Dubois suddenly remembered something.
"Ah, right—Mr. Sparrow, you promised me the latest style suit, didn't you?"
"First of all, I never promised you anything."
Edward gave him a flat look. "Secondly, aren't all those antiques in the basement enough for you to buy a dozen suits?"
"Uh, didn't you say those were my wages?" Dubois coughed lightly, then muttered, "Besides, I was planning on giving a few of those pieces away as gifts…to help you find someone who knows Roselle…"
Edward's brows lifted slightly. He waved dismissively.
"There are 2,000 Felkin on the dining table. That'll be your activity funds for now. If you run out, come to me for more."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and went back upstairs, striding into his bedroom. There, he activated his Secrets Sorcerer abilities to shift the room into an isolated space. Only then did he pull from his leather pouch a small, silver-white cross.
It glimmered faintly.
The Russian priest had once told him: this cross was proof of membership in the "Twilight Hermit Order." Whenever a gathering was called, it could project one's spirit into the Corpse Cathedral to attend.
So now that it was glowing faintly—did that mean a gathering was about to begin?
To confirm, all he had to do was inject spirituality into the cross. But Edward wasn't sure he was ready to face the priest of this era.
Would the Russian Priest see through him—that he came from the future?
If not, then how would He interpret the appearance of this cross in Edward's hand? After all, He hadn't given it out yet—so how could someone suddenly arrive holding it?
And on another level—when the priest in the future had handed him this cross, was it simply a "final gift" before death…or had He been fulfilling a closed loop all along? Had the two of them already met in the past?
Edward frowned in deep thought for a long while before finally making a decision.
First, he sacrificed the cross to the Sefirah Castle. Then, taking four steps in reverse, he ascended into that sacred realm and seated himself on his bronze throne.
"Heh. If I inject spirituality into the cross while inside the Castle, what would happen?"
No matter how exalted Adam's status once was, right now He was still just a Sequence 1. With the Castle here, Edward refused to believe Adam could touch him.
Spirituality poured into the cross like a rushing river. Its glow flared white-hot, dazzling silver light radiating outward. At the same time, Edward felt his spirit being tugged, drawn toward the cross.
But that pull was instantly severed by the grey fog's might.
The cross floated in midair, its brilliance dimming into a hazy vision. Within the light appeared a dim cathedral lined with corpses. Shadowy figures stood in two rows along its length, their features obscured.
"Holy crap…did I just open up a surveillance feed of the Twilight Hermit Order's meeting?"
But—he couldn't hear anything. Faces were blurred. As surveillance went, this was pretty useless.
After hesitating a moment, Edward stretched out a hand, letting his spirituality seep toward the "screen." The pull returned again—yet this time Sefirah Castle didn't immediately block it.
And in that same instant, feedback from his spirituality told him: under these conditions, joining the Twilight Hermit gathering was very safe.
"In that case…let's go."
He poured more power into the cross. His vision blurred and dimmed—and in the next breath, he was standing inside the eerie yet sacred Corpse Cathedral, at the far end of the left-hand row.
Edward's eyes swept quickly around. Counting himself, there were only nine people in the vast cathedral—including the Russian priest beneath the massive crucifix.
"So few members?"
No…only the core members could stand here. Just like in the original timeline—the blonde secretary who helped Desire Apostle kill Duke Negan was indeed a member of the Hermit Order, but clearly not of high enough rank to meet the priest directly.
Of course, Edward didn't care about the other old-timers in this "sunset retirement club." The only one who mattered was the Russian priest. How would He view this "unexpected" newcomer?
Yet, the priest's golden eyes merely rested on Edward for a second or two before sliding away. As if neither surprised nor bothered by his presence.
Was it an act? Or did He truly not care?
A long, heavy silence followed.
Then, the Russian priest's golden gaze softened as He addressed the gathering.
"This time, as before, I have no new instructions. The proceedings will be hosted by Hermes."
With that, Adam's form faded away.
"…That's it? One sentence and He's gone?"
In that instant, Edward could clearly feel the tension drain from everyone around him. His own gaze darted across the gathered members, trying to spot Hermes—the one who had once been Adam's most loyal servant, only to eventually betray Him.
A playful voice suddenly rang out:
"Well, well! Looks like we've got ourselves a new face here. So—where are you from? What's your name? What pathway? What Sequence? Care to report and let us see what you're made of?"
The one who had spoken was a burly man sitting opposite Edward. His tone carried a trace of mockery—straight away, he sounded every bit the classic old Hunter.
To all his rapid-fire questions, Edward simply remained silent.
"Pfft! Why are you all like this? Isn't there anyone else as frank and open as me?"
