After spending the whole night playing video games with Audrey, performing all sorts of one-life clears for her, Edward finally collapsed into bed just before dawn, feeling quite smug. Thanks to the dexterity boost from the Trickmaster Potion, this kind of thing was a breeze for him.
But just as he closed his eyes and sleep was about to claim him, his eyes snapped open in shock—
What the hell?!
What the hell did I just spend the whole night doing?!
She asked you to play games, and you actually played all night long?!
One-life clears? Really? And you were proud of that?
Unbelievable!
He gave himself two firm slaps across the face.
Then quickly tried to console himself: Maybe…maybe Audrey really just wanted to play games.
Yes!
That had to be it!
———
The next morning, a sleep-deprived Edward sat in the dining room downstairs, listlessly eating breakfast while skimming through the newspaper—in the absence of television and the internet, this was the fastest way to catch up on the latest news.
Out of habit, he flipped to page five first to see if there were any new meetings from the Eye of Wisdom, then started over from the front.
The front page was still dominated by the assassination of the Intis ambassador. The Loen government had issued a statement expressing great anger and strong condemnation, demanding that the Aurora Order surrender immediately in exchange for leniency—which was about as laughable as cops demanding a serial killer to turn himself in.
The rest of the pages were filled with newly enacted laws and policies in Loen, along with pages and pages of advertisements. It wasn't until he reached the very last page and was about to set the paper down that a familiar name caught his eye.
Gehrman Sparrow.
"Huh? News from Bayam made it all the way back to Backlund already? A warship being hijacked is something they'd usually try to cover up, wouldn't they?"
He picked the paper back up and quickly scanned the child-sized column.
Then froze.
This 'report' had absolutely nothing to do with Bayam or the warship. In fact, it was a missing person notice.
——
Gehrman Sparrow
Hello, I'm the owner of the Orilan Café in East Borough. You quit your job at the café three days ago, but in your rush, you left behind some of your belongings. They're mostly just some clothes and a few miscellaneous books (one of which has a playing card tucked inside), but I don't know if any of these hold particular significance for you.
If you don't see this notice and return to the café within three days, I'll have no choice but to pack up your things and throw them out. No exceptions.
—Orilan Warden, Owner of Orilan Café
——
At first glance, it didn't seem to have anything to do with Edward aside from the name "Gehrman Sparrow." But his sharp eyes immediately picked up the key detail: a playing card tucked inside a book.
That wasn't even a hint. That was practically a direct message: Looking for the Card of Blasphemy? Come find me.
"Is this a message from the Twilight Hermit Order?"
Edward had imagined all sorts of mysterious and grand ways the Twilight Hermit Order might contact him, but this "bland and honest" approach completely blindsided him.
"Hey…could it be that the devil got taken down by the two major churches last night? And now they want to hand me the assassination of Duke Negan?"
With that, he reached over and patted Lilith, who was busy chewing on a piece of steak.
"Done eating, Lilith?"
She looked up, mouth rimmed with steak juice. "Meow?"
Edward grabbed a napkin and gently wiped her face, then scooped her up.
"If you're still hungry, we'll eat somewhere else."
"Okay~" she replied in a small voice.
After paying the bill, Edward walked out of the restaurant with Lilith in his arms. He looked at her curiously and asked, "Hmm? You haven't been out catching mice these past few nights? You seem awfully hungry in the mornings."
"I did go," she grumbled, swishing her tail. "But the mice here are too small. Lady Lilith didn't get full."
"Oh, I see. I thought maybe you'd been secretly hitting the books at night."
"Meow?" She tilted her head, a puzzled look on her face.
———
Not long after, now transformed into Gehrman Sparrow and with the white Persian cat perched on his shoulder, Edward stepped into the Orilan Café located in East Borough. The café sat on the edge of a plaza with no nearby stalls and few passersby. Only the benches around the plaza had a few lifeless, numb figures either sitting or lying on them.
Edward seriously doubted this café got much foot traffic.
He walked straight to the counter and asked with a pleasant smile, "Excuse me, is Mr. Orilan Warden in? I'm Gehrman Sparrow—I'm here to collect some things I left behind."
The staffer blinked in surprise before replying, "Certainly. Please, have a seat. I'll go fetch Mr. Warden for you."
A moment later, a thin blond man with gold-rimmed glasses and white gloves walked over. He gave Edward a long, probing look before taking a seat opposite him.
"Gehrman Sparrow?" he asked.
"That's right," Edward replied, eyeing him up and down. "If all goes well, my name should be making waves across the sea right about now. You must be Orilan Warden?"
"No."
The man rejected the notion without hesitation, then handed over a photo. "Go to this place and release the person trapped underground. Do that, and you'll get what you want."
Edward couldn't help being surprised—it wasn't an assassination mission targeting Duke Negan, but something completely unrelated.
Release…underground…
Those two words instantly brought to mind a certain angel who'd been turned into a hotpot.
