Audrey jumped in fright. "How do you know that?" she blurted out in surprise.
The moment the words left her lips, she hurriedly clamped a hand over her mouth. "I—I…"
Althea simply watched her "performance" in silence. After a brief pause, she waved her hand casually.
"That's enough."
"I'm only in Backlund temporarily to fill in the numbers. Everything that happened before today? I can't be bothered with it." She looked at Audrey and said plainly, "Miss Hall, I'm now officially inviting you to join the Psychology Alchemists. Interested?"
Audrey was taken aback. "No...assessment?"
"Didn't I tell you?" Althea gave a lazy smile. "You've already been assessed."
She extended her pale, slender hand. "Then, welcome aboard."
Audrey hesitated for a few seconds before taking her hand.
"Thank you. It's an honour."
———
Onboard the Unnamed.
Klein stood coldly by the cabin window, his eyes warily fixed on the blonde woman seated across from Aldrich, ready to act at a moment's notice.
At first, Olivia responded to Aldrich's barrage of questions with bewilderment and fear. But gradually, her emotions settled, until she suddenly grew calm and said in a detached voice:
"I killed Adelaide."
Just like that—an open confession?
Aldrich drew in a deep breath and asked in a low tone, "Are you a vampire?"
"You could say that. Ever heard of the 'first embrace'? I was fortunate enough to receive one from a noble Sanguine," Olivia answered with eerie serenity.
"But why kill Miss Adelaide? You didn't need to drain her to death just to feed, did you?"
"I'd gone too long without blood. I was near the edge of losing control—my mind, my senses, my will. I didn't regain awareness until after I'd drained Adelaide dry." She lowered her gaze. "I deeply regretted it. But regret can't undo what's been done."
"So I quietly returned to my room…and pretended to discover her death only this morning."
Aldrich's expression grew complicated. "Miss Olivia, for the safety of everyone else aboard, I must place you in solitary confinement and restrict your movements. Do you have any objections?"
"None."
Aldrich glanced at Klein, then lowered his voice. "As long as nothing else happens on this voyage, I'll let you disembark at Bansi Harbour."
Olivia's eyes remained lowered. "Thank you."
"Alright. Come with me."
Aldrich opened the door and left with Olivia, flanked by two bodyguards. Klein waited half a minute before walking out of the room himself.
As he descended to the lower deck, he noticed several cabin doors cracked open just a sliver. The so-called "ladies" of high society were all peeking nervously out, eyes filled with curiosity and apprehension. When they spotted Klein approaching, they hastily slammed their doors shut.
Back in his room, Klein took out a yellow crystal pendant and murmured under his breath:
"Olivia was the one who killed Adelaide."
"Olivia was the one who killed Adelaide."
The yellow crystal began to spin rapidly in a clockwise direction.
Klein gave a light flick of the wrist and caught the crystal in his palm, frowning slightly as he muttered, "Why…does something still feel off?"
It wasn't a suspicion about the case itself, but a vague, instinctive premonition—a warning from his spirituality.
With that thought, he sealed the room with a Wall of Spirituality, then took four steps counterclockwise to ascend above the grey fog, seating himself in the bronze chair that represented The Fool.
He manifested a piece of parchment and wrote the same divination statement again:
"Olivia was the one who killed Adelaide."
He chanted it seven times in his heart. The yellow crystal once again spun clockwise.
"So, Olivia really was the killer?" Klein narrowed his eyes.
Still uneasy, he performed another divination:
"The cause of Adelaide's death."
Leaning back, he closed his eyes—and soon saw the exact same scene from his earlier dream divination by her corpse.
"So…was I just overthinking it?"
Klein rested his chin on one hand, tapping lightly on the bronze tabletop with the other.
After a moment, he wrote a third line on the parchment:
"What did Adelaide experience before her death?"
He closed his eyes once more and entered the dream.
In that hazy, illusory world, Klein once again found himself inside Adelaide's cabin—just like during the previous divinations. She lay on the bed, seemingly asleep, peaceful and still.
Suddenly, her brow furrowed. She sat up abruptly and began to cough violently.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Ten, maybe a dozen coughs in a row—then she went silent.
Her body still convulsed with coughing, but not a sound came out. She clutched her throat with both hands, her face rapidly draining of colour as her breathing grew laboured and desperate.
Then, at a certain moment, her body collapsed limply onto the bed. Her chest rose and fell with ever-weakening breaths.
Thirty seconds later, a shadowy figure crept quietly into the room…
…and sank its fangs deep into her neck.
Shlick.
Klein's eyes snapped open, his heart pounding in his chest.
That sequence of reactions Adelaide displayed just before death—he'd seen it before!
On the day of the Great Smog Incident, those who had inhaled the toxic mist had exhibited the very same symptoms before dying—this was the effect of a Witch Pathway Beyonder! A plague, released to reap lives through disease.
"In other words, Adelaide had already been infected with a witch's pathogen before Olivia attacked. Even without Olivia, she would have died."
"And 'coincidentally,' Olivia appeared—draining Adelaide of her blood before the disease could finish the job. The cause of death shifted from sickness to blood loss."
These so-called "noble mistresses" were far more than they appeared. One was a vampire. Another, a witch.
