He soon figured it out. A Trickmaster's Beyonder abilities overlapped heavily with magic. Every spell he had cast before had been an act of advance acting, digesting the potion.
The reason he had only digested half of it was probably that the codes of conduct for Warlocks and Trickmasters seemed to be opposites:
Warlocks in the Harry Potter World had to conceal themselves as much as possible, avoiding discovery by more people-Muggles-whereas Trickmasters were required to perform before an audience and use their abilities to "fool" them.
In other words, acting as a Trickmaster required an audience.
In the original story, Fors had gone to places like circuses to act. What about him?
Should he simply follow her example?
Empress Borough, the Hall Earl Family's luxurious villa.
"You're already Sequence 8?"
Audrey looked distinctly sour. "It's only been a week. I knew your potion was fully digested the moment you drank it, but I'm still so jealous. I became a Beyonder so many days before you did."
"I was just lucky. You shouldn't have much longer to go either, right?"
She sighed. "Oh, I'm still missing a Rainbow Lizard Dragon's pituitary gland. I've written to my brother, but I don't know when I'll get it."
Edward offered her a few more words of comfort, then told her that Viscount Glaint was the one who had put a bounty on him.
"That's impossible."
That was Audrey's first reaction. "He didn't even know you then."
Edward shrugged. "I can't figure it out either. I'm considering doing what Miss Xio suggested and working with her to walk right into the trap. That should clear everything up."
Her interest immediately perked up. "I want in too!"
"Sure. We're going to my world tomorrow, so let's work out the details when we get back."
Audrey's spirits soared. She pulled a small handbag from under the bed and said with a beaming smile, "I've packed everything already. When it's time to leave, I can just pick it up and go."
She opened the handbag. Inside was a space expanded with the Undetectable Extension Charm, roughly the size of a room. It was sparsely furnished with tables, chairs, cupboards, and a bed...
Covered in gold coins and jewels!
Her cheeks flushed slightly. "Th-that's to deal with the wand's side effects..."
"But where did you get so many gold coins all at once?"
Edward had no doubt Audrey could produce that many pounds, but judging by the original story, large quantities of gold coins seemed rather difficult to obtain.
"I... I secretly went to my father's private stash and... borrowed them."
As if to make her argument more convincing, she raised her voice. "He doesn't use them anyway. At worst, when the inheritance gets divided up, I'll just take that much less."
"..."
Miss Hall, what a wonderfully "filial" daughter you are. Earl Hall is still in his prime, and you're already thinking about dividing up his estate. Daddy's little darling indeed!
Audrey saw what he was thinking and puffed out her cheeks. "What are you imagining? I receive a substantial income every year, you know. I'll pay Father back with that!"
"Oh, right." She hurriedly changed the subject. "How do you get whatever you want out of the space inside an Undetectable Extension Charm whenever you need it? I have to climb in every time."
Edward reached into the bag and withdrew his hand with a gold coin. He explained, "It's actually just a silent, wandless Summoning Charm. You have no idea how long I practiced before I could barely manage it. That's also why I haven't expanded the space any further. If it gets too big, the things inside are too far away, and it doesn't work very well."
Understanding dawned on Audrey. "So that's how it works."
"Also, that business with the child of the evil god gave me an idea. When we go back this time, I want to ask Mr. Ollivander whether we can modify wands somehow. Maybe turn one into a ring worn on a finger. That would be more convenient and safer."
Audrey, however, looked at her delicate fingers with concern:
"Then if someone uses a Disarming Charm on you, would it disarm your finger too?"
"Uh..."
Edward froze, then scratched his head in bewilderment. "Could that be the real reason nobody makes wands into rings?"
Only after scrounging another meal at Audrey's did he return to the inn. As for the villa in Empress Borough, he certainly wouldn't be living there again anytime soon. Who knew when the Aurora Order might come knocking? It was just a shame he couldn't recover the year's rent he had paid in advance.
Money, money. I have to find a way to make money.
As his Sequence rose, the cost of materials would skyrocket. If he wanted to buy Beyonder items as well, those would be even more expensive. Even Audrey wouldn't be able to keep up.
He lay in bed, tossing and turning as he thought about how to make money.
Should he trade goods between the two worlds? Sell suitcases enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm? Or sell all sorts of potions?
Crimson moonlight spilled into the room through the bay window, leaving him increasingly agitated. He even began thinking about getting a huge sum of Leprechaun gold in the Harry Potter World. Only at two or three in the morning did he finally drift into a hazy sleep.
Noon the next day.
Tingen City, the Divination Club.
After lunch, Klein arrived at the Divination Club as usual. He planned to undergo the assessment soon and advance to Sequence 8, Clown, so he would gradually stop coming here.
He had just greeted Angelica at the reception desk when Christina hurried over from the lounge. She looked far more worn out than when he had seen her a few days earlier. "Mr. Moretti, Megose has been missing for a week now. I brought some of her hair today. Could you please try another divination?"
Klein was a little surprised. "That's impossible. According to the last divination, she should have been home long ago."
After Mrs. Christina had told him Megose was missing last time, Klein had performed a dream divination. In the dream, he had clearly seen Megose lose her way on the outskirts of Tingen before a kind passerby brought her home.
"But she... never came back."
