If Wormtail Peter and Voldemort started causing trouble while he was away in the Lord of Mysteries World, there would be little he could do to help. Hopefully, this revolver would work wonders at a critical moment.
Harry Potter was utterly baffled, but he did not refuse his "kind gesture."
During that time, Edward also helped brew a batch of Wolfsbane Potion for Lupin. Since he failed to add more herbs as Snape had instructed, he was subjected to a vicious tongue-lashing. Still, he shamelessly promised to "get it right next time" and got Snape to repair the Vanishing Cabinet for him.
Wormtail... was still nowhere to be found.
And so, the day came for them to go to the Lord of Mysteries World.
Having informed Dumbledore well in advance, the two of them went to the Room of Requirement. Edward first approached the cabinets piled in a corner and retrieved two things he had hidden there long ago:
One was Ravenclaw's Diadem. The other was the Resurrection Stone Ring, which should have been hidden in the Gaunt Shack.
Of Voldemort's five scattered Horcruxes-the great snake Nagini was not a Horcrux yet, and Harry Potter was another-these were the only two he could get his hands on directly. Getting to the Gaunt Shack back then had taken a tremendous amount of effort.
Of the remaining three, Hufflepuff's Cup was hidden in Bellatrix's vault at Gringotts, Slytherin's Locket was in the possession of the House-elf at Sirius's home, and the diary should have been with Lucius Malfoy.
Audrey asked curiously, "What are these?"
"Two ancient alchemical items. One is the diadem once worn by the founder of Ravenclaw House, and the other is the legendary Death's Resurrection Stone. I want to see whether absorbing the gray fog from Mr. Fool's palace will turn them into Beyonder Characteristic too."
"That sounds like a good thing. Why do you look so hesitant?"
Edward said helplessly, "Because both of these alchemical items contain fragments of an evil fellow's soul. I'm not sure what will happen after they absorb the gray fog."
Audrey laughed. "Then you can sacrifice them to Mr. Fool and ask Him to purify them. With Him, there definitely won't be any problems!"
No! If I do that, I'm afraid the fellow hosting the next Tarot Club meeting will be someone without a nose!
In the end, Edward decided to take both items with him first. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Probably because I became a Beyonder, we'll be staying in your world for eighteen days this time. Eighteen days will pass here as well."
"Huh? We have more time now?" Audrey pursed her lips and glanced at her suitcase, her face full of regret. "If I'd known, I would have brought more things back!"
Isn't it only three extra days?
You just want an excuse to shop, shop, shop, don't you? Girls really are the same in every world.
With that familiar blur before his eyes, Edward returned to the Lord of Mysteries World once again.
The moment he opened the Leather Pouch, a nimble black shadow darted out.
"Lilith? When did you hide in there?!"
As soon as Edward cried out, he hurriedly covered his mouth. There was an Earth Mother in this world whose true name was Lilith.
In the original story, speaking a deity's true name could bring a swift and miserable end. And now he had blurted out "Lilith," so...
Lilith meowed, looked around, then glared at Edward with an expression that said, "You were going to leave me behind again": (▼へ▼メ).
Audrey climbed out next. Patting her chest, she said, "Just now-Lilith was hiding under the sofa the whole time, and she suddenly jumped out and startled me. What's wrong?"
Edward was bewildered and uneasy. Nothing had happened? Had he failed to draw the Mother Goddess's attention, or was there another reason?
Wait, Lilith is currently "fallen." She's posing as the God of Combat's mother, so if she punished someone for saying "Lilith," wouldn't that arouse the God of Combat's suspicions?
That thought calmed Edward somewhat. Watching Lilith run around, he hesitated. Maybe... I should give Lilith a different name?
He grabbed Lilith by her forelegs and lifted her up. "Let's discuss something. How about we call you... Lily from now on?"
Lilith impatiently twisted free and began wandering around Audrey's room, sniffing here and rubbing against things there.
Just then, someone knocked on the door, and Susie's voice came through. "Audrey, can I come in now?"
"Yes!"
Before setting off for Harry Potter World, the two of them had specifically asked Susie to patrol the area and count silently to one hundred before returning.
Susie skillfully opened the door and walked in. As soon as she entered, she sniffed, then vibrated the air to say, "There's a new scent."
A moment later, cat and dog locked eyes.
Lilith's fur instantly bristled and her tail shot up. She stared fixedly at Susie, letting out a threatening growl: "((`□′)!!"
Susie, meanwhile, wagged her tail wildly. She looked happily at Audrey and asked, "Audrey, is this a pet you got for me?"
Aren't you a pet yourself?
Edward silently snarked, scooping Lilith into his arms and lifting her right foreleg to wave at Susie.
"Susie, this is my pet, Lily... th. You can play together from now on."
"Wonderful!!"
Susie happily spun in a circle. Although she usually sat in the shadows observing quietly and looked mature and composed, she was, at the end of the day, only a young dog who had just reached adulthood.
Lilith, however, was so frightened by Susie that she kept shrinking back into Edward's arms. Audrey gently stroked her head and smiled. "Don't be afraid, Lilith. Susie is very kind and well-behaved."
"That's right! I'm a good dog!"
As she spoke, Susie hurried over to her usual spot in the shadows, fetched a piece of dried chicken in her mouth, and set it on the floor. "Here, have some!"
