"I'm sorry! I know all of this is my fault, but… I'd still like to say one thing in my own defence: it really was an accident. Who could have known that little thing would be so outrageously bold!"
Bernadette pressed her lips together. And what about you — running off to report other Extraordinary gatherings just to undercut your rivals and steal their 'clients'? Wasn't that outrageously bold too?
"…During the roleplay period, I summoned Second Mate Stephen to Backlund… and also made a few friends: Audrey, the daughter of the great banker Earl Hall; Viscount Glaint; and two lower-Sequence Extraordinaries — Fors and Hugh."
"Audrey is remarkably beautiful. Fors is always lazily lounging about, fond of smoking — she's a writer. Hugh is a short-statured Arbitrator. They should all be fairly easy to identify."
And what about Glaint?
Bernadette glanced further down the letter and found no further mention of him. So your eyes are only for the girls, are they?
"Ohv, right — last night on my way back, I happened to run into a few people who claimed to be from MI9. They were in the middle of apprehending a traitor, and simply because I happened to be at the scene, they turned on me as well. To defend myself, I threw out nearly every scroll I had in one go — surely you can't blame me for that?"
Bernadette's fingers tightened around the letter. "And so?" she said coolly.
"So, next time when you resupply my scrolls, can you waive the fee? By your own words from last time, this absolutely counts as a life-or-death situation!"
Bernadette: "…"
"That covers the entirety of my past three days."
"As for the next swap, I don't have any new ideas for now. Mostly I'll focus on properly playing the role of Broker, getting a feel for the Secrets Suppliant's abilities, studying various languages and occult knowledge, and attending the next Tarot gathering."
"When I think about it like that — there's quite a lot to do. Enough to keep me busy for a good while."
"Until next time, then."
Bernadette silently folded the letter and slipped it through the Secret Door, her mind quickly running back over its contents. Then she closed her eyes, stirring the spirituality within her body, reaching out to feel for the presence of the Broker.
"Found it."
Her eyes snapped open, filled with delight. I truly do possess two distinct sets of abilities from two separate pathways.
The Broker was still weak for now — but as long as it kept growing, sooner or later it would add tremendous fighting strength, opening up far greater possibilities for the future.
At this moment, she no longer wished to dwell on whether some evil god was pulling the strings behind all of this. Her father, Emperor Roselle, had always said: when you cannot resist, you might as well enjoy it first — and then slowly look for your chance.
"Ah—"
After a long silence.
Bernadette let out a quiet sigh. That man, for all his inexplicable knack for causing trouble, had undeniably brought her a great many benefits as well.
Whether or not any of it had been his intention, it had all stemmed from him.
So, without even realising it, she had come to owe him a considerable favour in this soul-swap. On top of that, if she was to learn Rosellean next, she would likely need his help for that too.
And yet, on her end — in his world — all she had managed so far was to cast a single flickering Lumos with that stick of his. She hadn't brought a single benefit to his life.
This…
This was simply not in keeping with her usual standards.
How could the great Queen of Mysteries allow herself to be so easily outmatched?!
She had to find a way to make him owe her a favour in return — so that the two debts could cancel each other out, and neither of them would be beholden to the other.
There has to be a way.
There had to be.
After talking to herself for a while, Bernadette finally steered her thoughts back on track.
Now that I have the Broker's abilities, can I also use roleplay to digest potions? — The reason she was asking herself this was that she had already confirmed during the last swap that her own actions were unable to affect that Scale.
If she couldn't, it meant that the man would have only half the roleplay time of an ordinary Extraordinary, which would undoubtedly put a serious dent in his potion digestion.
With that thought, Bernadette got to her feet — and immediately felt the same wave of discomfort as before, though thankfully no worse than last time.
She stepped forward, returning to the Dawn.
"Crouch."
"Present!"
Crouch appeared soundlessly, like a ghost.
"I recall that previously, the Rose School of Thought conveyed through you their wish to cooperate with me?"
"It was the Temperance Faction."
Crouch's expression remained composed. "Has Your Majesty had a change of heart?"
"No."
Bernadette shook her head. "I have no desire to get involved in that business. But I can act as a go-between and find them a reliable partner."
"Who?"
"I'll look for one."
"…???"
To be continued…
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