"One crystal of a mature Hornacis Gray Mountain Goat's horn, one complete Human-faced Rose, one mature... tsk, why is it Hornacis again? Is it because of these mountain goats that the Antigonus family stationed themselves in the Hornacis mountain range? Speaking of which, it seems the Evil Dragon Bar has both of these materials? Is this another coincidence? Or is it because the Secret Order recently sold some Beyonder materials to raise funds?"
Klein recalled the potion formula he had fleeced from Mr. Devil, feeling very conflicted in his heart.
The total price of the main ingredients for the [Clown] potion exceeded five hundred pounds. Although Miss Justice promised to give a "compensation," who knew how much money that would be? After all, a Sequence 8 potion formula was only worth about 450 pounds. Furthermore, he still had to collect Emperor Roselle's diaries.
At this moment, Klein had an urge to report his acquisition of the [Clown] potion to the Church. That way, he could use his accumulated merits to exchange for the potion.
But his reason told him that he absolutely could not do that, as he had no way to explain both digesting the potion and obtaining the formula at the same time.
If it were just one of them, it could still be explained as a coincidence. But if both were put together, anyone would suspect whether he had received "funding" from a hidden organization that mastered the [Seer] pathway, becoming a double agent hidden within the Nighthawks.
'I can only find a way myself... speaking of which, Mr. Devil has given me his contact information, so I can communicate with him as the "Blessed of Mr. Fool." However, this doesn't help with collecting Beyonder materials, and I still have to send him a Solar Siphon charm as a price for the subsequent diary pages...'
Thinking about the cost of making a Solar Siphon charm and the price of taking out that badge, Klein felt his head ache even more.
But on second thought, a subtle idea emerged--
'Although the Solar Siphon charm is a consumable, its power is comparable to the full-strength blow of a Sequence 6 Beyonder, and it also has a restraining effect on ghosts and the like. The price shouldn't be too low. If I make a few more...'
But thinking about how a charm in the Sun domain required gold, and his pitiable salary... he had thought it was a large sum of money just a while ago.
'Perhaps I can use the excuse that "Old Neil isn't here, so I can only try to make charms myself" to reimburse some of the costs. But that certainly won't be enough. As expected, I still need to discuss the price of the goods with Mr. Devil before I can decide... Furthermore, I have to find a way to borrow that mutated Sun Sacred Emblem. Well, perhaps I can ask Mr. Azik for help with this... it's also a good time to tell him about the town of Lamud.'
Thinking of this, Klein took out a piece of paper to write a letter. After a slight hesitation, he still walked four steps counter-clockwise to go above the gray fog, manifested parchment, and wrote a line of divination statement, "The letter I write to Snow von Pandrax will be intercepted or peeked at by others."
After repeating it seven times, Klein opened his eyes and looked at the spirit pendulum rotating counter-clockwise, feeling slightly relieved. However, considering that divination was not omnipotent, he wrote a new divination statement, "The matter of me writing a letter to Snow von Pandrax will draw the attention of others."
The spirit pendulum rotated counter-clockwise again. Mr. Fool thought of a few more divination statements and, after confirming that there were indeed no blind spots left, returned to reality and began writing a letter to ask about the price.
...
On the other side, Miss Audrey was comforting the Dog of Vision, Susie, who was once again looked down upon by the cat, and began to contact Viscount Glaint. Although she hadn't successfully participated in a Beyonder gathering, the [Apothecary] formula he wanted was already in her hands.
'However, as a lady, visiting a gentleman directly is obviously very rude. Well, he is someone who can't stay still. He should still be holding salons or balls recently. Perhaps I can take this opportunity to spread the news of my desire to become a psychiatrist, as well as issue the task of investigating Qilangos to Xio and Fors...'
Audrey quickly completed a strategy to kill several birds with one stone. Although she didn't lack the thirty percent reward for selling the formula, firstly, Viscount Glaint was her friend, and secondly, she needed a social platform to attract the attention of the Psychology Alchemists.
After perfecting the plan, Audrey summoned her maid to find out if Viscount Glaint had any upcoming salons or balls.
This wasn't a strange request. After all, as a noble lady who hadn't yet held her debutante ball, Audrey's only chance to leave home on weekdays was to attend some informal social balls or literary salons.
Coupled with the fact that the tense atmosphere in Backlund had finally shown signs of calming down recently, as a young person, wanting to go out for some fresh air was very reasonable.
...
"Long time no see, Madam Norma. Your beauty still makes the stars pale in comparison." On the other side, Snow bowed slightly and performed a hand-kissing ritual for the elegant and tall middle-aged lady before him.
"Oh, dear little Snow, you don't have to be so formal. Come and help look at Hill. I know you've just returned to Backlund, but he's been lacking spirit lately, and I don't trust those quacks to touch him..."
Madam Norma walked ahead with an exaggerated tone, leading Snow to that large dog named Hill.
The nobles of Backlund, or rather, most landed nobles of this era, were keen on keeping foxhounds. As a byproduct, some dogs with less pure blood but gentle personalities would be given away as gifts. This also led to the habit of powerful noble families in Backlund keeping pet dogs.
Hill's minor problem wasn't an issue for Snow. Snow diagnosed the dog while chatting with this well-maintained noble lady. However, Snow could clearly feel that this lady was constantly scanning his face and body with a scrutiny in her gaze, consciously or otherwise.
It wasn't the aggressive gaze of a wealthy woman, but... well, somewhat like Miss Audrey's, a feeling belonging to a [Spectator].
Though Madam Norma was even less subtle than Miss Audrey--or was it just because Miss Justice had the gray fog's protection?
After chatting casually for a few words, Snow shifted the topic inconspicuously. It had to be said that communicating with a [Spectator] was very easy, as she would notice your intention to change the topic and cooperate slightly. Thus, without much effort, Snow entered the main subject, "I heard there is a Viscount Glaint who is very keen on literary salons. I recently wrote a novel and had it published in the Tussock Times. I hope to have a platform to greet other seniors in the circle. I wonder if it would be convenient for you to introduce me?"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]
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T/N: Susie (苏茜), the "Dog of Vision."
A/N: Regarding the [Faceless] and [Witch] pathways: While [Pleasure] witches have more tricks, [Faceless] is the ultimate pleasure. Having one is like having them all. Even a [Mage] can transform into animals later... but that's not the point. Inner beauty is true beauty--the ability to freely control small muscles to undergo transformation... ahem, I shouldn't say more.
T/N: Hornacis Gray Mountain Goat (霍纳奇斯灰山羊).
A specific animal whose horn crystal is an ingredient for several [Seer] pathway potions.
T/N: Viscount Glaint (格莱林特子爵).
A minor noble and friend of Audrey, who is interested in mysticism and Beyonder matters.
T/N: Tussock Times (塔索克报).
A major newspaper in Backlund.