~2194 words
Swivelling in his soft, leathery chair, Kiyotaka spun around continuously and kept staring at the roof that had engravings into it.
The room itself was warm, not overly so. In front of him was the oak table and to his side, on the couches reserved for guests was Mal who was sitting on it without his back touching the back-rest.
"So, what exactly do they want from us?"
"Spreading their Lord's word and..." Mal paused and turned his head to look at Kiyotaka only for a second. The moment he turned his head, Mal looked back down. "...forceful proselytisation of masses. And to spread as much misery as possible."
Kiyotaka looked down and hummed to himself.
'What could be the reason for spreading misery?
Madmen certainly commit atrocities without reason, but organisations cannot survive on madness alone.
The Aurora Order has existed for a long time now while being hunted by every Orthodox Church. If every member is instructed to spread misery wherever they go, then the instruction itself must possess value beyond simple cruelty.
From the formulas I have for Secrets Supplicant Pathway, from Secret Supplicants to Rose Bishop, it feels like the pathway is centered around something related to blood, flesh, curses and shadows.
However, that is what it can be interpreted as on a surface level.
After all, a Warrior is not the pathway of swords, Seer is not the pathway of divination, Spectator is not merely the pathway of psychology. Their abilities differ from one Sequence to another, yet they all orbit the same underlying concept.
If my observation is correct, then blood and flesh are unlikely to be the main focus itself, but rather they are consequences.
The body deteriorates, and so does the mind. What follows is a deep dive into the deterioration of morality, faith and eventually a civilisation.
Kiyotaka's fingers twitched as he kept spinning in his seat.
'Corruption? No, that's too broad.
Degeneration, perhaps? The gradual collapse of something pure into something twisted such as the body, mind and soul—eventually people's faith, and civilisations.
This can be tied into the Aurora Order's teachings as well, somewhat. According to them their "lord" bore the sins of humanity.
If there is some actual truth to it, despite how the True Creator is considered as an evil God, then the speculation about it could make sense. Humans have an inherent tendency to commit depraved acts, even if they don't have to.
Mindless creatures are one thing, but humanity commits a lot of those same actions out of boredom and curiosity.
Extrapolating from that logic, we can say that since it's related to degradation and depravity, then it could form a significant level of connection to the True Creator.
That means...'
A sudden realisation dawned on Kiyotaka.
'That means that by increasing misery and negative feelings that can amass together into a specific place, where body, feelings and soul devolve into degradation, True Creator — in theory — should be able to establish a significant connection and hence... descend.
But why would he want to descend? Is he bound in some place? The Seven Orthodox gods had moved their Divine Kingdoms to the Astral World. If so, what about evil gods such as True Creators?
Does he want to descend into the material world because he and his Divine Kingdom are locked away by the Orthodox Gods?
I can't be sure, but the current things point towards this hypothesis. Well, regardless, I don't think it's a good idea to help an evil God descend into the real world. That said, it does kind of blur the lines of morality... Why exactly is he an evil god if the concept he represents is degradation?
Darkness is not evil. Death is not evil. Neither are Storms or machinery and advancement used to kill more and more humans.
They are merely concepts, capable of inflicting just as much damage as degradation could. That said, this entire argument could rest on the fact that how much rationality does a person still retain after their ascent to godhood.
Does the True Creator still retain some of his individuality? Or has "it" completely lost itself to the base instincts and desire of the Beyonder Characteristics?'
Mal shifted in his place and the sound of leather squeaking brought Kiyotaka out of his stupor.
Seeing as how Kiyotaka was no longer thinking about something, Mal turned to face him. "Did you decide?"
Kiyotaka looked into the blackness of his hood as his mind wandered once more.
'However, this entire ordeal is beneficial to me as well. Sequence 5: Mentor of Disorder's Main Ingredients are Fairy Spark and Head of Child of Forest. However, what's more concerning is the ritual to become a Mentor of Disorder.
The ritual is to become the dominant force in a city's underground order, causing the city's crime rate to increase more than tenfold; this state must last for at least three months.
I took control of Zmanger Gang and elevated its status — making it one of the two strongest gangs in Backlund — about 1.5 months ago. And while the Church doesn't exactly know I am the leader of this gang, they do know I am affiliated with it.
So far, due to my relationship with the Church of Evernight Goddess, I have only reduced their activities to gathering protection money from shop owners in East Borough, illegal bettings on fixed cock and dog fights.
And since Zmanger Gang absorbed a lot of other gangs, the crime rate from "Zmanger Gang" itself has increased. So it does satisfy the pre-requisites of "become a dominant force in a city's underground order" and "increase the crime rate"
However, if I had to estimate, the crime rate increased by Zmanger Gang has increased by seven fold. Which means that if I say yes to this, I can do quite a lot more.
That said, since there will be a collaboration with them, I won't remain the dominant force, and hence the first pre-requisite won't be satisfied. If I want to make it work, I have to lay down some conditions of my own.
If all goes well, I should be able to obtain the nose of a human-faced baboon and 1 rotting corpse flower by the end of December.
Supplementary ingredients such as 60 ml of human-faced baboon blood, 10 drops of gray amber perfume, 60 ml of strong fruit liquor and 10 g of lead powder should be easier to obtain once Main Ingredients are made available.
Hmmm... Since I have the Acting Method for Briber, I should start my efforts to digest the potion as soon as possible.
