A successful deception

After intimidating and deceiving "Monster" Ademisaul, Nimrod was in quite a good mood.

"Monster" Ademisaul showed promise for the Fate pathway. Although he was not lucky enough to become an Angel, with some nurturing, he should be able to reach the mid-sequences. Becoming a demigod was not out of the question either.

-Recruit him into the Aurora Order.

Nimrod had already handed today's work over to Mr. Z. All that remained was to wander around here, see if he could catch Tris, and digest his potion along the way.

Time passed quickly as Nimrod searched with a clear purpose, and over the course of the morning, he gradually checked off the tasks he had planned beforehand.

Although he had not gained many gold pounds, he had fully digested the Marauder beyonder characteristic, completing its consumption and incorporating it into his body.

Now, only the Mystery Pryer beyonder characteristic still carries the Celestial Worthy's mental imprint... Nimrod thought to himself, only to suddenly hear a commotion in the distance.

The instant he noticed the distant commotion, Nimrod quietly concealed himself using his earlier little Thought Interference-Illusion combo, then slipped toward the entrance.

[Ah, a Demoness in her juvenile form.]

Suddenly, the Celestial Worthy spoke casually in Nimrod's ear:

[This person bears some resemblance to Primordial, too. He might be a resurrection contingency God Almighty left behind. God Almighty once accommodated the City of Calamity, and the Demoness pathway has a certain connection to it.]

"I know." Nimrod answered as he quickly approached the commotion. "She-oh, he's still a man right now. He's the Divine Descent Vessel the Primordial Demoness prepared for herself, so he could also count as a resurrection contingency for God Almighty."

Nimrod paused, then asked with a quiet chuckle:

"God Almighty prepared so many resurrection contingencies. What about you?"

[Is that how you judge resurrection contingencies?]

The Celestial Worthy's eyes widened, and a string of baffling remarks followed: "Resurrection contingencies are about quality, not quantity," "God Almighty has the Mother Goddess helping him," "My progress is about the same," and so on, bringing a smile to Nimrod's face.

As he listened to the Celestial Worthy, who had already fast-forwarded to babbling nonsense, he slowly walked through the din toward Tris's escape route.

He reached out, and the instant he brushed past Tris, Nimrod took the wallet from his pocket, replacing it with a sheet of paper bearing a written message.

Time seemed to slow infinitely the moment Nimrod extended his fingertips. By the time he withdrew his hand, Tris had shot out of the Evil Dragon Bar's underground trading venue like an arrow loosed from a bow.

"-Catching Tris means today's trip wasn't wasted."

As Nimrod spoke, he headed toward Ademisaul, who was hugging his legs in the distance because of his excessively high spiritual perception. Once he stood before him, he said lightly:

"Close your eyes."

Ademisaul froze for a moment, then closed his eyes without giving it much thought.

Only then did he belatedly cry out, "Y-you, didn't you say you'd wait until..."

He heard no answer from Nimrod, only a crisp snap of the fingers, and his surroundings suddenly felt lighter.

You've already seen my face. Did you really think I'd leave you a choice? Nimrod withdrew his gaze from Ademisaul's face, looking at the young man who kept his eyes tightly shut like a frightened quail.

Just now, he had summoned his messenger directly and had the messenger bring him and Ademisaul back to the Aurora Order.

Like an actor immersed in his role, he removed the silk top hat that matched his suit and bowed to the Animated Void before him like a waiter.

"Thank you for your help."

No matter how the Animated Void listened to it, the great being before it seemed to be mocking it with veiled sarcasm. Frightened, it did not dare wait for him to finish and vanished from Nimrod's sight.

And here I was finally trying to be "hat-polite" for once... The corner of Nimrod's mouth twitched. He sighed softly and said to Ademisaul before him:

"Open your eyes. It's safe now."

Ademisaul blinked in confusion and glanced at the lavish decorations around him. "May I ask where we are..."

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet." Nimrod walked around the desk and sat down in the chair in his room, then said to Ademisaul:

"Welcome to the Aurora Order, Mr. Ademisaul. You may call me Mr. L."

Mr. L... the Aurora Order... Ademisaul's mind was still sluggish, but he soon picked out a few extraordinary terms from Nimrod's words.

He thought for a moment, recalling things the people from the Church had once chatted about.

He remembered... wasn't the Aurora Order the enemy the Church of Storms was most wary of?

"The Aurora Order?!!" Ademisaul's eyes widened abruptly. For a moment, his madness seemed to recede a little, leaving him sharp and lucid. "Aren't you..."

"Shh."

Nimrod pressed his index finger to his lips. "Think about where you are. You still want to live, and you don't want to keep sinking into this madness, do you?"

Seeing the fear Ademisaul could not hide, Nimrod lowered his finger and smiled at him.

"Do you know why I brought you back?"

Ademisaul sat quietly on the floor like a wilted flower, not daring to move at all. Nimrod did not mind.

"I believe you have a talent for the Fate pathway. But you've been wasting away here all this time. Don't you think you're squandering your life, wasting away in suffering?"

"...Some priests and deacons from the Church have approached me, too, and told me a few things," Ademisaul argued weakly.

"But they said the Church doesn't have a potion suitable for me..."

"Ah, no potion. A wonderful excuse." Nimrod suddenly felt he had a talent for preaching. Drawing on a Swindler's eloquence, he said to Ademisaul:

"Do you really believe that such a vast Church, with the 'great' Lord of Storms behind it, truly wouldn't have a potion formula suitable for you? Heh, I certainly don't."

Watching the shock seep into Ademisaul's eyes at his blasphemous words, he continued calmly:

"Did you know that in the previous epoch, the vast majority of people across the entire Northern Continent believed in the True Creator?"

"It was the Churches of this epoch that rewrote history and buried it."

"Even though faith in the Lord has declined in this epoch, we still retain potion formulas for many pathways."

"For example... potions of the Fate pathway."