As his gaze traveled upward, Klein roughly observed the owner of the footsteps.
She was a lady. She wore a pair of comfortable beige trousers and tall black leather boots, but her upper body was clad in a light brown knee-length skirt that hung loosely, conveying a sense of unruliness and elegance.
This combination of clothes instantly gave Klein a feeling of being back on Earth, because neither Loen, nor Intis, nor even Feysac, Feynapotter, Lenburg, Masie, East or West Balam, had any similar popular style!
Klein raised his head faster and finally saw the face of the lady in front of him:
She had naturally flowing chestnut hair, straight eyebrows that extended perfectly, and blue eyes that were deep and profound, as if they had condensed an entire ocean.
She was extraordinarily beautiful, but what was most striking wasn't that. The nobility naturally exuded in her demeanor and the aura of a great figure accustomed to being in a high position for a long time were even more impressive. Klein subconsciously even wanted to lower his head to avoid eye contact.
And she's tall, about the same as me in my Klein Moretti state… Klein silently added a thought in his mind.
Having completely digested the "Faceless" potion, he increasingly realized that the self was a combination of personality, experience, cognition, and various relationships. Appearance and physique were a type that could be changed at will. Therefore, as long as he clearly knew who he was, he didn't mind using the word "state" to describe the physical characteristics of each previous identity. After all, every change of a "Faceless" could be fixed permanently without needing extra maintenance. In other words, even if he didn't have the corresponding mystical abilities now, he could still maintain Gehrman Sparrow's appearance.
Because of this, he could completely make Klein Moretti genuinely grow a bit taller.
Thump, thump, thump. The lady, who gave a feeling of looking down on others, walked step by step to the opposite side of Klein, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
"We meet again," the lady said in a soft but completely emotionless tone.
This voice and way of speaking are somewhat familiar… A flash of insight struck Klein, and he vaguely grasped the source of the familiarity.
The scene of her approaching replayed in his mind, finally freezing on those black leather boots!
This… It's her! Klein suddenly recalled the related scene:
When he infiltrated the Royal Museum as a spirit body and took the "Black Emperor" card, he encountered a demigod at the scene. The other party was sitting on the top step of a wooden ladder between tall bookshelves, her feet in black leather boots dangling in the air!
When he reverted to Sherlock Moriarty's identity and was chased by a demonic dog, shouting for help, a forest road woven from bright green pea vines appeared on the way. Forced to follow the carriage, he rode all the way into the sky and saw a hammock-like seat made of pea vines outside the window and a pair of feet in black leather boots!
It's her! How did she appear in this dream world, in these waters? And… and she said "meet again"? I'm Gehrman Sparrow now! Amidst a whirlwind of thoughts, Klein responded to her with an indifferent expression:
"We haven't met before."
So what if she's a demigod? As long as it's not an angel, in this dream world, I can fight back using the Sea God Scepter! Klein silently encouraged himself.
The lady with the long eyebrows sat across from him, slightly raising her chin, and stared at Klein for two seconds before saying:
"Is that so? Mr. Phantom Thief 'Black Emperor'…"
With a bang, the thoughts in Klein's head were smashed into countless pieces, chaotic, mixed up, and without focus.
She, she knows I'm the Phantom Thief "Black Emperor"?
She recognized me as that spirit who stole the Blasphemy Slate in the Royal Museum?
How… How is this possible!
Wait, why did she directly call me the Phantom Thief "Black Emperor"? If she had called me "Sherlock Moriarty", I would have been even more shocked, and it would have been hard to hide the change in my expression…
One thought after another flashed by. Klein instinctively controlled his facial muscles and calmly spoke:
"I don't know what you're talking about."
The lady, whose attire was unlike any current fashion trend, didn't repeat her words or explain anything. Instead, she stated in a flat tone:
"That identity of yours, Gehrman Sparrow, it was I who provided it."
… Klein's scalp instantly went numb. He felt that he had no secrets in front of her.
The identity of Gehrman Sparrow was forged through Miss Sharon's channels… This lady, this demigod, is that channel?
Right, Miss Sharon mentioned that someone in her circle was investigating the true identity of the Phantom Thief "Black Emperor", promising a reasonable request for the fulfiller, with the limitation that the materials were below the Sequence level…
According to Miss Sharon's description, the employer was roughly over 1.7 meters tall, had good body proportions, chestnut hair, and loved wearing black leather boots. Gasp, isn't that the person across from me… I suspected back then that she was the demigod I met in the Royal Museum, and she was very clear that what I took was the "Black Emperor" card…
Thoughts flashed rapidly, and Klein briefly didn't know how to speak, so he could only remain silent.
The lady, whose chin wasn't pointy but had a slight curve, didn't continue the topic of Gehrman Sparrow's identity. She glanced out the window at the frozen dusk and said:
"While you were on the Rorsted Archipelago, Nast Solomon's 'Black Emperor' also appeared in those waters."
"I think you should know what this means, Mr. Thief."
Seeing that the other party had not only exposed his identity but also provided the line of reasoning and evidence, Klein could only twitch the corner of his mouth and say:
"... The Law of Convergence of Beyonder Characteristics."
The expression of the lady opposite him immediately softened a little, as if carrying a hint of a smile.
"So you really are the Phantom Thief 'Black Emperor'."
… So you weren't certain all along… You just laid out the clues and acted confident… How could she be so sure just now? Did she have other evidence she didn't show? Klein felt a wave of chagrin and extreme confusion.