Silas left Saint Samuel Cathedral, crossed several streets, and arrived at a plaza.
He sat down on a bench and produced a loaf of bread from who knew where.
Crumbling it into pieces, he tossed the crumbs out bit by bit to feed the pigeons.
Luna lay in ambush within the shadow at his feet, only her head exposed. Her azure eyes gleamed as she stared fixedly at the flock swooping down to peck at the food.
"Behave yourself. You're already a Beyonder cat. Picking on a flock of pigeons would be beneath you."
Silas gave her a warning.
At the same time, M's translucent figure silently appeared behind him and thrust her illusory hands into his head.
"The one who does not belong to this era..."
Silas murmured the honorific name.
The other passersby saw only his lips moving.
They assumed that the distinguished gentleman in a red shirt and black suit was talking to the pigeons, unaware that he was actually communicating with a certain concealed existence.
"Honorable Mr. Fool,"
Using the virtual persona created by M, Silas quietly addressed the existence above the gray fog. "Please tell Justice that I would like to ask whether any of the properties I entrusted to her to sell are still available. If there are, I hope she can reserve one for me."
The properties Silas referred to were actually the title deeds he had previously seized from Mr. A.
Since they would have been inconvenient for him to sell personally, he had pledged all of them to Justice in exchange for her investment in the textile factory.
Now that he had returned to Backlund, he naturally needed somewhere to live. Since he had already rejected the Church's arrangements, he could only put some effort into finding a place himself.
Within his vision, the dense gray fog gradually receded. His prayer had been heard by the sovereign above it. He believed that Justice would reply before long.
Whoosh!
Just as Silas was about to rise from the bench, ripples suddenly spread through the empty air before him.
A beautiful figure squeezed her way out of them. She wore an asymmetrical, mismatched black court dress, and her magnificent crimson eyes swept repeatedly over Silas's face and body.
She was Antia Trois, the ship spirit of the Black King.
"What kind of strange outfit is this? I still prefer the way you used to look."
She frowned as she offered her assessment, then tossed a white envelope into his hands.
As an angel-level Beyonder entity, Antia was currently avoiding the use of her corresponding powers.
However, as a being capable of traveling through the spirit world, she was more than qualified to serve as a messenger.
Silas picked up the letter and glanced at the signature. It had been written by Anderson, his first mate.
Before leaving the fleet, he had given Anderson the ritual for summoning Antia so they could remain in contact.
Whenever Anderson needed him, he could perform the ritual to summon the messenger and have a letter delivered.
Silas had also instructed him that, in an extreme emergency, he could pray directly to The Fool.
After all, Silas had already dragged Anderson into the affair back at the Ruins of the Battle of Gods. His first mate had replied that he would do his best to avoid using the second method.
It was worth mentioning that the designated invocation for Antia during the messenger-summoning ritual was:
The shadow of order, the specter from a distant age, the messenger and flagship belonging solely to Alexander Gascoigne, Antia.
As an angel, Antia naturally possessed an honorific name. Although the ritual invocation was not particularly formal, it perhaps reflected some of her characteristics.
Thinking this, Silas tore open the thick envelope.
After delivering the letter, Antia did not immediately vanish. Perhaps guessing that Silas might wish to send a reply after reading it, she sat down beside him and casually reached into the shadows to scoop up Luna.
Luna allowed Antia's fair hand to stroke her head again and again without making a sound. Her eyes remained fixed on the flock of pigeons.
Silas lowered his head and read the letter.
Anderson had not written about anything particularly urgent.
He had simply provided a detailed report on the routes he had recently led the fleet along, the islands they had reached, the enemies they had fought, and other such matters.
No wonder he used so many sheets of paper... This is so annoying to read...
Silas skimmed through the report, took out a pen, and wrote a single line in the blank space on the final page:
[Keep your reports concise from now on. Only tell me about important matters. However, you must clearly explain how much money was spent and anything concerning the crew. I might return to audit the accounts one day.]
As a leader, involving himself in every minute detail would only leave him exhausted. For Silas, keeping control of finances and personnel was more than enough.
"Do you want me to take it back to him?"
Seeing Silas place the pages back into the envelope, Antia spoke up.
"Yes. Thank you for the trouble."
Silas handed the letter to her.
"Don't waste your breath on pointless courtesies."
The angelic young lady rolled her eyes, accepted the letter, and swiftly vanished.
With her departure, Luna regained her freedom. She suddenly kicked off the bench, her pitch-black body shooting forward toward the flock of pigeons.
Flap, flap, flap!
A frantic beating of wings rang out. White feathers drifted through the air as the pigeons scattered in every direction.
Queen's Borough, Earl Hall's residence.
Audrey Hall sat upright in a chair.
Her nominal private tutor, who was actually her contact within the Psychology Alchemists, Escalante, was giving her a lesson in psychology.
The large golden retriever, Susie, lay at Audrey's feet with her tongue hanging innocently from her mouth, though she was actually listening with great concentration.
Her explanation here is somewhat biased...
Audrey thought to herself.
Escalante was only a Sequence 8 Telepathist, while Audrey had already become a Sequence 7 Psychiatrist.
Were it not for the need to maintain contact with the Psychology Alchemists, she would not have needed to attend these lessons at all.
Furthermore, The Hermit had already promised during the Tarot Gathering to provide her with the Beyonder ingredients for Hypnotist.
She believed that after waiting a little longer, her strength would rise another level...
Audrey eagerly looked forward to that day.
Whoosh!
At that moment, gray fog suddenly surged before her eyes, and the voice of Temperance entered her ears.
However, neither Escalante, who was seated across from her, nor Susie, who lay at her feet, noticed anything.
Mr. Temperance has returned to Backlund. That's wonderful! But why is he asking me for a property...? Hmm, it probably isn't about the money. He may be looking for somewhere to stay...
Facing Escalante, Audrey maintained an elegant, sweet smile while her thoughts raced. She quickly deduced Temperance's true purpose.
But all those properties have already been sold... How should I respond?
Once the lesson ended and Escalante had left, Audrey gave Susie a meaningful glance. The latter immediately understood, bounding cheerfully out of the room to stand guard outside.
Audrey lowered her head into a posture of prayer and said to The Fool, "Honorable Mr. Fool..."