Chapter 225: Manipulation

"Someone is following me!"

In the underground chamber, new words slowly appear on the Literary Sea Logbook in front of Dorothy. Reading the message, Dorothy murmurs to herself.

"As expected... she’s been targeted."

Just as Dorothy had anticipated, Nephthys is now being followed. The root of this situation likely lies in her encounter with Mossance at the Golden Covenant Bank.

According to Dorothy’s analysis, the seemingly nonsensical questions Mossance asked Nephthys were likely a test. He was trying to determine whether Nephthys was a seasoned practitioner of the mysticism world or a complete novice.

Based on Nephthys’ description of her responses, she was likely identified as a novice. This, in turn, attracted the attention of Mossance and his group, suggesting that they specialize in targeting inexperienced individuals in the mysticism world.

"I didn’t expect her to get targeted just for buying something. Does Nephthys have some kind of special trait that makes her an easy target?"

Dorothy ponders this, then begins to think about how to help Nephthys deal with this tracking issue.

“Solving the tracking problem should be relatively simple. She could enter the Cathedral District, return to the Golden Covenant Bank, or even call the police. While it might be difficult to catch them, shaking them off shouldn’t be a problem.”

“These guys only started tracking Nephthys after confirming she was a novice. That means they’re looking for easy targets, which suggests they’re not particularly strong themselves. If that’s the case, maybe Nephthys can solve her own problem.”

With this in mind, Dorothy decides on a method to help Nephthys. She picks up her pen again and draws a symbol on the Literary Sea Logbook.

…

East Tivian, on the streets.

Sitting in the carriage, Nephthys feels extremely anxious. She hadn’t expected to be followed. The thought that someone has been tailing her since she left the bank sends chills down her spine.

"Miss Dorothy, what should I do now?"

Nephthys writes anxiously in the history book in front of her. Faced with this situation, she instinctively seeks Dorothy’s advice. Soon, Dorothy’s handwriting appears in response.

To Nephthys’ surprise, the response isn’t words but a symbol—a sigil.

The symbol is an inverted pentagram within a circle. At the center of the pentagram are two other symbols: a larger, open eye and a smaller, simplified ancient chalice.

"This symbol is..."

Looking at the unfamiliar symbol, Nephthys feels puzzled. Just as she begins to wonder, new text appears on the page.

"Find a way to draw this symbol on your hand, then look at it. If you feel anything unusual, don’t resist."

"Draw this symbol... on my hand?"

Murmuring to herself, Nephthys immediately follows Dorothy’s instructions despite her confusion. She takes an eyeliner pencil from her makeup bag and begins drawing the symbol on the back of her left hand. Soon, the symbol is perfectly replicated.

Thanks to her training, Nephthys’ hands are dexterous, and the symbol she draws is even more precise than Dorothy’s.

After finishing the symbol, Nephthys focuses her gaze on it as instructed. After a while, she feels a strange sensation in her mind.

This feeling is similar to what she experienced at the Irrigation River Bridge when facing Thorn Velvet. Following Dorothy’s instructions, she doesn’t resist it.

Once the strange sensation in her mind passes, Nephthys feels another wave of peculiarity, but this time it spreads throughout her entire body, causing her to panic slightly.

Despite her unease, Nephthys heeds Dorothy’s words and doesn’t resist the sensation.

After the second wave of strangeness passes, everything returns to normal. Nephthys feels as though her body hasn’t changed, so she prepares to write another question to Dorothy. However, she suddenly realizes she can’t move at all.

“What’s going on? My body... I can’t control my body anymore!?”

Nephthys panics internally, but her thoughts can’t translate into expressions or words. Instead, her mouth moves on its own, whispering softly.

"Don’t worry, senior. I’ll take care of those stalkers for you. It’ll only take a moment."

“I... I’m speaking on my own! And this tone... it’s Miss Dorothy!?”

Nephthys is shocked, but her body is already moving without her control. She watches as her hands neatly pack away her makeup kit, close the book, and put everything back into her bag.

After tidying up, "Nephthys" calls out loudly to the carriage driver.

"Please stop here. I’ll get off now."

At "Nephthys’" request, the driver slowly pulls the carriage to the side of the road. Then, "Nephthys" steps out and prepares to pay the fare.

However, "Nephthys" searches for a while but can’t find any money.

"Senior, I can’t find your money. You’ll have to pay the fare yourself. Keep looking at the sigil and don’t resist, okay?"

Under the impatient gaze of the driver, "Nephthys" turns around and whispers to herself. Suddenly, Nephthys feels control of her body return, and she nearly stumbles.

“I... I can control myself again!?”

After steadying herself, Nephthys looks at her hands in shock. Just then, the driver’s impatient voice comes from behind her.

"Miss, are you going to pay or not?"

"Oh! Right away."

Snapping out of it, Nephthys quickly finds the money and pays the fare. After the carriage drives off, Nephthys stands still.

She remembers Dorothy’s earlier instructions but hesitates to follow them. After all, losing control of her body is quite terrifying.

It’s only when Nephthys accidentally catches a glimpse of the tracking carriage parked not far away that she panics and looks back at the sigil on her left hand. Immediately, the strange sensation spreads through her body again.

Nephthys still doesn’t resist the sensation. Once it passes, she feels her body being controlled again. "Nephthys" looks around and then strides confidently into a nearby alley.

Meanwhile, inside the parked carriage not far away, Mossance and his gang witness this.

"Boss, look! That girl got out and went into the alley!"

"Let’s follow her."

At Mossance’s stern command, he and his lackeys step out of the carriage and head toward the alley where "Nephthys" disappeared.