"…"
Edward was momentarily silenced by him, unable to tell if he was just speaking offhand or if he truly knew in advance.
"…What's with that look on your face, kid?"
Medici raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me—Adam really is dead?"
"He claims he's dead."
"'Claims'? If you're dead, you're dead. What's there to 'claim' about it?"
"It's like this…"
Edward recounted his encounter with Adam on the Primitive Island to Medici—of course, omitting anything about the "fusion." After all, Medici still did not know that the Adam who had tricked him and stewed him with two others in one pot was, in fact, the very Lord he had once worshipped and followed.
Telling him about Adam's death was simply a way to see if Medici could reveal anything more about Adam's plans.
"What's your take on this?"
"Hahahahaha—my take?" Medici burst into loud laughter. "My take is—he died way too late!"
After a pause, the smile vanished from his face. "But…I still don't buy it. He's been plotting for so many years—there's no way he'd die so easily! Either he's messing with you, or there's some deeper scheme behind it."
"What if we assume for now that Adam really is dead?"
"No idea."
Medici shook his head. "How could I possibly understand what's going on in the mind of a madman?"
"Have you ever heard of Adam once collaborating with the Lord? Possibly involving Mr. Door as well?"
"How could they ever collaborate?"
Edward felt a twinge of disappointment. So Medici knew nothing about Adam's or the True Creator's real plans either. Well…no wonder he had been so easily thrown into the hotpot.
Thinking about it that way, this guy…was actually pretty pitiful.
The master he had been loyal to didn't seem to trust him much at all.
"…"
A vein twitched on Medici's forehead as he glared at Edward. "What's with that look?"
"Nothing. My thanks, Lord Medici."
Edward then turned to Priscilla. "Priscilla, when's your gathering?"
Her face lit up. "In two days! I've already had the invitations sent out the usual way! You'll come, right, Big brother Edward?"
"I will!"
"Great!"
"Then I'll be off for now. See you tomorrow, Priscilla—and you as well, Lord Medici."
Edward was about to teleport away when—
"Hey, kid!" Medici suddenly called out. "You seem pretty certain Adam's dead. Why?"
"…I can't tell you yet."
"You—!!!"
"Fine! Then tell me where the last Conqueror characteristic is, and the Red Priest's uniqueness."
Edward thought for a moment. "And what will you trade me for it?"
Medici stared at him expressionlessly. "I'll promise to help you with one thing. Anything. Even if it means going against a god."
"…I feel like you're bluffing."
Medici didn't answer, only continued watching him silently.
"The last Conqueror characteristic should be somewhere beneath Trier. You can try to get it yourself."
After a moment, Edward added, "As for the uniqueness, my guess is that it's the Sealed Artifact 0-01, currently in the hands of the orthodox Churches. If you've got the guts, you can try to get it yourself."
"Underground Trier…and Sealed Artifact 0-01?"
Medici muttered to himself. On his own, it would be nearly impossible to obtain either of those things.
Then again, the others competing for them would find it just as hard.
"War is drawing closer and closer. Behind this battlefield… could there be another figure besides Adam? Could she also be trying to use this war to ascend to Red Priest? Should I…fight her for it?"
———
Edward later stopped by Audrey's place again, telling her about his recent experiences, and in turn hearing about her trip to Pritz Harbour to help Fors a few days earlier.
After listening, Edward covered his face, speechless. "What a mess…and then?"
At this rate, Fors probably had zero chance of ever joining the Abraham family. She hadn't even formally apprenticed yet, and she'd already beaten up her prospective teacher, tied him up, and threatened him with a blade.
Unbelievable.
"Then we had a meal together," Audrey said, still laughing. "But you can imagine the atmosphere at the table. Fortunately, after the meal, Fors and Mr. Dorian still exchanged contact information. After this…well, maybe they'll stay in touch occasionally."
Audrey suddenly asked with curiosity, "In the 'future' you saw, did Miss Fors act like this too?"
"No…their first meeting should have been fairly pleasant. After a period of contact, Dorian ended up taking Fors in as his student."
Audrey covered her mouth in surprise.
"So…Fors beat up her future teacher?"
"With a stunt like that, the two of them might not end up as teacher and student at all."
"Ah, that would be such a huge loss for Miss Fors."
