After tossing Mrs. Lucia's note into a trash can on the street, Lex took a public carriage back to the Violet Hotel.
Having removed his disguise, he quickly entered the room, drew the curtains, took off his overcoat, and then meticulously placed the prepared items onto the table.
These included an exquisitely crafted wooden box, 100 gleaming gold coins, a Clown's beyonder characteristic, and the spiritual crystal he obtained from Kariena Manor last night.
With preparations complete, Lex regulated his breathing, calmed his mind, and, while performing the necessary actions, chanted the incantation to summon the 'mysterious book'.
A moment later, he saw the gauze curtain by the window, previously ruffled by the wind, become still, and felt the heavy book that had changed his destiny resting in his hands.
Lex was not in a hurry to create the treasure chest. He first turned to the message board page to see if the Observers had left any new information.
'Sothoth: Land Abandoned by God, Silver City, ***, "Chernobyl".'
Hmm, such a concise message.
I know Silver City, isn't that where The Sun is? Oh, is this Watcher reminding me that these places are dangerous?
'Ting: Klein once used aliases such as Sherlock Moriarty, Gehrman Sparrow, Dwayne Dantes, Merlin Hermes, etc., and also had the persona of the Sea God Kalvetua.'
Good heavens, Klein has so many personas, even the Sea God is him. Tsk, I only have one 'Duke' persona. It really is easier to get things done with more personas.
'Talking Gambler: Do not reveal that you are a Transmigrator, do not indicate that you can understand the Great Emperor's diary. You are not in the gray fog, and the Eastern Heavenly Emperor has not taken you as a bed for his revival. I can only speak vaguely.'
This Watcher must be a Seer, I can tell from the tone.
Hmm, the first two sentences are not hard to understand, but why does it say I'm not in the gray fog, and what is the Eastern Heavenly Emperor?
A god?
Revival, which means the Eastern Heavenly Emperor is currently in a state similar to 'slumber'.
This world is truly strange.
Feeling a certain consumption of spirituality, and worried that the remaining spirituality would not be enough to sustain the creation of the treasure chest, Lex dared not read further.
He turned to the 'Artisan of Mysteries' page and communicated with the Mysterious Book using his thoughts, releasing the intention to create a 'spirit world treasure chest'.
An invisible wind blew, and the Mysterious Book turned to a fresh page. On the yellowed, parchment-like page, words appeared on their own: You already possess all the conditions to create this Spirit Realm creature. Do you wish to create it immediately?
The answer was, of course, affirmative.
Thus, a sudden gust of wind swept through the room, the crisp sound of falling gold coins continuously echoed, the surrounding light was tinged with an ethereal blue, and circles of Light rippled around Lex's materials.
As the dimensional crystal count on the Mysterious Book changed, deducting 208, the materials on the table were lifted by an invisible force, floating in mid-air.
The spiritual crystal was the first to enter the open wooden box, shattering the moment it entered, releasing an invisible spirituality that spread throughout the entire box and integrated with it.
Following this, the 'Clown's' beyonder characteristics also flew into the wooden box. It rapidly dissolved, similarly integrating with the box. Subsequently, the box began to undergo subtle changes. Red and white paint appeared on its surface, and the keyhole area was painted with a smiling face pattern, resembling an exaggeratedly grinning Clown.
Finally, the hundred gold coins, one after another, flew into the box. The moment they entered, they seemed to pass into another space, disappearing one by one before Lex's eyes.
Once all the gold coins had vanished, the box dropped to the ground, and suddenly, a phantom tongue extended from its lid, hanging out like a dog's.
New information appeared on the page of the Mysterious Book.
'The spirit world treasure chest has been created. Each summoning requires the payment of one copper penny. When storing items, a corresponding number of gold coins will be paid to the spirit world treasure chest, based on the importance of the stored item and the storage duration.'
'The summoning ritual is as follows...'
