[Inside Hibbert's luxurious suite]
When he saw his sister leading Edward in, Hibbert immediately began ordering a whole table full of food. His expression was full of helplessness—his sister used to be so well-behaved and sensible! It's all because she met this guy that she's turned into what she is now!
Scoundrel!!
And now you're smiling at me?
Are you showing off?!
Cursing silently in his heart, Hibbert remained perfectly composed on the surface. When the food arrived, he sat down and joined them for the meal.
"So, why are you going to Bansy this time?"
Edward thought for a moment and said, "Have you heard of the Medici family? I'm going to look for their descendants."
"Medici?"
Hibbert shook his head. "Never heard of them. Why are you looking for them?" After a pause, he added, "Audrey mentioned Bansy Harbour has been contaminated by something. Is it related to that family?"
"Probably not. That kind of contamination...I'm not entirely sure what it is either. As for finding the Medici, it has to do with certain things in the mysticism world."
Hibbert nodded and didn't press further. Though he wasn't completely ignorant of the mystical world, he wasn't a Beyonder himself. Even if Edward explained more, he might not understand anyway.
"The Emerald originally planned to dock at Bansy Harbour tomorrow night, but due to the potential contamination there, I've had the captain change course to Damir Port, which is a few dozen nautical miles away. You can take a smaller boat there on your own if needed."
"No need. I have another way of getting there."
Hibbert wasn't surprised. He cut into his steak and casually asked, "Ahem, once you're done with your business, will you return to the Emerald?"
Edward paused, a little surprised. "Probably not. Why?"
"Oh, nothing. That's a shame—Bayam is quite a scenic place."
Audrey smiled and added, "Brother, are you trying to ask Edward to stay behind and protect you?"
He immediately glared at her. "I already have Beyonder bodyguards around me."
"But those Beyonders can't instantly teleport you back to Backlund if something happens, can they?"
"…"
Edward was quick-witted. He immediately offered, "Mr. Hall, I can leave you a mystical item. In case of danger, it'll teleport you straight to the Church of Evernight in Backlund."
"How much?"
Edward glanced at Audrey, hesitating a bit. "Uh, one hundred pounds?"
"Fine. Audrey, pay him a thousand pounds."
"???"
Audrey was dumbfounded. "Why me?"
Hibbert picked up his napkin, calmly wiping his mouth. "Heh, what? You're so generous when giving your friend gold pounds, but now you're reluctant to pay once for your own brother?"
"…Fine, I'll pay."
Audrey looked at Edward. "Hand."
Edward blankly stretched out his palm. Audrey gave it a light 'slap' with her fingers. "Paid."
Hibbert: "..."
All right! That's how it is, huh!
He pointed toward the door. "Everyone full? Out!"
Bang!
The suite door slammed shut. The two stood in the hallway, one holding Lilith, the other holding Susie the Papillon, both speechless.
Lilith looked a little dazed, a bit of sauce still at the corner of her mouth.
"Miss Lilith hasn't had enough to eat yet! Miss Lilith hasn't had enough to eat!"
She struggled free from Edward's arms and went to scratch at the door.
"Alright, alright, I'll get you something later."
"Liar! You said if I get seasick, you'd eat rats. But you didn't! Miss Lilith won't believe you anymore!"
Edward quickly apologised. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! As an apology, how about we push the exam back by two days?"
Lilith paused. "Alright, I forgive you."
"Pfft—"
Audrey burst into laughter.
———
9 PM, shortly after Audrey left.
The door knocked again—knock, knock, knock.
Edward's spirituality stirred, and an image of the person outside flashed in his mind: a girl with long, sleek black hair, a slightly rounded face, slender eyes, and a sweet, gentle expression.
It was Trissy.
Why was she here?
After a brief hesitation, Edward picked up Lilith and waved his wand to open the door, his expression wary.
Trissy stood at the door like a polite, well-mannered girl from next door, smiling softly.
"Good evening, Mr. Astrologer. I was sent here to deliver something to you."
Deliver something?
"Sent by whom?"
"A very noble individual."
"Name?"
"I don't know."
Edward's mind raced. "She's from the Demoness Sect?"
Trissy's answer was ambiguous: "Yes, and no."
What did that even mean?
Edward's thoughts flickered. "She's the one who injured Lady Despair this morning?"
"That's right."
"Why is she sending something to me?"
"I don't know."
"Do you think she's friendly...or hostile toward me?"
Trissy thought for a moment and said, "I think...probably not hostile. With her power, if "She" wanted to kill you quietly, it wouldn't be difficult."
She used "She"?
"Is "She" on the ship right now?"
"She is." After a pause, she added, "But we'll be disembarking at Damir Port tomorrow."
Great. So Lady Despair leaves, and now we get an even scarier witch?
Madness to the right—always full of surprises!
Trissy placed the bag in her hand on the floor. "Alright, the delivery is complete. I'll be heading back now."
"Wait!"
Edward forced himself to push thoughts of the mysterious figure aside and shifted his focus. "Do you think the people from the Demoness Sect…Lady Despair…would give up on hunting you?"