Exactly. With Dorian as a teacher and the Abraham family as her backing, Fors's path to becoming an angel would have been practically guaranteed. Now…not so much.
"Oh, right."
Audrey remembered something.
"That Saint of Secrets you hunted, Botis—wasn't he said to be a traitor to the Abraham family? You mentioned before that with his head, maybe you could trade for something from them."
"It's not just Botis's head. More valuable is that Sealed Artifact, the Box of the Great Old Ones." Edward replied. "But after what the Abraham family has been through all these years, they're like startled birds. If I showed up with both of those things, it'd only make them more suspicious…"
In the original timeline, Dorian was almost scared off by Fors. At the time, he already trusted her a great deal, so after some inner struggle, he preemptively took poison—betting his own life on her.
From a reader's point of view, maybe that seemed unnecessary. But many times, the reason you can't understand someone is simply because you've never lived through what they have, and can't truly empathize.
"Wait a second…" Edward suddenly froze.
"Laurence once said that if I found the reason for Christine's resurrection, she'd take me to a friend of hers to get the follow-up Apprentice potion formula. Could that friend…be Dorian?"
If that was the case, then Dorian should have already heard about him, and maybe wouldn't be as wary.
Hmm…he could have Fors subtly sound things out first.
Audrey suddenly asked, "By the way, how did you bring yourself to let Lilith go 'adventuring' alone this time? In my mind, you've always been the type to overprotect your loved ones under the excuse of 'it's for your own good'!"
"Uh…"
Edward looked a little embarrassed.
"Actually, I've had Phoenix with her the whole time."
"That still counts as progress~"
"You make it sound like I'm some stubborn, old-fashioned patriarch."
Audrey narrowed her eyes.
"Am I wrong?"
"Ahem! At the last Tarot Meeting, you mentioned meeting the Psychology Alchemists again afterwards?" Edward quickly changed the subject.
"That's right." Audrey nodded, her expression a bit hesitant.
"That Miss Althea…she's strange. She seems to have taken me as her assistant. In rebuilding the Backlund branch of the Psychology Alchemists, aside from giving a broad direction, she's handed over all the actual work to me."
Edward was surprised.
"So…you're the de facto leader of the Backlund branch now?"
"Leader? Including me and Althea, the Backlund branch only has three and a half members—the 'half' being Glaint, who's still in a probationary period…"
"I really can't tell what exactly she's up to."
Edward thought for a moment.
"Could it be…that she's just slacking off?"
"…Impossible, right? She's a Sequence 4 Spectator pathway demigod, sent here by her superiors with an important task!"
Edward said, "From what I know, besides the president, the Psychology Alchemists has seven council members. Each has a codename: Pride, Wrath, Envy, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust. If nothing unexpected, the Althea you mentioned is the one with the codename 'Sloth'."
"Of course, codenames don't always match a person's actual personality…but sometimes, they do."
Audrey suddenly realised, "So you're saying this 'Sloth' might really just be habitually lazy? That does match my impression of her so far."
"Just treat it as a reference. But as I've said before—when dealing with members of the Psychology Alchemists, always be careful."
"Understood!"
In truth, most of the time, the Psychology Alchemists was more of a loose scholarly organisation, with individual members' actions usually representing only themselves. But since Adam stood behind it, it was impossible for it to be free of "His" influence.
Now that Adam was "dead," what changes would the Psychology Alchemists undergo?
Could 'Sloth's current behaviour be related to Adam's "death"?
At that moment, Edward noticed Audrey smiling at him in a dazed sort of way. He lightly tapped her forehead.
"What are you grinning about?"
Audrey counted on her fingers.
"I just realised that almost all the treasures Mr. Fool currently holds—the Black Emperor card, the Red Priest card, the Sea God's Sceptre, and most recently, the Tyrant card—were either offered by you or related to you. You're amazing!"
Edward coughed.
"…I just used my knowledge of the future to get a head start on a few things, that's all."
"But in the end, it's true that you've been the biggest help in restoring Mr. Fool's strength. When "He" fully recovers one day and saves the world, you'll be the number one hero!"
Her words inevitably brought back to Edward's mind what Adam had said before "dying"—that "He" had chosen death in order to fight against the apocalypse.
But why?
What had changed…in the "apocalypse"?
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.