Chapter 312: A Failed Disguise

When Derrick finished, Klein manipulated The World to nod and say, "More

detailed than I thought.

"Transaction complete."

Before The World finished his sentence, Klein had simultaneously removed

the barriers insulating Justice, The Hanged Man, and The Magician.

After a few seconds of silence, The World looked around and said with a

dark smile, "I don't have any more requests for now."

Having a rough understanding of the process and its characteristics,

Fors was eager to purchase the corresponding Sequence 8 Trickmaster of

the Apprentice Sequence.

She clearly remembered that Mr. Fool had said that the reason she was

troubled by the full moon was due to her low natural order of life, and

that the pain would decrease with the rise of her Sequence.

This made Fors eager to obtain the next formula.

*However, it would expose the Beyonder pathway I'm from... When everyone

becomes familiar with each other and knows more about each other,

exposure will become less of a serious matter. However, for the next few

gatherings, I have to conceal that so that the members of the gathering

won't be able to identify the real me...* After thinking rather

calmly for a moment, Fors said, "I wish to obtain the formula of

Apothecary and Trickmaster. I will pay in cash."

She intentionally added the Apothecary formula to her actual request in

order to cause the others to have a misinterpretation. If any member of

the gathering really had the formula, she would still take it. She could

then sell it at a higher price to Viscount Glaint who been longing for

this formula for a long time. In any case, she definitely wouldn't

suffer a loss because of this and might even make a huge profit.

As for money, Fors wasn't short of it for the time being. Not only were

the royalties of her best-selling book entering into her account over

time, it was accumulating to quite a sizable amount. Furthermore, she

also had additional income streams, such as the 650 pounds she had

received from Miss Audrey in the Qilangos and Intis Ambassador Bakerland

cases.

*Poor Xio. She spent more than two hundred pounds to compensate the

families of the two deceased which were involved in the Lanevus case. I

wonder if Miss Audrey would pay her when things clear up... The note

with Mr. Fool's honorary name on it was found in the bookcase of

Viscount Glaint's house. Could it be that one of his ancestors was a

member of this gathering? Is this a gathering that has been held

regularly for decades if not centuries?* Fors's thoughts were

suddenly a little distracted.

Only two seats away from her, Justice Audrey was a little stunned when

she heard Fors's request for the Apothecary and Trickmaster formulas

before she accurately grasped Fors's thoughts.

*She's Fors! The Trickmaster is for herself, and the Apothecary formula

is to be sold to Glaint. She can also do this to complicate the

situation and fool the others...* Audrey nodded indiscernibly

and was more certain of The Magician's identity.

*She's not of a very high Sequence. At best 8, most likely 9. Who knows

where Mr. Fool pulled her from or if she's from a special place... Her

accent has the peculiarities of Backlund, but she's not necessarily in

Backlund...* The Hanged Man Alger was also observing the

newcomer, making sure that she wasn't a threat to him.

The Sun Derrick didn't think too much about it. He was just trying to

guess whether Miss Magician belonged to the City of Silver or if she was

from the world where Miss Justice and the others lived.

Klein cast a look of pity at Miss Magician, not expecting much from her

attempt to conceal her identity.

*When you meet a Telepathist who is very familiar with you, you might

not be able to conceal your true thoughts even if you know the other

party's ability beforehand and are on guard against it. What's more, you

didn't even know anything...* The Fool, Klein, sighed in his

heart for Miss Magician.

At the same time, he controlled The World who said hoarsely, "I have the

Apothecary formula. 230 pounds.

"As for the Trickmaster formula, I'll do my best to find it, but I can't

guarantee success."

There was no contradiction between exchanging the Apothecary formula for

money and using it to groom a useful helper. They could be run in

conjunction, so Klein made The World speak first so as not to be

intercepted by The Hanged Man or The Sun.

As for the formula for Trickmaster, he only had some ideas.

From his point of view, the mystical item, Master Key, was most likely

related to the corresponding sequence of Trickmaster's corresponding

Sequence 9, Apprentice. If he were able to divine its origins above the

gray fog, he might be able to find some clues.

*Well, actually the most convenient way is to ask the existence

suspected to be Mr. Door who keeps murmuring during a full moon. In

addition to asking for help, he probably provides formulas and the

"acting method" so as to make the target stronger and complete difficult

tasks. Unfortunately, before the target is strong, they can't even hear

his ravings. They will break down and even be close to losing control.

This results in a vicious cycle...* Klein lamented.

Instead of responding to Mr. World's words, Fors looked around and saw

that The Hanged Man, Justice, and The Sun had no intention of opening

their mouths.

It was obvious that they didn't know the Apothecary and Trickmaster

formulas.

"Mr. World, please try your best to find the Trickmaster formula as soon

as possible." Fors fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "As for

the Apothecary formula, I plan to buy it now. How should I make the

payment?"

*The other party seemed to be a man from Loen as well, and he's willing

to accept gold pounds... But the gold pound has always been more

recognized than the other currencies...* As she spoke, Fors was

also trying to determine The World's background.

The World completely didn't mind her sizing him up as he said softly,

"You can sacrifice the money to Mr. Fool after you return. That way, the

transaction will be closed.

