At that moment, The World spoke again in his signature gloomy tone, "Everyone, has there been any news on the characteristics of the Human-Skinned Shadow or the hair of the Deep Sea Naga?"
Derrick instantly perked up and replied with enthusiasm, "I can help you collect the Human-Skinned Shadow's characteristic. It's one of the more frequently encountered monsters in the darkness. There should be some in the City of Silver's warehouse. I can exchange for it using the merit points from this exploration."
"Great. Then, Mr. Sun, what do you need in return?" The World asked.
"I need the formula for Solar High Priest, as well as the materials for it."
Klein, manipulating The World, chuckled and said, "Coincidentally, I should be able to acquire that formula soon, including the follow-up Sequence 6 Notary and Sequence 5 Priest of Light formulas, along with the corresponding Beyonder characteristic of the Priest of Light."
Creeping Hunger had devoured the soul of a Priest of Light. Klein planned to gradually release and absolve these souls. When the time came, he could first perform a séance to ask about the formulas.
Derrick was instantly delighted.
"Then I'll do my best to get you the Human-Skinned Shadow's characteristic as soon as possible!"
Klein hesitated for a moment before speaking, "The market price for the Human-Skinned Shadow's characteristic is roughly 2,000 pounds. But the formula for Solar High Priest should be less than 1,000. So…"
Derrick responded without hesitation, "Then I'll keep it and wait to exchange it for the Notary formula when the time comes."
"Deal."
The two reached an agreement.
Then The Hanged Man, Alger, spoke, "I've already purchased the hair of the Deep Sea Naga. We can trade right after the Tarot Meeting. 600 pounds."
"No problem!"
Klein quickly calculated in his mind: After buying the Deep Sea Naga's hair, I'll barely have any money left…Thankfully, I can use the formula to trade for the Human-Skinned Shadow's characteristic. Otherwise…how long would it take me to earn 2,000 pounds?
Sigh…I spent so much time helping Prince Edessak investigate a maid, didn't make a single coin, and ended up getting dragged into the Loen royal family's political schemes. What a loss!
And the maid that Miss Justice asked me to track? No leads at all…
Tch, am I cursed by maids or something?
Thinking of that, he turned to Audrey and said, "Miss Justice, regarding the commission from the last Tarot Meeting—I found no leads last week. My apologies."
Audrey was momentarily stunned, then realised what The World was referring to. However, due to several major events happening one after another recently, she—the commissioner herself—had completely forgotten about it.
She shook her head, "It's fine. You don't have to look for that maid anymore…"
"Huh?"
Fors looked like she'd been struck by lightning.
"N-No need to look anymore?!"
Then the intel I had Xio help me gather is completely worthless?!
Seeing her reaction, Audrey asked, "Miss Magician, did you find clues about that maid?"
"Yes…I had a friend ask around and managed to get some information."
Fors answered gloomily.
Although her appearance was unseen through the mist, Audrey could already imagine her utterly dejected expression. So she smiled and reassured her, "Don't worry, Miss Magician. Since I made a commission, and you managed to find valid clues, I'll still pay you—so long as they're true and reliable."
"Really?!"
Fors swallowed nervously.
"According to what my friend learned from the military, that maid is suspected to be a wanted criminal named Trissy. She's a Beyonder."
Trissy?!
Edward, Audrey, and Klein were all stunned at once.
Edward quickly pieced it together.
So Trissy was targeting Prince Edessak all along. That scream she gave when he was in danger—it was out of concern, to draw others to save him?
Damn it, so it was all because of—love?!
Klein, too, was momentarily stunned. Then a sharp pain shot through his heart.
Trissy… Isn't she the very same witch who first commissioned me to investigate Edessak?
I was once…just 5,000 pounds away from her?!
AAAHHH!!
Fors had no idea what they were thinking. She continued, "But I don't know where Trissy is now, nor do I have any more details about her…Miss Justice, is that…of any use to you?"
"Of course it is!"
Audrey had also figured out the connections and implications, and responded generously, "However, since you weren't able to provide her precise location, I can only pay you…1,000 pounds. Is that acceptable?"
1,000 pounds?!
Fors inhaled sharply, feeling as though she were wrapped in a bubble of joy.
Worthy of a wealthy noble's daughter! Just a few scraps of intel and I can get 1,000 pounds? That's 500 for me and 500 for Xio!
She quickly nodded, "Yes, yes! That's more than fine!"
"Good. Once the Tarot Meeting ends, I'll offer the money to Mr. Fool so he can pass it on to you." Audrey then looked up toward Mr. Fool and said respectfully, "I'll trouble you, Mr. Fool."
Klein repressed the pain in his chest and nodded lightly, "Very well."
Then, as if something suddenly occurred to her, Audrey asked, "Right—Mr. Fool, a few days ago, the Hero Bandit Black Emperor who killed the human trafficker Capim…is he one of your Blessed?"
"Yes."
Audrey bowed respectfully.
"Please extend my sincerest gratitude to that Blessed. Not only did he eliminate a heinous human trafficker and rescue so many innocent girls, but he even remained untouched by the tens of thousands of pounds in Capim's villa, refusing to take a single coin…Truly worthy of being your Blessed."
PFFT—!
Klein felt like his heart had just been stabbed again—twice.
Untouched by the money? Unmoved by temptation? Unwilling to take it?
