Edward couldn't help but be surprised. "How do you know? I an, how can you be sure?"
Lilith blinked her sapphire-like eyes. "I don't know~ It's just...this sudden feeling, like what Susie told before." As she spoke, she wore a proud expression, clearly waiting for his praise.
"Amazing, amazing—Lilith is incredible."
"Right!"
Edward patted her small head repeatedly, then suddenly froze mid-motion.
Crap!
Could it really be just a coincidence?
First, a high-ranking witch shows up on the ship, bringing materials for the Witch Pathway's Sequence 7 and 8 potions. Then right after, Lilith completes her potion digestion…Who would believe there's no connection?
Did the other party sohow know in advance that Lilith had digested her potion and sent the materials in response?
Or was it precisely under the influence of that high-ranking witch that Lilith was suddenly able to digest the potion?
A chill crept down Edward's spine.
Lilith, of course, had no clue. She bead with pride and excitent. "So, can I advance now?"
"…"
You can advance, but I'm honestly a bit nervous about letting you do it here.
"Why are you suddenly so eager to advance? I rember that Miss Lilith wasn't all that enthusiastic before."
Lilith raised her chin and declared in her crisp, youthful voice, "Because Miss Lilith wants to protect Edward. Only by becoming stronger can I protect Edward!"
"…"
There was truly no arguing with that.
Edward thought for a mont and flipped a coin: "It's dangerous for Lilith to consu the potion and advance to Instigator right now."
The coin landed face up—indicating denial.
With the ability of [Genius on the Left], Edward's divinations might often fail, but as long as a result showed up, it would always be 'correct'.
So, it wasn't dangerous for Lilith to advance now.
Then suddenly, a strange thought surfaced in his mind: what if the only reason it isn't dangerous now is because she's taking the potion at this mont?
Could that be the real reason for the other party's so-called "gesture of goodwill"?
Thinking this, he glanced at the eager look in the little one's eyes and finally nodded. "Alright, then let's do it now."
"Yay~"
Edward took out the Sequence 8 materials that Trissy had delivered the night before and placed them one by one into the crucible. After a bout of bubbling, a dark purple liquid radiating an ominous aura slowly ford, eventually condensing into a thumb-sized transparent liquid.
"It's ready."
Edward poured the clear potion into a test tube and looked at Lilith, who was waiting at the side. "Should I feed you, or do you want to drink it yourself?"
She lifted her head and opened her mouth wide.
The transparent potion slid down her throat with a gurgling sound.
Her eyes widened, and she smacked her lips. "That's it?"
"All done," Edward said, turning the test tube upside down and giving it a shake. "Not a single drop left."
"I didn't even taste anything…" Lilith muttered, then curled up on the bed, wagging her tail as she lay still.
Two to three minutes later, she reopened her jewel-like eyes and chirped, "Success!"
Edward was surprised. "Huh? You successfully advanced to Sequence 8?"
"Yup!"
She arched her back and stretched lazily.
"So you're an Instigator now?"
"That's right!"
"You now have the power to incite others?"
"Yep!"
Edward grabbed her front legs and lifted her up. "Then incite —let's see if it works."
"???"
Her little face was filled with wide-eyed confusion.
"Do you know what instigate ans?"
Lilith shook her head…then nodded. "It's making cats and dogs fight."
"Hmm…that's one way to look at it."
She proudly lifted her tail. "Actually, I already tried it once. I made the sewer cats, dogs and rats all get into a brawl."
"Uh."
Edward suddenly rembered that at the last Beyonder gathering, the chubby apothecary ntioned that the herbs he'd planted in the sewers were being destroyed by animals fighting. So it turns out...the real culprit was Lilith.
"But…you hadn't advanced yet at that ti. How did you manage to instigate them?"
Lilith blinked innocently. "I just told the cats the dogs were trying to steal their turf, and told the dogs the cats were gonna take over…Then they started fighting."
