Whoosh!
Everyone was even more shocked now—one of the Four Kings' personal vessels had gone to all this trouble just to deliver a gift?
Who was this Edward, really?
Edward frowned. "A gift?"
Lilith, delighted, asked, "Is there one for Miss Lilith too?"
"Indeed," the middle-aged man nodded with a smile. "It's that pirate ship following behind. There are over fifty heinous pirates aboard. Her Majesty the Queen said you might need them."
"…What the hell kind of 'gift' is a bunch of pirates?!"
Edward fell silent for a few seconds. "Is that all? Did Her Majesty give any other instructions?"
The middle-aged man was about to shake his head when sothing seed to strike him. He glanced back at the crew of the Dawn—and all of them shouted in unison:
"The entire crew of the Dawn wishes Mr. Edward fair winds and smooth seas on this voyage, swift advancent in his path, and a warm welco awaits you at Erald City, as decreed by Her Majesty the Queen!"
Klein, standing to the side, was utterly speechless.
This synchronised voice, these coordinated expressions and gestures…To an outsider, this looked less like a greeting and more like a royal entourage hailing the return of the King himself.
In just one mont, Edward's toes clenched in his shoes with secondhand embarrassnt, his soul screaming inwardly: Stop! Please, just stop!
But to Captain Elland and the others, it was an entirely different story—this Edward, whom the Queen Mystic was personally awaiting in Erald City, had to be soone of a similar rank! A true big shot!
And they had been drinking and chatting and joking around with such a person?
Benjamin, in particular, was drenched in cold sweat. Roselle the Great was right. Powerhouses really do love playing the pig to eat the tiger…this is just diabolical!
"Well, the gift has been delivered. We'll be off now. Until we et again!"
With a wave of the first mate's hand, the Dawn turned sharply and vanished in a blur, leaving behind a group of stunned onlookers staring at Edward with wary expressions.
After a long pause, Captain Elland finally spoke. "Sir Edward…what should we do now…?"
Edward pinched the bridge of his nose helplessly. "Just pretend none of that happened. Carry on with your duties."
What the hell is Bernadette playing at this ti?
"I'll go check that ship," Edward muttered.
Lilith chid in imdiately, "I want to co too!"
Edward gave Klein a nod, then took Lilith's hand and vanished with a flash, reappearing aboard the pirate ship.
Elland and the others stood in silence for a while before ordering everyone to disperse and strictly warning them to forget what had just occurred.
On the pirate ship, dozens of pirates were bound tightly with ropes, lying sprawled across the deck.
Perhaps they'd already been "disciplined" before—these n, notorious for their cris, were now quiet as mice, each of them wearing a look of dread.
Lilith glanced around curiously. "Edward, why did Bernadette give you a bunch of pirates as a gift?"
"To help act—and digest."
Edward had already discussed his plans for this voyage with Bernadette. Simply put: he would aimlessly wander the seas and seek out pirates, imparting as much occult knowledge as possible—whether shareable or not—and then eliminate them.
This would fulfill both the "wandering" and "passing on knowledge" aspects of his potion pathway, while also avoiding the dangers of spreading too much mystical knowledge—like formulas, potion laws, thods of acting, or the details of the Forsaken Land.
Originally, Edward had worried about the randomness of encountering pirates in the vast ocean. In typical Bernadette fashion, she solved the problem in the most direct way possible—by delivering a ship full of pirates straight to him.
But…can I really digest the potion this way?
Edward cast the Imperius Curse on a few pirates and ordered them to steer the ship to trail far behind the White Agate. Then he and Lilith returned to the passenger liner.
On the deck stood only Klein…no, not quite. Another key figure had just turned her gaze in their direction with calm detachnt.
Bernadette.
She was leaning against the railing not far from Klein. Her eyes slid from Klein's rigid, motionless form to Edward, and Klein imdiately exhaled in relief—as absurd as it sounded, even though the Queen Mystic was now technically a mber of the Tarot Club, eting her in person gave off an entirely different pressure.
Especially when he rembered how he'd snatched the Black Emperor card right in front of her—it still left him feeling a bit guilty.
Edward hesitated for a few seconds, then walked over and whispered in resignation, "Your Majesty, may I ask…what on earth was that all about?"
Bernadette countered with a question of her own: "Well? How did it feel?"
"…How did what feel?"
"A renowned, powerful woman—feared across the seas—personally sends her n to deliver you a gift. In front of everyone. You beco the centre of attention, the topic of every whisper."
Edward: "???"
"A script like that," Bernadette continued with a faint smile, "should be right up a man's alley, no?"
She turned to Lilith. "What do you think, little one?"
Lilith scratched her head. "Miss Lilith doesn't get it~"
Bernadette went on, seemingly undeterred, "Ah, if only conditions had allowed, I'd have had you first humiliated by so clownish villain, mocked by the crowd, your friends worried sick—then I'd make my entrance, crush the enemy, and redeem the mont. The dramatic effect would have been perfect."
"…"
What the hell kind of cheesy power fantasy script is this supposed to be?!
Klein, who had been eavesdropping on the side, was practically covered in taphorical black lines. Wait a second—are you two roleplaying? And are the rest of us just background NPCs in your little play?
Bernadette arched an eyebrow. "You don't seem satisfied. Was the script too crude? Not imrsive enough? I'll revise it next ti."
