557 Purpose
Already? Lumian hadn't anticipated the Knight of Swords making progress this swiftly—in just a day.
Trusting his gut, he turned, meeting his reflection in the full-length mirror.
There stood the disheveled, pallid-faced Knight of Swords, a sudden appearance.
"Just clues?" Lumian mused, distilling the essence of the other's words.
The Knight of Swords shot him a gaze, tightly reined, and uttered, "The day after hitting Port Santa, they visited Balançat Ship Rental, asking about renting a boat for fishing. Vanished since."
Those words sparked a fleeting thought in Lumian's mind.
Quite romantic. As expected of a three-halves Intisian and half-
Feynapotterian duo. Opting for a fishing date!
If only Nolfi didn't carry the Maiden of the Sea's lineage and this wasn't Port Santa; then, romance might've been their motive. Regrettably, reality doesn't entertain "ifs." Lumian sighed, pondering Nolfi and Batna's true intentions.
Port Santa teemed with fishermen, yet not all owned boats. The lower-class ones either worked on vessels for a set pay or pooled funds to rent or buy. Balançat's profits came from these folks, not the tourists or middle-class sightseers. This wasn't a city known for tourism.
In Lumian's contemplation, the Knight of Swords pressed on, "Nolfi handled the price inquiry, but Batna cooperated without resistance."
Did Batna truly perceive it as a date? For Intisians, it holds allure. No wonder he didn't resist. Renting a boat for a sea excursion… Lumian pondered, his mind racing with possibilities. Was Nolfi planning to intercept the incoming Governor of the Sea during the sea prayer ritual or collide with their ship loaded with gunpowder? Perhaps she intended to replace them at a critical juncture? Lumian's thoughts whirred with conjectures.
Then, a sudden recollection jolted him.
Various sources mentioned a crucial detail about the sea prayer ritual: The final and pivotal part unfolded in a special sea area beyond the port. Details and the location were undisclosed to those who hadn't witnessed it.
A new hypothesis formed in Lumian's mind.
Nolfi's mother, a fleeing Maiden of the Sea, likely visited that special sea and might have shared pertinent information with her daughter.
Was Nolfi's motive for renting the boat to reach that unique sea area?
What lay there?
The core of the sea prayer ritual. Did this imply something, an entity, or power concealed in that zone? Was the ritual designed to harness something extraordinary?
Did Nolfi aim to seize the item and establish herself as the permanent Governor of the Sea? Or did she intend to obliterate it, terminating Port Santa's tradition of selecting the Governor and Maidens through the sea prayer ritual?
If obtaining the item were easy, the Fisheries Guild committee members would have done it long ago. Human nature tends to selfishness. Leaving a boon for the Maidens' children is improbable unless one stumbles upon a stroke of fortune and knows the right approach to secure, elude danger, and navigate the situation…
Destruction might indeed be the simpler route…
As his thoughts raced, Lumian looked up slightly.
Could April Fool's key members have orchestrated a prank to steal the item or its uniqueness?
Had they succeeded?
This was a pivotal question.
The Knight of Swords observed Lumian in silence, not disrupting his contemplation. He stood motionless, resembling a lifeless figure.
After a while, Lumian asked with curiosity, "How did you manage to trace Nolfi and Batna in just one day?"
The Knight of Swords, in a deep tone, responded, "Gathering information from the spirit world and conducting a field investigation. After their departure from the Balançat Ship Rental, all pertinent information was either concealed or eliminated, making it impossible to locate them again."
Isn't this the premise of certain divinations… Nolfi and Batna didn't take precautions against divination before visiting the ship rental company, but they did so afterward?
This doesn't add up. Either they never take precautions, or they do it consistently, unless they are both novices who only remember to guard against divination after inquiring about the boat's price…
Yes, a more plausible explanation is that ship rental falls within the fisheries and sea trade-related industries, deeply intertwined with the committee members of the Fisheries Guild. Nolfi and Batna, as outsiders, inquiring about the price of a ship rental attracted attention, and their identities were exposed, leading to their "disappearance"…
The note revealing that Nolfi is the child of the Maidens of the Sea might come from the owner or a shareholder of the Balançat Ship Rental? Lumian's thoughts gradually became clearer.
