"!!!"
So it was the die they were after!
"It's not with us."
Edward raised an eyebrow, not surprised in the least. "Of course. If you'd been carrying it on you, it would've already fallen into that admiral's hands by now."
As he spoke, he cast a glance at the chubby apothecary.
In the original timeline, the die should have been entrusted to Roy King, who later, with Klein's help, delivered it to Oravi Island. But this time, both master and disciple had been captured together by the governor's office.
Yet Edward had checked carefully: when they were caught, they hadn't been carrying the dice. So where had it gone?
Wait.
Didn't the chubby apothecary raise an owl around this time, to help him play the role of a beast tamer? But when Edward had rescued them just now, there was no sign of any owl.
Was that because Edward's intervention had disrupted events, so the apothecary never raised one?
Or…had they sent the owl away with the die?
Before long, the group arrived about six or seven meters from the stone bridge's archway.
The chubby apothecary, still dazed and sluggish, was about to follow his teacher onward when his foot slipped for no reason. With a loud "thud," he landed squarely on his backside, the impact forcing a yelp from him before he hastily covered his mouth, his chubby cheeks trembling from the pain.
"Don't come any closer."
A raspy voice drifted from within the archway.
"Teacher!" Roy King's taut nerves finally eased. So this young man really had been sent by his teacher to rescue them?
"Who did you give the item to?"
Ricciardo's voice was hoarse, heavy. "I can sense that not long ago, you were entangled by misfortune."
"Yes…yes."
Roy King's expression dimmed as he recalled the children who had suffered because of him, losing their shelter and protection. "Before we were caught, we had Darkwill's pet owl carry it away. That was the only option left to us. We don't know where it flew off to with the item…"
So it was the owl that had taken it.
But how long had it been? If, during that time, the dice had rolled a 2…or worse, a 1, then that poor creature was probably already dead.
"Councillor Ricciardo," Edward spoke up, "please bless me with some good fortune. I'll go look for that owl immediately…I just hope it's still alive."
After ten seconds or so of silence, Ricciardo finally sighed. "You're lucky enough."
So his injuries really were severe—casting even a simple blessing of luck left him drained.
Edward was about to teleport away when he hesitated and asked, "Councillor Ricciardo, may I know who hurt you this badly?"
"Of course." A series of coughs came from the arch. "It was Zatwen and Shanks from the Rose School of Thought, who ambushed me together."
"For the die?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Edward frowned. "Why would the Rose School want it?"
Rejord let out a long sigh. "Because of the enmity between the Mother Tree of Desire and the Primordial Moon, the Rose School of Thought has always been hostile toward us of the Life School of Thought. They don't necessarily need it themselves, but they certainly don't want us to have it."
Edward suddenly remembered—the Life School of Thought had always worshipped the Primordial Moon. But wasn't the Primordial Moon currently occupied by the Mother Goddess of Depravity?
So…in a sense, didn't that make the Life School of Thought a cult of an Outer God as well?
How was Will, the Snake of Mercury, managing all this? Or…perhaps he didn't even know that the Primordial Moon had long since become an Outer God?
"By the way." Rejord's voice came again, hoarse but firm. "This time, the Rose School's attack on me seemed only incidental. They likely have other plans."
"Why tell me this?"
"Beyonders of the Monster pathway often possess a certain foresight—a special sense for the future, glimpses of what others cannot see. In you, I saw a strong connection to the Rose School of Thought."
His voice grew grave. "That connection…is dangerous."
———
Bayam, Governor's Mansion.
Klein's trip to the dungeon naturally yielded nothing—by the time he arrived, the prisoners had already been rescued.
Soon after, the Beyonder staff of the Governor's Mansion pieced together what had happened through divination: a man with deep-toned skin had suddenly appeared in Roy King's cell and whisked them away.
The whole process had lasted only a few seconds.
"Admiral, the one who rescued the prisoners was a servant of the mansion," reported the diviner quickly, "but to be precise, someone disguised themselves as that servant."
"A Faceless?" Klein asked lightly.
"But the intruder also seemed to be a Traveler. Of course, it's also possible the rescuer was wielding sealed artifacts of either a Faceless or Traveler…"
Hmm.
A Traveler who could change appearances…that description sounded suspiciously like Edward.
"…I see."
Klein cut him off with a dismissive wave. "Any other leads?"
"…None for now."
Klein turned and left the dungeon. Secretary Lueran hurried after him, lowering his voice.
"Admiral, I've already dispatched men to search."
"Heh. If you were that teleporter who freed them, would you still linger in Bayam?"
Luan dropped his gaze. "…No."
"And the owl?"
"…Still searching."
Klein's brow furrowed.
"If that owl has also fallen into the rescuer's hands, then this matter will be beyond saving."
"I understand…"
"Go."
Just then, two girls dressed as maids came rushing over in a panic.
"A–Admiral!"
Lueran quickly stepped in front of Klein, scolding them:
"What is it that makes you lose all composure?"
"M–Miss Cynthia…she's gone!"
"What?"
Both maids dropped to their knees.
"We only just discovered she wasn't in her room. We searched everywhere but couldn't find her…She—she must have left the Governor's Mansion."
