Chapter 152: A Decent Attempt

Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Two
A Decent Attempt

The gray-white, hazy fog spread as though it had existed since time immemorial. Crimson, illusory stars hung at varying distances. Klein sat within the grand palace like a giant’s residence, quietly gazing at everything familiar before him.

After several seconds, he withdrew his gaze and willed a sheet of yellow-brown parchment to appear before him. Then he picked up the pen and wrote down the summoning ritual he had altered:

“Light one candle to symbolize oneself.

“Use a wall of spirituality to create a sanctified environment.

“Drip full moon essential oil, chamomile hydrosol, deep sleep flower powder, and other materials into the candle flame. Note: At this step, one does not need to be too particular, because one is summoning oneself.

“Recite the following incantation:

“‘I!’—in ancient Hermes, Giant, Dragon, or Elvish; it must be spoken in a low cry.

“‘I summon in my name’—in Hermes:

“‘The Fool that does not belong to this era;

“‘The mysterious ruler above the gray fog;

“‘The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck.’”

…

After examining it carefully three times, Klein wrote the divination statement at the bottom:

“Performing the above ritual in the outside world is dangerous.”

Hoo. He exhaled, set down the fountain pen, and removed the silver chain from inside his sleeve cuff, holding it with his left hand.

When the citrine pendant hung quietly above the parchment, only a hair’s breadth from touching the divination statement, he restrained his thoughts and entered meditation.

“Performing the above ritual in the outside world is dangerous.

“Performing the above ritual in the outside world is dangerous.

“…”

After reciting it silently seven times, Klein opened eyes that had turned nearly entirely black and saw the citrine pendant turning counterclockwise.

That meant a negative answer. That meant there was no danger.

“I can try it.”

Klein hurriedly made the objects manifested before him vanish. Then he extended his spirituality to wrap around himself and simulated the sensation of falling sharply downward.

After returning to his bedroom, because he had long since sealed the entire room with a wall of spirituality, Klein directly cleared off his desk and placed a candle with a minty scent upright at its center.

He pressed his right hand above the wick and, through spiritual friction, lit the candle with a whoosh.

Amid the swaying, dim-yellow glow, Klein dripped the corresponding essential oil, hydrosol, and herbal powder into the flame.

A tranquil, leisurely fragrance instantly spread. The room brightened and darkened by turns.

Stepping back twice, Klein looked at the candle that symbolized himself and cried out in Giant language, low and restrained:

“I!”

Immediately afterward, he switched to Hermes.

“I summon in my name:

“The Fool that does not belong to this era;

“The mysterious ruler above the gray fog;

“The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck.”

The moment his voice faded, Klein felt the flickering yellow flame and the tranquil fragrance around it merge into a vortex, madly drawing in his own spirituality.

“O deep sleep flower belonging to the crimson moon, please pass your power to my incantation…”

Enduring the discomfort of having his spirituality drained, Klein finished reciting the remaining spell.

At that moment, he saw the candle flame stop shaking. It stood there quietly, dyed with gray-white color, stretching outward until it was the size of a palm.

“Nothing was summoned… Ah, right. Maybe I need to respond from above the gray fog… Summoning oneself really is troublesome…”

Klein pinched his hollow, aching forehead and murmured inwardly.

After waiting a dozen seconds to recover, he walked four steps counterclockwise, once again arriving above the gray fog. There, at the very head of the ancient long table, he saw circles of light rippling outward.

They came from the strange symbol behind the corresponding high-backed chair—the symbol composed of the “Pupil-less Eye,” representing concealment, and the “Distorted Lines,” representing change.

Klein merely made a gesture of reaching out to touch it, and the sounds of the incantation immediately rang beside his ears:

“I! I summon in my name…”

“The Fool that does not belong to this era…”

“The mysterious ruler above the gray fog…”

At the same time, he saw the surging spirituality combine with the spreading ripples of light, transforming into an illusory, half-formed door.

The door wavered, trying to open. Inspiration came to Klein at once, and he gave it an intense intention to push it open.

Almost in the same instant, the boundless gray fog and the magnificent palace seemed to be pulled by something, producing ripples so faint they were nearly invisible.

Circle after circle, those ripples surged toward the illusory, half-formed door.

Yet no matter how Klein pushed, the door could not open. All the movement finally returned to silence.

“Because the ‘summoning door’ did not completely take shape?”

Klein withdrew his intention and analyzed the failure with furrowed brows.

He had casually named that illusory door the “summoning door.”

“Mm. My spirituality is insufficient, so I cannot construct a complete ‘summoning door’… Once I advance to Sequence 8 and become a Clown, and once I pass the dangerous initial stage, I can try again. Perhaps there will be no problem then…”

Klein gently nodded, roughly understanding what had happened.

This experiment gave him considerable confidence and strong encouragement, because apart from the time he divined the Eternal Blazing Sun and nearly died for it, this was the first time he had made the mysterious space above the gray fog react in a new way.

“One day, I will definitely figure out all the secrets here!”

Klein made that excited declaration inwardly, then wrapped himself in spirituality and dropped into the boundless gray fog.

…

Returning to his bedroom, Klein hurriedly extinguished the candle, ended the ritual, tidied up his desk, and removed the wall of spirituality.

