Chapter 99: An Unsuccessful Disguise

Chapter Ninety-Nine
An Unsuccessful Disguise

Once The Sun, Derrick, finished speaking, Klein controlled The World and made him nod.

“More detailed than I expected.

“The transaction is complete.”

Before The World’s voice had even fully faded, Klein had already displayed a little technical flourish, lifting the isolation that had blocked Justice, The Hanged Man, and The Magician in perfect synchrony.

The scene was briefly quiet for several seconds. The World looked around once and gave a dark chuckle.

“I have no other needs for now.”

Having roughly understood the process and characteristics of the gathering, Fors immediately felt eager to try making a request. She wanted to purchase the Sequence 8 formula corresponding to Apprentice: Trickmaster.

She remembered very clearly that Mr. Fool had said the reason she was tormented by the ravings of the full moon was that her level of life was not high enough, and that the pain would diminish as her own Sequence increased.

This made Fors urgently want to obtain the following formula.

But that would expose the Beyonder pathway I belong to… Once everyone becomes familiar and knows more about one another, exposure will be exposure. It will not be too serious. But for the next few gatherings, I should still conceal it a little, lest the members use it to lock onto me in reality…

Fors thought with a fair amount of calm, then said, “I wish to purchase the Apothecary and Trickmaster formulas. I will pay in cash.”

She had deliberately added the Apothecary formula to her true need, using it to disturb the others’ judgment. If any member truly had that formula, she would buy it as normal and later resell it at a higher price to Viscount Glaint, who had longed for that formula for a very long time. In any case, she definitely would not lose money because of it. She might even make a considerable profit.

As for money, Fors did not lack it for now. Not only were the royalties from her own bestselling books still entering her account in batches, accumulating little by little, she also had additional income. For example, in the incidents involving Qilangos and Intis Ambassador Bakerland, she had received 650 pounds in payment from Miss Audrey.

Poor Xio. She used her own money to compensate the families of the two dead victims from the Lanevus incident, spending more than two hundred pounds. I wonder if Miss Audrey will reimburse her once the storm has passed…

The note with Mr. Fool’s honorific name was found between the pages of a book at Viscount Glaint’s house. Could one of his ancestors have been a member of this gathering? Is this a gathering that has been convened regularly for decades, even centuries?

Fors’s thoughts suddenly began drifting.

Two seats away from her, Justice Audrey froze for only a fraction of a second after hearing that the other party wished to buy the Apothecary and Trickmaster formulas. Then she accurately grasped the other woman’s intention.

She is Fors! Trickmaster is for herself, while Apothecary is meant to be sold to Glaint, and also to confuse the situation and mislead everyone else…

Audrey nodded almost imperceptibly, already certain of The Magician’s identity.

Her own Sequence should not be high. At most, Sequence 8, and very likely only Sequence 9. I wonder where Mr. Fool pulled her from, and what makes her special… Her accent carries Backlund characteristics, but that does not necessarily mean she is in Backlund…

The Hanged Man, Alger, was also observing the new member and preliminarily confirmed that she would not pose a threat to him.

The Sun, Derrick, did not think that deeply. He was merely guessing whether Miss Magician belonged to the region of the City of Silver, or to the world where Miss Justice and the others lived.

Klein, meanwhile, looked at Miss Magician with a trace of pity, holding very little hope for her attempt to hide her identity.

When you encounter a “mind reader” who knows you quite well, even if you know the other party’s abilities in advance and guard against them accordingly, you may still be unable to conceal your true thoughts—let alone when you know nothing at all…

The Fool, Klein, sighed inwardly on Miss Magician’s behalf.

At the same time, he controlled The World and spoke in a hoarse voice.

“I have the Apothecary formula. Two hundred and thirty pounds.

“As for the Trickmaster formula, I will do my best to search for it, but I cannot guarantee success.”

Selling the Apothecary formula for money did not conflict with using it to cultivate a useful helper; both could be done at the same time. Because of that, Klein had The World speak first to avoid being intercepted by The Hanged Man or The Sun.

As for the Trickmaster formula, he only had a few ideas.

In his view, the mystical item Master Key had a high probability of being connected to Apprentice, the Sequence 9 corresponding to Trickmaster. If he divined its source above the gray fog, he might find some clue.

Mm. Actually, the most convenient method would be to ask the existence suspected to be Mr. Door. He keeps whispering during the full moon. Apart from calling for help, he likely also teaches formulas and the acting method so that his target can grow strong enough to complete the highly difficult mission. Unfortunately, before the target becomes strong enough, they cannot listen to his ravings at all. Hearing them causes collapse and signs of losing control. That creates a dead loop…

Klein felt a sudden burst of emotion at the thought.

Fors did not hurry to answer Mr. World. Instead, she looked around, only to find that The Hanged Man, Justice, and The Sun all showed no intention of speaking.

Clearly, none of them knew the specific contents of the Apothecary or Trickmaster formulas.

“Mr. World, I hope you can find the Trickmaster potion formula as soon as possible,” Fors said after several seconds of silence. “As for the Apothecary formula, I will buy it now. How should I pay you?”

