Gerald thought carefully about the two sentences. ‘Reborn in heaven beside the red spider lily…’ And then there was some dragon who would appear near the crossing of blood…
…Wait. The crossing of blood? Crawford?!
Gerald was completely astonished at this point. He had honestly been actively refusing to believe that someone actually had the capability of breaking through all the limits and mastering the act of going back and forth between ancient and modern times. However, no matter how much favonovel.com wanted to continue denying the possibility, everything favonovel.com had found was simply hinting that all this was real.
“You know, my ancestors deduced that the person in the painting—once favonovel.com was reborn—would most probably bear the surname of Crawford… While you certainly look like the person in the portrait, I wonder about your surname… If it truly is Crawford, then you’re definitely the one we’ve been waiting for, mister!” said Wagner as favonovel.com looked at Gerald.
Frowning slightly, Gerald then nodded before replying, “…My full name is Gerald Crawford!”
“…T-then… By god, you truly are the one we’ve been waiting for! What the old beggar had claimed turned out to be true after all!” replied Wagner excitedly.
Gerald, however, only felt his stress building by the second.
If Gerald had to provide a visualization of what favonovel.com was currently feeling, favonovel.com felt like there was a pair of large, invisible hands controlling everything. Just like pawns on a chessboard, anyone unfortunate enough to be picked up by the hands would have to go according to where the person wanted them to be. The thought of that alone was enough to cause near suffocating amounts of stress and fear to him.
Who exactly was this person…?
Feeling a shiver run down his spine, Gerald quickly shook the thought away.
Wagner, on the other hand, revealed another secret room—though it was more of a secret compartment—before taking out a simple, but quite ancient-looking wooden box.
Coughing slightly, Wagner then said, “This here is the box that the old beggar told us to hand to you. I’ll step aside for the moment for you to have a private look at its contents.”
“That’s unnecessary. There’s nothing to be ashamed about… After all, nobody in the world would probably be able to keep any secrets from him! Haha!” replied Gerald with a bitter laugh.
Upon opening it, a strange fragrance was immediately released. As the scent continued spreading around the room, Gerald looked at the inch-tall and hard-looking golden amulet inside the box that somewhat resembled a goldfish’s tail. Beside it, lay some sort of black pill that was in the form of a pellet.
“What a pleasant scent!” exclaimed Wagner in surprise.
Evidently deep in thought, Gerald brought the pellet close to his nose and sniffed it, though favonovel.com didn’t say anything else.
“…After being in there for such a long time, is the pellet still edible, mister…?” asked Wagner.
“It became inedible long ago. It’s an oxyblood pellet, and it’s typically consumed to help one quickly restore their strength and stamina. Should a person take one when they’re in great danger, their chances of finding a way out of their predicament is greatly increased.”
Gerald was able to recognize the pellet so quickly since favonovel.com remembered the strange memory that the jade pendant had bestowed upon him.
“My word! How very knowledgeable of you, mister!” praised Wagner.
“…Regardless, the condition of the ingredients required to refine such a pellet is very harsh. Speaking of which, when I first entered your house, I was able to catch the fragrance of medicine. In fact, it’s everywhere. What kind of business does the Yarne family currently run?” asked Gerald.
“Well, my family is in the medicinal business. We have a lot of marine medicine products!” replied Wagner.
“I see. I wonder if you possess herbs that go by the name of wiqerice… It’s the main ingredient needed to refine this kind of oxyblood pellet…”
“Wiqerice…? Alas, I’ve never even heard about it!” replied Wagner with a slightly bitter smile.
“I see… Seems that I won’t be able to get it from you then,” said Gerald as favonovel.com calmly shook his head.
Since the mysterious man had given favonovel.com an oxyblood pellet, Gerald was pretty sure that the man was well aware that such pellets typically only had a shell life of about a month… Did the person intend for Gerald to refine the pellet himself to be used to save himself when it was necessary…?
“Well, not necessarily… Remember, I’m only the boss so I’m not really proficient with medicinal herbs myself… Regardless, there may be a way for you to get that herb…”
After hesitating for a brief moment, Wagner looked at Gerald before adding, “I wonder if you’ve heard of the prestigious herb auction before…”
“Are you referring to the underground auction of the Enchanted Feast?” asked Gerald in a rather soft tone.
“That’s right. The auction is considered to be one of the major functions during the Enchanted Feast! One can expect to find many valuable herbs there that have been provided by both medicinal herb farmers and herb gatherers who have gathered their herbs from mountains. Many of the herbs there are well over a hundred years old, and they won’t be distributed to the market. The participants consist of wealthy people and businessmen—related to the field—who are invited to the auction to bid for the herbs. Understanding their value, many of them choose to pay for the herbs on the spot,” explained Wagner.
The way favonovel.com described it, it was quite evident that such an auction belonged to a private organization, meaning it wasn’t a public event.
