Akasha clicked her tongue. "Bernie Huang? That's a strange na."
Edward was just as surprised. Wasn't 'Bernie Huang' her 'Modern Day' sidestory counterpart's na? Had the Emperor truly used that na as a pet na for Bernadette?
At that mont, Bernadette pushed open a nearby door. "Since you're already here, why not join ?"
"I still have…"
"Tell a story while you're at it."
Edward let out a long sigh. "Alright."
Audrey's three potion formulas were still missing a number of ingredients. He might as well use this opportunity to ask Bernadette for help in acquiring them.
The two of them entered the room one after the other. From behind them ca Akasha's teasing voice. She leaned against the doorway, gazing at Bernadette with a smile. "Would you like to provide personal service?"
"No need," Bernadette replied, her tone flat and calm.
"Aww, alright then."
Akasha chuckled. "You two enjoy yourselves~"
The wooden door closed without a sound.
Bernadette removed her shoes, walked over to the hot spring pool, and sat down at the edge. Her pale, smooth feet slipped into the warm water, gently stirring up soft splashing sounds.
She looked just like a carefree neighbourhood girl, one who'd sohow lived over a hundred years.
Edward sat down on a nearby sofa, watching her back as he asked, "What kind of story would you like to hear?"
Supporting herself with both arms behind her, Bernadette played with the water and said, "Tell a story about water."
"About water?" The Crow Drinking Water? Water Babies? A Nixie in a pond?
"Why don't you just pick one yourself?"
Bernadette turned her head, eyes narrowing in quiet scrutiny. "If I choose one, will you actually tell it?"
Edward forced a smile and replied with a non-answer, "If it's one I know, of course I will."
"Then tell 'The Woodcutter and the River God.'"
That's related to water?…Oh, right. The axe fell into the river.
"A woodcutter was chopping wood near a river when he accidentally dropped his axe into the water. He tried many ways to retrieve it but failed, so he could only sit on the riverbank and sigh."
"The river god, moved by his sorrow, appeared and conjured a golden axe. He asked the woodcutter, 'Is this golden axe the one you dropped?' The woodcutter shook his head and said no."
"Then the river god conjured a silver axe and asked again, 'Is this silver axe the one you dropped?' The woodcutter once again shook his head. Finally, the river god retrieved the woodcutter's original iron axe and handed it to him with a smile."
"The woodcutter was overjoyed and said, 'This is my axe!' The river god, impressed by his honesty, gifted him the golden and silver axes as well."
"Later, soone else heard the story…"
The tale was brief. Even though Edward deliberately slowed his narration, he finished it in under ten minutes. "That's the end of the story."
Bernadette asked, "What would you have done if it were you?"
Edward pondered for a mont, then replied, "I'd try my best to avoid chopping wood near a river in the first place. That way, I wouldn't drop my axe."
"…???"
Bernadette was stunned.
"Fairy tales are fairy tales because they depict a world that's simple and pure. Good is good. Evil is evil. But in reality, it's never that straightforward. The river god asked, 'Is this golden axe the one you dropped?' He only asked if it was the one I dropped. He never said he'd give it to . For all I know, if I chose the golden one, he might have used it to split my skull open. If I picked the silver one, he might have done the sa with that."
Edward shrugged. "Isn't that exactly what the Beyonder world is like?"
"You're talking about the Hidden Sage?"
That question montarily threw Edward off. What does this have to do with the Hidden Sage?
Then he quickly rembered. That suspected sentient Hermit Uniqueness—the Hidden Sage—was indeed just as he described. When one prayed to "Him" for knowledge, "He" would cheerfully respond…and then drown you in an overwhelming flood of knowledge. Drive you mad. Lead you to lose control.
Bernadette smiled. "Don't worry about "Him". After Father advanced to Knowledge Emperor, I no longer have to worry about the Hidden Sage's influence. I can continue walking this path while adhering to the creed: 'Do as you will, but harm none.'"
She paused for a few seconds.
"Even though Father later switched to another pathway, the influence of the Hidden Sage on remained minimal. So, rest assured."
I wasn't particularly worried in the first place, Edward thought silently. But aloud, he said, "Your Majesty, I have a batch of materials I'd like to trouble you to help acquire. As before, I'm willing to pay a certain level of premium."
Seeing that she didn't refuse, Edward wrote down the materials required for Audrey's three potion sequences. After all, she was wealthy—and these materials would have to be acquired sooner or later anyway.
Bernadette glanced at the list and raised her brows in surprise. "These are all for high Sequences on the Spectator Pathway? Are you gathering them for that little girlfriend of yours?"
"Yes."
It didn't surprise her that she recognised the pathway. After all, the list clearly ntioned things like the pituitary gland and brain of a Mind Dragon.
"Where did you get this? From the Psychology Alchemists?"
Edward thought about it, then decided not to hide it. He briefly recounted what had happened that morning.
Bernadette's brows furrowed imdiately. "A Mind Dragon from ancient tis? Beings like that do not show kindness without reason."
"Besides, Father once told sothing—'Beware of the Spectator.'"
Edward nodded. "I understand that. But in that situation, if I didn't accept "His" kindness, I might've had to face "His" malice instead. It wasn't a question of choice."