Trissy visibly froze. The well-crafted sweetness on her face began to fade. She scrutinised Edward with suspicion, her voice lowered and firm.
"You know me?"
"Of course."
Her eyes flickered. After a moment, she nodded. "I doubt she'll give up. But I've already received that Lady's protection."
Hiss—again, this was different from the original canon.
A high-ranking member of the Demoness Sect had chosen to protect Trissy? Was that truly protection…or just another form of control?
If it was the latter, that made sense.
But if it was the former…was someone in the Church really bold enough to obstruct the descent of the Primordial Demoness?
"I understand."
Trissy backed out of the room and left.
Once the door was closed, Edward pulled out the green crystal and recited seven times:
"The items in front of me are dangerous!"
The crystal began to rotate counterclockwise.
After hesitating for a moment, Edward put on gloves and opened the bag. Inside were several tin boxes, each neatly labelled:
"Demon Throat Honeyguide's Heart."
"Blood of Abyss Demonic Fish."
"Egg of an Agate Peacock."
"Dark Prowler's Poison Sac."
"Purified Water,"
"Syrinx of the Demon Throat Honeyguide."
"Scales of a Shadow Lizard,"
"Jimsonweed juice."
"Aqua Fern Grass Powder."
...
"This is…"
He quickly recalled: materials for the Sequence 8 Instigator and Sequence 7 Witch?
Edward looked toward Lilith, who was currently playing with her tail on the bed, and was struck by a strange thought.
Were these materials prepared specifically for Lilith?
Was this…a kind of peace offering?
An offering made through the cat?
That…was certainly an unexpected approach.
Still, the Sequence 8 and Sequence 7 materials combined only cost around 1000 pounds. For a witch who was at least demigod-level…wasn't that a bit stingy?
No, wait!
This line of thinking is dangerous.
The entire Lord of the Mysteries novel hammered home one truth: Every gift from fate has already been marked with a price in secret.
If something is given, something will surely be expected in return.
If she had given something truly rare and valuable, that would be all the more reason to be cautious.
But what truly puzzled Edward was—despite the Evernight Goddess's concealment—why would a witch behind Trissy be interested in currying his favour?
He could believe the Goddess would cooperate with the God of Steam, with Adam, even with locked up Zaratul—but with Cheek? That seemed unlikely.
Besides, the witch behind Trissy probably wanted to stop Cheek's descent.
Dammit!
Why did these power struggles between major players have to involve me, a mere small fry?
Klein was at least the future Lord of the Mysteries!
I'm just a normal guy who can travel between two worlds. That shouldn't warrant this much attention!
"No way. I need to tell Audrey immediately. She should return to Backlund tonight."
Without hesitating, Edward threw on his Invisibility Cloak, activated his Concealment, and used Apparition to silently appear in Audrey's room.
The room was dim and quiet. Audrey was fast asleep on the soft, fluffy bed. Susie, now back in her Golden Retriever form, was dozing on the floor by the bedside.
He had to admit, sneaking into a girl's room in the middle of the night wasn't exactly polite—even if they were close friends.
But with a witch symbolising calamity involved, Edward decided to just remove the cloak.
Almost instantly, Susie perked up, ears twitching. Her eyes gleamed in the dark.
"Edward?"
She blinked and glanced back at the bed. "Need me to step out?"
Susie, you're way too considerate.
"…That won't be necessary. Could you wake Audrey for me?"
"Got it."
Suzy padded up to the bed and leaned close to Audrey's ear.
"Audrey, Audrey, wake up. Edward's looking for you."
"Mm…?"
Audrey blinked groggily, her voice still foggy with sleep. She rubbed her eyes and propped herself up to look at Edward. "What time is it, Edward?"
She was still wearing the same adorable, soft pajama set from their last trip to Switzerland—cute and cuddly, like a plush doll.
"Sorry to disturb you, but here's the situation—"
Edward quickly summarised what had just happened with Trissy.
Audrey instantly sobered up. "So that witch, who's at least a demigod…is still on the ship?"
"Most likely. She may have stopped Lady Despair and even shown a hint of goodwill, but…a witch is still a witch. I'm worried something else might go wrong. It might be better if you returned to Backlund tonight."
"Alright."
She nodded, then paused. "Should we bring Hibbert too?"
"That's up to you."
Edward handed her the bag with the Vanishing Cabinet inside. "I'll head back now. Goodnight."
Audrey scrunched her nose. "Not sure how 'good' it'll be…but take care, okay?"
"Mm."
———
That night turned out to be much calmer than Edward expected.
All through the night, the only sound he heard was the gentle crashing of waves against the ship—oddly soothing, actually.
And when morning came and he woke up feeling refreshed, he was met with Lilith's eager, triumphant gaze.
"Edward! I've fully digested my potion!"
———
[Note]: We missed our Powerstone goal, so no Extra Chapter :(
And, as usual, no Extra Chapter tomorrow. I like to keep my Sundays stress-free~
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