Xio clearly wanted that Sheriff formula, but unfortunately had no money in her pocket.
"Need Spectator and Telepathist potion formulas, prices to be negotiated in person..."
"Acquiring Apothecary potion formula at a high price."
"Acquiring Hunter, Lawyer potion formulas."
"Acquiring Mystery Pryer potion formula..."
After the attendants finished reading out the requests on the notes one by one, an attendant walked over with several pieces of paper. He first handed one of them to Audrey, and then, amidst the surprised gazes of the others, dumped the remaining six or seven all on Edward:
"I have the Lawyer formula."
"Hunter formula, minimum 300 Pounds."
"Mystery Pryer formula + all materials bundled for 900 Pounds."
"I have the Warrior formula, let's discuss in person."
"I have the formula and materials you want."
"Apprentice formula, don't bother if under 400 Pounds."
Chapter 15: Miss Xio's "Win-Win"
Edward was dumbfounded.
Weren't potion formulas extremely rare and hard to come by?
How come as soon as it came to him, whatever he wanted appeared?
What kind of ghost luck was this?
Luck?
He suddenly recalled the last sentence the limping boy said to him: "Good luck, sir."
Could it be that he had blessed him with good luck?
"What's wrong?"
After declining Mr. A's "kindness" regarding other formulas, Audrey curiously leaned over.
"Look."
" Your... your luck is too good, isn't it?"
Audrey could no longer maintain her Spectator state, and at the same time, a strong sense of vigilance arose in her heart-in the mystic world, such exaggerated good luck was definitely abnormal.
Her expression turned solemn, and she was already considering how to seek help from Mr. Fool later. "My suggestion is not to pay attention to them, and leave immediately once the gathering ends."
"But..." If it really was the good luck blessed by the Snake of Mercury, would it be too much of a pity to just leave like this?
Had he known this, it would have been better to directly ask Him back then which Pathway he should choose. Should he find an excuse to go to the restroom and ask Him on the paper crane?
He had struggled over that paper crane for half a day before finally keeping it. He still didn't know why Will Auceptin had set his sights on him, but keeping the paper crane could at least guarantee the possibility of future conversations.
Viscount Glaint had waited for half a day, and no one traded with him. He was feeling disappointed inside when he turned his head and saw Audrey and Edward huddled close together whispering:
"Such intimate friends couldn't possibly appear out of thin air. Could it be that Audrey found him outside... Hiss! She even specially found a house for him a few kilometers away. Is it to make dating convenient? Earl Hall definitely doesn't know, right? This kind of thing, this kind of thing is simply too incredible!"
The gossiping heart surged, and for a moment he imagined all kinds of vulgar and melodramatic stories, a thousand thoughts converging into one sentence:
"Oh, poor Earl Hall."
On the other side, Edward had also made up his decision-
He didn't have that much time to slowly wait, and had to seize this opportunity!
"If the money isn't enough, I might still need you to lend me some." Uttering this sentence was still somewhat awkward.
"Just take it as payment for teaching me English and magic." Edward had already made up her mind, so she didn't insist, but only secretly heightened her vigilance, entering the Spectator state with all her heart and soul to observe every move of everyone.
"Oh, don't mention it. In your world, Beyonders have too high a resistance to magic. I couldn't even knock Susie down in a short time. It's really too aggravating."
"Magic isn't necessarily just for combat. Many kinds of magic are very wondrous and convenient."
Over the next hour, Edward met with four people individually. After a round of bargaining, he successfully secured the Hunter and Lawyer formulas, as well as the Warrior and Mystery Pryer formulas and materials.
Just as he was planning to go see the person selling the Apprentice potion formula, Fors sought him out:
"Actually, I also have the Apprentice formula." As she spoke, she lightly stroked her slightly curled bangs, still somewhat hesitant. "As for the materials, I have some supplementary materials left over from when I bought too many back then, and I know where the main materials can be bought, so..."
Edward understood. "I see. Then when the gathering ends, I'll come find you for the trade?"
"Mmm. I know it's very excessive, but could you advance me 450 Pounds first? Rest assured, I'll give you the Apprentice formula and supplementary materials as soon as we head back later, and the price I want will definitely be lower than others."
"Alright."
Since he had to buy them anyway, of course he would buy whichever was cheaper. Although Fors was a salted fish, her character was still trustworthy.
In less than a single night, the 2,000 Pounds given by Audrey had bottomed out. Edward successfully plunged from a wealthy person down to a pauper, feeling like he was on a roller coaster-it was a pity he didn't have too strong of a feeling about it, after all, he hadn't experienced the difficult savings history of a penny and a soli like Klein.
"Fortunately, these formulas and unused materials can all be sold out in exchange for money."
Another half an hour passed, and everyone left one after another.