He also seems to be Loenese, and is willing to accept gold pounds… Although gold pounds have always been more widely recognized than gold hornes, Intis verls, and other currencies…

While speaking, Fors also judged The World’s background.

The World paid no attention to her appraisal. In a low voice, he said, “After you return, sacrifice the cash to Mr. Fool. The transaction will be considered complete.

“The specific sacrificial procedure is…”

Sacrifice? Mr. Fool can even accept sacrifices? Has His level of life reached that point? No wonder He described the master of the full-moon ravings in that tone…

Fors listened and memorized in astonishment and shock, while feeling that it was somehow only natural.

After the explanation was complete, Klein manifested the Apothecary formula in front of The World and had the dummy hand it to Miss Magician.

“The transaction is witnessed by Mr. Fool. You need not worry that it is fake.”

“I believe Mr. Fool.”

Fors nodded at once, unfolded the formula, and began memorizing it seriously.

At that moment, Justice Audrey, unable to bear watching an acquaintance work so hard, offered a hint.

“When you perform the sacrifice, you may ask Mr. Fool to help you recall it. You do not need to memorize it especially. If you encounter any problems, you may also pray to Him by reciting His honorific name.”

Him? Miss Justice actually uses the divine pronoun for Mr. Fool! Him, Him… Could He truly be “Him”? But why would He be willing to help with such small matters… No, that is not quite right. As long as the ritual magic is appropriate, the seven orthodox deities also often respond to believers and complete their requests…

Fors turned her head to Justice and said, “Thank you for the reminder. Your title is your character.”

…

Audrey suddenly felt a little guilty.

Immediately afterward, she thought of a new problem and hurriedly said, “Miss Magician, do you know the acting method?”

“Acting method?” Fors looked at the other woman in confusion.

She quickly discovered that The Sun, The Hanged Man, and the other members had no additional reaction to that term. Clearly, they knew exactly what it meant.

Today’s gathering makes me feel like a country girl who has just arrived in Backlund… And I have attended so many Beyonder gatherings!

Fors thought with a mixture of sorrow and delight.

She even felt the urge to write a novel based on that emotion and sensation. Its title could be Miss Wall’s Dream Journey.

“You do not seem to know,” Audrey concluded from the other party’s reaction and usual performance.

She turned and looked toward the highest seat at the ancient long table, toward the figure shrouded in dense gray fog.

“Mr. Fool, may the acting method be taught to Miss Magician?

“If so, what price must she pay?”

Audrey had originally planned to ask directly whether, like before, it could be exchanged for new pages of Roselle’s diary. But then she remembered that Fors’s Beyonder circle largely overlapped with her own. If that happened, Audrey would lose many opportunities to obtain Roselle’s diary.

This is not too important. Fors will sooner or later learn that Mr. Fool needs Roselle’s diary, and I will definitely gain access to other Beyonder circles. But she knows I have a few pages of Roselle’s diary. If she wants to collect them, the first person she will look for will certainly be me. Yet Mr. Fool has already read those pages of mine… After this gathering, I will have to find a chance to tell Fors that I unfortunately lost those Roselle diary pages…

Justice Audrey deduced the chain reaction and did her utmost to display her worry to Mr. Fool through body language.

What is Miss Justice hinting at? Mm, she knows Fors, but does not want to expose her identity. In other words, she does not want the payment I propose to cause trouble in that regard…

Klein gave a thoughtful chuckle.

“You decide. You explain. I do not wish to repeat a similar topic.”

That is respect for the Goddess…

He added silently in his heart.

Praise Mr. Fool!

Justice Audrey’s heart instantly leapt with joy.

She straightened her back, raised her chin slightly, and, trying hard to appear different from usual, looked at The Magician, Fors.

“The acting method is a way to accelerate mastery of a potion and reduce the risk of losing control to the greatest extent.”

“Do you wish to know it?”

There is such a method? Is it real? Mr. Fool is such a high-level figure; He definitely would not deceive people over something so small!

Fors widened her somewhat languid eyes, pursed her lips, and said, “I do!”

As long as someone was a Beyonder, there was no one who did not want to know such a method!

Fors suddenly felt excited.

Audrey thought seriously for a moment.

“There are two conditions. First, without Mr. Fool’s permission, you may not tell the acting method to others.

“Second, pay two hundred pounds.”

Her original plan had been to calculate the equivalent price based on Roselle’s diary pages, converting the number of pages she and The Hanged Man had previously used to repay the debt into a corresponding sum. But in reality, because Roselle’s diary could not be deciphered, it sold for very little; and much of the time, the authenticity was impossible to determine. The final price calculated that way would be somewhat unworthy of the acting method. Thus, she added a little extra on top.

Mm… If Mr. Fool’s blessed one no longer lacks money, then I will accept the two hundred pounds and later find diary pages to repay Mr. Fool’s debt…

Audrey had already planned the follow-up transaction.

Two hundred pounds? A method that reduces the risk of losing control is only two hundred pounds? That is too, too cheap!

Startled and delighted, Fors feared the other party might change her mind, so she spoke without the slightest hesitation.

“Deal!”

Only after saying that did she begin feeling a little pained by the cost, sensing that the money in her bank account was visibly decreasing.