The Elusive Sorcerer

Chapter 168

Regarding the Level 4 artifact of the "The World" category, the Hoisline Fan, Zavi took possession of the artifact for one reason: Mine had lost her will to live.

It was like swallowing his own words, but it was all at Mine Rasuha's own request.

He knew her condition was at its lowest point, making it possible for supernatural creatures to kill her. Because of that, Zavi took the fan artifact, carried it with him, and refrained from using it, at least for now.

For days, even weeks, he spent his time at the inn, busy calculating his daily expenses and monitoring his watch. Zavi exercised, trying to improve his stamina and health. Being a Receivers of Prisoner, who had to remain still while attacking an opponent, was not as easy as he had imagined.

Although breathing could not disrupt the transmission of his created spirituality, even a single blink could interfere with it, or more precisely, significantly affect its spiritual form.

Having learned this through experience, Zavi racked his brain for ways to circumvent the limitations of previous Receivers by manipulating the very foundation of the Receivers ability itself.

Simply put, he could create any entity according to his imagination, including clones of himself or even other people, replicating them down to their fingerprints and even their DNA. Furthermore, he could use those clones as substitute bodies to create other spiritual entities, binding the clone by supplying more spirituality to the created entity, provided the clone remained still for a moment while creating it and could move freely afterward without destroying it.

He had once used this method while fighting Kael, a Hollow accompanied by his contracted djinn, and a group of Chalog in Ardoma Valley. Zavi had not pushed the technique any further, fearing failure and its consequences.

He wanted to create three or at least four clones of nobles or important figures to make gathering information easier. However, after further investigation, Zavi realized that this method would slowly kill his body.

As a Receivers of Prisoner, he had no real experience with the ability itself and only knew of at least one ability on the same level among the three remaining Level One Mysteries of Error.

Therefore, finding Zuhen Mudelk, Felina Ronatte, and Canel Hewwich became his second priority after surviving and eradicating the devils roaming the world.

Ever since arriving in Semilir, he had become even more dedicated to his goals and, naturally, more vigilant of the dangers ahead.

....

Fortunately, to communicate with them, especially Evelina Kalderan and Luis, Zavi did not need to go through the trouble of traveling to the station, boarding a train, and returning to Ource again.

His goal was simple: go to the public telephone on the main street, located in the park, and call them. Coincidentally, he had asked for Evelina's phone number two weeks earlier, allowing him to call her freely the following Saturday.

The moment he stepped off the public carriage, Zavi lifted his bowler hat while smiling at the coachman, then turned around and hurried into the park.

After entering the small transparent booth, Zavi inserted a coin, dialed the number, and pressed the receiver to his ear.

Tut... Tut... Tut...

Evelina knew Zavi would contact her on Saturday. It was a time when nobles had free time, unlike ordinary days, making Saturday a special occasion for chatting and exchanging information.

Click!

"...Hello? Can you hear my voice?"

A voice filled with confusion, clearly not feminine, came through.

Zavi was startled and instinctively pulled the receiver away from his ear.

The voice was different from what he had expected.

Once he felt his ears were fine again, he pressed the receiver back to his ear and slowly massaged his forehead.

"Hello... Hello, can you hear me?"

It was a habit he had carried over from Earth, even if the phrase only existed to prevent him from having to repeat himself after the call connected.

"Yes, I can hear you," Luis replied, accompanied by a strange crackling sound.

Zavi ignored the noise and immediately explained his purpose.

"Luis... tell Lady Evelina that by next Saturday, or Friday night, you all need to depart for Kuranda."

Luis was confused by the statement, making him even more curious about James Moriarty's insane plan and prompting him to seek clarification.

"Excuse me, Mister James Moriarty. Do you mean that by tomorrow, Friday, Luifis, Evelina, and I, along with those ten troublesome people, must arrive in Kuranda no later than Saturday morning?" Luis tried to clarify.

Zavi frowned.

"Yes, you could say that. Whether it's Saturday morning, afternoon, evening, or night, all of you must arrive in Kuranda and immediately find an inn or somewhere else to stay for several days."

"Oh? I see," Luis said while nodding. He rubbed his forehead because two troublemakers were fighting inside the room.

Zavi immediately realized that something was happening there.

"Who's shouting?"

Luis hesitated for a moment before answering. His gaze swept across the luxurious Kalderan family living room, and he frowned at the sight of two mischievous women behaving like children.

Luis chuckled to himself and answered,

"It's just noble ladies amusing themselves during their free time."

'Damn it, that's not amusing themselves at all!' Luis immediately corrected himself inwardly.

Then the gentle, worried voice of one of the maids present pulled him from his thoughts.

"Miss, could you please stop fooling around already?"

Evelina and the noblewoman, who was two years younger than her, stopped their game.

The person whom Evelina considered an enemy to be captured groaned in displeasure when a maid dared to tell a noble like her to stop.

"Hey, did you just say something?"

The maid who had spoken held her breath when the noblewoman's sharp gaze landed on her. Meanwhile, the other five maids slowly backed away before moving in the opposite direction.

