Chapter 129: Councilor of Fate

Chapter 129: Councilor of Fate

Oravi lay northeast of the Rorsted Archipelago. In a straight line, it was not far away, but the safe sea route twisted and wound, needlessly adding several hundred nautical miles.

It had originally been a primitive island inhabited by many Beyonder creatures and no humans at all. After the age of hunting ended, the Loen Kingdom used the place as an exile ground for certain criminals, and villages and towns gradually appeared on Oravi Island.

Later, as islands farther east were discovered and colonized one after another, this place, relying on the convenience of its shipping routes and the abundance of its natural resources, attracted no small number of new immigrants. A relatively prosperous port city took shape.

In the dim environment, the lighthouse’s radiance was so obvious and so warm, guiding the passenger liner into the harbor and toward its berth at the pier.

“We finally arrived. Praise the blessings of the crimson moon and fate.” The fat Apothecary Darkwill hopped down the last step of the gangway and stepped onto the solid cement ground.

Strictly speaking, aside from fate, you should mainly thank the blessings of The Fool and Sea God… Klein held a leather suitcase in one hand and tapped the civilized cane in his palm.

Darkwill tucked away the ring box containing the Die of Probability and wasted no time at all. After asking for Bellringer Carnot’s address, he hired a rental carriage and went straight to Saint Draco Church, entering the imposing clock tower that boldly used red, blue, and yellow.

Inside the clock tower, Carnot had a narrow room of his own.

Thud, thud, thud. Darkwill knocked three times in a row, impatient to hand over the object in his possession.

With a creak, the brown wooden door opened, and a tall yet slightly hunched man walked out of the room.

He looked around forty years old. Taken individually, none of his facial features had any real problem, but when combined together, they were filled with disharmony.

Klein needed only a glance to notice that the man’s two eyes were set at different heights, his two nostrils were different sizes, and the muscles on the left side of his face were somewhat slack, making the corner of his mouth droop, while the right side was exactly the opposite.

Carnot’s legs were clearly of different lengths. One arm was thick and strong, while the other was thin and weak. His entire person was extremely asymmetrical and extremely ugly.

“And you are?” Carnot, wearing a black robe, glanced at the two of them.

“Are you Bellringer Carnot?” the fat Apothecary Darkwill cautiously asked in return.

Carnot smiled with one corner of his mouth high and the other low.

“Someone as ugly as me should not have a second copy.”

“Indeed.” Darkwill nodded with great honesty, then chuckled. “It is clear your mindset is fairly good. Actually, for a man, appearance is not important. The key point is having strong ability in that area.”

Tsk. You clearly have never met truly looks-obsessed ladies and young misses… Having lived through the age of traffic idols, Klein quietly scoffed from the side.

Carnot’s expression darkened slightly.

“I do not wish to discuss that matter.”

“You have a problem in that area too? It is fine. I have all kinds of potions. There will definitely be one that can cure your problem…” Before Darkwill could finish, Klein, fearing he might be beaten to death on the spot, stepped forward and blocked half his body.

Klein said in a deep voice, “He is Roy King’s student.”

“I had already guessed as much. Roy King described his characteristics.” Carnot moved aside, inviting the two inside.

His room was extremely small. It held only a bed and a cabinet that could serve as a dining table, while the washroom was on the lowest floor of the clock tower.

Darkwill took out the ring box, handed it to Carnot, piled on a smile, and said, “My teacher asked me to pass this to you.”

Carnot opened it and glanced inside. Seeing that the die was showing four pips, he clearly breathed a sigh of relief. He said to Darkwill, “You are not as unreliable as your teacher said. I can see that you did not attempt to use it. That would awaken it and let it understand that it is no longer sealed.”

“…” The fat Apothecary’s old face reddened, and he said honestly, “It is only relatively quiet right now. In another hour or two, it will start turning by itself again. You had better find a way to seal it again.”

Carnot’s face twitched.

“Again?”

“Well, well, I accidentally dropped it on the ground, and then it, it came alive little by little…” Darkwill instinctively wanted to glance at the owl Harry, only to discover that the other had not followed him in and was instead keeping watch outside the clock tower.

Carnot’s eyes obviously widened, and his hunched body nearly straightened.

“How did you make it all the way here?”

From his perspective, Roy King’s student should long ago have been played to death by the die.

Darkwill hurriedly pointed at Gehrman Sparrow and said, “It was all thanks to this gentleman. He is a powerful adventurer who provided the most effective protection and a method to temporarily seal the die.”

“What method?” Bellringer Carnot blurted out.

Klein smiled faintly.

“A trade secret.”

Carnot’s expression shifted several times. Then he placed a hand on his chest and bowed.

“On behalf of our organization, I thank you for your assistance.”

Darkwill took the opportunity to say, “His employment fee is one thousand pounds plus one request. The request is that we help him search for a powerful offensive mystical item whose negative effects are not too severe. He will purchase it at a reasonable price.

“Uh, I have only a little over three hundred pounds, so I could only pay that much in advance. For the rest, I can only rely on you…”

Carnot silently listened to the end. The corner of his mouth moved.

“I only have a little over one hundred pounds…”

All at once, no one inside the bellringer’s room spoke again. Wind blew through the cracks outside, brushing across the faces of the three people.

