Holy shit, had I been found out?
Then shouldn't they break down the door and arrest me? Or, because they couldn't gauge my strength, were they trying to lower my guard before the hidden Nighthawks and Red Gloves caught me off guard?
"All right, just a moment."
Edward answered and quickly took out the materials for ritualistic magic:
"I summon in my name: the spirit wandering amid illusion, the friendly creature that can be commanded, the messenger belonging solely to Edward."
With a pop, a slit tore open in the membrane of the air, and a little black bird flew out, trailing afterimages:
"Want me to deliver a letter?"
Edward asked tentatively, "I need you to check around this house for any Beyonders lying in ambush. Can you do that? It'll count as one delivery."
The little black bird stared at Edward for several seconds, then abruptly vanished. Less than half a minute later, it reappeared:
"No ambush, but the person at the door... is terrifying. Anything else?"
Edward shook his head and gestured for it to go. "Nothing else! Ah, wait."
The little black bird screeched to a halt, as though a frame had frozen. A flicker of irritation clearly passed through its black eyes. "Speak."
"If I encounter a powerful enemy, can you help me fight them?"
After a brief moment of thought, it answered:
"Yes. At least one per fight, but I can't beat the one outside... for now."
Did "for now" mean it might be able to beat him later? It could grow stronger, too?
"Understood. Goodbye."
The little black bird vanished.
"Only one person, and he's terrifyingly strong, yet he knocked so politely. He probably... doesn't mean any harm, right?"
Still, to be safe, Edward ignored Lilith's protests and stuffed her into the Leather Pouch. Then he layered several Shield Charms over himself, gripped his wand tightly, and prepared to use Apparition at any moment. Only then did he carefully open the door.
"Good morning, Mr. Edward."
Standing at the door was a clean-shaven man with deep eyes, dressed in the black robes with red patterns of the Church of Evernight. He was probably quite old, yet he looked more vigorous than most young people.
"Hello. May I ask why you've come to see me...?"
The man smiled faintly, placed his right palm lightly over his left chest, and gave a slight nod:
"I am Anthony Stevenson, Archbishop of the Backlund Diocese of the Church of Evernight. I have come to deliver a letter on behalf of a great existence."
Edward's heart skipped a beat:
An Archbishop of the Church of Evernight?
A Saint of Sequence 4 or higher?
Delivering a letter for a great existence?
Why not just say the Evernight Goddess outright!
Gulp.
Edward swallowed instinctively, gulping down the mandrake leaf he had kept in his mouth for over a week.
Sure enough, there was no way he could hide his arrival in this world from those big shots. Being an ordinary transmigrator would have been one thing, but the crucial point was that he could travel between two worlds.
Getting hold of him meant getting hold of another world!
And getting hold of a world meant finding billions of anchors.
"Please take this."
Anthony handed him a piece of parchment, then tapped four points clockwise over his chest to trace the sacred emblem of Evernight before turning to leave.
He was leaving just like that?
His mind full of questions, Edward took a deep breath and nervously unfolded the parchment. It was densely covered in English writing:
"Perfume, handbags, women's tops, trousers, skirts...
McSpicy chicken burgers, crispy chicken burgers, cod burgers...
Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta...
PlayStation consoles, televisions, computers, generators...
'Game of Thrones,' 'House of Cards,' 'Breaking Bad'...
..."
?????
What the hell was this?
The little sheet of parchment covered every aspect of daily life and entertainment, listing all kinds of products. In short, it was a shopping list from the Goddess-
He read it over more than a dozen times, front and back, before finally confirming that there was nothing else.
The Goddess had sent a Saint to deliver a letter just for this?
Was this a test? A divine decree? Or simply a joke?
For a moment, Edward didn't know whether to feel relieved or complain. In the end, all his thoughts condensed into one sentence: The Goddess was fucking awesome!
Clearly, Ms. Amanises had been rather bored over these tens of millions of years, and she had maintained her humanity quite well. But... it was only 1991 on my side, too! A lot of what you wanted didn't even exist yet!
Oh well, I'd buy whatever I could for her.
