Chapter 912 Origins of the Artisan
Cattleya understood The Hanged Man. If the problem was too serious, they could use The Moon to involve the entire Sanguine race. They could then minimize their losses in the chaos and obtain some benefits.
She then smiled and said, “If the situation is that serious, why not directly find The World? That seems to make things simple.”
Alger remained silent for a few seconds before saying, “I have to prove my ability at handling problems; therefore, that’s the final resort.”
After hearing his reply, Cattleya immediately made some connections.
The Hanged Man places great importance on the way Gehrman Sparrow views him. It’s because he’s a Blessed of Mr. Fool? Also, his attitude is rather identical to the political jokes of Backlund and Trier. When facing a problem or having committed a mistake, the first reaction is to suppress the matter and find other methods to resolve it. They cannot let their superior or consignor know about it…
This means that The Hanged Man was once or is currently a member of a powerful faction with a strict hierarchy. It influenced him and made him grasp similar traits… The Church of Storms? No, such a person would be an oddity… The fleet of the King of the Five Seas?
Amidst her thoughts, the pirate admiral nudged her heavy glasses and steered the topic back.
“Continue describing the Artisan.”
Alger appeared to have prepared a script. Without any thought or pause, he said in an unhurried manner, “To hide this Artisan’s identity, to prevent this resource from being wielded by others, I deliberately constructed the identity of him being part of the Church of Steam. But in fact, he had no choice but to create items for unaffiliated Beyonders to earn money to maintain his lifestyle of enjoying fine wine and beauties. He betrayed the Church of Steam and hid in Bayam.
“This time, he first contracted a strange disease and was monitored by an unknown person. Later, he seemed to be under control of people who believe in the Primordial Moon, claiming that he could receive new life…”
Cattleya finished listening attentively as her eyes with a purple tint appeared extremely focused.
After The Hanged Man finished his recount, she pondered and asked, “An Artisan definitely has no lack of mystical items. Furthermore, they know all the combinations of different Beyonder effects and negative effects. Their strength is definitely at Sequence 5.
“What methods did those Primordial Moon believers use to control this Artisan without harming him?
“A demigod was involved?”
Alger slowly shook his head.
“There aren’t any clues regarding that, but based on my observation, the Artisan has expressed some willingness. I suspect that, while being threatened and coerced, there are elements of them targeting his weaknesses to entice him.”
He had indirectly denied the theory that a demigod was involved.
Cattleya nodded.
“How did those Primordial Moon believers find this Artisan?
“Based on your description, this Artisan only trades with trustworthy friends he’s familiar with. He doesn’t enjoy widening his channels, and he can be said to be extremely cautious.”
Alger hesitated for a moment and said, “I’m not too sure, but I have a theory.
“I once helped The World sell a Werewolf Beyonder characteristic to that Artisan, and the Werewolf pathway belongs to the Mutant pathway. Be it the formulas or characteristics, they are firmly in the control of the Rose School of Thought. There are seldom any leaks.”
Likewise, those people who believe in the Primordial Moon in the Southern Continent basically belong to the Rose School of Thought… Cattleya added inwardly, having figured out The Hanged Man’s theory.
He suspected that the Werewolf Beyonder characteristic had a latent problem that involved a secret existence. This resulted in the Artisan being targeted by the Rose School of Thought!
And this was also the reason why the Rose School of Thought firmly wielded control over the Mutant pathway’s formula and characteristics.
Cattleya raised a few more questions and obtained satisfactory answers. Finally, she asked, “What’s that Artisan’s name? What country is he from?”
“He’s from Intis. He calls himself Cielf,” Alger replied straight away. “Cielf…” Cattleya frowned slightly as she repeated the Artisan’s name softly.
What’s wrong with that? Upon seeing this, Alger directly asked, “You’ve heard of him?”
From Alger’s point of view, Admiral of Stars was an experienced powerhouse with a powerful background and was good at controlling herself. If she hadn’t wished to discuss Cielf, she wouldn’t have made it so clear even if she had her suspicions and questions. Due to this, he chose to ask without mincing his words.
After a moment of silence, Cattleya said, “Emperor Roselle’s eldest son is Ciel. It’s very similar to that name.”
Without waiting for The Hanged Man to say a word, she continued, “This prince passed away due to his horror and concerns shortly after the emperor’s assassination. Back then, the Sauron family wished to hang or exile his descendants, but the Church of Steam chose to take him in as a clergyman.”
Alger nodded slightly in enlightenment.
“You suspect that he’s a descendent of that prince?”
