In a suite of a luxury hotel in Moncarlo in the dark night, Dorothy, dressed in pajamas, sat on the sofa in the suite, gazing at the night view outside the window while recalling what she had seen and heard in others' dreams just now, and couldn't help but sigh in her heart, stroking her chin.
'I really didn't expect that the Sea Abyss Church people came to Moncarlo with the purpose of recruiting him to extend his life, allowing him to secretly return to the Sea Abyss Church, and as a pledge of allegiance for his return, it was actually to help corrupt Vanya...'
'It seems... it was my action of having Vanya go on her first pilgrimage to Moncarlo that prompted the Sea Abyss Church's move. This envoy named Tonic arrived about a week ago, which was exactly when Vanya announced the destination of her first Saint's Pilgrimage. Vanya had already tricked the Sea Abyss Church back in Natsuki, and now the Sea Abyss Church has finally found an opportunity for revenge, while also taking this chance to regain Edward and make him offer his pledge of allegiance.'
'Heh... they really planned well... Although I had a slight premonition that Vanya's visit to Moncarlo might cause some changes in the situation on the Conquest Sea, I didn't expect it would actually trigger the Scarlet of the Sea Abyss Church to act. The situation here is getting more and more complicated...'
As Dorothy thought this, she picked up a cup of water from the coffee table and drank it. During the shining white pearl incident, she had already learned the name "Sword Scale" from the two Sea Abyss Church executives she had encountered at the time. He seemed to be a high-ranking Scarlet within the Sea Abyss Church, residing on White Tears Island, and had a certain degree of influence over many Sea Abyss Church activities on the Conquest Sea.
'Edward, the Great Pirate of Moncarlo, Sword Scale, the Head Priest of the Temple on White Tears Island, Ku Chi, a high-ranking member of the Black Dream Hunter Group... I really didn't expect that this small Moncarlo would simultaneously have three Scarlets here, and they will also participate in the same auction soon... This is a situation I completely didn't anticipate before...'
Dorothy said this with emotion in her heart. In fact, she wasn't completely unprepared for the Sea Abyss Church's actions. As early as when Vanya announced she was going to Moncarlo, the upper echelons of the Redemption Faction of the Church had given Vanya some reminders.
At that time, Sister Evi of the Redemption Faction had used a repeater for remote communication to tell Vanya that the situation in Moncarlo was slightly delicate at the moment, and therefore advised her to act cautiously in Moncarlo. If she felt a dangerous situation, she could use the repeater to call Evi, and she would be patrolling in an area slightly closer to Moncarlo during Vanya's visit.
At that time, Evi didn't fully explain the matter to Vanya, but in some of her words, Dorothy detected that the Redemption Faction seemed worried about the situation in Moncarlo and feared something might happen. They also seemed to want to intervene in Moncarlo but were constrained by internal Church politics and political factors of the Main Continent's various nations, making it impossible to act. Therefore, they could only persuade Vanya to be careful and cautious in Moncarlo and to maintain respect for the local Edward forces. They also seemed to anticipate that Vanya's visit would be interpreted as a message of goodwill from the Church towards Moncarlo.
'Although Sister Evi's warning was a bit hard to understand at the time, I have almost completely understood her meaning now... Based on the current situation, Edward is going to die... But because he often acts two-faced and engages in illegal trade behind people's backs, the mainstream within the Church and the great nations of the Main Continent are not happy with him. They are basically willing to watch him die, and even if there are opinions about helping Edward extend his life, they will be immediately suppressed. Therefore, the Redemption Faction could only ensure safety while letting Vanya's visit be a normal activity towards Moncarlo.'
'It is estimated that considering Vanya doesn't have much diplomatic experience, telling her more information might cause Vanya to say something wrong during her interactions with Moncarlo, leading Edward to make a misjudgment. Therefore, they didn't disclose more information to Vanya.'
Dorothy thought this, analyzing the situation in her heart, because from the Church's perspective, Vanya's trip to Moncarlo itself did not involve any tasks related to Edward. Therefore, information unrelated to the task was naturally not disclosed. This was to prevent Vanya from bringing up similar topics herself or saying something wrong when asked about these topics.
For example, if Edward meets Vanya and asks if the Church has plans to help him extend his life, it would be problematic for Vanya to say yes or no. Even expressing some inclination might be overly interpreted. Therefore, from the Church's perspective, it is best for Vanya to know nothing about this type of information, the less she knows, the better. It is estimated that the Church also hoped Edward would interpret Vanya's visit as a sign that they wouldn't abandon him.