At the doorway, Mr. A's attendant found Edward again and handed him another note: "This is a gift given to you by Mr. A, hoping to see you next time."
The note vividly wrote the Secrets Suppliant formula!
Well, the Secrets Suppliant Pathway was also covered.
Edward had a headache. Acquiring multiple formulas all at once had indeed attracted Mr. A's attention. No, to be precise, it should have attracted everyone's attention. Wouldn't he be targeted by someone upon heading back later?
As soon as he stepped out, he voiced his inner worries to the group. Xio and Fors, who had originally planned to leave first, immediately expressed that they would head back with them first.
On the way back, everyone raised their vigilance a hundredfold, but fortunately, the entire journey was calm and peaceful.
Upon returning to Viscount Glaint's villa, Edward then left together with Fors and Xio.
Audrey had originally wanted to tag along, but was blocked back by Glaint with the excuse that "it's too late, Earl Hall will be worried." He muttered inwardly:
"My dear grand-aunt, the Earl knows you came to my place. If I watched you stay out overnight with a man, who knows if I'd be met with his wrath?"
In the Backlund Bridge area, the new house that Fors and Xio had just rented yesterday.
As soon as they entered the room, Fors casually handed a note to Xio, as nonchalant as handing out a cigarette: "Giving this to you."
Xio blankly took the note, and then instantly jumped up-though unfortunately she was still not as tall as Fors.
"You, when did you buy this?"
"You've been an Arbiter for almost a year, you should be able to advance to a Sheriff. Who knows how long you'd have to wait if you missed this time."
Xio was both happy and worried. "However..."
"The money is lent to you, remember to hurry up and make money to pay me back!"
Xio immediately waved her small fists to pump herself up. "I'll pay you back as soon as I get the bounty on that guy from the hotel."
Edward at the side: "..."
"Ahem, ahem!" He coughed twice.
Fors immediately walked over to the desk, picked up pen and paper, "Sorry, I'll write the formula for you right now."
"Is there a washroom?"
Ever since stepping out of the gathering room, Edward hadn't drunk any more Polyjuice Potion, and it was about time for the recovery period to arrive. He needed to go to the washroom to pretend to remove his disguise.
"To not keep secrets from you, actually I put on a disguise before coming to attend the gathering. After tonight's getting along, we can also be considered friends. Between friends, there's no need for concealment."
This sentence was half-true and half-false.
Making friends was true; revealing his true appearance on one hand was to ask clearly who exactly was placing a bounty on him, and on the other hand, he didn't have that many Polyjuice Potions to maintain this face.
In the wizarding world, there were roughly three methods to alter one's appearance. The most conventional was the Polyjuice Potion, but it not only had high brewing difficulty and consumed a lot of time; the second was being a Metamorphmagus, but that was innate; the third method, which was also the most difficult, was utilizing Transfiguration to alter one's appearance, but this had extremely high demands on Transfiguration, and it seemed there was only ever Grindelwald and no one else who could accomplish it.
"Right, no matter what you see in a moment, absolutely don't act impulsively."
Fors was perplexed:
"What does he mean?"
"Maybe he's too ugly, making people have the impulse to beat him up!"
A few minutes later, Edward walked out of the washroom.
"He's actually this young?"
As soon as Fors finished exclaiming, Xio without hesitation picked up the chair closest to her to smash at him, but the next second the chair had already turned into a venomous snake, wrapping around her wrist and hissing its tongue at her.
Xio shuddered and let go, flinging the venomous snake away, and went to look for other weapons.
"Stop, stop, stop! I already told you not to act impulsively."
Fors still hadn't figured out what was going on. "What is it, Xio?"
Xio blocked in front of Fors, staring vigilantly at Edward.
"He's that guy from the hotel!"
Edward raised both hands. "If I really wanted to take revenge on you, I would have had countless opportunities to sneak attack you just now, right? Besides, if you don't trust me, you should at least trust Audrey?"
The two ladies exchanged glances, but still didn't relax their vigilance. Xio coldly said, "How do I know whether you'll kill us to eliminate witnesses after revealing your true appearance?"
Edward laughed:
"How can you be sure that this face of mine right now is real? Miss Xio, I just want to know who on earth wants to deal with me. If it's convenient, I kindly ask that you can speak the truth."
"I also received an arbitration commission at the bar. The other party claimed that your conduct was atrocious and demanded that you be captured as soon as possible."
Edward thought for a moment, then asked:
"Is it possible to track down who posted the commission?"
"They're all anonymous, unless... I capture you and send you over."
Xio's eyes lit up. "Want to cooperate? I can get the bounty, and you can know who wants to catch you, a win-win."
Edward rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine, fine, I sell myself, and then all the money goes to you? A win-win? You win twice, don't you?"
Xio rubbed her frizzy hair and thought about it seriously:
Before you continue