Just as Miss Audrey was dancing, Xio,who had participated in a whole day of strike parades,finally returned to Fors's comfortable home.
"Xio, you're back?"
Seeing Xio return in one piece, Fors finally let out a sigh of relief, though her voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction:
"What time did you leave today? Why didn't you even say hello to me? I was very worried!"
'Why does Fors sound so much like me usually?' Xio muttered in her heart before replying righteously, "Have you forgotten how you responded last time I got up early to investigate intelligence?"
"Ah, that..." Fors scratched her cheek somewhat awkwardly. "I was just half-asleep then. Fine, it's my fault. But could you leave a note next time? I really was worried about you."
"Got it. I just took on a commission, that's all." Xio didn't doubt Fors's intentions and nodded slightly before tossing her petite body onto the sofa.
"Mr. A's gathering is reopening tonight. Do you want to go check it out?" Noticing the fatigue on Xio's face, Fors rarely poured her a glass of water. Xio took the cup, downed it in one go, and shook her head:
"I'm too tired today, and I have to get up early tomorrow, so I won't go. If you see the formula for the [Sheriff] potion, remember to keep an eye on it."
"What kind of job could make you this tired?" Fors's eyes darted around as she asked curiously.
"Protecting a worker representative during a strike parade. It basically involved walking around Backlund with a crowd of workers... My feet are aching. I really don't know how those workers manage to endure it!"
In truth, a mere parade wasn't enough to make Xio feel tired; she simply felt that any task issued by Snow wouldn't be easy. She had kept her nerves high all day, fearing a bullet might fly out of a corner and blow Lavis's head off. After being on edge for an entire day, she ended up only helping to subdue two thugs who were paid to cause trouble.
Only now, back at home, was she finally certain that this task really was worth about ten pounds.
'She didn't hide it? Could I really have overthought things?' Seeing Xio answer truthfully, Fors was internally surprised, but she still played along, "To make even a Beyonder like you feel tired... perhaps that is the price paid for survival? Mmm, that's a good line. Maybe I can put it in my novel."
"So when are you going to start writing?" Although Xio was exhausted, hearing Fors mention writing, she immediately forced herself to ask.
"Mmm, inspiration. I still need more inspiration. Oh, it's almost time,I'm leaving first!"
... On the other side...
After scaring Mr. Fool as usual, Snow donned a hooded robe and placed Lily on his shoulder. Earlier that day, Lily had completely digested the [Assassin] potion; she was now an [Instigator].
As for how a cat should act like an instigator, Snow had ideas, but due to time constraints, he intended to wait until tomorrow to teach Lily through possession.
"Perform well in a bit, okay?" Snow lightly scratched Lily's chin. Seeing her reveal a very human-like "leave it to me" expression, he smiled slightly.
He tossed the [Ascetic] characteristic into his shadow. Accompanied by the overlapping murmurs in his ears, the "White Horse is Not a Horse" filter also opened simultaneously.
Speaking of which, the True Creator's whispers weren't just meaningless murmurs and vulgar insults; they also contained some relatively "sober" phrases.
The True Creator was mad, not stupid; this was something both Lanevus in the early stages and Klein later on would surely experience.
To put it plainly, these so-called ravings were merely the background noise of His leaking, frenzied spirituality. Though they contained His thoughts and will, they weren't instructions He deliberately conveyed to His believers.
However, pious believers could still pick out the True Creator's genuine thoughts from this noise and implement them as divine oracles.
For example,
"[Bleep] those [Bleep] dogs of the Church of Storms!"
Ahem.
Exactly; that's where the Aurora Order's style of operation came from.
Although Snow wouldn't go out and do that to the Church of Storms' believers, after the digestion of [Respondent] and "White Horse is Not a Horse" revealed information about Sequence 5 to him, he had come up with a miraculous idea.
He had found some interesting words and melodies with classic trilling sounds from these indescribable whispers, then pieced them together, and...
He wanted to write a song.
This wasn't a task that could be completed in the short term, but he felt it truly was very interesting!
Knock, knock, knock...
Just as Snow was envisioning the entire Aurora Order singing the songs he wrote, the study door was suddenly knocked upon.
"Enter."
At Snow's command, the study door creaked open. The handsome butler in his forties bowed slightly and said, "Mr. V, the gathering is ready."
"Very good." Snow nodded slightly. "Mr. V" was the codename Mr. A had given him before leaving. As for the previous Mr. V... he was currently in Snow's shadow.
Well, it was a story that would make Mr. A's heart weary.
Covering his handsome face with his hood, Snow entered the dim meeting room and sat on the most comfortable armchair, quietly waiting for the guests to arrive.
According to the butler, the normal participation for this Beyonder gathering was around twenty people, with occasional newcomers. Since Mr. A relied on his powerful strength, he hadn't established "leads" like Old Mr. Eye of Wisdom did; any member of the gathering could bring a newcomer.
With the sound of knocking on the door gradually echoing, guests,either masking their faces or acting entirely indifferent,walked into the meeting room. Some had already noticed that the host had changed today, but no one spoke immediately; they merely handed over slips of paper in silence.
The handsome young steward took the slips familiarly, wrote the buy and sell information on the blackboard with chalk, and read them aloud three times, waiting for those who wanted to trade to apply for a room.
Although everything was no different from a normal gathering, Snow,who had buffed himself with the [See Through Anyone] state,keenly realized that at least three people in the room currently felt malice toward him.
"You all seem quite curious?" Just after the first round of reading the slips was finished, Snow suddenly spoke. His voice,similarly pleasant yet completely different from Mr. A's,caused the rookies who hadn't noticed the host change to finally realize something was wrong.
A tense atmosphere began to spread. The only one somewhat lost in thought, however, was Fors, because...
'That voice... it seems to be Mr. Snow?'
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]
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A/N: "Instigator" (教唆者) - Sequence 8 of the Assassin pathway. Snow's cat, Lily, has now advanced to this level, showcasing remarkably human-like intelligence.
A/N: "Sheriff" (治安官) - Sequence 8 of the Justiciar pathway. It is Xio's goal for her next advancement.
T/N: "Bleep" (哔,,) - Used by Snow to censor the True Creator's more... colorful language regarding the other gods.
T/N: "Mr. V" (V先生) - Snow's current alias for the gathering. The joke about the previous Mr. V being in his shadow refers to Snow's tendency to "subsume" or eliminate obstacles.
T/N: "See Through Anyone" (谁都能看穿) - An application of the Paradox pathway used by Snow to gauge the mental state and intent of the people in the room.
T/N: "Aurora Order Anthems" - Snow is essentially planning to turn the True Creator's ravings into heavy metal or dark rap for the organization.