However, the Church didn't expect that the Sea Abyss Church would act so quickly and decisively, directly sending a Scarlet with a treasure like the Fountain of Youth to sow discord and win over Edward, and also taking action to corrupt Vanya in secret rather than directly. In this regard, the internal unity of the Sea Abyss Church seems much stronger than the Church, which is currently full of contradictions and inconsistent decisions. They indeed gained the upper hand in this matter.
After fully understanding the intricate situation on the island, Dorothy leaned back on the soft sofa backrest and began to ponder the countermeasures. Although the situation on the island was complicated and dangerous, for her, an outsider who had already gained an information advantage, it was also full of opportunities.
'Now there are three Scarlets on the island, the situation feels unusually dangerous... But fortunately, I also have insurance. If the situation is truly urgent, I can call Sister Evi over. With Sister Evi as a trump card, even against three Scarlets, there is still room for maneuver.'
Dorothy thought this in her heart. Evi's existence was her confidence to attempt operations in front of the three Scarlets, but she wouldn't play this card until the very last moment, because although Evi's arrival could stabilize the situation, it would also alarm Ku Chi and make him escape. Therefore, unless it was a life-saving moment, Dorothy would not let Vanya call Evi.
'Ideally... I can still resolve everything in secret as before, but the difficulty of operating this time is slightly greater... More importantly, although a lot of information about Edward and the Sea Abyss Church has been gathered, there is almost no information about Ku Chi. My primary target is him...'
Dorothy continued to ponder in her heart. After thinking for a while, she decided that since she couldn't find any clues about Ku Chi for now, she would continue to dig deeper into the Sea Abyss Church and Edward to see if she could find any breakthroughs from them.
Just like this, Dorothy, sitting on the sofa, silently closed her eyes and began to communicate with Little Fox Shaliya, who was still in the dream realm far away.
"Miss Fox, please ask Tonic again now, ask him if he knows where Sword Scale is? How does he contact Sword Scale? Does he know what Sword Scale looks like or what characteristics he has?"
On the other side of Moncarlo, in the dream realm outside the real world, the white Little Fox was sitting on the throne in the vast dream audience hall, wagging her tail and waiting boredly for a response from outside the dream. When she heard this response, her ears twitched slightly, and then she looked at Tonic, who was standing on the red carpet below, and asked.
"Hey, you... Do you know what that Sword Scale you mentioned looks like? What characteristics does he have? What are his abilities like?"
"Lord Sword Scale is the leader of the temple on White Tears Island, an important stronghold of the Divine Church. It is said that he is named after a divine sword forged from the scales of a scion of the Lord of the Abyss. I am not qualified to know information about his abilities, but I have seen Lord Sword Scale several times in terms of appearance. He looks like this."
As he spoke, a phantom condensed in front of Tonic. After the phantom completely stabilized, what appeared in the dream audience hall was a man with black hair and beard, darker and brownish-yellow skin, and the appearance of a forty or fifty-year-old. He wore a combination of armor and priestly robes, a bronze coiled snake crown, was of medium build, had piercing eyes, and his facial features showed traces of the traditional islanders of the Conquest Sea. He was likely one of the indigenous islanders of the Conquest Sea islands, similar to Natsuki, who are called the Haiyi people.
"So this is that Sword Scale... Does that mean I can find Sword Scale on Moncarlo Island now based on this appearance?"
Looking at the memory image that appeared before her eyes, Little Fox asked curiously, while Tonic spoke negatively.
"No, Captain Sword Scale came to Moncarlo completely disguised. His appearance when active in Moncarlo is completely different from this. I don't know exactly what he looks like, what identity he used to come to Moncarlo, or where he is staying."
Tonic naturally answered Little Fox, and after listening, Little Fox continued to ask.
"Then how do you contact that Sword Scale? You should need to report back the results of your negotiation with Edward, right?"
"Through an implanted sensory altar, a precious parasitic sensory altar was implanted on my arm. This altar feeds on my Spirituality, allowing me to contact Captain Sword Scale at any time to report negotiation results. It is also highly confidential, preventing the possibility of being traced."
Tonic said this, then he extended his hand. His sleeve instantly disappeared, and what appeared on the skin of his arm was a human face, complete with nose, eyes, ears, and mouth. Its eyes were tightly closed, as if it were sleeping.
"Huh..."
Looking at the complete face growing on Tonic's hand, Little Fox felt a shiver and recoiled twice, then continued to speak.
