Edward smiled as he looked over. "Congratulations, you're about to have good fortune."
He gave the boy a wink, then turned and left. Mrs. Onstine hurriedly called after him, "Sir, your tarot card!"
"Consider it a gift for the child."
A tarot card wasn't worth much, and since it carried a good omen, Mrs. Onstine didn't refuse. She patted her son's head and urged, "Will, quickly thank this gentleman."
The boy pouted. "Thank you, Uncle~"
No sooner had he spoken than he suddenly clutched his trousers and whispered, "Mama, I need to pee."
"Mm, be careful not to wet your trousers."
"Okay!"
——
After leaving the spice shop, Edward strolled leisurely down the street before ducking into a nearby restaurant. He ordered a cup of coffee and a bowl of ice cream, then sat quietly.
Moments later, a small head popped up across from him—Henry's son, Will Onsetin.
"Go on."
Edward pushed the ice cream across the table. The boy helped himself without ceremony, spooning mouthfuls while staring curiously at Edward. "Who are you? You knew I would come? And how did you know I love ice cream?"
"Secret."
"Tch."
Edward sipped his coffee. "Moving into No. 7 Rose Street—that was your idea, wasn't it?"
The boy blinked innocently. "I'm just a child. How could I have ideas like that?"
"..."
This brat was playing innocent—truly a professional.
"All right, let me rephrase. Was it you who influenced Mr. and Mrs. Onstine?"
He muttered while licking his spoon, "Sort of."
"Why?"
"I don't know." He shrugged. "It was just a feeling. I sensed that moving there would be good for me. And it seems I wasn't wrong—before we even moved in, you've already shown up."
Suddenly, he pulled out a deck of tarot cards from his pocket. "Perfect timing. I can divine with tarot too. Do you want to draw a card?"
The boy, Will Onsetin—the little snake—looked up at Edward and posed the question exactly as he would in their first meeting in the future.
But this time, Edward neither refused nor fled in embarrassment. Instead, he reached out and flipped over the top card in the little snake's deck.
"Huh?"
Edward had expected it to be the Tower, perhaps even the Fool. But the card's face was completely blank—nothing at all.
"You…are not normal."
Will stopped eating his ice cream. "You have no past, and no future. Did someone conceal everything about you? No…this doesn't feel like 'concealment.' It's simply that you don't have them."
Edward frowned. No past—that he could understand. But no future? What was that supposed to mean?
"What do you think—good or bad?"
Will scratched his head childishly. "I don't know. I can't read anything from a card with no image. But…maybe it can be interpreted like this: your future will be whatever you create with your own hands. Your future lies in your own grasp."
"...That's one sweet bowl of chicken soup."
"Chicken soup?"
"Never mind."
Edward lifted his cup again, letting the rich bitterness of the coffee seep across his tongue. "Do you know Lilith?"
"You mean the Witch Lilith?"
Will resumed eating his ice cream. "Of course. Something I've always yearned for is in her hands—how could I not know her?"
"The die?"
"Exactly. How do you know so much? Fate tells me I've never met you before."
"I told you—it's a secret. Now, let's get back to that die."
Edward still remembered: when Lilith returned to the past, the uniqueness of the Fate Pathway—the die—had travelled back with her as well.
Will sighed. "I tried all kinds of promises and bargains to get her to trade, but she told me the die in her possession wasn't the one I sought."
"Oh?"
"She told me this: at the dawn of creation, two dice appeared in the world. One female, one male. The one in her hands is the female die. The one I want is the male die—they're not the same. To find the male die, one must use the female to lure it out. And then…she made me work for her, for free."
Edward: "…"
When did Lilith start reading Journey to the West?
Will continued, "At the time, I almost believed her."
"Why?"
"Because the die in her hand was just…too well-behaved. It would always show numbers no lower than five. And if anyone harboured ill intent toward Lilith, it would instantly roll to one, bringing disaster upon them, then roll to six to grant Lilith good fortune, negating that very disaster."
Will scowled in frustration. "I think she must be the true Wheel of Fortune. All those years I fought against Ouroboros—it was nothing but a joke."
"Then why was she eventually killed?"
"Perhaps because she'd been too lucky before. You must know this—good fortune isn't infinite. It must be stored up, or borrowed against. After so many years of unbroken luck, it wouldn't be strange for it to suddenly turn against her."
"But correction—" Will lifted a finger and wagged it. "She was ambushed, that's true, but she didn't die. I don't know what exactly happened, but she did survive by some means."
