"Give."
Instead of handing over the coins, Jasper reached back into his pocket and pulled out a ten-Cog blue note.
"Gift."
He tried his best to force a smile on his face.
The little girl looked at Jasper and then at the coin. Like a frightened cub, she took a few steps back, holding the small basket, and walked into the shadow of the alley with a vigilant look on her face.
Jasper kept a smile and shrugged, bent down, and put the banknotes on the ground, then turned around stiffly and ran quickly in the direction of his Heritage Vintage store.
He really didn't dare to look back.
Ring~
"Did you forget something?"
Mr. Montfort, who was lying in front of the counter writing something, raised his head and asked doubtfully.
Jasper did not dare to speak, closed the door, and walked along the path among antiques on the floor to the counter.
"Is there something behind me?"
He asked quietly, afraid that the answer would be that there was a little girl behind him.
Mr. Montfort frowned. He put down the pen in his hand, took off his glasses, leaned on the table, and looked behind Jasper.
"Nothing."
Jasper breathed a long sigh of relief, turned his head carefully, and then smiled happily.
"I seemed to have encountered something unclean just now," he explained.
"That's it. Then wait a minute. I remember I still have a few requiem charms here. Of course, you'd better go to the church again..."
Mr. Montfort nodded calmly but was interrupted by Jasper before he even finished speaking.
"No, not a ghost or anything like that."
He said hesitantly, actually wanting to delay time and find a good excuse for himself to discover the strange thing.
"I was walking on the road just now, and a little flower seller was selling flowers to me. It was nothing at first, but the moment I took the money, I suddenly felt dizzy as if I was facing that big octopus..."
He explained hesitantly, trying to be vague about his "accidental" discovery that there was something wrong with the thing.
"Selling flowers?"
Mr. Montfort frowned and hesitated for a few seconds, "It sounds familiar. I seem to have read this information."
'That's great. There's no need for me to continue explaining. I really can't make it up anymore.'
Jasper was secretly happy.
"If that's true...did you buy the flowers?"
Mr. Montfort's face showed a slightly nervous look, which suddenly made Jasper's heart rise to his throat again.
"Then... should I buy it?" he asked carefully.
"If it's that thing, you have to buy it, otherwise..."
Mr. Montfort didn't finish his words but looked straight at Jasper's waist. Jasper lowered his head and saw three fresh white flowers pinned to the bottom button of his coat.
Without saying anything else, Montfort quickly closed the door of the store and led Jasper towards the church in the city center.
They hired a carriage, and no one spoke along the way. Jasper worriedly followed Mr. Montfort with the three flowers, walked into the church from a remote back door, and then walked in the courtyard and entered a strange room - the leader's office.
In the room, a well-dressed middle-aged gentleman was reading a newspaper, but there was no one at the desk of the leader.
"Mr. Montfort?"
The man stood up in surprise, "Why are you here at this time? Is something wrong? Did you receive something amazing?"
"No, Silas." Montfort's expression was a little solemn, giving Jasper the illusion that he was about to die. "This is my new apprentice. In the evening, he met a little flower seller girl. I suspect that It's A-01-2-0198."
'The strange object was first discovered by the Church of Nature. It is not accessible to those below level 8. It is randomly numbered 0198.'
Jasper thought about what he had learned in the past few days and immediately realized that he might have really encountered something significant.
The gentleman in a black formal suit told him not to panic, squinting at Jasper and the flowers in his hand.
"I see."
He asked the two of them to sit down here while he strode out of the door.
Later, after being introduced by Mr. Montfort, Jenkins learned that the middle-aged man just now was Mr. Silas Hurt, who belonged to the Lutetia Special Items and Incident Handling Office.
Not long after, three middle-aged men with solemn faces walked in. In addition to Mr. Hurt and Mr. Ole, whom Jasper already knew, there was also an old man wearing a funny high hat. He has a bushy white beard and very small eyes.
