In the quiet hotel room, the dim and mysterious radio telegraph suddenly returned to normal, and the surrounding light no longer felt eerie. Klein busied himself with preparing a ritual, sacrificing it above the Gray Fog, and only then did he have the peace of mind to ponder the answer he had just obtained.
Based on the clues provided by the "Magic Mirror" Arrodes, combined with the answers from Mr. Azik and Will Auceptin, the "Snake of Fate," Klein had a preliminary plan for the next stage.
It wasn't simply because he wanted to rest and recuperate before returning to Backlund, but because he decided to treat this great metropolis as his main base of operations for a long time, to see if he could steal the Antigonus family's notebook from the Saint Samuel Cathedral of the Church of the Goddess of the Night. If he found there was absolutely no way, he would try switching to a similar Beyonder pathway, and if that still didn't work, he would have to take the last path and head for the main peak of the Hornacis Mountains.
"Hmm... I definitely can't go back to Backlund and open-wly use the identity of Sherlock Moriarty, unless I want to lure out Ince Zangwill or some hidden faction of the royal family. But when I contact acquaintances or borrow resources from the Church of Steam, I can change back into the appearance of Sherlock Moriarty.
"In short, I have to use a new identity again, and it must be completely distinct from Gehrman Sparrow. Uh, this time I won't go directly back to Pritz Harbor. I'll take a detour from the Dias Bay area to make sure no one can trace my origin." Klein's thoughts raced, and he quickly formulated a clear plan.
After initially confirming the direction, he wanted to extract some blood and explore *Groselle's Travels* with his spirit body above the Gray Fog. But considering he had the Tarot Club meeting in the afternoon, he lay back down on the bed, resting and relaxing freely.
............
The *Future* sailed steadily over the rolling waves. "Star Admiral" Cattleya stood by the window, gazing at the boundless horizon, while from the foredeck, Nina's exasperated voice could be heard from time to time, furious at Frank Lee for creating a bunch of beef-flavored mushrooms that reproduced extremely quickly and loved eating fish. Cattleya sighed silently and reached up to adjust the heavy glasses on her nose.
Just then, her spiritual intuition stirred. She looked down at the desk and saw that a few yellowed sheets of paper had appeared there at some unknown time.
"The Emperor's diary... She finally sent a messenger..." Cattleya turned around joyfully and picked up the pages, which were few in number, more like an initial token of contact.
When three o'clock in the afternoon arrived, having forcibly memorized those symbols, she saw the illusory deep red light surge like a tide, submerging her.
Under the towering dome supported by pillars of stone, "The Hermit" Cattleya watched similar deep red light surge up and turn into blurry figures. She didn't look too closely, noticing that the familiar pair of glasses had naturally appeared on the bridge of her nose, a perfect replication of her state in the outside world.
Then, from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Miss "Justice" standing up gracefully and greeting the one at the head of the long bronze table in a light, cheerful tone:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~"
Audrey had been in quite a good mood lately. After returning to her family castle, she had successfully helped her mother, Lady Kaitlin, resolve some psychological issues stemming from her actual age and physical condition by acting like an obedient daughter. She received very good feedback, which allowed her to summarize more Acting principles for the "Psychological Alchemist." Among them, the most important one was helping others solve mental problems. She suspected this was why the potion was called "Psychological Alchemist" rather than "Psychologist."
"Miss 'Justice' is very happy, huh..." Klein seemed infected by her joy, nodding with a faint smile. Through this process, he noticed that Mr. "Hanged Man" seemed preoccupied, still hesitating and struggling, unable to make up his mind. Oh? This means Mr. "Hanged Man" can afford the "Ocean Songster" potion formula and main ingredients, but it will come at a great cost. I thought he would apply for installment payments... "The Fool" Klein withdrew his gaze without any unusual reaction and looked around.
Once Miss "Justice"'s greeting was over, "The Hermit" Cattleya looked toward the head of the long bronze table and said:
"Honorable Mr. Fool, I have managed to gather three pages of Roselle's diary."
Here it comes... I wonder if the three diary pages specially selected by the "Mysterious Queen" will contain highly valuable information, such as the whereabouts of that "Blasphemy Card" corresponding to the "Seer" pathway. That could provide me with another possibility... Klein was inwardly expectant, but kept his outward composure.
"Very good. You can think of a request."
"Yes, Mr. Fool," Cattleya responded without a single flaw in her attitude, then requested to manifest the content of the diary.
Seeing her behavior like this, and recalling how she was in her dream, Klein actually felt quite gratified, like a homeroom teacher who had successfully made a student become well-behaved and obedient.
"'The Hermit' is providing the Great Emperor Roselle's diary pages for the first time! Given the level and ability she's shown, she shouldn't have been unable to collect them before... Hmm, before she was mostly observing. After being punished by Mr. Fool last time, has she truly integrated into our Tarot Club?" "Justice" Audrey made a certain judgment based on "The Hermit" Cattleya's performance last week.
At the same time, she also noticed that Mr. "Hanged Man" wasn't in a good state today. It seemed like he was looking forward to something, yet also couldn't bear to let go of something, and she became quite curious.