Every gift from fate has already been secretly priced.
Perhaps Trissy did not know this exact phrase, but as a Sequence 7, the various experiences she had endured since becoming a Beyonder had carved this truth into her very instincts.
No one gives help for no reason. A gift that far outweighs the return often only means the other party expects to harvest even more in the end.
Looking into Trissy's soul-stirring eyes, the black cat suddenly stood up on its hind legs, spread its front paws, and spoke with a look of helplessness, "It's not that I can't tell you. But before that, I think you should understand something: as long as you know nothing, we are merely conducting business. Perhaps I'll secure a 'favor' by giving you a return that exceeds your payment, but that will only ever lead to you doing something for me that doesn't touch upon your fundamental interests. There's some risk, but once it's done, you'll owe me nothing."
"However, once you know the reason, you are no longer a chess piece that can leave the board when the game ends. Whether you want it or not, before you are completely dead, you will be constantly pulled into new boards, risking your life time and time after again."
"So, are you certain you want to know?"
Gulp...
Trissy couldn't help but swallow hard. She suddenly regretted asking too much. If she hadn't asked for that damned "bonus" earlier, would she still have to face such a choice?
Looking into the black cat's burning gaze, Trissy felt her heart skip a beat.
Was it better to be a chess piece--unaware and placed on the board when needed, then quietly exiting when the game ended--or to understand everything and bear the risks that only a player should carry?
He was only a Sequence 7!
In a conversation that could easily involve True Gods, what right did he have to be a player?
Seeing Trissy fall into silence, the black cat didn't press her. Instead, it rhythmically scratched at the box containing the Beyonder materials until a single-eye pattern with an '∞' symbol as the pupil was carved onto it. Only then did it stop its movements and say nonchalantly, "You don't need to rush for a response. We have a long time ahead together."
"..." Trissy took several deep breaths to calm her emotions. She indeed needed to think this through carefully.
However, as she looked at the tiny kitten and the box several times larger than its body, she suddenly remembered her previous concern and asked:
"How do you plan to take those things with you? Do you need me to give you a lift?"
"Just seal the room for me." The black cat gave Trissy a flat look, then assumed a posture of prayer, chanting in Ancient Hermes:
"Traveler from a distant space-time;"
"You are the paradoxical spiral of logic and wisdom;"
"You are the reflection of knowledge, the reverse side of truth."
"Your faithful servant prays for Your gaze;"
"I pray that You accept his offering;"
"I pray that You open the gates of Your kingdom."
Ancient incantations echoed within the wall of spirituality Trissy had re-established, slowly building up a violent wind.
'No spiritual materials used?' Trissy's Witch potion had granted her a significant amount of ritualistic knowledge. Because of this, she immediately recognized this as a sacrificial ritual--and also realized just how incomplete it was.
There were no candles representing oneself or the deity, no offerings to please the god, and not even any spiritual materials to bridge the connection to the Divine Kingdom.
Aside from the three-part honorific name representing the status of a True God, the only thing serving as a target was that single-eye symbol with the '∞' pupil.
Yet, despite such a crude ritual, it was already starting to take effect.
Under her dumbfounded gaze, a phantom door made of white clouds manifested beside her bed. Upon that door was the very same symbol: the double-pupil eye.
Creak--
There was no physical sound, yet Trissy felt as if she heard the ancient door opening. The illusory door of clouds slowly swung wide, revealing an indescribably vast sea of clouds behind it.
"Don't daze out! Put the box inside!" The black cat suddenly turned and glared at Trissy. Trissy was momentarily flustered, but under the terrifying pressure emanating from the cloud door, she instinctively picked up the box with both hands and held it before the threshold.
A sudden pull appeared in that moment, then quietly vanished. The only change in the room was that the box was gone.
The cloud door quietly dissipated, and Trissy finally caught her breath.
'So many conditions ignored, yet the sacrifice was completed... and all just to transport simple ingredients for a Sequence 9 potion. This cat... or rather, the person behind this cat, must be a God's Favored who enjoys immense grace.'
At this point, Trissy no longer doubted the existence of a "True God" behind the cat. Even if it wasn't a True God, anyone who could use a three-part honorific name was surely a great being close to that level.
Seeing Trissy's terrified expression, the black cat wore a human-like smile. It leapt onto the windowsill in a few bounds, turned its head, and said, "The deal is struck. If there's anything else, I'll find you. As for you, if you have something, you can pray to my Lord."
With that, the black cat jumped down and vanished into the city's shadows.
'Praying?' Trissy recalled the honorific name the cat had told her, her mind drifting slightly. She didn't make any foolish declarations like "I, Trissy, would rather die than...". She knew very well that the only reason she wasn't praying now was because she hadn't yet encountered a crisis that left her no other choice.
Compared to sliding into the abyss in the future, dying right now was what she found most unacceptable.
...
In a guest room on the second floor of the Fragrant Tree Inn in Tingen, Snow endured the whispers echoing in his mind as he opened the Summoning Door.
Thanks to the nearly infinite spiritual output of 'A Foot-long Stick', he could afford the luxury of maintaining any skill for a long time, as long as its instantaneous output didn't exceed a quarter of his total spirituality.
Although most of the time he kept 'Equivocation' active to avoid proactive scans from certain Spectator pathway individuals, he still had plenty of leeway to open the Summoning Door like this.
In fact, if he wanted to, he could even use the Summoning Door as a teleportation skill. The only problem was that Lily didn't have enough spirituality to actively open it herself.
But now, her spirituality was arriving.
Snow opened the box and began preparing the potion using a teapot and water glasses from the inn. As a bottle of black potion, as brilliant as a starry sky, appeared in the glass, Lily's figure also manifested outside the window.
"My timing ability seems to have improved again." Snow chuckled as he released the consciousness projected into Lily and held the potion out to her--
"Drink up. This is 'meow-tiny' [cat fate]."
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]
---
A/N: You never know what's been boiled in a hotel teapot...