Chapter 152: White City

Chapter 152: White City

Stoen University… Associate Professor Michelle… a notebook from the period of the Twenty Years’ War… Audrey extracted the key words from Smine’s statement. She glanced at Susie, who was running happily ahead of the mare, and asked the most important question directly.

“Madam Smine, what exactly is this notebook?”

“We don’t know. We only know that it belongs to the period of the Twenty Years’ War and is one of Associate Professor Michelle’s collections. It has one important distinguishing feature: the patterns on its cover faintly form the image of a dragon.” Smine concealed nothing, sharing all the information she possessed.

As Audrey listened calmly, she controlled the chestnut mare while already thinking about how to complete the task.

“Visiting Associate Professor Michelle, viewing his collection, and making an offer to purchase one item shouldn’t be too difficult.

“Though I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, no matter how one looks at it, the chance that he will refuse me isn’t very high. Mm, Audrey, don’t rely too much on such things…

“The greatest problem with doing it that way is that it would be abrupt. I don’t know Associate Professor Michelle at all, so it would be hard to explain why I suddenly want to visit him. I also don’t know what that notebook means to him. Rashly making an offer to buy it may arouse his suspicion and vigilance.

“…Jane’s elder brother studies at Stoen University. At the last gathering, he showed a fondness for storytelling and discussion. If I invite the siblings to afternoon tea again and guide the topic toward history, archaeology, and collecting, he should mention Associate Professor Michelle. Mm, there surely aren’t many people in a single university who can be called collectors.

“With that as a prelude, I can send someone to visit Associate Professor Michelle and request permission to view his collection. Then, on the first visit, I should avoid revealing my true desire as much as possible. I can observe the host’s performance and guide him into revealing his most genuine attitude. That will help me make the right request in the right way at the right time…”

After determining her approach, Audrey nodded to Pastor Smine and said with a shallow smile, “I’ll do my best to complete it, but I cannot guarantee success.”

The moment she finished speaking, she tightened her legs around the horse, and her entire body shot forward like an arrow, charging toward a reddish-brown fox darting back and forth within the hunting circle.

…

Upon the stormy sea, the Blue Avenger was like a leaf blown into the air by fierce winds. It was sometimes tossed upward, sometimes dropped back down, yet it maintained astonishing balance, showing no sign of capsizing.

Inside the captain’s cabin, Alger Wilson floated by the window, gazing at the waves outside that rose like mountains and peaks. Silent gusts of wind swirled around him.

After some unknown length of time, he descended, placing both feet on the carpet.

“Wind-blessed is indeed a Sequence that can be acted according to its name in a simple way. The only problem is that I must occasionally make myself irritable in order to match the characteristics of a violent gale…” Alger reflected inwardly without much joy.

Over the past two months, he had not managed to obtain the Ocean Songster formula through his own channels or through transactions in the Tarot Club. After all, it was a Sequence 5 formula—the level closest to a demigod. Corresponding formulas had already reached a state where there was a price but no supply. Even if one had a pile of money and was willing to pay a substantial premium, it was still difficult to buy.

Under normal circumstances, joining the corresponding Church or organization was the most effective way to acquire a formula of that kind. But as a bishop of the Church of Storms, Alger could not rely on that path. Because of certain secrets, he had to conceal his true strength, gaining freedom of movement and lighter surveillance so that, once he had enough confidence, he could go to a certain place and accomplish the objective he had long been waiting for.

What pleased him was that he had not wasted those two months. At the very least, the digestion of the Wind-blessed potion had progressed well.

“Wind-blessed is simple, but Ocean Songster is said to be rather difficult… Does it require frequent singing?” Alger could not help turning his head toward the deck.

Although several rooms separated them, he could still hear drunken sailors on deck singing excitedly, creating a noise that could contend with the roar of the storm.

Alger unconsciously frowned.

…

Backlund, Cherwood Borough, Sindras Circus.

“Madam, aren’t you supposed to be performing magic tricks? Why are you dressed like that?” a young boy asked the woman in front of him, who wore a pitch-black pointed hat and a long dress of the same color.

I don’t know why I’m dressed like this either. Maybe that first time, my brain was frozen stiff by the cold weather, and afterward it just became my fixed style… Fors touched the red and yellow paint on her face and replied with a smile, “In ancient times, magic tricks were often mistaken for witchcraft.”

But that has nothing to do with why I dress like this… She picked up one of the three large ceramic cups in front of her and covered a small white ball beneath it.

Then she rapidly exchanged the positions of the cups and smiled at the boy who had asked the question.

“Guess which cup the ball is under.”

“Isn’t this one of the gambling methods Emperor Roselle invented?” the boy asked with interest. “But you aren’t a dealer. You’re this circus’s Trickmaster. So I guess the ball has already been switched away, and all the cups are empty!”

Fors smiled.

“Congratulations. You guessed wrong.”

She abruptly lifted the middle cup. A white figure flew out from within.

It was a dove!

And the original ball was exactly where the dove had flown from.

“Oh!”

“God!”

“Beautiful magic!”

“That was wonderful!”

Amid the chorus of praise, Fors looked with slight satisfaction toward the church clock not far away. Then she put away her props and returned to the tent where the circus manager was.

