Chapter 88 "Magic Pocket Watch"
"This is a magical item formed by combining the Sequence 7 'Magician' Beyonder characteristic of the 'Fortune Teller' pathway with a standard pocket watch from the 'God of Steam and Machinery' Church. It looks, well, like an ordinary pocket watch..."
"Because it inherits the Beyonder characteristics of the Magician, it and its carrier possess a certain degree of divination interference, greatly increasing the failure rate of divinations directed at them. In addition, it possesses three Beyonders from the Magician, which you must have already seen."
"The first is 'Flame Leap'. You can target a flame within a few dozen meters around you as a landing point, either candlelight or spiritual flame. The second is 'Paper Figure Substitute'. You can pre-cut a paper figure and carry it with you. You can use it to take damage for you once, and then have the paper figure take your place. Combined with the flame leap, you can achieve the same elusive effect as Tomatz. However, the number of times you can use it depends on your spirituality, which is about three to four times."
"The last ability is called 'Damage Transfer'. It transfers wounds on the body to other locations through contact. A 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 or other objects."
"The method for activating this magical item is very simple. You just need to press the crown, and you will have these three extraordinary abilities for the next ten minutes. Once the time is up, the effect will disappear, followed by a negative effect lasting up to twelve hours."
"Once the usage time expires, the hour hand of the pocket watch will begin counting down from '12'. Before the countdown ends, the user will fall into a state of 'fear of fire', similar to 'flame leaping', and will be afraid of even a single candle flame. This state cannot be reversed by moving away from the pocket watch. During these twelve hours, the divination interference will also disappear, and the success rate of divination for the wearer is very high."
"What's the exact degree of your fear of fire? I can't tell. Do you need me to test it for you?"
Amid the clanking sound of the steam train's wheels rolling over the joints of the rails, Angel played with his pocket watch, recalling Kavi's words on the platform.
Although she had already deduced the general function of the pocket watch based on the effect of Tomac's use of this magical item, she had not expected that it was actually a powerful item that could be used "at will within a time limit."
The negative effects also had a time limit, and according to Kavi, the fear of "firelight" was likely quite widespread. However, within ten minutes of pressing the crown, the user would gain the essence of the "magician" ability. A Sequence 8 Beyonder wielding the pocket watch could easily rival a Sequence 7 Beyonder.
Angel was actually a little hesitant when he took out such a magical item and asked Kavi, a member of "Mechanical Heart", to identify it.
After all, the pocket watch came from Tomas, a defector from the "Mechanical Heart", and Tomas used the Beyonder characteristics stolen from the "Mechanical Heart" warehouse to "combine" this pocket watch. According to the official Beyonder practice, it is reasonable for Kavi to recover this stolen property.
So this time she held the pocket watch in her hand and asked Kavi to identify it "remotely".
Fortunately, Kavi, who had already left the "Mechanical Heart" team in Enmat Port, did not do anything surprising, and even agreed to Angel's "free" request. At one point, she suspected that Kavi was trying to stabilize her and would send a telegram to the "Mechanical Heart" to get a team of high-pressure steam riflemen to take back the stolen items.
This suspicion was not dispelled until she boarded the steam train to Stoen and Tingen and the train left the Enmatt port station.
The sunlight reflected by the brass pocket watch seemed as charming to Angel as the light of gold. She couldn't help wanting to press the crown several times along the way to experience the feeling of being a "magician", but there were many passengers on the train, and she was worried that the "sunlight" could also be considered a kind of firelight, so she finally resisted the urge.
I'll try it secretly after nightfall...
Angel put the pocket watch on the chain he bought from the souvenir shop at the station, and followed Klein's example by tying the chain to his left wrist for easy use at any time. Only then did he eagerly plan the famous "trial" plan.
Oh, and I have to give it a name. This is my first real "trophy"...
Angel thought of some rather impolite names like "Tomats' Regret" and "Kavi's Envy", but finally decided to call it "Magic Pocket Watch".
Well, it fits its extraordinary abilities.
——————
Just like when it came, the steam train first passed through the city of Stoen, northwest of Port Enmat, and then returned to the city of Tingen. When Angel got off the train with his suitcase, it was already noon with the sun shining brightly.
"Ah, fresh air, it's so nice..."
Although Tingen City has also caught up with the wave of industrialization and built many factories, most of them are located on the outskirts of the city and do not discharge exhaust gas into the urban area. In addition, there are two rivers passing near the urban area, and the vegetation along the coast is dense. The air is several levels better than that of Enmat Port, which is located on the seaside but has serious industrial pollution.
Angel greedily took a few breaths of the long-lost fresh air and silently apologized to Ms. Daly who had invited him.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Daly, even if it's just for the air quality here, I'd rather stay in Tingen..."
"Hey, be careful—"
A teenager who was walking hurriedly seemed not to be paying attention to the road and accidentally bumped into Angel who was carrying a suitcase. The latter reacted at the moment when physical contact was about to take place, nimbly dodged to the side, and at the same time covered his clothes pocket with his free hand, preventing a covert pickpocket.
"It's just that public security isn't very good. We, the Nighthawks and the police, still have to work hard..."
Seeing the teenager who failed in the theft and fled in a hurry, she wanted to take out her police badge to hold him down, but she felt that since the theft was not successful, there would not be much punishment even if she escorted him to the police station, so she finally let the rookie go.
…
After returning to No. 6 Daffodil Street in a hired carriage, Angel subconsciously wanted to check the secret mark on the crack of the door, but then he remembered that he had not been home for several days. The female worker Tromi must have entered the house during the journey and dropped the note she had stuck in the crack of the door.
I am being too suspicious...
Taking out the key and opening the door, Angel put the suitcase by the door and sat directly on the sofa by the bay window. He stretched his body and felt truly relaxed.
Home is still better... Even though the suite at the "Silver Bullet Detective Agency" is clean and well-equipped, it is still far inferior to this house on Daffodil Street.
She squinted her eyes and curled up in the warm sunlight, intending to take a nap before the Tarot meeting began, but when her eyes swept across the coffee table, she found an envelope on it.
Envelopes... The last time I saw an envelope at home was the last time...
Angel felt his heartbeat slow down.
She swallowed and reached out her hand cautiously, as if to grasp a bomb.
The envelope was made of yellowed, low-quality paper and had no stamp. It must have been placed directly on the table.
Angel tore open the seal and poured out a piece of letter paper with two short lines of words written on it.
"Miss Granger, my name is Tromi. My father has passed away, so I need to take a leave of absence next week. I'm sorry!"
"call--"
She could hear herself sighing in relief.
I almost thought it was Madam Sharon's return...
Tromi said he was going to take leave “next week”, but that was last Friday, after I left Tingen early in the morning. Actually, he was going to take leave for this week…
Her father died of illness, but I seem to have never heard her mention it before. Could it be a sudden serious illness?
There were too few clues, so Angel gave up after a brief analysis, but she still carefully put the envelope away and decided to give the female worker who had lost her loved ones a salary increase as a consolation after seeing her next week.
After being frightened by the envelope, she no longer had the heart to rest, but went to various specialty restaurants on Narcissus Street and Iron Cross Street to find food as usual.
When she passed by No. 2 Daffodil Street, she deliberately looked closer at the window and found that the Moretti family was not there.
After all, today is Monday...
I'll say hello to Klein when he comes back in the evening.
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