Upon hearing the captain's order, Nina pursed her lips and pointed out the window, saying:
"Isn't there anything strange about Frank's experiment?"
... Cattleya was momentarily speechless and could only sigh, saying:
"If there are any signs of danger, write to me immediately."
As a " Mystic," she also has her own messenger.
"Alright," Nina puffed out her chest and said, "What can I do? I'm the most mature and composed one on the ' Future '."
At this point, she asked with a hint of curiosity:
"Captain, what are you doing in Loen? What mission have you taken? Are you going to carry out sabotage behind enemy lines?"
Nina has Feysac blood, Cattleya is half Intis. In the recent war, they would naturally have some biases, which is why Nina suspected that the captain had established contact with Intis ' intelligence department.
"... I suppose so. Admiral of Stars," Cattleya replied, keeping her mouth shut.
In a sense, Nina's guess was not wrong. She did indeed accept a mission to sabotage the capital of Loen, Backlund, but the target was not the official forces, but the Shoe Cult.
Moreover, there was a chance to see the Queen. She shouldn't have left Backlund yet, at the earliest after the New Year... Thinking of this, Cattleya suddenly felt a little excited.
Since leaving the " Dawn," she has never actually met the " Mystery Queen." They only corresponded, or were on the same ship but had no communication for various reasons.
Nina didn't dare to ask further, and pointed to the door, saying:
"Captain, is there anything else? If not, we'll be heading out."
" Admiral of Stars " Cattleya nodded, indicating that the Sailor of the " Future " could leave with her subordinates.
Just as Nina grasped the handle and gently turned it, Cattleya suddenly remembered something and hurriedly called out:
Nina.
"Huh?" Nina, with her blonde hair tied in a high ponytail, turned her head, looking "confused."
"Don't drink too much! Admiral of Stars," Cattleya emphasized earnestly, "I'll let you drink to your heart's content when I get back to the ship."
Nina immediately flashed a charming smile:
"Make a deal!"
After thinking for a moment, Cattleya added:
"Besides Frank, you also need to keep an eye on Heath's condition. Don't let him become curious about unknown sounds, and don't let him get too tired. Also, frequently pull Ottolov out of his room to control the frequency and number of times he comes into contact with occult knowledge, and..."
"Okay, okay, I know them all too well," Nina waved her hand and agreed.
After the Sailor and her men left the captain's cabin and closed the door behind them, Cattleya turned her gaze to the window, looking out at Backlund, which was not yet visible.
A few minutes later, she drew a tarot card from her hand.
The image depicts an old man carrying a glass lamp, leaning on a cane, groping alone.
The Hermit card.
Late at night, Backlund, Queens Borough, Earl Hall's house.
Audrey, dressed in a white gauze nightgown, suddenly opened her eyes, took a blue cloak, and draped it over herself.
She immediately got out of bed, walked to the full-length mirror in the room, and, with the help of the crimson Moonlight shining through the curtains, carefully examined herself:
Those emerald green eyes seemed to glow on their own, clear and bright, allowing one to see every detail clearly.
Audrey closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, everything had disappeared.
The corners of her mouth gradually turned up, her cheeks showed slight dimples, her eyebrows curved slightly, her gaze shifted gently, and she silently praised herself in her heart:
" Audrey, you've finally made it this far!"
She has completely digested the " Dreamwalker " Potion.
Based on Audrey's own understanding and prediction, she thought she would finish digesting the Potion after February. However, during this period, she encountered several strange and completely different dreams.
This includes multiple dreams, dreams caused by mental illness, lucid dreams, dreams influenced by evil Wraith and vengeful ghosts, and dreams of several Demigod.
Normally, as a " Dreamwalker," Audrey could roughly judge what level of beings were in the dream she was about to enter, thus avoiding danger. However, those Demigod were so well hidden that Audrey only discovered the clues after entering their dream and was startled.
Fortunately, she was not discovered several times. Instead, she gained experience and greatly absorbed the Potion by carefully Travel, exploring, observing, and analyzing within the Demigod's dream.
In addition, other special dreams gave her completely different experiences. Afterwards, she tried to construct multiple dreams herself, and tried to hide behind the scenes in the dreams, cleverly guide the development, interfere with the subconscious in reverse, treat the psychological illness of the dream owner, or expel the pollution brought by evil spirits and vengeful Wraith.
This, to some extent, violated her self-imposed requirement of merely observing and Record without interfering, but strangely, it accelerated the digestion of the Potion.
This led her to summarize a new set of rules:
"... If you really want to interfere, then be the mastermind and guide behind the scenes, so that even if the goal is achieved, no one will notice."
Audrey did this very well; those people with more serious mental illnesses recovered without even realizing it after having five or six slightly strange dreams.
It is perfectly normal for a dream to seem strange and difficult to understand.
