The sky outside the window was dark, but there were no familiar mists. The waves came in bursts, blowing away the haze, causing the high clouds to curl and stretch, forming various shapes that reflected the golden-red sunlight.
This was Pritz Harbor, the largest and busiest port in the Loen Kingdom.
Klein, dressed in a light-colored waistcoat and a white shirt, stood by the window, gazing outside for a while. Only when his pocket watch urged him did he return to the rosewood table.
By the warmth of the fireplace, he picked up a deep black fountain pen with a round barrel, unfolded a sheet of letter paper, and slowly wrote:
"Dear Mr. Azik,
"Please forgive me for only writing to you today. In the past few days, I have been wandering in Backlund, immersed in the scars left on this metropolis by the previous events. If we were all ordinary people, we might have already been covered in white cloth, carried into the crematorium, and placed in a very small box...
"I waited for a long time and finally found an opportunity to retrieve the items that belonged to me, including the 'Blasphemy Card' I promised. In addition, there is another item that I will let the messenger bring to you together. It is a copper whistle, a copper whistle that can summon a messenger. It came from an accidental encounter and an old man who crawled out of a coffin. Seeing this, you must be very puzzled, because the description I used could also point to you, which is exactly what I am confused about.
"...This is how the matter went. I suspect that the original owner of the copper whistle was a member of the Death Cult trying to resurrect the God of Death, and at a high level. Perhaps you can tell something from this copper whistle...
"Before leaving Backlund, I wrote a letter to the 'Mechanical Heart,' describing the huge underground ruins where you and Ince Zangwill fought, hoping they could investigate the truth behind the incident based on this information.
"Through indirect probing, I confirmed that they currently hold no hostility towards me or you. If you encounter trouble, perhaps you can try to seek their help.
"Finally, I have one more question. Is there any way to remove the residual mental pollution within a fixed Beyonder characteristic?
"...I am about to embark on a long voyage. I wish you a smooth journey in searching for your memories, and also wish myself a safe journey.
"Your student and friend, Klein Moretti."
After putting down his fountain pen and reading it from the beginning, Klein folded the letter paper and stuffed it into the envelope along with the "Black Emperor" card and the copper whistle suspected to have been left behind by a member of the Death Cult.
Having finished this, he picked up the copper whistle Mr. Azik had given him and summoned the messenger by blowing it.
The messenger was still nearly four meters tall, purely made of white bones with pitch-black flames burning in its eye sockets, but Klein's spiritual intuition told him that this was already a different messenger.
Silently sighing, Klein raised his arm and placed the letter into the palm that was lowered.
The messenger glanced down, then quickly disintegrated into white bones, which fell like a rainstorm and burrowed into the ground.
Seeing this scene, Klein lightly tapped his right teeth and turned off his Spirit Vision.
He turned his attention back to the table, where a light yellow identification document lay. It was a necessary item for purchasing an ocean liner ticket through legal channels.
For this, he had specifically sought out Sharon and obtained a new identity through her circle.
This identity belonged to a bounty hunter, a madman who wanted to go to sea to seek his fortune. According to Klein's wishes, his name was Gehrman Sparrow.
"Hunting evil..." Klein muttered to himself as he put away the series of documents for his new identity.
Immediately after, he pulled the curtains shut, walked counterclockwise four steps, and entered above the Gray Fog.
There was still some time before the Tarot Gathering. Klein hurriedly took out "Creeping Hunger" and put it on his hand.
Closing his eyes to sense the distorted and illusory souls, he tried to release the "Faceless".
If it were in the real world, "Creeping Hunger" would happily eat this gift and spit out the corresponding Beyonder characteristic, but now that it was above the Gray Fog, it dared not act rashly. It let the soul of the "Faceless" leave the glove smoothly, appearing at the side of the bronze long table.
It was a middle-aged man with a blurry face, and the feeling of distortion and pain had already dissipated quite a bit.
He laboriously bowed to Klein, who was leaning back in his chair, then his figure gradually faded, about to fall into the depths of the Gray Fog.
Situated inside the majestic palace, Klein could directly conduct a "seance" without needing to prepare any rituals. He extended his spirituality, stabilized the other party, and spoke in a low voice: "Do you know where there are any living mermaids?"
The man replied hazily: "Apart from those raised by the Church of the Evernight Goddess, you can only find them by sailing at least a week from the Gargas Archipelago deep into the Sonia Sea. That was my destination."
So he was also a Faceless seeking advancement... He had risked going out to sea in pursuit of mermaids, only to end up dead somehow at the hands of "Hurricane Admiral" Zilingus... Does the Church of the Goddess keep quite a few mermaids? Klein asked with sudden realization: "Which organization do you belong to? Or rather, where did your potion formula come from?"