Below was the detailed process of the summoning ritual, which included a three-part incantation. After memorizing the incantation, Lex dispelled the summoning of the Mysterious Book.
At this moment, the spirit world treasure chest was still sticking out its tongue, seemingly awaiting Lex's command.
Lex cleared his throat and placed some magical items, including the katana ''Devil May Cry'', as well as a 'Wraith' characteristics and a 'Briber' characteristics, in front of the treasure chest.
"I want to store these things."
The spirit world treasure chest's tongue retracted, then emerged again a moment later, with a small note stuck to it.
"For how long do you wish to store them?"
Unsure of the fee, Lex said, "Let's store them for a year for now."
When the tongue retracted and reappeared, the handwriting on the small note had changed: "One year limit, total 58 gold coins."
Not bad, it's not expensive.
Lex breathed a slight sigh of relief, counted out 58 gold coins from Kyles purse, and placed them on the table.
The spirit world treasure chest made a 'huff huff' sound, and its phantom tongue, dotted with stars as if adorned with constellations, coiled around the gold coins and all the items Lex wished to store, pulling them into the box.
Lex watched as they seemed to enter another dimension, disappearing into the small wooden box, and couldn't help but feel a little worried. He then tried, "Please give me the ''Devil May Cry''."
The lid of the spirit world treasure chest opened, and the katana with a white scabbard suddenly leaped out of the box, caught by Lex's outstretched hand.
How amazing!
Lex held the katana, finally relieved, then put it back and said, "You can go now."
But this strange creature seemed to have no intention of leaving. When its tongue retracted and then emerged again, it had a small note stuck to it, with a line of text: You haven't paid the summoning fee yet.
Alright.
Lex rummaged through all his pockets and finally found a single copper penny, which he tossed into the box.
The strange creature immediately retracted its tongue and emitted a phantom-like, exaggerated laugh from within the box, like a Clown.
It spun a few times in its laughter, creating circles of Light, then shrank into a 'door' beyond normal comprehension and disappeared.
"This is truly wonderful."
Lex exclaimed sincerely, then decided that he should always carry a bag of copper pennies from now on, so he could summon the spirit world treasure chest at any time to store and retrieve items.
Just as he was about to ask Matthew to go to the bank to exchange for some copper pennies, he heard a knock at the door. Then Matthew entered and handed him an envelope.
"Sir, you have a letter."
"My letter?"
Lex took it and opened it; it was a telegram.
It was from Bison, with only a few brief sentences.
'My son, I have good news for you. The Navy has given a clear reply; they have agreed to your enlistment. So, please come back as soon as possible. Your mother and I miss you very much.'
Although he had been prepared, Lex's mood still sank slightly when he saw this letter.
But then, it quickly became uplifted again.
"Finally, I'm about to embark on another stage of my life."
"These next two days, I'll say a proper farewell to my friends in Tingen!"
Afternoon.
The sun was shining brightly.
At 5 Daffodil Street, Kyle opened the window, then hummed a Tingen folk song and began cleaning with a broom.
A knock on the door suddenly sounded. The former hunter frowned but still opened the door.
In the dazzling afternoon sunlight, a tall young man stood outside the door, dressed in a pure black swallowtail suit, wearing a semi-tall silk top hat. On his handsome face, below his left eye, was a faint scar like a tear stain.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Kyle. You could actually hire a housekeeper."
Looking at Kyle Garden, who was wearing a headscarf and an apron, holding a broom, Lex couldn't adapt for a moment. He couldn't connect him with the drunkard he first met.
"Doesn't hiring a maid cost money?"
"Do you think everyone is like you nobles, casually hiring a bunch of servants?"
Kyle straightened his back, holding the broom: "Are you planning to stand outside and watch, or do you want to come in and help?"
Lex shrugged, took off his hat, walked into the house, and then said, "I'm going home, Mr. Kyle. I came to say goodbye."
Kyle was stunned for a moment, then said, "Give my regards to your mother."