Since there was no teleportation altar set up at Mr. Gaston's house, Ebner first "teleported" back to the Fragrant Manor in Bayam, then relied on his "Flying Cloak" to follow the air route all the way to Damir Port.
During this journey, due to various unforeseen factors such as avoiding storms, deviating from the flight path, and escaping from wild Beyonders, by the time Ebner arrived at the school where Mr. Gaston resided, it was already Saturday afternoon.
Mr. Gaston still maintained his usual stiff gentlemanly demeanor, but such appearances no longer fooled Ebner, who was quite familiar with him.
After all, what proper person could craft something like the "Transformation Wand"?
Taking a sip of the Southville coffee Mr. Gaston had prepared, Ebner cut off his wandering thoughts—since it seemed he was also insulting himself by extension…
Next, after a few brief pleasantries, he got straight to the point:
"My 'Transformation Wand' has been sold?"
Mr. Gaston nodded and said, "I've already negotiated the price with Littorio. In addition to those classified pieces of intelligence regarding 'Admiral Deep Sea' Howl Constantine, he also agreed to pay an extra 5,000 pounds."
Littorio was the third officer aboard the Black Emperor, and also the wielder of the "Transformation Wand – Wind," a wand crafted by Mr. Gaston. After transformation, he earned the nickname "Witch of the Wind," with a bounty of 11,000 pounds.
He had once unintentionally uncovered the secret of Admiral Deep Sea Howl Constantine, thwarted the latter's plans, and ultimately escaped the pirate admiral's relentless pursuit.
Ebner had deduced through "Divination" that the secret of Admiral Deep Sea was very likely related to that sea monster with "Prophet" traits. That's why he had entrusted Mr. Gaston to negotiate the exchange with Littorio.
"According to our prior agreement, the profit margin is split 20/80—you get 20%, I get 80%. So here's your 1,000 pounds." As he spoke, Mr. Gaston pulled out a pouch of gold coins and a smaller bag containing gems, handing them to Ebner.
Pirates always had diverse methods of payment—it was never just cash... Thinking this to himself, Ebner took the bags and estimated their value, finding that the combined worth of the coins and gems exceeded 1,000 pounds. Mr. Gaston was being fairly generous.
"And the intelligence on Admiral Deep Sea?" Ebner asked after stowing away the bags.
"One moment..." Mr. Gaston rose and walked to the other side of the living room. He reached up to the top shelf of a bookcase and retrieved a metal box, which he carefully placed on the table in front of Ebner. Then he explained:
"My transaction with Littorio was completed under the witness of Nast, the King of the Five Seas. His Excellency used his power to impose certain 'rules' on this box containing the intel. Once opened, you will have only three minutes to read its contents—after that, it will self-destruct."
Is this to prevent the middleman from secretly reading the intel? Nast, the King of the Five Seas sure plays by the book—though I don't particularly mind...
While thinking this, Ebner activated his "Pure White Eye" to inspect the box and discovered that the parchment inside had actually already been "destroyed." It was only thanks to Nast, the King of the Five Seas using an ingenious setup to "amplify" the time it would take to fully decay that it still appeared intact.
Once the box was opened, however, that setup would be partially broken, greatly diminishing the effectiveness of the time dilation…
After roughly understanding how it worked, Ebner thought that if this ability could be developed into a secret technique and applied to crucial mechanical spare parts, he could earn a fortune just by selling consumables...
As he mocked this idea in his mind, he was just about to open the box when the doorbell suddenly rang.
Mr. Gaston looked a little surprised. After all, he didn't get many visitors here, and even those who did usually made appointments in advance. It was rare for someone to just show up unannounced.
He nodded at Ebner in acknowledgment, then walked straight to the door...
But he returned to the living room shortly afterward, with a man in a black cloak following behind him.
The man looked to be around thirty years old, with tawny yellow eyebrows and deep yet bright blue eyes. His facial features weren't particularly sharp, resembling the mixed ethnicities from southern Intis, Lenburg, and Segar. It was none other than "Blazing" Danitz, whom Ebner had seen while acting as the "Polymath."
Why is he here…? No, wait—according to the original plot, he is vacationing in Damir around this time… The real question is, why did he come looking for Mr. Gaston?
Puzzled, Ebner put the metal box in his hand back on the table and looked toward Mr. Gaston.
"He's here to see you," Mr. Gaston said, pointing at Danitz.
Me? Is something going on with Edwina? Did something go wrong with her Groselle's Travels expedition plan? Why didn't she contact me directly?
A flurry of questions swirled in Ebner's mind, but on the surface, he remained calm and asked, "Did your captain send you to find me?"
On the other side, Danitz, who had never seen Ebner's true face and didn't know he was "Doctor Strange" gave him a thorough once-over, then cursed internally: Another pretty boy!
Only then did he recall what his captain had told him. With what he thought was a polite tone, he asked, "Are you Detective Bryan?"
"I am," Ebner nodded, then repeated his earlier question, "Edwina foresaw that I'd be at Mr. Gaston's place, so she sent you to find me here?"
Calling the captain by name so casually… and knowing she can 'foresee' things… What's this pretty boy's relationship with the captain, anyway? Hmph… could he be her younger brother? Is that why she told me to be polite to him?
Sour thoughts ran through Danitz's mind as he tried to comfort himself, before finally answering Ebner's question:
"You guessed right. The captain foresaw you'd be here, so she gave me this task before I went on leave.
"She asked me to pass on a message: she's already gotten a lead from the soldier's descendant. She'll be waiting for you in Tosk."
Soldier… Edwina found the descendant of Loenzer? The captain of the City of Glorious Light?
So Roselle—or rather, the Calamity Seal —really did add a 'backdoor' to Groselle's Travels through Loenzer…
But this backdoor needs to be activated in Tosk?
Heh, Tosk—that Intisian port city connecting to Loen—has been showing up quite a lot in my affairs lately...
The Steam Church archbishop of the Sarri family died in Tosk; Fanny's grandfather's characteristic was also taken there by a 'Marauder'...
And now Roselle's or the Calamity Seal's arrangements also lead there…
This can't all be just coincidence, right? Could it be some sort of convergence effect?
Also, the Sarri family must have something special about them, or they wouldn't be caught in such a vortex of fate…
Even if there's likely some being pulling strings behind the scenes.
(End of Chapter)