Chapter 912: Origins of the Artisan

Cattleya understood The Hanged Man. If the problem was too serious, they

could use The Moon to involve the entire Sanguine race. They could then

minimize their losses in the chaos and obtain some benefits.

She then smiled and said, "If the situation is that serious, why not

directly find The World? That seems to make things simple."

Alger remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "I have to prove

my ability at handling problems; therefore, that's the final resort."

After hearing his reply, Cattleya immediately made some connections.

*The Hanged Man places great importance on the way Gehrman Sparrow views

him. It's because he's a Blessed of Mr. Fool? Also, his attitude is

rather identical to the political jokes of Backlund and Trier. When

facing a problem or having committed a mistake, the first reaction is to

suppress the matter and find other methods to resolve it. They cannot

let their superior or consignor know about it...*

*This means that The Hanged Man was once or is currently a member of a

powerful faction with a strict hierarchy. It influenced him and made him

grasp similar traits... The Church of Storms? No, such a person would be

an oddity... The fleet of the King of the Five Seas?*

Amidst her thoughts, the pirate admiral nudged her heavy glasses and

steered the topic back.

"Continue describing the Artisan."

Alger appeared to have prepared a script. Without any thought or pause,

he said in an unhurried manner, "To hide this Artisan's identity, to

prevent this resource from being wielded by others, I deliberately

constructed the identity of him being part of the Church of Steam. But

in fact, he had no choice but to create items for unaffiliated Beyonders

to earn money to maintain his lifestyle of enjoying fine wine and

beauties. He betrayed the Church of Steam and hid in Bayam.

"This time, he first contracted a strange disease and was monitored by

an unknown person. Later, he seemed to be under control of people who

believe in the Primordial Moon, claiming that he could receive new

life..."

Cattleya finished listening attentively as her eyes with a purple tint

appeared extremely focused.

After The Hanged Man finished his recount, she pondered and asked, "An

Artisan definitely has no lack of mystical items. Furthermore, they know

all the combinations of different Beyonder effects and negative effects.

Their strength is definitely at Sequence 5.

"What methods did those Primordial Moon believers use to control this

Artisan without harming him?

"A demigod was involved?"

Alger slowly shook his head.

"There aren't any clues regarding that, but based on my observation, the

Artisan has expressed some willingness. I suspect that, while being

threatened and coerced, there are elements of them targeting his

weaknesses to entice him."

He had indirectly denied the theory that a demigod was involved.

Cattleya nodded.

"How did those Primordial Moon believers find this Artisan?

"Based on your description, this Artisan only trades with trustworthy

friends he's familiar with. He doesn't enjoy widening his channels, and

he can be said to be extremely cautious."

Alger hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm not too sure, but I have a

theory.

"I once helped The World sell a Werewolf Beyonder characteristic to that

Artisan, and the Werewolf pathway belongs to the Mutant pathway. Be it

the formulas or characteristics, they are firmly in the control of the

Rose School of Thought. There are seldom any leaks."

*Likewise, those people who believe in the Primordial Moon in the

Southern Continent basically belong to the Rose School of

Thought...* Cattleya added inwardly, having figured out The

Hanged Man's theory.

He suspected that the Werewolf Beyonder characteristic had a latent

problem that involved a secret existence. This resulted in the Artisan

being targeted by the Rose School of Thought!

And this was also the reason why the Rose School of Thought firmly

wielded control over the Mutant pathway's formula and characteristics.

Cattleya raised a few more questions and obtained satisfactory answers.

Finally, she asked, "What's that Artisan's name? What country is he

from?"

"He's from Intis. He calls himself Cielf," Alger replied straight away.

"Cielf..." Cattleya frowned slightly as she repeated the Artisan's name

softly.

What's wrong with that? Upon seeing this, Alger directly

asked, "You've heard of him?"

From Alger's point of view, Admiral of Stars was an experienced

powerhouse with a powerful background and was good at controlling

herself. If she hadn't wished to discuss Cielf, she wouldn't have made

it so clear even if she had her suspicions and questions. Due to this,

he chose to ask without mincing his words.

After a moment of silence, Cattleya said, "Emperor Roselle's eldest son

is Ciel. It's very similar to that name."

Without waiting for The Hanged Man to say a word, she continued, "This

prince passed away due to his horror and concerns shortly after the

emperor's assassination. Back then, the Sauron family wished to hang or

exile his descendants, but the Church of Steam chose to take them in as

clergymen."

Alger nodded slightly in enlightenment.

"You suspect that he's a descendent of that prince?"

