Using the tram and traveling through the streets for several minutes, they arrived at the Corsturetion the Corps Club on Jikusuma Main Street.
The streets were bustling with people as usual, and at that hour, clouds gathered high above, forming a thick blanket that blocked the sunlight from reaching the ground.
Ting... Ting...
Zavi and Evelina walked a few steps before stopping at the counter, facing a man dressed in a classic coat and a wide-brimmed hat.
At first, the visit had only been intended as a routine checkup or something along those lines. However, when the local "expert" examined Zavi's body, he eventually revealed the nature of the problem troubling him.
"This is serious and needs to be dealt with immediately," said another man dressed in classic attire, an "expert" in the occult.
Zavi raised an eyebrow, shifting slightly in his seat inside the dimly lit room, with Evelina seated to his left.
"I see... I'll follow your advice," Zavi replied hesitantly.
'I suppose what I experienced last night was incredibly strange, but vivid enough to remember. More importantly, during the auction, I... saw the same destruction as if I were watching a movie, except parts of it had changed.'
Reality Manipulation. Zavi had already considered that possibility, given how this world seemed to function, and he was fairly confident in that conclusion.
Yes, Zavi knew there were similarities between those distorted events and Zamma, whom he vaguely remembered seeing before merging with his contracted creature, Recipestele.
He only remembered that Zuhen always said something in the middle of a battle;
"Do you want to do it?"
However, Tell flatly refused and chose to face his opponent in his own way.
Even that powerful technique had significant side effects on every user, and those effects varied between the user and their contracted creature.
....
Evelina stared at the "expert" with his thick mustache and beard for several seconds before asking, "Have you discovered the problem or anything else so far?"
'Because there's something I want to discuss with Moriarty regarding that incident.'
The occult expert stroked his beard and said in a hoarse voice, "There is one way, but it will take a few minutes."
Zavi wanted to say something, but the man quickly added,
"As for the fee, don't worry about it for now, sir. If you feel better afterward, then we'll discuss the payment."
The expert smiled as he watched the two of them sitting there, studying him carefully, their intent obvious from the movement of their eyes.
One of his colleagues, a woman wearing a black dress with a pale face, an ornament woven into her tied-back hair, and black markings beneath it, entered the room by parting the curtain.
Zavi's lips trembled slightly, and his heart nearly stopped as he mistook the woman for a ghost.
'Is she the one who's going to perform that ritual or whatever it is? I think so.'
Zavi nodded to himself while thinking. As the woman approached, the expert whispered something to her regarding Zavi's condition.
The woman did not nod, as though she were a doll brought to life that could breathe.
"Very well," said Fisgor, the occult expert, glancing at his female colleague as she retrieved something from the corner of the room.
Zavi remained seated quietly while Evelina stepped several paces away at Fisgor's suggestion.
She was curious to see how the "expert" intended to deal with Zavi's condition.
The woman then returned carrying an old ornate mirror and a wicker basket filled with various ritual items used in occult ceremonies.
After placing the mirror in front of Zavi, supported by a mahogany chair, she set a small table beside it, about sixty by thirty centimeters in size. On top of it were several antique plates, black candles, a hand mirror, a silver dagger, burning incense, and most importantly, dark red flowers and crinsen.
Zavi swallowed hard as he glanced at Evelina, who immediately curled her lips into a sharp grin the moment she saw him.
He had no idea what was happening and only hoped this bizarre ordeal would end soon as he stared at his own reflection in the mirror.
Once both of them fixed their eyes on him, the occult expert, Fisgor, finally spoke in his hoarse voice,
"Close your eyes and don't think about anything for a moment. Leave the rest to Miss Lalita. She'll complete the exorcism and neutralization ritual."
After those words were spoken, Zavi reluctantly complied and forced himself to think about nothing, just as instructed.
For a brief moment, everything became calm, and a cold sensation swirled around his eyes.
"...It didn't work," Lalita said, slowly shaking her head.
Fisgor was startled and stared at Zavi with a calculating look.
The strange sensation did not last long before he felt the coldness from the mirror in front of Zavi spreading toward him.
Fisgor instinctively stepped back several paces, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as he looked at Lalita with trembling eyes and lips.
'...What kind of supernatural being has attached itself to him for him to end up like this?'
Naturally, even Fisgor himself was confused. It was the first time he had ever treated someone like Zavi.
He tried to steady his breathing, pressing a hand against his chest to feel the beat of his own heart for several seconds.
Standing slightly to the side of the mirror facing Zavi directly, Fisgor sighed, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and spoke in a hoarse, raspy voice,
"...It worked, but there's something unusual inside your body."
"It didn't work, and it certainly didn't go smoothly," Lalita said bluntly, feeling there was no need to hide this unpleasant truth from Zavi.
Lalita stared deeply at him, as though something about Zavi's appearance was wrong.
"Hey, young man. How old are you now?" she asked firmly and clearly.
Zavi raised an eyebrow and looked at her.
'How old am I... twenty-eight? Wait, that was my age on Earth before I came to this world and entered this body. Hmm, if I remember correctly, Zavi was born in the year 1522, wasn't he?'
After muttering to himself, he clearly recalled Zavi's age, birth date, birth time, and the day he was born.
"I'm twenty-one, turning twenty-two this year," Zavi replied.
Lalita turned toward Fisgor before sinking into thought.
'These kinds of problems often affect older teenagers, especially those between nineteen and twenty-three.'
