Returning from the basement to the second floor, Angel actually felt as if she were in another world.
She took out her pocket watch to check the time—actually, less than half an hour had passed.
But facing the "Sword of the Goddess" Crestet Cesima, whose attitude was unclear and abilities mysterious, it could indeed be described as feeling like years.
Fortunately, right up to the end of the examination, this high-ranking deacon's attitude remained kind...
Angel wiped the non-existent sweat from her forehead, passed through the corridor, through the partition, and returned to the reception hall.
By now the heavy rain outside had stopped, dark clouds had dispersed, and bright sunlight fell upon the earth, passing through the street-facing windows to coat the hall's furniture and floor with a golden layer.
Only two people were seated in the reception hall. Klein was somewhat restlessly squirming on the sofa. The coffee in front of him had long gone cold but remained untouched. Sitting across from him, Lady Daly lazily leaned against the sofa back, holding a newspaper and continuously browsing through it, in stark contrast to his mood.
Hearing approaching footsteps, Klein turned toward the partition and, seeing it was Angel approaching, his face showed relief from worry. He stood up and asked: "Passed the examination?"
"Yes. Lord Cesima was indeed as Lady Daly said. I successfully passed the examination and have now taken the potion, becoming a Sequence 8 Beyonder."
Angel answered, subtly telling Klein about Crestet's attitude to reassure him.
"Taken the potion... Congratulations!"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Klein quickly understood her meaning, his face showing an undisguised smile.
"I told you there was no need to worry about her." Daly's pale face emerged from behind the newspaper. "Klein was restless just now—asking me questions, wanting to find Dunn, just short of charging directly into the basement."
She winked at Angel, reminding her of an occasional gesture Dunn would use.
"Cough—I was concerned about my teammate."
Klein turned his face aside and coughed once.
"Well, now it's my turn to worry about you. It's your turn to go down, 'Diviner.'"
Walking around Klein to sit beside the sofa, across from Daly, Angel said to Klein.
She emphasized "Diviner" while also looking forward to his acting method after advancing to "Clown."
Could it really be becoming a...
Klein seemed to think of the same problem, his expression becoming strange as he left the reception hall to go to the alchemy room for examination.
"How was it? Did you drink another 'Instigator' potion and lose control on the spot?"
Watching Klein's departing direction, Daly asked with a smile and cheerful tone.
"When I heard you say this high-ranking deacon brought 'Instigator' potion, I really thought that would be my fate..."
Angel deliberately sighed and answered. She directly picked up Klein's untouched coffee and drank it all. Hmm, it was already cold, with oil floating on top...
"What's this? Didn't you say in your letter that I'd have no more chances to scare you?"
Daly's expression could now be called sunny and bright—at least more radiant than the sun outside the window.
After enjoying her verbal victory, she pulled out a palm-sized black wooden box from behind her, looked around mysteriously left and right, then handed it to Angel.
"What is this?"
Angel took the wooden box, trying to sense the object inside, but found this simple-looking, angular box had the ability to isolate spirituality. She asked curiously.
"What you asked me to find in Backlund in your letter."
Find in Backlund... Could it be the "Agate Peacock's Egg"? Remembering what she had asked Daly to do in her reply letter, Angel felt her breathing grow heavier, the box in her hands becoming increasingly heavy.
Under the other's encouraging gaze, she pressed the lock and opened the box, looking inside.
The box's four walls were much thicker than they appeared from outside, leaving only a space in the center less than half the outer walls' length and width. Inside lay an egg-shaped object slightly smaller than a chicken egg. Its crystalline shell was like polished glass, with red, green, and orange colors mixed inside, like a gemstone with scrambled colors.
After opening the lid, this "gemstone" seemed to emit substantial light, captivating and making one unable to resist touching its smooth surface.
From Cole's memories, Angel knew the appearance of the two main materials for the "Witch" potion. Without additional confirmation, she knew the one before her was the "Agate Peacock's Egg."
Closing the lid and isolating the Beyonder material's spirituality, Angel looked up at Daly.
"Thank you, Lady Daly. I didn't expect you to obtain this Beyonder material so quickly." She expressed sincere gratitude. "May I ask how much this material cost?"
To deal with the recent scrutiny, before submitting her special report, Angel had deposited all her "unexplained wealth" into her anonymous account at Backlund Bank. Currently, aside from her weekly salary, she had nothing left on her person or at home.
Fortunately, the money in the bank was sufficient to pay for this potion material. Once Daly quoted the price, she could withdraw it today to repay her.
"I bought it through a friend's channels. It didn't cost much—consider it a gift celebrating your successful passage of the examination."
Daly said with an unconcerned expression.
A gift... But this is a Sequence 7 potion main material. Even with low-price purchase channels, it's worth at least 500 pounds...
Angel couldn't accept such an expensive "gift." Just as she was about to continue asking about the price, she saw Daly smile slyly and say:
"If you find it too expensive to accept, then consider this payment for information."
"Information?"
"From now on, send me detailed reports of Dunn's activities every week through messenger."
The Captain's activities? Angel was speechless. This hardly counted as "information." Daly was probably just saying this to put her at ease about accepting the "gift."
Perhaps there was also some element of gratitude for her pointing out the barrier between the two of them.
"Thank you."
Tucking the wooden box into her wind coat's inner pocket, Angel remained silent for a while, then said thanks again.
Daly hummed in response without saying more, picking up the Intis Post beside her, yawning, and browsing the gossip news.
By the time Angel had boiled new hot water and brewed fresh coffee, Klein's figure reappeared before them.
His examination also took half an hour... But my three questions were additional, so that means Klein needed to actually configure and consume the potion after passing examination?
Angel looked at the calm Klein, feeling he didn't seem at all like someone who had just taken a potion—no spiritual overflow or unstable condition.
Was it because he had meditated to restrain his exposed spirituality, or because of the "acting method's" help?
Angel speculated, approaching him. The moment he opened his mouth to speak, she lightning-fast drew the dagger at her waist. In the short, sharp sound of sheath and dagger scraping, she thrust toward the surprised Klein.
He raised his right hand at superhuman speed, striking from the side toward Angel's extended arm, while his entire upper body leaned back, dodging the dagger aimed at his neck.
With a "bang," Angel's left hand, which had moved second but arrived first, blocked Klein's striking right arm, then gripped and pulled back, bringing his leaning body back toward herself. Her right hand's dagger was already against his Adam's apple.
"Better than before, but still not enough."
She commented mercilessly.
Klein came to his senses, looked down to see that Angel had reversed her grip on the dagger at the moment of contact—what pressed against his neck was only the dagger's handle. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"That was just my body's natural reaction. I still need more training. Once I fully master the body enhanced by the potion, then..."
This newly-minted Sequence 8 protested dissatisfiedly.
"Hmm, then we'll see how you perform, Div... no, should I call you Clown now?"
Angel sheathed her dagger, paying no attention to his stubbornness.
"Pfft—"
Daly, hiding her face behind the newspaper, let out a soft laugh.