"The Evernight Goddess's charm… You're a Nighthawk from the Goddess Church?"
The young girl, as expected, was knowledgeable. After seeing Caesar's charm, she immediately guessed his identity. "But I don't think I've seen you locally. Are you from another city?"
"That's right, I'm passing through on a business trip."
Caesar nodded. "Are you from the Steam Church, sent to supervise the market?"
"Mm."
The young girl scratched her messy hair without much care, her clothes stained with oil. She was very cute, but it was clear her mind wasn't on her appearance at all. "I'm with the Machinery Hivemind. Just call me Gereira."
"Alright, Gereira. So, what do you need someone skilled in rituals for?"
Caesar didn't give his name. Instead, he changed the subject to ask about her needs.
"Oh, you're asking about that."
When this was brought up, the young girl suddenly became lively. "It's like this: I suddenly had an idea. I want to try solidifying ritual magic into an item! You see, normally, using ritual magic requires preparing an altar and chanting incantations, which is troublesome and slow. If the ritual could be directly solidified into an item, wouldn't it be more convenient to use? That way, it could even be effective in combat!"
Solidifying a ritual?
A very bold idea. Indeed, many ritual effects were extremely powerful, but the preliminary preparations were cumbersome and inconvenient, making them difficult to use in actual combat.
A series of ritual names quickly flashed through Caesar's mind.
"A very interesting idea. But how do you plan to achieve it?"
Caesar asked.
Ritual magic required borrowing the power of deities or high-level existences. If the ritual was simplified, would the other party still agree?
Hearing him say that, Gereira's smile immediately froze. She sat back down a little embarrassed and said, "Well, I'm still researching that. So I wanted to see the process of ritual magic first, and then design the item. But Mr. Ness from the team has always been very busy and has to go out to help today, so I thought I'd try my luck in the market."
So that's how it is.
Caesar nodded. "I am skilled in many ritual magic spells, completely meeting your needs."
Who cared if it could be achieved or not? As long as he showed her a demonstration and got that diary, it would be fine.
"Oh, you're also a Mystery Pryer?"
"Something like that. I'm a Secrets Suppliant."
"???"
Gereira's eyes widened in astonishment.
Seeing her reaction, Caesar initially thought his words had scared her. But to his surprise, after a moment of being stunned, she became excited, her eyes shining as she rushed up to Caesar. "Really? Then can I see some rare rituals? By the way, this is my first time seeing a Secrets Suppliant! How were you accepted by the Evernight Goddess Church?"
Caesar took some time to shake off Gereira's persistence. Since she had to stay at the market today and couldn't leave on her own, the two agreed to meet the next day at the hotel where they were staying to discuss the transaction.
As for the payment, Caesar naturally mentioned those pages of Roselle's diary. Gereira also added a hundred pounds as payment, but she refused Caesar's request to take a look at the diary first, having noticed that Caesar seemed very interested in those two manuscripts.
The young girl seemed carefree, but she was actually very sharp and not easy to fool. Caesar was helpless and had to leave first. He still had to go watch the performance Edward had invited him to tonight, and he couldn't miss it.
———
Caesar returned to the hotel and met with Leonard and Klein. It was already almost evening. They enjoyed a local specialty—grilled fish—at a nearby restaurant, then arrived on time in front of Chanis Gate beneath the Fishing Club.
The Monster that had once been a crew member was still in the same state, imprisoned in a large birdcage, incessantly muttering curses. The Nighthawks guarding it, however, had changed to two different people.
Edward, along with Ms. Daly and the other Enmat Harbor Nighthawks, was already waiting for them below. In addition, there was a middle-aged man in a classical black robe beside him.
This must be that Sequence 7 Mystery Pryer.
Seeing that classical robe, Caesar instinctively closed his eyes. Then he slowly opened them slightly, cautiously scrutinizing the other party.
Fortunately, there were no strange eyes floating above this Mystery Pryer's head.
He had already learned his lesson from Old Neil.
"This is Mr. Ness Brown from the Steam Church, a Sequence 7 'Warlock' of the Mystery Pryer Pathway. He will be providing us with assistance tonight."
Seeing Caesar and the others arrive, Edward gave a slight nod as a greeting, then introduced the helper he had invited.
Warlock?
Caesar carefully examined the other person.
This middle-aged man had an ordinary appearance. Aside from the classical robe he wore, he didn't possess any unique Warlock aura. He merely had a rectangular leather bag hanging from his waist, about the length of an adult's forearm and two fists wide.
That likely contained the core items of the Warlock Pathway.
This Warlock named Ness smiled politely at them. Even with the twisted Monster before him, he remained calm, exuding quiet confidence.
"It's almost time, Mr. Ness. You can begin."
Edward said to him politely.
"Alright."
Ness nodded, his right hand resting on the leather bag as he walked slowly toward the large birdcage. The expression on his face gradually turned serious.
Click.
The buckle on the leather bag opened, revealing its contents—neatly arranged compartments, each filled with powders of different colors. Ness reached into the bag with his right hand, precisely selecting a compartment without looking, and pinched out a small amount of grey-black powder with three fingers before tossing it toward the Monster.
"Sizzle!"
Arcane runes flickered to life across the back of his hand. The powder ignited the moment the runes lit up, transforming into a vast expanse of golden light that illuminated the underground chamber and filled everyone with a sense of warmth. The light was soft and not dazzling, flowing like water into the large birdcage and covering the body of the fleshy Monster.
"Ahhh—!"
The Monster, which had ignored everyone else until now, was enveloped in golden light and let out a piercing howl. The twisted flesh on its surface began to show signs of melting.
"You can open the cage now."
Ness said.
"Open the cage!"
Edward immediately waved his hand and gave the order. The Nighthawks beside the cage each pulled from either side, and the birdcage's bars opened from the middle, splitting into two halves and falling to the ground.
"Puff! Puff!"
As the Monster left the seal, its flesh immediately showed signs of revival and swelling, but Ness promptly threw out a second pinch of powder.
"Boom!"
The black-iron-colored powder transformed into a giant palm in mid-air, pressing it firmly to the ground!
Seeing that the other party was powerless to resist, Ness continued to sprinkle various colored powders. Under the alternating effects of the strange mixtures, the Monster's swollen and overgrown flesh gradually melted away, and the sound of its curses almost disappeared. He was on the verge of success.
Edward watched all of this, a hint of joy subtly appearing in his eyes.
"Let's hide further back," Caesar suddenly said, whispering to the other two.