Back in Backlund, inside the luxurious Hall family villa.

Susie lay sprawled across Audrey's bedroom floor, her eyes fixed on the direction of the bathroom. Suddenly, she scratched her chin with her hind leg.

Click.

The bathroom door opened. Audrey emerged in a set of close-fitting silk pyjamas, slippers on her feet and her damp hair trailing over her shoulders.

"Susie, that pose of yours is very unladylike," she commented.

Susie looked a bit troubled. "But if I don't do this, I can't scratch my chin properly." She lifted a front paw. "Audrey, I'm still a dog. My limbs just aren't as flexible as a human's."

"How's your Animagus training coming along?"

At the mention of that, Audrey perked up with anticipation. After all, Lilith had turned into a little girl after advancing to Sequence 7—Audrey couldn't help but hope that one day Susie might too.

Susie opened her mouth and revealed a mandrake leaf hidden beneath her tongue. "It's been nearly a month."

Audrey clenched her fists, excited. "When the time comes, we'll have Edward take you to sea. It's easier to run into storms out there."

Just as she finished speaking, a knock sounded at the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Audrey blinked. "Who is it?"

"It's Miss Lilith~," came the cheerful voice from outside.

Susie shot to her feet, rushed to the door, and opened it skillfully. Her tail wagged furiously. "Lilith, why are you back?"

In her loli form, Lilith mimicked Edward's usual manner and patted Susie's head. "Because Miss Lilith missed Susie~!"

"!!!"

Susie's eyes widened in surprise, watery and full of joy. "Really?"

"Really!"

Edward stepped into the room behind her, his gaze lingering on Audrey for a few seconds before he coughed lightly. "Those pyjamas suit you."

Only then did Audrey realise she wasn't wearing any undergarments beneath her form-hugging sleepwear. Her figure was outlined with uncomfortable clarity, and her cheeks flushed slightly. Still, she feigned composure and asked, "Why are you back?"

"The Psychology Alchemists came to you directly. How could I not come check on things?"

She snorted. "So that's the only reason?"

"Huh?"

Audrey glanced at Lilith, who was happily playing with Susie. "Even Lilith knows how to make Susie happy!"

Edward: "..."

—Alright, that one's on me. Emotional intelligence: zero.

Way to go, Edward!

"I told you in the letter, didn't I? That new supervisor from the Psychology Alchemists didn't seem hostile."

"I still wasn't at ease."

As he spoke, Edward flicked a gold coin into the air. "Has Audrey been hypnotised?"

The coin landed with the numbered side facing up—no.

Without pause, he asked, "Has Audrey been mentally influenced?"

Again, the answer was no.

One by one, he divined various phrases and scenarios, ultimately confirming that Audrey had not been subjected to any Beyonder abilities.

"That's strange. Even if she means you no harm, it's unlikely she'd do nothing at all."

Audrey rested her chin on her hand, watching Edward work so seriously. "Either she suspects I have someone backing me and doesn't want to alarm us…or she really is just as lazy as she seems and simply can't be bothered."

"Well…"

That "Sloth" woman from the Psychology Alchemists had only appeared once in the original novel, never revealing any defining personality traits. Edward honestly had no way to assess her character.

So instead, he gave a stern warning, "No matter what, from now on you must pray for the Fool's protection every time you go out."

Audrey nodded. "I understand. But…what can I offer in exchange for the Fool's protection?" She looked troubled. "I'm not like you—I haven't accumulated a stockpile of 'merits.'"

"How about…I ask the Fool if you can borrow some of mine?"

"That's not right!" Audrey waved her hands. "No, no, I'll think of something myself!"

"Alright."

After a moment of hesitation, Audrey asked, "By the way…if this woman really did come to investigate the deaths within the Backlund division of the Psychology Alchemists, then can we assume that someone else was behind the attempted assassinations?"

Edward nodded thoughtfully. "From what you wrote in your letter, quite a few members committed suicide the moment MI9 arrived. That kind of behaviour strongly suggests hypnosis."

"Exactly. And if someone managed to hypnotise so many members of the Spectator pathway at once…if it wasn't the Alchemists themselves, then there's only one possibility I can think of."

Their eyes met—but neither of them voiced the name in their hearts: the Quill of Alzuhod.

Considering what had happened outside Backlund recently, it was clear the quill's new owner was trying every method to sabotage George III's ascension. This assassination plot might have been just another part of that scheme.

"This matter…you shouldn't get involved in it any deeper. Let the Psychology Alchemists handle it."

"Alright~"

A long silence followed. From time to time, one would sneak glances at the other.

"…Are you heading back to sea later?" Audrey finally asked.

