Edwina's secret

Neph's words surprised Klein for a moment, but he quickly understood and couldn't help but laugh, "That's exactly what I know about you."

"But speaking of which, do you think Amon would deceive people even when they know he's a fraud?"

Neph chuckled softly and replied, "I don't know."

"All I know is that most people believe the God of Deceit is a tyrannical God, even my sister, whom I've never met, holds this view."

Upon hearing this, Klein frowned and said, "Isn't He?"

"He only acts recklessly when he is certain," Neph replied.

"----That means you're not reckless at all!" Klein suddenly realized, "You're even quite cautious!"

Neph shrugged, and before Klein could continue, she asked, "You took that 'Red Priest ' card, didn't you?"

"Yes." Klein nodded, readily admitting it.

Neph's fingernails scratched across the table, Danitz once again surfaced in her mind. After a few seconds of hesitation, she asked Klein, "How is Danitz now?"

"Nothing's changed?" Klein asked hesitantly. "Digesting Potion, saving money, buying Potion recipes, buying Potion ingredients, buying Mystical Item —isn't that what everyone does?"

Neph turned her hand and beckoned to Klein with her finger.

Klein paused for a moment, then obediently lowered his head. Neph leaned closer and whispered, "Find out for me if Anderson Hood is still with him. If he is, give me his location."

"No need to ask," Klein shook his head. "They're together right now—he sought help at the Tarot Club several times, saying he was being harassed by someone, but unfortunately, he couldn't find a way to get rid of him."

Neph glanced at Klein suspiciously, and Klein explained, "I asked him to inquire about the situation on the Southern Continent —well, they're currently in Cookawa City, and I'll be heading there in the next couple of days."

Neph said "Oh," indicating that she understood, and then said, "Give me Danitz's location, I'm going to find Anderson."

"What are you going to do? Wait, no, I remember you move through memories, right? Then shouldn't you be able to go directly there?" Klein asked, puzzled.

"You think I haven't tried?" Neph shrugged. "But it seems like quite a few people remember me—"

Klein's lips twitched slightly, indicating he understood, and then pressed on, "What do you want to do that requires Anderson Hood?"

"This matter truly cannot be left to him," Neph revealed a malicious smile. "Do you remember, our ' Empress ' is destined to become ' Empress' —for him right now, it seems there's nothing that could make him choose to become a woman; the allure of promotion isn't that great for him."

"Can Anderson Hood offer this temptation?" Klein asked thoughtfully.

"Of course he can," Neph lowered her voice again. "Anderson Hood studied at the Church of Knowledge with Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina, and he knows many things about Edwina that Danitz, as a crew member, would never know. For example, Edwina actually likes women—"

"Cough cough cough!" Klein coughed violently.

Neph sat up straight again, watching Klein choke and turn to the waiter, "Could you please bring this gentleman a glass of water? Thank you."

"No need, cough cough, no need, I can recover on my own, cough cough cough, cough cough." Klein stopped him amidst his coughing.

Neph didn't insist. She waited quietly for Klein to finish coughing, then remarked with a sigh, "That's good. Demigod aren't so easily choked to death now."

"----?" Klein looked like he'd seen a ghost. "Neph, let's discuss this."

"What?" Neph blinked.

"Next time I eat or drink, don't say anything," Klein replied.

"Why can't you not eat or drink while I'm talking?" Neph retorted.

"----" Klein decided to shut up.

"So, where is Danitz?" Neph asked him.

Klein gave the name of a Hotel and its room number, described Hotel approximate location, and then asked, "Do you need me to mark it on a map? Hmm, I don't have a map on hand; we might have to buy one."

"No need." Neph vanished in a cloud of mist.

"Since you're so unwilling to stay in West Balam, why don't you leave?" Anderson crossed his arms, looked at Danitz, and put his legs up on the table.

"You think I don't want to!" Danitz retorted. "It's all because of Gehrman! He won't let me leave, just in case!"

"Excuse my bluntness," Anderson said, giving Danitz a strange look, "But she really does sound like a Maid."

"I should at least be a male servant—" Danitz retorted.

"So you've already accepted yourself as a servant?" A cold female voice rang out, causing them both to freeze in place.

In the dispersing white mist, Neph reformed her form, sitting on a chair sculpted from ice and snow, crystal clear Offline reflecting a beautiful light.

After a moment of silence, Anderson stood up, casually lifted Danitz up, and greeted him with a wary smile, "We meet again, Your Excellency."

Neph didn't look at him; her eyes slid down to Danitz, and she gave a curt command, "Get out, guard the door, and don't let anyone in."

Danitz snapped out of his daze in a chill. He met Neph's eyes, instinctively straightened his back, and loudly replied, "Yes!"

Neph didn't speak, but blinked gently.

No, why should I listen to her?

Danitz snapped out of his shock, met Neph's Han Xiao eyes, remained silent for two seconds, then turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him, and stood in the doorway.

"Tsk." This was Neph's dismissive remark.

"So you've come to see me?" This was Anderson's response, as relaxed as possible.

Neph stared at him for two seconds, then laughed and said, "Are you going to talk to me standing up?"

Upon hearing this, Anderson unceremoniously sat back down in his chair and grinned at Neph, saying, "I still don't know how to address you, Miss."

Neph scoffed and replied, "If it's been this long and you haven't even typed my name yet..."

"If you've come out like this, then you should probably find someone else to be the 'strongest Hunter '."

"Miss Pure White," Anderson's smile faded slightly, "What can I do for you?"

Neph rubbed her fingertips together, looked up at Anderson, and asked, "I remember, you were classmates with Edwina?"

Anderson paused for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, we studied together at the Church of Knowledge."

