Potion Formula Transaction

"Hey, hey, this unknown Mr. Panredax, your integrity wasn't necessarily much better than Emperor Roselle's, was it?" Mr. Fool grumbled inwardly, but he continued reading patiently. After all, Panredax had slept with a high-ranking member of the Secret Master Association; perhaps there would be potions from the Seer Sequence?

Then—

"I got quite a bit of intelligence out of Ayn. After corroborating it with Roselle's diary, it was basically trustworthy. Still, I need to divine the Potion Formula myself. One can never be too careful."

"I never expected the Divine Pathway to truly be a pathway to godhood. And the Seer pathway just happens not to have a Sequence Zero—though that half-Sequence Zero Antigonus isn't easy to deal with either. But then again, for a mere Faceless like me to be thinking about 'The Fool' is far too ambitious. I should first consider where to find a live mermaid..."

The diary ended there. Though it seemed disjointed and incomplete, Klein had gleaned quite a lot of information from it—

"I never expected to see the term 'The Fool' here. If 'the Divine Pathway truly is a pathway to godhood' means that Sequence Zero is a true god, then is 'The Fool' the so-called Sequence Zero of the Seer Sequence? No wonder Mr. Devil became even more respectful after hearing me call myself The Fool. Did he take me for a true god?"

When Klein first saw the words "The Fool," he had truly been startled. He had suffered enough from the dangers brought by "coincidences" these past days. However, after seeing the description of "that half-Sequence Zero Antigonus," he relaxed somewhat. Considering how The Fool card had appeared after he dreamed of that notebook, perhaps it was merely an effect of that notebook.

And compared to another layer of coincidence being added to someone already caught in a whirl of coincidences, what concerned him more were the other details.

For example, mermaids.

"It seems that Faceless should be a high-level potion of the Seer Sequence. I just don't know whether it's Sequence Seven or Sequence Six. As for looking for mermaids... is that because they're potion ingredients? But if they're potion ingredients, is there a need to specifically emphasize that they must be 'live'?"

Klein frowned slightly and began considering whether he should also start seeking clues about live mermaids. But then he laughed at himself. He was clearly making the same mistake as the diary's owner. He had not even secured Sequence Eight yet, but he was already thinking about Mid Sequence matters.

At that thought, he forcibly reined in his emotions and stopped himself from dwelling on unnecessary matters. With a wave of his hand, he made the parchment scroll in his hand vanish, then looked toward the people on either side of the long table.

"Actually, you don't need to wait for me."

"It is our honor." After realizing that his position might be threatened once again, Mr. Hangman completely restrained his sharp edges and replied humbly.

Audrey pondered for a moment before maintaining her Spectator state and saying with a faint smile, "Mr. Fool, the method you previously described for publicly examining and selecting administrative officials has already received the approval of the King and Prime Minister. It will soon pass through the House of Lords and House of Commons. It is expected to formally enter the implementation stage early next year."

Upon hearing Miss Justice's words, Alger habitually made a sarcastic remark about Loen's bureaucrats, while Mr. Fool began considering his brother's future.

Seeing Mr. Fool nod as though in approval, Audrey's slender waist straightened slightly. She then turned toward Sno with a smile and asked, "Mr. Devil, have you received the materials you wanted?"

"Of course. I'm very satisfied with this transaction." Hearing Audrey's sweet voice, Sno immediately felt much better. He pushed the formula he had already copied forward and said, "These are the Low Sequence Potion Formulas I possess. They include Sequences Nine through Seven of the Seer Sequence, Sequences Nine through Seven of the Assassin Sequence, Sequence Nine of the Pharmacist Pathway, and Sequences Eight and Seven of the Lawyer Pathway. I also have some incomplete formulas, mostly the main ingredients for those sequences. Mid Sequence potions are rather sensitive, but if you have channels through which to sell them, you can bring it up. No matter how much you sell them for, just give me seventy percent of the market price..."

