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"Wanting to become an 'Artisan'... wanting to become a Beyonder-was that really something people could say so openly?"
Listening to the conversation between the old man, the middle-aged man, and the boy, Audrey once again found herself deeply bewildered.
Their words left her profoundly unaccustomed to it all, with that intense sense of incongruity unique to Trier.
Weren't Beyonders supposed to be rare? Wasn't the supernatural supposed to be separate from the world ordinary people knew?
The Churches' Beyonders protected the world from the shadows, while unaffiliated Beyonders either established their own factions or joined secret organizations, displaying their power and baring their fangs in the dark...
Wasn't that how things were supposed to be?
Audrey discovered an indescribable emotion rising within her, but as a demigod of the Spectator pathway, she quickly identified and understood what she was feeling.
And so she clearly understood that her discomfort came from the attitudes of those three people.
For one thing, this visibly elderly man knew what a "Beyonder" was, and even hoped his grandson would work toward becoming one, as though being a Beyonder were a respectable occupation like being a government employee, a teacher, or a doctor.
The boy also understood what a "Beyonder" was, and could even connect those enormous metal robots with "Artisans," sharing views similar to his grandfather's-while the Church of Mysteries clergyman readily encouraged them both, openly letting the grandfather and grandson know about Beyonders, and even taking the initiative to use this to interest the boy in studying!
That was the first point.
As Audrey understood it, being a Beyonder had never been a respectable, glamorous profession, but a dangerous "special identity" that largely had to remain out of sight. Not everyone could afford potions, and advancement was fraught with danger. Even using the