Pritz Harbour, at Dorian Gray's residence
Dorian sat on the sofa with a complicated expression, holding the letter of last words that Lawrence had left behind. On the coffee table before him lay a strange notebook and a diamond-like Beyonder characteristic.
Fors Wall sat opposite him, visibly ill at ease—Xio, Audrey, and Priscilla hadn't come along.
Too embarrassing!
They had hired help, made plans, set up an ambush—and after all that, they had ended up beating up the very person they were after and hauling him in! It was downright unbearable to think about!
"I'm sorry, Mr. Gray!"
Fors bowed once again in apology.
Dorian said nothing as he opened Lawrence's letter. It briefly mentioned the regrets accumulated over the years—mainly that he had never found a way to lift the Abraham family's curse—and then spoke mostly of a fine young woman he had met: Fors Wall.
It said she had first become acquainted with his younger sister Aulisa, learning some basic mysticism from her. After Aulisa's death, this child had never forgotten their bond and often went to pay her respects at the grave.
Perhaps out of affection extended to those associated with the one he cherished, Lawrence had formed a very good impression of Fors. Thus, he entrusted her, after his death, to deliver these items to Dorian, hoping that once Dorian had examined her and found no issues, he could guide her into the mysticism world and help her become a Beyonder.
Lawrence knew Dorian had once suffered a disciple's betrayal, so he repeatedly affirmed that Fors's character was not in doubt; what needed assessing was only whether she was suited to become a Beyonder.
Closing the letter, Dorian found himself momentarily at a loss for words. It was obvious there was no need for any assessment! She wasn't merely suitable—she was very suitable.
Not only had she already been a Sequence 8 Trickmaster at a young age, she also knew several other Beyonders; on top of that, she had orchestrated an ambush, given him a solid thrashing, and captured him alive.
Paradoxically, Fors's actions temporarily dispelled Dorian's suspicions of her. Because she suspected he might be harmful to "Dorian," she had spent money to hire help to subdue him. From that angle, she truly did seem to possess the good character Lawrence had described.
"Sigh, Lawrence, Lawrence…you originally wanted her to become my disciple, but now…"
Dorian shook his head. "It's lunchtime. Let's go have a meal and talk as we eat."
"Alright, alright."
"Your friends…have them come along as well."
———
Deep in the jungle on Eshim Island, inside the Resistance's underground base.
For nearly an entire afternoon, Edward explained basic scientific knowledge to the more than three hundred members present. Most understood only in bits and pieces, but a few sharp ones could draw inferences and make connections.
"...Whether it's gunpowder, shells, bullets, firearms, or the Loen Navy's ironclads, their invention doesn't depart from these fundamental scientific principles.
"Of course, if you want to reach Loen's level, mastering just the basics is far from enough, so I'll leave behind a complete set of textbooks. If any of you are interested—or gifted—you can take them to study and research in depth.
"The Sea God's Church and the Resistance can't rely only on crude, primitive methods to oppose colonisation and invasion. If you do, you'll never amount to anything, and you'll never succeed."
Although teaching the Rorsted natives was to aid in digesting a potion, Edward genuinely hoped they would gain the power to resist injustice.
A member of the Resistance raised his hand. "Messenger, even if we can manufacture our own firearms and artillery, we're still powerless against Loen's Beyonders, aren't we?"
Edward smiled. "Oh? Because you can't manufacture them now, you won't have to face Beyonders?"
"As I said, you eat a meal one bite at a time. Learning this knowledge doesn't conflict with becoming a Beyonder. Alright, that's it for today's lesson—dismissed."
A few minutes later, the soldiers dispersed, leaving Scarface standing respectfully to the side.
"Thank you, Messenger."
Scarface bowed, hesitated a few seconds, and then asked, "Messenger, do you know what happened on Tiana Island two days ago?"
"The archbishop on Tiana Island colluded with the Numinous Episcopate and betrayed the Sea God. He was executed by the Sea God personally. That was also why all the Sea God statues across the Rorsted Archipelago shattered at the time."
Scarface flared with anger. "How dare they…"
"But the Sea God took the opportunity to be reborn, gaining power far beyond before, and understood the prior problems between the Sea God's Church and the Resistance. That's why there was last night's lecture—and my arrival."
Scarface knelt devoutly. "Praise the Sea God."
"Praise the Sea God," Edward responded, and then teleported away.
When he reappeared, he was back at the dilapidated house where Lilith and her four new friends lived. Likely exhausted from the day, the five little ones had squeezed into two beds pushed together and were sleeping soundly.
Phoenix flitted out from somewhere. "She had a pretty good day today."
"Thanks for your hard work."
It cast a deliberately casual glance at the Resurrection Stone ring on Edward's finger.
"Don't rush. It'll be yours sooner or later, but for now…I may still need it."
Phoenix blurted, "I—I wasn't rushing! I just happened to look."
The way it said one thing and meant another was, in its own way, rather cute.
Compared to when it had only ever been sharp-tongued and prickly, Phoenix had clearly changed a lot. Whether that change was good or bad, though, was hard to say.
Watching it, Edward suddenly asked, "Phoenix, have you remembered anything you forgot from the past?"
It paused, then shook its head. "No. Wait—I don't seem to have a past. There's nothing to forget, and nothing to remember."
"Really?"
"Really!"
Her eyes were clear and guileless, as if she truly had nothing to hide.
"Thank you."
Edward's figure vanished. Phoenix hovered in place for a moment, then winged off into the darkness.
Taking advantage of the night, Edward returned to the deserted island, reclaimed the Sea God's Sceptre from Mr. Fool, then assumed his Obscurus guise to teach a new batch of Sea God's Church believers and Resistance members, while continuing ideological instruction for the leadership.
