'The mutual opposition between spirits?'Stone' is opposed to 'Cup', so the mental drugs made from'Stone' can neutralize the drugs from 'Cup'. So'Stone' also has the effect of detoxification...'
After listening to Aldrich's words, Dorothy thought about it, then she turned her gaze back to Aldrich and continued speaking.
"Since it's a mental drug of'Stone', then I'm sure you have it here too."
Looking at Aldrich before her, Dorothy spoke again, and Aldrich nodded as expected.
"I naturally have it. Since Miss Mesi Horse asked like this, you must be determined to get it. Let's not beat around the bush. Stone Wisdom Powder, 10 grams for every 20 pound." As he spoke, Aldrich made a gesture indicating the price, and Dorothy directly took out 60 pound and placed it on the table.
"I want 30 grams."
"No problem, please wait." After speaking, Aldrich leisurely walked to a corner of his studio, took down a glass bottle filled with gray powder from a wooden shelf, opened the lid of the glass bottle, and casually took a few spoonfuls with a spoon to weigh on a scale, precisely 30 grams, no more, no less, no need to add or subtract.
Aldrich wrapped the weighed powder in paper, then walked up to Dorothy and handed her the paper package in his hand.
"Here you go. Mix with water and take it. Remember, take as much of this as you took of the 'Cup' drug. Under standard preparation, the ratio is one to one. If you don't want to become permanently demented, absolutely do not take too much."
Dorothy put away the medicine Aldrich handed over, and then complained inwardly.
'The mental drug of 'Cup' is a drug, and'Stone' is a dementia drug. I wonder what effects 'Light' and'Shadow' have. If I learn how to make medicine someday, can I use 'enlightenment' to make a smart drug?'
Having received the medicine, Dorothy, who had already spent 80 pound, was preparing to leave. However, just then, Aldrich suddenly reminded her.
"Oh, right, Miss Mesi Horse, I know you're busy dealing with the Holy Communion Society every day and don't have time to go to school, but I still need to remind you. If you don't want your final grades to be too bad and cause your parents to notice something unusual, it's best not to fall too far behind in your courses."
"Don't worry, Mr., I've been diligently studying on my own during my free time, no need to worry." Dorothy answered directly. Aldrich didn't know what kind of Extraordinary she was yet.
"Hehe... It seems Miss Mesi Horse is very confident in her self-study ability. However, I need to tell you something. When calculating final grades, our school not only includes ordinary course grades but also an important social practice score. If this item is zero for you, it will still significantly affect your total grade." Aldrich said with a smile. Hearing his words, Dorothy couldn't help but be stunned.
"Huh? Social practice?"
...
In the garden of Saint Amanda School, Dorothy, who had just come out of the basement, was strolling through it with a slight hint of depression.
'Huh? You really have social practice classes here? Wasn't that just something I made up to trick Grego? Does social practice exist in this era?'
Dorothy never expected that Saint Amanda actually had social practice activities, and they were even recorded in the main grades. According to a certain cunning merchant of a principal, this was a rule he made himself, saying it was because he didn't want to cultivate bookworms who only knew how to study.
'Phew... Fortunately, that social practice grade is also only needed at the end of the semester, so there's enough time. For now, let's deal with the immediate problem.'
Taking a long breath, Dorothy decided to put that matter aside for now and focus on dealing with the Holy Communion Society. While thinking this, she turned her gaze to the small paper package in her hand.
With this thing, those guys will believe that she has been corrupted, right?
...
A few days later in the morning, on White Pearl Street, in Barnard's Used Book Collection Shop.
Old Clifford was examining the ledger at the counter when suddenly, he heard the sound of the door opening. When he turned his head, he saw the white-haired girl entering the bookstore, holding a book.
"Hello, shopkeeper, I'm here to return a book." Looking at Clifford before her, Dorothy walked into the bookstore and said directly. Clifford's eyes lit up when he saw this scene, and he immediately said.
"Oh... So it's the Miss from last time. Hmm... I wonder which books you've finished reading..."
"It's this one..." Without saying much nonsense, Dorothy directly slapped the book onto the counter in front of Clifford. It was indeed a book called "Light Gospel".
"Oh, so it's this one... May I ask, Miss, what are your feelings after reading this book?" Seeing the book on the counter, Clifford paused slightly, then looked at Dorothy with a playful gaze, and Dorothy spoke with a somewhat unnatural expression.