The supposed Hunter snorted with disdain, then after a few seconds pressed again, "Alright then—how did you join the Twilight Hermit Order? Were you invited? Or did you solve the 'Riddle of the Trend' and get your hands on a cross?"
…Eh?
A riddle of the Trend?
Edward's thoughts stirred. So there were two paths into the Order: one, by invitation from an existing member—like Emperor Roselle. The other, by solving this so-called riddle of the era's trend and thereby gaining the cross.
If that's the case…it made sense why the Russian priest hadn't cared about his sudden appearance at all.
With that in mind, Edward deliberately lowered his voice and said, "Take a guess."
The Hunter raised a middle finger.
"…Guess whether I'll guess or not, you bastard."
So the Twilight Hermit Order was even looser than he'd imagined. At least in the Tarot Club, no one would dare act so brashly—even when Mr. Fool wasn't present.
"Alright, alright, Hunter, don't tease our new member too much."
This time, a curvaceous woman spoke, her voice naturally laced with allure. "I think once he's more familiar with us, he'll share freely. Isn't that right?"
…A Witch?
From the Demoness Sect, perhaps?
Edward met her gaze calmly, and again chose silence.
"Hahahaha! See, you're no better than me, Witch. He's not falling for your tricks either. Tell you what—try them on me instead. Who knows? Maybe I'll bare all to you."
"Hmph!"
Just then, the man in the first seat on the left spoke. His voice was old and steady.
"Since you joined us through solving the riddle of the tide, I won't repeat our creed. Normally, our gatherings are held once a month. The purpose is to push forward the tide of the era—and to await the revival of the Ancient Sun God."
"As a core member, each of you has one chance a year to view the Blasphemy Slate. What you see, and how much you can remember, depends on your own ability."
"Beyond that, you may think of this as a kind of Beyonder gathering."
He added, "Now, you may choose a codename for convenience. It can be anything—no restrictions. Some go by pathway names, like 'Hunter' or 'Witch.' Others by nations or cities, like 'Intis' or 'Backlund.' Some even use ancient names. For example—mine is Hermes."
…So you are Hermes.
Edward muttered inwardly. After a moment of thought, he said, "I'm the eighth one here today, so…I'll go with 'Number Eight.'"
He had no intention of picking any alias that could tie back to himself. Something random and meaningless was the safest choice.
The Hunter burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Knew it—no one normal ever joins this gathering. 'Number Eight'? What kind of codename is that?" He then leaned forward, smirking.
"But you made a mistake there, Eight. Who told you that just because there are eight people present, you're the eighth member? In fact, Hermit Order members don't need to attend every meeting. Everyone's busy. Unless the leader commands it, attendance is completely voluntary."
No wonder…so that explained why the gathering looked so sparse.
Edward shrugged. "Fine then. But is anyone else already using 'Number Eight'?"
"Not that I know of."
"Then I'll keep it. After all, it's just a codename."
"Mr. Hermes."
The man in the second seat on the right looked toward the elder. "Recently, Roselle Gustav applied to join the army as an officer. Do we need to intervene?"
"No."
Hermes shook his head. "Merely keep him under close watch. No interference is needed."
"Understood."
The Hunter crossed his arms, grumbling, "Mr. Hermes, I've always wondered…he's just a minor noble with some knack for inventions. Why all this attention?"
Hermes smiled faintly.
"The leader said…he is the choice made by the tide of the era."
Edward silently ate his metaphorical melon on the sidelines, very much like Fors during Tarot Club meetings. As expected—Roselle had already come under the Order's gaze. Or rather…under the Russian priest's eye.
How much of Roselle's path forward had been orchestrated in advance?
"…Again with this 'tide of the era.'" The Hunter curled his lip. "Well then, since I'm looking to advance to Sequence 3, can the tide of the era do me a favour—say, drop me a War Bishop characteristic?"
The Witch giggled. "Oh, but I do have a lead on a 'Demoness of Unaging' characteristic. If you'd like to switch pathways, Hunter, I could help you~."
"Free of charge? If it's free, I don't mind knowing."
"Of course not. Equivalent exchange—something of equal value, either item or information."
"Forget it then." The Hunter waved her off, then glanced around.
"I've got the Iron Cross idiots tailing me lately. Anyone interested? If we wipe them out, we can split the loot fifty-fifty."
The Witch laughed. "Don't tell me one of your pursuers is actually a War Bishop?"
"Ha! That's exactly the case."
At that moment, Hermes interjected.
"The two of you can discuss your business after we're done here. For now—I have a commission."
Both Witch and Hunter shut their mouths immediately, looking to him.
Hermes continued, "You all know I've long been searching for an ancient Mind Dragon. For ages, there was no trace at all. But recently, in the sea of collective subconscious, I suddenly sensed its presence. It was only for a fleeting instant—but I am certain it was real."
———
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