Edward's eyes lit up. Compared to Medici and Pallez, the little snake actually knew—and was certain—that Lilith wasn't dead.
"Do you know where she might be now?"
"Of course not. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."
"…Fine."
Will shook his head. "All right, my turn to ask questions. Same ones as before: who are you? How did you recognise me? And how do you know Lilith? What are you after with her?"
"Me? Well…let me make up something—I mean, think about it."
Will twitched at the corner of his mouth. "You just admitted it!"
Edward laughed. "Hahahaha…My identity is—secret."
"As for why I know Lilith…it's because she's my…relative."
"And what I want from her…doesn't seem all that important. I'll wait until we meet again."
Will arched a brow. "That was a whole lot of words with not a single useful answer. You think because I'm a kid right now, you can just fob me off? Careful—I might lose my temper!"
"Sorry, sorry. I'll explain when the time comes."
"Hmph, fine."
The little snake didn't seem to care much. "Do you need anything else from me?"
"Not for now." Edward paused, then added, "Actually—could you fold me an origami crane?"
"An origami crane? Why that?"
"Well…you know, in case I need to contact you, I can use it as a medium."
Will looked at him suspiciously. "If it has to be origami, shouldn't it at least be a snake? Why a crane? Even Lilith once asked me to fold an origami crane. Back then I'd never even heard of such a thing…She was the one who taught me how to fold it."
"…"
"Give me a sheet of paper."
A few minutes later, Edward left the restaurant with a paper crane tucked in his pocket. Meanwhile, Will propped his chin in his hands and muttered to himself:
"No, that's not right. The good fortune I sensed wasn't from him. On the contrary…he feels like trouble."
He mumbled, "Should I…just run away instead?"
At that moment, a hand reached from behind and pinched his ear. It was Mrs. Onstine. "Well, well! Sneaking off to eat ice cream again!"
"Ahhh!! I won't do it again! I swear, never again, Mama!"
———
Back at home, Edward was in excellent spirits. He'd originally thought Henry's rental of the house must have hidden issues—but it turned out to be little snake Will all along.
He had to admit, among all the big shots of the mysteries world, Will was the one he held the best impression of. Time and again, whenever Edward had been in danger, the little snake had truly stepped in to help.
Especially before Edward's return to the past—even when facing Leodero's wrath, Will had dared to stand his ground. It could be said that if not for him, Edward might not have survived at all, let alone made it back to the past.
Hmm. Should he bring the little snake into the Sefirah Castle too?
But then again…in a contest of who had suffered most, the little snake didn't exactly qualify.
Still, the brief encounter, full of mysterious airs and feigned childishness, had nearly completed the digestion of his Secrets Sorcerer potion. Only the final shake of clarity remained. Meanwhile, the Spiritcaster potion was already two-thirds digested. Complete digestion was now within sight.
As for the two Beyonder characteristics required for his promotion to Sequence 3, though—he still hadn't even glimpsed a shadow of them.
"Damn it, I should've asked the little snake to throw some good luck my way."
———
The next morning, Edward was jolted awake by the droning hum of a prayer ringing in his ears.
He pulled the pillow over his head, but it was useless. Sefirah Castle's prayers weren't really heard with the ears but felt directly through spirituality. Covering his head wouldn't help.
Thankfully, the buzzing didn't last long.
Edward lingered in bed for a while, but in the end couldn't fall back asleep. Grumbling, he got up, reversed four steps, and entered the Sefirah Castle. There, he saw the crimson star that represented Bernadette flickering.
As his spirituality spread outward, he saw her figure within the grey fog—yawning, eyes full of grievance, muttering softly:
"Mr. Sparrow, my mother's gone mad! She made me get up before seven for lessons! Please, please save me! Mama's terrifying!"
"…"
Edward was speechless. He hadn't expected it—Matilda, who usually looked so gentle, always smiling serenely at Roselle's side, turned out to be this strict when it came to her child's education.
No wonder Bernadette couldn't stand it. Roselle had spoiled her too much; he hadn't allowed her to suffer even the tiniest grievance.
But what could Edward do about this? Starting school at six was already late by noble standards, and it really was for Bernadette's own good. So after some thought, he gave her a firm and resolute reply: "Endure!"
Just as he was about to leave, another crimson star flickered—this time, it was Pallez.
"Chairman, I've found that descendant of the Abraham family."
Oh ho—right on time!
Any later, and they would've had to wait for the next full moon a month from now.
———
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