In a hidden room, a man and a woman were entangled in passion, their heavy breaths filling the space.
The man had striking features, but one of his eyes was blind—he was none other than Ince Zangwill. Just as he was about to reach the peak of pleasure, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye: the quill on the desk had unexpectedly broken free from its "seal" and was writing in the open diary on its own.
Ince's heart jolted. He immediately lost all interest in pleasure, pushing aside the woman beside him and leaping to the desk, seizing the quill.
The woman on the bed, a beauty with a hint of laziness in her demeanor, let out a dissatisfied hum. She then dressed herself and walked over to Ince in no particular hurry, pouting, "I even skipped overseeing that 'Desire Apostle' just to keep you company, and this is how you treat me?"
You skipped overseeing the "Desire Apostle" because "Arrogance" was with them, didn't you? Do you think I don't know?
Though that thought crossed her mind, Ince Zangwill did not argue; instead, he said grimly, "Something unexpected happened!"
"What kind of unexpected event?" the woman—Despair Nightingale, Panatia—swept her gaze over to the diary and saw a few freshly written lines:
"...Talim suddenly woke up from his dream. He seemed to have seen something and looked quite surprised.
"Talim was confused by something. Under an unknown pull, he left his residence in Cherwood Borough and walked toward South Riverside Street along the Tasok River.
"Talim entered the vacant house at No. 23..."
The quill had stopped writing at this point, as Ince had already grasped it. He crossed out the last sentence and replaced it with a new one:
"The target has decided to kill Talim immediately using a curse. She had already considered this when collecting his blood, so this development is reasonable."
"Talim? That subordinate of Prince Edsack? He shouldn't know anything..." Panatia mused.
"He indeed knows nothing, but that doesn't stop certain people from deducing things through him! Especially since someone has managed to block '0-08's' perception..." Ince shook his head before continuing, "You'd best accelerate your plan to avoid any unforeseen complications."
"The preparations aren't complete yet. Even if we speed things up, we still need at least ten more days..." Panatia said as she finished putting on her jewelry and shoes.
"Are you heading to South Riverside Street?" Ince frowned slightly. "Be careful—it might be a trap."
"Are you worried about me?" Panatia flashed an intoxicating smile, but when her eyes met Ince's cold, one-eyed gaze, she couldn't help but click her tongue. "Tch, boring man!" she muttered under her breath.
With that, she walked toward the door but turned back before leaving. "I'm about to impersonate that Desire Apostle to lure away the Spellsinger of God... Do me a favor—have a few Mandated Punishers conveniently discover the anomaly at that house on Riverside Street. I want to use 'Jason Beria's' identity to eliminate them while conducting a quick investigation there...
"This way, the mastermind trying to take Talim away might just end up bearing the wrath of the Spellsinger of God for me."
Ince Zangwill pondered for a moment before nodding. "Alright."
"Then, I'll let you enjoy the pleasure we left unfinished once I return." Panatia threw him an ambiguous air kiss, and her figure gradually faded, as if erased by an invisible hand.
…
In Bayam, inside the underground chamber of Fragrant Manor.
Ebner watched as the doll he had placed on Talim suddenly cracked all over. Tiny black flames emerged from the fissures.
As expected, mere distance couldn't block a curse of this level... Fortunately, the "Chained God"—no, the "God of Spiritual Creature"—had taken on the burden of the curse for him.
While he was deep in thought, the flames within the cracks slowly gathered into thin black strings, tightly binding the doll.
Moments later, the intangible flames solidified, as if they had truly turned into ropes binding the doll, losing all supernatural traces.
After glancing at Talim, who remained completely unaware of his predicament due to Ebner's "hypnosis," Ebner reverted to his original form, stowed away the doll, and once again led him into the "circle of fire" that had suddenly appeared on the teleportation altar.
—Speaking of which, the reason Ebner didn't teleport directly to the "Golden Dream" but instead made a stop at Fragrant Manor was to return to his original appearance and change into a new outfit.
After all, it was one thing for Xio to see his "Tracy" disguise, but there was no need to spread it any further...
…
When Talim regained consciousness once more, a beautiful lady with light blue eyes appeared before him.
I remembered that the last time I woke up, I also saw an extremely beautiful woman, but it definitely wasn't this one...
Is this a dream? But why does it feel so real?
Could it be like Sherlock always jokes... that I'm just waking up the wrong way?
Before the dazed Talim could make sense of the situation, the woman in front of him calmly asked, "Which university did you graduate from, and what was your major?"
"Beyonder University, Economics..." Talim replied instinctively.
"Besides Loenese, what other languages are you proficient in?"
"Ancient Feysac and Intisian..."
"How much do you know about history?"
"I've read A History of the Loen Kingdom..."
After a few rounds of questioning, Talim finally couldn't hold back anymore and interrupted, "Miss, may I ask where this is? And why am I here?"
"This is the Golden Dream," the woman—Edwina—explained unhurriedly, "A friend of mine introduced you to me and asked that I keep you as a crew member for a while. I agreed.
I need to assess your knowledge to determine your role on the ship and what subjects you'll need to study... That's why I was asking you these basic questions."
"The Golden Dream?! You... you're the 'Vice Admiral Iceberg'?" Talim stared wide-eyed at the beautiful woman before him, his face full of disbelief. "Stop joking... Miss! I was just in Backlund!"
Edwina remained silent, merely gazing at him for a few seconds before calling for Danitz and instructing, "Help him recognize reality."
"Understood, Captain!"
After responding, Danitz shot a few suspicious glances at Talim, who was only wearing pajamas, wondering why he had appeared in the captain's quarters at this hour.
…
Once Danitz took Talim away to "recognize reality," Ebner finally revealed himself and smiled at Edwina. "I hope Talim adjusts quickly."
This so-called "recognizing reality" was a rule set by Vice Admiral Iceberg for new crew members—it typically started with various kinds of labor. This method was actually somewhat similar to modern boot camp training, meant to instill obedience.
Edwina didn't continue the topic. Instead, she picked up a deep brown, leather-bound book made of parchment and then asked, "Do you remember the invitation I gave you last time—to join me on an expedition?"
Ebner glanced at the book's title and couldn't help but twitch his eyelids before cautiously asking, "Are you saying... the expedition involves entering this book?"
Edwina nodded and replied, "Yes... There is a 'world' inside this book. Its previous owners likely wandered into it and never returned... That's why, despite it being an ancient text from 3,000 years ago, its pages contain figures from various eras throughout history. But I've discovered a possible way to enter safely... thanks to a 'prophecy' given to me by Teacher Isabella..."
"What kind of prophecy?" Ebner asked curiously.
"'The Calamity Seal bestows the Northern King's Key upon the soldier's family.' That was the revelation my teacher received. The 'Calamity Seal' is probably the most beloved Sealed Artifact of Emperor Roselle that 'Lion' Leon mentioned... And the 'soldier' likely refers to the Loen soldier who was the last to enter the book... Unfortunately, after searching for over a month, I still haven't found any clues about his family..."
(End of Chapter)