"Hmph."
Pallez's eyes glinted. He snorted lightly and said, "Speak. You didn't come here today just to clear up a misunderstanding with Leonard, did you?"
Edward gave a half-smile. "That was just one reason. The main thing is—I have something I'd like to work with you on."
"Work with me?" Pallez raised his brow in surprise. "What could you possibly work with me on?"
"You're injured, aren't you?"
"That's right."
"Well then, if you could devour a Sequence 4 demigod of the Marauder pathway, wouldn't that help with your recovery?"
Pallez replied calmly, "Go on."
"There's a wounded demigod of the Jacob family hiding in Backlund. A few days ago, she nearly managed to parasitise one of my relatives. So—I want revenge."
"And your plan?"
"I'll find her for you. You take her out. Even injured as you are, it should be no problem for you to kill a fellow Marauder pathway Beyonder who's even more gravely wounded and lower in Sequence."
Pallez frowned. "No."
"Why not?"
He countered, "Did that mysterious being you follow ever tell you about Amon?"
"Yes."
Pallez said flatly, "If I make a move, I could attract Amon's attention. In my current state, if he locks onto me, I'm as good as dead."
"…I see."
Edward hadn't considered that. But now that he thought about it, one of Amon's Sequence 4 avatars was known to be lurking somewhere around Backlund.
"Then what if you simply restrain that Jacob demigod—and I'll figure out a way to kill her?"
"Oh?" Pallez raised a brow in mild surprise. "You actually think you can kill a demigod?"
There was no condescension in his tone, despite Edward's relatively low Sequence. Instead, Pallez simply stated, "I can only suppress her when she transforms into a Worm of Time, using my higher-level to suppress her."
Edward lowered his head and considered it. "Understood. Then I might need to bring in another ally."
Since Pallez couldn't take direct action, Edward wasn't foolish enough to assume he could kill a demigod alone—even one who was wounded. She was still a demigod, after all.
But…who could he turn to?
The first group that came to mind was the Sanguines.
Lilith being endangered was ultimately the result of them capturing her—so asking them to help deal with that Marauder demigod doesn't seem unreasonable, does it?
Besides…it'd be a great opportunity to establish a connection with the Sanguines. I could use that kind of backing in the future.
Still, all this was just hopeful speculation. He'd have to actually meet and talk with them before knowing what was possible.
"Alright," Pallez nodded. "As for Leonard's situation—we'll stick with the plan. Once he's grown enough, the misunderstandings will naturally be cleared, and it'll be a joyful reunion."
"But that means I'll have to explain your existence to the others…Aren't you worried that too many people knowing might cause trouble?"
"Of course I am."
Pallez didn't bother hiding his fear of Amon. "A secret is only a secret when no one knows it. The moment you found out about me living inside Leonard, it stopped being a secret. That left me with two options—either kill you all, or trust you."
"I don't know whether I should trust you. But I do know…Leonard, that foolish boy, would definitely choose to trust you."
"…"
As expected of the last shred of conscience among the Thieves…
———
Klein, Dunn, and Daly waited in confused silence for quite a while before they finally saw Edward and Leonard returning.
Leonard gave them a slight nod, then quietly reentered the carriage. Edward, meanwhile, stepped forward and quickly explained Leonard's situation.
Klein had already known about Pallez's existence beforehand, but was still surprised by the request to keep it hidden. Dunn and Daly were outright stunned—so all this time, Leonard had a literal angel-level entity living inside him?!
At that moment, Klein looked at Daly, who seemed unusually calm. He asked, "Miss Daly…you seem to have accepted this 'angel' inside Leonard rather easily?"
Daly smiled. "The higher-ups in the Church—even the Goddess "Herself"—have accepted it. What reason would I have not to?"
"Huh?"
"Have you forgotten? Lately, Leonard's either been training with the Red Gloves at Cathedral of Serenity or wandering around Saint Samuel's. If that angel inside him really posed a threat, you think we'd be the first ones to notice?"
Klein was suddenly enlightened.
Edward gave Daly a silent thumbs-up in his heart. Working with smart people really does make everything smoother.
"Then starting now," he declared, "our plan to ensure Leonard's growth officially begins."
Everyone: "…"
Edward grinned. "From this moment on, I'm a scheming traitor who betrayed the Church. You two…"—he gestured to Klein and Dunn—"are innocent victims who died tragically under my machinations. And Miss Daly here is a grieving widow who appears calm on the surface but is secretly burning with revenge."
Dunn and Daly: "???"
Klein scratched his cheek, half-laughing. "Let's hope Leonard doesn't hate us too much when he learns the truth in the future…"
Edward shrugged. "Hey, don't blame us—blame the old man. He's an angel. Are we really going to go against the will of a Sequence 1?"
Daly pursed her lips. "What now? I did, after all, drag Leonard out under the pretext of investigating an extraordinary incident in the East Borough."
"Don't worry. The old man's prepared a script. Just follow his instructions."
"A script…"
Daly's expression turned odd. At this rate, who knows what Leonard's going to turn into by the end of all this…
———
Ten minutes later.
Leonard suddenly regained consciousness and immediately shouted, "What happened, old man?!"