"Then you must know some secrets about her that no one else knows," Neph said matter-of-factly, "At least things that Danitz doesn't know."

"A secret no one knows—?" Anderson looked somewhat puzzled. "I don't know much about that, but if it's just things Danitz doesn't know, then there are certainly many."

"No, you know," Neph smiled at him, "You know a secret that nobody else knows: Edwina actually likes women."

"----?" Anderson was stunned. "I don't think I should know----"

"No," Neph interrupted him, "You know about this, and not only that, you also know the Potion recipe for the Iron-Blooded Knight '."

Anderson's mouth gaped slightly; he seemed momentarily stunned. After a few breaths, he closed his mouth and resumed his relaxed smile, "Can I ask you a question?"

Neph nodded slightly, signaling him to continue, and Anderson then spoke, "What makes you so obsessed with Danitz becoming a woman?"

Neph blinked and told him, "No, I'm not that obsessed. Perhaps you've misunderstood the value of this Potion recipe, but in fact, it was meant to be yours."

"I simply replaced someone else who was supposed to be doing the deal with you, and changed the terms of the deal."

Anderson paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. He nodded and replied, "I don't know if Edwina likes women, but as far as I know, she's only close to women."

"Whatever," Neph shrugged. "I just need Danitz to make up his mind."

As she raised her hand, Anderson suddenly felt something enter his mind. He closed his eyes, and an unidentified rectangular slab appeared in his mind. The side with the writing was smooth and bright, while the rest was illegible. Only the Potion formula was clear. "Potion Name: Iron-Blooded Knight;"

Sequence: 4;

Main materials: Core of the Magma Giant, Catastrophe Stone;

"Auxiliary materials: 80 ml of boiling lava, 20 g of plant powder contaminated by the Catastrophe Stone, 20 g of soil soaked with soldiers' blood from a large battlefield, and one acorn;

"Ritual: Assemble a team of at least thirty people, cultivate deep camaraderie among them, help them grow stronger one by one, and develop perfect teamwork, able to understand the leader's intentions through eye contact and gestures, becoming almost one with each other. Then, they will perform the Ritual (the higher the team's strength and level of teamwork, the better the Ritual's effect)."

Anderson opened his eyes, wanting to say something, but found that the figure that had just been in front of him had disappeared, and the room was empty, with nothing left behind.

Cookawa City, White Feather Square.

After retrieving the token left by Danitz, Klein, now dressed in Dwayne Dantès' suit, arrived here. As agreed, he would seek out General Mesangers, the leader of the Northern Province, to discuss the arms deal.

The general's residence is located in the Clean White Feather Square, next to a downward-facing Church of Death God.

As a quintessential Loen gentleman, Dantes felt a sense of incongruity as he walked through the city. Foreigners were so few; they were almost exclusively seen around the Place de la République, where the major consulates were located.

In other areas, the people coming and going are mostly local Balam people.

They have brownish skin, black curly hair, and soft facial features. In the eyes of many people from the Northern Continent, people of the same gender only differ in height and weight, and they look quite similar.

These locals, both men and women, enjoy smoking East Balam Tobacco, made by wrapping herbs directly in dried tobacco leaves. Along the way, Klein could often see residents puffing out smoke outside their homes by the roadside.

In addition, a large number of them would hang a fruit called "Dallawa" from their waists.

This fruit is about the size of two fists, with an extremely thick skin. After you dig a small hole in it and eat the flesh, you can use it to hold water, wine, or various other beverages.

Klein had tried this fruit before, and he had also tasted a popular beverage called "Guadal," which is sweet and sour, refreshing and thirst-quenching, and extremely invigorating. Neph said she had discovered a Southern Continent version of Sweet Iced Tea and brought him a serving.

Klein, without looking to either side, found the guards on duty at the general's mansion and requested to see a man named Haggis.

Based on his Loen appearance and gentlemanly attire, the guard neither refused nor made things difficult for him, and assigned one of them to go in and call out a man who was not yet thirty.

The man's features and complexion were typical of Balam, but his slightly curly black hair was pulled straight and neatly combed back, seemingly imitating the upper class of various countries in the Northern Continent.

He was wearing a white shirt, a black waistcoat, and a very formal bow tie. Upon seeing Dwayne Dantès, he greeted him in fluent Loenese, "Good afternoon, I'm Haggis, it's an honor to meet you."

After a few pleasantries, Dwayne Dantès was led into the general's mansion. The architecture here lacked any of the characteristics of the Southern Continent; it neither controlled natural light, making the interiors gloomy, nor boldly used human bones as decoration to create a striking visual impact. Instead, it resembled a transplanted mansion from the Northern Continent, with an indelible Intis style.

Each pillar is covered in gold leaf in sections, the murals on the walls are painted in vibrant colors, and gold sculptures are inlaid around them. A spiraling and magnificent staircase descends from the top, connecting all four floors and landing in the center of the hall, directly facing the entrance, making it extremely grand.

It must be said that the nation led by the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun is truly at the forefront of the world in terms of gold art, without any sense of nouveau riche. Klein's gaze swept over the palm-sized golden Angel statues flying diagonally from the middle of the stair railing and the middle of the pillar, and he resisted the urge to reach out and touch them.

He glanced at the guards standing on either side, then casually struck up a conversation with Haggis, trying to divert his attention as much as possible, until a figure descended the stairs with the golden handrail.

The figure was not wearing a hat, but a crisp black military dress uniform with gleaming gold buttons and blood-red ribbons.

He had a light brown complexion, soft facial features, and his features appeared closed, squeezed tightly in the center of his face, making his face appear larger than normal.

Having obtained information from multiple sources, Klein immediately recognized him as the de facto ruler of the Northern Province West Balam.

Mesangers, who calls himself a general!