"Only three? You're an Assassin after all, even a regular old client wouldn't have you kill just that few people, right?" Snow spread out his two cat paws and said with a slightly teasing tone.
"Let's talk business. The Nighthawks around here have increased, and I must leave this place as soon as possible." Seeing that this black cat was about to begin another long journey of topic deviation, Trissy immediately said impatiently.
It wasn't that she had become arrogant, but simply because during their interactions over the past half month, she had deeply realized that this cat only needed to be given the slightest opportunity to spout a whole bunch of inexplicable and completely irrelevant nonsense.
"Alright, alright, let's talk business." Snow showed no displeasure at Trissy's attitude. He nimbly jumped onto the dressing table, bringing his line of sight level with Trissy's, then continued:
"This matter is very simple. You help me attack a Sequence 9 Mystery Pryer. Don't kill him, but expose the fact that he's been contaminated by the Hidden Sage."
"The Hidden Sage? Are you joking?" Trissy's face showed an exaggerated expression, but Snow just wagged his tail, restraining himself from doing the foolish thing of chasing his own tail while saying:
"Don't worry, it's just a normal unlucky fellow who's been instilled with knowledge by the Hidden Sage. He doesn't have any extraordinary items himself, and at most he has a few low-level Darkness pathway charms on him."
"That's more like it." As a semi-direct descendant of the Demoness Sect, Trissy knew some basic beyonder knowledge, such as the fact that the Hidden Sage liked to instill knowledge into beyonder individuals of the Mystery Pryer pathway, which was almost public intelligence.
However...
"This Mystery Pryer has a sensitive identity?" Trissy raised an eyebrow, her tone somewhat playful. The black cat's meaning was obviously to save someone.
And a person worthy of this guy's rescue—wouldn't he have some secret?
"Your curiosity is too strong." Snow coldly glanced at her, "He's a Nighthawk, quite old, with almost no advancement potential. The reason I chose him is because he's currently closest to losing control. Well, you should also have some understanding of the current situation in Tingen. I need to make those official Beyonders more vigilant."
"So wouldn't it be better to just let him lose control directly?" Trissy probed with his words, but Snow smiled and said:
"If you dare to kill official Beyonders at this critical juncture, that would be even better. However, I personally suggest you choose to complete the task through 'revelation,' after all, you are now a 'Witch.'"
"Acting?" Triss immediately understood Snow's meaning. Revealing misfortune and prophesying disaster was indeed one of the methods for acting as a Witch. Although she had previously preferred the simple and crude method of directly cursing others, Tingen's recent situation meant that rashly using beyonder abilities would undoubtedly attract the encirclement of the three major Churches.
"Fine, I understand. I'll do this. Give me his information." After thinking for a moment, Trissy gently nodded. She didn't believe that this cat was only proposing this matter to provide her with an acting plan, but she did indeed need an acting plan. If saving that old Mystery Pryer could earn the other party's favor, then she wouldn't be at a loss either.
"I don't know his full name. His commonly used designation is 'Old Neil.' He's a Nighthawk, Sequence 9 Mystery Pryer, skilled in making charms and ritual magic. He frequently visits the beyonder trading venue behind the Bravehearts Bar to purchase spirituality materials. He lives in a detached house in the northern suburbs, with a garden growing roses, golden mint, and other plants used for extracting hydrosols and essential oils. He likes to wear a black classical robe. Is this enough?"
Snow slowly recounted all the intelligence he remembered. After listening, Trissy's experience accumulated during her time as an Assassin and Instigator immediately made her think of several plans, so she gently nodded:
"That's sufficient."
"Very good. So what reward do you want? Given the difficulty of this target, I can answer questions worth no more than 1,000 pounds for you. If you're willing to pay extra, I can also get you the Assassin pathway Sequence 6 formula, after all, you know that the market price for a Sequence 6 formula is 2,000 pounds."
Seeing Trissy agree, Snow immediately put on a business-like expression. Looking at this black cat whose expression was completely inconsistent with his cute appearance, Trissy frowned slightly:
"Can it be split?"
"Of course it can. Want to try asking a 100-pound question first?" Snow extended a cat claw, attempting to make a thumbs-up gesture, but undoubtedly failed. However, this didn't prevent him from conveying his meaning to Triss.
"First, can you tell me what exactly happened in Tingen? Hmm, don't answer yet—tell me how much this question is worth." Trissy watched the black cat before her vigilantly, very much suspecting that if she didn't ask, this profiteer would directly tell her it was worth 5,000 pounds after answering, then demand she do another 4,000 pounds worth of work.
"Well, this question involves the three major Churches, two Sequence 5s, one Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, and a bit of divinity. If we go further, it could even involve true gods. If you want to know the complete content, charging you 20,000 pounds wouldn't be excessive, right?"
Snow opened his cat mouth, revealing a smile with fangs. Trissy felt her scalp tingle—she had lost count of how many times she had the thought of going back in time to strangle her past self. Back then at the station, she shouldn't have looked at this damned cat!
"Pick some things I can know, and keep it within 200 pounds." Trissy took a deep breath. She had now completely realized that doing business with this black cat would cost her several lives, but considering Tingen's current state, if she knew nothing at all, she might not even know how she died. After thinking for a moment, she still made her choice.
"200 pounds, let me think... Got it. Here's the gist: A divine emissary from the Aurora Order came to Tingen looking for something, and the three major Churches are searching for both him and what he's looking for. There are also people who want to take advantage of this opportunity to steal something."
"That's it?" Trissy listened to the black cat spout tongue-twister-like sentences and said somewhat suspiciously:
"The one you mentioned who wants to steal something—that wouldn't be you, would it?"
"What do you think?" Snow tilted his cat head, putting on a cute expression. Really, if you ignored his awful personality, he was quite capable of stirring a maiden's heart.
"Keep the remaining questions on account for now. By the way, can't you give me a more reliable contact method?" Trissy slowly digested the intelligence Snow had given her while asking this question.
"I've told you before, praying to my Lord is the simplest and safest contact method. If you really don't want to, you can control an ordinary person to pray in your place! I remember Witches should also have extraordinary abilities like bewitching hearts, right?"
(End of Chapter)
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Author's Note: Regarding saving Old Neil, this isn't simply favoritism toward an original character. There's strategy involved here too. Although there will be explanations tomorrow at noon, to reduce the possibility of being criticized, I'll mention it briefly. In short, most of the time when I write, I follow logic. Even if I show some favor to characters I like from the original work, I'll try to choose methods that fit the protagonist's character. If you find any instances of forced favoritism, the target must be a black-haired beauty... that's beside the point, let's not discuss it. What? Trissy is also black-haired... uh, well, the protagonist currently really doesn't plan to experience a Witch's... pleasures, really! And besides, Trissy will become a true iron-blooded man in the future!