“Why, nothing, Anton,” said Gesar, with a careless gesture. “Only try not to hide anything else from me, all right? And don’t let anyone know anything. I don’t think the Tiger’s going to come for us. He realizes that we won’t reveal the prophecy to anyone. And even if Arina does reveal it, it’s still only possible, not inevitable.”

“Are you going to hunt for her?”

“Not with any serious commitment,” Gesar said, shrugging. “If you get a chance, give her my advice. Either to go back to sleep again, for ten or twelve years or thereabouts. Or turn herself in. She could turn herself in to me, by the way. I’d try to protect her against the Inquisition and obtain the mildest possible sentence.”

I nodded.

“Thank you, Boris Ignatievich.”

“I can’t put a thank-you in my pocket,” he growled, and glanced at the screen of his computer. “All right, off you go . . . conspirator. I’ve got work to do.”

“By the way, about pockets . . .” I said, suddenly remembering. “Tell me, how much money can I withdraw with my bank card?”

“That depends on your rank,” said Gesar, without looking at me. “Anton, this is all nonsense, you should understand that.”

“It can’t be total nonsense,” I said stubbornly. “Yesterday I went up to an ATM . . .”

“Anton, tell me: what value do you think human money has in an organization with even one Fourth- or Fifth-Level Clairvoyant?” Gesar asked.

“None,” I answered after a moment’s thought.

“That’s the whole point. Simply from fluctuations in exchange rates and share values, even in the most stable of years, the Watches can earn any amount of money they like. And since a normal Other isn’t interested in the human attributes of wealth and prosperity, I can’t see any point in limiting my staff members” access. Not even Dark Others suffer from that kind of vanity.”

“But it seems kind of—” I began.

“Do you want a Bentley?” Gesar asked, looking up at me with a stony stare.

“What the hell for?” I asked in amazement. “To attract the curses of the envious people all around me? I wouldn’t mind buying some kind of Japanese four-by-four, though. We drove to the dacha in the summer: the road was thick with mud and we got stuck.”

“Then buy one,” Gesar said blithely. “The natural circulation of money stimulates economic activity, and is ultimately beneficial to people. And especially since Japan has been hit by an earthquake—you’ll be helping them.”

“Boss, tell me honestly, will you—can you justify absolutely anything you like from the perspective of goodness and justice?” I asked.

Gesar thought for a moment. He scratched the tip of his nose.

“Basically, probably yes. But don’t you fret about that. It comes to everybody with age.”