Over two hundred years ago, Mimic Disaster Beasts had invaded parts of the desolate region stretching from northern Intis to the Hornacis Mountain Range and blended into human society.
At the height of the crisis, two entire towns had even been taken over by Mimic Disaster Beasts, with not a single living human left inside.
At first, the authorities had paid little attention to these incidents. Only after Emperor Roselle ascended the throne and encountered a wandering girl near one of his palaces in northern Delis-a girl with a lovely face and figure who had already been replaced by a Mimic Disaster Beast-did he finally realize the severity of the problem.
Afterward, Roselle secretly issued bounties and organized the military's Bards and Hunters to hunt down Mimic Disaster Beasts. Under his influence, the other countries began following suit, finally eradicating the threat posed by these creatures.
As a result, there had been virtually no recorded sightings of Mimic Disaster Beasts on the Northern Continent for nearly 150 years. Only a handful of marine specimens disguised as dolphins had been discovered, but with so many powerful supernatural creatures in the ocean, they had never grown into a sizable population.
Some people had considered whether Mimic Disaster Beasts were related to any known potion formulas, but those conjectures were soon disproved. As such, these dangerous supernatural creatures had completely lost their value to humanity.
It looks like finding a living Mimic Disaster Beast is pretty much impossible. I'll have to try finding a specimen instead. Even if I can find one, it certainly won't be cheap.
Fortunately, this potion formula doesn't involve any bodily fluids from a Mimic Disaster Beast. Otherwise, it would be far too difficult.
Julian decided to ask around through the Tarot Club and a few other channels. Before that, he could look for the relatively easy-to-obtain Polar Light Stone.
After putting away the potion formula, Julian visited a nearby Tassock Bank and checked his anonymous account.
Two thousand gold pounds sat quietly in it, and the transfer record included an address in Backlund as a note.
Julian felt a surge of delight. He also understood that Miss Justice had deliberately left that address so she could receive the ingredients for the Psychiatrist potion.
At present, Mr. Fool's development of Sefirah Castle was still rather limited, and members of the Tarot Club still used registered mail to trade Beyonder ingredients.
In any case, this carried some risks, so Julian decided to visit Backlund in person.
For one thing, he could deliver Miss Justice's goods along the way. For another, he knew a member of the Hermits of Fate in Backlund who was also a descendant of the Jacob Family.
That relative dealt in potion ingredients, so Julian wanted to see whether he knew where to find a Mimic Disaster Beast specimen. This was also Julian's primary objective.
After withdrawing the money, Julian did not rush to leave Tingen. Instead, he took a hired carriage straight to the Blackthorn Security Company.
"Good afternoon, Julian."
Having met Julian many times already, Roshan had become quite familiar with this assistant professor from Khoy University.
"Who's on duty at the company today?"
He asked the question.
"The captain and Kenley are both here. Ms. Royale is temporarily covering for Old Neil, and she's guarding the armory right now.
"Oh, right, Klein's here too. He guarded the Chanis Gate last night, so he should be leaving soon."
Julian frowned at Roshan's words.
"What happened to Old Neil?"
"Apparently, he hasn't been feeling well lately, so the captain gave him special permission to take a few days off."
Roshan shook her head.
"I don't really know the details."
It looks like Dunn took what I said seriously and started monitoring Old Neil?
Julian nodded. He was about to say something else when he suddenly heard Klein's voice.
"Julian?"
Julian turned to look at Klein.
He smiled and asked,
"How was it? Was guard duty fun?"
"Not bad. At first, I was a little worried something might go wrong with the Sealed Artifacts, but I gradually got used to it."
Klein smiled, then added,
"By the way, are you here to see the captain?"
"Yes."
Julian nodded.
"I have a few things to discuss with him."
"He's in his office. You can go straight in."
Klein answered, yawning as he spoke.
Julian glanced at the aura surrounding Klein and judged that, despite staying up all night, he probably was not particularly exhausted.
So he ventured,
"All right. Want to have a meal together afterward? I should be done pretty soon.
"I know a restaurant that serves a special herbal stew that helps restore your energy."
Julian winked.
"Their Feynapotter noodles and sweet iced tea are pretty distinctive too. Want to try them? My treat."
Klein looked visibly hesitant at this invitation. After a moment, he shook his head.
"Thank you for the invitation, Julian.
"But I have something to take care of at home, so I'll have to excuse myself."
"I see. Then I'll see you next time."
Julian knew that if Klein could resist the temptation of sweet iced tea and Feynapotter noodles, he probably had something more important to do than going home.
He guessed that Klein wanted to use his time off to look for opportunities to digest his potion, and that he would most likely be heading to the Divination Club.
Julian had mentioned the Divination Club when reporting the incident involving Viscount Oakley. That should have given Klein a hint.
Besides, compared with a traveling circus, the Divination Club offered a relatively more open environment. Its stability would also make it easier for Klein to establish a reputation as a Seer there.
Even if he encountered Julian there, Klein could say he was there to practice and learn divination techniques. After all, the Seer potion did not automatically grant its drinker every divination technique; it gave them the ability to learn those techniques.
After Klein left, Julian went to Dunn's office.
"Dunn."
Once he had permission to enter, Julian opened the door and sat down opposite Dunn.
"I'm going to Backlund. I won't be away for long. I'll be back tomorrow at the latest.
"But considering that I'm currently under the Nighthawks'
"protection, I felt I ought to let you know about this."
He said this partly to avoid breaking any rules, and partly to give the Holy Cathedral a chance to prepare.
After all, Julian did not want to run into people from the Church of Knowledge again under inexplicable circumstances. That would inevitably cause a great deal of inconvenience.
"All right. I'll send the Holy Cathedral a telegram shortly."
Dunn nodded. Then he looked at Julian with a slight frown, as if he had forgotten something very important.
"What's wrong, Dunn?"
Julian knew Dunn's forgetfulness was acting up, so he tried prompting him.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot."
Only after a long while did Dunn's brow suddenly relax.
"I have something good for you."
Then he took a gold-embossed document out of a drawer and placed it in front of Julian.
"Julian, take a look. What do you think this is?"