And who knew what else might be hidden among them?
Klein gently massaged his temples. At the moment, he didn't care whether Olivia's presence was pure coincidence or a calculated move to take the blame. As Aldrich had said—they weren't the police or the Church. It wasn't their job to hunt down murderers or uncover the full truth.
But the fact that a witch was hiding on board suddenly put him on edge.
"If I follow the persona I've created for Gehrman Sparrow, shouldn't I be storming out there right now—confronting those women one by one, and forcing the witch to reveal herself before striking her down?"
"No. Gehrman may be mad, but he's not stupid. As long as that witch doesn't pose a direct threat to me, why invite trouble? Even if I were to act out of justice, I'd need to know what Sequence that witch is first."
"Still, the fact that she's hiding her identity suggests a few possibilities: one, she's low-sequence and lacks confidence; two, she's injured or otherwise in poor condition; or three, she's concealing herself to avoid attention from certain enemies."
Most likely, all three.
With that, Klein exhaled softly, having sketched out a rough plan.
"Let's hope you stay quiet…and keep your head down."
Just then, the crimson star that represented Miss Justice began to pulse—shrinking and expanding with a gentle rhythm.
Klein leaned back and extended his spirituality toward the flickering symbol.
Deep within the grey fog, he saw Justice with her hands clasped reverently in front of her chest.
"Mr. Fool," she prayed solemnly, "I just encountered another member of the Psychology Alchemists. I suspect she's a mid-to-high Sequence Beyonder of the Spectator pathway. I'm worried she may have implanted some hypnotic suggestion or mental command. I humbly ask for your aid in purification."
Another member of the Psychology Alchemists?
Klein's brows rose ever so slightly. He casually picked up a paper figurine and tossed it out into the grey fog, where it transformed into a golden angel with black wings. The angel descended and embraced Audrey gently.
But—nothing happened.
Which meant…the Spectator from the Psychology Alchemists hadn't tampered with her?
Klein sent this observation, along with his conclusion, back down to Audrey.
Soon, her voice echoed up from below.
"Thank you, great Mr. Fool."
Klein tapped his forehead lightly.
"Ah, the 'great Mr. Fool'…currently worrying about whether to risk taking on a new acting role…"
———
On the vast and stormy seas…
Waves grew taller, and the wind howled louder. The pirate ship pitched violently under the swelling ocean. But none of this disrupted Edward's educational enterprise, nor did it dampen the pirates' hunger for Beyonder knowledge.
Compared to a few hours ago—when they had just dealt with Admiral Hell—the number of "students" aboard had doubled. More pirates had responded to Red-Hair's signal and rushed over from nearby waters.
Now, there were three more "Red-Hairs" on the ship. All of them claimed to be Fire Fist Ace, threatening anyone who dared oppose them with vengeance from their boss, Gehrman Sparrow.
Reality, however, swiftly taught them a lesson.
Just like the others, they were soon kneeling obediently at the edge of the deck.
To preserve Red-Hair's uniqueness, Edward simply recoloured the newcomers—turning them into Orange-Hair, Yellow-Hair, and Green-Hair.
And if three more showed up, he was ready to round out the set with Blue-Hair, Indigo-Hair, and Violet-Hair.
"Perfect. That would make seven. The complete Calabash Brothers set."
The swelling crowd made the ship increasingly cramped. Edward cast an Engorgement Charm to expand the vessel, finally making enough room for all these "eager learners."
"Alright, take a break," Edward tossed aside his chalk and flopped onto the sofa. "I'll give you some time to digest everything I just taught."
He sighed.
"As expected, wiping their memories and reteaching them doesn't accomplish much."
Still, he wasn't too disappointed. This was just a whimsical experiment—no great loss if it failed.
Just then, Phoenix flew in from the Spirit World, bringing a letter from Audrey.
"The Psychology Alchemists? A lazy woman similar to Fors?"
Edward's thoughts immediately leapt to a character from the original work—one who only appeared once. A masked woman codenamed Sloth, one of the seven Councillors of the Psychology Alchemists.
In the North Continent, the Psychology Alchemists had appointed a Councillor to oversee each of the seven major cities. Backlund, in Loen, had originally been under Hvin Rambis's jurisdiction. After his death in the source material, Audrey was the one who eventually succeeded him.
But now…it seemed Councillor "Sloth" had been sent to replace Hvin Rambis instead.
From Audrey's letter, this "Sloth" woman had instantly seen through her status as a Beyonder—but didn't show any suspicion.
Of course, that might just be an act.
For now, Audrey had officially joined the Psychology Alchemists. On one hand, it was because they came to her directly—leaving her little choice. On the other, she saw it as an opportunity to investigate the mastermind behind the recent assassination attempt in Backlund.
Edward folded up the letter, his expression darkening slightly.
"I need to accelerate my potion digestion."
"Red-Hair."
Red-Hair jogged over quickly. "Yes, Mr. Sparrow?"
"Increase sailing speed and the frequency of sacrifices," Edward ordered calmly. "I need more pirates. As many as possible, as fast as possible."
With that, he shut the door behind him and entered the captain's quarters.
Then he beckoned to Lilith.
She floated over. "What is it, Edward?"
"We're going back to Backlund."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.