"Don't be so serious." The kitten gently flicked its slender tail, leaping nimbly from the cabinet and pacing across the floor with an elegant gait.
"I'm only here to remind you that you're being a bit too obvious."
"..." The girl's relaxed body suddenly tensed. She stared intently at the kitten and asked, "What did you say?"
"Aren't we talking about that little 'acting' business? Even for harvesting the lifespan of the dying, you're playing your hand far too bluntly. You should at least finish with one before preparing the next. Arranging them in batches like this creates far too many glaring flaws! You can't just shear all the wool from one spot!"
"And why do you think being a 'Witch' means you must manufacture death? If a Witch is one who curses others to die, then is one who divines fate not also a Witch? To be more extreme, the core of this acting method lies in being 'loathed, feared, and shunted'. Killing is merely a means to achieve that effect... Oh, I see. Are you actually enjoying the thrill of taking lives? Or are you just afraid of the hassle? Heh... I think having the Nighthawks come knocking will be a much bigger hassle. Don't forget, you're only acting."
The kitten delivered its world-weary lines in the high-pitched voice of a young girl. The young woman immediately wore an expression of disbelief.
"You really know? How could you possibly know! I've only just begun preparations!"
"Why wouldn't I? If you can use anti-divination, what makes you think others can't use anti-anti-divination? Nothing is absolute in the world of mysticism. You've moved through so many hideouts, yet I still found you, didn't I? Take a word of advice from your 'big brother': don't be too hasty, or you'll find it easy to be influenced by the mental imprints inside the potion."
"You are only acting; you are not trying to become the being the potion points toward. Of course, if you want to become a woman in both body and soul before you can change back into a man, then feel free to ignore me."
The kitten circled the girl, occasionally glancing up at the hem of her skirt and making a clicking sound with its tongue.
The girl didn't take offense at the cat's roguish behavior. Instead, she sat back down in the chair before the dressing table. Despite her physically higher position, she asked in a somewhat timid voice, "Do I really have a chance to turn back into a man?"
"Don't play the victim with me. I've already made it clear: except for that 'orphan' sequence of the Monster pathway, every Beyonder pathway has at least one neighboring path. Neighboring pathways can be swapped when advancing from Sequence 5 to Sequence 4. And it just so happens that Sequence 4 of one of the paths neighboring the Assassin pathway can turn a woman back into a man." The kitten easily climbed onto the dressing table, level with the girl's face. It continued, "I am merely your business partner, not your godfather, and I have no intention of 'sampling' a Witch. So, if you want more information, please pay the appropriate price--or find a way to verify it yourself."
"I helped you get that notebook from the Fourth Epoch! That's a high-level Beyonder item that can replace actual materials!" the girl protested, her eyes wide. The kitten flicked its tail dismissively.
"Sister, have you no conscience? I told you exactly where to hide and when to strike. You were just picking up a bargain while those two sides were both exhausted. Exchanging that for an acting method for a 'Pleasure' Witch that doesn't violate your masculine mindset was already stretching it--not to mention I just gave you the core of the 'Witch' acting for free!"
"Hoo..." The girl took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. She repeated this several times until her mindset had adjusted. She gazed at the kitten and said, "Fine. Tell me. What will it take for you to tell me the name of that neighboring pathway, and exactly what that Sequence 4 is?"
"Do you have anything left to trade?" The kitten tilted its head dismissively, its eyes scanning the girl as though calculating how much more 'surplus value' could be squeezed out of her.
"The potion recipes for the Assassin pathway, from Sequence 9 to Sequence 7." The girl stared at the black cat, her tone solemn. The kitten turned its head, revealing a very human-like smile. "Do you think I'm short on potions?"
"You can use them to train subordinates." The girl looked directly into the cat's eyes. "The versatility of the Assassin potion is top-tier among all pathways, whether in terms of functionality or... performance."
"..." The kitten fell into a brief silence. After a moment, it looked up and said, "Fine. Consider it an investment. Write down the recipes. My credit should be good enough."
The girl didn't delay this time. She picked up a pen from the table and wrote rapidly.
The kitten watched the text the girl was writing, while on the other side, Snow was simultaneously copying down the contents of the recipes.
'This potion recipe is genuine.' Snow thought to himself. Communicating with his spirituality, he flipped a gold coin high into the air. As it landed heads-up, the kitten on the other side broke into a smile.
"Very well. The deal is struck. The pathway neighboring the Assassin pathway is the 'Hunter' pathway. The name of the Sequence 4 is 'Iron-blooded Knight'."
"Iron-blooded Knight?" The girl's head nodded, but she remained fixed on the kitten. "And the bonus?"
"Huh?" The kitten wore a bewildered expression, but the girl was perfectly serious, "Doesn't every deal with you come with a bonus?"
"Please, I give you bonuses when I'm in a good mood; it's not some kind of mandatory rule!" the kitten replied helplessly. The girl narrowed her eyes.
"So? Are you in a good mood?"
"No!" The kitten turned its head away. The girl suddenly stood up, holding her skirt at the corners with both hands. "Then what if I make you feel a bit better? Will there be a bonus then?"
"Save your clumsy tricks! I'm a cat now; the allure of a human female is useless on me! And if you're trying to seduce someone, at least show a bit of something. That lift didn't even pass your knees--zero sincerity!" The kitten glanced dismissively at the 'transformed-boss'. Only after seeing her face turn a bright red did it change the subject.
"For all the materials of an Assassin potion, I'll tell you some secrets regarding the Demoness Sect that are deeply relevant to you. As an extra, I'll even throw in the location of an Iron-blooded Knight. Of course, he's a demigod; whether you can hunt him is your own business."
"Deeply relevant to me?" The girl didn't care about the location of the Iron-blooded Knight; she focused entirely on the phrase 'deeply relevant'.
Ever since meeting this cat on the night she became a Witch, they had conducted many transactions. Although the cat's personality was abhorrently malicious, its credit was indeed good. If it said something was deeply relevant to her, the issue was likely significant.
"Yes. Simply put, it's about why the Demoness Sect is so obsessed with feeding Assassin potions to men. By the way, you are currently their most 'satisfactory work'!"
Hearing the word 'work' emphasized so deliberately, the girl felt a sudden, ominous premonition. She nodded and said, "The materials for the Assassin potion aren't rare. They can be found in Tingen's black market. Even if they aren't available, I can request them from the Demoness Sect under the guise of training subordinates. At the latest, three days from now, we will meet at a location..."
"You can also use a sacrifice to my Lord to--"
"No! Either you give me an address, or you come and get it yourself!" The girl firmly rejected the invitation. The kitten spread its paws helplessly.
"Is praying to my Lord really that hard to accept?"
"An evil god I've never even heard of? Not even an amateur in the world of mysticism would pray to something like that so easily, would they?"
...
[Note 1: In the original work, it was mentioned that during the era of Ancient Gods--because there was no concept of sequences--they simply swallowed Beyonder characteristics with similar abilities. For example, after gaining the frost power of a Witch, they might swallow a Living Corpse characteristic. Or, because they had the 'notary' power of the Bard pathway, they might swallow characteristics of the Arbiter pathway. The Monster pathway would swallow Seer characteristics, and so on.]
[Note 2: Students who guessed the 'Banach-Tarski Paradox' [Decomposition of the Sphere] are quite sharp! However, that involves spoilers, so I can't say (laughs).]
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]