Roselle took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. After composing himself, he spoke again:
"Those are Bernadette's things. I have no right to decide."
"I left Bernadette so little in terms of family possessions, and you're coveting all of it? Isn't that a bit too much?"
Leyton shook his head, emphasizing that what he proposed was a transaction. "It's a transaction. You need a new Sealed Artifact, or some help when necessary. Moreover, I can restore that mask after extracting the Death Consul's Beyonder Characteristic."
Roselle no longer dwelled on the issue, saying casually, "You should discuss it with Bernadette. Things I've already given her are, of course, hers to dispose of."
"Understood." Leyton nodded slightly, then ended the topic.
His gaze swept across the surrounding mechanical devices, one by one, machine by machine. His right hand, wearing a mechanical glove, lifted into the air and pressed down a few times. Invisible ripples spread out, and all the surrounding objects spontaneously floated up.
The restraints and seals that had been around these items all failed. Brilliant golden sunlight instantly covered the surroundings, turning everything golden and completely engulfing the view.
The intense sunlight lasted for less than a second before quickly receding. The surrounding physical rules changed to some extent, becoming unsuitable for the diffusion and propagation of light.
"In a sense, I am also one of the most outstanding Artisans in this world."
After a self-congratulatory remark, Leyton caused the objects floating in the air to be covered in a colorless shimmer, decomposing little by little, then reassembling.
A hazy glow composed of countless illusory things quickly permeated the surroundings, drifting in mid-air, outlining three-dimensional, hard-to-see, hard-to-describe mysterious symbols, like a constantly weaving, layered spiderweb, confining and concealing the faint golden sunlight, letting it flow around according to a fixed trajectory.
The mechanical devices floating in mid-air dropped one after another, their indicator lights illuminating, emitting the humming sound of mechanical operation.
Looking at the operating machinery around him, Roselle suddenly clapped his hands and exclaimed,
"Clever! Laying energy transmission lines in the void! Except for some High-Sequence Beyonders and those from special Pathways, others wouldn't even notice this change. No need to worry about people digging up pipelines or stealing materials."
"However, how do you solve the corruption problem? Although the corruption in the air is thin, long-term accumulation would be fatal."
"Moreover, this is a bit too tempting for Beyonders of the Marauder Pathway. It's simply a gift of nature; they could just grab a handful of raw materials for a Sun domain spell rune from the air without even needing to pray for a bestowal."
"From now on, you should write a slogan in the city's propaganda: Amon and dogs are prohibited."
"Why dogs?" Glenn looked at Roselle, somewhat surprised.
"Uh, these are some very profound philosophical factors, no need to delve into them." Roselle seriously and casually brushed her off, then looked at Leyton and asked,
"Do you have a way to solve the corruption problem?"
Leyton slowly shook his head and said, "No."
He paused, then continued, "Wait a while longer. Once I have fully assimilated the Beyonder Characteristic within me, I will try a method of using corruption to counteract corruption."
"...You're a bit crazy. Are you really sure you can resolve the residual corruption from that Beyonder Characteristic?"
Roselle frowned, looking at Leyton. He was not a Psychiatrist, but he could sense Leyton's mental confusion, carrying a sense of heaviness, suppression, and madness.
Shaking his head with a sigh, he suddenly changed the subject:
"Do you know about the Specter Empire, one of the most famous treasures above the Five Seas? It is said to contain most of the Trunsoest family's legacy. Although that ship disappeared, there are still legends of it appearing in the Sonia Sea. Are you interested in exploring it?"
"You changed the subject a bit abruptly."
Leyton stated calmly, then stopped speaking, waiting for Roselle's subsequent words.
"I have some guesses. If nothing unexpected happens, nothing unexpected will happen."
After a brief silence, Leyton couldn't help but retort, "You also know how to speak in riddles, huh?"
Roselle raised his chin slightly, a little proud, and said, "I used to be a surfing master, okay? Alright, don't interrupt me."
Clearing his throat, Roselle organized his words and continued:
"Doesn't The Fool have the Black Emperor card? If we find another descendant of the Trunsoest family, or some items left behind by the Trunsoest Empire, and use the connections in mysticism, there's a high probability we can encounter that ghost ship."
"A Knowledge Emperor with keen insight and prophetic abilities, plus my Black Emperor's special Beyonder Pathway, this plan has a very high chance of success."
"Although your current state isn't great, you still possess the ability to imbue abstract knowledge with tangible power. I have the Beyonder Pathway, you have the power; combined, aren't we a true Black Emperor?"
