"This is a magical item formed by combining the Sequence 7 'Magician' Beyonder characteristic from the 'Diviner' pathway with a standard pocket watch from the 'Steam and Machinery God' church. Its appearance, well, is just an ordinary pocket watch..."
"Due to inheriting the 'Magician' Beyonder characteristic, it and its carrier possess a certain divination interference, greatly increasing the failure rate of divinations directed at them. Additionally, it has three Beyonder abilities from the 'Magician,' which I'm sure you've already seen."
"The first is 'Flame Leap,' which allows teleportation to designated flames within a range of tens of meters; candle flames and spiritual flames both work. The second is 'Paper Man Substitute,' where you prepare paper cutouts in advance and carry them with you. You can use them to take a hit in your place and have the paper man replace your position. Combined with Flame Leap, it can achieve the same ghostlike effect as Thomas, but the number of uses depends on your spirituality, probably three to four times."
"The last ability is called 'Injury Transfer,' which allows you to transfer wounds on your body to other locations through contact. Each wound can only be transferred once. It can be used on yourself or others, but you can't transfer one person's wound to another person, nor to other objects."
"The method to activate this magical item is very simple. You just press the crown, and for the next ten minutes, you'll possess these three Beyonder abilities. Once the time is up, the effect will disappear, followed by a twelve-hour negative effect."
"Once the usage time ends, the hour hand of the watch will start counting down from '12,' and before the countdown ends, the user will fall into a state of 'fear of light.' Just like 'Flame Leap,' even the flame of a single candle will be frightening, and this state cannot be removed by moving away from the watch. During these twelve hours, the divination interference will also disappear, making the success rate of divination on the carrier very high."
"The specific degree of fear of light? I can't judge. Need me to help test it for you?"
Amidst the "clang" sound of steam train wheels pressing over rail joints, Angel played with the pocket watch in her hand, recalling Kavi's words on the platform.
Although she had already deduced the general function of the watch based on Thomas's use of this magical item, she hadn't expected it to be a powerful item that could be "used freely within a time limit."
The negative effect also had a time limit, and according to Kavi, the range of fear of "light" was probably quite broad. But within ten minutes after pressing the crown, the user would gain the essence of the "Magician" abilities. When using the watch, a Sequence 8 supernatural being could fully compete with a Sequence 7 supernatural being.
For such a magical item, Angel was somewhat hesitant to take it out and have Kavi, a member of "Mechanical Heart," appraise it.
After all, the watch came from Thomas, a defector from "Mechanical Heart," and Thomas had "combined" it using Beyonder characteristics stolen from the "Mechanical Heart" warehouse. According to official supernatural practice, it would be reasonable for Kavi to recover this stolen property.
So this time, she held the watch herself, letting Kavi appraise it "from a distance."
Fortunately, Kavi, who had already left the "Mechanical Heart" squad in Enmat Port, didn't make any shocking moves. She even readily agreed to Angel's "free" request, to the extent that Angel suspected she was trying to reassure her, planning to telegraph "Mechanical Heart" afterward to bring a squad of high-pressure steam rifle men to reclaim the stolen item.
This suspicion wasn't dispelled until she boarded the steam train to Stone City and Tingen City, and the train had left Enmat Port station.
The sunlight reflected by this brass pocket watch now seemed as enchanting to Angel as the gleam of gold. Several times along the way, she couldn't resist the urge to press the crown and experience what it felt like to be a "Magician," but with many passengers on the train, and concerned that "sunlight" might also count as a type of flame, she ultimately restrained her impulse.
Better to try secretly after nightfall...
Angel attached the watch to a chain bought from the station's souvenir shop, and learning from Kleinen, tied the chain to her left wrist for convenient use, eagerly planning her "trial" plan.
Oh right, I should give it a name. This is my first real "trophy" in the true sense...
Various somewhat disrespectful names like "Thomas's Regret" and "Kavi's Envy" flashed through Angel's mind, but she finally decided to call it "Magic Pocket Watch."
Hmm, very fitting for its Beyonder abilities.
The steam train, just like on the way there, first passed Stone City northwest of Enmat Port, before returning to Tingen City. By the time Angel got off with her suitcase, it was already blazing noon.
"Ah, fresh air, how wonderful..."
Although Tingen City had also caught the wave of industrialization and built quite a few factories, they were basically on the outskirts of the city and didn't direct exhaust toward the urban area. Moreover, two rivers flowed through near the urban area, with lush vegetation along the banks. The air quality compared to Enmat Port, which despite being by the sea suffered from serious industrial pollution, was several levels better.
Angel greedily inhaled a few breaths of the long-missed fresh air, silently apologizing to Ms. Daley who had invited her.
"Sorry, Ms. Daley, even if just for the air quality here, I'd rather stay in Tingen..."
"Hey, watch out—"
A hurrying youth, as if not watching where he was going, accidentally bumped into Angel who was carrying her suitcase. At the moment they were about to make physical contact, she reacted, nimbly stepping aside while using her free hand to cover her pocket, preventing a stealthy pickpocketing.
"The security isn't so good; we Nighthawks and the police still need to work hard..."
Seeing the youth flee hurriedly after failing to steal, she thought about taking out her police badge to detain him, but then felt that since the theft hadn't succeeded, even if she took him to the police station, there wouldn't be much punishment. In the end, she let this novice go.
...
Taking a hired carriage back to 6 Daffodil Street, Angel instinctively wanted to check the hidden mark in the door crack, but remembered she hadn't been home for several days, and the female worker Tromi had certainly entered the house in the meantime, removing the note she had wedged in the door crack.
I'm being too paranoid...
Taking out her key to open the door, Angel put the suitcase by the door and sat directly on the sofa by the bay window, stretching her body, extending a lazy yawn, only then feeling her whole body truly relax.
Home is still the best... Even though the "Silver Bullet Detective Agency" suite was clean, sanitary, and well-equipped, it was far inferior to this house on Daffodil Street.
She narrowed her eyes, curling up in the warm sunlight, planning to sleep for a while before the Tarot meeting began, but scanning across the tea table, she discovered an envelope placed on it.
Envelope... the last time I saw an envelope at home was the last time...
Angel felt her heartbeat slow by half a beat.
She swallowed her saliva, cautiously reaching out her hand, as if about to grab a bomb.
The envelope was made of somewhat yellowed inferior paper, without a stamp, likely placed directly on the table.
Angel tore open the seal, pouring out a letter, which briefly contained two lines.
"Miss Granger, I am Tromi. Due to my father's unfortunate passing, I need to take leave next week. My apologies!"
"Phew—"
She could hear herself sighing with relief.
Almost thought Mrs. Sharon had returned from the dead...
Tromi said she needed to take leave "next week," so that should have been last Friday, right after I left Tingen early in the morning, actually requesting leave for this week...
Her father passed away, but she never seemed to mention him before. Could it be a sudden illness?
With too few clues, Angel gave up after a brief analysis, but she carefully kept the envelope, deciding to give this woman who had lost a relative a raise as consolation when she saw her next week.
After being scared by this envelope, she no longer had the heart to continue resting, but instead went as usual to various specialty restaurants on Daffodil Street and Iron Cross Street to seek food.
Passing by 2 Daffodil Street, she deliberately approached to look at the window, finding that the Moretti family was not around.
Well, after all, today is Monday...
When Klein returns tonight, I'll greet him then.