In most countries in the Northern Continent like Intis and Feysac, it

was common for people to use their ancestor's name or something similar

as their names. It represented the legacy of honor; therefore, the more

illustrious a family was, the more common it was to have "the second" or

"the third."

Of course, it was also very common for two people to have similar names,

but Artisan Cielf wasn't only a name. He was from the Church of Steam, a

person from Intis, and had reached the level of Artisan.

Faced with The Hanged Man's question, Cattleya nodded gently.

"I can quickly make a confirmation if you can obtain his blood."

Understanding the reason, Alger didn't ask further. Instead, he asked,

"Are you going to take action now? I can provide support."

Cattleya's glasses reflected the crimson moonlight that shone inwards.

"No, I plan on observing for some time.

"At the very least, we need to understand why the people who believe in

the Primordial Moon are trying to control Artisan Cielf.

"If they only wish to get the Artisan to work for them and create

mystical items, the situation becomes a lot more simple. And if they

have other goals, the problem might be more complicated than we

imagined. We will need to make more preparations."

As expected of the Admiral of Stars... Alger nodded and said,

"I can't stay in Bayam for too long, or else I will incur suspicion. If

you need my assistance, it needs to be fast."

After receiving confirmation from her, The Hanged Man slowly got up and

pulled up his hood before leaving the room.

Having learned where Artisan Cielf was presently living, Cattleya

removed her heavy glasses and pinched her glabella. Clapping, she said,

"Heath, come in."

In the shadows of the door gap, the darkness suddenly stirred as a thin

and tall but pale figure appeared.

His nose bridge was ridiculously high, and his facial skin was nearly

transparent. Looking ill, he was none other than the second mate of the

Future, Rose Bishop Heath Doyle.

Cattleya looked at him and said, "The actual situation is... I'll leave

the rest to you."

"Yes, Captain." Heath Doyle simply replied before shrinking back into

the shadows.

Cattleya raised her right hand and paused for a few seconds.

"Stay---Stay away from Frank for the time being. He had reached a

standstill in his mushroom experiments. I'm afraid that he will come up

with new ideas."

"The location of my second marionette..."

Klein held two branches as he repeatedly chanted without seeing them

move.

This meant a divination failure or that Kolain City didn't have a second

marionette that suited him well.

*From the looks of it, mysticism methods are temporarily useless. I'll

pack up tomorrow and leave...* Klein mumbled and threw the

branches into the trash can.

Standing beside him was Enzo. Although he didn't dare to directly look

at his master and was only looking at the ground, he skilfully made a

cup of black tea and offered it to Klein.

Compared to before, this Winner now had red skin that was nearly peeling

due to sunburn. After all of this turned for the better, he would have a

swarthy tan.

To disguise his new marionette and prevent the Rose School of Thought

from recognizing him, Klein had brought this gentleman on a trip to the

beach which received strong sunlight. He was then left exposed to the

sun for prolonged periods of time.

Meanwhile, he controlled the marionette to shave off most of his hair,

leaving a thin layer. With the trimming of his brows, contouring his

face with powder, and wearing shades, Enzo seemed to transform into

another person. Even the most familiar of friends of his might find it

difficult to recognize him unless the person was a Faceless.

Apart from a disguise in the real world, Klein also did some mysticism

management. Firstly, he used the Paper Angel's embrace, and second, he

carried Azik's copper whistle along with it.

In addition, he also determined that a Winner's passive luck and

calamity trait was ineffective. However, he had no idea if it was

because of its status as a marionette, or if it was due to the gray fog.

Receiving the tea and taking a sip, Klein cast his gaze at the map of

East and West Balam on the coffee table. He considered where he could

find his second marionette.

At this moment, the colors around him suddenly saturated as though an

artist had contoured the area with paint.

Right on the heels of that, a figure appeared beside Enzo. He was

wearing a silk top hat and a black suit. With a medium build, he had

bronze skin and eyes that seemed to see the vicissitudes of life. He had

soft facial features, and beneath his right ear was a tiny black mole.

He was none other than Azik Eggers.

Mr. Azik is finally here... Klein was first delighted before

he noticed that he had appeared beside his marionette.

This made an amusing scene surface in his mind.

Mr. Azik, who had relied on the copper whistle to locate him, had done

the same as he usually did---grabbing the copper whistle's wielder by

the shoulder and had left using the spirit world the moment he appeared.

And all Klein could do was watch helplessly, trying to stop him with

outstretched arms. But being a tad bit slow, he couldn't help but clam

up.

Azik appeared more reticent than before. Looking at Klein who had a new

face, he asked, "Are you ready?"