Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina didn't show any changes in her expression when she heard Gehrman Sparrow say that he needed to consider it. She nodded calmly.
"No hurry."
She seems to feel that I'm unable to make the decision regarding a transaction of this scale and that I need to seek advice from the secret organization backing me... Is this a problem of me not being able to make the decision? This is a problem of not having the money! Klein lampooned and closed Groselle's Travels. He asked in a deep voice, "Do you know who the author is?
"What happened to the people who last possessed this book?"
Edwina walked in front of him and reached out her right hand. She rubbed the cover with her fingertip and said, "The owners from before cannot be identified, as the sinking of the ship has resulted in the relevant information being lost to history. Similarly, we are unable to confirm who the author is. Oh, the book doesn't include the author's name.
"I've used some mystical arts to study it and discovered that the goatskin was created at least 3,000 years ago, before the Cataclysm.
"This is why I believe it's worth at least 8,000 pounds."
A book from three thousand years ago. There's a dragon, an elf, and a human ascetic, a Solomon Empire noble, and a Loen soldier... These are all concepts from years later! A magical book that contains the power of prophecy? Or did someone specially use an ancient goatskin to create it? But it's meaningless to do so. It's purely a hoax? Klein deliberately curled the corners of his mouth without any intent of smiling.
"The giant's name is Groselle. Could the author be Roselle?"
"No, Roselle's name originated from a root word in Jotun. When ancient Feysac evolved into Intis, there was a second change, making it have a different meaning..." Edwina explained in detail the origins of Roselle's name. It left Klein stunned as he felt like he was back in school.
He nodded gently and said in an unperturbed tone, "If it's an ancient piece of work, I'm very curious as to why a frost dragon would be named the King of the North. What Sequence and pathway does it correspond to?"
Edwina raised her gaze from Groselle's Travels and looked at Klein.
"Before the appearance of the first Blasphemy Slate, there was no concept of Sequences and pathways. Furthermore, many creatures didn't abide by such arrangements. In that Epoch, chaos and mania was the basic attitude to everything.
"Some dragons might gather many Beyonder characteristics related to frost, just like a Demoness's frost, a Zombie's frost, and a Weather Warlock's frost. As such, it would possess rather powerful strength and a relatively high level. Of course, such a gathering would definitely lead to death and a loss of control.
"This means that if it doesn't die, it would definitely lose control and become a monster. However, a dragon is a monster in and of itself."
If there are many similar products of this sort from the dragons, giants, and elves, then it can be understood why the Second Epoch is known as the Dark Epoch... Klein pondered for a moment and inquired as though he was talking to himself, "This results in the wastage of Beyonder characteristics."
Edwina looked at him for a few seconds.
"Emperor Roselle once said this:
"Whatever separates will definitely converge, and whatever converges will definitely separate."
The Emperor said that before? I understand the first part. That's another form of saying the law of convergence of Beyonder characteristics. But what does the second part mean?
After the convergence happens to a certain extent, it would tend to separate and dissociate? When one doesn't belong to a particular pathway, the extremely chaotic convergent mix will cause a dissociation? The more chaotic it is, the more repulsion there is between the characteristics?
Such words aren't likely to be said to anyone. It definitely isn't something that's spread out in the public... Last time, I guessed from the Vice Admiral's usage of the Roselle's Dream Spell and her last name that she's a descendant of one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Edwards... It's extremely possible...
After the Emperor perished, their family escaped to Lenburg and gradually converted their faith to the God of Knowledge and Wisdom?
What a good teacher. She answers any question!
Klein didn't speak further as he continued admiring Vice Admiral Iceberg's collection.
At the same time, he had some thoughts. He planned on asking Little Sun via The World during the Tarot Gathering if he knew of the book, Groselle's Travels.
Of course, in order to prevent The Hanged Man from sensing something problematic with The World and hence, figure out that something was amiss with The Fool, he decided to communicate in private while blocking everyone else.
After a brief excursion of the room, Edwina led Klein out and entered the captain's room in the dining hall.
"The relatively special food here is yogurt. You can add strawberry jam and other things. You can also directly add honey..." Edwina pointed to the row of food outside. "There's some dried fish that isn't bad. They come from the deep sea, species that have yet to be named."
As she spoke, she gestured for Klein to take the food for himself to bring back to the room. She then got up and made herself an example.
Klein took some yogurt of unknown origins and added a few spoonfuls of honey. Then, he carried his tray and placed pork sausages, buttered bread, and other food on it.
During this process, he saw a young man dressed in a white shirt and black vest, decked out with a flowery bow tie, looking more like an office worker than a pirate, approach Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina and have a hushed exchange with her.