He gazed at the Knight of Swords, pondering how to request him to continue the investigation.
At that moment, the Knight of Swords took the initiative to say, "I'll delve deeper into the ship rental company."
"Thank you," Lumian expressed his gratitude sincerely.
Then, he witnessed the Knight of Swords's figure swiftly becoming transparent and vanishing.
Transformed into a soul-like entity? Wraith? Lumian discerned more details this time.
This led him to suspect that the Knight of Swords belonged to the temperance faction of the Church of The Fool. His subsequent journey to the Southern Continent was likely to deal with the indulgence faction of the Rose School of Thought.
Without hesitation, he shed his clothes, donned a faded cotton shirt, and reclined on the bed.
…
Late at night in Trier, Franca strolled beneath intermittently-lit street lamps, clad in a thick tweed shirt and pants that clung to her legs.
Even without makeup and deliberately concealing her appearance in the darkness and shadows, numerous inebriated individuals still approached her upon glimpsing her back or side profile, behaving like tiny flying insects circling under the gas street lamps on a summer's night.
Smack!
Franca's ponytail swayed slightly as she sent a particular drunkard flying with a sidekick.
The drunkard screamed and vomited on the ground.
Franca pursed her lips in disdain and muttered to herself, Pleasure sure brings trouble. It's manageable during the day, but some overconfident types try to flirt at night. And there's malice all around when I'm out. Even the hero who rescues a damsel in distress aims to strike up a conversation later…
However, those scoundrels came expecting joy and anticipation, only to receive a beating and the accompanying pain. Right, could this be considered a simplified version of pleasure causing affliction?
It was precisely because Franca wanted to experience this and potentially find an opportunity to digest the potion that she didn't sneak through the shadows and move undetected.
After a while, Franca slipped into the shadows and reached the empty room where she had previously met 007.
Her associate had mentioned that he'd discovered information about the ancient tomb beside the Crazy Mushroom Cave on the fourth level of the catacombs through the Church's resources and municipal archives. However, it wasn't safe to disclose it in the telegram group, no matter how close their bonds were. Therefore, he compiled the details and left them at the designated spot for Franca to retrieve.
Franca conducted a brief search and found two folded sheets of thin paper.
She unfolded them and swiftly skimmed the content. As an Assassin, even in the dimmest environment, she could decipher the words:
"The ancient tomb where you found the Mirror World Fragment belongs to a noble family from the Fourth Epoch's Tudor Empire.
"Their last name is Tamara. I haven't located specific details about the members in that tomb, but I've stumbled upon something odd.
"Not only does the fourth level house Tamara family tombs, but there are also tombs on the third level, such as the Thorns and Shieldwall Tomb and the Impartial Tomb. Why aren't they grouped together…"
Franca's gaze froze.
Isn't the Thorns and Shieldwall Tomb where Jenna completed her tearcatcher mission?
The mission they used as a pretext involved the Tamara family, and the tomb where they found the Mirror World Fragment belonged to them too!
Wasn't this an extraordinary coincidence?
Could it be a manifestation of mystical laws?
Franca collected herself and continued reading.
"…I can't access more detailed Tamara family information at my level. Figure something out yourself."
Hmm… Franca nodded, resolved to report the entire situation to Madam Judgment, seeking insights and information from the Tarot Club.
…
In the early morning, on Aquina Street in Port Santa.
In a house diagonally opposite Solow Motel, Lumian, his appearance transformed, stood by a window in a room. Clutching the new ID provided by Valerio, he surveyed the suite where he, Lugano, and Ludwig were lodged, as well as the street below.
Now, he aimed to play the role of an ordinary bounty hunter who had taken on a confidential assignment, diligently monitoring the adventurer, Louis Berry.
Given Louis's assertive conduct in recent days, it was likely that all the well-
informed individuals in Port Santa knew of this great adventurer's desire to investigate the sea prayer ritual. The probability was high that Bard and other pivotal members of April Fool's would be in tow!
