Be careful of the Hidden Sage
The words of the Snake of Mercury still echoed in his ears when he opened his eyes again.
Raising his left hand to cover his face, Adryan let out a soft sigh.
'This is the first time I've been warned about the Hidden Sage, but I've already noticed several oddities with this Perverted Whisperer. In less than three weeks, I've already heard his name more times than I'm comfortable with. And every single time, one way or another, it ended up connected to me…'
Well, considering the Bastard who brought him here, it really shouldn't surprise him. It was only natural, bound to happen.
He had to keep an eye on this mysterious 'god.'
It wasn't as if he hadn't already been keeping an eye on this Perverted Whisperer; it was just that the number of things he had to watch had increased. Although Cheek would always take priority.
"Teacher? Is everything okay?"
The man didn't remove his hand; he just spread his fingers. His red gaze met his student's furrowed brow.
"Is… everything okay?" Hazel repeated in a lower tone, her fists clenching the black skirt of her dress.
His usual nap had already ended; the fact that he'd gone back to sleep as soon as he'd woken up—not even five minutes later—was an anomaly.
And the fact that he had gone to bed with that paper bird proved it wasn't just a simple craft project of his. And that distressed her greatly.
'That bird must be a special means of communication with one of his contacts. It must be something important if he decided to use it. Maybe it's related to… huh?' Hazel pressed her hand to her forehead, her gaze suddenly lost.
"Is something wrong, Hazel?"
The calm voice of her first teacher of mysticism snapped the young noble lady out of her trance; she watched what the woman was doing with somewhat clouded eyes.
Flora held the pitcher of strawberry juice in her hands, filling her empty glass.
"Have some juice; if you let the ice melt, it won't taste as good later," the white-haired woman spoke calmly, holding out the full glass.
"Oh, right. Thank you, Teacher Flora," Hazel murmured, shaking her head slightly to clear her mind. Having done that, she took the offered glass and took a small sip.
Flora nodded, satisfied, at that. And while the young lady was distracted by her drink, Flora focused her attention on the redhead. Her expression was calm, but the intensity of her gray eyes was impossible to ignore.
'Did you really have to do that here?', they seemed to say, with a clear, sharp hint of annoyance.
In response, the redhead moved his lips, saying soundlessly, 'Pardon'.
Since he couldn't speak or say anything for fear of risking detection, this was the best way to tell his beloved worm that what they had to do was 'annoying'.
Lowering his gaze to his hands, as he expected, the origami bird had disappeared.
Discreetly, the redhead thanked his dear worm, already thinking about what to cook to make it up to her. Tonight, he would explain it better when they went to sleep and talked in their dreams, but for now, at least, the woman would know they had to work again.
Hump!
Adryan stood up with a twist of his hips. In a blurry motion, he bent slightly and gently tapped the green-haired girl's forehead with his knuckle.
"Ouch," Hazel complained, covering the new red mark with a grimace. "And what was that for?"
"No particular reason, I just felt like it." Chuckling at the young lady's raccoon-like expression, the redhead straightened with a wink. "How's it going with what I asked you to do? Is everything ready?"
"I've got everything ready… I'm just waiting for your signal to start, Teacher," Hazel mumbled, rubbing her forehead, somewhat bitterly.
"Mm. Good, good," resting his chin in his hand, somewhat absent-minded, the redhead nodded and added, "At this Sunday's team meeting, let's get Nathan to show you how to do your makeup."
"The clown… I see, got it." The young lady adopted the same posture as her teacher, her earlier bitterness forgotten and replaced by interest.
She might not have seen the Clown's performances at the circus where he worked, but she had seen his skill with the brush and lipstick as he practiced new looks in team meetings. His makeup was night-and-day better than hers. There was no one better to ask for a tip or two.
And, considering her situation, where discretion was key, the more help she could get, the better.
The redhead nodded: "Alright, you get the idea. You'll start your act on Monday, so focus on learning as much as you can from him. Something like this shouldn't be a problem for you. Right?"
At those words, a fire seemed to ignite in Hazel's eyes. Her back straightened slightly, and she jutted out her chin.
"Of course. Something so simple is no problem for me," she declared in a voice as strong as a hammer.
The redhead just smiled in response.
Without much haste, he grabbed the empty plate and headed to the kitchen, humming a curious tune to himself.
Hm-mm~ Mm-hm-hm~
Hazel didn't even glance at him. All her attention was on the final words she had heard.
'On Monday, I'll start acting like a Swindler…' The corners of her lips tightened slightly, but didn't curve upward.
Part of her was undoubtedly ecstatic that she could finally start acting, but another part of her made sure she remained in control. While emotions were important for the digestion of her potion, it wasn't hers that had to overflow.
Taking into account her previous experience acting as a Swindler in Backlund—when she handed the Ambassador's letters to one of the MI9 members—along with her earlier attempts and trials, and adding Teacher Flora's advice, Hazel felt she had, in a way, seen the core of this sequence.
'The core of a Swindler isn't just about stealing something valuable, but also about the expectations and emotions the target imposes on me and hopes to gain. I'm no longer just stealing with my hands, but also with my mouth. Promises and pretty words so that someone's hope is handed over to me… The frustration, hatred, anger, despair, confusion, and disbelief of having been deceived written all over their faces, without understanding what had happened—that is what a Swindler breathes and lives for.'
The MI9 officer's reaction was one of her favorite memories; whenever she had nothing to do, she couldn't help but recall it.
If there was one thing she regretted about that day, it was that she couldn't make the dog eat the envelope with the documents. If she had, her potion would undoubtedly have been digested much more than it originally had.
"Pfft—" Covering her mouth with a handkerchief, Hazel maintained her composure at the last moment.
It really would have been a very amusing sight.