"Mhm. My acting's been going smoothly these past two days. Right now, I'm leading a ship full of pirates to find more pirates."

"And you just left them behind to come back here—won't that be a problem?"

"Not really."

Edward coughed lightly. "Then…you should get some rest. I'll just…go?"

"Alright~"

He opened a Traveler's Door.

But just then, he stepped forward and gently pulled Audrey into a hug, chuckling, "How could I leave without one last hug?"

"Just a hug?" she asked.

Edward froze. "What?"

Audrey suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, rose up on her toes, and kissed him lightly on the lips again—only this time, it didn't end in just a fleeting touch.

In the corner of the room, Lilith frowned and tried to push away Susie's paw, which was blocking her view.

"Why won't you let me look?"

"Children shouldn't see things like this."

"Miss Lilith is not a child!"

Susie whispered, "But right now, you are a child."

Lilith puffed out her cheeks. "Susie, you meanie!"

A moment later, Audrey pulled back with a flushed face.

"Then…good night."

"…Good night."

Edward took a step back and said solemnly, "I'll finish digesting the potion as soon as I can."

"Mhm! I'll be waiting for you!"

With that, Edward stepped into the Traveler's Door and vanished.

Lilith, still sitting beside Susie, stared blankly.

"Huh? I haven't gone back yet! Miss Lilith's still here!"

Audrey giggled, scooped the little one into her arms, and rubbed her cheek vigorously against Lilith's soft face.

"Then you're sleeping with me tonight!"

"Ahh! Edward, save me!"

———

The following day, the pirate ship sailed at full speed without stopping.

Throughout the day, more than ten pirate ships arrived—bringing nearly five hundred pirates in total.

Naturally, Edward didn't keep expanding the ship's size to house them all. Instead, he wiped the recent memories of the earlier batches of pirates and returned them in groups to the newly arrived pirate ships.

Or at least, that's what Red-Hair and the others saw.

In truth, the moment they were far enough away, Edward would take a brief "bathroom break"—and then teleport back to quietly eliminate every last one of them. No loose ends.

And so, the "XP dummies" aboard the ship were replaced batch after batch. Eventually, Edward even boldly raised a new flag over the vessel:

The S.S. Knowledge.

Wherever it sailed, precious mystical knowledge would follow.

With that, Edward's potion digestion as a Wandering Mentor reached the final third.

And then it…stalled.

Not that the method had stopped working entirely—it was just that the speed of digestion had plummeted.

After sending off a few more groups of pirates, Edward finally pinpointed the issue: It was because he'd killed the people he was teaching.

Passing on knowledge wasn't just about "leaving my mouth and entering your ears." True transmission was when your mouth passed that knowledge on to others.

The best way to spread knowledge…was to ensure more people knew it.

But the problem was—much of what Edward taught shouldn't be spread around freely.

Sitting alone in the captain's cabin, Edward rubbed his temples in frustration.

Lilith handed him a glass of juice. "Edward, have some juice."

"Thanks, Lilith."

She cupped her glass with both hands and took a dainty sip.

"You're worrying about potion digestion again?"

"Yeah."

He leaned back in the chair, legs crossed, gazing through the orange juice toward the horizon—where the red moon was gradually rising. It was still dusk, and the sun hadn't fully set, but the crimson moon had already hung itself in the sky.

It painted the entire sea in mesmerising hues.

Lilith tilted her head and sighed, "Miss Lilith is also worried about digestion…"

"I try my best every day to act as a witch, but the potion still digests so slowly."

"Have you been keeping a proper record of your acting principles?"

She paused, then answered slowly, "Well…I just make sure to use magic and witchcraft in front of people—so they all see me as a witch."

Edward nodded.

"Your thinking isn't wrong—but you're missing a few key elements."

"Like what?"

"Symbolic behaviours. Most people don't define a witch simply as 'a woman who uses magic.' There's usually a spooky or sinister element to it."

"Remember the story I told you about Snow White?"

Lilith immediately nodded.

"Yes! Snow White fell into a coma after eating the witch's red apple!"

"Exactly. That's what I mean by 'symbolic behaviours.' They're recognisable and universal. When people see them, they instantly think 'witch.'"

"Ohhh~"

Realisation dawned on her face. She whipped out her little wand, pointed it at her juice glass, and whispered, "Flavitus."

The glass instantly transformed into a shiny red apple.

Then she skipped outside, just in time to cross paths with Red-Hair. Lifting the apple, she beamed at him, "Here—have an apple!"

———

[Note]: 520 Powerstones for an Extra Chapter tomorrow. Go, VOTE!

And if you are like me and want to read 40 Chapters in advance of the current story right now, you can support me on my Patreon. Thank me later~

Link - (P)atre(o)n.c(o)m/ Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]