Wei’en scoffed inwardly. ’Was it my fault I wouldn’t let go?’

’It’s clearly because Her Holiness the Saintess is too strong, leaving me no choice but to grip her soft hand tightly.’

In fact, Kali’s strength felt a little weaker than it had been back at Krimms Cathedral.

Or perhaps now that his Resilience Level had risen to 112, the gap between their base attributes had simply shrunk.

Before long, the two of them arrived at the Secret Investigation Department.

As soon as they entered the office, they saw Lisi and Tina sitting at their desks in plainclothes, lounging lazily.

Lisi was taken aback when she saw them push the door open. "Wei’en, Kali? What are you two doing here?"

Wei’en looked at her, confused. "Aren’t we supposed to be working?"

Lisi slapped her forehead, embarrassed. "My apologies, my apologies. I forgot to tell you. It’s a rule at the Secret Investigation Department—we don’t have to come in when it’s raining."

Wei’en: "..."

’That’s a pretty important thing to mention a little sooner...’

’But if they’re not supposed to be working, why are they here too?’

"Um... well, it’s a good thing you’re here. A case just came up. I was planning to take Tina with me, but it’s better if Kali goes instead."

Lisi then turned to Wei’en. "Also, regarding yesterday’s case, the Combat Department has finished their part. You take Tina and go handle the follow-up."

"Oh, okay."

Kali, however, was more concerned about something else. "Sister Lisi, a lot of people went blind last night. It seemed to happen right after they saw a giant monster. Do you know if there’s a cure?"

"There’s no cure," Lisi said, shaking her head. "It’s not a simple injury. It’s a very specific kind of curse."

"A curse?"

"Yes. Yegor told me. He said if we ever see that monster, we are to get away from it immediately. Otherwise, the curse will make your eyes vanish completely."

"...Is there really no way to solve it?"

"Well, not exactly," Lisi hesitated. "But the conditions for a cure are so demanding that it’s practically impossible."

"What are the conditions?"

"You need the monster’s blood. Applying its blood to the eyes will lift the curse and allow them to recover."

At this, Lisi paused. "According to Yegor, that monster is terrifying. Its power is comparable to a Level-3 Disaster, enough to destroy the entire Caster City State."

"So, even if you know the method, there’s no way for you to cure those people."

"I see..." Kali sounded a little disappointed.

"Alright, since you’re all here, have a taste." Wei’en took a few bags of potato chips out of his ring and handed one to each of them.

"Oh? What’s this?" Lisi picked up a chip and tossed it straight into her mouth.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

"The flavor... is great!"

"As long as you like it..."

Kali tried one as well. The slightly sweet seasoning seemed to lift her spirits.

Only Tina showed little reaction, though she did start feeding the chips to the clown doll instead of cookies, stuffing them into its mouth one by one.

[You have made indirect contact with Taboo Object 1-83, the Demon Clown. Your path of fate has been altered. Current encounter progress: 65/100. Evaluation: Hmm, this is very much to that clown’s taste... probably?

Special Rewards: Survival Points +5, Origin +1, Resilience Level +1, Spirit Level +1.]

’This fucking works too?!’

Seeing the notification, Wei’en didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’Am I just shooting myself in the foot here?’

...

...

As the rain grew heavier, Wei’en and Tina had no choice but to take a carriage to the Basil District.

The drumming of the rain on the carriage roof killed any desire Wei’en had to chat with the driver, so he simply sat inside, flipping through the Jerry Mage’s journal.

He had already completed a draft of the design for a Mechanical Puppet before leaving that morning.

Before he started building it, he wanted to see if he could find any of the Jerry Mage’s insights on Mechanical Puppet design in the journal.

But after flipping through it for a long time, he hadn’t found any useful information.

The entire journal was filled with lines like, "It can be done this way? I truly am a genius," or, "I’m such a genius for coming up with a design like this."

As for what the design actually was, the genius Jerry didn’t write a single word, simply dropping a complete Mechanical Puppet blueprint at the very end...

Reading this journal, forget about learning anything—he’d need immense self-control just to get through the narcissism.

Otherwise, he was genuinely worried he’d be provoked into ripping the entire journal to shreds!

"Sir, we’ve arrived at your destination."

Wei’en got out first and opened an umbrella before letting Tina get out with the clown doll in her arms.

He didn’t dare let the white-haired girl drag the clown anymore. Given the Taboo Object’s nasty personality, there was no telling if it would decide to add a few more points to his progress bar.

"Well looky here, two young ill-omens."

"You only see their kind in the city-state. Hmph, wouldn’t last a day at sea."

"Excuse me, Mr. Octopus, you’ve harmed our crew. We’re placing you under arrest, hahaha..."

"..."

Wei’en frowned, listening to the grating voices around him. He scanned the area and saw they were all sailors, burly men with skin tanned dark by the sun.

’Why are there so many more people here than the last time I came with Marco?’

[You have been scanned by Severin Kamara’s mental perception. Reward: Survival Points +1.]

[...]

[You have been scanned by Alejandro West’s mental perception. Reward: Survival Points +1.]

Wei’en said nothing, calmly taking Tina’s hand and leading her toward a tavern in the middle of the Basil District.

On either side of the road, dozens, if not hundreds, of sailors were gathered in small groups. Seeing the pair walk away as if they hadn’t heard a word, they all burst into laughter.