"Speaking of which, your place has been quite empty lately... did something happen?" At the Evil Dragon Bar's underground trading hall, a disguised Trissy chatted with the "boss" as if she were bored out of her mind.
Swain looked at this attractive woman but adhered to the typical style of the Church of the Lord of Storms' straight-laced men, bluntly throwing out a "Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask." Meanwhile, he mentally recalled what she had previously purchased from him.
As the former captain of Tingen's Mandated Punisher squad, Swain's nerves were equally high-strung. His presence in the bar was ostensibly for business, but in reality, it was to monitor these "customers."
He felt that someone like Mr. A--a Sequence 5--likely wouldn't bother with such a low-level trading platform, but one could never be sure if he might suddenly decide to recruit a few subordinates for assistance.
After all, the Aurora Order had been at odds with the Storm Church since its inception. Even if that specific pathway had too many hidden dangers for internal use, the Punishers were well aware of what materials were needed.
'Bought a Queen Bee Grass and some pure dew and essential oils over half a month ago... no materials related to Secret Supplicants. Her appearance predates Mr. A leaving Backlund. She likely only obtained a formula or some incomplete information. Her reappearance now means she's either spacing out her purchases to avoid exposing her formula, or she just obtained a complete one...'
Based on his years of experience, Swain quickly made a judgment. Normally, he would have notified the Punisher squad to follow this lead and see if they could dig up a Beyonder organization or develop an informant or two.
But now, every Beyonder in Tingen was on edge; there was no need to add to the burden for a minor character.
Given that she still hadn't bought anything, it was clear that she hadn't found the other Beyonder material she needed. It wouldn't be too late to investigate once the current storm had passed.
"Fine, I won't ask. By the way, that old man greeted you earlier. Are you two close?" Trissy waved her hand dismissively, as if she were truly just chatting out of boredom.
Despite his impatience, Swain followed her gaze. The person who appeared in his view was indeed an old acquaintance.
Even though he had been retired for a long time, Swain's instincts as a former captain remained sharp. Seeing her ask about an active Nighthawk, he suppressed his impatience and prepared to fish for information.
"That's Old Neil. A pauper who's always obsessing over mysticism despite his age, yet he's accomplished nothing and is in debt up to his ears..."
Swain casually disparaged Old Neil, but Trissy gave a charming smile:
"Accomplished nothing? You're underestimating him... If I were you, I'd keep my distance. He's on the verge of losing control."
"What nonsense are you talking?" 'Losing control' (shi kong) was undoubtedly the greatest curse for any Beyonder. Hearing such a word from this woman's mouth, Swain immediately overturned his previous assessment. This woman was likely not a rookie who had just gathered her potion; those Beyonder materials might have been prepared for her apprentice!
"Nonsense? For the sake of our chat, I'll give you a reminder: he's been polluted by the Hidden Sage. He'll be finished in less than a month..."
"Hidden Sage? You..." Swain's face turned purple with rage. But just as he activated his Beyonder powers to seize her, he discovered that the woman, who had been standing not far from him, has already disappeared.
"This..." The anger Swain had been building up vanished instantly, replaced by a surge of intense fear. Cold sweat soaked through his loose clothing. With just this one move, he was certain that she was absolutely a mid-sequence Beyonder!
"Damn it, how did Tingen suddenly get so many experts!"
Swain slammed his flask onto the table. He didn't immediately call out for Old Neil to demand an explanation; or rather, if Old Neil truly was polluted by the Hidden Sage or some other power, then the stimulation of being called out might actually trigger his loss of control.
"Molik, find a patrolling Nighthawk on the street. Tell them a wild mid-sequence Beyonder says Old Neil has been polluted by the Hidden Sage and is about to lose control! Tell them to call Dunn Smith over, fast!"
...
Just as Trissy was using her high sequence to bluntly inform the authorities about Old Neil, Snow had just left the editorial office of the Tussock Times.
The negotiations for publishing his work went smoothly. Putting aside the fact that the story of Phantom Blood [JoJo reference] fit the aesthetics of this era perfectly, the editor couldn't refuse Snow's handsome face.
Moreover, Snow had business dealings with one of the Tussock Times directors--
Namely, making house calls to treat the director's wife's dog.
Ahem.
In any case, the serialization of the novel version of Phantom Blood was very smooth. He believed that soon, the readers of Backlund's Tussock Times would enjoy the pleasure of following the updates piece by piece.
Paying the fare for the hansom cab, Snow looked at the Victorian-style streets. Fortunately, the ground here was quite clean... well, perhaps he should thank Mr. 'Yellow-the-Demoness-Tastes-Great-Tao' [Roselle].
Although his nominal home was here, Snow had only spent one night in this "mansion" since his transmigration. On the day after he drank the Secret Supplicant potion, he had boarded a train for Tingen.
It was called a mansion, but in reality, it was just a typical detached house. Excluding the small yard, the total living area across two floors was about a hundred square meters. However, given its location, it was absolutely a mansion among mansions.
It was the difference between a 50-square-meter apartment on the outskirts of a third-tier city and one inside the inner city of an imperial capital.
Snow's property was situated at the boundary between Backlund's West District and Empress District. It was safe to say that this was the best location in all of Backlund that money could buy--though, in a sense, it wasn't bought. It was a gift from Madam Dela as a thank-you for curing her family dog. By the way, some might not recognize the name Dela, but they might know her by another title: she was the wife of the pillar who attempted to withstand the torrent of the times [Duke Negan].
In a sense, Snow would have preferred his previous self to have been a pauper in the East District. The reason was simple: right across from his house was the home of Mr. A. Specifically, it was the location where Mr. A held his secret gatherings.
That's how his previous self had been spotted by Mr. A.
After all, his looks fit the Aurora Order's corporate culture perfectly.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]