Audrey immediately raised her hand. "Can I pay to listen in?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Justice," Edward said calmly. "Even you probably couldn't afford the price of this knowledge."
The Hanged Man was startled. From observing Justice's words and behavior over this period, he had more or less concluded that she was a young noblewoman. The wealth at her disposal might well exceed everything he had scraped together through years of risking his life at sea.
Yet Mr. Tower had said that even she couldn't afford it?
Just what was this Card of Blasphemy?
Watching from the side, Klein felt his teeth ache. What sort of show are you two putting on in my meeting?
With a casual gesture, he blocked the others from hearing, leaving them able only to watch.
"Mr. Fool, according to the information I found, the Churches preserved Emperor Roselle's inventions, notes, and other possessions for more than mere commemoration. That was only a small part of it. More importantly, one of the Cards of Blasphemy the emperor created is very likely hidden among the belongings he left behind."
Mr. Fool nodded slightly. "So that's how it is."
So collecting the emperor's belongings might yield a Card of Blasphemy? Huh? Wouldn't his diaries count as belongings too? Could there be a Card of Blasphemy hidden in those diaries?
Diaries! Diaries! I need more, more diaries!
"That's everything I found this time."
"Mm. What would you like as compensation?"
Edward thought for a moment. "Honorable Mr. Fool, there isn't anything I want right now. Could I save up the reward for later?"
"Yes."
Klein lifted the sound barrier around the others. Edward bowed, bringing the topic to a close.
"Thank you, Mr. Fool. I will redouble my efforts to find more information useful to you in my family's ancient texts."
An odd silence fell over the Tarot Club. Everyone looked at one another, unsure what to say.
In the end, Mr. Fool broke the deadlock. He tapped the Bronze Table and asked, "Does anyone else have anything to say?"
Alger hesitated for a while before speaking.
"Mr. Fool, Miss Justice, and... Mr. Tower. I've obtained some new intelligence. Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilingus infiltrated Backlund to carry out a difficult mission. He may remain there for quite some time and perpetrate horrifying massacres. I also know this matter involves an extremely important item, one that can help Qilingus quickly become a high-sequence powerhouse."
He then shared more information about Qilingus and summed it up.
"So he is very fond of fish, especially ocean fish, sliced and eaten raw. He likes strong liquor and looks down on champagne, red wine, and the like..."
After listening, Audrey nodded. "I understand. I've also learned about Qilingus's movements through a few channels. I believe we'll find him soon."
Alger was surprised, but refrained from asking further questions. "I wish you success. Here's to a fruitful partnership."
"To a fruitful partnership."
Klein took over the conversation. "All right, that's all for today."
"Praise you, great Mr. Fool."
Edward was the first to offer flattery.
The others immediately followed his example. "Praise you, great Mr. Fool."
The gray fog before him dispersed, and Edward returned to reality. He was currently staying at a hotel in Cherwood Borough. The room was fairly well furnished and comfortable enough.
The light around him suddenly dimmed, and a cold, eerie presence swept over him. Then a slip of paper was pressed into his hand as a voice sounded in his mind. "Once."
He looked down. It was a letter from Audrey.
"So my messenger just came by? It wouldn't even show its face?"
He unfolded the letter. It said that Xio had sent word through Viscount Glaint that morning: she had found the main ingredients for Trickmaster and wanted him to come over as soon as possible.
Joy surged through him. "I can undergo Advancement to Trickmaster!"
Edward hurriedly put on his trench coat and hat, then used Apparition to reach the vicinity of Fors and Xio's home.
As soon as he entered, Xio handed him a tin box. "There's a Spirit Eater's Stomach and twenty milliliters of Deep Sea Marlin blood in here. As for the auxiliary ingredients, I've only managed to buy powdered threadball grass."
Edward opened the box and glanced inside, then smiled without concern.
"Perfect. I've already obtained the auxiliary ingredients myself. Thank you."
Fors, who was leaning over the table with her chin propped in one hand as she smoked, turned at his words. "You gathered everything for a sequence 8 potion this quickly? It must be nice to have money."
Xio frowned slightly, her expression stern. "If you have time to envy other people, you might as well work harder yourself. Hurry up and finish your manuscript!"
Fors immediately complained. "Writing requires inspiration! You can pin me down here all you like, but without inspiration, I still won't be able to write a single word."
"That's still better than you lying on the sofa all day!"
"I can't take it. I can't. I'm dizzy. I need to rest for a while."
Ignoring Xio's threatening gaze, she flopped back onto the sofa like a puddle of mud with a thump. "Ahh... this is bliss..."
"..."
Edward and Xio exchanged a silent look.
Xio rubbed her already somewhat messy hair, then continued, "I've found out who posted that bounty on you last time."