Lueran's face turned ashen. As Admiral Amyrius' secretary, he oversaw nearly everything in the mansion. And now, in just a short while, disaster after disaster had struck. Even if none of it was directly his fault, it would not stop the Admiral from thinking him incompetent.
Klein also felt his scalp go numb. Weren't things supposed to be simple? Just act as Amyrius, deal with routine affairs, and create the illusion that the Admiral never left the mansion.
And yet not even a single day had passed, and already mishaps piled up, one after another—and all of them tied directly to Amyrius. He couldn't avoid them, even if he wanted to.
Casting a cold, wordless glance at those present, Klein strode toward the chamber where Amyrius' mistress lived. Lueran and the two maids hurried after him.
Soon, they arrived at a small but lavishly ornate cottage. Through the windows, Klein could see a cosy, carefully decorated interior—clearly designed to mimic the warmth of a "home."
Klein pushed open the door and stepped inside. He immediately remembered: Amyrius himself couldn't divine. To track someone by personal belongings, they would need one of the Governor's Mansion's diviners.
He went straight to the washroom, picked up a white toothbrush from the vanity, and turned, ready to instruct Lueran. But then he realised—neither Lueran nor the maids had followed him inside.
Avoiding suspicion?
No…From Amyrius' notes, neither he nor Lueran were the kind of person to scruple over such things. Otherwise, Amyrius would never have needed someone else to impersonate him. After all, Klein wouldn't really sleep with his mistress, but a few hugs or kisses were supposed to be unavoidable.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a woman suddenly stepped out from the bedroom.
She was tall and well-proportioned, wearing the garb of a Rorsted native. Her long, dark-brown hair framed a pair of striking blue eyes. Her face wasn't dazzlingly beautiful, but carried a certain sharp, heroic charm.
She was clearly not Amyrius' mistress.
Klein felt she looked…familiar.
But he couldn't immediately place her.
Muscles taut, he readied himself to act at the slightest sign.
"Heh."
The woman only smiled faintly, and spoke a sentence Klein could not understand—yet the words made his heart seize with a chill:
"You…are the new Lord of the Mysteries?"
———
Lilith's call for help had received no response. She realised something had gone wrong, but all she could do now was rely on the Moonlight Flash ability granted by Lilith's Leg Ring, blinking as far from that monster as possible.
But then, the monster simply…vanished.
"Where did it go?!"
The next second, the ground beneath her trembled violently. With a crackling burst, the enormous beastly form of that woman erupted from underground. Branches exploded outward like fireworks, each one sprouting tooth-filled blossoms that lunged to devour her.
Lilith tried to blink away, but suddenly her body seized up midair—unable to move.
Snap!
One of the monstrous flowers swallowed her whole.
Pop!
But what it swallowed shrank rapidly into a wand, while Lilith herself reappeared several meters away.
The monster's assault didn't stop. Its branches stretched out like an all-encompassing net, sweeping toward her.
"Give me back…the necklace!!"
Then, a scream tore from its throat. The vast net of branches withered away in an instant.
Lilith seized the chance, blinking once more—reappearing ten meters away. Looking back, she saw black fire crawling over the monster's form—branches, blossoms, even its body—everything shrivelling and charring under the flames.
"Huh?"
For a moment, she thought Edward had arrived to save her. But the flames were the wrong color. This wasn't his—it was unmistakably the Black Flame of the Witch pathway!
Yet scanning her surroundings, she saw no one.
"Aaaghhh!!!"
The "tree-monster" shrieked in agony as the black fire engulfed it fully. Its massive body toppled with a crash, lifeless.
"Dead?"
Lilith stared wide-eyed, bewildered.
Mr. Harry the owl screeched, "Don't stand there—run!!"
At that same moment, Phoenix felt the strange gaze that had frozen it in place vanish. Freed, it immediately took off in pursuit of Lilith and her group.
The once-chaotic street suddenly fell silent—
—or at least, seemed to.
Not far away, Krismona gazed quietly at another woman. She had flowing black hair, skin pale as snow, and a beauty both exquisite and chilling.
"Judith," Krismona said coldly, "what exactly are you planning?"
Yes—the one who had locked Phoenix in place with a glance was none other than Krismona's twin sister: Judith.
"Why, saving you, of course."
Judith stepped forward with a soft smile.
"Saving me?" Krismona's brows furrowed. "By attacking someone important to me?"
"No, no, no! That had nothing to do with me—that was all the Rose School's handiwork. I was just here to watch…and to help you."
"And how do you intend to help me?"
"By keeping you from getting involved in what's about to happen."
Krismona's pupils contracted, her figure vanishing instantly.
But in the next heartbeat, she reappeared, only to find two other enchanting women materialised around her.
"Blue...Yellow…" Her expression turned ice-cold. "Then why did you tell me to go to the Governor's Mansion?"
"I never told you to go," Judith said sweetly. "I only told you what that child would encounter there. The decision to go was yours."
"…Why?"
"I don't know either. Mother told me to say it. She said…she wanted to confirm a theory."
Judith stepped closer, her voice soft and tender, "Sister…Just wait here, and watch tonight's play unfold."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.