Christina's eyes were filled with confusion, but this single mistake had not made her doubt Klein's divination abilities.
Could someone have interfered with the divination?
Klein's expression grew serious. Previously, he had treated it as an ordinary missing-person case, so naturally he hadn't gone above the gray fog to perform the divination. Now, however, the situation seemed far from simple.
"Mrs. Christina, please wait a moment. I'm going to the washroom... to wash my face."
Klein made his way to the entrance of his Divine Kingdom with practiced ease. After shutting the door, he took four counterclockwise steps and arrived above the gray fog. He first used pendulum divination to determine whether Beyonder factors had interfered with his previous reading.
The yellow crystal spun rapidly clockwise, indicating that there had indeed been interference.
Next, he leaned back in his chair, took out Megose's hair, and began a dream divination.
Everything began to blur. Klein was half lucid, half dazed.
In a distorted, illusory world, Megose stood before the door of a villa, knocking incessantly.
The scene shattered and shifted. He saw Megose standing at the door of that villa once again, still knocking.
The scene shifted again. Megose arrived before a dilapidated, abandoned warehouse and pushed open its enormous wooden doors. Inside, a blurry figure whose features were impossible to make out turned to look...
At that moment, the scene shattered.
The blood-red pupil of a giant hanging upside down behind a curtain of shadows suddenly appeared. Along with chaotic, disordered whispers from the void, it poured down upon his face without restraint.
Klein exploded.
Chapter 32: Audrey uproots a weeping willow
Klein abruptly broke free of the dream and collapsed in his chair in agony. His body was covered in countless writhing worms, on the verge of falling apart.
It was as though a violent earthquake had struck above the gray fog. The palace collapsed with a thunderous crash, and an enormous, bottomless chasm split the ground. Piercing whispers echoed endlessly from its depths.
Only after a long while did silence return above the gray fog. The writhing worms on Klein's body disappeared, but his thoughts were in chaos, and his brain felt as though it would explode.
Klein slumped helplessly in his chair, his face filled with terror and bewilderment. He was terrified because he had once again courted death by divining an unimaginably horrifying existence. He was bewildered because he had clearly only been divining Megose.
The problem was that his last brush with death had at least yielded some useful mystical knowledge. This time, the only thing he remembered was a bit of rap whose meaning he didn't understand. What use was that? Was he supposed to launch a music career?
"Not messing with that. Definitely not."
Klein hurriedly left the gray fog, intending to tell the captain immediately. But as soon as he returned to the divination room, Angelica handed him a letter. "Mr. Moretti, a child just delivered this. All it said on the envelope was that it must be handed to you personally."
"For me?"
Klein opened the envelope. His pupils abruptly contracted when he saw its contents. Words cut from newspapers had been pieced together into a single sentence:
"Old Neil is about to lose control."
While Klein was courting death for the second time, Edward and Audrey had finished their preparations and were waiting to return to the Harry Potter World.
When the clock reached three in the afternoon, that familiar sensation appeared again.
Along with a powerful falling sensation, his vision blurred briefly before clearing again. Edward was back inside the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts.
Looking at the familiar yet slightly unfamiliar surroundings, Edward let out a soft breath:
"Phew. Back again."
Just then, that inexplicable information appeared once more: from his next crossing onward, the time he spent in each world would increase to eighteen days.
"Is it because I became a Beyonder and advanced to Sequence 8? But why eighteen days? That number has nothing to do with fifteen, and I can't see any pattern in the extra three days... Uh, could every advancement add three days?"
"I still prefer it here."
Audrey climbed out of the Leather Pouch and took a gentle breath, smiling. "Because there's none of that coal smell you can never get rid of in Backlund."
Edward said helplessly, "All I can smell is half a month's worth of accumulated dust! Scourgify."
With a wave of his wand, the Room of Requirement became spotless.
Something amusing occurred to Audrey just then, and she covered her mouth as she laughed. "Lately, I've cleaned my room with magic every morning. The maids find it so strange whenever they come to clean, but they still have to dutifully tidy it all over again."
"It's the same with my dresses. Even after I've worn one all day and attended a ball, there isn't a single mark on it when I take it off. Unfortunately, even then I can only wear it once, though there are several I really love."
"If only I could use Quick Change proficiently too. Then I could change into the clothes I like whenever I wanted."
The two left the Room of Requirement while chatting and headed toward Professor McGonagall's office.
Just as they reached the entrance, the door to Professor McGonagall's office swung open. A small black cat raced out with a piece of Dried Fish in her mouth, darted between Edward and Audrey, and sped away.
Immediately afterward, a tabby cat came racing out with a loud meow, her two bright eyes gleaming with excitement.
Edward's appearance had clearly caught her off guard.
The tabby cat slammed on the brakes and planted her front paws hard against the floor, sending herself straight into a backflip. As she landed, her body rapidly lengthened, transforming into Professor McGonagall.
"Ahem."
She adjusted her glasses, seeming somewhat awkward. "Oh, Mr. Edward, Miss Hall, you're back. Just now..."
Professor McGonagall pointed in the direction Lilith had gone, hesitating. "She..."
"I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall. Has Lilith been getting into mischief again?"
Edward quickly picked up the thread. "Thank you for taking care of her all this time. Sorry for the trouble."
Before you continue