At last, Carnot spoke again.

“Perhaps Councilor Ricciardo has one. I will take you to see him.”

It seems he trusts us relatively well. After all, a Councilor of Fate cannot be compared to the Die of Probability. If we truly had a problem, we would not have brought the die here and risked an accident, allowing the Uniqueness to be taken back… Klein watched as Bellringer Carnot lifted a lantern from the room’s corner.

At that moment, he silently activated spirit vision and briefly examined the other man.

With a single glance, Klein nearly raised an eyebrow, because Carnot’s aura colors were extremely strange.

His emotional colors were fine and quite normal, but the ether body representing his physical body appeared insufficiently natural. The green of the heart, the purple of the head, the yellow of the digestive system, and other colors felt as though they had been pieced together. They lacked harmony.

Carnot’s mind and spirit gave him a similar feeling.

An internal stitched monster? Klein made a rough judgment based on his own experience and knowledge.

Carnot finished preparing the lantern, turned back to glance at Gehrman Sparrow, and said without much expression, “I am very sensitive to spirit vision.

“I suppose you also noticed some problems. I am not a naturally born person. I am a product of human refinement by the Church of the Earth Mother, and a relatively failed one. Therefore, I do not have any ability in that area at all.”

His final sentence was directed at Darkwill.

Carnot said nothing more. Holding the lantern, wearing his black robe, and hunching his tall body, he used the dim yellow light to descend the dark, silent clock tower step by step.

A product of human refinement by the Church of the Earth Mother? But Saint Draco Church belongs to the Church of Storms… Because he was comparatively unsuccessful and received little attention, Carnot defected from the Church of the Earth Mother and became a member of the Life School of Thought? That is understandable. The Church of the Earth Mother and the Life School of Thought both control the Apothecary pathway, so they must have certain intersections… But why would the Life School of Thought send this clearly not-simple fellow to work as a bellringer inside a Church of Storms cathedral? Is it normal identity concealment, or is there some connection between the two? Klein followed behind Carnot with a calm expression, step by step leaving the clock tower and circling to a nearby stone bridge.

As soon as they approached the leftmost bridge opening, Klein suddenly sensed something and looked up diagonally.

The owl Harry had followed them and landed on a tree branch.

Crack!

The branch suddenly snapped, and Harry fell straight downward. It barely managed to fly again before striking the ground.

Just as Darkwill was about to speak, Carnot had already explained in a low voice, “Councilor Ricciardo is injured. His power is somewhat out of control. As long as you enter a certain range around him, you will be contaminated by misfortune.”

Carnot stopped and tossed the ring box containing the die toward the bridge opening.

“Councilor, Roy King’s student has delivered the die.”

“Very good.” A hoarse voice came from the depths of the dark bridge opening.

A hand, covered in a few silver-white scales, groped out from the darkness and pressed down on the ring box that had fallen onto the earth.

Then it opened the box and took out the milky-white die inside.

His other hand, similarly covered in silver-white scales, reached out as well, holding a leather object thin as paper.

The object resembled a tube, but head and tail were joined together. Under the crimson moonlight, it showed a grayish-white color. Its surface was covered with complex symbols and signs, as well as many ancient Hermes words pointing toward the Mercury Snake, Will Auceptin.

Councilor of Fate Ricciardo pulled the object open, stuffed the Die of Probability inside, then joined the ends together again.

Using a small repeated loop of fate to seal the Die of Probability, keeping it always asleep or quiet? As expected, the Mercury Snake Will Auceptin foresaw something like this and made certain preparations… Klein withdrew his gaze in relief and heard Ricciardo speak in a hoarse, deep voice.

“I already know of your agreement, Mr. Gehrman Sparrow.

“Once I recover, I will help you search for a mystical item.

“As for those seven hundred pounds… I will immediately attach luck to you. Go to several casinos in Oravi and play a few rounds. You will be able to collect the corresponding payment. Remember: do not win more than two hundred pounds at each casino, and do not exceed seven hundred pounds in total.”

In other words, you do not have money either… Considering that you are injured and hiding, not carrying money is normal enough… Klein gave an almost imperceptible nod.

“Alright.”

He waited for a dozen seconds, yet felt nothing at all. Councilor of Fate Ricciardo, however, let out a breath.

“You have become sufficiently lucky.”

Is that so? Klein chose to trust the other party. He did not disturb Darkwill, who was reporting his teacher’s imprisonment to an elder. Following Bellringer Carnot’s introduction, he found a nearby casino and sat down at the blackjack table.

More than ten minutes later, he walked out of the casino with an expression of confusion and numbness.

Not only had he failed to win money just now, he had lost a full thirty pounds!

Where is the promised luck? Why did I believe him? That old man is very bad… Without the slightest hesitation, Klein returned to the stone bridge and approached the bridge opening.

“So fast? Your luck seems excellent.” From inside the dark bridge opening, Ricciardo laughed with a half-cough.

By then, Darkwill and the owl Harry had already found a nearby inn to stay in.

Klein responded expressionlessly, “I lost.”

“Lost…” Ricciardo chewed over the word, unable to say anything for a long time.

In the dim, silent environment, an ordinary owl flew past uneasily.