Chapter 598: The Master

In the apartment K Mr. had temporarily rented in Sangtagang.

Lu Mi took the remaining loot from the Traveler's Satchel and laid them out one by one on the coffee table.

He glanced at K Mr., who had again donned his black robe and pulled down his deep hood, and spoke first:

"These are the spoils of this operation. One of them may be the Master's revelation to you."

K Mr. gave a slight nod, his gaze sweeping over the items before settling on the dark gold mask.

He spoke in a low, hoarse voice:

"I feel its uniqueness. This must be the Master's revelation to me."

With a flick of his right hand, the strange dark gold mask was snatched by a sudden gust of wind and landed in his palm.

Yet the Aether Society's Messenger did not put it on his face; instead, he tucked it into a hidden inner pocket of his black robe.

Seeing this, Lu Mi was momentarily stunned.

He had just been wondering how to subtly carry out the "Magician" lady's instruction—to ask K Mr. if he wanted the dark gold mask—and yet, he had merely invented the excuse of "the Master's revelation" without even specifying which item, and K Mr. had chosen it himself.

Could it really be "the Master's revelation"? Hssss… Lu Mi drew a quiet breath:

Did the "Magician" lady instruct me to ask K Mr. because she anticipated this—or saw something?

Why do these high-ranking beings always communicate through hints and revelations? Can't they just be straightforward?

Amidst these swirling thoughts, Lu Mi gathered the remaining items and sincerely told K Mr.:

"I never expected things to escalate this far. I thought with you and my sister's old friends, we'd have enough to complete this revenge. But it turned out to involve high-tier entities—even angelic power. Fortunately, my sister's friends didn't underestimate the threat and each mobilized their own networks."

The first half of this statement was Lu Mi's genuine feeling; the latter part explained why so many semi-gods—and even angelic forces—had intervened, shifting the blame onto Furanca and Aurora's friends.

Of course, Lu Mi doubted K Mr. would believe it. Not to mention the fact that this Aether Society Messenger "shepherded" Observers of no low rank—just the hidden arrangements and deliberate traces left by the entity he worshipped were enough to prove that entity had been watching, listening, and fully aware all along. And the Sequence 8 of the Shepherd Path is called the "Listener," who often hears the Master's revelations.

Still, a surface-level excuse was necessary. I can't just tell K Mr.: "Yes, I'm not only a member of the Aether Society, I'm also part of the Tarot Society, and I belong to an organization called the 'Fuzzy Baboon Research Society.' My Major Arcana card is the Angel, I know more than five semi-gods who can help me, and besides worshipping your Master, I also revere the Fool, occasionally praise the Sun, and mutter 'May Steam Prevail'…"

Wouldn't that be outright provocation?

Some things are better left unspoken—everyone understands them internally.

K Mr. gave an almost imperceptible nod:

"Well done. When dealing with matters of the False Gods, you must give your utmost."

Then he added:

"After learning your enemy was tied to an ancient False God, I already reported it upward. At the time, our Aether Society's Angel likely watched as well—if anything had gone wrong, He or They would have descended."

"…" Lu Mi's expression went slightly slack.

The Aether Society's Angel was also watching that spaceship?

Isn't this overkill? The Fool's Day is an organization that doesn't even have a semi-god yet!

Is the Celestial Sovereign so feared by the "Magician" lady and the Aether Society?

The Tarot Society's concern makes sense—it's about whether the Fool can awaken—but why is the Aether Society acting as if facing a mighty enemy…?

Lu Mi pushed aside the fact that he had recruited one Angel and four semi-gods for his revenge, and instead focused entirely on how overreactive the Aether Society had been.

K Mr. gazed at this subordinate and preached with fervor:

"The presence of a high-ranking being does not mean we can lower our guard or half-heartedly perform our duties. High-ranking beings have many important matters to attend to; they may only glance our way occasionally. If we are not diligent enough, if we do not strive hard enough, we may cause total failure—and death would not be enough to atone."

"Yes, right, absolutely." Lu Mi agreed, without any thought of rebuttal.

…………

Back at the apartment rented by Loki, Lu Mi took out the remaining five items and smiled at Furanca, Jianna, and Anthony:

"Now it's our turn to choose."

Glancing at the eager Furanca, Lu Mi decided not to tease her further and pointed to the dining table where the items lay:

"You go first."

"Hehe." Furanca smiled sheepishly but boldly picked up the "Seven Stone Bracelet," exclaiming excitedly, "I can 'Teleport' now!"

