"???"
Edward instinctively leaned back, giving Klein a deadpan stare.
Klein burst out laughing and waved his hand. "Alright, alright. If I ever find my acting progress stagnating, I'll seriously consider your suggestion." He paused. "What about you? Are you planning to use your real identity?"
"Not necessarily," Edward shook his head. "I can change my appearance and identity whenever I want. I don't need to play a Faceless, so I'm not required to impersonate someone at that level of depth."
Klein's eyes filled with envy, but then he remembered—once he digested the Faceless potion, he'd be able to change his appearance freely too.
Sob sob sob.
Just then, a ship's horn blew from the harbour—another steamer was setting sail. Klein took out his pocket watch for a glance and said quickly, "Ah, it's already 9:30. We've got to get to the ticket office soon—if we're late, we won't be able to buy tickets for today's voyage."
Edward pulled out three tickets with a grin. "Relax, Audrey already had someone buy them for us. White Agate, departs at ten."
"..."
Hah, having a rich heiress for a girlfriend sure has its perks.
One of these days, I ought to have Mr. Fool ask her to fund me directly...
Though the thought crossed his mind, Klein knew full well he didn't have the face to actually go through with something like that. He stood up, lugging his suitcase. "Alright then, let's get going. We'll probably still need to go through security...and queue up."
Then a sudden thought struck him. "Unless you're going to say Miss Justice arranged for a VIP lane or bought luxury cabins for us?"
"Nope," Edward shrugged. "When Audrey had someone buy the tickets, there weren't even first-class cabins left on the White Agate. They only managed to get us two second-class rooms."
"How much? I'll pay you back in a bit."
"Ten pounds."
Edward also rose as he spoke. Lilith, having only eaten half her cake, quickly held it up with both hands. "Edward, can I take this with me?"
"Of course. But you might want to store it in your little pendant first."
"Okay~"
——
Ten minutes later, the two men and one little girl arrived at Rose Pier. The White Agate loomed before them—massive, at least from a human's perspective.
Back when Audrey's people bought the tickets, they'd had four ships to choose from. But Edward had picked the White Agate immediately—after all, in the original timeline, this was the ship Klein boarded when he left port. It was aboard this vessel that he met those people and events that set him on the path to becoming the Lord of the Mysteries.
Unfortunately, this time Klein was setting out several months early. And the sea was already more chaotic than before, due to his own influence. Who knew what encounters awaited him now?
Still, according to the plan, Edward would be parting ways with Klein before too long—and likely wouldn't witness what came next.
The moment they stepped onto the deck, a cold sea breeze hit them in the face. Both of them shivered, instinctively tightening their collars. The mood to enjoy the ocean view vanished in an instant.
Just then, a group of men in black coats and semi-tall bowler hats walked over, faces alert. They subtly blocked the entrance to the ship's interior.
One of them stepped forward and offered a polite apology to the surrounding passengers. "Apologies, everyone. This will only take a moment."
Following that, a dozen or so elegantly dressed noblewomen descended the gangway in groups, chatting and laughing as they entered the ship. Their voices trailed off cheerfully.
The black-coated men followed them into the cabin in silence. Only the man who had apologised remained. Just as he was about to enter, his gaze fell on Klein's face. After a moment's hesitation, he stepped forward.
"Pardon me, friend."
Klein was momentarily caught off guard but stayed in character, responding with aloof neutrality, "What is it?"
"May I ask...are you an adventurer?"
The man quickly added, "Ah, forgive me. I should introduce myself first—I'm Aldrich. I used to serve in the Loen Navy as an officer. After retiring, I became the head of a private security company."
Klein frowned slightly. "And?"
Aldrich explained earnestly, "Here's the situation, sir. My current assignment is to escort a group of clients safely to a resort at Desi Bay. Unfortunately, due to the recent heavy smog incident, over half of my staff fell ill, and a few others...happened to be in the East Borough and didn't survive."
"That's left us critically understaffed for this operation."
He went on, "So I'm hoping to recruit a few capable individuals to assist us."
Klein asked bluntly, "If you're short on manpower, why not just cancel the job?"
Aldrich gave a bitter smile. "The contract's already signed. If we back out now, the penalty fees would be astronomical."
Klein shook his head. "Sorry, I'm not qualified for bodyguard work. You'd better find someone else."
"Of course. Sorry to bother you." Aldrich doffed his hat with a respectful nod and turned to leave.
Throughout the entire exchange, he hadn't spared Edward a glance.
"…Why didn't he ask me?" Edward asked in puzzlement.
Klein chuckled and pointed at Lilith. "Who'd try to hire a young father on vacation with his daughter to serve as a bodyguard?"
"…Fair point."
Edward reached out and patted Lilith's head. The little girl looked up at him and asked, "What's wrong, Edward?"
"Nothing. Just thinking how wonderful you are, Lilith~"
She nodded without hesitation. "Of course! Miss Lilith is the best!"
Watching their sweet little exchange, Klein muttered, "Honestly, why didn't Miss Justice come along with you? It'd be nice to have the whole family together."
"Her mother was badly shaken a few days ago," Edward explained. "Right now isn't a good time for her to travel."
Only then did Klein remember what Justice had said at the Tarot Club—her brother had nearly killed her father. That kind of incident must've been terrifying for both a wife and a mother.
As they spoke, the two men stepped inside the ship. Guided by the diagram posted at the cabin entrance, they began heading toward their rooms.
"Edward."
When they reached the door to their cabin, Klein couldn't help but speak again. "I've been thinking about that security guy...Aldrich."
Edward pushed the door open and turned his head. "What about him?"
"He's the head of a security firm—and just because he's short on people, he tries to recruit a total stranger? Don't you find that odd?"
