Upon hearing Erich's words, Quevedo sensed that something was wrong, and then he reacted immediately:
"Ah! That's right, I'd forgotten! At our Beyonders meetings, we also sell potion formulas. I think one is called Insomnia... and maybe The Sailor too? If you're interested in either of those potions, you can come with me to the Beyonders meeting."
Erich was not surprised to have let a detail slip; he simply added calmly:
"Quevedo, without a solid guarantee, you know very well: the formulas sold at meetings can be counterfeit. And if someone drinks a falsified potion… dying on the spot would be the least bad outcome. At least the ones we give Karl won't harm him."
Quevedo struck his forehead, contrite:
"Ah yes! I only saw people buying them, never anyone saying they became a Beyonder after taking them... That's my mistake."
Furen added:
"But a truly effective potion, when properly prepared, resembles a solid, one-piece object. After preparation, not a drop remains in the container. Perhaps this can be used to verify if a potion is genuine."
Quevedo and Erich replied in unison:
« Impossible. »
They exchanged a glance before Quevedo continued:
"We can't rely solely on that. If a bad formula accidentally gives the same result, Karl would be finished. We can't take that risk. In any case, we have three different formulas. Three is more than enough."
Furen immediately realized his mistake: he knew many secrets about high sequences, but was ignorant of many of the fundamental rules of potions. If he prepared something himself, the flaws would be obvious. So he said, dejectedly:
"You're right, I was too optimistic..."
The three then turned to Karl, who was thinking silently. After listening to the discussion, he now understood the extraordinary world a little better and knew he only had three possible choices. He closed his eyes, meditated for a moment, and then selected the potion that suited him best.
He then turned to Erich, bowed, and declared:
"Mr. Erich, I'm going to ask you to entrust me with the Reader's formula. For me, it's the one that suits me best."
Erich simply nodded, then glanced at his two friends who had suddenly become superfluous.
Quevedo and Furen immediately began to walk away towards the door, but Quevedo was already muttering, displeased:
"Tch, it's because Erich is close to Karl... Otherwise, how could he not choose Savant? Savant is the best, the entire Steam Church approves of him wholeheartedly! Reader, it's not that vast... Ah, Karl, you've been had..."
Luckily it wasn't at the Lu Town hotel, otherwise the atmosphere would have become heated… But there they were in the corridor of a cafe, so it was impossible to create a scandal.
Furen, inwardly, mercilessly mocked the childish antics of his extroverted friend.
Quevedo, for his part, had no idea that not only had his potion been rejected, but that the person walking beside him was also mentally criticizing him. Otherwise, he might have had a nervous breakdown, of course; it was all just Furen's malicious imagination.
He knew perfectly well that Quevedo only acted this way when he truly considered others close friends. This kind of naive and unfiltered attitude only appears when a person feels completely at ease.
The brief period of silence fell like autumn leaves: touching but ephemeral.
Shortly afterwards, Karl opened the door, nodded to the two men waiting outside, then went back into the room.
After his initial mumbled protests, Quevedo fell silent. And when a jovial character suddenly falls silent, it's even more striking than when a taciturn one does… perhaps it's a natural talent. This sudden tranquility made Furen nervous at first.
But seeing Quevedo regain his optimism after Karl's nod, Frann silenced her concern, mistaking it for paranoia, and then entered the room in turn.
The four men gathered around the table.
Karl's face showed neither joy nor excitement at the prospect of soon acquiring extraordinary powers. Perhaps he was naturally cold; Furen paid no attention. Karl simply rang a bell, summoned a waiter, whispered a few words to him, and then fell silent again.
Obviously, Quevedo took it upon himself to revive the atmosphere:
"Even if you didn't choose Scholar, Karl, I'm sure Reader isn't bad at all! Hmm... Where was I? Ah, yes. I truly hope that you, like me, will be able to enter the extraordinary world and become exceptional."
"When I became a Beyonder, someone guided me. But most of the meetings aren't reliable, but there's always someone from the extraordinary world who ends up passing by; that's how I got my chance. And you know what? I even dared to prepare my own potion and drink it all in one gulp! My God… Later, I discovered how suicidal that was…"
Quevedo spoke without interruption, recounting his past difficulties, his ridiculous misadventures… So much so that in the presence of two impassive people and a semi-social autistic person, the atmosphere was not too awkward.
After a while, a knock on the door cut short his heroic-comic tale. Having described his first experience with the potion, Quevedo had begun to embellish: he was now talking about escaping the hunts of the Steam Church, beating up Beyonders of the Blazing Sun, arm wrestling a dragon…
Furen oscillated between laughter and despair; it felt like we were in the middle of the third or fourth cycle.
The four stopped talking and Karl called out loudly, "Please come in." Besides the waiter who had just left, three other waiters entered, each carrying a tray with objects that Furen did not recognize.
After placing the items on the table, the four waiters bowed and left one after the other, without waiting for Karl's instructions.
(End of chapter)