"Aren't you afraid of hearing sounds you shouldn't?" Lu Mi teased.

Furanca had already considered this:

"I won't wear it constantly—only when I need to use it. A single 'Teleport' takes barely any time. Even if I hear voices from the unknown, the impact will be minimal, and I can remove it quickly—should be fine."

"Don't worry—these talisman-like extraordinary items rarely have strong negative effects. In fact, they're often quite weak."

Lu Mi snorted:

"You forgot what you're carrying."

"The Idol of the Primordial Witch! The Fragment of the Mirror World!"

What if you hear the Primordial Witch's murmurs?

"Ahem." Furanca cleared her throat. "I'm now a member of the Witch Cult, a believer of the Primordial Witch. What's wrong with listening to the voice of my god? At worst, it'll make me horny—then, hehe…"

Her gaze swept over Lu Mi and Jianna, hiding her true intent beneath the joke:

"I'll just ask you two for help!"

Immediately, she added:

"Besides, my Idol of the Primordial Witch and the Mirror World Fragment are kept inside the Traveler's Satchel—they're sealed away and won't be taken out unless necessary."

Lu Mi said no more and turned to Jianna and Anthony:

"Who goes next?"

"Anthony should go—he contributed more than I did this time," Jianna politely said.

Anthony smiled:

"Are you implying I'm not a proper Intis man? I still have the manners to let ladies go first."

In the exaggerated style Jianna used when playing the "Flamboyant Lady," she would have replied: "Those Intis men only say 'ladies first' so they can sleep with you—do you want to sleep with me?"

Jianna wouldn't dare say it outright, but her verbal teasing was still sharp.

But now, after glancing at Lu Mi and Furanca, she sincerely told Anthony:

"I'm torn—I'd like your help eliminating one option."

Anthony no longer refused, studying the remaining four items:

"The Blood Gold Ring enhances my survivability and broadens my direct attack options, but its dependency and madness level are precisely what a Psychologist should avoid. Besides, I'm now a Hypnotist—I have Psychological Invisibility and Dragon Scale protection."

"This brooch, aside from underwater mobility, only works in close combat. Why would a Hypnotist ever engage in close combat?"

"The Thief of Dreams' extraordinary trait and the Blank Sketchbook are both good—the former, if made into a miraculous item with weak negative effects, would be very useful. But that's uncertain unless I find an excellent Artisan…"

Anthony picked up the Blank Sketchbook:

"I'm an information broker, naturally skilled at sketching. An item that can produce varied effects suits a Hypnotist who observes before acting."

Without needing the "Magician" lady's explanation, Furanca had already confirmed the sketchbook's function via the "Magic Mirror Divination":

"Things drawn on it may become alive briefly, or trigger different effects. Once used, the paper loses its magic. The negative effect: never answer any knocking sounds coming from within the paper."

Lu Mi and Jianna both agreed it resembled the abilities of the Fairies.

After Anthony put away the sketchbook, Jianna immediately took the Thief of Dreams' extraordinary trait.

"Why?" Lu Mi asked, amused.

Jianna glanced at him and grinned cheerfully:

"It's the most valuable!"

"Of the remaining three items, it's the only one tied to Sequence 5. Even if turning it into a miraculous item fails, I can sell it for a fortune."

I still owe Furanca 45,000 Faelkin—I might buy the "Joyful Witch" potion recipe from her later.

"Excellent reason." Lu Mi casually glanced at the two remaining items, then fastened the gray-white lightning-shaped brooch to his chest. "I'll take this. From now on, call it 'Wrath of the Sea.'"

He chose the brooch over the Blood Gold Ring because agitation and impatience were tolerable for a Penitent, but pure madness was far too dangerous for someone whose inner psyche was already steeped in darkness.

Lu Mi tossed the Blood Gold Ring to Furanca:

"Put it in your Traveler's Satchel. Whoever needs it can use it—but don't use it often."

"Won't you give it to the 'Magician' lady?" Furanca asked, puzzled.

"Do you think she'd care?" Lu Mi laughed as he tucked the "Wrath of the Sea" into the Traveler's Satchel. "Her spoils are naturally the humanoid sealed object. Though, she might return it to the Eternal Sun Church."

Then Lu Mi said to Furanca, Jianna, and Anthony:

"Next, I'm going to do something unsuitable for others to witness. Do you want to watch?"

(End of Chapter)