A sudden wind blew through the room. Yawning, he fell onto his bed, wrapped himself in the blanket, and fell asleep almost immediately.

Inside a hazy, fragmented dream, Klein suddenly became aware and discovered that he was sitting in his family’s living room, holding a copy of the Tingen Honest Man newspaper.

…The Captain could not have come again, could he?

He froze for a moment, then looked toward the oriel window outside with both irritation and amusement.

Creak. The front door opened. Dunn, wearing a black knee-length windbreaker and carrying his cane and pipe, slowly walked inside.

He still wore his black half-top hat, still had those deep, gray eyes.

Dunn entered the living room, sat on the single-person sofa, and leisurely crossed his right leg over his left.

He set down the cane, removed the hat, leaned back slightly, and simply looked at Klein in silence, as though deep in thought.

Captain, what are you trying to do today…

Klein was utterly bewildered.

To avoid exposing that he knew this was a dream, he pretended not to be affected and continued reading the newspaper.

One minute. Two minutes. Five minutes.

He lifted his head and glanced at Dunn opposite him, only to discover that the Captain remained there, quietly, thoughtfully watching him.

Another five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes.

Klein had flipped through the newspaper several times, yet from the corner of his eye, he could still see Dunn quietly, thoughtfully watching him.

Captain, this is making me really uncomfortable…

Klein could no longer sit still. He folded the newspaper, set it aside, nodded to Dunn with a smile, then went to the kitchen, took out a cloth, and pretended to wipe down the dining table and tea table.

Captain, look. My dream is this simple, this ordinary, this boring. There is nothing worth observing. Please leave already! Or turn into a ghost, and I will pretend to be frightened so you can complete your Nightmare achievement!

He prayed silently, but when he lifted his head, he again saw Dunn’s deep, gray eyes, which seemed to be lost in thought.

Under that silent, unchanging gaze, Klein wiped the furniture clean, swept the room, and ended up exhausted inside his own dream.

And what tired him the most in spirit was Dunn Smith, who kept quietly and thoughtfully watching him.

After some unknown length of busywork, he finally saw the Captain lower his right leg and stand.

Then Dunn picked up his cane, put on his hat, and walked toward the front door.

Klein held his breath and watched Dunn leave his home the entire way.

Unable to help himself, he raised his right hand and made a farewell gesture.

Hoo…

When everything returned to normal, Klein let out a long breath.

That really was a nightmare just now!

He thought, on the verge of tears.

…

Backlund, West Borough, Philip’s Department Store.

This was the highest-class department store in the Loen Kingdom, open only to nobles and wealthy people with membership qualifications.

Outside it, luxury carriages always stood one after another, displaying many different emblems. Aside from being a sacred ground for shopping, the strict limits on entry also made this place a famous social venue.

Audrey, accompanied by her maid Anne and the large golden retriever Susie, descended from her carriage under the attentive reception of the attendants and entered through the front doors.

Along the way, she would often see a viscount’s daughter, a countess, or a young lady whose parents held prominent status.

Maintaining elegant posture and etiquette that was proper but not stiff, she greeted them one by one. Depending on who she met, she used different openings and exchanged brief pleasantries with different nobles. With a certain countess, she praised how well her new dress fit. With a certain baroness, she commented on her husband’s outstanding performance in the House of Lords.

In the past, Audrey had never done this part especially well. She had been too willful, too self-centered. But now, she did not even need to spend much effort to handle everything perfectly.

In the eyes of a Spectator, the emotions and thoughts of most noblewomen were practically written on their faces.

Arriving on the second floor, Audrey turned toward a shop selling ready-made clothes.

The shop’s attendant was a young, short girl who still carried a hint of greenness. She wore a black-and-white dress and had stubborn shoulder-length blonde hair. She was the Arbiter, Xio Derecha.

Audrey gave no change in expression as she cast a look at the large golden retriever, Susie. The other instantly understood her meaning and happily ran toward another counter.

The maid Anne could only hurry after her, trying to pull Susie back.

Beautifully done!

Audrey praised her inwardly and walked to Xio Derecha’s side, pretending to examine the dresses of different styles.

“…Why did you ask me to meet you here?” Xio asked softly while loudly introducing the garments.

Her voice was still very young, almost like a child’s.

“Where is the original attendant?” Audrey asked instead of answering.

Xio observed the surroundings and said, “I persuaded her. She was very happy to rest for the morning.”

Audrey looked at the different dresses and took a folded sheet of paper from the small goatskin handbag she carried. She discreetly passed it to Xio.

“Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos has secretly infiltrated Backlund. This is his portrait. I hope you can help me find him. Mm, do not alert him.”

Xio accepted the paper and swiftly unfolded it. She saw a lifelike sketch of a man in his thirties with a distinctive broad jaw.

I was often praised by my teachers when it came to drawing, too…

Audrey glanced at Xio and lifted her chin slightly.

She added, “The Kingdom’s bounty on Qilangos is ten thousand pounds. If he can truly be caught, even the person who merely provides clues would certainly obtain a reward of at least several hundred pounds.”

The moment Audrey finished speaking, she saw Xio’s eyes brighten just as expected.