After dealing with Xio’s "interrogation," Ebner used the excuse of resting to arrive at "Alvin’s Palace."

And Katarina, the "goods" that had previously been "stolen" by the Hand of Wisdom and then "mortgaged" here, had already been released from the "collection room" by the "Goddess of Wealth," Helena, and was now waiting for Ebner’s interrogation.

At this moment, this "Saintess of White," with black hair, blue eyes, delicate and refined features, skin as fair as snow, and as tender as a young girl, had completely lifeless eyes, as if she had lost her soul.

After observing her for a while, Ebner pinched his chin and complained inwardly: Could it be that this "Saintess of White" has some kind of physique that makes her prone to being "controlled"?

In the original story, being controlled by the "Red Angel" aside, she has now been successively controlled by "Lust" and "0-37," and in the end, after going in circles, she has fallen into my hands... has she been cursed or something?

Shaking his head and discarding these baseless thoughts, Ebner signaled to the "Goddess of Wealth" beside him—who was also the current "intelligent life" of the palace, Helena—to temporarily restore Katarina’s "thinking" and "speech" abilities.

—The state of "goods" could also be adjusted.

Next, the eyes of the "Saintess of White" gradually regained their luster. She first looked around in confusion, then her expression changed as she attempted to use her abilities. Unfortunately, she couldn’t even move a finger now, so naturally she failed.

Only then did she carefully look around. When she discovered that the people standing before her were Ebner and another unfamiliar woman, Katarina’s beautiful blue eyes flickered slightly. Then she revealed a pitiful expression that invited sympathy, preparing to speak and use Tracy to build a connection.

But Ebner had no mood for idle chatter and directly asked, "What question did you ask ’0-37’ that resulted in you being ’sold’ to it for 200 years?"

The seductive expression on Katarina’s face faded somewhat as she answered with a pure smile, "I asked about the relationship between Ebner Bryan and Alvin Abraham."

As a possession of the palace, she could not refuse the "owner’s" inquiries. The effect was somewhat similar to directly performing spirit channeling on a Spirit Body.

Asking about my relationship with Alvin? It seems my intention of acting as a Miracle Invoker in Beldan was too obvious, and at present, the only one who still needs such acting is Alvin, so suspicion arose...

As his thoughts turned, Ebner asked again, "What answer did the ’Door of Truth’ give?"

"They come from the same place," Katarina replied with a solemn expression.

That answer isn’t exactly wrong, but it does carry a certain misleading implication. Very much my style... Ebner nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "And just that answer got you sold for 200 years?"

"Yes. The place they come from likely involves a great secret, which is why its ’value’ was so high...

"And because of that, George III did not dare to continue asking where exactly that place is," Katarina answered truthfully.

In that case, George III will most likely think that Alvin and I come from some god’s divine kingdom... no wonder even after learning about our relationship, he didn’t rashly make a move against me, and instead had ’Pride’ manipulate Xio to probe my attitude toward His advancement to the ’Black Emperor’.

Ending his thoughts, Ebner nodded and asked again:

"Do you know where the true body of the ’Saintess of Purple’ is hiding?"

Upon hearing this, Katarina revealed a confused expression and shook her head. "I don’t know. She hides herself very deeply."

After learning more details, Ebner finally ended the "questioning." Then, smiling, he instructed the "Saintess of White":

"Now don’t resist. Cooperate with me to complete a ritual. I need to extract some ’Spring of Eternal Youth’ from your body..."

...

In an underground space near Nass, the capital of the Gargas Archipelago, the easternmost colony of the Feysac Empire.

"Alchemy Master" Klaus stood within the power chamber of a "floating city," supported by countless steel frameworks. After studying its "systems" for who knew how many times, he sighed helplessly and muttered with a frown:

"What exactly is the power source of those four major systems? Why is it that even though I’ve restored them so perfectly, I still can’t make the ’floating city’ fly?"

At that moment, a chuckle suddenly came from behind him. "Heh, that’s because the external environment is wrong!"

"Who’s there?" Klaus didn’t hesitate to roll forward, turning midair while simultaneously pulling out a revolver and aiming it at the source of the voice.

However, when he saw that it was Ebner, his tension eased somewhat, as he recognized him as the young man Jane had once brought here to visit.

But Klaus did not lower his guard and asked vigilantly, "Without going through the ’broker,’ how did you get in here?"

"Because the ’broker’ is no longer Jane, I didn’t trouble them," Ebner replied with a smile, avoiding the question of how he entered, and instead asked, "Is your previous promise—that whoever can make the floating city fly can have it—still valid?"

—Jane had already accumulated enough merit in August to obtain the materials needed for the Gatekeeper ritual from Master Klaus and had returned to the Future.

"Of course it’s still valid..." Master Klaus replied instinctively, then quickly reacted and asked in surprise, "You’ve found a way to make it fly? What is it? Does it have something to do with the ’external environment’ you just mentioned?"

"I do have confidence in making it fly... but not here. I need to take it to the sea region of the ’God War Ruins’..." Ebner said with a smile, explaining his plan.

Master Klaus pondered for a moment, then stared into Ebner’s eyes and asked seriously, "How can you prove that you’re not lying to me?

"And why should I believe you?"

Although his intuition told him the other party wasn’t lying, the "floating city" was the work of his lifetime and also an important construct funded by Elements Dawn. How could it be "taken" away by a few words?

"That’s fair... we do need someone both of us can trust to act as a witness..." Ebner nodded in agreement, then clapped his hands and said, "Wait here a moment, I’ll be right back!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure disappeared from before Klaus.

This action left Klaus stunned on the spot. But before he could recover, that gentleman reappeared not far away, bringing a lady with him.

The lady wore a youthful yellow dress and a somewhat old-fashioned black soft hat. She was none other than the leader of Elements Dawn, the "Mystic Queen," Bernadette Gustav.

The Queen... Klaus froze for two seconds, then carefully examined her and confirmed that the young man had indeed brought the real "Mystic Queen."

No wonder he could bypass so many traps and rituals to enter this underground space... but this gentleman not only has a close relationship with Jane, but he also has connections with the Queen?

While Klaus was lost in his own thoughts, Bernadette, who had been hurriedly brought here, finally understood the situation. After glancing sideways at Ebner, she nodded slightly to the "Alchemy Master" in front of her and said:

"Master Klaus, this gentleman is worthy of trust."

(End of Chapter)