"May I ask, how can one eliminate the curse of misfortune brought by Ouroboros's mural?"
After posing his question, Silas maintained his upward-facing posture, waiting for the silver-white giant serpent's response.
Initially, the giant serpent didn't move at all.
Did the communication fail?
Silas couldn't help thinking.
However, in the next moment, the giant serpent suddenly moved. It opened its massive mouth, aligned its body with Silas, and shot down violently!
Oh no...
Silas had no time to react.
In an instant, he only had time to see clearly the interior structure of the giant serpent's mouth. There were no teeth or tongue inside, only a blood-red expanse.
But this blood-red color only remained before his eyes for a moment before being replaced by darkness.
He had been swallowed.
The surroundings were warm and dark, but strangely, there was no sense of compression from being trapped in a snake's belly.
"Splash, splash, splash..."
The sound of flowing water reached his ears, somehow making him feel at ease.
After a brief moment of surprise, Silas calmed down. He felt the other party wasn't so hungry as to eat him for sustenance. There must be another purpose for doing this.
"Your mastery of mysticism is impressive. The Covenant ritual was executed with great skill."
Sure enough, a voice sounded in the darkness. This voice was rather vague, making it impossible to distinguish gender or age.
"Because I used to be a 'Secrets Suppliant.'"
Silas answered cautiously.
He couldn't see the other party's state, only vaguely sensing the mercury serpent's gaze watching him.
That day when encountering the demigod Devil, He had used the "Revolver of Luck" to change the situation on the field, but had also given him a Blasphemy Card afterward as compensation.
This indicated the other party basically had no obvious malicious intent... at least His attitude was neutral.
"The mural's curse can be lifted. Go to Oravi Island. Councillor Jorad of the School of Life is there. He can resolve it."
After observing him for a while, that voice slowly said.
School of Life!
Silas's heart stirred, hearing a familiar term.
He really is the Speaker of the School of Life, that missing "Snake of Mercury"! The intelligence Sharon provided before completely matched the current situation!
From what He's saying, He can still control the School of Life and isn't actually "missing" as the outside world believes...
However, he didn't know where Oravi Island was, and he didn't plan to leave the divine battle ruins in the short term anyway.
"Your Excellency, is there a way to suppress the misfortune or reduce the curse's intensity in the short term?"
Silas continued to ask.
"The person who saw Ouroboros's mural might not last that long. His misfortune has already started endangering his life."
"I see... I can teach you how to make a charm."
"A charm to stop misfortune?"
"No, one that brings misfortune to people."
"Huh?"
"Use this charm to actively trigger misfortune, release the bad luck, and keep his crisis within a controllable range."
The other party further explained. "Once every two to three days, and there won't be major problems in the short term."
"That's a good method."
Silas said sincerely.
Worthy of the Fate pathway. There's actually such a clever solution.
"Ouroboros is a foolish snake. His curse is just as stupid." The Speaker of the School of Life cursed. "He deserves to be deceived."
His tone was very impolite, and it carried dissatisfaction towards the True Creator's favored one.
Foolish snake...
Silas was amused by this term, then felt some information flowing into his mind.
"Alright, that's all for now."
The other party's voice gradually became lower.
"I'm currently in a critical developmental period. Unless there's something particularly important, don't contact me..."
The surrounding darkness and the splashing water sounds disappeared together. Silas opened his eyes and returned to reality.
On the beach, the two candles had already extinguished. The holy emblem on his arm had also healed, his skin smooth and flat, showing no trace of ever being cut by a knife.
Anderson watched him nervously and expectantly from the side.
"How did it go?"
"There's a solution.
Both a temporary method to control the misfortune and a way to completely solve the problem."
Silas's answer delighted him greatly, but after hearing the details, he became somewhat troubled.
"So you're just changing the misfortune to active triggering?"
He said.
"It's better than keeping your nerves on edge all the time, not knowing when bad luck will strike."
Silas recalled the additional information in his mind, which was precisely the method for making a "Misfortune" charm.
"The main component is a silver piece, then you draw power from Him… He's very cautious. He didn't tell me His proper name."
He thought to himself.
As an angel of the Fate pathway and Speaker of the School of Life, He could definitely serve as the ritual's terminal, projecting power into the charm.
Or perhaps because of the restart, His honorific name no longer matched His current state, and He couldn't just come up with one on the spot for my sake...
That works.
The Goddess's power isn't unusable. After all, the Goddess's honorific name includes this description: Queen of Calamity and Horror.
Silas muttered, then held another ritual, sending a prayer to the Goddess, skillfully carving marks on the silver piece, and finally completed the charm.
"Here."
He tossed the charm to Anderson. "Until your misfortune is truly resolved, use this as a substitute."
"Alright."
Anderson carefully examined the patterns on it, then cautiously tucked it into his pocket.
Though he said it casually, when it really concerned his life, he was quite solemn about it.
This matter was resolved.
Silas thought, and next, he would wait for [The Hanged Man] to buy the ship for him.
---
"City of Generosity" Bayam, in a remote fishing dock.
"Do you have sailboats around twenty meters?"
Alger, wearing a mask, asked.
"How many people do you need it to carry?"
The middle-aged man crouching across from him asked, bare-legged, his rotten teeth stained yellow by smoke.
"About ten people."
Alger thought for a moment, then added, "Preferably sturdy, able to withstand wind and waves."
"Oh, you should've just said you wanted it for a pirate ship."
The middle-aged man stood up, leading him deeper into the fishing dock. In a water-side cave by the shore, he saw rows of wooden boats arranged side by side.
"Brand new ones, second-hand ones, they're all here. Take a look yourself."
"What's the condition of the second-hand ones?"
Alger asked, carefully examining the rows of boats.
"Some were blasted by cannons and are being sold cheap.
Some were replaced when people got new ships. Some had most of their crew die and aren't doing piracy anymore... See that red one?
That one's the most unlucky. Three newly-formed pirate crews bought it cheap one after another, and they all ended up dead as doornails.
If you want it, I can sell it to you cheap."
The boat dealer said, tossing his cigarette butt into the water with a "hiss."
"No need."
Alger's eyes swept over the twin-masted sailboat that looked almost brand new, just covered in a lot of bloodstains, then decisively shook his head.
"What about the prices?"
"New ones are around 3,000 pounds. Second-hand ones start at 1,500. Cannons cost extra."
"Mm."
Alger nodded.
He was only responsible for relaying information. Which one to choose would ultimately be up to [Temperance] himself.