A few minutes later, Klein, in the guise of Gehrman Sparrow, and Miss Justice, Audrey, walked out of 39 Berkelund Street and headed towards the residences of the other parasitized individuals.
After walking a few steps in silence, Klein suddenly looked ahead and spoke:
"This situation isn't rare among wild Beyonders. Without proper guidance, they are always walking on the edge of a cliff, ready to fall at any moment."
Audrey let out an "Mm," and after a few seconds said, "I know. I'm not as... as before…"
She paused, thinking for a moment, then curled her lips slightly, as if mocking herself, and found the right adjective:
"Naive."
"Hah…" She then sighed without trying to hide it, looking ahead as well. "If I had gone back to last June, knowing how cruel and terrifying the mystical world is, I probably wouldn't have made the request to become a Beyonder anymore."
Klein slightly turned his head, glanced at the noble lady's face, and asked casually:
"If you were given a chance to completely break away from the mystical world right now, would you accept it?"
Audrey was stunned for a moment, pursed her lips slowly, and said:
"No…"
After giving this answer, she seemed to relax a little, smiled, and said to herself:
"Given the premise of knowing how cruel and terrifying the mystical world is, the version of me before last June would have given up on becoming a Beyonder, but the me of this year won't."
"This… might be the price of growth."
"I understand what you mean." Klein continued walking at a moderate pace, then changed the subject. "Some of the parasitized individuals, after being thoroughly purified, will expel 'Time Bugs', which can be used to create 'Fortune Stealer' charms. They are of the demigod level and can exchange the fates of both sides in a short period. I'll give you one as today's consultation fee."
Audrey was about to refuse, but then fell silent, and finally nodded slightly:
"Okay."
As soon as she spoke, she suddenly stopped, turned her head to glance at Gehrman Sparrow, and smiled with a somewhat complex expression:
"I understand now why you asked that question earlier."
Klein chuckled softly but didn't give a direct answer.
Audrey withdrew her gaze, her mood seeming to lighten suddenly, and she said as if casually chatting:
"Participating in a punitive operation at noon, and then dealing with Amon's aftermath in the afternoon… today is really a 'Tarot Day'…"
She made a pun, a very subtle lament.
In her view, the noon operation involved five members of the Tarot Club — "The Moon", "The Star", "Justice", "The Hierophant", and "The Magician" — acting jointly in different ways. The afternoon involved "The World" and "Justice" of the Tarot Club participating in the Amon clone cleanup from different angles. It was indeed a memorable day, a "Tarot Day" in a sense.
Klein nodded, agreeing with Miss Justice, but didn't tell her that in the afternoon operation, "The Star", Leonard, was also involved and was a main force.
"Amon's clones should be very difficult to deal with, right?" Audrey finally found the opportunity to ask this question.
She stared at Gehrman Sparrow, her green eyes filled with unconcealed curiosity.
Klein smiled slightly:
"If it were just me alone, the Gehrman Sparrow you see now would essentially be Amon."
"Stealing fate and identity?" Audrey asked back, realization dawning on her face.
Klein let out an "Mm."
"I'll give you the details later. In short, we deployed an Angel this time to eliminate all of Amon's clones in Backlund."
"If you ever encounter an Amon clone in the future, never assume you have a way to handle it. Immediately find an opportunity to pray. Mm, his characteristic is that he likes to wear a monocle and loves to pull off terrifying pranks…"
Deployed an Angel… Was it that "Death Consul", or an Angel of the "Fate" domain, or… Audrey raised her head to glance at the sky, where the clouds were frozen, not shifting at all, like props against a dark background.
She nodded solemnly and seriously, like a student attending a teacher's lecture:
"I'll remember."
The two walked without stopping, sometimes silent, sometimes chatting casually, until they entered 160 Berkelund Street.
A few more minutes passed. Inside the living room of the Macht residence.
Member of Parliament Macht and the others felt a sudden, intense impulse. Right where they were sitting, they raised their hands, clasped them together in front of their mouths and noses, and began to pray devoutly, reciting the honorific name of the "Goddess of the Night".
After an unknown period of time, they all coughed, coughed violently, coughing until tears and snot streamed down their faces.
Cough! Cough! Cough!
Unconsciously, they each coughed out a bug with twelve translucent segments.
As soon as this bug touched the ground, it vanished without a trace, so that no one noticed.
The same thing happened in other places on Berkelund Street, but everything quickly returned to normal, and the gloom in the sky had somehow faded, the clouds flowing again with the wind.
Amidst her parents' coughing, Hail slowly woke up, very confused about why she had fallen asleep on the sofa during afternoon tea.
She felt that her mood should have been very good today, but she couldn't muster a smile. There seemed to be an indescribable sadness and pain lodged in her heart.