Edward considered for a moment, then said, "Hmm. Maybe the offer was just a front. What if he was actually probing you?"
"Probing?"
"For example, testing whether you harbour any hostility, or trying to gather some intel about you. I'd wager that sort of conversation isn't unique to you—he probably tries it on anyone he finds threatening or difficult to read."
Edward grinned broadly. "Which means, whatever he said might not be true at all."
Klein suddenly understood. "That makes a lot more sense now."
He turned the handle of the cabin door. "I didn't sleep well last night. I'll head in and nap a bit—wake me up when it's lunchtime."
"Alright."
Once the door was closed, Lilith had already clambered onto a chair, placed her half-eaten cake on the table, and resumed eating. "This room's not as nice as the one on the last ship."
She said this while glancing around, spoon in hand.
"Of course not. Last time we had a luxury suite. This time it's just second-class, and the ship isn't even as big."
Edward walked to the window and looked out at the bustling pier, where sailors were loading food, fresh water, and other supplies essential for the coming voyage.
"Edward, eat."
The little girl raised a bite-sized piece of cake to his mouth.
"Thanks, Lilith."
Edward swallowed the cake in one go, then asked, "Have you thought about how you'll portray your witch persona?"
Lilith tilted her head, thinking. "Not really~"
She had originally wanted to ask Krismona, but that woman had vanished from Backlund—no idea where she went.
"Actually, our Miss Lilith is already a little witch. Don't you remember?"
"Eh?"
Lilith quickly caught on and pulled out her tiny wand. "You mean this?"
"Exactly! So as long as you keep practising your magic, using your powers, and combining them with the extraordinary abilities you'll gain after advancing, I believe you'll digest the Witch potion in no time."
"But didn't you say I shouldn't use magic or powers recklessly around ordinary people?"
Edward wiped a smear of cream from her cheek with his finger. "But most pirates don't even count as people."
Her eyes lit up. "You mean…I get to use pirates again to help me digest the potion?"
That's how I finished the last part of my Instigator potion too!
Lilith beamed inwardly: Pirates really are the best~ They helped Miss Lilith digest the Instigator potion, and now they'll help with the Witch potion too!
Knock, knock, knock.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Lilith jumped off the chair and hurried over. "Miss Lilith will get the door!"
She opened it. "Oh, it's you."
Bernadette nodded and followed her into the room. "You've reached Sequence 7?"
Lilith beamed proudly. "Yep~ Miss Lilith is a human now too!"
Bernadette glanced sideways at Edward and then said to Lilith, "So, you've turned into a child. Was Edward disappointed?"
"Huh?" She looked puzzled. "Why would he be disappointed?"
Lilith ran over to Edward. "Edward, why would you be disappointed?"
Edward chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Don't listen to her nonsense. I'm not disappointed at all."
The little girl immediately shot a glare at Bernadette. "Hmph! I knew you weren't a good person. Last time you tried to trick me into talking, and now you're trying to drive a wedge between me and Edward!"
"You really do treat her like your daughter."
A strange, unreadable glint passed through Bernadette's eyes as she stepped further into the cabin.
The second-class room was tiny—just a few square meters. It was already a tight squeeze for Edward and Lilith; adding Bernadette made it feel downright cramped, like there was nowhere to even put their feet.
"Your Majesty."
Edward stood and greeted her. He'd already informed her of his change of plans to travel by sea via Phoenix yesterday.
Bernadette didn't seem to mind the cramped quarters. She simply sat back—and two pea vines dropped from the ceiling, forming a makeshift swing chair beneath her.
"I spent the past few days digging through records. There's very little public information about Amon."
Her first words surprised Edward. He hadn't expected her to research Amon so seriously.
"The only thing I could find is that there was once a family called Amon during the Fourth Epoch. But strangely, there are no records of any family members."
"And in a few books my father left behind, there's mention of a high-sequence powerhouse named Zaratul. He seems to have referenced Amon…vaguely. He was clearly very wary of him."
Edward asked curiously, "Why are you looking into Amon?"
"Based on your previous descriptions, it's only a matter of time before Amon comes for me. Isn't it better to gather what intel I can ahead of time?"
She paused. "Besides, there's still a clone of his in the Box of the Great Old Ones. If I don't understand him, how can I deal with it?"
But Amon…sigh. Unless you can overwhelm him with higher Sequence strength, knowing more won't help much at all.
"Has Mr. Fool ever mentioned Amon to you?"
She suddenly brought up the Fool, which made Edward freeze for a second—before he remembered that the Queen Mystic was now part of the Tarot Club too.
"Why do you ask?"
Bernadette thought aloud, "Amon appeared when you triggered a reaction from that grayish-white barrier of mist. He was clearly very intrigued by it. And it was the Fool's power you borrowed to trigger that response…So I wonder, does the Fool know Amon?"
Bullseye.
Unfortunately, the relationship between Mr. Fool and Amon might be the exact opposite of what you're imagining…
Not to mention—he's currently napping in the room next door.
Edward replied, "In fact, Mr. Fool hasn't mentioned Amon to us. Maybe you could try praying to him and asking yourself."
Bernadette nodded but didn't continue the topic. Instead, she pulled out several yellowed sheets of parchment and handed them to Edward. "These are the last few pages of notes I've got on hand. Help me translate them."
"Huh?"
Edward blinked. "I thought you were planning to learn Rosellean and read them yourself."
"My father left me tons of notes. There's no need to rush through a few pages."
"Fair point."
He accepted the diary pages and casually flipped through them. The very first line read:
"Today, I met a woman. She seemed very strange and wouldn't stop following me. I got so annoyed, I beat her up."
Huh?
This entry…feels really familiar.
———
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