Edward imdiately threw up his hands. "No, no, please don't. Spare ."
She gave a faint smile. "Alright, I'm heading back to Erald City. Don't forget—you promised you'd visit."
"Wait—you haven't told —"
Before he could finish, pea vines dropped from the sky like curtains. In the next instant, Bernadette vanished without a trace.
"Hey—"
Edward let out a long sigh, more convinced than ever that this version of Bernadette was very different from the one he'd co to know in the original novel.
Klein walked over and patted him on the shoulder, his face practically glowing with gossip. "Edward, your relationship with Queen Mystic is really not simple, huh? I knew it! No wonder she risked herself going with you to the Forsaken Land last ti!"
Edward massaged his temples. Yes, my relationship with Bernadette is complicated…but probably not in the way you're imagining.
"You're reading too much into it. I'm not even of age yet, and she is a senior over a hundred years old. If we're talking age, I wouldn't even qualify to be her grandson. What kind of relationship do you think we could possibly have?" Edward scoffed. "To be honest, our connection is purely transactional—so mystical knowledge in exchange. Simply put…she needs sothing from ."
Klein gave him a sceptical look. "Does Miss Justice know about all this?"
Then he grinned, baring his teeth. "Edward, you wouldn't want Miss Audrey to hear about your little affair with Queen Mystic, would you?"
"???"
Edward: Can this guy stop acting like he's writing a scandal column?!
——
Back inside the ship, every crew mber they passed looked at Edward differently now. So were curious, others confused, so outright shocked—but most were quietly terrified.
The stares made Edward increasingly uncomfortable, so he waved a quick goodbye to Klein and teleported himself back to the pirate ship.
Once aboard, he undid the ropes binding the pirates.
Predictably, most of them attempted to resist the mont they were freed—only to be instantly bound again by chains that twisted and reford from Edward's own clothing.
After he treated a few particularly bold pirates to a taste of mind-numbing agony, the rest quickly fell into line, cowed by the screams of their comrades.
Edward stood on the quarterdeck, looking down on the kneeling group below. "From this mont forward, I'll be teaching you so precious and esoteric mystical knowledge. Those who already know what this is…know its value. And for those who don't…you'll understand soon enough."
"I need all of you to listen carefully. If you don't understand sothing, ask. Don't pretend you get it when you don't. Understood?"
The pirates looked around at one another, unsure of what this fearso man was after. But in the face of death, all they could do was respond in unison: "Understood!"
Edward gently lifted the small black cat on his shoulder. "This is Miss Lilith. She's my assistant—a bona fide witch."
Lilith lifted her chin proudly. "That's right!"
The pirates gasped. "The cat…talked?!"
"Now then," Edward said, conjuring a massive blackboard out of thin air, "let's begin with the 22 Paths of Potions."
He assud the familiar bearing of a university professor and began his lesson in earnest.
He started with the 22 potion paths, moved on to various potion formulas, and then delved into the laws of acting.
So of the pirates—those who'd never had contact with the mystical world—started out completely lost, then gradually gained clarity. Those who had heard rumours about Beyonders, on the other hand, grew more and more excited.
According to the whispers they'd picked up over the years, these potion-related secrets were priceless—sothing that, if sold, could make them rich beyond their wildest dreams.
"Now that we've covered potions," Edward continued, "let's talk about the legendary Forsaken Land of the Gods. First, we'll start with how it ca to be. That brings us to the Ancient Sun God—"
He abruptly paused.
A chill ran down his spine. The mont he ntioned the ancient Sun god, he felt a creeping sense of impending doom.
Without hesitation, he switched gears.
"Let's talk about the Moon City and City of Silver instead."
———
By the ti the orange-red sun sank beneath the horizon, Edward had finished explaining everything—both what could be said and what shouldn't have been.
The pirates stared at him in a daze, as if their worldview had been utterly dismantled and rebuilt. Most of them were even starting to feel like their brains had grown larger sohow.
And in that mont, Edward clearly sensed a sign of progress—his potion had begun to show signs of digestion. It wasn't much, but slow and steady effort would eventually lead to transformation.
Edward looked out at the pirates and nodded in satisfaction. "I'm glad. You listened carefully, and you absorbed everything I taught."
"Once I fully digest this potion, I won't forget the contribution all of you have made."
One pirate cautiously raised his hand. "Teacher, are you a Beyonder of the Reader pathway? Is that why you need to teach others in order to complete your acting and digestion?"
Edward gave him a thumbs-up. "Smart! Not only are you learning quickly—you're applying knowledge and making inferences. I hereby na you class monitor."
The pirate bead. "Thank you, Teacher! Thank you!"
"And as class monitor," Edward continued with a smile, "I need you to take the lead in doing sothing."
"Lilith."
Lilith jumped out of Edward's arms. With a flick of her wand, he released her from the Transfiguration spell, and she turned back into a little girl. Though they had just spent hours listening to mind-breaking occult theory, the sight of her transformation still left the pirates wide-eyed.
Lilith casually tossed a stick of wood to the ground, waved her wand again, and turned it into a dagger.
Edward said calmly, "I need you to take this knife and cut a shallow line across your own throat. Don't worry—just a surface wound. A little blood will do."
———
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