Vincent thought: Roselle, oh Roselle — you can't blame me for this. There was never any way to keep it hidden.
He was still thinking it over when a faint murmur reached him from the Realm of Chaos. A prayer, directed at him.
"Someone's praying to me. I'll step into the Realm for a moment."
"Go ahead."
On the stone platform of the Thirty-Third Heaven, the Scale poured out its golden mist once more. Within it, the "other" Bernadette was in the sitting room, praying toward him.
Well. That's an odd sensation.
Two halves of a single soul — and somehow they had become two distinct people.
He connected the "call." The Bernadette inside the mist spoke at once, her voice measured and flat — nothing like the one he'd just been talking to moments ago.
"What happened to the half of my soul that I split off?"
"She's — you're — that half-soul is currently inside your body. But it seems to have merged with the body itself..."
Bernadette nodded. "I think I understand."
"My guess is that when the Sage's Diadem shattered, the distorting force from its destruction caused the soul fragment to fuse with the body. It's bonded so completely that they can no longer be separated. But at the same time, the rule of the soul-exchange still applies — only you can control the body."
"How do you feel, with only half a soul?"
"Slightly weak, but no other problems."
Vincent hesitated. "But I think you two may have overlooked something."
"What?"
"If I'm reading this right — when your soul was split, your personality was split along with it. The you inside the body seems... rather lively. You're clearly more rational than usual."
She paused, then gave a small nod. "It does seem that way."
"Don't worry. Once the next exchange comes and things are restored, it'll resolve itself. We aren't truly different personalities — we're just two variations produced by different memories."
"I should be the part that carries the memories from after advancing to Sequence 4 — the memories with divinity in them. And 'she' would be the human part from before Sequence 4."
Vincent pressed his lips together. "That's completely unconvincing. You're already referring to yourself and 'her' as two separate individuals."
"It's actually quite normal. Whether it's the avatars of the Marauder Pathway, the Secret Puppet of the Astrologer Pathway, or the virtual personality of the Visionary Pathway — similar situations arise in all of them. The Mystery Pryer Pathway can, from Sequence 2 onward, convert oneself into an information stream, theoretically spawning any number of 'selves' — yet at their core they remain a single person."
"...Fine."
I clearly don't know LOTM lore as well as I thought.
"Alright — now that we've confirmed everything is fine, I'll head back."
"With my current state, I can focus on learning Chinese and Ancient Runes more quickly."
Ah. So this is the academic half.
Bernadette returned to reality and took stock of the situation. The conclusion was swift: until the next exchange, there was essentially nothing she could do but wait.
Her gaze drifted to the cat still snoring away on the bed. She walked over, pinched it by the scruff of the neck, and hoisted it up.
The white cat jolted awake with a start, staring around in bleary confusion. "Meow?"
"You can understand me, can't you."
A pause of two seconds. It nodded.
"Are you a magical creature?"
Another nod.
"Why do you have the belly pouch that only Snufflers have? And colour-changing... no, it's more than that — you seem to be able to change your entire breed. And you can apparently use magic."
"Meow~ meow!"
A flurry of frantic meowing: I was born this way!
But Bernadette plainly couldn't make sense of it. She frowned. "Can you read? Can you write?"
It shook its head.
Bernadette stared at it for a moment. Then she casually dropped it on the floor. "An unintelligent cat, I see."
"???"
I am NOT unintelligent!
It was about to bare its claws in protest — then immediately reconsidered its situation. Instead it padded over to the catnip patch, flopped down, and let out a long, satisfied purr. Whatever. As long as there's catnip, everything else can go hang.
It gave a blissful stretch and pawed idly at the base of the wand. Hungry now. Time to go find food.
The white cat snatched up a mouthful of catnip leaves, stuffed them into its belly-pouch, and trotted off toward the door. Then, halfway there, it faltered slightly, slowing its steps.
I'm... forgetting something, aren't I?
A few seconds later, it shook its head and pressed on. Never mind.
Back in the world of Lord of the Mysteries, the moment Vincent returned to reality, Bernadette's voice rose immediately: "Is that the other half of my soul?"
"It is."
"What did she say?"
Vincent relayed the conversation with the scholarly Bernadette in full, then couldn't help asking at the end: "Are you sure you two are... alright? With the split personalities and everything?"
Bernadette laughed. "Didn't she explain it?"
"Let me put it in a way you'll find easier to follow: she and I are like the two halves of the same film reel — we look like two separate things, but you need both to make a complete Bernadette."
"That... is actually a perfectly clear explanation."
Though — in the original novel, Klein's non-existent "personality" Gehrman Sparrow had eventually become a real and independent person. That had involved Adam's interference, admittedly. But could Bernadette's situation leave some unforeseen complication down the line?
Bad news: the Queen has cracked in two.
Good news: we now have two Queen Mystics.
"Knock knock knock."
A rap at the door. It was Vivian: "Your Majesty."
Vincent immediately composed himself, shifted smoothly into Bernadette-mode: "Come in."
"Your Majesty — these are the property listings you asked me to find a few days ago."
Vivian stepped inside, holding several folders. "I've spent the last few days carefully reviewing the candidates and narrowed it down to three properties that best match your requirements."
"Let's hear them." Vincent took the folders and nodded.
"The first is a terraced house at 22 Skye Street in the Jorwood District. It was previously the premises of a fairly well-known detective agency — after the detective went missing, the property stood empty."
"The second is at 9 Klein Street in Jorwood, also a terraced house. Right on a commercial street."
"The third is at 16 Crescent Street in the East District. The street is very busy, but chaotic — a very mixed crowd, and the Zmange Gang operates frequently in the area."
She paused briefly. "Incidentally, I've heard there's been some kind of internal trouble in the Zmange Gang over the last couple of days — they've apparently changed leadership in quite a hurry."
"..."
As if that wasn't your beloved Queen's doing.
Vincent flipped through the three folders. "Your recommendation?"
"I'd suggest the first property."
Vivian explained: "What Your Majesty has in mind — a 'Catch-All Agency' — has certain similarities to a detective agency. The previous establishment had built itself a modest reputation, and even months after the detective's disappearance, people still turn up at the door looking for him. So locating the agency there might allow us to trade on the detective agency's existing name recognition." She continued, "The other two locations are on commercial streets and busy areas, so they wouldn't lack for clients either. But in my view, the clients drawn in by the detective agency's reputation are a targeted clientele — they've already been filtered, in a sense. It might save a great deal of trouble."
Before Vincent could respond, Bernadette said, "Vivian is right."
"Alright, the first one it is. When can the paperwork be processed?"
"This afternoon. Replacing the sign will take a bit longer, though."
"No rush — changing the sign and opening don't have to happen at the same time. Just keep the old one for now."
"Understood. I'll take care of it at once."
After Vivian left, Bernadette asked: "Do you honestly think the kind of 'transactions' this produces will work for acting out the Shadow Merchant?"
"There's at least a chance. Besides, this isn't purely about the acting — it helps facilitate transactions in general, and more importantly, it gets me out of Caesar Restaurant."
Vincent cleared his throat. "I'd been thinking for a while that I ought to have my own proper base in your world."
To be continued…
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