Having encountered several clients with similar complaints, though none exactly like Zavi's, Lalita knew what she needed to say.
"So you'll be twenty-two this year? Then I'd like to ask you something. May I?" she said flatly.
Zavi glanced at his own reflection before replying, "As long as it isn't excessive, I'll answer."
Lalita blinked as she looked toward Evelina. Unsure of what she meant, Evelina merely shrugged.
"My question is..."
For a moment, the air inside the room seemed to freeze as everyone's attention shifted to Lalita after she deliberately paused.
"...Have you ever nearly died, or have you actually died and then come back to life?"
Zavi's expression went blank as those words pierced straight through his mind. He wondered whether the woman knew about his transmigration, or whether she was referring to something from his past.
For the moment, Zavi decided to test her directly by pretending not to understand.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Instead of Lalita answering, Fisgor calmly raised his right hand and explained, "It happened in Kuranda six months ago. A woman named... never mind, rose from the dead. She wasn't alive in the normal sense anymore, and she became a 'mysterious figure' with her own strange and unique nature."
Zavi's curiosity only deepened as he asked earnestly, "Where is that woman now?"
He almost rose from his seat, his face clearly filled with hope that he had just stumbled upon valuable information without having to pay for it.
Fisgor chuckled as he looked at the hand mirror.
"She... isn't here. Her whereabouts are a complete mystery, and some people say 'she' lives in the beautiful world hidden beyond the mountains," Fisgor explained in detail.
The moment he heard the words "the beautiful world hidden beyond the mountains," Zavi remembered the notice posted on the bulletin board in front of the shop on Monday the 22nd, more than five months and several days ago.
Zavi himself knew that "the beautiful world hidden beyond the mountains" had been one of the hottest topics back then, and now? Was it merely a coincidence, or was everything connected?
He had no idea, but it brought him one step closer to unraveling the mysteries of this world.
Zavi rubbed his face until it turned red, blinking repeatedly to make sure whether this was a dream or reality.
It was real. He glanced at Lalita, even though her face looked rather frightening to him.
'Why is she staring at me?'
Growing uncomfortable under her gaze, Lalita cleared her throat and said, "The problem is quite serious, and I know what needs to be done, but it's extremely difficult to carry out."
Hearing that, Fisgor calmly added, "Young man, you'll have to find that woman yourself if you want to recover from the turmoil consuming your mind. You were the one who said that reality and dreams had truly merged, weren't you?"
Zavi nodded, unable to say anything except listen.
"Besides," Lalita said as she picked up the black candle, "that woman's existence is shrouded in mystery. Good luck."
The moment she heard that, Evelina immediately stepped forward, trying to verify the matter herself.
"So neither of you can do anything? Other than spouting that kind of nonsense?"
She tried to approach the situation logically and critically.
"...What do you mean?"
Lalita had been calm until that remark provoked her.
She almost walked over to Evelina, but Fisgor looked at her and slowly shook his head.
"Don't, Lalita," he said quietly.
Zavi rose from his seat, then suddenly bowed.
It was the first time Evelina had ever seen James Moriarty do such a thing, and she was left completely stunned.
'I knew it. Moriarty is a lonely and unfortunate man. Even though his face looks rather intimidating, deep down he's just like that doll.'
Remembering James Moriarty's promise to give her the doll from the auction, even though it never happened because of the Intruder and the attack outside, it was enough for Evelina to understand what Zavi was feeling.
On the other hand, Zavi regarded the people around him as pieces on a board that would be discarded once they were no longer useful.
Fisgor and Lalita stared at Zavi with raised brows and widened eyes.
"...Why are you bowing?" Lalita asked, unable to hide her amusement.
Zavi straightened himself, put on his bowler hat, and replied, "Of course, to thank you for trying to drive whatever evil is inside my body away."
"Oh, I see," Lalita replied, completely failing to understand the meaning behind his words.
Zavi glanced at Evelina before slowly walking past the table and making his way to the reception counter.
Standing before Zavi, the man he had spoken with earlier greeted him warmly.
"So, how was your consultation?"
Instead of answering immediately, Zavi glanced at the other customers seated by the windows on both the right and left sides.
Then he looked at the man in the wide-brimmed hat and replied, "The service was excellent. Thank you, and I may come back here again."
Zavi tipped his bowler hat before walking past the customers seated on the right side and heading out the door, with Evelina following behind him.
Ting... Ting...
Click...
The door closed automatically, leaving the ringing of the bell echoing throughout the room for quite some time.
Inside the dimly lit room, behind the thin curtain, Fisgor took the initiative to move the mirror.
The moment he picked it up, the icy sensation vanished, replaced by the familiar feel of smooth, rough wood.
"Strange," he murmured.
Lalita, who had been about to leave the room, stopped.
She turned around, looked at him for two seconds, and asked, "What's strange?"
Fisgor seemed to snap out of his thoughts after hearing those words.
"That man... and this mirror," he replied hesitantly.
A few seconds later, the silence in the room faded as Fisgor added,
"...He isn't suffering from what he claimed to be experiencing."
"Seriously? How can you tell?" Lalita asked, intrigued by the conversation.
Fisgor slowly shook his head.
"...You'd better investigate who that man really is. And judging from what you said earlier... it's true that something is following him..."
Lalita swallowed hard before saying, "That thing that's everywhere, right?"
Fisgor hurriedly returned the mirror to its original place before attending to the next customer.
Meanwhile, Lalita carefully considered investigating Zavi herself with the help of one of her closest friends.