I FORGOT ABOUT IT! I didn't even have time to think about money at all!
That was…tens of thousands of pounds!
Tch… Wait, the one who left behind the Tower and Justice playing cards at the scene…was that Edward? If it was, and I confess to him using Klein's identity…would he give me a cut of the money?
But...with Audrey's few casual remarks, I've already been placed on a pedestal. If I go asking for money now, won't that make me look—low?
Klein was locked in a fierce internal struggle.
Meanwhile, Fors asked curiously, "Ah, so that incident was really done by someone from our Tarot Club? I heard Justice and Tower cards were left at the scene—was that Blessed perhaps…"
She turned to look at Edward.
Edward replied, "I was the one who left the Tarot cards. But that noble, selfless thief—The Hero Bandit Black Emperor—wasn't me. I simply took the chance to swipe Capim's money amidst the chaos."
Klein: "..."
Sensing Klein was starting to really lose his composure, Edward decided not to tease him any further and said sincerely, "Mr. Fool, I understand your Blessed may have little regard for ill-gotten wealth, but money, when held by someone like Capim, is filthy. In the hands of a just rogue like the Hero Bandit, it becomes the cleanest thing imaginable."
"If this money can help your Blessed further improve his strength, I believe he will only be more capable of upholding justice and saving the innocent in the future."
"So I'd like to give him half of that money. Please persuade him not to refuse."
Edward wasn't trying to play Santa Claus. It was just that the current situation was growing increasingly chaotic—even Amon had shown up ahead of time—and Klein's strength clearly hadn't kept pace. If this money could help him close the gap, it was more than worth it.
UWAAAH! Edward, you really are my second father!!
Klein nearly burst into tears.
Someday, I swear, I SWEAR I'll let the entire world know: everything Mr. Fool achieved—was all thanks to Mr. Tower!!
His heart was overflowing with emotion and gratitude, but on the surface, he maintained the lofty demeanour of Mr. Fool, nodding lightly and replying with calm authority:
"I will convey the message."
"Praise The Fool," Edward followed up with a well-timed flattery.
Everyone else quickly echoed: "Praise The Fool."
Then Derrick hesitated for a moment before speaking: "I'd like to ask…how can we make those exploration team members, who've been tainted by the True Creator, reveal their flaws? They seem fine for now, but I'm worried they might do something harmful to the City of Silver later."
Alger and Fors immediately turned their attention to Edward.
Edward shrugged, "Can't help you there. I was forced to meet the True Creator in the Forsaken Land. We're not that close—and besides, "He's" asleep right now."
Alger thought for a moment and said, "If we had some item related to the True Creator, it might provoke a reaction from them."
Klein, controlling The World, spoke up, "I have an item imbued with the True Creator's mental corruption."
He was referring to the All-Black Eye left behind by the Marionettist Rosago.
"An item imbued with the True Creator's spiritual corruption?" Alger frowned thoughtfully, then carefully said, "That might actually help The Sun. Those exploration team members whose minds have already been twisted—once they sense the presence of the True Creator nearby—they're very likely to undergo some kind of transformation on the spot."
Derrick immediately turned to The World, "Mr. World, could you lend me that item?"
"Of course. It can offset the overvalue on the Human-Skinned Shadow's characteristic. How about it?"
Derrick, who had no real sense of money, nodded eagerly.
"Yes! Thank you so much, Mr. World."
Klein manifested the appearance of the All-Black Eye and added, "It's equivalent in power to a Sequence 5 Beyonder. If you lose it, you'll have to compensate me. And once this matter is resolved, you must return it immediately."
Then The Hanged Man thoughtfully offered additional suggestions to help The Sun, which left the innocent young man overwhelmed with gratitude.
He bowed repeatedly, "Thank you, Mr. Hanged Man. Thank you—thank you all!"
Suddenly, Edward seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right—I recently obtained a mystical item. It can convert Beyonder characteristics into a highly spiritual wine. During battle, if your spirituality runs dry, just a sip of the wine will replenish a large amount of it instantly."
"If any of you need this spiritual wine, you can reach out to me anytime. Each conversion costs…50 pounds."
"Of course, if you don't have any Beyonder characteristics on hand, I've recently acquired a few myself. I can sell them to you at market price."
The others were visibly stunned. This was the first time they'd heard of such a thing.
Especially Klein: Isn't this just…a mana potion? Something like this could be a literal life-saver at a critical moment!
Wait…where does the converted Beyonder characteristic go? According to the law of conservation of Beyonder characteristics, they never disappear or diminish—only transfer from one place to another.
Could it be absorbed by the sealed item used in the conversion? But if that continues, wouldn't the sealed item eventually turn into some kind of…monster?
After mulling it over for a moment, Klein didn't raise the question aloud. Instead, he asked, "How exactly does the conversion work? And how much spirituality does it restore?"
Edward gave a brief explanation of the effects of Hufflepuff's Cup.
After listening, everyone had the same reaction:
So expensive!
Way too expensive!
But…
It really might save your life…
Alger, Derrick, and Klein each began calculating in their heads.
With that, the trading segment of the meeting came to an end. Aside from the always-passive Miss Death—who still gained some joy from simply watching—everyone had achieved something.
Then, Klein—still controlling The World—spoke again, "I have a commission to post."
———
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