Lilith sniffed, looking tempted, then glanced at Edward questioningly. Edward crouched and put her down, giving her a gentle nudge on the bottom. "Go on."
After a long hesitation, Lilith approached cautiously, then snatched the chicken in her mouth and bolted before anyone could react. Susie instinctively started to chase her, but quickly stopped after two steps. "Don't run! It's yours."
Lilith leaped onto the sofa. Seeing that Susie had not followed, she finally began eating without fear, though she still gave Susie wary glances from time to time: "(￢_￢)"
Susie sat obediently, watching Lilith with a doting smile in her eyes.
Well, look at that. You really are treating Lilith as your pet, aren't you?
Edward thought for a moment, then said:
"Audrey, acting as a Trickmaster will require me to perform in front of people frequently. But with the Aurora Order in Backlund, there's an unpredictable danger here, so I'm planning to act in another city."
"Huh? Where are you going?"
"I'm still considering it." The first place that came to mind was Tingen, but he immediately rejected it. Although Megose was gone now, Tingen was still where everything began. It was best to stay as far away as possible.
He took out a Vanishing Cabinet. "I'll leave this Vanishing Cabinet here with you and keep the other one inside the Leather Pouch. If anything comes up, you can use it to find me at any time. Of course, you can also use my messenger."
Audrey nodded. "All right."
"I'll be off, then."
Edward looked at Lilith, who was holding the chicken and gnawing on it. "Do you want to come with me or stay here?"
Lilith's ears twitched. With the chicken in her mouth, she leaped into Edward's arms, and man and cat vanished with a crack.
"Oh, they're gone."
Susie stared dejectedly at the spot where Edward had disappeared. Audrey patted her head and smiled. "You'll have chances to play together in the future."
"Mm-hmm!"
She happily started wagging her tail again.
After leaving the Hall Earl Family's villa, Edward went to the Metropolitan Housing Improvement Association-the official rental agency.
He still wanted to rent a place in Backlund because, wherever he went afterward, he would use a Portkey to travel between the two locations. His new rental would serve as the Portkey's anchor point in Backlund.
His reason for not choosing Audrey's place was simple too: if the Aurora Order really came knocking, he did not want them following the trail back to her.
After some searching, Edward finally rented a small home with one bedroom, a living room, and a bathroom on Minsk Street in Cherwood Borough for eight soli a week. It came fully equipped, and the owner had specifically noted that the bedroom mattress was custom-made, exceptionally soft and comfortable. Unfortunately, work had forced the owner to move away.
By the time Edward completed the rental formalities and arrived at 88 Minsk Street, it was already dark.
As soon as Lilith entered, she began rubbing against everything, leaving her scent throughout this unfamiliar place.
Edward walked around the house before finally settling his gaze on a pile of firewood beside the fireplace. It was a little perk included with the rental, enough to burn for at least a week once winter arrived.
He stepped forward, pulled a piece out of the middle, examined it carefully, then slid it back in. For a moment, he could not even tell which piece he had just removed. "This is it. Something this unremarkable couldn't be more suitable for making a Portkey."
Satisfied, he hefted it in his hand and slipped it into the Leather Pouch.
"Meow! (ˉ^ˉ)"
Just then, Lilith leaped in front of Edward's knees with a desperately struggling mouse in her mouth.
Edward jumped in fright and hurriedly backed away.
"Meow ('?ω?`)?"
Puzzled, Lilith put the mouse down, pinned it with one paw, and pushed it toward Edward, as though saying, "Here, eat." Edward hastily raised his hands. "I don't eat mice. If possible, could you stop eating them too? We have dried fish and chicken chunks anyway."
Naturally, Lilith did not understand. She meowed in confusion, picked up the mouse, and ran off, disappearing into some corner to enjoy her feast: "ヾ(≧▽≦*)o"
"Ah, forget it. Cats eating mice is only natural."
Early the next morning, Edward was awakened by Lilith's barbed tongue licking him. He rolled over and pushed her away.
"Mrrr, (▼皿▼#)"
Lilith jumped high and landed with all four paws squarely on Edward's face.
"Ow, fuck!"
A few minutes later, Lilith contentedly ate her canned cat food while Edward shuffled sleepily into the bathroom to wash up. He had not slept well the night before. Compared with Hogwarts' soft beds or the large bed in his previous villa, the supposedly custom-made mattress here was rock-hard. Even turning over hurt. On top of that, Lilith had spent the whole night racing around the house, and he had only drifted off around two or three in the morning.
"Knock, knock, knock."
A familiar series of knocks came from the door.
Edward felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet straight to his head, and every hair on his body stood on end.
"No way. Again?!"
He wondered whether he had developed some sort of "knocking PTSD." Megose should already have been reduced to ashes by Fiendfyre. And if it was the Aurora Order, would they knock so politely?
With that thought, he called toward the entrance, "Hello, who is it? I'm washing up. Please wait a moment."
An elderly voice came from outside. "I'm here from the Church of Evernight. I have a very important matter to discuss with Mr. Edward."
"The Church of Evernight?"
Edward froze. He had hardly had any dealings with the Church of Evernight. No, wait! Didn't I smash the church's windows and get put on a wanted list under the title of "Blasphemer"?
Fuck, have I been found out?
Chapter 42: The Goddess's List
Before you continue