Watching the Black Cat leap out the window, Trissy immediately resumed applying her makeup, though she was mulling over the information the cat had revealed.
"Aurora Society Oracle... that should correspond to one of the two Sequence Vs he mentioned. Since it's the Aurora Society, what they're looking for should be that so-called 'divinity,' or at least something related to divinity. The True Creator's divinity?"
At that thought, some of the knowledge embedded in her consciousness by the Witch potion surfaced in Trissy's mind. Understanding that divinity could be used to arrange the True God Advent Ritual, she finally understood why Tingen had become like this.
But...
"At a time like this, shouldn't Backlund be sending elite Beyonders? Or is this connected to a contest between Gods?"
Trissy somewhat regretted not finishing her thousand-pound question, but her reason told her that the more she asked, the deeper she would become entangled. At least now she knew that Tingen's lockdown was aimed at a particular person, rather than the so-called "crackdown" Emperor Roselle had described.
In that case, as long as she was careful not to expose her Beyonder Ability and maintained anti-divination measures, she should not need to worry too much.
"Anyway, as long as they're not here specifically to arrest me..."
Trissy began formulating a plan, considering how to reasonably and safely expose the news that Old Seer had been corrupted by The Hidden Sage. Meanwhile, Sno controlled Lily's body as he walked through the streets, pondering his next move.
Sno had no friendship whatsoever with Old Neil. If there was anything at all, it was merely the sympathy a former Curly Baboon felt for a character from the original story.
As a "poor soul" who had already transmigrated into this world, Sno naturally would not place himself in danger simply out of sympathy for an original-story character. He had made this choice during such a sensitive time partly to muddy the waters further, and partly to make Trissy sink deeper into those muddy waters. Saving Old Neil was merely incidental.
Only when it did not involve himself would he help others; only when it did not harm others would he seek profit—well, villains were not included in the scope of "not harming."
"Take not a single hair, seize not a single thread; preserve one's true nature in its entirety, and do not let material things burden the form. Hmm, maybe I could form an organization called Complete Nature?" Sno mocked himself internally, then went around an alley and slipped into Tingen City's rather cramped sewers.
Sniffing the odors in the sewers, Sno unexpectedly found them less disgusting than he had imagined. It was not because Tingen's sewers were clean, but because he was currently using Lily's body.
Animals and humans had different senses of smell. Just as dogs were crazily obsessed with the smell of stinky feet, cats had a different concept of foul odors from humans.
After nimbly squeezing through several narrow passages that a human body could never pass through, Sno successfully arrived at a fairly cramped space.
"Respected Mr. A, it's me." To avoid provoking the hostility of this place's "master," Sno spoke softly from outside the passage.
"Come in." Mr. A's voice remained pleasant. Sno obediently slipped into the passage and saw Mr. A, who remained elegant despite being in a sewer.
"What is it?" Relying on the Devil power he had Shepherded, Mr. A confirmed that the visitor bore no hostility whatsoever and that no one had followed him before relaxing and scrutinizing the black anchor before him.
"I found some clues."
Sno looked into Mr. A's eyes and spoke calmly.
"Tell me." Having already confirmed that mid- to High Sequence Beyonders were involved behind this matter, Mr. A did not think Sno could uncover much. Still, he did not discourage this devout believer whom he regarded highly, instead asking gently.
"I discovered that during the period when the Holy Son was conceived, a great number of coincidences occurred around Heinsohn Vincent—or rather, around the notebook he sold. That includes the Holy Son being conceived within a mortal woman."
"Oh?" Mr. A's previously indifferent demeanor changed slightly. He realized that he might have underestimated this newcomer, who had joined less than two months ago.
"Though my knowledge is limited, and I don't know what kind of ability this is, I discovered that the main scope of these coincidences basically falls within the jurisdiction of the Night Watch Heretics."
Sno spoke in a speculative tone, while Mr. A roughly formed an idea in his mind and nodded lightly.
"Go on."
"Although I don't know what the other party intends to obtain, if everything is within their calculations, then their scheme is likely aimed at the Church of Evernight. And when they make their move, they will definitely find a way to draw away those who could threaten them."
At this point, Sno closed his mouth, because the words that followed were not something a believer could say.
But Mr. A clearly understood what he meant. Weren't he and the Holy Son precisely what would be used to draw away the official Beyonders?
Viewed from that angle, the other party was currently exhausting the official Beyonders' energy. Conversely, once the official Beyonders reached their limit, the other party would very likely throw out the Holy Son to draw their attention before taking the opportunity to complete their scheme.
Therefore, as long as he kept a close watch on the Church of Evernight, he should be able to discover the Holy Son's whereabouts immediately and identify the person behind it all.
He was not worried that he would be unable to escape, because he had once recorded the ability of Travel from Mr. X.
"Your intelligence is very valuable. Is there anything else?" Mr. A made plans for his next actions, then looked again at the Black Cat before him.
Though he had said it many times before, Mr. A found that this newcomer Sno was truly becoming more and more pleasing to his eye.
"Mm, I'd like to apply to return to Backlund." The Black Cat spoke somewhat hesitantly. Upon hearing this, Mr. A frowned slightly.
It was not that he thought Sno wanted to be a deserter, because he knew very well that Backlund was even more chaotic than Tingen right now.
"Do you know Backlund's current situation?" Mr. A pondered briefly before asking.
"I learned from the Backlund Morning Post that the Waltz Faction has been completely wiped out." Sno's words seemed utterly unrelated, but Mr. A understood.
The Waltz Faction was one of the gangs the Aurora Society had supported in Backlund's East Borough. Many of its members were believers of the True Creator, including quite a few Secrets Suppliants. The Waltz Faction's destruction basically meant that the Aurora Society's forces in Backlund were facing an enormous threat.
At the same time, the Waltz Faction itself had been Sno's excuse for being forced out of Backlund. Its downfall also meant that Sno had a reason to return to Backlund.
Before you continue