The Favor of Good Fortune

Dear Mr. Azik,

How have you been lately? Before I knew it, I had already spent half a month in Backlund, and more than ten days had passed since my last letter to you. A great deal happened during that time.

I am now a detective in Backlund, and thanks to a few successful commissions, I have made something of a name for myself.

A few days ago, I ran into some trouble. Because of certain misunderstandings, Beckland, the ambassador from Intis, intended to kill me. At a Beyonder gathering, I put out a commission to have the ambassador assassinated.

The other party quoted the steep price of ten thousand pounds, but fortunately, it was money well spent. They successfully resolved my problem.

I was originally quite troubled over where to find the money, but do you remember Qilingus? There was a thirty-thousand-pound bounty on his head. For certain reasons, I received half of that bounty, or 15,000 pounds.

I feel that this money should actually belong to you, which is why I am writing this letter. I am very sorry for using your bounty money. Once I receive the remaining 5,000 pounds, I will give it to you. As for the 10,000 pounds, I will find a way to repay you later, or compensate you with items and information of equivalent value...

Klein struggled to finish the final stroke. Then he put away the letter, picked up the Copper Whistle Mr. Azik had given him, and blew it.

The enormous messenger appeared. Klein handed over the letter and watched the messenger disappear, then slumped limply into his chair, muttering with vacant eyes:

"Ten thousand pounds..."

The Tarot Club meeting had ended, but Neph's drowsiness had long since vanished. She had to rely on meditation to fall asleep again.

Early the next morning, after waking up, Neph went to find Nim. The High Priest was still in the room where he spent most of his time. Neph's gaze swept over the clock with seeming casualness before she greeted him:

"Morning, High Priest-you're up so early?"

"I didn't sleep." Nim shook his head. "What brings you here?"

Neph froze for a moment before understanding dawned on her face-a Demigod-level Sleepless probably had next to no need for sleep, even if he did sleep.

"Ahem." Concealing her embarrassment, she explained why she had come. "I'd like to borrow a Mystical Item that improves luck."

Nim looked slightly taken aback, then asked, "How long would you need it?"

"Uh..." Neph hesitated. "A week?"

Nim nodded and said with a smile, "I'll have someone bring it to you later."

Everything went so smoothly that even when Neph left the room, she had noticed nothing.

A little over two hours later, Neph received the Mystical Item and its accompanying documentation. It was a gleaming gold coin originating from a Lucky One, called the Lucky Coin. Tossing it was enough to grant a boost to one's luck.

However, the coin supposedly rolled around on its own at random. It might roll out at an inopportune moment and put its owner in danger.

Of course, that was not something Neph needed to worry about. After receiving the coin, she set it aside and began arranging the ritual with the herbs and essential oils she had prepared beforehand.

Moon City's textbooks taught these things. If all else failed, Neph felt she could adapt a ritual for the True Creator into one for Ouroboros-after all, the honorific name was what did most of the work.

In fact, when it came to materials for the candles, Neph had not specifically selected anything that might correspond to the domain of fate-mainly because Moon City had none.

After preparing the site and using the Ritual Silver Dagger to establish a Spirituality Barrier, she began to pray:

"Lingering heroic spirit;

"Blessed of the True Creator;

"Eyes that gaze upon fate..."

Why a heroic spirit... did He die? Oh no, stop thinking about it. At least not right now...

"I pray for the power of fate,

"I pray for the favor of good fortune..."

...Hopefully, for the True Creator's sake, He won't let the automatic response skip over me.

"..."

After the final words of the incantation, the candle flames swept up the unidentified herbs. Neph closed her eyes and waited quietly.

...But how am I supposed to tell whether the ritual worked?

Neph opened her eyes again in bewilderment. Then she sprang up from the floor and stared at the Blank Canvas.

The blot of black ink had become active. It quivered and rippled, spreading farther, growing from an inconspicuous ink dot into a small stain. Then a trace of silver, like flowing sand, spread through it, exuding a mysterious aura.

Fate...

An answer came to Neph. She pressed her lips tightly together, realizing that her ritual might have succeeded, but whether it had taken effect... was probably hard to say.

And the Mystical Item might not work on me either... its influence belongs to the mystical side too!

Neph frowned deeply. In silence, she got up and tidied the site. Once everything was finished, she gritted her teeth and said:

"Might as well try a last-ditch remedy... Hmm, I can't take the Beyonder characteristic out. I can't bring out anything that was already in there, but I can take objects in from outside and see whether the Beyonder characteristic can merge into them..."

...What should I use?

Neph hesitated. She glanced at the Blank Canvas, then recalled the Sequence 6 Faded Painter, and an idea suddenly came to her.

She strode outside. Before long, she returned carrying a small wooden bucket with a brush inside.

With a slight stir of her spirituality, Neph appeared in the pure-white space, bucket in hand. Without much hope, she took out the coin, flicked it into the air, and caught it.

Hopefully, it works...

Neph sighed and summoned the Pure White Walker's Beyonder characteristic with practiced ease. This time, she did not reach out to touch it. Instead, she stood where she was and examined it curiously.

It had the structure of a complex network of corridors, seemingly packed densely into that tiny square space, yet Neph could not distinguish its beginning from its end.

She could not see the inner walls clearly, but ever-changing reliefs seemed to cover the outer walls. Neph thought the inner walls probably had them too.

Neph did not try to make out the contents of the reliefs. She knew full well how unusual Demigods were, and even though what stood before her was merely a Beyonder characteristic, she still regarded it with awe. She simply lifted the small bucket and enclosed the Beyonder characteristic within it.

The Beyonder characteristic, which should have remained suspended in the air, was taken down just like that. Neph looked down, but instead of immediately melting as it had when it touched her before, it simply lay quietly in the bucket.

Wait...

Come back and check in two days?

Neph blinked, then left the pure-white space with the Lucky Coin clasped in her hand.

Back in reality, Neph stuffed the Lucky Coin into her pocket. After looking at the Blank Canvas in her hand and pondering for a few seconds, she traced an inverted cross over her chest and murmured:

"Even if You won't bless me, please at least take pity on someone who once believed in You..."