Compared to yesterday, this second round of remote lessons markedly improved his potion digestion.
At this rate, before he returned to the Harry Potter world, he would likely finish digesting the Wandering Mentor potion—meaning it was time to prepare for promotion to Sequence 4.
What he still lacked was the Beyonder characteristic of an Undying. For the former matter, he only needed to wait for Alger to take him to the Primitive Island. For the latter—if nothing turned up—he would have to head into the Spirit World and seize one himself.
Just then, Edward's spirituality stirred: a prayer was coming through the Sea God's Sceptre. Unlike the unconscious praise from the Rorsted Archipelago natives, this one clearly sought direct communication.
He extended his spirituality and touched that "star."
A bald man in a wheelchair came into view—Kalat, one of the Resistance's senior members who had received Edward's ideological schooling:
"Great God, the Naturism Sect, who previously cooperated with us, approached us again today and asked for help. Should we refuse?
"Your humble, devout followers await "Your" will."
Edward was taken aback. The Naturism Sect?
Wasn't that the church in the original story—the one controlled by the Mother Tree of Desire, that tried to use that admiral's mistress to have a child with Klein?
And they had even cooperated with the Sea God's Church?
Hmm. Perhaps not so surprising—both were fringe cults struggling under the Church of Storms' suppression. In fact, the Naturism Sect was so feeble that they didn't even qualify to be noticed by the Church of the Storm.
What did they want the Sea God's Church to help with?
Could it be related to that mistress from the original?
Either way, anything entangled with Outer Gods was bound to be trouble.
Best to use this opportunity to wipe them out.
He issued his oracle to the bald Karath: "My messenger will take full charge. Obey his orders."
"As You command, Great God."
Edward then sacrificed the Sea God's Sceptre back, resumed his human form, yawned, and stepped into the tent.
"Sleep, sleep~"
"Waaah!!"
The moment he entered, Lilith leapt out, flailing her "claws" and shouting.
"—!!!"
Edward had to admit: this time, she truly startled him.
Lilith beamed with pride. "Hee-hee—Miss Lilith scared you, didn't she?"
"Lilith, why did you come back?"
"I couldn't sleep there. I want to come back and sleep with Edward."
"And your little friends?"
"I'll go back in the morning."
She gazed up at him expectantly. "Edward, you didn't see me for a whole day and night. Did you miss Miss Lilith?"
"I did!"
Edward gently pinched her cheek. "Missed you to death!"
"Really?"
"Really."
"Hee-hee, I knew it! So I came back to keep you company~"
"Lilith is so sweet and thoughtful~"
"Yup! Su~per thoughtful!"
Lilith puffed up proudly. "So next time I go back, Miss Lilith is going to buy lo~ts and lots of gifts to bring along."
"Oh? For whom?"
"Mm…Audrey, Susie, and Priscilla, Bernadette, Klein…"
She counted them off on her fingers. "Hee-hee, I can't wait to see Priscilla's face when she sees what I look like now~ She'll definitely be shocked!"
Edward couldn't help recalling how, at the Tarot Club a few days ago, Priscilla had paid special attention to Lilith. He had no idea how those two little gremlins would stir things up when they met.
"But aren't you forgetting someone?"
"Who?"
Edward pointed to himself. "You remembered to buy gifts for everyone else—why not for me?"
"Hmph!"
Lilith tipped up her chin. "Miss Lilith staying by Edward's side is the best gift!"
"Hahahaha."
Edward laughed and ruffled her hair. "You're not wrong!"
"You messed up my hair…When I was a kitty, you'd always muss up my fur and I had to lick it for ages. Now you're messing up my hair again…"
"Alright, then I won't ruffle it anymore."
"That won't do either!"
The little one muttered, "You can do it gently—just don't mess it up…"
A few minutes later, the light in the tent went out. Father and daughter lay side by side, heads touching.
"Edward, I want to help Isabella and the others."
Edward smiled. As expected of a child—after a single day together, her feelings had deepened so quickly.
"Sure. Whatever you want to do, I'll support you."
"But…" She turned toward him, eyes gleaming in the dark. "Miss Lilith doesn't know how to help. Should I give them a sum of money?"
Edward considered. "That is the simplest and most direct way. In this world, money solves ninety-nine percent of problems. Of course, you could also find out what they truly need and help in a more targeted way."
The little one burrowed closer. "How do I figure that out?"
"That's up to you~ You can ask them directly, or you can keep living with them and see with your own eyes. Either way works."
"Mm…"
She bit her finger, sinking into thought.
Edward patted her head. "I've got some dull tasks the next few days, so Lilith can keep staying with them for now and learn to observe with her own eyes. How about that?"
"Okay~"
Something suddenly occurred to her. "Oh—Edward, how's your potion digestion going~?"
"The process is boring, but the results are decent. I should finish completely in a few days."
"Great~ Then will we head back to Backlund?"
"Most likely."
"Can we bring Isabella and the others with us?"
"We can—if they're willing."
Lilith said with confidence, "They'll definitely be willing. Isabella always says that when her father comes back, he'll take us to Backlund. Everyone really looks forward to it."
"Edward, thank you~"
"Why the sudden thanks?"
"Because…if not for you, Miss Lilith would be just like Isabella and the others—wandering everywhere, hungry and cold."
"That wouldn't happen!"
"Why not?"
"Because…Miss Lilith is the smartest cat in the world. Even without me, she'd still be amazing!"
"…"
Lilith blinked and whispered, "Not true~"
With Edward around, Miss Lilith was the smartest cat of all~
———
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