"How about it, interested in cooperating?"
After a brief thought, Leyton slowly nodded and said,
"We can try, but descendants of St. Terenzo are hard to find."
Roselle seemed to have thought it through already, quickly responding,
"It doesn't matter. If we can't find descendants, we can use some items from them as substitutes. We can compensate by distorting some rules and concepts, although the effect will be slightly weaker."
"If only I had the Judgement card, but unfortunately, I don't know where that card ended up."
"The Sanguine collaborated deeply with the Trunsoest Empire in the Fourth Epoch. They should have a lot of things preserved. Aren't you quite familiar with that Moon Duke? Go check with him."
Leyton nodded faintly and said, "Understood."
After a brief exchange, he returned to the bedroom in the manor and contacted Klein through the aura of the Gray Fog, informing him of Roselle's idea to explore the Specter Empire.
Above the Gray Fog, Klein leaned back in The Fool's high-backed chair, deep in thought.
The Specter Empire, the most famous treasure above the Five Seas, it's hard not to be tempted.
It is said to be a ghost ship as large as a city. After the Trunsoest Empire collapsed, the nobles transferred all their treasures and wealth onto it, preparing to escape the Northern Continent, but then it mysteriously disappeared. None of the scheduled passengers and crew survived and reached the port.
Klein recalled all the information he knew about the Specter Empire, then he materialized a pen and paper and used the Gray Fog to perform a simple divination.
A moment later, he reopened his eyes, his body leaving the back of the chair, and he sighed softly:
"It failed, as expected. If such a ghost ship could be found through divination, it wouldn't have become a legendary treasure."
He exhaled a long breath, then transformed the information he had just discussed with Leyton into a ray of light, which fell into the deep red star representing Moon.
"Emlyn should be carrying out a task given by the Sanguine right now. I wonder if he has time to search for items from the Trunsoest Empire period, and they would need to be items belonging to the royal family at that time."
"Intis has already declared war on the independent government of the Southern Continent Paz River Valley. They still have the mind to search for treasure? Is this overconfidence, or do they simply not care about the Intis Military and the two great churches of the Eternal Blazing Sun and the God of Steam and Machinery?"
Klein sighed softly for a few moments. Not long after, he heard Emlyn's reply:
"Respected Mr. Fool, please help me tell The World and Tower that I will acquire a batch of items from the Trunsoest Empire among the Sanguine, but they will most likely only be ordinary items, and I cannot guarantee whether the purchased items belonged to the royal family at that time."
Klein leaned back in his chair, nodding slightly. After such a long time, unless it was a Mystical Item imbued with a Beyonder Characteristic, the spirituality within would have long been lost. Items imbued with Beyonder Characteristics are too costly. It's better to buy more ordinary antiques; perhaps with good luck, there might be a personal item belonging to a member of the royal family from that period.
Thinking of luck, Klein suddenly thought of a certain infant who controlled part of the authority of fate.
He then materialized the dummy, The World, and pretended to pray to himself:
"Respected Mr. Fool, please help me tell Mr. Moon not to act hastily. I will find a way to temporarily increase his luck, increasing the chances of success."
With that, Klein directly transformed this image into a ray of light and cast it into the deep red star representing Moon Emlyn.
Having done all this, he quickly left the Gray Fog.
On the north bank of the Paz River Valley, in the bedroom on the second floor of the suburban manor, Bugs Bunny placed a pile of red and green fruits next to Leyton, then skillfully jumped onto Leyton's lap, lying down leisurely, gazing at the Round Moon outside the window.
Leyton placed one hand on Bugs Bunny's ear, gently squeezed it twice, and asked in a low voice,
"Aren't you afraid of my appearance?"
Bugs Bunny shook his head, put his hands on his hips, and said with an air of self-importance,
"As a Biologist, I can see the true nature within living beings through their surface. Everyone is just a pile of moving flesh and blood, only appearing different because they are stained with different desires."
Leyton's movements paused, his eyes deepened, and he looked down at Bugs Bunny lying on his feet, asking with a frown,
"Where did you hear that theory?"
"From the village shamans around here. Many of them believe in such theories, and I think they make a lot of sense."
Bugs Bunny replied casually, completely unaware.
This place really needs some Purification in the spiritual domain, to bury those inappropriate ideas... As thoughts flickered, Leyton continued to pinch Bugs Bunny's ear, admonishing in a low voice,
"Don't learn from those village shamans in the future. They are all potential believers of the Mother Tree of Desire."