"Well... I'd like to ask, shopkeeper, did you accidentally include some pages from other books in there?" As she spoke, Dorothy took out a few pages and placed them on the counter. Clifford's eyes lit up with surprise when he saw these pages and he immediately said.
"Ah! So they were here! I thought I lost them. Turns out I accidentally clipped them in, sigh, look how careless I am. Anyway, thank you, Miss, for bringing them back for me. These are very precious books."
As he put away the pages, Clifford spoke with a tone of relief as if he had recovered a lost treasure. Seeing this scene, Dorothy showed an expression of wanting to say something but hesitating.
"Um... Well, that..."
Seeing Dorothy's reaction, Clifford narrowed his eyes, a hint of doubt appearing on his face, and then he spoke.
"Miss, are you... trying to say something?"
"Well... Actually, I wanted to ask, are those, those few pages of the novel, do they have... a continuation?" With a hesitant expression, Dorothy inquired. Hearing Dorothy's words, a sly smile appeared on Clifford's lips.
'It worked! She's been affected by Spirit Sight!'
"Yes, yes, yes, of course there is. 'The Taste of Crimson' is my treasure, I collected it page by page. I didn't expect you, Miss, could also appreciate it."
Clifford said with a smile, and then he continued to press on.
"It's rare to find a kindred spirit in this world. Since, Miss, your taste is so similar to mine, how about... I lend you the next few pages to read."
"Really? That would be wonderful, thank you, shopkeeper!"
"Hehe, you're welcome. There aren't many people in this world who know how to appreciate things..."
As he spoke, Clifford took out a few pages he had prepared from under the counter and handed them to Dorothy, who immediately took them.
Afterward, Dorothy borrowed two normal books, thanked Clifford again, and left the bookstore. Looking at Dorothy's retreating back, the smile on Clifford's lips became increasingly sinister.
And Dorothy, walking out of the bookstore, held the pages in her hand, a similar smile appearing on her lips.
...
Over the next week or so, Dorothy went to Clifford's bookstore to borrow books every few days, and each time Clifford would give her some pages of the secret transmission, and each time there were more than the last. After several visits, Dorothy finally finished reading the secret transmission "The Taste of Crimson". Because "Cup" was also an important Spirituality for Dorothy, she chose to directly extract the Spirituality from the secret transmission for accumulation, obtaining a total of 3 points of "Cup" and 1 point of "enlightenment".
Currently, Dorothy's Spirituality reserve is 6 points of "enlightenment", 8 points of "Cup", 4 points of "Shadow", 1 point of "Silence", 1 point of "Stone", and 50 pound, of which 5 points of "enlightenment" are recoverable blue bar.
During her contact with Clifford, Dorothy also deliberately acted increasingly intoxicated and obsessed with the content of the secret transmission, immersed in the knowledge of 'Cup'. This made Clifford feel that the time was ripe.
...
One afternoon, inside Clifford's bookstore, Dorothy sat in front of the counter, her expression seeming somewhat dazed. Clifford, sitting opposite her, looked at the last pages that had been returned and said with a smile.
"How does it feel, Miss Mesi Horse? Can you share your thoughts after reading 'The Taste of Crimson'? How about we share our experiences as fellow book lovers?"
"Hmm... thoughts? It feels... very strange, a kind of strange feeling that's hard to describe. I really wish I could keep reading, but it just ended like this, it's over... I really want to know what the next cup of wine tastes like, but why didn't they continue writing..."
With a slightly dazed expression, Dorothy slowly spoke while looking at the pages before her. Seeing her reaction, Clifford smiled even more broadly. He knew it was time to take the next step.
"What the next cup of wine tastes like... Ah... That is indeed the suspense left at the end of the book. After reading it, it truly leaves one with endless thoughts and unable to stop. I understand how you feel right now, because I have experienced it too. After reading the book, I genuinely wanted to know what kind of taste the wine in the book had, and I even went further. I wanted to personally taste that flavor, and fortunately, I finally found it..."
As he spoke, Clifford picked up a teapot from the counter, poured a cup of steaming black tea, and handed it to Dorothy.
"Miss Mesi Horse, compared to what you saw in the book, don't you want to personally taste it?"