After a brief exchange of glances, Tower did not immediately resume his transaction with Judgment, Charlotte. Instead, he turned toward the head of the long table, bowed slightly, and asked with carefully chosen words:
"Honorable Mr. Fool, is the law you mentioned a secret known within all the major Churches?"
At his question, Charlotte temporarily set aside her anticipation for the Sheriff potion. She was curious as well.
At least within the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, in conversations among the Purification-ers, she had never heard the term "Beyonder characteristic," much less of using something they considered as dangerous as a Sealed Artifact as a potion ingredient and pouring it straight down one's throat.
Unfortunately, Mr. Fool seemed intent on providing an introduction, not an explanation. The figure behind the gray fog remained motionless, leaving the palace within it shrouded in silence.
A moment later, Temperance, who sat opposite Tower, suddenly spoke:
"At least in the Southern Continent, among the various schools and orders, this is no more a secret than the acting method.
"And among Beyonders who don't belong to these organizations, Beyonder characteristics, which can be stored safely with nothing more than a wall of spirituality to seal them, are more convenient to trade than ingredients that require all sorts of storage conditions, or finished potions that can easily merge with their containers to become Mystical Items."
More convenient to trade? That makes these vessels of power, which only emerge after a Beyonder dies, sound like hot commodities... Charlotte muttered inwardly, then realized that she did indeed share that attitude. After all, she was about to trade Beyonder characteristics with Mr. Tower, and afterward, she would even brew the characteristic left by a dead Sheriff into a potion to advance herself.
*Isn't this just people eating people...?