A Gathering Place for Lunatics (Please Subscribe~)

On Friday morning, aboard a steam train bound for Tingen, Sifa opened a newspaper and found a startling headline splashed across the front page.

"Intis Ambassador Assassinated; Aurora Order Claims Responsibility"!

My God.

No wonder they're a gathering place for lunatics. After I picked up the ambassador's Beyonder Characteristic and Mystical Item, I wanted nothing more than for nobody to know about it.

But those lunatics from the Aurora Order actually stepped forward and announced, "We did it!"

I have to admire them.

Sifa lowered the newspaper. Looking like a middle-aged gentleman, he smiled and nodded at the little girl across from him who had been staring at him, then turned to the window.

The first and last parts of his trip to Backlund had gone smoothly. There had been a few surprises in the middle, but the outcome had been nearly perfect.

Thinking it over, Sifa realized he had spent quite a bit on this trip.

The Thousand-Faced Traveler had cost 1,700 pounds, Mr Green's identity and invitation another 300, and the rented carriage 225. Then there were the Golden Rose and his other expenses.

All told,

he had spent around 2,300 pounds.

The anonymous account, which had held 7,000 pounds, was down to 4,700.

Still,

he had gained a great deal.

For one thing, the Thousand-Faced Traveler was not a single-use item. He could keep using it, and its abilities were formidable.

For another, Sifa had obtained a Conspirer Beyonder Characteristic and an unidentified Mystical Item from the ambassador.

Finally, Sifa could feel that the fire he had set in East Borough last night had helped him digest his potions.

The fire had looked fierce, but Sifa had set up firebreaks inside those houses. Once the flames had burned far enough, they would die out on their own