"The main reason I was able to digest the ' Dreamwalker ' Potion. Without so many unique experiences, I would definitely have had to wait another month or two. Hmm, I might even have been caught by Demigod and thrown into the prison for Beyonder, or even killed... When did my luck start to become so good? It started when I offered ice cream to that Angel of Fate's Blessed... Hmm..." Audrey looked at herself in the mirror, smiled faintly, and blinked.
She quickly looked away, glanced around the bedroom, and walked to the dressing table.
There was a tarot deck displayed there.
It's quite normal to have a tarot deck in the room of a girl who likes the occult.
Audrey extended her right hand, touched the top card with her fingertips, took a slow breath, and murmured to herself:
"The fighting in the Amanda Mountain Range is getting increasingly intense..."
"One port in the Awwa County has already fallen..."
" The Hornacis Mountain Range defenses in West Vilas County are said to be unable to hold out until spring..."
"If we hadn't gained a certain advantage in naval warfare, our connection with East Balam in the Southern Continent would definitely have been severed..."
Alfred is still there...
"It's unclear how this war will develop."
"Fortunately, I'm almost Demigod. Mr. 'World' has given me the Potion recipe and main ingredients for the ' Manipulator '... I've also collected the tears of seven different humans, shed due to intense emotions, through my dream experiences over this period..."
"I've already traded the golden leaves of the Treant Elder from the little ' The Sun,' and all I'm missing is the blood of the old Mind Dragon..."
"Hmph, trying to exchange it with the Psychology Alchemists —before Herabergen Rambis died, I was already the head of a psychological research group... but wouldn't that expose my connection to Herabergen Rambis's death?"
"Or, perhaps Mr. 'World' could summon a drop of blood from an ancient Mind Dragon from history? This would sustain me for at least fifteen minutes. Once I successfully advance, suppress my Spirituality, and complete the self- Psychological Suggestion, its disappearance wouldn't have any impact, after all, it's just an auxiliary material..."
" Audrey, you've actually learned to fake things, and even fake things like this!"
After making a self-deprecating remark, Audrey began to ponder what kind of occasion would be suitable for completing the " Manipulator " promotion ceremony.
That requires taking the Potion in a specific setting with at least ten thousand people, amidst a profound emotional resonance among them.
In a flash, Audrey had a preliminary idea:
"The Goddess's Winter's Gift Day?"
"Even the largest mass can only hold up to 10,000 people... The church can't accommodate that many..."
"Well, it's not usually possible, but this time there's an opportunity. I can donate some money and propose holding a super-large mass in places like Memorial Day Square to Placate the souls lost in the war."
"The main square will be used to invite the families, relatives, and friends of the dead and injured. As long as they make up a certain proportion, the resulting emotional resonance will influence the others attending the mass, thus fulfilling the requirements of the ritual..."
After calmly analyzing the situation, Audrey suddenly looked down at the mirror on her dressing table. She saw that the faint smile on her beautiful face had vanished, leaving only a calm expression and a deep sadness in her eyes.
She gazed at herself, a slight smile playing on her lips, and whispered:
" Audrey, you've become despicable too..."
She closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, Audrey had returned to normal.
She reached for the stack of tarot cards on the dressing table and flipped to the top one.
The card depicts a goddess of Justice sitting on a stone chair, holding a sword in one hand and scales in the other, coldly observing everything.
Inside a house with a fireplace in Backlund, Hillston Borough.
"Your ' Scribe ' Potion is finished?" Hugh had just changed into her pajamas and returned to the living room when she heard this unbelievable news.
Fors nodded, looking haggard.
"Um.
Do you know what kind of life I've been living lately?
On one hand, he was forced to " Travel " to six places in a row, experiencing, appreciating and Record day and night; on the other hand, he was occasionally pulled into the Gray Fog to " Record " various extraordinary abilities, some strange and some high-level.
The original " Lightning Storm " and " Historical Void Image Summoning " have been replaced many times, and only today have they been restored to the Original configuration.
"I don't know..." Hugh answered honestly.
"I know you don't know," Fors took a deep breath and said, "And you? How have you been lately?"
"Not bad. I've been assigned to the Court of Abnormal Affairs, and I've developed some ideas about the Acting. The Potion digestion process is starting to speed up," Hugh hummed in agreement.
"I find it hard to imagine you sitting there in your Judge's robes, presiding over a Judgement," Fors remarked sincerely.
"You mean the prisoners and Lawyer might not see me?" Hugh added, not minding at all.
Fors chuckled twice and said:
"I need to rest for a bit before preparing for my ' Traveler ' promotion ceremony."
"Aren't we going to the depths of the Spirit World? Do you have a way?" Hugh asked, quite puzzled.
Fors nodded and said:
"The messenger who told me to summon him."