"The exact sacrificial ritual is..."

*Sacrifice? Mr. Fool can still accept sacrifices? His life's natural

order has reached such a level? No wonder he used that tone to describe

the owner of the ravings during the full moon...* Fors listened

and remembered, surprised and shocked, but she also felt that it was a

matter of course.

After finishing his description, Klein displayed the Apothecary formula

in front of The World and had the fake person hand it to Miss Magician.

"The transaction is witnessed by Mr. Fool, so you don't have to worry if

it's fake."

"I trust Mr. Fool." Fors nodded immediately. She spread open the formula

and began memorizing it seriously.

At that moment, Audrey, who couldn't bear to see her friend go through

such labor, commented, "You can seek Mr. Fool's help during the

sacrifice to recall the formula. You don't have to memorize it

specially. If you encounter any problems, you can also pray to "Him" by

reciting "His" honorific name"

*"Him"? Miss Justice is actually using a salutation used to describe

deities to address Mr. Fool!? "Him,""Him"... Could it be that he is

really a "He"? But, why would he be willing to help us in doing such

trivial matters... That's not right. As long as the ritualistic magic is

done right, the seven orthodox gods will also often respond to their

believers and complete their requests...* Fors said to Justice,

"Thank you for telling me that. Your name is just like your character."

"..." Audrey suddenly felt a little guilty.

She suddenly seemed to recall a problem as she hurriedly asked, "Miss

Magician, do you know of the 'acting method'?"

"Acting method?" Fors looked at Justice in a daze.

She soon discovered that the other members such as The Sun and The

Hanged Man had no additional reaction to the term. Clearly, they knew

what it meant.

*Today's gathering makes me feel like a country bumpkin who has just

arrived in Backlund... I've been to so many Beyonder gatherings at the

very least, alright!* Fors thought, half sorrowfully, half

joyously.

She couldn't help but want to write a novel with this feeling of hers,

naming it "Miss Wall's Tour of Dreamland."

"You don't seem to know." Audrey made a definite judgment based on

Fors's reaction and her usual performance.

She turned around and looked at the person shrouded in gray fog at the

end of the long table.

"Mr. Fool, can I teach the 'acting method' to Miss Magician?

"If so, what price would she have to pay?"

Audrey had intended to ask directly if it was like before---trading the

information for entries of Roselle's diary. However, she quickly

remembered that there was a great overlap between the Beyonder circles

of Fors and her own. Therefore, if she did that, she might lose many

opportunities of obtaining Roselle's diary.

*It's not a very important problem since it's just a matter of time

before Fors realizes that Mr. Fool wants Roselle's diary, and I would

certainly have other Beyonder circles. However, she knows that I have a

few pages of Roselle's diary, and if she wants to collect them, she will

come to me immediately. However, Mr. Fool has read all of those diary

entries... After this gathering, I have to find a chance to tell Fors

that all the Roselle diary pages were accidentally lost...*

Audrey predicted the chain of events and tried her best to convey her

concerns to Mr. Fool in body language.

*What's Miss Justice hinting at? Oh, she knows Fors, but she doesn't

want to reveal her identity, which means that she doesn't want the

payment I request to cause any trouble in that regard...* Klein

thoughtfully chuckled.

"You can make the decision. You can do the explanation since I do not

wish to repeat what I've said in the past."

This is also a form of respect to the Goddess... he added

inwardly.

Praise Mr. Fool! Audrey's heart leaped in joy.

She straightened her back and slightly raised her chin. She tried to

look at Fors in a different manner as she said, "The 'acting method' is

a method to speed up the mastery of potions and minimize the risk of

losing control.

"Do you want to know about it?"

*There's such a method? For real? Mr. Fool is such a lofty figure, so he

definitely wouldn't lie about such a small matter!* Fors widened

her somewhat languid eyes, pursed his lips and said, "Yes!"

As long as one was a Beyonder, there was no way they wouldn't wish to

learn of similar methods! Fors suddenly felt thrilled.

Audrey thought carefully and said, "There are two requirements. One,

without the permission of Mr. Fool, you are not to teach the 'acting

method' to others.

"The second is to pay 200 pounds."

Her original plan was to use Roselle's diary as a benchmark for the

price. The number of pages she and The Hanged Man had used to repay the

debt had been converted into a corresponding price, but in reality,

Roselle's diary was sold cheaply because it couldn't be deciphered, and

most of the time, it was impossible to determine which was the real one.

Converting that to a total price was quite a letdown to the value of the

acting method; therefore, she added a little more from that benchmark.

*Hmm... If Mr. Fool's Blessed is no longer short of money, then I will

take the 200 pounds, and I will look for the diary entries to repay my

debt with Mr. Fool...* Audrey had already thought of a follow-up

deal.

*200 pounds? The method to reduce the risk of losing control is 200

pounds? Th-that's way too cheap, isn't it?* Fearing that Justice

would go back on her word, the surprised and happy Fors said without

hesitation, "Deal!"

After she finished speaking, she felt her heart pain for the money. She

felt that her bank balance was decreasing at a speed that was visible to

the naked eye.