"How much do you want?"
Trissy wasn't surprised by the black cat's response. Not only was this a seller's market, but the information itself was inherently priceless.
"5,000 pounds."
The black cat didn't hesitate, quoting a massive figure that the current Mr. Fool wouldn't even dare dream of. Trissy's brow furrowed.
"Roughly equivalent to the bounty of a Sequence 6 pirate?"
While she didn't yet know the formula for the [Pleasure] potion, Trissy, as an Assassin who had wandered the world, was no stranger to "Black Flag" affairs. Thus, she immediately drew a comparison to pirate bounties.
Of course, there was another reason for this comparison--a pirate's bounty usually equated to the price of a potion of that same sequence. In other words, if a Sequence 6 pirate was worth 5,000 pounds, then the main ingredients for a Sequence 6 potion would cost roughly the same.
"Correct. In fact, I'm already giving you a discount, as this knowledge is enough to last you all the way to godhood--provided you can make it that far." The black cat paced before the mirror, seemingly waiting for Trissy's reply.
Trissy didn't hesitate: "Fine. Put it on my tab. I'll do 3,700 pounds worth of work for you in the future. Now, give me the answers."
"What gave you the impression that I allow credit here?" The black cat wore a somewhat punchable expression, its amber eyes seemingly piercing through the mirror and straight into Trissy's heart.
Trissy's excellent emotional management allowed her to forcibly suppress her feelings. She took a deep breath and said, "Then for 1,300 pounds, how much can I know?"
"For example: if your question is \"what can money be used for,\" a 100-pound answer is \"you can buy food.\" A 500-pound answer is \"buying a house to rent.\" A 1,000-pound answer involves me telling you about investments and recommending projects. For 5,000 pounds, I'd even teach you how to exploit bank loopholes to net a fortune from nothing."
The black cat's tone was incredibly seductive. Trissy thought for a moment, got the general idea, and said, "Then I'll take the 1,000-pound portion for now."
"No problem." The black cat nodded with a smile. "\"Consult, do not master; digest, do not dig; act, do not just stay as yourself.\" You've heard this phrase, haven't you?"
"Of course! Don't tell me that alone is worth a thousand pounds!"
Trissy's "straight man" act was a bit stiff, but Snow used it anyway to continue, "No, that's the 100-pound portion. The 500-pound part is the realization that \"you are only acting\"... oh, wait, it seems I just gave you 500 pounds for free..."
"I hope you can speak faster so I can go find that Elisabeth girl sooner!" Trissy ground out the words through clenched teeth. The black cat immediately flicked its tail, adopting an "alright, I'm scared of you" posture, "Fine. Do you know that Beyonder characteristics seep out of dead Beyonders?"
"I do," Trissy answered without hesitation.
"Then it's simple. To put it plainly, every portion of potion contains the mental imprint of its previous owner. Of course, this \"previous owner\" isn't just the former Beyonder, and the \"digestion\" isn't just about absorbing the potion. However, you didn't pay enough for that knowledge, so we'll skip it for now."
As the black cat spoke, Trissy's pupils noticeably dilated--a clear sign of shock. But she didn't interrupt, and the cat continued, "I'm sure you can feel the \"shell\" surrounding the potion's power, right? That is the resistance from the mental imprint remaining in the potion. In other words, the process of \"acting\" is actually about disguising your own mental imprint to look like the owner of that Beyonder characteristic. You use this disguise to bypass the mental imprint's barrier and steal the Beyonder power bit by bit. When all the power is stolen, the potion is fully digested.
"Why is it said you must remember \"you are only acting\"? Because if you forget this and truly let your spirit become consistent with that imprint, then that imprint will merge into your spirit. When that happens, are you still you, or are you the previous owner? That is what I meant by being \"digested by the potion.\" Oh, by the way, based on this principle, there are techniques to use Beyonder characteristics to resurrect someone--but that's 5,000 gold pounds territory..."
"..."
A conversation of just a few minutes had deepened Trissy's understanding of potions exponentially. While she knew of the existence of mental imprints, combining them with the Acting Method made everything suddenly appear terrifying.
Every time she digested a potion, she was actually risking the previous owner's resurrection within her?
Realizing this, Trissy suddenly understood why Beyonders who consumed potions without digesting them faced the risk of madness and loss of control. It wasn't just madness; it was the original owner awakening within them without a successful resurrection.
If that's the case... then the "original owners" are surely the high-and-mighty True Gods?
But then, Trissy recalled an even more horrifying issue: the black cat had previously said she was the Demoness Sect's most successful "work," and that she most closely resembled the True God that the Assassin pathway pointed toward--thus, she was being raised as a vessel for a True God's descent.
Considering the information she had just received, this so-called "resemblance" likely meant her spiritual structure was naturally prone to being "digested" by the potion!
No wonder the Demoness Sect hadn't told her the true essence of the Acting Method. The fundamental reason was to make her lose herself in the act, slowly becoming assimilated by the Primordial Demoness's mental imprint. So that was what a "vessel for God's descent" meant?
Trissy felt she understood everything now. She even had a general idea of what the 5,000-pound information was: it likely involved how to use potions to create a carrier for one's own resurrection. So "true digestion" meant leaving one's own mental imprint within the potion's power? And the "owners" of the potions... were the True Gods?
Of course, while she had the thoughts, she still didn't know the specifics. But she had to admit, the price given by the other party was truly a bargain.
After spending some time absorbing the information the black cat had provided, Trissy looked back into the mirror, only to see her own beautiful face, now adjusted with a hint of a world-weary air. As for the cat, it had long since cut the connection.
"Damn it, I still had 300 pounds worth of questions!"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]
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A/N: Of course, bounties increase based on evil deeds, and potion ingredients have markups, but it's a good rule of thumb.
A/N: The interpretation of the Acting Method presented here reflects a headcanon/metatheory. It is based on a synthesis of lore from the original work and some additional creative interpretation regarding mental imprints and the mechanics of digestion.
T/N: Snow had only told Trissy the name of the Sequence 7 [Pleasure] potion formula at this point.
T/N: Consult, do not master; digest, do not dig; act, do not just stay as yourself (是消化,不是掌握;是扮演,不是挖掘).
This is a core mantra of the Acting Method, emphasizing that the user is interacting with an external power (the potion) rather than uncovering a personal one. The localization here aims to capture the nuance of "扮演" (acting/playing a role) versus being the thing itself.