around here have increased. I need to leave quickly," Triss said impatiently, seeing that the black cat was about to embark on its usual long, rambling tangents.

It wasn't that he was overconfident. It was just that over the past half-month of their interactions, he had come to deeply understand that if this cat was given even the slightest opportunity, it would spew out a torrent of nonsensical and irrelevant nonsense.

"Alright, alright, let's talk business." Sno showed no displeasure at Triss's attitude. He lightly hopped onto the dressing table, bringing his line of sight level with Triss, and then continued:

"This job is simple. You help me attack a Sequence Nine Faceless. Don't kill him, but expose the fact that he's been corrupted by The Hidden Sage."

"The Hidden Sage? Are you kidding me?" Triss's face contorted into an exaggerated expression. Sno, however, wagged his tail, suppressing the urge to chase it, and said, "Don't worry. He's just an unlucky fellow who's had knowledge instilled in him by The Hidden Sage. He doesn't have any Extraordinary items on him. At most, he'll have a few low-level Night Pathway Talismans."

"That's more like it." As a semi-direct descendant of the Sorceress Cult, Triss knew some basic Extraordinary knowledge. For instance, the fact that The Hidden Sage liked to instill knowledge into Extraordinarys of the Faceless Pathway was practically public information.

However...

"Is this Faceless's identity very sensitive?" Triss raised an eyebrow, his tone laced with playfulness. It was clear from the black cat's words that he intended to save the person.

And someone worth saving by this guy must have secrets, right?

"Your curiosity is too strong." Sno shot him a cold glance. "He's a Night Watcher, very old, with almost no room for advancement. The reason I chose him is that he's currently closest to Loss of Control. Well, you should have some understanding of the current situation in Tingen City. I need to make those official Extraordinarys more vigilant."

"So, wouldn't it be better to just let him lose control?" Triss probed. Sno, however, chuckled and said, "It would be best if you dared to kill an official Extraordinary at this juncture. However, I personally suggest you choose to complete the task by 'informing.' After all, you are currently a 'Witch'."

"Role-playing?" Triss immediately understood Sno's meaning. Informing of misfortune, predicting disaster – this was one of the ways to role-play a Witch. Although she had previously preferred simple and crude methods like directly cursing others, the recent situation in Tingen meant that rashly using supernatural abilities would undoubtedly provoke a crackdown from the three major churches.

"Fine, I understand. I'll do this. Give me his information." Triss pondered for a moment and nodded lightly. He didn't believe this cat was proposing this just to give him a role-playing suggestion, but he did need a role-playing scenario. If saving that old Faceless could earn him some favor, he wouldn't lose out.

"His full name is unknown. His common alias is 'Old Neil.' He's a Night Watcher, a Sequence Nine Faceless, skilled in crafting Talismans and Ritual Magic. He frequently visits the Extraordinary trading post behind the Dragon Bar to purchase spiritual materials. He lives in a detached house on the outskirts of the northern district, with plants like roses and spearmint in his yard, used for extracting hydrosols and essential oils. He likes to wear a black classical robe. Is this enough?"

Sno slowly recounted all the information he remembered. After Triss listened, his experience accumulated during his Assassin and Invoker periods immediately allowed him to think of several plans. He nodded lightly.

"It's enough."

"Very good. Then what kind of reward do you want? Given the difficulty of this person, I can answer questions worth no more than a thousand gold pounds. If you're willing to pay more, I can also get you the Sequence Six formula for the Assassin Pathway. After all, you know, the market price for a Sequence Six formula is 2,000 gold pounds."

Seeing Triss agree, Sno immediately put on the demeanor of someone starting a business negotiation. Triss looked at the black cat, which displayed an expression completely at odds with its cute appearance, and frowned slightly.

"Can it be split?"

"Of course. Want to ask a question worth a hundred pounds first?" Sno extended a paw, attempting to make a thumbs-up gesture, but it was clearly a failure. However, this didn't prevent him from conveying his intention to Triss.

"Then first, can you tell me what exactly happened in Tingen City? Hmm, don't answer yet. Tell me how much this question is worth." Triss watched the black cat before him warily, suspecting that if he didn't ask, the cunning merchant would immediately tell him it was worth five thousand gold pounds after answering and demand he do another 4,000 pounds worth of work.

"Hmm, this question involves the three major churches, two Sequence Fives, a Level 0 Sealed Artifact, and a bit of Divinity. If you go further back, it can even touch upon True Gods. If you want to know everything, charging you 20,000 gold pounds wouldn't be excessive, right?"

Sno opened his cat mouth, revealing a fanged smile. Triss felt his scalp tingle. For the umpteenth time, he had the urge to go back in time and strangle himself – he shouldn't have gone to look at this damned cat at the station!

"Pick out some things I can understand. Hmm, keep it within two hundred gold pounds." Triss took a deep breath. He now fully realized that doing business with this black cat wasn't something one could afford even with several lives, but considering Tingen's current state, remaining ignorant could very well lead to death without even knowing why. After a moment's thought, he made his choice.

"Two hundred pounds, let me think... Got it. Let me put it this way: an Emissary from the Aurora Society came to Tingen looking for something. The three major churches are looking for him and the thing he's looking for. And someone wants to take this opportunity to steal something."

"That's it?" Triss listened to the black cat's tongue-twisting statement and asked with some suspicion, "The one who wants to steal something, isn't that you?"

"Guess?" Sno tilted his cat head, putting on a cute act. Honestly, if you ignored his awful personality, he really could stir the hearts of young girls.

"I'll put the remaining questions on tab for now. Oh, and can't you give me a more reliable way to contact you?" Triss asked, slowly mulling over the information Sno had given him.

"I've already told you, praying to My Lord is the simplest and safest way to contact me. If you're really unwilling, you can control a normal person to pray on your behalf! I recall Witches also have some Extraordinary abilities like charming people, right?"

Hmm, regarding saving Old Neil, it's not just about pandering to a character from the original work. There's a strategic element here too. Although there will be an explanation tomorrow at noon, to minimize the possibility of being scolded, I'll offer a brief explanation. Hmm, in short, I mostly write logically, and even if I do accommodate characters favored by the original work, I'll try my best to do so in a way that aligns with the protagonist's personality. If you notice any blatant pandering, the target is definitely a long-haired black girl... that's an exception, not up for discussion. What? Triss is also long-haired black... Uh, well, this, hmm, the protagonist really doesn't plan to experience the taste of a Sorceress, really! And Triss is destined to become a tough, iron-willed man in the future!