The maid grew increasingly panicked as she realized what was happening.

"Whose voice was that?" Zavi asked, sensing that Luis's surroundings had suddenly become quiet, yet beneath that silence someone seemed to be under pressure.

Luis rose from his seat, causing the telephone cord to tighten briefly.

"My apologies, Mister James Moriarty. I'll put you through right away."

Seeing Luis holding the telephone and speaking to someone, Evelina suddenly remembered what day it was.

Her pupils widened as she hurried over, slapping her forehead while using her left hand to lift the hem of her golden-brown dress.

"Wait a second!"

The moment those words left her mouth, the noblewoman who had been glaring at the maid with clenched teeth and a sharp hiss disappeared from her thoughts. Her attention shifted entirely to Evelina, who looked as though she were being chased by debt collectors.

"Sorry, sir, it seems I won't be hanging up after all," Luis said while watching Evelina approach with a worried expression.

"Yeah," Zavi replied apathetically, almost placing the receiver down and nearly losing his ten pence.

Ngek...

Zavi flinched the moment he heard that sound and quickly glanced around, afraid someone might misunderstand him.

'Phew... what kind of sound was that?'

Once again, he found himself unable to believe it when the telephone transmitted a broken noise interrupted by hurried breathing.

"What are you even saying?"

Zavi unconsciously voiced his thoughts.

'Damn, that could ruin James Moriarty's image!'

He immediately corrected himself and cleared his throat so the interrupted sounds would return to normal.

The moment Evelina heard James Moriarty's cold cough, her breathing instantly steadied. Strange, but true. Even Evelina herself did not understand why.

"Sorry, Moriarty. I've been busy lately," Evelina said softly.

'As if. There's no way I'd do something that ridiculous. Hmph, nobles indeed.'

Luis, standing in front of her, noticed Evelina slipping back into one of her habits when he saw her stick out her tongue.

'Is she plotting something evil again?'

He glanced at the maid still standing there before shifting his gaze toward the noblewoman approaching Evelina.

Luis clicked his tongue inwardly and decided to leave Evelina alone.

He walked over to the maid and told her to leave with him immediately.

The maid nodded gratefully to Luis, unable to hold back her tears.

In front of a desk with a green cushioned chair facing left, Evelina adjusted its position before sitting down and resting both feet on top of the desk.

"That's improper behavior for a noble!" the noblewoman exclaimed loudly.

Evelina clicked her tongue.

"Be quiet, Chili," Evelina shot back before continuing the conversation.

The noblewoman named Lucia stared blankly for several seconds as her brain processed the statement.

"Hey, w-what? Are you calling me Chili?" she demanded while pointing at herself.

Evelina pulled the receiver away, covered it with her hand, and sighed.

"Obviously, I'm talking about you," Evelina replied calmly before resuming her conversation with James Moriarty.

"What did you say?"

Lucia immediately stepped forward, letting out a sharp snort while both hands tensed into tight fists as though she were preparing to punch her.

A few seconds later, she unleashed a barrage of punches toward Evelina.

With her red shoe pressed against Lucia's stomach, Evelina did not need to move and remained focused on listening to James Moriarty's instructions.

"Alright, yes, I'll do that immediately."

She paused to listen before answering,

"Hmm, alright. It'll be easier if Luifis handles it."

Evelina's serious feminine voice stopped when James Moriarty firmly explained the final stages of the plan.

Several moments later, Zavi had given Evelina a detailed explanation regarding the movements and infiltration.

Evelina committed everything to memory, hoping it would proceed smoothly despite knowing enemies would be waiting for her.

Lucia continued attacking her throughout the discussion of the infiltration plan and the events leading up to the Ountakana auction infiltration.

"Alright, I'll start taking care of it right now. Besides, I'm not doing this because of you."

"Oh? That's good. I'm not doing this because of you either," Zavi replied calmly.

Even hearing her own earlier words thrown back at her left Evelina momentarily speechless.

"...Hey, Evelina? How dare you ignore me?"

Evelina immediately snapped back to reality, looked at Lucia for a few seconds, and then the corners of her lips curled upward.

"Oh? I just realized Chili was here," Evelina said sarcastically.

The veins on Lucia's forehead bulged, and the muscles in her neck tensed.

"What did you say?"

She launched another punch, even though she knew Evelina was holding her back with her pale leg.

"Alright, yes, forgive me for not paying attention to you."

Zavi asked why, and Evelina replied with a chuckle,

"There's a chili pepper throwing a tantrum in my house."

Lucia's rebellion intensified as she abandoned her attempts to punch Evelina's face and instead pinched the young woman in front of her.

Pinch...

"Ow, that hurts..."

Evelina straightened her legs, rubbed them, and decided it was time to end the meeting.

"I'll hang up now," Evelina said flatly and seriously.

Zavi remained silent for a moment before answering in a similar tone.

"Yes, I'll be waiting."

Thunk!

Evelina placed the receiver back in its cradle, rose from her seat, and immediately retaliated against Lucia.

This Saturday morning, the 15th, the meeting officially came to an end, and the goal they had been anticipating for weeks would soon begin.