Chapter 143: A Smooth First Day

Chapter 143: A Smooth First Day

Phew. What exactly are Amyrius and Auston Leavitt plotting, to actually draw a warning from the Twilight Hermit Order… Unless it concerns a key point capable of truly changing the era and influencing the course of history, that ancient and secretive organization would never step forward, even without revealing its identity… Standing at the edge of the magnificent castle within the dream, Klein looked thoughtfully at the place where the blurry figure had just vanished.

As thoughts surged through his mind, he suddenly realized something and became less certain of his earlier guess.

What Admiral Amyrius and his younger brother were plotting might not truly affect the tide of the age!

Although the Twilight Hermit Order only intervened in major issues of that sort, Klein, as the leader of a secret organization himself, understood very well that organizations like these did not merely exist to carry out their own tenets and ideals. There was also mutual assistance between members.

From Emperor Roselle’s diaries, it could be seen that the Twilight Hermit Order had members from different fields, different statuses, and different Sequences. Apart from some who fanatically believed in the original Creator, awaited the arrival of twilight, and the awakening of the true god, the rest all had their own interests and pursuits. Under such circumstances, unless the organizer had strictly controlled things from the very beginning, internal commissions would inevitably appear.

“Perhaps the matter Auston Leavitt is plotting would only affect a certain member of the Twilight Hermit Order. That member noticed it in advance and issued an internal commission, letting another member use the ‘tide of the times’ as an excuse to warn Amyrius Leavitt…

“Following that line of logic, what’s hidden beneath this becomes rather interesting… Considering the level of the Twilight Hermit Order, a Sequence 4 Law Weaver like Amyrius should be a target they could eliminate without too much difficulty. I even suspect they can deploy more than three angels—enough to surpass the seven great Churches…

“Then why didn’t they act directly? Why issue a warning first?

“When they were in Backlund, if an angel had truly appeared, a true god might have descended. That was why the Twilight Hermit Order had no choice but to deal with Duke Negan in a more roundabout and less conspicuous way. But this is Olavi Island. Even high-Sequence Beyonders are not stationed here permanently…

“Was the warning given because the Twilight Hermit Order venerates secrecy and does not wish to expose itself, doing its best not to use violent methods? Or is it because the member who issued the internal commission doesn’t want to see Amyrius die? To ‘him,’ this admiral is quite useful, too valuable to abandon, even if Amyrius may be involved in an operation disadvantageous to ‘him’?

“If that’s the case, then the range of ‘his’ real-world identity seems to narrow down a bit…”

Klein made bold assumptions, yet had no way to verify them. He could only put the matter aside for the time being and cast it out of his mind.

In any case, the one who attracted the Twilight Hermit Order’s warning is Admiral Amyrius. It has nothing to do with me… As long as I do nothing and get involved in nothing over the next few days, I can smoothly hold out until the commission ends. Whatever happens afterward has nothing to do with me. At my present level, investigating the Twilight Hermit Order is far beyond me. I don’t have the qualifications to pry into anything… Following the will of his heart, Klein turned his thoughts toward his own Tarot Club.

“Heh, I’ve discovered a problem. Other secret organizations mainly exist to practice their own doctrines and ideals, with mutual assistance between members mixed in. But our Tarot Club is impressive. There are only commissions between members, with no doctrine or ideal at all… No, in the eyes of certain members, there are doctrines and ideals. For example, our classmate The Moon believes this is an organization born to save the world…” The Fool, Klein, laughed at himself and withdrew from the dream.

He rubbed away the false eyes and pushed his real ones back into position, his movements so smooth that only midway did he suddenly pause.

“That wasn’t simple dream invasion just now!” Recalling what had happened, Klein frowned slightly.

That was because the power had first attempted to drag him into sleep!

“And at that time, I was already asleep. Why would he do that? Captain once said that a Nightmare can directly see dreams. It’s impossible for one to make such a mistake… So the visitor earlier wasn’t using a Beyonder ability similar to a Nightmare’s, but some other method… Spirit world positioning? Or, after knowing my location, did he directly influence my mind body through the sea of collective subconscious that Madam Daly once described?

“Mm… I lean more toward the second possibility. Only that can explain why I clearly regained my reason but couldn’t break free from the dream. Emperor Roselle also wrote in his diary that the organization he joined, which seems to be the Twilight Hermit Order, held meetings through a real dream that covered the continent. A real ‘dream’…”

Klein nodded, then silently laughed with a sigh.

“Admiral Amyrius definitely didn’t anticipate the Twilight Hermit Order’s warning.

“It’s fortunate he hired me. If it had been anyone else, they would have been exposed just now! I’ve certainly lived up to the Ninth Law charm.”

…

Silver City, inside the round tower, in the room belonging to Chief Colin Iliad.

