At those words, Julian reached out to take the stone and examined it with a face full of curiosity.
The stone was about half the size of his palm and felt icy cold to the touch.
Under the gaslight, its interior shimmered with myriad colors, as though a rainbow had been frozen inside it. It looked utterly dreamlike.
"This Polar Light Stone is at least 2,200 years old. The original asking price was 700 pounds, but I got it for you for 660."
After a pause, Vincent added:
"Of course, you still owe me an additional five percent commission. You should know my rules by now... as a fellow member of my kind, you're already getting the best rate. I generally charge outsiders ten percent.
"You already paid a deposit of 200 pounds, so give me another 493 and we're square."
"No problem."
Julian nodded and took out 500 pounds in banknotes:
"Keep the remaining seven pounds. Buy Grace something nice to eat for me. Raising a child takes good nutrition."
As he spoke, he stroked Ethan's head with a finger-the little owl was perched on his own head-and winked at Grace.
After all, even buying an ordinary snowy owl as a pet was hardly cheap. Grace had effectively given Julian her child for free, so he ought to offer something in return.
"All right, then we won't stand on ceremony."
Vincent put the money away in a drawer:
"I'll keep an eye out for a 'Mimic Disaster Beast' for you. Leave me a contact address before you go, and I'll write when I hear anything."
"Great, thank you."
Julian quickly wrote down his contact address in Tingen for Vincent, then asked:
"Before I came here yesterday, you must have had another customer... a young man, tall and thin, with blond hair and blue eyes. Do you know him?"
"You mean Calvin?"
Vincent nodded:
"The fellow calls himself Calvin Walker. Nobody knows his real name. He's a 'Hunter' from Intis and usually runs with the Zimang Party.
"He comes here once or twice a month to sell stolen goods. We don't talk much, but we do know each other.
"Why? Have you seen him somewhere else?"
Julian paused briefly at that before saying:
"I was having coffee today when I saw him furtively following a young woman passing by. I stopped him because I felt I ought to help.
"We got into a fight after that. He couldn't beat me, so he ran away."
"Heh, why go sticking your nose into that?"
Vincent chuckled:
"The Zimang Party is a nasty bunch to deal with. It's a good thing you don't live in Backlund, or they'd come after you sooner or later."
"Will this affect you, though? You know me too, after all."
Julian asked another question.
"Don't worry. I run into this sort of thing all the time... plenty of my customers are enemies of one another. A gang member even killed another customer here once and nearly brought the police down on me."
Vincent shook his head:
"Fortunately, the bastard had enough respect for the rules to drag the body away himself. Otherwise, I'd have been in serious trouble. Tsk, tsk.
"Besides, I'm a Sequence 7 Beyonder, and I have a Sequence 8 owl. What could a low-sequence rookie like him possibly do to me?"
"All right. Just be careful... that fellow Calvin is far from ordinary. He might be stronger than Sequence 9."
Julian added that warning, but seeing that Vincent still looked completely unconcerned, he could only let the matter drop.
After saying goodbye to Vincent and the snowy owl Grace, he took Ethan with him on the last steam train back to Tingen.
Since he had rested for a while on the train, Julian was not particularly sleepy.
So rather than rushing to bed when he got home, he began searching through his luggage for certain things.
"...Found it. This is the one."
It was a glass bottle containing a length of short white cord that resembled a tree root.
This was a "Reader" Beyonder Characteristic-the main potion ingredient that the original owner of his body had helped one of his students obtain while in Lenburg. Before he could hand it over, however, he had been contaminated by the "Colour Out of Space" and died.
Afterward, Julian had been too busy fleeing to deliver it either, so he had ended up bringing it along to Tingen.
Now, this "Reader" Beyonder Characteristic was just right for Ethan to consume-yes, Julian had decided to make him a "Reader."
There were several main reasons for this choice.
First, Julian himself knew this pathway very well, and thus knew that Beyonders of the "Reader" pathway were not only highly proficient in knowledge and analysis, but also excelled at ritual magic.
That meant that if Ethan became a "Reader," he could help Julian in numerous ways, including research, analysis and advice, and combat. It would save Julian a great deal of trouble.
Furthermore, as a former Beyonder of the Church of Knowledge who had once fully digested the Sequence 9 through Sequence 7 potions of the "Reader" pathway, Julian had compiled detailed acting principles for this pathway, so he could also help Ethan grow quickly.
The other two important reasons were that becoming a "Reader" would not invite attacks from the "Colour Out of Space," and that Julian would not have to pay anything extra for the "Reader" potion. It was both safe and economical.
Seeing that Ethan seemed to have no objections to this choice, Julian set up a beaker and began mixing the potion.
"Fifty milliliters of Book-Eating Worm blood, ten grams of material corroded by a Knowledge-Addicted Root, fifty milliliters of liquor..."
He added the supplementary ingredients one after another, then found a notebook he had previously used for study and research, filled with all sorts of knowledge, and dropped it in.
The supplementary ingredients for the "Reader" potion required one notebook used by the person advancing for their own studies. This would help Ethan quickly adapt to and bring the power of the "Reader" potion under control after drinking it.
However, according to research by the Church of Knowledge, there were actually alternatives in certain circumstances. They were simply more troublesome.
For instance, while using certain specific rituals to restrict the contamination from the "Colour Out of Space," Julian could use the "Scholar's Legacy" to briefly share his knowledge related to this notebook directly with Ethan. In that way, on a mystical level, the knowledge Julian possessed would also become knowledge Ethan possessed.
Although the duration for which the "Scholar's Legacy" could share knowledge
was not very long, it was already sufficient if all Ethan was doing was drinking a Sequence 9 potion.
Once the Beyonder Characteristic was added to the beaker, the "Reader" potion was soon complete.
It was a white liquid with clearly visible particles suspended within it, giving it a peculiar hazy appearance.
After Julian had set up all the supporting magical rituals, he looked at Ethan, who had opened his eyes at some point and was watching him nervously.
With a soft chuckle, he walked over and soothed the little owl.
After a while, he continued:
"Open your mouth. Once you've drunk this potion, close your eyes and concentrate... your mother should have told you about this."
"Hoo~"
Ethan gave a hoot, then blinked at his owner, opened his beak, and tilted his head up slightly.
Julian nodded in satisfaction, then slowly poured the "Reader" potion into Ethan's mouth!