In most countries in the Northern Continent like Intis and Feysac, it was common for people to use their ancestor’s name or something similar as their names. It represented the legacy of honor; therefore, the more illustrious a family was, the more common it was to have “the second” or “the third.”
Of course, it was also very common for two people to have similar names, but Artisan Cielf wasn’t only a name. He was from the Church of Steam, a person from Intis, and had reached the level of Artisan.
Faced with The Hanged Man’s question, Cattleya nodded gently.
“I can quickly make a confirmation if you can obtain his blood.”
Understanding the reason, Alger didn’t ask further. Instead, he asked, “Are you going to take action now? I can provide support.”
Cattleya’s glasses reflected the crimson moonlight that shone inwards.
“No, I plan on observing for some time.
“At the very least, we need to understand why the people who believe in the Primordial Moon are trying to control Artisan Cielf.
“If they only wish to get the Artisan to work for them and create mystical items, the situation becomes a lot more simple. And if they have other goals, the problem might be more complicated than we imagined. We will need to make more preparations.”
As expected of the Admiral of Stars… Alger nodded and said, “I can’t stay in Bayam for too long, or else I will incur suspicion. If you need my assistance, it needs to be fast.”
After receiving confirmation from her, The Hanged Man slowly got up and pulled up his hood before leaving the room.
Having learned where Artisan Cielf was presently living, Cattleya removed her heavy glasses and pinched her glabella. Clapping, she said, “Heath, come in.”
In the shadows of the door gap, the darkness suddenly stirred as a thin and tall but pale figure appeared.
His nose bridge was ridiculously high, and his facial skin was nearly transparent. Looking ill, he was none other than the second mate of the Future, Rose Bishop Heath Doyle.
Cattleya looked at him and said, “The actual situation is… I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Yes, Captain.” Heath Doyle simply replied before shrinking back into the shadows.
Cattleya raised her right hand and paused for a few seconds.
“Stay-Stay away from Frank for the time being. He had reached a standstill in his mushroom experiments. I’m afraid that he will come up with new ideas.”
“The location of my second marionette…”
Klein held two branches as he repeatedly chanted without seeing them move.
This meant a divination failure or that Kolain City didn’t have a second marionette that suited him well.
From the looks of it, mysticism methods are temporarily useless. I’ll pack up tomorrow and leave… Klein mumbled and threw the branches into the trash can.
Standing beside him was Enzo. Although he didn’t dare to directly look at his master and was only looking at the ground, he skilfully made a cup of black tea and offered it to Klein.
Compared to before, this Winner now had red skin that was nearly peeling due to sunburn. After all of this turned for the better, he would have a swarthy
tan.
To disguise his new marionette and prevent the Rose School of Thought from recognizing him, Klein had brought this gentleman on a trip to the beach which received strong sunlight. He was then left exposed to the sun for prolonged periods of time.
Meanwhile, he controlled the marionette to shave off most of his hair, leaving a thin layer. With the trimming of his brows, contouring his face with powder, and wearing shades, Enzo seemed to transform into another person. Even the most familiar of friends of his might find it difficult to recognize him unless the person was a Faceless.
Apart from a disguise in the real world, Klein also did some mysticism management. Firstly, he used the Paper Angel’s embrace, and second, he carried Azik’s copper whistle along with it.
In addition, he also determined that a Winner’s passive luck and calamity trait was ineffective. However, he had no idea if it was because of its status as a marionette, or if it was due to the gray fog.
Receiving the tea and taking a sip, Klein cast his gaze at the map of East and West Balam on the coffee table. He considered where he could find his second marionette.
At this moment, the colors around him suddenly saturated as though an artist had contoured the area with paint.
Right on the heels of that, a figure appeared beside Enzo. He was wearing a silk top hat and a black suit. With a medium build, he had bronze skin and eyes that seemed to see the vicissitudes of life. He had soft facial features, and beneath his right ear was a tiny black mole. He was none other than Azik Eggers.
Mr. Azik is finally here… Klein was first delighted before he noticed that he had appeared beside his marionette.
This made an amusing scene surface in his mind.
Mr. Azik, who had relied on the copper whistle to locate him, had done the same as he usually did – grabbing the copper whistle’s wielder by the shoulder and had left using the spirit world the moment he appeared. And all Klein could do was watch helplessly, trying to stop him with outstretched arms. But being a tad bit slow, he couldn’t help but clam up.
Azik appeared more reticent than before. Looking at Klein who had a new face, he asked, “Are you ready?”