"…"
That's…actually a perfect example of instigation.
"Wait a sec. Weren't you an Assassin at that ti? Why were you going around stirring up fights between cats and dogs?"
Lilith huffed, "They were too noisy! They scared off all the nearby rats!"
"…Fine."
Edward rubbed his forehead helplessly. "Now that you've advanced to Instigator and gained its mystical ability, you'll be able to properly use that from now on."
"Okay."
She hesitated for a mont, then nodded.
But Edward seriously doubted she understood what he ant.
Still, when it ca to acting as a Beyonder, he couldn't really do it on her behalf. She'd have to figure it out step by step. If it really didn't work out…maybe he could find a witch to guide her—like Trissy?
No, scratch that. Wouldn't want to cause another Alfalfa incident…
Thinking that, Edward quickly warned her, "Lilith, you must rember—don't ever instigate harm against innocent, ordinary people, just to fulfil your acting thod."
Her sapphire eyes spun in circles.
Ah, poor kid.
"Alright, take your ti. Go freshen up!"
Edward stepped into the washroom and squeezed out so toothpaste when soone knocked on the door.
Lilith imdiately scampered over and opened it skillfully. Standing outside were Audrey and Susie.
"Edward's brushing his teeth~"
Edward's voice rang out from inside, "Audrey, have a seat. I'll be right there."
"Okay~"
Lilith led Audrey and Susie to the sofa, then stared at them both with wide, unblinking eyes—so much so that the girl and the dog began to feel a little unsettled.
"Susie, Edward says you eat too much. He said you're a chubby dog."
Susie: "???"
Lilith turned her gaze to Audrey again. "Audrey, there was a really pretty girl who ca to Edward's room last night~"
Audrey: "???"
——
When Edward stepped out of the washroom, he found both the girl and the dog staring at him oddly. He scratched his head.
"Wha...what's wrong? Why the serious faces?"
Susie wagged her tail unhappily. "I didn't eat that much."
"???"
Audrey, as if just making small talk, said, "Lilith just told a girl even prettier than ca looking for you last night."
"???"
Edward turned to Lilith in disbelief. She imdiately flicked her tail and hid behind Susie.
Oh, wonderful!
So this is what instigation looks like now, huh?!
He explained hurriedly, "It was Trissy! I told you about it last night, didn't I?"
Audrey froze for a second, then a quick blush flashed across her cheeks. She felt a surge of embarrassnt. Audrey, you idiot—how could you lose your head like that just now?!
Edward let out a sigh. "Lilith just advanced to Instigator. Her Beyonder ability allows her to stir up conflict and create tension."
"No wonder."
Audrey gave Lilith's head a firm pat. "Lilith, you are absolutely not allowed to use your ability on us, understand?"
"Okaaay~"
Lilith looked like she had a headache. Can't instigate normal people, can't instigate Beyonders...Might as well go get so cats and dogs to fight.
Audrey looked toward Edward. "Last night...everything went alright?"
"Mm, maybe I was just overthinking it. Trissy said sothing that made sense—if that one really wanted to do sothing, it probably would've happened before we even noticed."
Edward walked onto the balcony, staring into the distance where the outline of the island was gradually becoming visible. "We should arrive at Damir Island this afternoon. I'll head to Bansy Harbour from there on the broom."
"Then I'll wait for you on the ship."
"Alright!"
After breakfast in the dining room, the pair—plus one cat and one dog—went up to the deck to enjoy the cool sea breeze and watch the distant island draw closer.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, the Erald let out a long whistle and docked at the port of Damir. Tourists and sailors disembarked one after another, the forr eager to explore the island, the latter heading off to restock supplies.
Edward arrived early at the gangway, watching as Trissy disembarked alone and imdiately boarded another ship docked at the port. Only then did the tension in his chest ease.
"She's gone?"
"Yeah."
Edward and Audrey were descending the gangway when a voice called out behind them.
"Edward."
