Chapter 44

125

"Your Highness."

"..."

"Your Highness Vaughn."

"...Do you need something?"

"Your Highness, forgive my audacity-but have you never lived as a human? Were you born a mythical creature?"

"You are indeed audacious."

"You flatter me. Rather than lacking humanity, you seem more like someone learning how to be human from scratch. That is why I ventured such a bold guess... Oh, it is only my own supposition. I am willing to keep your secret. Perhaps you need a teacher. I could teach you how to play a human."

"Are you trying to save your own life this way?"

"Then shall we begin with the most basic social graces? Look at how grand and splendid tonight's banquet is. Everyone is lost in fine wine, fine food, and the arms of beauties, while you sit outside alone. How unsociable."

"What do you think I should do, then?"

"Please ask me to dance. Your Highness, if you find the ballroom too noisy, we can dance here beneath the moon. That is what I want."

126

Edward examined what Klein had handed him, then said with interest, "Now this is quite a remarkable rarity."

"Where did you get it?"

Klein tucked his napkin into place and prepared to dig into the food that had just arrived. At the question, he thought for a moment and decided to answer honestly. "I got it from a bishop of the Church of the Earth Mother. He was looking among Beyonders for someone who could solve his problem. I helped him, and he gave me this key as payment. Is there something wrong with it?"

"There's nothing wrong with it, but it is very interesting."

Having finished examining the ordinary-looking brass key, Edward set it aside rather than returning it to Klein. "There should be a curse inside it. Let me guess-something that impairs your sense of direction or makes you get lost? In fact, that curse is only this key's most superficial negative effect. Opening locks isn't its true use, either."

"Really?" Hearing that the Master Key had other uses, and seeing no sign that Edward wanted to keep it for himself, Klein could not help growing curious. "Mr. Edward, what is its true effect?"

"Door." Instead of answering, Edward posed another question. "Do you know about Door?"

He means someone specific! Klein understood at once. He's asking about Mr. Door. Hmm, he knows I can read Roselle's Diary, so it isn't strange that I would know about this... Klein answered, "I do. The diary mentioned the Emperor's exchanges with him."

"I've read his diary too. There are indeed quite a few mentions of Mr. Door. I was surprised that he would say so much."

Edward did not specify whom he meant, but Klein naturally took "he" to mean Mr. Door. Edward nudged a slice of meat in his Feynapotter noodles with his fork. In no hurry to eat it, he offered a fairly detailed explanation. "This key contains Mr. Door's spirituality. If it wasn't left behind by a High Sequence member of the Abraham Family, then it must have come from some unfortunate Low Sequence Beyonder whose spirituality went out of control and who died amid the full moon ravings. Most likely, their advancement failed."

"It is precisely because Mr. Door's spirituality was involved that this key gained the ability to 'open all doors.' The spirituality combined with the Beyonder characteristic and condensed into the shape of a key. That is also a form of disguise. Its true use should be to release the spiritual power inside and affect enemies with corruption and ravings. Hmm, a small, single-use Beyonder time bomb."

That sounds like area-of-effect mental damage, but I still need a key more than a time bomb... Still, this could become a trump card for escaping danger. After all, I'm already very familiar with the agony of all kinds of ravings, but my enemies certainly won't expect it... A Beyonder item with a secret like this must be worth at least several hundred pounds, though I did put in the work. Klein was tempted, but not entirely won over. His gaze grew eager as he looked at the Master Key. "Then how do I release the spirituality inside?"

"You only need an appropriate external force to break its casing."

Edward handed the key back to Klein. "You're a Seer. At present, you have no direct means of breaking it, so you'll have to improvise. If you were a Warrior, a Hunter, or even a Sailor, you should have the strength to crush it outright at Sequence 7."

"I see." He understood. "Thank you for telling me."

"It's only a trivial matter."

It may indeed be trivial, and perhaps I could find the answer later by performing a careful divination above the gray fog. But having an Angel tell me personally is a privilege no amount of money could buy... Klein felt a thrill of delight. Suddenly, he understood how the other Tarot Club members felt when, playing the Fool, he casually imparted some "common knowledge of the Beyonder world" and left them overwhelmed by the honor.

For the next few minutes, neither spoke. They quietly enjoyed the delicious lunch served by the Quelaag Club.

There is too little corruption hidden in this tiny key. At most, it could corrupt one or two Low- or Mid-Sequence Beyonders, and it probably wouldn't kill them on the spot, let alone assimilate them into the Moon's followers... Still, I never noticed how closely the Abraham Family's blood ties connected them. Without any prayer ritual, a single Low Sequence advancement can bring his ravings and corruption down to earth. There may be very little of it, but this is indeed the quickest, easiest, and most inconspicuous method. I should have paid more attention to Benjamin back then. If they really knew their ancestor was floating on the moon, even if they understood that Bethel was beyond saving, they would still place some hope in the seven gods and try to bring him back to earth, wouldn't they?

If I weren't currently unwilling to reveal myself to them, I wouldn't mind giving the Moon a little help and stripping Bethel Abraham of his ability to resist. It would take hardly any effort on my part. Unfortunately, the Moon's power on earth is limited, and it has nothing to offer that would tempt me.

"...Speaking of which, I haven't seen you these past few days. Has your detective work kept you busy?"

"No. Rather than saying my detective work has been busy, I'd say life as a Low Sequence Beyonder like me is simply too eventful."

Edward was not an Official Beyonder either and probably had little interest in the lowest levels of the Beyonder world, so Klein briefly recounted his experiences over the past few days, changing the names and times. "I have Beyonder gatherings to attend and protection jobs to take on. Even going for a walk at night can lead to stumbling across a murder scene or people who worship death holding a spirit-summoning ritual... Haha, Backlund really is fascinating."