Derrick Berg, who had been summoned, once again saw the Demon Hunter with gray-streaked hair and old scars still remaining on his cheeks. He felt rather uneasy.

After Derrick completed his greeting, Colin looked him up and down and asked, “You advanced?”

“Yes. I am already a Sequence 7 Solar High Priest.” Derrick had registered this long ago, so there was even less reason to conceal it now.

Colin’s deep, weathered, pale-blue eyes shifted away, and he asked as if in passing, “Do you have the subsequent potion formulas?”

The Derrick of the past would certainly have answered “No” immediately, but now, before speaking, he had already grown used to thinking first.

If I say no and later advance again without enough experiences to support it, I’ll definitely be confirmed as having a problem. But if I answer yes, the Chief might ask me to take it out in exchange for items and begin cultivating more Beyonders of the Sun pathway. That would prove beyond doubt that I lied… Derrick’s thoughts spun, and he said sincerely, “No.”

In his view, experiences could be created.

Colin nodded without any visible change.

“In about two months, I will arrange an exploration for you. You will follow a team and stabilize the path and ruins we previously found with Jack’s help, then carry out a second cleansing.

“I hope you can gain more from it.”

“Yes, Your Excellency Chief.” Derrick had only just responded when he suddenly thought of the Shepherd elder, Lovia.

…

After daybreak, Klein changed clothes with Cynthia’s assistance, enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast, and then took a carriage to the Olavi naval base under the escort of the general’s guards.

In the morning, accompanied by brigadier generals and colonels, he inspected the ships, ammunition stockpiles, the newly built training ground, and the bathhouse that had undergone repairs twenty times over the previous year.

After lunch in the naval cafeteria, Klein followed the planned schedule and summoned all officers above the rank of major to hear their reports.

Throughout the process, a thick black leather notebook was spread open before him. Inside were certain questions that Admiral Amyrius had specially prepared.

“Over the past few decades, because of withheld pay and mistreatment of sailors, seventeen mutinies by low-ranking soldiers have occurred in Olavi. After the Royal Navy’s latest regulations were issued, and thanks to Your Excellency’s guidance, we have improved that atmosphere. In the past three years, no such incidents have occurred…” A colonel of the Olavi naval base stood in place and reported on the general situation.

From time to time, he looked up at Admiral Amyrius Leavitt and discovered that this admiral was listening with great seriousness, taking notes all along. The soft scratching sound made none of the officers seated in a circle dare to slack off, and each of them likewise focused on recording the important points.

Receiving such an active response, the colonel’s voice unconsciously grew a little louder.

So boring… Klein held his fountain pen and casually drew turtles, octopuses, dragons, and other creatures in the black leather notebook.

Because he had never studied sketching, he simply drew whatever came to mind, and the results were unbearably awful.

Later, he even drew crisscrossing solid lines and started playing the game of gomoku that Emperor Roselle had invented against himself.

Of course, his abundant experience and awareness of his identity ensured that he still looked up from time to time, staring at the speaker with a serious, attentive expression and giving encouraging nods. As for what the other party was saying, he paid no attention at all. He could only remember the occasional sentence that drifted into his ears.

During pauses in the reports, Klein would glance at the blond secretary, Luan, and let him ask several points requiring explanation in place of himself.

Everything proceeded according to the routine.

At the end, Klein flipped the black leather notebook back a few pages and began reading, in the accent of a Loen noble, a report drafted by the secretary and revised by the admiral. Based on the actual circumstances and Amyrius’s habitual phrasing, he added a few “connecting phrases” and “pet expressions,” such as “There are also the following points,” and “I will add a few more points.”

By the time the meeting ended, evening had already arrived. Accompanied by Secretary Luan, Klein left the Olavi base and headed for the residence of a naval agent to attend a banquet.

At the banquet, they chatted casually about fluctuations in the price of port supplies. Klein, meanwhile, imitated Admiral Amyrius and told outdated Backlund jokes from time to time, drawing enthusiastic responses from everyone present, who all praised His Excellency the Admiral for being truly humorous.

After smoothly acting until the banquet ended, Klein boarded the carriage and actually felt exhausted in both body and mind.

“Having to pay attention to every word and action every second of every minute… Truly acting for a full day is even more tiring than fighting a pirate admiral…” Klein silently exhaled, half-closing his eyes without changing his expression.

He knew that the most difficult stage of the day had yet to pass.

Next, he still had to deal with Cynthia!

…

Inside the villa, Cynthia learned from a servant who had gone out to gather information that Admiral Amyrius was about to return.

She quietly returned to the bedroom, removed the small black rhinoceros-horn-like pendant, and scraped off a little powder with a thin metal blade, dissolving it into the hot water in a white-glazed porcelain cup.

After silently reciting the honorific name of the Tree of Desire seven times and waiting several dozen seconds, she lifted the cup with hope in her heart and gulped it down.