Time passed mercilessly...
As Florent meditated, his sensitivity to time faded, and the cries for help from Bethel Abraham, the greatest ancestor of the Abraham family, descended upon him.
Though the ravings from this illustrious ancestor were unbearable, Florent didn't feel the kind of life-and-death agony he had expected.
The pain was, at most, comparable to the terror he had experienced when he had exhausted his spirituality and felt as though he were being gazed at by countless malevolent entities.
After enduring the horror of depleted spirituality before, Florent found that Bethel's ravings didn't seem as terrifying as he had imagined...
In fact, he felt that if this was the extent of the pain, the members of the Abraham family should have at least become demigods by now. That said, the pain was still excruciating. Each raving seemed to push Florent's limits of endurance.
If someone had been watching Florent during this time, they would have noticed his pupils contracting and dilating in agony. Deep within his eyes, a mysterious symbol of a door, composed of layers of dazzling starlight, began to emerge.
After four or five minutes of torment, Florent finally felt a wave of relief wash over him...
It was only then that he realized his muscles had been so tense that his entire body ached intensely. During those few minutes of the ravings, it felt as though he had been submerged in water, his clothes soaked through with sweat.
The pocket watch on the balcony had been knocked aside during his struggle.
Fighting the lingering revulsion in his mind and the involuntary twitching of his body caused by the psychological trauma, Florent dragged himself over to pick up the watch. Opening it, he saw that the timing of the full moon matched Martin's predictions exactly.
Placing the watch on the large table in the room, Florent forced himself to endure his exhaustion and took a hot bath in the washroom. His clothes were tossed carelessly outside, and in a daze, he used the last of his strength to crawl into bed...
...
The dim bedroom had no sunlight streaming through the windows, but Florent still woke up earlier than the previous day. Rubbing his eyes, he realized it was only seven in the morning.
He wanted to yawn and go back to sleep, but the excess energy coursing through his body made it impossible.
Reluctantly, he got out of bed...
After taking care of his hygiene, Florent, caught between a drowsy mind and an overly energetic body, made his way to the third floor and returned to the study that had caused him so much pain the previous night.
After placing the pocket watch, the 'Meteoric Iron Dagger', and the 'Gate of Angels' on the table, Florent took out a blank notebook he had stored at home.
He planned to record his experiences, hoping it would help him digest the 'Scribe' potion in the future...
<...First, although I appeared somewhat disheveled yesterday and indeed felt significant pressure, I didn't find the screams unbearable for an 'Apprentice'. Moreover, as my sequence rises, my immunity to Mr. Door's ravings should increase...>
<...But could it be that Mr. Door's ravings grow more intense with each Sequence? If so, isn't that a death sentence? Wait, perhaps at a certain level beyond 'Astrologer', a balance can be achieved, allowing me to withstand these ravings?>
<...Speaking of the 'Door' Pathway, the high-sequence individual I'm most familiar with is 'Fors Wall'. She was invited to the Fool's palace by Klein just when she could no longer endure Mr. Door's ravings. At that time, she was only Sequence 9. Does that mean... the longer I endure the ravings, the greater the threat they pose?>
Florent shivered as he wrote this, but he quickly realized something was off and continued.
<...Wait, that doesn't make sense. Other members of the Abraham family would have endured the ravings for much longer, yet they didn't lose control. Could it be that by the time one reaches 'Astrologer', they can withstand Mr. Door's screams? But as one advances further, the screams grow stronger, and the individual can't keep up?>
<...However, 'Scribe' can be pre-acted. Does that mean even at the 'Scribe' level, there are still unpredictable changes? Is this a barrier Mr. Door set up for his descendants, or is it an inherent dissonance in the 'Door' pathway?>
At this point, Florent felt overwhelmed by the many uncertainties. He forced himself to suppress his desire to delve deeper and wrote a final summary.
<...Regardless of what the future holds for my advancement, the interaction between Bethel and Roselle must have influenced these ravings. It seems I'll only be able to confirm my theories by experiencing the advancements myself...>
After writing this lengthy analysis, Florent stretched and checked his pocket watch. Not much time had passed. Rubbing his eyes, he gathered his belongings and prepared to leave.
As he was about to leave, he noticed the pile of clothes in his washroom. Though not excessive, it was starting to accumulate...
He rubbed his temples, reminded of the mundane chores of daily life.
"Should I hire a laundry maid to wash my clothes daily and a housekeeper to take care of this large house? No, there are things I can't let anyone discover," Florent thought, recalling the secret alchemy lab in the basement.
He felt a headache coming on, "Should I clean and do the laundry myself? No, time is too tight for that. Maybe I should hire temporary help... But where do I find servants? I'll ask the carriage driver. They usually know these things, especially those who frequent the wealthy and noble districts. Ugh, what a headache."
Having made up his mind, Florent felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He sighed in relief and pushed open the door with a lighter heart.
After hailing a carriage, Florent said, "To the Trier National Library, please."
Once the carriage was moving smoothly, Florent asked the driver, who clearly had plenty of experience, "Do you know where I can hire some servants?"
The driver, who wasn't as chatty as the one from the previous day, seemed surprised by the question... Perhaps he hadn't expected a passenger to strike up a conversation.
After a moment, he replied steadily, "If you live on Corson Street, there's a place not far from there, still within Golden Hampstead District, called the 'Golden Hampstead Life Improvement Company'. They act as an intermediary between the wealthy and workers or servants."
"Would you like to go there first, sir?" the driver asked...