"Who are those kids?"
"Apparently, they're children Admiral Amyrius's secretary, Lueran, brought in from outside to catch rats. Oh, and the man following them—that's Lueran himself. He's one of the main people you'll need to deal with in the next few days."
"Hiring kids to catch rats? Isn't that a little ridiculous?"
"No choice. Until today, I'd never heard of anyone in Bayam who specialises in catching rats," Bilt said with a helpless smile. "Still, it seems they actually know what they're doing."
Tsk!
I just hope Edward isn't secretly scheming again…
When Klein looked over at Lilith, she also seemed to sense the gaze. She curiously turned her head but only caught a glimpse of two figures walking away.
"Huh, was that Klein? What's he doing here?"
Isabella, in the meantime, stuffed the rat into a net bag.
"Lilith, what are you looking at?"
"Nothing."
"Then let's head somewhere else."
"Alright~"
Lilith raised her hand and pointed. "Let's go that way!"
Elsewhere, after just two minutes of waiting, Klein was led into the study by Bilt.
Admiral Amyrius was seated behind a desk, writing. He wore a deep-blue naval admiral's uniform, exuding an aura of unquestionable authority.
At the sound of footsteps, he looked up, locking eyes on Klein. His gaze carried an indescribable weight and pressure. In a voice devoid of emotion, he said, "Gehrman Sparrow?"
Klein didn't react much, but Bilt was already sweating bullets. Before he could say anything, Gehrman's voice—calm and identical in tone—answered, "I am."
"No. You're not Gehrman Sparrow."
Bilt's pupils shrank. He turned to Klein in disbelief, cursing Elland in his heart. It was bad enough you told me to get Gehrman to impersonate the admiral…but you brought me a fake Gehrman?! I'm dead this time.
Klein, on the other hand, could feel an intense, almost confession-inducing pressure from the demigod before him. Still, he replied evenly, "I am."
The two men locked eyes for a silent moment before Amyrius gave a nod.
"Then you'll do."
Bilt: "???"
Amyrius then briefly explained what Klein would be doing over the next few days and had him sign a contract.
After they exchanged clothes, Klein had officially become Admiral Amyrius.
Meanwhile, Lilith and the other four children had circled the vast Governor's Mansion, their nets now bulging with rats—dense enough to make one's skin crawl.
If this had been before Lilith's promotion to Sequence 7, she would have been thrilled. But now…she felt nothing in particular.
"Shouldn't we check that room too?" she asked, pointing to a lavishly decorated house.
The blond secretary, Lueran, replied, "No need today. The lady inside was frightened last night and is still recovering."
"But…I'm sure there are rats nearby."
Lueran handed over a ten-pound banknote. "Your work is done. This is your payment."
Isabella happily took it. "Thanks!"
She tugged on Lilith's arm. "Come on, let's go home~"
"But…"
Lilith kept glancing back at the house. She had an odd feeling—like something was inside.
"Lilith, we've been catching rats for hours. Everyone's tired and hungry."
She looked at the others. Though they were all excited by the ten-pound reward, their exhaustion was still evident.
"…Fine."
The children were escorted out of the mansion by Lueran, who had been working all day and most of the night. Only then did the secretary finally make his way to the admiral's study to report in.
——
At that same moment, in the room belonging to Admiral Amyrius's mistress, a woman in a black dress sat quietly on the sofa. In her hand was a necklace with a pendant the size of a knuckle—entirely black, shaped like a miniature rhino horn.
She looked at the woman huddled in the corner of the bed and asked lightly, "Where did you get this necklace?"
"…It—it was from my mother. She said…if I wore it, the admiral would love me more…that I could bear his child."
"Heh."
The black-dressed woman—Krismona—smiled faintly.
"An item polluted by the Mother Tree of Desire will certainly help you conceive…Unfortunately, the result may not be quite what you're imagining."
"I'm taking this. As for tonight—you'll forget everything about seeing me."
The woman on the bed immediately fell into a deep sleep. Krismona tightened her grip on the pendant.
"Why did Judith tell me to check on Lilith? Did she already know something?"
"But why would the Mother Tree of Desire target Lilith? Is it after Edward? Or…is it just a coincidence?"
Coincidence…not a good word at all.
Krismona sighed and vanished.
———
[Backlund, at Dr. Aaron's residence]
Ever since both Edward and Klein had left Backlund, Will felt like his life had suddenly become easy and blissful.
