At that moment, Fors felt her cheeks burning as she stiffened. She didn't even dare to turn her head to look at her friend.
She realized that she had severely underestimated the bottom line of the magic mirror!
After stuttering for a moment, Fors recalled Mr. World's reminder and closed her eyes.
"I choose to accept the punishment."
A silvery-white bolt of lightning fell from the air in the room, but the moment it appeared, the lightning vanished without a trace like it was a hallucination.
The dark red words on the surface of the mirror were dyed silver as they were quickly replaced with new content:
"The question and answer game will end here today. Goodbye!"
Without waiting for Fors to open her eyes and before Xio could react, the rippling light in the mirror instantly calmed down. The gloom and darkness in the room shattered as they were swallowed by the light of the candle.
Wasn't there supposed to be a punishment? Fors waited for a few seconds before opening her eyes slightly. She looked at the mirror that had returned to normal and then at Xio, who was watching by the sidelines.
Xio pointed at the top of her head and said, "There was lightning that smote at you, but it disappeared halfway. Also, the magic mirror had already left."
"...The magic mirror was only joking? That's not right. The warning I received was that the questions would be rather embarrassing, and the punishments would be rather heavy... Could it be that Mr. Fool protected me?" Fors rubbed her right cheek as she made a guess.
"Perhaps." Xio nodded in agreement with her friend.
Just as Fors heaved a sigh of relief and rejoiced, she suddenly realized that Xio was looking at her earnestly.
"W-what's the matter?" Fors's heart skipped a beat.
Xio asked thoughtfully, "In that erotic dream of yours, who was the main lead?"
"...Haha, who would remember such a dream from so long ago? Besides, aren't dreams blurry and unclear?" Fors forced a smile.
Xio tersely acknowledged.
"If that's the case, why didn't you answer with that just now?"
"...I was nervous. I was too nervous." Fors glanced at the luggage that she had finished packing and said, "It's time for us to move. I miss having a fireplace!"
As she spoke, she walked towards her luggage.
It was only at this moment that she realized that, at times, the outcome was similar whether she answered the magic mirror's question or not.
Is this the "social death" that was mentioned by Gehrman Sparrow? I really want to bury my head into the ground! Fors continuously took deep breaths in an attempt to calm her burning face and embarrassed heart.
...
In the ancient palace above the fog.
Klein threw the Sea God Scepter back into the junk pile and scoffed at Arrodes's act.
Despite knowing that I was the one who sent someone to summon it, it actually dared to raise such a question. Only when I stopped the punishment did it hurriedly change its attitude and leave in a panic... It sure had fun...
However, its answer has given me a new train of thought. I really don't need to restrict myself to the path of a Miracle Invoker...
The second Blasphemy Slate is most likely from the City of Silver's Creator, and is now in the hands of Adam... Although Amon and "His" brother are mutually staying away from each other's affairs and aren't on especially good terms, "They" have worked together before. I don't believe that "He" has never seen that Blasphemy Slate... If that's the case, "He" is definitely aware of the Miracle Invoker's ritual and can guess that I'll be bringing the City of Silver out of the Forsaken Land of the Gods. When that happens, "He" wouldn't even need to put much effort into tracking me. "He" just needs to wait at the Giant King's Court...
Yes, I can't go according to the enemy's expectations, especially since this is a God of Deceit and the God of Mischief. Countless accidents will happen... If it's because of my participation that the City of Silver's thousands of years of hope ends up being destroyed, then it'll be completely contradictory to my original intentions...
The problem with a Planeswalker is that I might hear Mr. Door's ravings, and will suffer the scrutiny and corruption from the cosmos that's worse than Sequence 2 angels from other pathways. Of course, this isn't completely unacceptable...
Also, will I need to pay back the two resurrection chances that Sefirah Castle gave me? That's still fine since I'll definitely transfer back to being an Attendant of Mysteries at Sequence 1 because Mr. Door has already blocked off the advancement path of the Apprentice pathway. "He" is at least in control of the Uniqueness and two sets of Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics—perhaps even all three...
It's not necessary for me to switch to Planeswalker, but I have to make the necessary preparations. When my options increase, even if Amon tries to stop me, the difficulty of burying a trap in advance will increase significantly. Only then can I become an angel while under the pressure of a King of Angels!
Yes. I'll stay on the fence for now. I'll prepare for the Miracle Invoker advancement while preparing for the Planeswalker advancement. I'll determine which pathway to take based on the actual situation when the time comes.
Having come to a decision, Klein felt refreshed. His mind was abnormally active, and he quickly came up with a preliminary plan.
I'm not in a hurry to ask Miss Magician's teacher about the Planeswalker potion formula and the corresponding Grade 0 Sealed Artifact. This will scare the Abraham family, making them suspect that Miss Magician worships some evil god and has joined some terrible organization...
With their current situation, there's a high chance that they won't reply. They will change their identities, move, and sever all ties...