He looked around—and saw the carriage destroyed, its wreckage scattered across the ground. The driver and Daly lay motionless nearby, their condition unknown.
"What…what the hell happened here?"
Then came Pallez's weak voice: "Just now…we were attacked. If I hadn't taken control of your body in time, the consequences…"
"Who attacked us?!"
Pallez sighed. "…All I know is, one of them was Edward."
Leonard's pupils contracted sharply. "Edward?!"
———
"Achoo! Achoo!"
Edward sneezed several times in a row while sitting inside the room. Lilith immediately jumped onto his lap.
"Edward, did you catch a cold?"
"No."
He rubbed his nose. "Someone's probably cursing me right now."
Lilith perked up, bouncing her little feet excitedly. "Who is it? Miss Lilith will go curse them back for you!"
"Eh, forget it. He's pitiful enough as is."
Edward shook his head, then changed the subject. "By the way, where did you and Audrey go this afternoon?"
She sat upright, her tail curling around her legs. "We just stayed indoors chatting with a group of people. They were talking about things Miss Lilith didn't understand."
"Oh?"
Sounds like the Psychology Alchemists…
"And then, on the way back, someone followed Audrey home. Said…she'd be her teacher."
Looks like the Psychology Alchemists are preparing for the final assessment to officially invite Audrey to join them.
Klein had already obtained the Book of Secrets from Sharron some time ago, so the Paper Angel should be nearing completion. With the Paper Angel's protection, there shouldn't be any major safety concerns with Audrey joining.
"Oh! And Susie's advanced to Sequence 7!"
Lilith pouted, clearly unhappy—she always prided herself on being smarter than Susie.
"Alright then, once I'm done with everything in the next few days, how about I take you to the sea for some 'acting'?"
"Yay~!"
Just mentioning the sea seemed to thrill her. Edward suddenly remembered—wait, it's been days since I sent that letter to Danitz. Why hasn't he replied? Could something have happened?
With that, he summoned his messenger: Phoenix.
"Good afternoon~ sir."
As soon as Phoenix appeared, Edward noticed something different—it looked slightly…smaller than last time.
"Why have you shrunk again?"
Phoenix replied, "Previously, I was growing due to unstable internal energy. That instability is now being brought under control."
"So that's it. I thought you were just going to keep growing bigger and bigger."
Phoenix shook its head. "No, an overly large body would hinder mobility. But I can enlarge myself during combat."
Edward looked over at Lilith. "Did you hear that? Bigger isn't always better~"
She pouted. "But it can grow bigger whenever it wants~"
…This little rascal.
"By the way, do you know why there's been no response to the letter I sent that blonde guy?"
Phoenix replied, "He said he had to show it to the captain before he could reply."
Edward blinked. "He's not on the same ship as before?"
"Nope! When I delivered the letter, he was on a small island."
That explains it.
Edward then asked, "Can you locate the captain—Edwina—for me?"
"Yes, I can."
"Good. Then help me deliver a letter to her."
With only one final special coordinate left, Edward didn't have many options remaining. The two simplest choices were either the Mind World or the Groselle's Travels book world.
Calling it the "Mind World" was a bit misleading. Technically, it referred to the Sea of Collective Subconscious—an ocean of thought connecting the consciousness of all living beings. It could definitely be considered a "world" in itself.
In the original story, Audrey had once used psychological cues to enter the collective unconscious. But that kind of manoeuvre was actually extremely dangerous. Still, danger or not—it had to be tried.
The other option, Groselle's Travels, also posed complications. Unless one reached the end of the story, it was impossible to leave the book. And reaching the end meant the lives of Groselle and his companions would also come to an end.
Edward didn't know them personally, but most people still remembered that couple fondly. If their deaths ended up being his fault, he'd definitely feel guilty.
Wait…in the original story, after defeating the Frost Dragon, they pushed open a door. Once everyone exited, time resumed, leading to their deaths.
If they avoided the door when it opened—could that stop them from being pulled out of the book world?
Then again, what if that final door was purely symbolic? Maybe the moment it's opened, it marks the "end" of the story—and the story ending is what triggers their departure.
If that's the case…they'd still die.
So what if they prepped some blood in advance and, as soon as they exit, immediately smear it on the book to go back in? That way, they could return…
But then… would time still stop for them after re-entry?
Was there a way to halt the flow of time on their bodies?
Amon had once accelerated Klein's ageing in an instant in the original novel, but Pallez had later reversed it. So…maybe an angel-level Marauder could manage something like that?
But given Pallez's current condition, that was clearly out of the question.
Ask Amon for help? Ha! I'm not suicidal.
Edward furrowed his brows, thinking hard.
What if I have them recite Mr. Fool's prayer in advance, and pull them above the grey fog right before the ending? Even if their bodies decay, wouldn't their souls survive?
Then have Priscilla take them into her Underworld. That would be…a different kind of survival, wouldn't it?
But could they really ask Mr. Fool to pull so many people into the Sefirah Castle at once? Wasn't that too much?
If it came to that, Klein would have to be involved. Knowing his personality, he'd probably do it voluntarily without even needing to be asked.
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.