No more worrying about those messy troubles—
Just lying around to rest every day, reading books, reading newspapers, and eating ice cream.
Pure happiness.
"Mmm~ I've been eating ice cream way too often lately. I'm getting tired of these flavours. Hmm, I'll send a message to Audrey later and have her tell her chef to come up with some new ones!"
He casually set aside the half-eaten bowl of ice cream and picked up a copy of the Backlund Morning Post.
"Hmm? This string of moves from George III lately…what's he trying to pull again?"
"Does he really think that by bringing out the Conqueror's Beyonder characteristic, he can get the full support of the Demoness Sect? Or is he just acting out of desperation?"
He rested his chin on one hand.
"Hm…that die…maybe it's time to take it back?"
As the thought crossed his mind, his little face suddenly scrunched into a frown. He turned his head toward the back.
"…Not at all happy to see you, Mr. Edward."
Edward, smiling with narrowed eyes, took off his hat and gave a small bow.
"I never got the chance to thank you for before, Will."
"Thank me? You still ended up letting that stupid snake drag you back to the Forsaken Land of the Gods, didn't you?"
"But I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten out of it safely without your help from behind the scenes."
"Tch!"
Will snorted in disdain.
And I still remember asking you—through that mirror—whether you'd accept your own child being 'born clever,' and you refused without a moment's hesitation!
Just thinking about it made him angry.
Me! A Sequence 1 angel! The Snake of Mercury with a fifty-percent chance of becoming a god—
I wanted to be your son, and you turned me down without blinking!
…Well, okay, it was through the mirror, and the question was roundabout.
"All right, just say what you came here for. I don't believe you came purely to thank me."
Edward's face grew serious.
"Adam said…I might run into certain events soon where I'll need the favour of fate."
"And of all the people I know, you're the only one connected to Fate."
Will pouted.
"What about that stupid snake Ouroboros?"
"…I'm not familiar with "Him". And besides, "He's" still stuck in the Forsaken Land of the Gods."
"And you're familiar with me?"
Edward replied without hesitation, "Very familiar!"
Shameless!
Will huffed. "Did "He" say how to grant this 'favour of fate'?"
"No. Aside from 'needing the favour of fate,' "He" didn't say anything else."
"Then I don't know how to help you either! What, do you expect me to follow you around twenty-four-seven, constantly giving you good luck?" Will pouted again.
"I told you before—even I can't endlessly overdraw good luck. If I could, I'd already have advanced to become Fate itself."
He scratched his head in frustration—then suddenly froze as an idea came to him.
"I've got it."
Will gave Edward a small smile.
"Go to Oravi and find Ricciardo. He'll give you something."
Edward had no impression of the name Ricciardo, but from his knowledge of the original events, he realised that whatever Will was talking about was almost certainly the die—the Fate Pathway's Uniqueness.
Still, he feigned ignorance and asked, "What is it?"
"You'll know when you get there."
"All right, then thanks in advance."
Will waved a hand.
"Have the Ice Cream Lady make me more new flavours."
Ice Cream Lady? Audrey?
"Definitely."
As Edward's figure vanished from sight, Will crossed his arms and huffed.
"As I thought—this brat only ever comes to me when he needs something!"
Then he chuckled.
"But that's fine too. Mutual use, after all~"
After leaving Dr. Aaron's house, Edward went to see Priscilla—or, more precisely, Medici.
When he arrived, Priscilla was standing atop a table, sleeves rolled up, directing members of the Aurora Order as they "tidied up" the house—under her command, a whole crowd clearly had no idea what they were doing. One moment they ran east, another moment they walked west. The place was a complete mess.
"Priscilla, what are you…doing?"
"Big brother Edward, you're here!"
She hopped lightly down from the table.
"Are you here to attend the first gathering I'm hosting?"
"Uh."
Edward then remembered that she had mentioned this at the Tarot Club.
He nodded. "That's right—and I also need to speak to Lord Medici about something."
"Tch. Lying to a kid—classy," came a scornful voice as Medici's figure surfaced, still that same unrestrained, cool, arrogant look.
Priscilla huffed, "Big brother Edward would never lie to me—unlike you, who can't speak a single word of truth!"
"Ha! You're trying my patience!"
"Lord Medici," Edward said in a low voice, "I have good news for you."
"Good news?" Medici sneered coldly. "Adam is dead?"
———
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