Queen's District, the luxurious villa of Earl Hall.
The cold air was blocked outside the windows and walls, while the room was as warm as spring, with an elegant fireplace.
Audrey Hall was being measured by Mrs. Genia, the fashion designer, so that she could conceive the New Year's ball gown based on her recent physical condition and temperament.
At this moment, her personal maid, Anne, leaned close to her ear and lowered her voice: "Madam Iserant has come to visit."
*She got feedback so quickly?* Audrey felt a burst of joy inside, but showed no obvious change on the surface. She smiled faintly and said: "Please have her wait in my studio. Mm, five minutes."
"The studio?" Anne asked in surprise.
"Yes, I want to invite her to appreciate the oil painting I recently finished. She said that what is depicted in a relaxed state easily reveals one's true inner thoughts and emotions." Audrey explained in a steady, unhurried tone.
Anne suddenly understood. "Yes, miss."
In less than five minutes, Audrey entered the studio and saw Iserant admiring the paintings on the wall.
"That is Mr. Senci's *Inner Night*, a masterpiece that brings a sense of tranquility." She introduced it to Iserant with a smile.
"*Inner Night* by Senci? In the top ten of the hundred greatest paintings of the century selected by the *Tarsok Report* last year?" Iserant was clearly the type who read the newspapers regularly.
And as a Beyonder of the "Spectator" pathway, her memory was good enough.
"Yes," Audrey replied simply, as if it were a trivial matter.
"I am fortunate to have seen the original..." Iserant looked up at the oil painting again.
She swallowed the words "It must be worth at least an estate" to avoid sounding too vulgar.
Audrey did not introduce the other paintings. She found an excuse to send Anne away and signaled with her eyes for the golden retriever Susie to "stand guard" outside the door.
Susie understood her hint without any difficulty, wagged her tail, and trotted out, wiggling her hips.
Iserant closed the door, returned to the easel, and before Audrey could ask, took the initiative to say: "We have both the Human-Skin Shadow characteristic and the Wind-Graced potion formula, but there is no need to sell them unless the other party can offer a price that cannot be refused."
*If they are willing to talk, there is hope!* Audrey's beautiful eyes shifted slightly, and she chuckled softly: "What do you wish to gain?"
Iserant smoothed a strand of hair and replied, as if she had been ready for this: "Two thousand five hundred pounds for the Human-Skin Shadow characteristic, and three thousand pounds for the Wind-Graced potion formula."
*There's a lot of markup...* Audrey did not find it too expensive, but she was astonished that the Psychology Alchemists' premium exceeded 50%.
—According to "The Hanged Man"'s description, under normal circumstances, a Sequence 6 potion formula costs less than 2000 pounds, but the closer one gets to the higher Sequences, the fewer formulas circulate, and they are very hard to come by. There is no "normal" situation. More importantly, even if you happen to find one, it's hard to confirm its authenticity.
At this point, Iserant added another sentence: "If the other party can exchange it for a mystical item of roughly equivalent value, that would be acceptable."
*So you want mystical items more, and are willing to accept a lower price for them... The Psychology Alchemists are one of the youngest secret organizations, and their accumulation in this area is clearly inferior to others...* Audrey pursed her lips and said: "I will relay this, but I can't guarantee they will accept it."
She wasn't worried at all that the Psychology Alchemists could discover she hadn't participated in any Beyonder gatherings recently. Her schedule was quite tight: afternoon tea, music lessons, dinner banquets, balls, equestrian training, language classes, dance lessons, and so on, alternating. This gave her plenty of opportunities to come into contact with different people. In this way, perhaps a certain dinner party was a cover for a Beyonder gathering, or maybe a music teacher was an experienced Beyonder lurking in the dark. The Psychology Alchemists, who operated secretly and couldn't act openly, had almost no chance of investigating this.
Having said this, Audrey asked with slight curiosity: "Teacher Iserant, I originally thought you wouldn't sell the Wind-Graced potion formula. It is, after all, at the Sequence 6 rank."
"Heh heh, having it spread might be more useful to us," Iserant replied vaguely.
In her mind, although Miss Audrey was a new member highly valued by the organization, she was still a new member. There were many things she couldn't know.
*Why?* Audrey suppressed her doubts, smiled brilliantly, and asked innocently: "Teacher Iserant, if this transaction is successful, can it count as my contribution?"
Iserant couldn't help but laugh: "It counts."
...
Klein was "busy" for the whole morning again. He returned to Minsk Street, filled his stomach, and prepared to rest, but before that, he had the time and opportunity to go above the gray fog to listen to prayers.
*So Miss "Justice" has the Human-Skin Shadow characteristic too? It's really, either nothing comes, or two come at once... As a secret organization, the Psychology Alchemists have decent resources...* Klein suddenly fell into a happy dilemma of how to choose.
Although including the 500 pounds "The Hanged Man" had yet to give him, he only had 1335 pounds in cash, this didn't stop him from seriously considering the Psychology Alchemists' trade request.
After thinking for over ten seconds, he first conveyed "Justice"'s words to "The Hanged Man" to see what choice he would make.
...
Three thousand pounds? "The Hanged Man" Alger Wilson, currently in the City of Generosity, the capital of the Rorsted Archipelago, felt as if he had been heavily struck by a club.
After acquiring the *Blue Avenger* and becoming its captain, he sometimes acted as a pirate and sometimes appeared as an enforcer, secretly wiping out several pirate bands. But even so, the total value of the spoils he obtained did not exceed 2000 pounds, some of which had to be distributed to the sailors under him. Of course, this didn't count the captured ships and cannons, which had to be handed over to the Church of Storms.