Chapter 708
Boarding and the Petty Thief
As Honey Badger headed towards the Twenty-second Ring, she was accompanied by the Pope’s Guard.
When she left, she had silently transformed into a stern-faced, middle-aged man.
He had a pair of white handlebar mustaches and short, grayish-white curly hair. He was wearing a butler’s uniform in the Star Antimony style, quietly following behind a petite young girl with long black hair.
Beyad could not appear from the Church out of thin air, so Eivass needed to enter Star Antimony under a “persona other than Eivass and Beyad.” Therefore, she removed her disguise, revealing her true appearance.
Eivass never expected… that the first batch of supplies he would mobilize after becoming Pope was to purchase the most expensive Elf-style white dress for his alt character.
The two of them traveled to the First Ring, remaining silent the entire way.
Honey Badger did not ask any questions, while Eivass—or rather, Miss Alistair—calmly held the crow and watched the scenery whiz by as she sat in the public transportation facilities that cycled endlessly, like trains on the ground.
It was not until they entered the port district—the noisy and chaotic sounds from the Goblins instantly livened up the stagnant atmosphere:
“Church Entry Permit, a must-have for visitors! Only six Gold Coins or eight White Crowns!”
“Elf clothing! Authentic handmade Elf clothing—won’t the young lady take a gift when she leaves? And handmade silver accessories in the Elf style!”
“A collection of the latest three days’ newspapers! From six countries, a total of thirty-six daily papers! You can learn all the world’s news while in the Church!”
“Goblin delicacies! Handmade dates, iced fruit juice! Black tea in good condition sold cheap!”
Alistair ignored the Goblin vendor trying to sell her Elf clothing and slightly turned her head.
As she tilted her head, Honey Badger behind her had already respectfully bent down slightly, listening intently for the “young lady’s” command:
“Go buy me a newspaper… and some fruit juice.”
Honey Badger, disguised as the middle-aged butler, showed no change in her expression upon hearing this order.
The butler tactfully said, “This fruit juice all has alcohol added, you…”
As a butler, Honey Badger could not directly ask her young lady, “Can you drink?” Therefore, she chose a smarter way to remind her.
After all, wine was a product of the Path of Love. The rituals of the Banquet Master, Hengwo, and the Blood Heavenly Envoy were all related to wine.
Greed, excitement, hunger, drunkenness, lust… After entering these states of “vigorous desires,” pupils would uncontrollably turn scarlet—this was also the main method for the Eagle Eye organization to identify Children of the Moon hiding among the crowd.
“—You talk too much.”
Alistair let out a snort and, like a proud little girl, raised her head: “I want to drink! Are you going to buy it for me or not!”
But she did not deny that she would get drunk, nor did she stoutly claim, “I can’t get drunk.”
This made Honey Badger understand.
Alistair meant that even she, after drinking, could not suppress the characteristics of a Child of the Moon, but she still wanted to drink. Her purpose was to turn into the Child of the Moon state in public.
“…Yes.”
So Honey Badger directly obeyed the order and went to buy the newspaper and fruit juice.
While Alistair was waiting for her to return, she was suddenly lightly bumped by a gray-haired child behind her.
Just as she was about to glance at the person, her vision was blocked by a surge of people.
Feeling the amethyst necklace hanging around her neck disappear, the corners of her mouth twitched imperceptibly, but she did not react immediately.
The necklace was not an extraordinary item, merely ordinary jewelry.
Jewelry crafted by a master artist often becomes an extraordinary item because it can be infused with the power of the creator’s Path of Beauty. As long as one creates a sufficiently beautiful creation, they can receive feedback from the power of the Path. True jewelry masters are rarely not Extraordinary.
Therefore, jewelry can often be identified as an extraordinary item by the simplest criterion: “does it look good?”
It was beautiful enough, and even the gems and precious metals might be real, but it had no extraordinary abilities—there was only one explanation: the jewelry itself was a fake.
Some noblewomen who were not Extraordinary individuals would purchase jewelry as beautiful as extraordinary accessories, but these had no attributes… similar to so-called “skins.” This kind of jewelry, when sufficiently beautiful, was safer… because real extraordinary accessories could easily attract robberies from rogue Extraordinary individuals.
Such jewelry was piled high in the Church’s warehouses.
This was because the Goblins loved to trade in these “high-quality counterfeit” jewels.
If they sold them at the price of imitations, the Church would not intervene; but if someone tried to sell them as genuine—that is, as extraordinary items—then the Market Supervisor would send people to confiscate them.
Ironically, it was usually not the Goblins who were caught, but the humans who bought them in bulk from the Goblins.
When Alistair left, the small suitcase that Honey Badger carried for her was filled with this top-grade counterfeit jewelry—though they were fakes, they were still genuine jewelry. They could sell for a surprisingly high price, and this was the funding for Alistair’s activities in Star Antimony.
The reason Alistair let the petty thief succeed was that, as a Child of the Moon, she had acutely sensed a scent on the other party—a faint but particularly distinctive pungent odor.
—It was the smell of Formalin, the preservation fluid most commonly encountered by the Necromancers of Star Antimony.
The scent had not yet dissipated from his body, indicating that he had not been in the Church for long; and he was heading towards the port with the suitcase, implying he would soon board a ship; and there was only one ferry waiting at the moment…
In other words, they would meet soon on the ship.
A good entry point.
Alistair’s lips curved slightly, and at that moment, Honey Badger had silently moved behind her.
“The newspaper is quite expensive,” Honey Badger said, handing Alistair the newspaper, which came with a black leather document bag, “Forty Star Antimony Gold Coins—at this price, you could buy four hundred newspapers in Star Antimony. In Iris Flower, it’s more than eight hundred… Selling things in the Church is really profitable.”
“You take this, and give me the fruit juice.”
Alistair’s voice was crisp.
“…Now?”
“Of course.”
After speaking, Alistair exchanged the document bag for the fruit juice—it was a popular drink among Lizardmen and Snake People, a simulated alchemical juice from desert regions without fruits.
Broadly speaking, it was a concocted fruit-flavored champagne. Made from essences, flavorings, alcohol, and sparkling water, served with ice.
In modern terms, it was “pure technology, not a trace of natural ingredients”… and in this era, such beverages involving alchemical products were much more expensive than pure natural juices.
Taking a hearty sip of the Snake People brand handmade fruit juice, which reminded Eivass of modern carbonated drinks, Alistair’s face showed clear delight.
“Let’s go.”
Alistair said briskly.
(End of Chapter)
