A Mystical Journey Starting with Harry Potter

Wait!

The smile froze on his face. A limping child, a love of ice cream, tarot cards...

Why did those keywords seem so familiar when put together?

Wasn't this the fucking script that doctor got in the original novel?

So the kid in front of me is... the Snake of Mercury, Will Auceptin?

Edward quietly withdrew his outstretched hand. "Actually, I think I'll pass."

"??"

The boy visibly paused. "Don't you believe me?"

"It's not that. I just think fate ought to be unpredictable. Wouldn't knowing the future in advance make things far too boring?"

"You... have a point."

"Well, I have things to do. You can have this coffee too, if you want." Edward picked up his hat and saluted the boy, then put it on and left the café.

"Good luck, sir."

The boy remained seated. Only after Edward had disappeared into the distance did he murmur, his gaze unfocused, "Should I wait another five years, or follow the original course of fate?"

After leaving the café, Edward wandered aimlessly through several more streets before using Apparition to reach the vicinity of Earl Hall's villa.

"That was fucking terrifying!"

Frankly, Will Auceptin's behavior in the original novel certainly hadn't made him a "bad guy." If Edward had been an ordinary transmigrator, he would definitely have seized the opportunity to latch onto such a powerful patron.

But surely both gods and angels would be interested in the secret of his having to transmigrate every fifteen days? For now, he should stay as far away as possible from someone as powerful as the Snake of Mercury.

"Good thing I got out of there fast."

Edward took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead. A light piece of paper fluttered out of the hat. He instinctively caught it, then immediately flung it away as though he had been electrocuted.

It was a Paper Crane!

Chapter 14: The Simple, Unpretentious Life of the Rich

At two in the afternoon, a carriage left Earl Hall's villa, traveled north into North Borough, and headed toward Saint Samuel Church.

Edward initially followed at a distance, but when he saw the carriage heading toward the Church of Evernight's headquarters, he didn't dare follow any farther. Instead, he waited patiently at an intersection it would have to pass on its return.

Several hours later, the carriage returned, making its way back into Empress Borough. This time, however, it didn't retrace its route, instead turning toward the entrance of another luxurious villa.

Carriages streamed past the villa's entrance. Brightly dressed young men and women entered together, apparently attending an aristocratic ball.

Wearing a splendid dress, Audrey stepped out of the carriage with her maid Annie's support. A man in an immaculate, well-tailored formal suit made a gentlemanly show of kissing the back of her hand before ushering them inside.

Susie followed Audrey, then suddenly turned around and barked three times. Edward, who had changed his face again, hurried over and easily fooled the doorman with a Confundus Charm, slipping into the ball.

Sure enough, the moment he entered the courtyard, he saw Susie waiting for him, her tail wagging.

Weaving through the lively crowd, Susie led him upstairs to a quiet bedroom door, where she barked twice more.

The door soon opened. Audrey had changed into a black hooded robe and was smiling brightly. "Good evening, Edward. If it weren't for Susie, I wouldn't have recognized you."

Her tone was cheerful.

"Good evening." As soon as Edward entered, he saw Annie sleeping soundly on the bed. "What happened to her?"

Audrey waved her white-jade-like Dragon Bone Wand. "A Sleeping Charm. It saved a lot of trouble."

Audrey skipped back a few steps and pulled up her hood, letting a layer of fine black mesh veil her beautiful face. "Put your robe on too. Glaint is already waiting for us."

"Did your family put a bounty on me? Yesterday, someone came looking for me not long after I checked into the hotel."

"Huh? But the portrait I gave Papa looked completely different from you." Audrey looked puzzled.

"That's strange, then."

She suddenly covered her mouth. "Could my brother have put out a bounty first? I'm sorry, Edward."

"It's fine. I'll just try not to wander around outside so much and drink Polyjuice Potion before going out. Let's go."

"Susie, keep an eye on Annie~"

"Woof."

The two left the bedroom through a secret door, then made their way downstairs to the side entrance of the viscount's house, where a carriage was already waiting.

"Wow, that outfit really is, um, as Emperor Roselle often described things, very cool." Viscount Glaint had also changed into a similar robe and spoke admiringly.

"Thank you." Audrey lightly lifted her robe and gave an elegant, cheerful curtsy.

"Oh? Who is this..." Viscount Glaint looked toward Edward.

"This is my good friend Edward. Like us, he's an enthusiast of the mystical world."

"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Viscount Glaint took the initiative to extend his hand and greet Edward.

The three entered the carriage. Audrey sat beside Edward quite naturally, making Viscount Glaint even more curious about his identity. "Mr. Edward, may I ask who your father is..."

"Edward comes from... an ancient kingdom. He only recently arrived in Backlund." As Audrey spoke, she couldn't help lamenting inwardly, Oh, Audrey, Audrey. Now you can lie without even blinking.

"Oh?" Viscount Glaint was puzzled. In that case, how had Audrey come to know him?

"By the way, Edward doesn't have anywhere to stay at the moment. Could you help arrange something?"

"I'd be delighted."

Viscount Glaint then asked Edward about his requirements for the size, location, and furnishings of his lodgings. Although Edward repeatedly stressed that he would be living alone and wanted something simple, at Audrey's suggestion, Glaint ultimately decided to find him a smaller detached house with a courtyard in Empress Borough. The rent would be at least two pounds a week.

So this is how rich people live? Absolutely wonderful.

Viscount Glaint next asked about a butler and servants. This time, Edward firmly refused. As a Warlock, he could take care of cleaning and tidying with a few spells. He didn't want a whole crowd keeping their eyes on him.