“You really intend to resign? I can double your salary!” The circus manager came up to her, speaking rapidly.

Unfortunately, I summarized the Trickmaster rules back in mid-March, and last week I completely digested the potion. If not for the fact that my contract lasted until today, I would have left already…

“Although being treated as a master of magic tricks feels wonderful, it won’t stop me from advancing to Astrologer. Teacher said he would come this week to give me the formula, the ingredients, and a gift… What kind of gift will it be?

“Sigh, the full moon ravings are becoming more and more terrifying. If not for Mr. Fool, I would definitely have already lost control and become a monster…” Fors stretched out her right palm, covered her mouth, and lazily yawned. Then she smiled and said, “That’s right. I’m actually a bestselling novelist. The subject of my next book is related to a circus, which is why I applied to work here.”

“A bestselling novelist?” The circus manager’s eyes lit up. With both worry and anticipation, he asked, “Will you write bad things about us?”

“Are there bad things here? I’ve had a very pleasant two months,” Fors said, removing the black pointed hat.

The circus manager revealed a heartfelt smile.

“Wall—Madam Wall, could you mention our circus’s name in your book? I can—I can pay you an advertising fee. Of course, it won’t be much. You know, I have a great many people to support.”

That’s possible too? The manager is quite sharp… This was the first time Fors learned that novels could “publish” advertisements just like newspapers and magazines, and in an even more subtle and natural form.

…

Amid the rising and falling waves, a passenger ship with rows of cannons lining both sides sailed along a safe route, not daring to deviate in the slightest.

East of Olavi Island, straying from the correct sea route often meant disappearance. Even pirates did not dare move too far away from safe regions.

This stretch of sea was filled with unexplored areas and all kinds of horrifying legends.

After more than two months of volunteer work and four genuine acting opportunities, Klein bid farewell to the work of carrying patients, scrubbing toilets, cleaning vomit, and more. He boarded the ship bound for the Gargas Islands.

At the Tarot Gathering in early March, through a private conversation, he had successfully hired The Hermit Cattleya. They would meet at Nas, the capital of the Gargas Islands known as the White City. From there, he would board the ship of this Admiral of Stars and head for the nearly illusory, dangerous sea at the easternmost end of the Sonia Sea, searching for wild mermaids that lived there.

The Hermit Cattleya had seemed rather interested in meeting a Tarot Club member in reality. Back then, she had considered it for only a few seconds before agreeing to The World’s request. But due to the danger involved, she had named a relatively high price:

3,000 pounds!

Klein’s first reaction had been to give up and instead board Mr. Hanged Man’s ghost ship. However, considering that the latter had quite a few sailors from the Church of Storms with him and was therefore not very free, and that the danger of traveling to the easternmost region of the Sonia Sea was indeed high, he ultimately accepted Madam Hermit’s demand. She would begin waiting around the Gargas Islands in early April and would wait for one month. After the time limit, their cooperation would end.

To avoid wasting the 1,000-pound deposit, Klein did not wait until the potion was fully digested. He set off from Olavi Island and headed straight for the Gargas Islands.

Of course, with his previous summaries and opportunities for genuine acting, he was already very close to completely digesting the Faceless potion. Even if he no longer engaged in true acting and simply continued moving as Gehrman Sparrow, he would be able to complete it within two or three weeks.

For that reason, and because The World’s identity had already become tied to Gehrman Sparrow, Klein changed back into the crazy yet powerful adventurer after leaving the hospital, though he applied a certain degree of disguise.

Looking at the undulating sea outside the cabin, Klein finally saw the port city whose houses were mainly built from white stone.

The easternmost colony of the Feysac Empire, the capital of the Gargas Islands—Nas!

“This counts as finally leaving the country…” Klein watched as a fishing boat loaded with whale flesh and blood sailed into the harbor. The rough, rugged atmosphere seemed almost tangible.

At the same time, he discovered many ships flying pirate flags moored in the harbor without the slightest concealment.

As expected, east of Olavi Island is a paradise for pirates… Klein put on his hat, picked up his luggage, and after the passenger ship docked, he left the cabin and descended the gangway onto the pier.

After walking a few steps, he saw a group of pirates seemingly come into conflict with a local gang. Both sides drew weapons, and a series of bangs erupted.

Klein calmly passed by from the side, with no intention of stopping them.

Just then, he saw someone who appeared to be a local pull several cans from his pocket, open the lids, and throw them into the middle of the road.

“What is this supposed to mean?” Klein nearly laughed, then immediately thought of a product infamous across the seas.

Canned wolf-fish!

Canned wolf-fish, popular along Feysac’s eastern coast, the Gargas Islands, and other places!

The thought had barely surfaced when an indescribable fishy stench bored into Klein’s nose.

His face twitched several times. Forcing himself to endure his body’s discomfort, he quickly left the area.

Of the pirates who had been attacked, a few vomited on the spot. The rest hurriedly dragged their companions away, as if they had suddenly lost all ability to fight.

One minute later, in a hidden corner, the crazy adventurer Gehrman Sparrow crouched down and dry-heaved silently.