Bernadette fell silent.
After a mont, she spoke seriously. "Since "He" gave you the 'reward' in advance, then "He" must believe that there's a high chance you'll do as "He" wishes…Or perhaps, "He's" already implanted an extrely subtle hypnosis into you."
Edward froze, a sudden thudding in his chest.
Hypnosis! Psychological Cues!
These were signature abilities of the Spectator Pathway! And yet…neither he nor Audrey had even considered the possibility at the ti? That alone was a glaring red flag!
But then, sothing occurred to him. He quickly described the circumstances under which they had neglected to think of hypnosis or suggestion, then followed with a logical doubt: "But couldn't we just recount what happened to soone familiar with the Spectator Pathway? Wouldn't they imdiately realise sothing's wrong?"
"ntal Plague," Bernadette replied.
"In general, a ntal plague quietly plants a seed of contagious madness within the target's mind island, which then spreads to those around them, driving everyone mad. But in the sa way, it can plant a seed of 'selective blindness to hypnosis'—a form of suggestion that spreads to others."
"He is a Sequence 2 Angel. In a situation where the attacker is prepared and the defender isn't, even a Sequence 2 could be affected. I only avoided it because of a Sealed Artifact my father left ."
A chill ran through Edward's heart. "So now that I've realised this…does it an I'm no longer under its influence?"
"No. You've only re-realised that hypnosis and cues might have occurred."
"You an…even if I know I've been hypnotised, I might still end up doing certain things uncontrollably?" Edward's expression darkened. "Can you lift it for ?"
Bernadette shook her head. "I can't. Perhaps when I advance to Sequence 2, I might be able to give it a try."
"I see."
Edward nodded. Truthfully, he wasn't too panicked. After all, this kind of situation was sothing he could always bring to Mr. Fool. In the original novel, Klein's Paper Angels had proven remarkably effective against the hypnosis and suggestion of Spectator Pathway Beyonders.
The only real concern was whether the current Paper Angel had the strength to counter a Sequence 2-level hypnosis.
If it really cos to that, I could always ask the Goddess for help...She'd probably—hopefully—maybe be willing.
Bernadette added, "But there's likely no need to worry in the short term. That ancient dragon still needs you to complete sothing for "Him". Before that's done, your safety is likely guaranteed."
"Mm."
Edward turned serious. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Without your insight, I might not even have known how I t my end."
She offered a faint smile. "Just tell a few more stories next ti."
"By the way, I have a Sealed Artifact here. Could I trouble you to help test its capabilities?"
Edward took out the fra.
Bernadette blinked. "A picture fra? What does it do?"
"Well…just a little thing. It can create a space separate from reality—sort of like your Peach Blossom Spring. But I haven't figured out its limits yet."
Splash.
She lifted her pale feet from the water and stood barefoot. "Go ahead."
"Pardon ."
Edward channelled a bit of spirituality and activated the fra's power.
A film-like haze, like frosted glass, enveloped them. They were now inside the world of the painting.
Bernadette showed a trace of surprise. "I didn't feel a thing before it pulled in. This object…doesn't seem like such a 'little' thing."
Edward's mind stirred. He imdiately deactivated the painting realm.
"What is it?"
"I want to try again—this ti, you try to avoid getting pulled in."
Bernadette understood his intent and nodded.
"Here we go!"
Edward activated [World Within the Painting] once more. Almost simultaneously, Bernadette dissolved into a flurry of iridescent bubbles and vanished.
"She dodged it?"
"No," ca her voice from behind.
The bubbles rapidly gathered and reford into her figure. Bernadette frowned. "Even knowing you were going to activate it, and taking action in advance, I still couldn't escape. This Sealed Artifact seems rather extraordinary."
"Then let's test its durability."
A flash of light crossed Bernadette's deep blue eyes. A dark-red, ancient spear appeared in her hand out of thin air. In the next instant, Edward felt as if he were caught in the heart of a storm. His spirituality surged in alarm, screaming danger—this was on a completely different level from the Spear of Longinus he had docunted. It was far more powerful.
With overwhelming force, the spear hurtled toward the edge of the space.
Crack!
The unmistakable sound of shattering glass rang out—Edward knew that was the prelude to the collapse of the painting world.
In the sa mont, the Spear of Longinus dissipated into nothingness.
Bernadette spoke calmly. "It can't withstand a full-powered strike from my spear."
Seeing Edward's slight disappointnt, she added, "But most demigods probably wouldn't be able to break it. And considering how difficult it is to evade, this Sealed Artifact is already very powerful."
Fair enough. After all, this fra was one of the few pleasant surprises in that pile of 'trash.'
Edward quickly composed himself. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"No need to thank . Just lend it to if I ever need it."
"Of course."
Bernadette returned to sit by the hot spring, dipping her feet back in. Casually, she said, "Bornova left for Intis yesterday."
"So soon?"
"He…no, "He" only lives for the Church of Steam and Machinery and "His" god. The only reason "He" ca to Backlund at all was because the archbishop here had sothing to ask of "Him". "He" simply went along with it."
A hint of disappointnt laced her voice. "I should have realised it sooner. My brother, Bornova Gustav, died a long ti ago. What remains now is rely an angel with his face and no humanity."
"…"
———
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