Steadying himself, Julian pushed open the door to Rosen's Folk Herbal Shop.
He saw a round-faced man in his thirties or forties with short black hair, dressed in a black robe like a village witch doctor, and caught the rich scent of herbs.
In Julian's eyes, the scents of those herbs became a kaleidoscope of luminous mist, drifting through every corner of the shop and enveloping the slightly worn wooden tables and chairs like a post-impressionist painting by Van Gogh.
Seeing Julian enter, the proprietor looked up and fixed his deep blue eyes on him.
"Sir, you aren't ill. Please leave."
"Who says you can't buy medicine if you aren't ill?"
Julian sat down in a chair with a smile.
At those words, "Rosen" froze briefly. After a moment's thought, he said:
"Tell me what you need."
"My requirements are rather unusual."
Julian rested his Agarwood Cane to one side, picked up a glass bottle filled with small pills of various colors from the table, and examined it before continuing:
"A curse attached to a physical object, probably without any necromantic characteristics. It can slowly erode the astral body and the physical body, causing headaches, weight loss, sleep problems, and nervous exhaustion.
"What I can say for certain is that this curse doesn't follow its victim. Instead, it affects him during his daily life. Once he leaves its range, the curse's effects begin to fade and weaken.
"I need medicine that can quickly clear away the effects of this curse and restore the victim's health. It doesn't matter if it's expensive. That friend of mine is very wealthy."
At Julian's words, clear wariness surfaced in Rosen's eyes. Feigning confusion, he said:
"Sir, I don't know what you're talking about.
"Curses and spells... I may dress like a witch doctor, but I'm actually a proper physician.
"If you're looking for help with religious rituals or something of that sort, I suggest you visit one of the orthodox churches. I don't know anything about such matters."
Julian laughed. He knew the man was worried about attracting the attention of official Beyonders, so he was unwilling to say anything that could be used against him.
He had opened this shop merely to establish a place for exchanging information and earn some money on the side. He had no desire to attract the attention of the Nighthawks, the Machinery Hivemind, or the Mandated Punishers, so he would never reveal that he was a Beyonder to anyone he didn't know.
"You don't have to be so nervous."
Julian shook his head.
"I'm from Azshara in Lenburg. I have two friends in the School of Life, Everett Lawrence and Vilo Kincaid. They're a Sequence 7 Lucky One and a Sequence 8 Beast Tamer, respectively.
"I believe you should know them."
"Everett and Vilo?"
Only upon hearing those two names did "Rosen's" expression relax a little.
Just as Julian had said, he knew both of them. He and Vilo had even studied under the same mentor, so their relationship was fairly good.
As for his own name, it wasn't "Rosen" at all, but "Darkwill."
In the original novel, Klein had traded with him several times in Backlund. At this point in Tingen, however, their paths had barely crossed.
"Who are you?"
Still cautious, Darkwill did not respond directly, instead continuing to inquire into Julian's background.
"My name is Julian. If you like, you can think of me as an apostate being hunted by the Church of Knowledge."
Julian shrugged with a smile.
"Well? Will that do?"
"...Whether it does or not, there's not much I can do. I have no choice but to cooperate with you."
Darkwill sighed.
"After all, for someone like me, 'suspicious' is practically the same as 'guilty.' I wouldn't stand up to any scrutiny."
"You don't have to be so anxious. If I really were that sort of person, Everett and Vilo would already have been exposed, wouldn't they?"
Those words seemed to put Darkwill at ease.
Just as Julian had said, his two colleagues in the School of Life were still doing perfectly well and had encountered no danger from the orthodox churches.
"All right."
The round-faced man nodded.
"The information you gave me isn't enough. Can you tell me more? Things like the appearance of his aura and the texture of his skin."
"Of course."
Julian nodded. After he gave a more detailed account, Darkwill inclined his head.
He selected several herbs from the shelves, combined them, and wrapped them up.
"Boil them in water and drink it three times a day. One day will be enough.
"Make sure he stays away from the source of the curse in the meantime. You should understand that part."
"Of course."
Julian took the herbs.
"How much?"
"No charge."
Darkwill shook his head.
"For Everett and Vilo's sake. Consider it a gesture of friendship."
"All right."
Although Julian was somewhat surprised, a moment's thought made him realize that Darkwill was probably trying to do him a small favor.
After all, in a sense, Julian had something he could hold over him. Although Julian had no intention of doing anything to him, buying a little peace of mind would make him feel better.
He handed Darkwill a business card, voluntarily revealing his identity to reassure the man further, then left Rosen's Folk Herbal Shop carrying the packet of medicine.
After leaving the East Borough, Julian went straight to the Blackthorn Security Company and found Klein Moretti, who was preparing to leave work.
"Good evening, Julian."
Klein greeted Julian, then asked:
"What brings you here at this hour? Is something wrong?"
"Yes, a small problem."
Julian nodded, then looked toward the end of the corridor and asked:
"Is Dunn here?"
"Yes."
Klein nodded, then accompanied Julian to Dunn's office.
"Julian, what is it?"
Inside the office, Dunn's eyes looked weary, as though he had recently done something mentally taxing.
"There's a case I'd recommend you investigate. I can come along."
Julian said:
"It concerns Viscount Oakley, a Conservative Party member of the House of Lords. Someone may have placed a curse on him
"."
"Viscount Oakley?"
Dunn's expression grew grave.
"This is no small matter. Tell me more."
Julian nodded lightly, then spent about five minutes explaining the information he had gathered.
However, he left out the information concerning Hanass Vincent for the time being. Nor did he jump to the conclusion that Jennings Oakley had deliberately cursed his father. He merely said that there was likely an object with a curse attached to it in the man's manor.
"A little tricky... but I have a way."
Dunn considered it briefly before turning to Klein.
"Klein, get Leonard and Frye. We have a call to respond to."