"Who? What's their background? Why did they put a bounty on me?" Edward perked up. This matter had been a thorn in his side all along, but the waters of this world of mysteries ran too deep, so he had been forced to set it aside for the time being.
Xio's expression grew a little strange. After hesitating, she said, "You know him too... It's Viscount Glaint."
"???"
Chapter 31: Klein Exploded
Edward wondered whether he had misheard. For a moment, he was at a loss. "Who?"
"Viscount Glaint!" Xio said with certainty. "I was surprised too. Aren't you friends?"
"Well, more or less."
Strictly speaking, Viscount Glaint is Audrey's friend. I only benefited from knowing her. To think he says one thing to my face and does another behind my back. He's quite the schemer. And here I was thinking of finding the Apothecary formula to repay his favor.
"Wait!"
Strictly speaking, Viscount Glaint doesn't actually know me. I took Polyjuice Potion and assumed someone else's appearance when we last met.
"Why did he put a bounty on me?"
Xio shook her head. "I just happened to see Viscount Glaint's servant asking about progress on the bounty."
Edward took off his hat in thanks. "Thank you, Miss Xio. I have something to attend to, so I'll be heading back." He handed her a slip of paper. "This is the incantation for summoning my messenger. If anything urgent comes up, you can set up a ritual and have it deliver a letter."
He explained how to summon the messenger, making sure to emphasize repeatedly:
"Remember, only use the messenger to contact me if it's extremely urgent."
"I know, I know. You've said it several times already."
"...Because it's too expensive."
Lying on the sofa, Fors waved lazily and mumbled, "Goodbye."
Back at the hotel, Edward wasted no time and immediately began preparing the Trickmaster potion. Using the same equipment as before, he took a deep breath and began mixing the potion, adding the auxiliary ingredients before the main ingredients.
Hiss!
Amid a burst of steam and heat, the viscous liquid in the cauldron became scalding hot. Then it rapidly cooled, condensing into a pale purple, droplet-shaped mass of liquid.
Once everything had settled, Edward poured out the liquid, transferring every last drop into the clear glass bottle he had prepared in advance.
After confirming that its temperature was normal, he tilted his head back and drained the potion in a single gulp.
Unlike last time, he felt as though he had simply drunk a glass of water. There was no strange taste, no unusual sensation, no soul leaving his body, and no more murmuring voices. There was only that door flashing briefly before his eyes.
It was unexpectedly uneventful.
A moment later, Edward sensed that his total spirituality had roughly doubled.
He had successfully undergone Advancement to sequence 8, Trickmaster.
Trickmaster granted Edward multiple Beyonder abilities all at once:
Burning, freezing, fog creation, wind generation, flashes of light, electric shocks, and a rather incongruous tripping technique.
"Uh, aren't these just the magical spells Incendio, the Freezing Charm, Nebulus, Ventus, Lumos, the Lightning Charm, and Locomotor Mortis?"
Edward couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. He casually tested several abilities, then tried spells such as Incendio and the Freezing Charm... Sure enough, there wasn't much difference-in fact, the magic was far more powerful than these Beyonder abilities.
No improvement at all.
"Huh? Wait."
The spells I just cast seemed a little more powerful than before.
He cast Incendio again, carefully sensing the result.
"Is this... adding the power of the Beyonder ability to a spell of the corresponding element?"
He immediately tested various other spells. Sure enough, every spell related to a Trickmaster's Beyonder abilities had grown more powerful to some degree.
Edward stroked his chin thoughtfully, joy gleaming in his eyes. "As my sequence gets higher, these abilities will grow stronger too. And if their power is added to the corresponding magic..."
The future looks promising!
Besides those Beyonder abilities, his body had become more agile. This would help him cast faster, while also making it easier to perform tricks and fool an audience.
Edward rubbed his temples and continued absorbing the information conveyed by the potion.
The final ability, [Unrestrained]: he could expend spirituality to free himself from control effects. The smaller the sequence gap, the higher the chance of success.
Just as I thought!
Advancement to sequence 8 had given him another ability that wasn't originally part of the sequence. Although its effects weren't as outrageous as [Dullness], in actual combat it amounted to another incredible skill for breaking free of control.
First [Dullness], then [Unrestrained]. Will Advancement to sequence 7 give me another new ability?
But where exactly are they coming from? And what outcome will they ultimately lead me toward?
For the time being, at least, that question had no answer.
Those were all the abilities Advancement to Trickmaster had given Edward. There were welcome surprises he had anticipated and unexpected things to look forward to, but the doubling of his spirituality was a concrete improvement.
"Hmm? The Trickmaster potion is already half digested?"
Before you continue