Victor said, “Speaking of which, Miss Freya, I still don't know why you're looking for the 【Mind Research Association】. You don't look like... the type of person who has psychological issues.”
Freya said, “In a way, my goal is the same as that of the young noble master you're trying to capture. I want to get my hands on some Mind Pathway potions.”
“Huh?” Victor was taken aback. “You want to take the Mind Pathway?”
Freya said, “You could say that.”
Victor said, “But... isn't that a bit of a waste? Miss Freya, with the kind of luck you have, the Destiny Pathway is clearly the more suitable choice for you!”
“Although the Destiny Pathway's combat strength isn't very high in the early stages, your advancement speed would probably be incredibly fast. It might not take long at all. Three years? No, a year, or maybe even half a year, and you could reach my level. And once you reach Rank Four, everything changes!”
“At the very least... you probably won't even run into the enemies you can't defeat.”
Since it was a pathway highly related to luck, it made perfect sense that she would run into enemies she could beat and avoid those she couldn't.
But Freya still couldn't help but mutter under her breath, “Half a year to reach Rank Four? That's so slow.”
However, though her voice was quiet, the three of them were standing very close to each other, so both Euphemia and Victor heard her. While Euphy didn't have much of a reaction, Victor was completely dumbfounded. “Wait, what? Half a year to reach Rank Four is slow?!”
Freya grumbled to herself, ‘What if you knew that in reality, it only took me three days to reach Rank Four on one pathway and Rank Five on another?’
And even if she counted the time spent in the simulations, it had only been a month or two, which was still much faster than half a year.
But Freya had no intention of lingering on this topic, so she said, “Anyway, don't worry about it. I don't plan on taking the Destiny Pathway for now. I'll try out the Mind Pathway first.”
Victor retorted, “What do you mean you don't plan on taking the Destiny Pathway for now? Do you think you can just switch pathways whenever you feel like it? Switching pathways halfway through will literally kill you!”
Euphy suddenly chimed in to offer a counterpoint. “Actually, that's not necessarily true. If you're switching between different class advancements within the same pathway, you have a high probability of advancing safely, provided you're fully prepared.”
For example, a Rank Four Warrior drinking a Rank Five General's potion. But to be honest, doing this wouldn't boost their combat strength by much. A Rank Five General's abilities were 【Battle Array】 and 【Bestow Devotion】, but if this person advanced from a Rank Four Warrior, they wouldn't have the prerequisite abilities of 【One-Man Army】 and 【Bestow Adjutant】. This meant those two abilities of a Rank Five General would effectively be rendered useless.
Victor's lips twitched slightly. “I know that, but aren't we talking about the Destiny Pathway and the Mind Pathway right now?”
Seeing the conversation drift further off course, Freya coughed lightly and pointed at herself. “Victor, do I look like a fool to you?”
Victor answered instantly, “Of course not!”
Freya said, “Then don't worry about it. I have my own reasons. Just trust me.”
Victor said, “Well... alright.”
Only then did the three of them return to the main topic and continue discussing the 【Mind Research Association】. Euphy pulled out a map and spread it out in front of them. “The nearest place that can be called a major city is called 【Bordeaux】. If we set off from where we are now, it would take more than ten days even if we took a carriage the entire way.”
“However, we can go to a smaller nearby city first to investigate. If there's no news of the 【Mind Research Association】 in that small city, we can take a local train directly to 【Bordeaux】. That would take much less time, and we'd arrive at our destination in about two days.”
In the Kingdom of Tarapaca, the very first train was still undergoing testing, but in the Empire, trains had already spread across every major city, becoming the top choice for many people traveling long distances.
Freya and Victor had no objections to Euphy's arrangement and nodded. With that, their meeting came to an end.
Next was returning to their rooms to sleep, washing away all the fatigue from their long voyage and the day's carriage ride. The next day, after spending another full day in the carriage, they arrived at a small city called 【Lille】 around three or four in the afternoon.
But despite it being called a small city, as soon as Freya stepped off the carriage and looked at the wide streets and the neat, beautiful houses lining both sides, she felt it wasn't much different from 【Auxerre】, the first-tier city she used to live in.
Victor then said, “You two ladies can look around and have some fun first. As for gathering information, leave that to me. I'm an expert at this!”
Finding a tavern and buying someone a drink, or heading to a casino and chatting with people while losing money—as long as it wasn't some top-secret information, common knowledge could easily be pried out of anyone.
“Sure.” Since someone was willing to do the legwork, Freya naturally had no reason to refuse. After agreeing on a meeting time and place, Freya grabbed Euphemia's hand and began wandering around. What was the first thing one should do when traveling to a new city?
For some, it might be finding famous local landmarks to take photos. But for Freya, it was definitely finding the local specialty foods and digging in right away!
As they strolled, Freya and Euphemia gradually slowed to a halt. Standing in front of a storefront, the two fell silent for a long moment. Because... the sign on this shop read 【Mind Research Association】!
There was absolutely no need to ask around; it was right there in plain sight!
Freya glanced back. Victor had long since vanished, probably off somewhere gathering information. Pausing for a moment, she said, “Forget it, don't mind him. Shall we go in and take a look first?”
Of course, to be safe, the moment she spoke, Freya opened her system and entered a ‘future simulation,’ using Save Slot 00—her actual self.
...
Euphemia had no objections, and the two walked straight inside.