"So have you reported the successful negotiation with Edward to Sword Scale?" Little Fox asked, and the other party immediately replied, "I have already reported it, that very night. Now, Captain Sword Scale only needs to confirm at the auction whether Sister Vanya has been planted with the seed of corruption, and he will hand over the Water of Everlasting Youth to Edward in a way that no one will suspect, according to the agreement."
Tonic answered everything he knew, and Little Fox, guided by Dorothy, continued to ask.
"So what exactly is the so-called seed of corruption?"
"It's a small bottle of special ""cup"" drug and a special Light Holy Scripture. The effect of that small bottle of drug is very slight. After taking it, there is no abnormality for ordinary people, and no addiction will occur, but it will show unintentional curiosity towards certain specific things."
"That Light Holy Scripture is used in conjunction with this bottle of drug. It contains no Spirituality, and the content inside is exactly the same as a normal Light Holy Scripture, without any obvious secret transmission content. However, the border patterns used to decorate the edges of the book on the cover and pages hold mysteries. These ordinary decorations contain extremely obscure and profound meanings of the ""Cup"". Ordinary people will not have any special thoughts when they see them, but if someone who has taken that special ""cup"" drug sees them, they will be able to understand and interpret their deep connotations more easily, allowing them to grasp the implied meaning within, thereby achieving the effect of a secret transmission."
"In that special Holy Scripture, the patterns used to decorate the book's edges correspond with the text near them within the Holy Scripture, causing the attention of the person who has taken the special ""cup"" drug to be drawn to the text corresponding to the patterns while reading. Inadvertently, unrelated words are combined into new sentences, sentences of a secret transmission, allowing the reader to be influenced by the secret transmission while unconsciously reading familiar content."
Tonic said this to Little Fox. Simply put, although that Holy Scripture appears to have no special Spirituality content and is completely compliant on the surface, if one reads it after taking the special ""cup"" drug, they can unconsciously read another meaning from it, turning it into a secret transmission of the ""Cup"".
'Knowing that all gifts given to Vanya would be strictly scrutinized, they came up with this method of corruption? How thoughtful... The person who could design such a Holy Scripture is also a genius...'
After hearing Tonic's words, Dorothy thought this in her heart, then she signaled the Little Fox in the dream to continue asking questions.
"Are the drug and the Holy Scripture already in Edward's hands?"
"Yes, I have given everything to him. The day before the auction, after Sister Vanya finishes the sacred artifact display, Edward will proactively host a banquet to entertain her, take the opportunity to administer the drug, and present the Holy Scripture in the name of the Lord of Moncarlo. It only takes one night to plant the seed of corruption."
Tonic nodded in response to Little Fox's words. After listening, Little Fox nodded, then continued to ask.
"Then how does that Sword Scale plan to verify whether Sister Vanya has truly been successfully planted with the seed of corruption? Also, after confirming the seed has been successfully planted, how will he transfer the Water of Everlasting Youth to Edward?"
"I don't know about that. That is something Captain Sword Scale is going to do, and it's no longer related to me. Captain Sword Scale only asked me to be in Edward's box during the auction, by his side. If Captain Sword Scale confirms that the seed of corruption has been implanted correctly, at the last moment he will tell me the method to obtain the Water of Everlasting Youth through the implanted sensory altar, and I will relay it to Edward nearby."
Tonic said this. After hearing his words, Dorothy sat in her seat in silence for a while. Then, after asking Tonic a few more questions through Little Fox and not getting any valuable answers, she decided to stop the questioning.
"Alright, Miss Fox, I have finished asking all the questions. Please rest."
"Phew... It's finally over..."
Hearing Dorothy's words, Little Fox let out a long sigh of relief, then began adjusting Tonic's dream to make him completely forget what happened in the dream and clear the traces of dream theft, while also exiting the dream.
Meanwhile, Dorothy temporarily cut off the consultation channel link with Little Fox, sat alone on the sofa, and seriously pondered the information she had just obtained, the information about Sword Scale.
'So... where exactly is this Sword Scale in Moncarlo right now? On the day of the auction... how will he confirm whether Vanya has been successfully implanted with the seed of corruption?'
'To confirm whether a person has traces of Spirit Sight and drug corruption, the best way is to communicate directly face-to-face, but the auction is not a large social ball, so there are few opportunities for interaction. However, on the day Vanya attends the auction, she will be in a private box, protected by guards at all times... How will Sword Scale get close enough to check Vanya's condition without revealing his identity?'
Dorothy thought this in her heart. After much thought, at the very end, a flash of inspiration struck her mind.
'That's right... the auction... bidding...'