The man had pretty good looks with almost blond hair other than his slightly black hair roots. His hair was neatly combed to the sides.
His eyes were a very light lake-green color, and his nose was sharp. He had thin lips and that made him exude a trustworthy vibe.
"Don't be fooled by that guy's appearance. He's a wolf-fish can. He stinks deep down!" Danitz whispered in contempt, having entered the pirate's dining hall and arriving beside Klein at some point in time.
Klein turned his head and glanced at him without saying a word. This was because he knew Danitz would offer to explain without him egging him on.
Without waiting for Danitz to speak, a man with a swollen waist beside him said with a crude and sharp voice, "He's the third mate, Jodeson. He used to be a casanova and part-time pirate, saying that he would steal our Captain's heart, but he ended up getting a beating. He ended up staying to be educated. Dogsh*t!"
"In short, he's a bad egg!" Danitz emphasized.
"He's a bad egg!" another pirated with iron-black skin echoed.
Why do I have the nagging feeling that all of you are the same... Klein thought and said, "Flowery Bow Tie Jodeson with a bounty of 5,200 pounds? Sequence 6?"
As expected of the standard Gehrman Sparrow reaction... Danitz glanced to the side as a lingering sense of fear was hidden within his contempt.
"He's not that strong, but he's very strange. In my brawls with him, no—when in combat, fireballs suddenly can't be used, and he will be able to replicate my fire powers."
A very familiar description... Klein subconsciously glanced towards Jodeson. After some careful thought, he recalled the familiarity.
This is very similar to the Sealed Artifact, Blood Vessel Thief, found behind Tingen City's Chanis Gate!
Klein had already forgotten the Blood Vessel Thief's Sealed Artifact number, but he still remembered clearly that it could temporarily steal a person's Beyonder powers for themselves.
The corresponding pathway? Klein retracted his gaze and discovered that Danitz and his two companions were drinking while looking in that direction.
Thinking back to how Danitz divulged his sacrifice to Kalvetua, Klein took a cup of beer and carried his food tray towards the Captain's dining room. He said indifferently, "All of you like her, right?"
Pfft... Pfft... Pfft... Behind Klein, there was the sound of alcohol being spewed out at the same time.
He saw Danitz jump backward through the corner of his eye, looking at him in horror before turning his head in relief to size up his companions.
They had unknowingly opened up a gap between themselves as the look in their eyes turned complicated. They looked like they had the fury of being fooled.
Klein didn't stop. He returned to the Captain's dining room and enjoyed breakfast.
After a while, Edwina carried a meal tray back.
She drank a mouthful of milk and paused before saying, "Danitz showed me the summoning ritual of your messenger.
"It mentions that one gold coin is a necessary component.
"I'm somewhat perplexed. Does it refer to Loen gold coins, or those from Intis, Feysac, or somewhere else? Their weights are all different, and the amount of gold they contain is different."
Klein thought for a moment before saying, "Loen's gold coin."
This is also the gold coin that's worth the most... It's not like I need to pay for it myself... Klein added inwardly.
Edwina nodded.
"Payment also needs to be done when receiving a reply?"
"Different spirit world creatures have different hobbies," Klein said.
He knew that Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina was a researcher of spirit world creatures, and he believed that she could understand what he meant.
Furthermore, he wasn't lying. He just hid the fact that the messenger's owner could also pay for it.
"Yes," Edwina very seriously answered him, "I once attempted to find a messenger, but I could only use trial and error for the incantation. Not only was it dangerous, but it was very difficult to satisfy the requirements. I eventually had to give up.
"This is one of the reasons. The other reason is that simulating the power of the undead isn't enough to sign the contract.
"Your incantation has given me quite the inspiration."
Klein ate his breakfast in silence without explaining anything. This was because this was the knowledge he had learned from Mr. Azik. He wasn't at liberty to teach it to others without receiving permission from him.
After a delicious and quiet breakfast, the Golden Dream approached a private harbor and dropped Klein and Danitz off.
Danitz looked back at the glimmering golden ship and suddenly sighed.
"I feel like my friendship has sunk into the ocean!"
Klein pressed down on his hat and calmly said, "Losers can always form alliances among themselves."
"..."
Danitz was unsure whether he should be happy or sad.
After changing their identities and creating fake identification, they successfully bought tickets back to Bayam and boarded the ship. Klein finally had a private space for himself.
He entered the washroom and went above the gray fog and began scanning through the believers' prayers.
This time, the first thing that appeared before him was the bald member of the Resistance, Kalat.
"Honorable God, we have discovered the whereabouts of red-haired Helene. She's currently hiding in the Intis embassy.
"This has been confirmed by a laundry maid and gardener."