As he had expected, the Abyss Angel was not particularly interested in these matters, but he still dutifully listened to the whole account.

They chatted intermittently until the meal ended. When a waiter came to collect their plates, Klein was just about to stand when he suddenly felt an uncanny chill by his feet. The puzzled waiter glanced around, then went to check whether the fireplace was burning properly. Klein quietly activated his Spirit Vision and saw a small patch of space beside the booth suddenly distort. Something whose shape he could not make out, but which seemed to be a small animal, emerged from it trembling. It laid the letter held in its mouth beside Edward's hand, then retreated just as fearfully.

...He knew it was afraid because even Klein could tell that the little animal had not dared lift its head once.

The chill vanished. Edward picked up the letter-a piece of paper folded twice-as though nothing were amiss and glanced over it.

"I have left the Northern Continent and am traveling aboard a passenger liner to the islands of the Sonia Sea. I departed the port of Bansy after midnight last night."

"The nights here are abnormal, but I cannot sense what is happening. Perhaps you will need to come and see for yourself."

"Richard Ernst"

"P.S. Teacher, asking Riel to deliver this letter was my decision. Sending a letter from the sea to the Northern Continent really is too expensive and too slow."

Klein watched Edward's expression turn serious, his brows furrowing slightly, before giving way to speechlessness.

"...Sorry you had to see that. My student can't afford postage while traveling, so he summoned someone else's messenger to deliver his letter. I suspect this is his way of pleading poverty. Heh, I only just gave him funds." Edward reached out and rapped the small animal messenger on what was probably its head, driving it back into the Spirit World. "Actually, it charges one pearl per delivery. As far as I remember, he's never paid it either."

So some messengers charge for delivering letters? Klein inwardly clicked his tongue. All at once, the skeletal messenger that came whenever he blew the Copper Whistle and worked without complaint seemed positively kindly and endearing.

Not wanting to linger on the subject of money, he asked a question he had long wanted answered. "Mr. Edward, do you know how to remove corruption from a Beyonder characteristic?"

The letter in Edward's hand spontaneously combusted, and its ashes drifted of their own accord into the wastebasket by the wall. His gaze settled on Klein. He swiftly performed a divination using his intuition and, after obtaining the conclusion "of little use," decided not to make that question a condition of a transaction.

"I do," he said. "There is a price for answering that question. If you want me to solve the problem for you, that will also come at a price."

Rather than feeling disappointed, Klein breathed a sigh of relief. Now that's more like it! An Angel answering every question I ask would be far too absurd-even a little frightening. Only an arrangement like this can put a person at ease. Doesn't my own Tarot Club also follow the principle of equivalent exchange? He was already satisfied to have received that answer. The only question was whether he would ever have anything sufficient to secure Edward's help. As for what a Grounded Angel might need, Klein only dared speculate.

He felt that knowing the method would be enough. There was no need to ask Edward to do it himself. Through the Tarot Club and by growing stronger, he would surely have an opportunity to solve the problem on his own, without paying twice.

After careful consideration, Klein cautiously asked, "If I wanted to know the method, what would I have to pay?"

Edward looked him over in some surprise. Most people would not think to ask such a question. If Klein not only asked but wanted an actual answer, then there was a very good chance he really had a corrupted Beyonder characteristic in his possession... Did he truly belong to some secret organization? Had that organization asked him to find a method, or was he simply trying to solve his own problem?

"The method itself isn't particularly expensive. Carrying it out is what's difficult," he said. "...The simplest option is to pay money directly. Four thousand pounds."

That's so expensive!

Why does an Angel like you always bring up money so naturally? If I were this frank while playing the Fool, my image would have been ruined long ago! Klein leaned back reflexively, but after only a few seconds of shock, he began considering whether to pay.

No, no, no. On closer thought, it isn't that expensive...

A month ago, four thousand pounds would have been an unimaginable fortune to him, but since coming to Backlund, he had spent money like water. Miss Justice had paid ten thousand pounds to hire Mr. A of the Aurora Order to assassinate the Ambassador, and he had paid a thousand pounds to hire Miss Sharron as his bodyguard... This price isn't unacceptable. I can afford it. Besides, I'm only at Sequence 7, with another advancement to go before I need the Pure Black Eye. I could certainly save up the money. But since I don't need it now, there's no reason to buy the solution so early. I only have a few hundred pounds on hand. I can't spend it before I've even had time to enjoy having it...

"I understand." Klein regained his composure and rose to take his leave. "Thank you very much! I'll go back and give it some serious thought."

Edward said no more. After seeing Klein off, he returned to the club, had a waiter arrange a private room, and wrote Richard a brief note. When he opened a door to the Spirit World, the devil messenger named Riel had not yet gone far. Riel stood respectfully in a corner of the doorway, waiting to be summoned. Edward handed over the note, then caught a flicker of fire out of the corner of his eye, beyond the mist of folded historical fragments in the Spirit World. The lights came in pairs, some distance above the ground, moving as though running and leaping.

"...Forgan Hounds? They rarely leave the mist."

"Did a High Sequence Beyonder of one of the three Mysteries pathways pass through here just now? Could it have been Zaratul? He never seems to have drawn them out before."

The Abyss Angel investigated the surroundings but found no mystical traces or concealed changes. The Forgan Hounds, their eyes burning with flames, disappeared one after another into the distant mist. Edward did not dwell on it. He left the Spirit World, closed the door again, and soon put the matter out of his mind.

TBC

*Riel: the "tabby cat" who appeared earlier, a Sequence 4 Beyonder of the Devil Pathway. Traynor's scout, Assistant, and messenger.

Richard: Deliver a letter for me.

Riel: I charge for deliveries, you know.

Richard: (A friendly smile)

Riel: ...

Riel: ...All right, all right, I won't charge you.