He took the photo and glanced at it. It showed a two-story house, the first floor in a state of chaos, scattered with building materials—as if renovations were underway. He then feigned confusion and asked, "Where is this? Who am I supposed to release? Why?"
"Number 8, Williams Street. You don't need to know anything else. Just do it, and you'll get what you're after."
You've got to be kidding me—is he talking about that Red Priest card in Medici's hands?
If I had the ability to take that, would I still need to come crawling to you guys?
Wait…hold on.
Something didn't feel right.
Edward suddenly recalled that Medici had taken the side of the True Creator during the War of the Four Emperors and had ultimately been turned into a hotpot after Adam said, "This was a necessary sacrifice."
So, the two should be enemies…right?
Then why would Adam want to release him?
Unless…the whole point of this mission was to get him killed?
"Is there anything else? Any other commissions?"
"No. If you manage to pull this off, someone will come to conduct a further evaluation. That's when you'll be officially invited to join us."
The blond man said no more and quickly walked out of the café.
At that moment, the staffer from earlier strolled over with a bright smile, as if noticing Edward for the first time.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, sir. Would you like to order something?"
—He had clearly forgotten everything that just happened.
A Spectator's hypnosis is no joke. Good thing I know the Imperius Curse too.
"I'll have a steak and a coffee."
"Right away, sir."
——
Suddenly, a wailing cry echoed from the plaza outside.
"Waaa—Mama! Mama!"
A frail, raggedly dressed little boy wearing an oversized cotton coat sobbed uncontrollably. In front of him lay a thin, equally poorly dressed woman. Whether from hunger, cold, or illness, she had collapsed on this early autumn evening.
The child's cries drew glances from the people nearby, but that was all—glances. They had seen this scene far too many times. Give it a few more months, when winter rolled in, and deaths like this would happen multiple times a day.
Edward wasn't an especially compassionate person, but witnessing it firsthand stirred a pang of human empathy.
"Waiter."
He raised a hand, calling the server over and pulling out a banknote. "Could you please invite those people outside in and give each of them a hot meal?"
"Of course, sir. You're a kind man."
The waiter didn't seem surprised at all by the request. He swiftly headed to the door, raised a hand, and called out.
In an instant, the plaza's vagrants turned their heads. After a slight nod from the waiter, they used what little strength they had to scramble toward the café—like this wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
Everyone lined up neatly, entering one by one and thanking Edward as they passed. The staff efficiently seated them and brought out steaming plates of food.
Ah…so this is why this café exists in a place like this. It makes its money off "kind-hearted folks" like me.
Talk about business acumen.
Soon, only the collapsed woman and the sobbing child remained outside. Edward stood up and stepped out of the café, intending to see if the woman could still be saved.
At that moment, a little girl in black clothes, black pants, black boots, and short black hair darted over to the woman's side. She knelt down and placed her small, pale hand against the woman's neck, then turned to the crying child and said, "Don't cry, don't cry. Your mom's not dead yet."
The boy sniffled, his sobs momentarily halting in surprise. "Really?"
The black-haired girl offered a kind smile and consoled him, "Just wait a little longer. You can cry when she's dead."
Edward: "…"
Boy: "..."
"Waaa!!!"
He burst into even louder sobs.
Edward walked up and, under the girl's curious gaze, cast a healing spell on the woman. Then he took out a potion and carefully poured it into her mouth.
He didn't know medicine. This was all he could do.
"It won't work."
The little girl in black looked up at Edward and said seriously, "I can already smell death on her. She's beyond saving. I came here to collect her body."
Edward was silent for a moment before asking, "Even Mr. Azik can't save her?"
"Huh?"
She shot to her feet in surprise, giving Edward a thorough once-over. Her eyes gradually lit up with recognition and joy. "You're…Big Brother Edward!"
Then she looked toward Lilith, who had followed behind, and scratched her head. "Then that must be Lilith?"
Edward was currently in the appearance of Gehrman Sparrow, so he had no idea how she recognised him.
"Hello, Priscilla."
That's right—this little girl dressed in black with short black hair was none other than Priscilla, who had been taken away by Azik. Back when she lived with her father, she always wore princess dresses, her long hair tied in cute pigtails, looking like a porcelain doll. But after just one week with Azik, she had chopped her hair short and completely changed her look.
Whether Azik was just bad at parenting or had some ulterior motive, who knew?
Edward repeated his question, "Even Mr. Azik can't save her?"
"Nope!"
She shook her head. "She has a terminal illness. Her organs have been failing for a long time. She only made it this far through sheer willpower."
The way she spoke carried none of the bashful sweetness she used to have. Such a dramatic transformation couldn't have come from just one or two weeks with Azik—was it because of that ceremony with the Numinous Episcopate?
Sure enough, a few minutes later, the woman took her final breath.
Edward could do nothing. He called the waiter over again, gave him a few soli, and asked him to help bring the now-orphaned child to an orphanage.
Priscilla, meanwhile, pulled out a black body bag and expertly packed up the woman's corpse. She politely declined Edward's offer of help, then slung the bag over her shoulder and walked off alone toward the cemetery.
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.