Just as they entered, a formally dressed staff member actively walked up to greet them. With a broad smile, he said, “Welcome to the 【Mind Research Association】, lovely ladies. How may I help you today?”
“Um...” Freya thought for a moment and asked, “Can I ask what services you provide here first?”
The staff member smiled warmly. “Judging by your accents, you don't seem to be locals. Did you come from the Kingdom of Tarapaca? Then you've certainly come to the right place! Our 【Mind Research Association】 offers so many services!”
“To name a few, psychological conditions like cognitive impairment, emotional deficits, autism, and depression—we can treat all of them!”
“Besides that, if our clients have any mental distress—for instance, wanting to forget unpleasant memories of the past, or wishing to feel genuinely happy while working—we can fulfill all of those wishes!”
“We even have some wonderful extra services. For example, customizing an incredibly realistic and memorable dream. You can customize everything in the dream—you could become a hero saving the world, a king of a nation, or perhaps other... more niche preferences.”
Listening to these introductions, the first half sounded quite normal, but the second half started getting increasingly bizarre. Freya asked in confusion, “Making someone feel happy while working? How on earth is that done?”
The staff member chuckled. “What's so hard about that? Take me, for instance. I'm currently earning a handsome salary, and I get to chat with two lovely, beautiful ladies. Isn't that enough to make me happy?”
As for Euphemia, she suddenly realized that ever since their conversation began, the staff member had maintained that very natural smile. Didn't she have the ‘micro-expression observation’ skill? Under Euphy's observation, she could see that this staff member was genuinely happy from the bottom of his heart.
He was happy because he was at work, and he was happy because he got to talk to two beautiful girls.
Euphemia looked around. There were other staff members in the shop, but since Euphy and Freya were already being attended to, they didn't come over. However, when Euphy looked their way, all of those other staff members returned her gaze with sincere smiles.
Instantly, Euphy felt her scalp go numb. She felt that the people here didn't seem like humans at all, but rather like well-trained dolls programmed to act according to a set script.
While it indeed allowed them to feel happy while working, was a person who underwent this kind of 'treatment' truly still themselves?
Freya didn't have the ‘micro-expression observation’ ability, so she didn't notice any of this and continued chatting normally with the staff member. Since they were currently in a simulation anyway, she got straight to the point. “So, are there any more... exciting services? I have a big piece of business here. Could you call the person in charge?”
The staff member in front of them was definitely just an ordinary person, but the person in charge behind him was highly likely an extraordinary, right?
“Certainly. Please follow me to the waiting area first. I'll go call 【Doctor Ansel】 right away~” The staff member smiled and led them to a sofa. The very second he left, another staff member approached them with a smile. He was carrying a plate of peeled and neatly sliced apples, which he set down in front of them.
The second staff member smiled and said:
“Would you ladies like something to drink? Tea or coffee?”
“Or if you finish the apples and would like some other fruit?”
“No, thank you.” Freya waved her hand. The second staff member maintained the exact same expression and said, “Very well~ If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call. I'll be right nearby.”
Once the man left, Euphemia immediately explained the bizarre situation she had noticed to Freya. She said, “I have absolutely no doubt that even if we called one of the staff members over right now to use as a punching bag and beat him up, he would be completely willing and even happy to take the beating.”
Freya said, “So you mean all the staff members here have had their minds 【modified】 to some extent?”
Rank One of the Mind Pathway possessed the abilities of 【Mind Reading】 and 【Hypnosis】, but those two abilities alone weren't enough to achieve this level. It would require higher-rank abilities, but Freya didn't know what abilities Rank Two and Rank Three of the Mind Pathway had.
Euphemia said, “It's not just possible, it's certain.”
She then rummaged through her bag, pulled out a diamond-shaped amulet, and handed it to Freya. “This is an amulet I made myself recently. It's drawn with some protective occult arrays that can help the wearer resist extraordinary abilities on a mental level.”
Although it couldn't be considered a true extraordinary item, it was already the most exquisite thing Euphemia could make at her current level.
Their destination was the 【Mind Research Association】, which was packed with Mind Pathway extraordinaries. Euphemia had naturally made thorough preparations before setting off.
After Freya took the first amulet, Euphemia proceeded to pull a thick stack of them from her bag. Freya did a quick count and saw there were at least a dozen of them.
Then, while Freya looked on in utter bewilderment, Euphemia stuffed the entire handful of amulets into her hands. “Eh? So many?”
Euphemia said, “My skills are limited, after all. If we face a relatively powerful Mind Pathway ability, a single amulet definitely won't hold up. But if one can't stop it, a dozen of them should at least buy us some time and be of some use. If anything feels off, we run immediately!”
Freya said, “What about you? Aren't you going to keep some for yourself?”
Euphemia said, “Of course I kept some... three or four, but that's enough. You're an ordinary person, while I'm an extraordinary. The Scholar Pathway significantly boosts mental strength and willpower, so I naturally have a higher resistance to things like hypnosis.”
Just as the two were dividing their 'arsenal,' the sound of footsteps echoed, and a chubby doctor with a beer belly walked straight toward them. The biggest difference between him and the other staff members was that he didn't have that genuine smile on his face. Although he was smiling, it felt... a bit fake.
He plopped down onto the sofa opposite them. Freya could see the entire sofa sink in deeply. Doctor Ansel said, “Ladies, I wonder what this big business you spoke of is?”
Freya said, “It's a big business regarding Mind Pathway potions. I want to know how I can purchase Mind Pathway potions from you.”
......
Rate on N.U.