'As a teacher, as a student…' Flora looked at the young lady in front of her.
Noticing nothing of interest, she simply closed her eyes and focused more intently on the juice in her hand.
Rather than observing the similar quirks between the teacher and the student, and the bad influence the Princess is, the Jacob preferred to enjoy the peace she had left.
Scrub Scrub
The tap water flowed in a fairly strong stream, wetting the sponge and mixing with the soap, creating a light lather. Since all she had to clean were the bread crusts, a quick wipe and a rub would be all it took to get them clean again.
After a wipe with a clean cloth, the white plate was put away in its proper place, dry and ready for future use.
The mundane, routine nature of the act helped dispel the last lingering traces of his earlier outburst, freeing him.
The rest of the day was even more routine. Flora stayed lying on the sofa, reading a book and snacking on her favorite treat: chocolate-covered strawberries. Hazel, for her part, was making some extra adjustments to her costume, adding hidden pockets based on her previous lessons and some sudden advice from the Jacob.
The hours passed like this, and the dark veil of night once again covered the city.
Back in their shared room, in a dream, the duo of Dream Stealer and Reaper found themselves sitting across from each other on the bed. The former was holding and reading the back of a photo with her eyelids slightly closed.
Adryan waited patiently for the woman to finish reading, his cheek resting on his knuckles.
He hadn't given her the full information, but had censored the most sensitive parts to avoid drawing attention; the name Jane Roleffes, the organization she served, as well as her true role within it, he replaced with something more vague and less specific.
It was subtle but also obvious. For someone like the woman in front of him, it was no problem to understand what he meant.
Ignoring how the princess seemed to be thinking about strange things again, Flora reread the information about her target.
A beautiful woman working for an organization. Her role as a mother is a sham to facilitate her movement around Azshara. She lives in the southern part of the Elysian District, on Doftm Street, on the third floor of Mehrfam, in unit 12. Her recent movements have been limited to this area... She has been in contact with a lawyer from Briarwood Chambers, Gideon Blackwell, on several occasions...
When she read the name Briarwood Chambers, her hands tensed for a moment.
"That's where that harlot worked…" Her lips tightened slightly, and the woman sighed, "It seems we've crossed paths with them."
"Mhm." Adryan merely nodded, his gaze somewhat distant.
How many times had he crossed paths with the Demoness Sect without knowing it? Briarwood Chambers, the University of Knowledge—was there some other place he was overlooking?
'It was good that I never wandered around the Elysian District and always focused on maintaining a routine. If I strayed from it even for a moment, running straight into the Demoness Sect was a certainty… Convergence is terrifying… Sigh'
Not wanting to dwell on problems he already knew he had, Adryan focused instead on the present.
"What do you think?"
"Her contact with this Gideon was likely not for legal assistance, but for his connections," Flora replied unhurriedly, boredly extending her right hand.
Out of nowhere, a thin gray hardcover book with the inscription A.B. appeared. This was the book the secretary had shown Adryan when he was looking for a lawyer to help him buy Apex Financial Solution.
Using the unique nature of dreams, Flora manifested the book from her memories here.
This book opened, and with a quick flip through the pages, it stopped on one in particular, which contained a long list of names and specialties.
Grabbing the book, she pointed to the name of the man they were talking about, "Gideon specializes in criminal law and defense. With his experience and low consultation fee, he must know people of interest to a witch…
"Even more so, considering that this witch lives in the eastern part of the Elysian District, an area with a somewhat high crime rate. I'm sure that's why she chose to live there and contact Gideon. Now, why would she do that?"
Pausing for a moment, she turned the photo over and looked at the woman in it. But her attention wasn't on her target, who was the main focus of the photo, but on the lady behind her.
"What can you tell me about the daughter? Anything useful?"
"She goes to the University of Knowledge. Aside from dealing with the Witch, we just have to steal a ring from her—that's all. She's the Aurora Order's main target."
"Ring…" Mumbling as she held her chin, she lowered the photo with a nod: "It won't be complicated; the problem is creating the situation to do it."
"I already have an idea for that; it might reduce the backlash, so it's worth a try."
"Let me guess: the caretaker of that salted fish?"
"Hehe. Xio is a sheriff, isn't she? Her job is to catch criminals and the wicked. That's her bread and butter."
"Mm. Not a bad idea, but we can't ask her directly…" She pointed out calmly, looking at the photo of the woman in her hand.
She didn't point out the elephant in the room, nor did the man in front of her.
Both were aware of what getting involved in this entailed and what it would lead to.
The barrier in her mind might block her memories of the exact problem, but, at the same time, this was information for her. Every time she thought about it too deeply, her spirituality reacted, and her instinct—which had sharpened since she was a cryptologist—screamed in her mind.
'Don't think about it! Don't think! If you do, you won't be able to escape!'
From this reaction, Flora could understand that whatever the Demoness Sect possessed would cause them to be detected once they interfered or participated—whether directly or indirectly.
The only reason they were discussing this now was that dreams manipulated by Dream Stealers had anti-divination properties, which were intensified thanks to Feynapotter Children's Stories. Additionally, various blessings on the princess prevented any attempt at espionage through mystical means.
But Xio Derecha didn't have a single one of these methods. Once she got involved, she would undoubtedly be detected.
Well, it's not like it's a problem.
Flora wasn't worried about the Sheriff's safety. Knowing the princess, he would never risk one of his lost cats without something to guarantee her safety.
Looking at the man in front of her, the Jacob smiled mysteriously: "It's my turn to call the shots, Princess."
Last time with Christian Tamara, Adryan had organized everything; this time, she wanted to hold the baton.
Adryan flashed a sharper smile: "Surprise me, Miss Worm~"
Seeing someone who had come to Parasite on her own against her family's wishes; he really wanted to see what someone like that could do.