Chapter 231 - 230: Keeping the Appointment

Chapter 231: Chapter 230: Keeping the Appointment

An arm as thin as cardboard extended from a spatial rift, holding a letter stamped with the emblem of Randolph the butler.

Lloyd reached out to take the letter. Just then, an Executor trainee happened to be passing by and shrieked in fright at the sight.

"Aaaaaah! What is that?!"

"Whoa! Don’t panic! It’s okay. This is a Messenger from a powerful individual. Don’t be afraid; it’s harmless."

Lloyd quickly explained.

The disembodied arm quickly played along with Lloyd’s explanation, giving the trainee a friendly wave as a greeting.

"Oh, I see. That really gave me a scare."

The trainee patted his chest and continued.

"I’ve read about magical Messengers like this in books—the kind that can cross Space to deliver letters and items. I always imagined they’d look like kittens or puppies. I never thought they’d look like this! How amazing..."

Hearing this, the cardboard arm quickly made a hand gesture meant to resemble a fox—as if trying to say it was a little fox.

"Haha, it’s so amusing. What about you, Senior Lloyd? Do you have a magical Messenger like this?"

"Er... Not yet. I’ll figure out a way to get one in the future."

Lloyd smiled and answered honestly.

’Actually, I used to have many such Messengers,’ he thought. ’Things like a small, winged donkey that could fly; an adorably goofy void tyrannosaurus; a juvenile, black, meat-mountain of a demon king, and so on.’

After a bit more small talk, the trainee left. The cardboard arm, however, did not. It folded itself into a crossed-arm posture, as if waiting for something.

"Hm? Do you need me to reply immediately?"

Lloyd asked quickly.

The cardboard arm gave him a thumbs-up in agreement.

"Then please, come in. I’ll make you a cup of tea."

Not wanting to startle anyone else, Lloyd pulled his office door open wider, stepped aside, and invited it in.

The cardboard arm, along with its accompanying spatial rift, instantly blinked out of existence and reappeared above a chair next to the desk, once again assuming its crossed-arm pose.

Lloyd closed the door and took out a brand-new tea set. A Judge had given it to him the day before yesterday as a small token of gratitude for resolving the major crisis in the Eighteenth District and helping them vent some serious frustration.

He lit the matching small stove to boil a kettle of water, then finally opened the butler’s letter. Taking out the notebook to use as a cipher, he began to decipher the butler’s horrifically messy handwriting.

It had been a while since he’d last received a letter from the butler, and the handwriting had become even more indecipherable. Without the notebook as a reference, he probably would have needed a hospital nurse to read it.

Through a combination of guesswork and deduction, Lloyd finished reading the letter. It mentioned their previous agreement, stating that the time was near. The butler hoped they could meet tonight at the same tavern as last time and reminded Lloyd to set aside an additional three days afterward.

’After all, it’s directly related to a core material for advancing to Tier Five.’

’I just didn’t expect the time to come so soon...’

He first brewed a cup of tea for the cardboard arm waiting for a reply, then picked up his pen and began to write back, confirming that he would be there on time.

After he handed the letter to the cardboard arm, it picked up the still-scalding cup of tea and poured the contents directly into the spatial rift. It gave Lloyd another thumbs-up, then took the reply and vanished.

"Tomorrow... Doesn’t that mean I’ll be gone when Weiya gets back?"

Lloyd did a quick mental calculation and pursed his lips.

’Somehow, he felt that this wasn’t so bad after all?’

Since he would be gone for three days, Lloyd went to inform the Judge who would be covering for him. Then, he found Meditis in the library, returned the bell to her, and explained:

"I have to go help a High-ranking Powerhouse with a small favor, so I’ll be gone for three days. I’ll have to trouble you to hold down the fort here."

"Hmph. I know."

Meditis just snorted coldly without looking up, her eyes still fixed on the book in her hands.

’Huh? Wait... she’s actually reading?’

Lloyd was a little surprised.

"What are you still gawking for? Were you expecting me to say a few words of concern? Dream on! I’m a bad woman, through and through."

Meditis spoke again with a touch of impatience, shooing Lloyd away.

............

That evening, Lloyd arrived at the appointed tavern on time and saw the butler already waiting for him at the entrance.

"It’s been a while, Lloyd."

"It’s been a while, Mr. Randolph."

"I hear things have been going very smoothly for you lately. A few old friends have mentioned you. It seems my initial choice was the correct one."

"You’re too kind. It was just a trivial part of my duties."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two settled into a private room in the tavern. The butler then took out a device that looked like a nautical Compass and placed it on the table.

In an instant, all the noise and clamor from the tavern vanished, as if the two of them had been completely isolated.

"A little toy for soundproofing."

The butler explained casually before getting straight to the point, telling Lloyd about the favor he needed.

The gist of it was this: tomorrow, the two of them would travel to a very, very remote town. There, they would meet with two other powerhouses from the [Manifestation] system and the two ’readers’ they brought with them. The three parties would then engage in a special ’gamble’—

The three ’readers,’ including Lloyd, would take turns entering three [Stories] meticulously crafted by the three powerhouses. They would attempt to find flaws and loopholes in the stories, trying to break the [Story].

The [Story] that was broken the least would be deemed the most complete and true. Its creator would be the final winner, allowed to absorb and merge the other two losers’ [Stories] to meet the conditions for the Eighth [Transcendence].

"So this is the ritual for the Eighth [Transcendence] of the [Manifestation] system?"

Lloyd asked after listening.

"Yes. The [Transcendence] for the [Manifestation] system is rather unique. No single [Story] can ever be absolutely true and complete. It must absorb others’ [Stories] to be perfected and supplemented. This is also why Eighth Tier practitioners of the [Manifestation] system are relatively rare."

The butler explained patiently.

"Er... what happens to the powerhouse who loses their [Story]...?"

Lloyd asked, a worried tone in his voice.

The butler just smiled and replied in a very casual tone:

"No need to be nervous. Their lives aren’t in danger, at least. They merely lose all the effort and preparation they put into their [Transcendence]. So you can relax. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve lost."