Something big is about to explode into Backlund and I need to become Baron of Corruption as hastily as possible. Hmm... I can use my Bribing powers to increase the crime-rate as well, but I will have to think and plan about it.'
"Tell them that I will think about it. But let them know I am more inclined than not to help them."
Mal stood up and placed his hand on his left chest—right over his heart. He lowered his back and bent down.
Once he was gone, Kiyotaka walked over to the door of the study room and opened it, only to find someone standing in front of him.
It was Freya—her dirty hair was tied into the tight-bun she usually used to wear at home and she had changed back into her maid dress.
"Good... Afternoon, Sir." The sparse lashes on her long, siren-shaped eyes fluttered as she looked up at him.
"Good afternoon." Kiyotaka greeted back and then moved to the side, as if telling her to come inside.
Once Freya was inside, she nervously rubbed her palms together before turning one hand over, her thumb kneading the back of it in quick and restless circles. A heartbeat later, she switched to the other.
The inner sides of her palms were sweaty and clammy and she seemed to be overall in extreme distress. She had bigger bags than Klein under her eyes and the insides of her fingers had various colours on them while some of the flesh around her nails seem to be in a mess too.
"You have been working?"
Freya suddenly shuddered. "Yes..."
"Good. How is progress?"
Freya looked around and held one of her arms and squeezed it. "The digestion... was slow. I only felt it digest as much as the time when Sir drank some of the medicines I had made."
'Naturally. So it looks like feedback from one Sequence 7 outweighs feedback from about twenty to twenty-five normal people. Hmm... That should extend to me as well. Which means that I need to Bribe Beyonders of Sequence 7 or higher to quickly digest my Briber potion.
That said, it's going to become quite obvious if I try to do that. Let's think about it later.'
Once he was done talking to himself — mentally — he turned his attention to Freya. "Good. Keep making medicines. I'd need around fifty more servings of medicines that can rejuvenate a person's vitality after intense physical exercise."
Freya frantically nodded her head, causing a few strands of hair to become loose from her bun. "Yes Sir... Yes..."
"Well, if you have nothing else to say, you can leave. Is Daisy home?"
"No..." Freya's voice trailed. "She has walked over to the school. She should be back in another hour or so."
"Alright. You can leave." Kiyotaka dismissed Freya, however, she kept standing there. "Yes?"
"I am sorry about yesterday, Sir... I—"
"You don't have to be apologetic. I seem to have over-relied on you to handle the situation." Kiyotaka's cold, expressionless and extremely pale blue eyes settled on her, making her entire body shiver. "The blame is on me."
"No! I mean... I am sorry for disappointing you! But he— He was just a normal human? How could I let him..." Her words faded into a stifling silence as Kiyotaka once again looked at her with nothing but pure emptiness.
"You can leave now. I need the medicines ready by tonight." Dismissing her, Kiyotaka took out a book and sat on the sofa.
Freya stood there, biting her lip and her hands balled into fists while her nails — that had grown just a little — dug into her palm. She bent her back, lowered her head and parted her thin lips. "As you say, Sir. I am sorry..."
Apologising one last time, Freya returned with an expression that was an alchemy of glumness, rancor and vexation.
Once she was gone, Kiyotaka walked over to his table. His eyes had just fallen on the envelope at its edge.
Picking it up and breaking the seal, he saw an invitation letter inside. He read:
Mr. Williams J. Holmes,
I trust this letter finds you in good health.
Lady Macht and I shall have the pleasure of receiving a small company at Macht House tomorrow evening and I would be most pleased if you would honour us with your presence.
The gathering has been arranged for the benefit of a few acquaintances whose achievements have lately distinguished them in commerce, public life, and the learned professions.
It has long been my wish that my family should enjoy the opportunity of making your acquaintance in a more agreeable setting than that afforded by the obligations of business.
A number of esteemed families have likewise accepted our invitation, and my daughter has graciously undertaken many of the arrangements for the evening.
I venture to believe you will find both the company and the conversation worthy of your time.
Dinner shall be served promptly at half past eight, to be followed by music and refreshments.
Should your engagements permit, I would be grateful to receive your acceptance at your earliest convenience.
I remain,
Yours faithfully,
Maury Macht, M.P.
Since Kiyotaka was aware about the euphemism used in this era, he could tell the implication behind the letter.
There were more mentions of his daughter, which for a lot of people would go under their RADAR, however, Kiyotaka could remember her being mentioned during their meeting as well.
He sat down on the couch, wrote a letter in which he accepted the party invitation and then called for Liv to deliver the letter.
'Freya's behaviour is not troublesome, but she does need to control her feelings of inferiority. Well, it's not that important. That said, I have to distribute the medicine as much as I can to help her digest her Apothecary Potion and help her ascend to Sequence 8: Beast Tamer.
Hmm... Sherlock is about to arrive tonight as well and tomorrow afternoon I have to go and visit Maury Macht. There are bound to be Beyonders in that party... I should have Sherlock impart Paper Angel on me.
I should also visit Pembroke Publishing House as well, to see if any copies of my book have been sold. I have to start looking for Main Ingredients for Baron of Corruption already, since ingredients are quite rare, especially when one ascends beyond lower-Sequences.'
With that done, he picked up a few oranges from the kitchen and left the house. He was going to try to digest some of his briber potion.