"I am aware."
...
Listening to the layered, echoing response at his ear, Snow could faintly detect a trace of impatience and irritability. Although he knew this was likely a hallucination, he could understand Klein's current mood.
"If this continues, I'm afraid I'll become Mr. Fool's most hated believer." Snow smirked, ending his daily prayer. He returned to the dining table and spoke softly in Ancient Hermes, "Grateful to The Fool for my breakfast."
"Meow?" Lily leapt nimbly onto the table, letting out an unusually human-like cry. Snow rolled his eyes.
"You show up as soon as you hear 'breakfast'? You're a cat, sure, but you're a far cry from a certain 'Klein-cat'!"
Despite his words, he still mixed boiled chicken breast with crushed eggs to make cat food and handed it to the little one.
After finishing her breakfast, the little thing immediately jumped into her cat bed by the window. Though she appeared to be napping, she was actually meditating.
Yes, meditating.
To carve this technique into Lily's instincts, Snow had paid the price of 'being a cat' for three hours every day.
Indeed, his possession of Lily wasn't just for outings or flirting with Witches; it was also to imprint 'conditioned reflexes' upon her.
The 'Respondent' Sequence 8 was very interesting. Like most Sequence 8s, it lacked supernatural abilities that could directly influence a battle. Aside from physical enhancement, its core ability was centered on 'Conditioned Reflexes'.
This pathway allowed one to rapidly form conditioned reflexes, thereby accelerating the mastery of skills requiring so-called 'muscle memory', such as shooting or combat.
At the same time, this ability could be applied to animals. Just as he had done before--projecting a portion of his consciousness into an animal and controlling it to exercise--after a certain number of repetitions, the animal would spontaneously form a conditioned reflex and learn the skill.
However, the existence of 'A Foot-long Stick' allowed Snow to maintain this ability for long periods, which was why he could afford the luxury of borrowing Lily's body for outings.
In fact, he thought the first thing Lily should learn was how to speak.
Unfortunately, even though two days had passed since she drank the Assassin potion, Lily showed no intention of opening her mouth.
Snow even suspected the little one was 'acting' for him.
Naturally, that was just a joke. By pre-emptively using the powers of Respondent, he had already carved loyalty to himself into Lily's instincts. Otherwise, he never would have fed her the Assassin potion. As for why she hadn't learned to speak yet, Snow suspected it was because language didn't have a direct enough connection with conditioned reflexes.
Tapping away at the typewriter for a while longer, Snow organized his manuscripts. He didn't have many other results from this past half-month, but Phantom Blood was already four-fifths complete. Once he returned to Backlund, he would immediately submit the book--as a famous veterinarian in Backlund, Snow's network naturally included editors.
But compared to those thoughts, he had something more important to do today.
Looking back at the clock, which now pointed to eleven, Snow put on his double-breasted high-collared formal suit--which he hadn't worn in half a month--donned his half-top silk hat, picked up his silver-inlaid yew cane, and packed his manuscripts into a briefcase. With Lily perched on his shoulder, he stepped out of the inn room in an outfit that was bound to turn heads.
The hotel staff had heard rumors about this guest who had stayed cooped up for half a month. Seeing him leave his room, many wore surprised expressions.
However, how a guest chose to stay was their own business, and no one came up to speak out of curiosity.
After crossing several streets, Snow saw a location he had previously only seen in a dream. Not as a figure of speech--he had literally been brought there by Dunn in a dream. Yes, this was the police station located on Zouteland Street.
"Excuse me, sir, how can I help you?" Whether it was because Snow's outfit was exceptionally distinguished or because his aura was sufficiently 'upright', the female police officer who received him was very polite.
Undoubtedly, she was a believer of the Evernight Goddess.
"My name is Snow von Pandrax. I am here to find Mr. Dunn. I believe he is a Senior Inspector." Snow gave a polite smile. That sunny, handsome grin immediately made the sweet-looking officer blush.
"Mr. Dunn? Ah, let me go and ask for you."
The officer was clearly unfamiliar with the name, but she nodded and scurried away.
However, she did not return. Instead, while Snow was boredly teasing his cat, the deep, grey-eyed Mr. Dunn appeared before him.
Dunn didn't waste words; he led Snow directly into an office and got straight to the point: "Mr. Pandrax, do you have some business with me?"
"I just wanted to confirm if that was actually a dream." The moment Snow spoke, Dunn's heart instantly filled with wariness. Because of his poor memory, he finally recalled that when he had questioned this man, it had been in a dream!
One couldn't blame Dunn for his oversight. To be honest, if the man hadn't come to his door, he would have almost forgotten that he had ever questioned such a person!
But... would an ordinary person really come looking for someone because of a dream?
"Mr. Dunn, perhaps to you, it was merely an interrogation. But these past few days, I have been constantly troubled. That dream was so clear, and when I woke, I found traces in my room that suggested someone had been there. You must understand, I am currently in hiding; such a situation leaves me unable to eat or sleep properly. I struggled with this for a full week before finally making up my mind..."
Hearing Snow's babbling, Dunn understood the gist of it. He mentally decided to criticize Leonard later, then nodded and said, "Rest assured, I have no intention of harming you..."
Dunn comforted Snow, trying to calm his emotions. Snow turned his head and took a deep breath of Lily's scent [cat huffing] before finally relaxing. He sighed and said, "Mr. Dunn, when I was in Backlund circles, I heard some information regarding Beyonders. At the time, I thought it was just a story. But your appearance has confirmed the existence of Beyonders for me, so I wanted to ask... is it possible for me to become one?"
"Mr. Pandrax, this is not something you should know about." Dunn assumed a serious expression, his deep eyes carrying a majesty that seemed capable of pulling in one's soul.
"The field of Beyonders is extremely dangerous. I do not recommend you join this circle. However, if you have truly made up your mind, you can join one of the three major Churches. After undergoing certain assessments, you may obtain eligibility in this regard."
"I understand. Thank you for informing me." Snow tipped his silk hat and bowed with a hand over his chest. Just as Dunn was considering whether to keep a close eye on him, he suddenly heard Snow speak:
"By the way, Mr. Dunn, I've been cooped up in that hotel for half a month. I want to find a Seer to do a reading for me. Do you have any reliable recommendations?"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]