At least, looking at it another way, since she needed me as her personal shopper, she probably wouldn't do anything to me in the short term, right?
That thought immediately put him much more at ease.
Edward had originally planned to visit Emlyn first that day, but now he had to change his plans.
Empress Borough, the Hall Earl Family's luxurious villa.
Audrey was sleeping soundly in the bed she hadn't seen for half a month, while Susie lay curled up beside it. Everything looked peaceful and lovely.
Until Edward appeared out of thin air.
Susie sprang up, dashed over to Edward, and sat down obediently before him, her face full of anticipation. "Edward, did Lilith come?"
"Sorry, she's watching the house."
"Huh?"
Wrapped in her quilt, Audrey pursed her lips and huffed. "Mr. Edward, don't you know it's very rude to barge into a lady's room so early?"
Having just woken up, Audrey looked a little less dignified than usual and rather more sweet and charming. Her disheveled long hair fell down her back, gleaming gold in the early morning sunlight.
Edward immediately apologized. "Sorry, sorry. Something unexpected came up. It won't happen again."
Of course, she wasn't really angry. During their time at Hogwarts, they had both frequently dragged each other out of sleep early in the morning, so she asked curiously, "What happened? You look quite nervous."
"The Archbishop of the Church of Evernight came to see me first thing this morning. He... &... ... #JPY#&... #JPY&"
"??? What did you say?"
"I said, I #JPY%#JPY%... %JPY... &"
He repeated himself, only to discover that something seemed wrong with his mouth. Certain words simply wouldn't come out. He quickly understood: the Goddess must have concealed all the information concerning her!
"Whew-anyway, I need you to give me half of what you bought in my world."
"Half? Who are you giving it to?"
Audrey puffed out her cheeks and muttered, "I spent ages shopping for all those things... Do you need the clothes I bought, too?"
Edward scratched his head and thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth. "Everything!"
"..."
Her gaze immediately turned so reproachful that Edward felt as though he were a cheating husband facing his wife.
"Next time. We'll buy more next time."
Half an hour later, Edward had filled just under half the Leather Pouch and hurried straight to Saint Samuel Church. Anthony Stevenson stood at the entrance, apparently having waited there for some time.
"Follow me, Mr. Edward."
Anthony led him all the way into the deepest part of the church. His footsteps made no sound, and he was like the slowly descending night, putting people at ease.
The church was deserted, perhaps because it was still early, or perhaps because Anthony had cleared it out beforehand.
They arrived at a library on one side of the church. Anthony opened the door for him. "Everything you need for the ritual is inside."
"Wait, I... have never learned a ritual for praying to the Goddess."
A trace of surprise crossed Anthony's face. After explaining the steps of the ritual in detail, he quietly left.
"Whew-"
Edward took the items out one by one and placed them on the floor. Then he lit the two candles at the front: one made from night-scented herb and deep sleep flower, symbolizing "Evernight," and one made from white chestnut flower, wild rose, and other materials, symbolizing "concealment."
Next, he created a Wall of Spirituality, sprinkled Full Moon Essential Oil, and burned powdered herbs that would please the deity, completing the ritual step by step. Finally, he stepped back twice, activated Spirit Vision, and recited softly:
"I pray for the power of Evernight;
"I pray for the power of concealment;
"I pray for the Goddess's favor;
"May the Goddess accept my offering.
"O night-scented herb, herb belonging to the crimson moon, please convey my prayer to the Goddess!"
"O moon flower, herb belonging to the crimson moon, please convey my prayer to the Goddess!"
A fierce wind howled. The ashes of the burned herbs and the surrounding soil rose together, sweeping up the bags and bundles on the floor before vanishing.
Edward maintained his respectful posture for quite a while longer. Once he was certain nothing else would happen, he first breathed a sigh of relief, then couldn't help muttering, "So you're really just taking the goods without giving me anything?"
The moment he finished speaking, the ashes and soil that had fallen to the floor suddenly linked together, forming one word after another:
"Payment has already been given. Continue next time."
Edward's heart pounded wildly. He hurriedly traced the emblem over his chest. "Praise the Goddess. Praise the Goddess."
Before you continue