"Montfort."
The old man nodded to Mr. Montfort, who is called Victor.
Ole, who was walking at the end, turned around and closed the door, then took out a silver knife and drew on the thick bronze door. Mr. Hurt was not idle either. He walked to the desk, took out a small wooden block from the drawer, muttered a few words in a low voice, and threw it directly in front of the wall.
Nothing happened to the naked eye, but in Jasper's peripheral vision, a faint light film enveloped the entire room, and at the door was a shining Holy Emblem of [Mastermind].
After completing their tasks, several individuals sat down and listened to Jasper recount his story. They then inquired about the little girl's clothing in detail and exchanged glances with each other.
Victor, the oldest among them, carefully took a flower from Jasper's hand and examined it carefully. When he handed it back to him, he had an expression of joy and trouble on his face.
"It can be confirmed that what Mr. Rhys encountered was indeed A-01-2-0198, the little girl selling flowers is known as the [Death Flower Girl]."
The word death made Jasper's heart skip a beat.
Mr. Victor saw Jasper's expression, smiled at him, and tried to calm him down, then took out a document from his arms and read it to everyone.
"A-01-2-0198, due to a large-scale population death event in 1078, was first confirmed and numbered by the Church of Nature.
Her appearance is that of a 9-year-old female human with blond hair wearing the clothes of the poor people of the ancient Veridia Kingdom. She has a basket made of unknown plant material in her right hand."
He looked up from the papers and looked at Jasper.
"The time and location of A-01-2-0198's appearance are irregular. The last time it was recorded was in Thorn Town, a small border town of the Hestiriya Kingdom ten years ago. Mr. Jasper, you are lucky."
"?"
Jasper was stunned. 'Am I lucky to encounter this thing?'
"Currently known characteristics, the numbered target has a strength of level 8 or above, but as long as you talk in a normal way, the target only behaves like a normal human girl."
Level 8 seems to be the strongest person in the Church of Knowledge and Books in Lutetia City and can be called a demigod walking on earth. But that person has gone to sea with the fleet to solve the problem and is not in this city now.
"Characteristic 1: If asked by A-01-2-0198 whether to buy flowers, ignore the question, or refuse to conduct the transaction, the person being questioned will definitely die within a week. The cause of death is a blood vessel punctured by an unknown variety of vines growing from the body, causing massive hemorrhage. The process cannot be stopped, and the location of those vines cannot be detected before death."
"Good it means till now my life is safe!"
Jasper blessed himself in his heart.
"Characteristic two: If the transaction is agreed to, A-01-2-0198 will only sell three flowers of the same color. The variety does not affect its strange characteristics, and the color will determine the curse of the flower buyer. The following is the known situation:
Red: Death from common influenza within one year; Yellow: At least one direct blood relative is infertile, and if there is no direct blood relative, the flower buyer dies directly; Blue: Death from drowning within three weeks; Green: Definitely death from suicide, but not with a specified timeframe."
After Victor read this, he looked at the two middle-aged gentlemen around him, and then nodded to Jasper.
"These are contents that all gifted persons with sufficient permissions and belonging to the church can view. The following contents require a confidentiality level, but since you have encountered this matter, you can understand it."
He did not look at Montfort but put down the document in his hand and said to Jasper:
"According to records, a person once bought three black flowers from A-01-2-0198, but after contacting the church, the buyer disappeared inexplicably in front of everyone and has not been found so far. Using divination or the ability to search, the gifter will go crazy."
Jasper swallowed. The unlucky guy was probably sent to some great being... He was waiting for his fate to be pronounced.
"If two colors on the petals exceed 30% at the same time, it is called a variegated flower, and the flower buyer will split into two identical individuals within three hours, with the personalities of the two individuals belonging to the extremes of good and evil."
Jasper tried to comfort himself with complaints but found that it was not as effective as looking at the strange face reflected in the brass kettle on the table.