Yes, the head of the Saint of Secrets, Botis, will make a fine gift. Regardless of whether the Abraham family gives the Worm of Cosmos, this matter will have to be placed on the agenda... I hope Miss Justice can digest the Dreamwalker potion as soon as possible. I hope that Ma'am Hermit will be prepared. I also hope that the two ladies, Miss Magician and Miss Judgment, will be able to improve before the operation...
Right, according to what Miss Magician said, Saint of Secrets Botis is a defector of the Abraham family, and the Aurora Order holds a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact of the Apprentice pathway. That's interesting... Perhaps I don't need to contact the Abraham family. I might be able to get what I want from the Saint of Secrets. Uh, I have to remind Ma'am Hermit that Botis might be carrying a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, so confirmation has to be made before the operation...
If that Grade 0 Sealed Artifact isn't in the hands of the Saint of Secrets, then I'll probably have to face the Angel of Fate Ouroboros to get it... No, Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts are terrifying to begin with. It's one of the sources of danger...
Phew, I'll first wait for Miss Magician's teacher to reply and see if the Abraham family is averse to any mention of the Worm of Cosmos...
As he thought of this, Klein suddenly felt a hint of self-deprecation. He felt that he and the Aurora Order appeared to be destined enemies. They often had all kinds of interactions.
When the operation begins, the Aurora Order will definitely shout in their hearts:
"Why is it you again? Why is it us again?"
After letting out a breath, he gathered his thoughts and conjured The World Gehrman Sparrow. He replied to Miss Magician who had reported the answer.
Following that, The World prayed once again, requesting Mr. Fool to forward his request to Danitz.
...
On a certain island in the Fog Sea, Danitz, who was waiting for the Golden Dream, turned his head to look at Anderson and chuckled.
"I'm going to summon Gehrman Sparrow's messenger."
Anderson pricked up his brows and scoffed.
"You're qualified to consume the Conspirer potion."
"You were the one who made it too obvious. Even I could sense that you were afraid of that messenger." Danitz felt even more pleased with himself as he said humbly.
Anderson suddenly guffawed.
"Why do you not suspect that I'm pretending to be afraid? I'm just trying to find a reasonable excuse to avoid hearing things I shouldn't be hearing."
"...Dogsh*t, do you think I'll believe the lies you came up with in a hurry?" Danitz was almost convinced.
Anderson spread his hands and walked to the door.
"You've gathered all the materials of the Conspirer potion. Remember to remind Gehrman to not forget my Iron-blooded Knight potion formula."
Danitz waved his hand impatiently, indicating that he hadn't forgotten.
After Anderson walked out of the room and closed the door, Danitz immediately set up a ritual and summoned the messenger holding four blonde, red-eyed heads.
Seeing the eight eyes look over at the same time, Danitz's chest immediately retracted.
He forced a smile and handed out a gold coin.
"Ma'am, Gehrman Sparrow wants me to tell you that he's fine. He's now in the Forsaken Land of the Gods."
...Wait, what did I say? The Forsaken Land of the Gods? As a crew member of Vice Admiral Iceberg, Danitz's knowledge of mysticism was still adequate. After a momentary pause, his pupils clearly dilated.
"Alright..." Reinette Tinekerr bit down on the gold coin and answered immediately.
Then, "She" entered the void and vanished from the room.
After reporting this to Gehrman Sparrow, Danitz received the Iron-blooded Knight's potion formula and new orders.
Prepare some local delicacies and sacrifice them to Sea God Kalvetua... Isn't this mission a little odd? Danitz muttered to himself, but he didn't dare to raise any questions.
He quickly tidied up the altar, found a parchment, and wrote down the supplementary ingredients and corresponding ritual in the Iron-blooded Knight potion formula.
Following that, he opened the door and handed the parchment to Anderson.
"Form a team of at least thirty people... The stronger the team's strength and chemistry, the better the ritual's effects..." Anderson unfolded the parchment in front of Danitz and read it. As he read, his brows gradually furrowed. "If the team's chemistry is to build upon the idea of killing me—the captain—the ritual is rather simple..."
Without waiting for Danitz to mock him, a burning white flame appeared from his fingertip and burned the parchment.
Anderson chuckled.
"I need to go back to my homeland to find an opportunity. That place is currently being invaded by Feynapotter, and war is always the best place for building up and training a team."
With a pause, he looked at Danitz and said with a smile, "I've prepared some questions for you. They're in my room. Once you become a Conspirer, you can try doing it and see if your intelligence has improved."
"...Dogsh*t! Are you trying to trick me into reading all the books in your room?" Danitz was almost moved, but he immediately understood that something was wrong.
No matter how high his intelligence was, he wouldn't be able to solve the questions if he hadn't read the textbooks!
"Not bad. It only took you three seconds this time to grasp the crux of the matter. If it were in the past, heh heh, you would've really believed me." Anderson praised with a smile as he turned around and left the inn.