After a little over ten minutes, the carriage entered a secluded neighborhood and stopped outside an extremely ordinary-looking house. Two people, one tall and one short, stood outside the front door. They were Fors and Xio.

Fors had slightly curly brown hair, pale blue eyes with a naturally languid look, and a cigarette between her slender fingers. Xio was short, barely over a meter and a half tall, with delicate, gentle features and a mess of coarse, shoulder-length blond hair. She wore traditional knight's training clothes. At first glance, the outfit looked somewhat incongruous, but after a while, she seemed endearingly like a child pretending to be an adult.

"Sorry I didn't tell you beforehand. This is my friend Edward. He also hopes to use this opportunity to enter the world of Beyonders."

"Good evening, ladies."

"Good evening."

Edward had changed his appearance, so naturally, Fors and Xio didn't recognize him. He planned to reveal his identity after the gathering ended, then ask Xio exactly why she had attacked him.

Without further conversation, Xio approached the door and knocked with three long intervals and two short ones.

With a creak, the front door slowly opened. Quite a few people sat scattered throughout the room. Most wore loose robes and hoods or masks like Audrey, while a few didn't care at all and openly showed their faces.

Audrey immediately entered her Spectator State. For the first time in many days since meeting Edward, she devoted herself entirely to that state. Despite the long interruption, she inexplicably felt that she had digested more than half her potion.

"It seems we have some new friends today." The speaker was a black-robed man sitting in an armchair. He also wore a hood, concealing his features in shadow. He silently watched the arrivals, giving the impression that he was looking down on them from above.

The instant Audrey saw him, goosebumps rose all over her skin. This man's gaze is so unpleasant. Edward stepped half a pace forward, blocking Mr. A's line of sight, then removed his hat and saluted him.

"That's Mr. A, a powerful Beyonder and the organizer of this secret gathering," Fors introduced in a low voice.

Audrey instinctively compared him to Mr. Fool, but immediately felt that was inappropriate. Mr. Fool was a great existence on the level of a god. How could a mere Mr. A compare to him?

And I get to attend gatherings held by that great existence every week. Hehe, this is wonderful.

Hmm, at the next Tarot Club gathering, I must ask Mr. Fool whether Edward can join too.

Seemingly noticing Audrey's disdain for Mr. A, Xio warned her solemnly, "Quite a few Sequence 8 and even Sequence 7 Beyonders have targeted Mr. A before, but in the end, they all vanished without a trace."

As they spoke, the four entered the house, and the doorkeeper immediately shut the door.

After they adjusted to the brightness of the gas lamps, Xio led them to two upright blackboards covered with the gathering members' requests.

"Those are the individual members' requests. As you can probably understand, many people don't want others to know what they possess, lest they attract someone greedy. So they anonymously write what they want or hope to sell on the blackboards, along with approximate prices and item requirements."

Audrey quickly scanned them, inwardly exclaiming at how cheap everything was. Unfortunately, apart from three pages of Emperor Roselle's notes, there was nothing she needed.

The thought that she might learn what the notes said from Edward before handing them over to Mr. Fool made Audrey even more excited. She tugged Edward closer by his sleeve and asked, "There's a Sequence 8 Sheriff potion formula here. Do you need it?"

Sheriff belonged to the Arbiter Pathway. Of those present, Xio probably needed it most.

Edward shook his head, took a small sip of Polyjuice Potion, and whispered, "I want the formulas for Hunter, Lawyer, Warrior, Mystery Pryer, and... Apprentice."

"All of them?"

"Mm, I'll take whichever I come across first. I haven't decided which pathway to follow yet."

"That works. None of them are expensive anyway."

Beside them, Fors was practically coming apart with envy. Is this what rich people are like? Even if I kept writing, word by word, for an entire year, I wouldn't earn more than a few hundred pounds!

Besides, I need to rest on cloudy days, rainy days, and foggy days. When a sunny day occasionally comes along, I need a proper rest even more. There's no way I could write continuously for a whole year!

Wait, didn't he just say he wanted the Apprentice formula?

Xio didn't think that much about it. She leaned close to Audrey's ear and quietly asked, "Is there anything you want?"

"For now, only Emperor Roselle's notes have caught my eye. I'm an admirer of his. I believe the special runes, or writing, he created possess mystical power. We simply haven't found the correct way to combine them."

As Audrey spoke, she glanced at Edward. Sure enough, he raised his eyebrows at her, as if to say, You really can spin a story.

She puffed out her cheeks and glared back.

Just then, a young man in a white shirt and black waistcoat sitting nearby chimed in excitedly:

"Yes! Exactly! I've finally met someone who shares my views! I'm the owner of those three pages of notes. I can sell them to you right now!"

Audrey was initially bewildered, then answered with a smile in her voice, "Then please allow me to express my thanks."

After receiving the three pages, she examined them carefully, as though checking their authenticity. The young man immediately exclaimed, "I haven't lived long enough yet! How would I dare sell fakes at Mr. A's gathering?"

Xio flexed her fingers, eager to act. "If there really is a problem, I can arbitrate for you in private."

"Thank you." Audrey entered her Spectator State again, but Mr. A's intensely invasive gaze made her uncomfortable all over.

At that moment, Mr. A's attendant approached and told the four quietly:

"You can write your requests on paper and give them to me. During the break later, you can also go into the small room and write the items you wish to sell on the blackboard."

After a brief discussion, they all handed over slips of paper bearing their requests. Audrey requested another Spectator formula, Viscount Glaint wanted Apothecary, and Edward wrote down all the formulas he had mentioned.