"Captain, Miss Daly, are you getting off here too? Or just sightseeing?"
Daly nodded. "We only boarded to pursue Trissy. But now that she's involved with a demigod of the Demoness Sect—possibly even bigger powers—this is far beyond what we can handle. We're planning to catch a return ship to Backlund and report everything to the Church."
Edward handed Dunn a stone. "Here, use this. It'll take you straight back to Backlund."
"Hmm…"
Dunn hesitated for a mont, then said, "We're thinking of resting a day here on Damir Island first."
Uh...sounds like soone's planning to honeymoon?
"Then keep the stone in a secure box sowhere. When you're ready to return, just open it and touch it together, holding hands."
Daly smiled slyly. "Must be holding hands?"
Edward answered with complete seriousness, "Yes. Must."
"Perfect. I'm starting to like you more and more."
Dunn coughed lightly. "Then we'll be heading out first. Daly insists on picking out gifts for her teammates—said we rarely get out like this."
"Alright~ See you in Backlund."
"Mm."
The two walked off side by side.
Edward turned to Audrey. "Shall we go look around too?"
"Sure!"
Damir Island had been a Loen colony for over two centuries, and life here was now largely indistinguishable from that on the mainland. That said, the island's signature Damir-style grilled at had quite the reputation—many visitors ca ashore just for a taste.
Though small, Damir Island's structure resembled that of Bayam. The Loen military held absolute power here, and no matter how fiercely pirates fought amongst themselves, none dared provoke the army.
Recently, however, due to the chaos in Bayam, many pirates who had previously operated there flocked to Damir instead, leading to a surge in the island's population.
Edward and Audrey wandered around for a while before settling on the most respectable bar in town. It was typically a place where navy personnel ca to relax, so pirates rarely showed up, and even if they did, they wouldn't cause trouble lightly.
"Two juices, please."
Edward paid for the drinks, tossing the bartender a few extra coins. "Heard any interesting news lately?"
The bartender, not dressed in a uniform and looking more laid-back than the rest, glanced at their outfits—figuring they were rich kids from the Erald—then leaned in mysteriously.
"If you're asking what's hot on the seas right now, it's gotta be the infamous Gehrman Sparrow."
"He beca a legend with just three acts. First, he raided four pirate ships under different pirate admirals. Second, he pulled so clever trick that caused hundreds of pirates chasing him to accidentally storm the governor's mansion in Bayam—what a ss. And third, he stole a navy warship right out from under them. Those last two stunts made the governor so mad he expelled all the pirates from Bayam."
Audrey glanced at Edward and chuckled. "I bet everyone hates that Gehrman Sparrow guy now."
The bartender laughed. "Hate him? Maybe. But with a bounty of 220,000 pounds, most people are more tempted than angry."
A nearby voice chid in, "A guy who dares to cross both the navy and the pirates? He's not gonna live long."
It was Hibbert Hall. "One Sonia Bloodwine, please."
The bartender poured a glass of deep red liquid and slid it over. "But Gehrman Sparrow disappeared. Just vanished. Soone who shows up out of nowhere, pulls off a few big moves, then disappears without a trace—people love to talk about that kind of mystery. He's already a living legend on the sea."
Hibbert took a sip of his bloodwine and said blandly, "Maybe he's already dead, rotting in so naless corner of the world."
Audrey stifled a giggle behind her hand.
Edward had no words.
Hibbert chuckled and looked at Edward. "So, how are you planning to get to Bansy Harbour?"
"I…"
"You're headed to Bansy Harbour?"
The bartender suddenly cut in.
"There's been so weird fog there recently. Just like in the legends—like when the Loen army first landed on that island over three hundred years ago."
"People are saying there's so kind of treasure or ruins that showed up. That's attracted tons of adventurers and pirates. But...barely any of them make it back alive."
He pointed toward a dejected man drinking at a nearby table. "One of 'em is that poor bastard over there—goes by Anderson."
———
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