Before the Beyonder Gathering

"There was a previous rumor that someone at tonight's gathering wanted to trade Deep Sea Speargun Fish blood for the Pugilist potion formula…

"And now, someone else wants to trade the Pugilist formula for a divination aid…

"But I don't have such an item…

"And finding one on such short notice is nearly impossible!"

Alger furrowed his brows, deep in thought. After a brief moment of contemplation, he decided to pray to The Fool, requesting that He inquire among The Tower, The Judgment, and The World to see if any of them had a suitable item.

Miss Magician, this is all I can do to help you. If nothing turns up, I can only apologize.

With that thought, Alger sealed his room with spirituality and assumed a prayer posture.

…

In Backlund, inside a house in the Cherwood Borough, a small seminar was taking place.

A man stood on a platform in the center of the hall, speaking eloquently as he passionately expounded on his ideas—while subtly introducing a certain product to the audience.

The attendees in the parlor were mostly housewives from well-off families, either middle-class or skilled workers' households.

However, in one corner of the room, a young girl wearing long gloves and a bearded man stood out starkly from the rest. Oddly enough, the speaker on stage seemed to overlook their presence entirely.

"Detective Moriarty, you said this man is scamming people?" Hazel asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"What do you think he's doing?" Sherlock Moriarty—Klein—smiled as he threw the question back at her.

"Well… isn't he just explaining something that's good for their health?" Hazel asked in confusion.

"You see, even you started to believe him… That means he succeeded, didn't he?" Klein chuckled, picking up a jar of what appeared to be face cream. "But this thing has none of the effects he claims."

"Then… what about all the data he cited?" Hazel suddenly realized the trick, her eyes widening further.

"Fabricated, of course. Just like all those so-called 'industry certifications.'" Klein shook his head.

At that moment, a group of policemen suddenly stormed into the room. The man on stage, who had been speaking so confidently, instantly panicked and tried to flee through the back door—only to be apprehended by Inspector Fassin, who had been lying in wait.

Meanwhile, despite the shocking turn of events, many of the housewives in attendance instinctively tried to hide a few jars of face cream on their person… Clearly, they still hadn't realized they had been duped.

"So this is what a scam looks like!" Hazel mused, finding herself both intrigued and daunted by the idea of playing such a role.

"This is just one kind of scam," Klein replied offhandedly.

After checking his pocket watch, he used Roselle's Grasp to lift the restriction on how light around him and Hazel was perceived, preparing to head to the next scam operation on his list.

For the sake of earning this 50-pound commission, he was putting in an admirable amount of effort.

Fortunately, having made the acquaintance of Inspector Fassin and his son Aetris at the Harvest Church, he had resolved any concerns about reporting these scams to the authorities.

But just as he was about to leave, a layered, illusory voice of prayer suddenly echoed in his ears.

Glancing at Hazel, who was deep in thought, Klein slightly bowed and said,

"I need to use the washroom."

She nodded slightly, letting him go without question.

Once inside, Klein locked the door behind him, took four steps backward, and arrived above the gray fog.

Sitting in The Fool's seat, he swept his gaze across the surroundings and saw that the Hanged Man's crimson star was pulsing.

As Klein extended his spirituality, he quickly grasped what The Hanged Man was requesting.

He couldn't help but mock himself,

"A divination aid? Aren't I one myself? But using it to trade for a Trickmaster main ingredient feels like a rip-off…"

Then, feeling chilled by his own humor, Klein shook his head and "forgot" his own joke, turning serious as he analyzed the situation.

"The World doesn't need to be asked—I'm certain he doesn't have one… Temperance might be able to acquire it, but that would take time, and this deal is urgent…

"Judgment seems to still be on a mission. According to her last report, she's traveling with a high-sequence powerhouse, and she might even miss next week's Tarot Meeting… Best not to disturb her.

"So that leaves The Tower as the most likely option?"

With that thought, Klein tossed The Hanged Man's prayer request directly into The Tower's crimson star.

…

In the underground workshop of Fragrant Manor, after several failed attempts, Ebner finally succeeded in invoking the Unknown Land behind Pure White Eye, granting the ability of Mental Piercing to a spiritual material. Using this as a foundation, he crafted a new Beyonder item.

It was an elegantly designed silver-white necklace, originally one of the gifts Miss Audrey had picked out.

—Back when Cullen had asked Ebner for help choosing a gift for Lydia, he had outsourced the task to Audrey. She had generously sent an entire package of jewelry, accessories, and hats, leaving him to pick from them.

Ebner had removed the gemstone originally embedded in the necklace and replaced it with the spiritually infused material, refining it further using his Artisan ability until it was finalized.

Of course, Helene played a crucial role in the process. Without her continuously heating water, the steam machinery wouldn't have had the power to refine the spiritual material into a gemstone-like shape.

"Though the Mental Piercing ability in this necklace is slightly weaker than normal due to the carrier, it's still good enough…

"Moreover, thanks to the amplification effect of the Tudor Emblem, its effective duration has increased to about eight months… Sigh, it's still a bit short. The price won't be high. I wonder if Miss Gwen will accept it for 400 pounds…"

Just as he was about to test the necklace's power and give it a name that would make it more marketable, his vision suddenly turned hazy, filled with dense grayish-white mist.

An image emerged—The Hanged Man with his hands clasped in prayer.

"A divination aid?

"In exchange for the Pugilist formula?

"To purchase Deep Sea Speargun Fish blood?"

After processing The Hanged Man's request, and instinctively praising The Fool, Ebner's expression turned a bit peculiar as he thought to himself:

"I don't have a divination aid on hand, but I can easily make one in time…

"But The Hanged Man wants it to exchange for the Pugilist formula, which he will then trade for Deep Sea Speargun Fish blood, which he'll finally sell to Fors…

"If that's the case, why don't I just use the Pugilist formula to directly purchase the Deep Sea Speargun Fish blood? That would cut out so many unnecessary steps.

"Hmm… But The Hanged Man's maneuvering does have its advantages. It increases the volume of trades at my Beyonder gathering, meets more people's demands, and makes the event livelier overall…

"This way, everyone benefits, and my gathering gains momentum—it's a win-win situation… Worth helping him out…"

As his mental gears turned, Ebner quickly threw himself back into work.

Meanwhile, Helene silently downed a spiritual recovery potion that her employer had prepared for her…

…

At 7 p.m., Alger patted the small mirror in his pocket and stepped through the hidden entrance of Amyris Leaf Bar.