"Purchasing white flowers will not cause any curse, and eating the white flowers completely can increase the upper limit of the Gifter's spirit ."
Jasper leaned back slightly and let out a long breath.
"Is that so?"
He asked in a low voice, fearing that the old man would suddenly grin and say, 'I'm just teasing you!'
"Yes."
Victor nodded, his shiny forehead seeming to reflect light.
"So congratulations, Mr. Rhys. You encountered a monster that was almost certain to die, but you were lucky enough to encounter the best situation. Records show that the lucky person who bought the white flowers only appeared twice, one of which is an ordinary 9-year-old girl five hundred years ago, who is also a believer in the goddess; the other is an archbishop who believed in [Destiny Hermit] three hundred years ago."
"Is it true that you will die if you buy those flowers?"
Jasper asked again.
"Yes, usually A-01-2-0198 will stay in a city for about three weeks. Although it seems dangerous, she will only appear in places that are 'suitable for selling flowers.' So, as long as you stay indoors, you will never encounter her. Current records show that no one has ever encountered A-01-2-0198 twice, so you are the safest in this room."
Mr. Victor laughed, and Jasper tried not to get too pleased with himself.
"There is actually some information about A-01-2-0198, but no one in this room has the right to know the content... It is a very serious matter for a monster of this level to appear in a densely populated city. Not to mention that the recent big octopus matter has not yet been resolved. Mr. Rhys, according to regulations, you need to fully record your encounter with A-01-2-0198 in writing and submit it to the church, and the church will also give you a reward."
He said, pointing to Ole and Hurt, who had been silent.
"These two, one belongs to the combat force, and the other is a staff member of the Special Items Handling Office. Every time you record [Mystery] or [Strange Situation], these two types of people need to be present. You have just become a scribe, and you still have to adapt to these things."
Jasper nodded, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
In the following time, Jasper recounted the encounter with the giant octopus that night and what happened just now. The three people from the church asked for details again and again, and finally asked Jasper to write two reports independently, and the matter was finally over.
Before leaving, Victor asked one more thing:
"If you are willing to sell these flowers, the church is willing to pay you 150 Flints a flower."
This is a considerable amount of money, even enough for Jasper to buy a nice house in Lutetia City. Jasper subconsciously looked back at Mr. Montfort, who shook his head covertly, then shrugged: "I don't think I am in need of money am I?"
So Jasper politely declined Mr. Victor, who smiled and nodded to him, not looking disappointed.
Jasper and Mr. Montfort did not leave the church immediately but decided to get the basic abilities that Jasper could receive before leaving.
The two sat in a small, hidden prayer room. While waiting for the review, Mr. Montfort asked Jasper to eat the three flowers quickly.
"There are not many ways to accumulate extra spirits that are completely harmless."
Mr. Montfort said to Jasper seriously, "Especially for newcomers like you, don't hesitate to move forward. This is an opportunity that many people never dream of. I know some guys who took risks and used extremely dangerous methods to accumulate spiritual energy, and most of them went crazy afterward, so don't take this thing out of the church."
Jasper hesitated, closed his eyes, and actually ate the three flowers raw. Since the report mentioned "eating them whole," he was forced by Mr. Montfort to eat the green branches as well.
"It's a little nauseating and my throat is a little uncomfortable, but it does work."
Jasper frowned and concluded, pressing the front of his coat with his right hand to feel the cold air that continued to flow from his stomach, but it actually tasted a bit sweet, like freshly squeezed lemon juice prepared by the maid at home.
Montfort thinks that Jasper has been pampered for too long and just needs to get used to it.
The number of abilities that a gifter can possess is limited, so one must be very careful in matching abilities. Some people keep one or two ability slots vacant all year round, not because they cannot find the ability to learn but because they are looking forward to better abilities.
Jasper asked Montfort for advice, and Montfort believed that low-level gifters should be more focused on preferences and future arrangements when matching abilities.