"No Sailor, Spectator, or Worshipper pathways? Is it because he truly doesn't have them, or did he deliberately skip them?" Mr. Hangman had always viewed human nature with the greatest malice. The amount of resources this Devil possessed had already far exceeded the limit of what an ordinary "family" could own—

At least as far as he knew, even the Churches of the true gods, aside from the complete formulas for one primary pathway, often only possessed formulas for two or three Low Sequence pathways. Yet Devil had brought out four pathways in one go, and there was a high chance that he had not mentioned his own pathway. It was difficult not to suspect his true identity.

Compared to Mr. Hangman, who habitually overinterpreted everything, Miss Justice was much more straightforward. She was merely shocked by Mr. Devil's... hmm, alright, she was simply shocked.

After deliberating inwardly for a long time without finding a suitable word to describe her feelings, Audrey immediately stopped overthinking and directly asked, "Mr. Devil, can you find Potion Formulas above Sequence Seven of the Spectator pathway? Hmm, clues about the main ingredients would work as well."

"Hmm..." Sno was somewhat surprised that this question, which should have been answered by Mr. Hangman, had fallen onto his head. But on second thought, he understood—because he had answered first, Mr. Hangman had missed an opportunity to ask a question and thus one transaction without having to make up the difference in price.

After pondering briefly, Sno nodded lightly. "Unfortunately, regarding Spectator Sequence Seven, I only know some of its main ingredients. Compared to obtaining it from me, your earlier proposal of joining the Psychology Alchemist Association is actually a good idea."

"But I don't have any channels in that regard." Audrey frowned slightly. However, she noticed that Mr. Devil seemed thoroughly confident, and she immediately understood. With a hint of delight, she asked, "Could it be that Mr. Devil has a way to join the Psychology Alchemist Association?"

"It doesn't really count as a channel." Sno shook his head, then hinted, "Quite a few Loen nobles are members of the Psychology Alchemist Association. You can draw their attention by spreading word that you wish to purchase a Spectator Potion Formula. They seem very keen on bringing the descendants of great nobles into the organization, hoping to influence the Kingdom's decisions through them. Of course, if you need the specific identity of a member of the Psychology Alchemist Association, I can tell you that as well, but that... will cost extra."

"No problem! I'm willing to pay five hundred... no, one thousand pounds!" Audrey immediately made the decision, offering a price equivalent to the main ingredient of a Sequence Seven potion.

Sno nodded lightly upon hearing that. Taking out a sheet of paper, he wrote down the name of one of his predecessor's "regular customers"...

PS1: Regarding Klein's spirituality: before taking the potion, his spirituality could barely support two people. After becoming a Seer, it should at least be able to support one more, right? Now that the Seer potion has been fully digested, supporting another person should not be a problem either, right?

PS2: As for whether this excessively interferes with Klein, I don't think it has yet, because the protagonist has not truly helped Klein avoid any risks.

For example, the protagonist did not seek out Earlbert in advance. Instead, he let Mr. Witch reap the benefits after the battle.

Likewise, while Lanclus was still in Tingen, he did not have Mr. Witch make a move. He only chose to reveal the information after Ince's script had begun operating.

And the protagonist revealing the formulas itself cannot even be considered beneficial interference. Because of his appearance, Klein no longer had any reason to advance to Clown through the Church of the Night's channels. In other words, he instead needed to gather the materials for Sequence Eight himself.

Then there is whether Dunn and Old Neil not dying would cause Klein to lose his motivation. That is simply nonsense. This World is already filled with tragedies; the fact that one or two people did not die would not make him turn a blind eye to other tragedies. If he ignored ordinary people's tragedies merely because those around him had not died, then Klein would not be that Klein.

I have already made the protagonist's attitude very clear—"Take not a single hair, claim not a single scrap; preserve one's innate nature in its entirety, and let no external thing burden the self."

He would pursue benefits so long as he did not harm others—excluding anti-human elements—and help others so long as it did not harm himself. He followed his own heart, rather than any concept of good and evil.