Chapter 35: Exchanging News

Chapter Thirty-Five
Exchanging News

Roselle Gustav’s secret diary?

Emperor Roselle?

Audrey was first stunned. Then, almost immediately, she discovered that she did not feel surprised at all.

As expected. Only a matter like this would be worthy of a powerhouse on Mr. Fool’s level…

It was said that Emperor Roselle had once seen the Blasphemy Slate. It was said that the secret deck of cards he created concealed the twenty-two pathways of the divine. This was the kind of matter every high-sequence powerhouse would surely care about.

“Diary? That was a diary?”

Alger frowned slightly, keenly catching a detail.

Mr. Fool had used a tone of certainty when calling Roselle Gustav’s relics “diaries.”

How did he know?

How had he confirmed it?

Could he have mastered a way to interpret “Roselle’s secret script”?

Facing the Hanged Man’s question, Klein, having achieved the effect he wanted, leaned back against his chair and clasped his hands together. In a relaxed tone, he answered, “For now, let us treat it as a diary.”

He neither denied nor confirmed anything.

“It is said that Emperor Roselle’s, mm, diary was written in secret characters—or symbols—that he invented himself?”

Audrey had heard other noble children mention this matter, but had never truly seen it. For a moment, curiosity stirred in her.

“Yes,” Alger answered simply. “Some believe it to be a unique set of mystical symbols. Others believe it to be a kind of pictographic script. But even today, no one has found the correct method of interpretation, at least so far as I know.”

As he reached the end, he turned his head toward Klein, as if seeking some confirmation—or suspecting something.

That writing had already evolved through generation after generation, and no longer retained its earliest pictographic form. Thinking along your lines, how could anyone possibly decipher it…

Klein calmly scoffed inwardly.

As for the idea of treating it as mystical symbols, it instantly made him imagine a ridiculous, absurdly funny scene:

An evil mage dressed in a black hooded robe rolls up his sleeve, revealing symbols tattooed on his arm—symbols said to have come from Emperor Roselle’s relics and to possess mystical power. They are two large, blue-green simplified Chinese characters:

“Dumbass!”

The corners of Klein’s mouth slowly lifted. His mood became better and better.

After listening to the Hanged Man’s explanation, Audrey spoke with some difficulty.

“Symbols or characters that we cannot understand… Then how are we supposed to recite them here for you, Mr. Fool? Or should we send them to some place?”

That really is an important question…

I still do not have any hidden channel capable of receiving physical objects…

Klein did not rush to answer. His clasped thumbs separated, touched again, separated again, and touched once more.

Very quickly, he found a direction.

Since I can create this temple, table, and chairs here according to my thoughts, can I make others directly imprint the contents that appear in their minds?

Let us try…

At that moment, Audrey and Alger saw Mr. Fool, his whole body shrouded in dense gray fog, slowly sit upright.

“Miss Justice, let us perform an experiment. Imagine a piece of writing, and give yourself a strong desire to write it down. Mm. Take the fountain pen beside you and write on the paper.”

Before Klein had finished speaking, Audrey saw a sheet of yellow-brown parchment and a dark-red fountain pen appear before her.

Puzzled yet curious, she picked up the pen. Following his instruction, she imagined a line of poetry that Emperor Roselle had once written:

“If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”

After examining the line in her mind, she picked up the fountain pen and formed the desire to present it completely.

Klein felt that “emotion.” Using the fountain pen as a medium, he guided it.

No sooner had Audrey lowered the pen than a line of words appeared on the parchment:

“If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”

“Goddess, this is amazing!”

Audrey spoke in shock, full of feeling.

Then she looked at Klein with a hint of fear.

“Mr. Fool, can you read the thoughts in my mind?”

“No. I am only a guide. I simplified the process by which you write the words out, turning it into a kind of imprint. If you yourself do not wish to express something, and are not willing to express it, then no trace will appear.”

Klein used his low voice to soothe her.

“I see… Then as long as we remember the shape of those symbols or secret characters, we can directly present them here according to our own will?”

Audrey relaxed and asked in sudden understanding.

“Yes,” Klein answered briefly.

“This is a very good method. Miss Justice, do not doubt your memory. After becoming a Spectator, you will obtain a considerable improvement in that regard,” Alger said after watching the experiment. He felt that the Fool was even more mysterious and powerful than he had imagined.

As for his own memory, he believed that with future advancement, it would improve sufficiently.

Audrey nodded happily.

“That is a very welcome hint, Mr. Hanged Man. Regarding Spectator, is there anything else you can teach me?”

At this point, she turned toward the head of the table.

“Mr. Fool, I will work hard to complete your commission and collect as many pages of Emperor Roselle’s secret diary as possible.”

“I have said before that I am someone who likes equivalent exchange. The advance payment just now is equivalent to two pages of diary per person. If there are additional pages, I will give additional compensation,” Klein said calmly, in a tone that suggested he did not take advantage of children.

As for where the additional compensation would come from—of course, from newly acquired pages of Emperor Roselle’s secret diary. This would form a healthy cycle.

“You are a generous gentleman.”

After several seconds of silence, Alger placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly.

After the salute, he turned to Justice.

“I will emphasize it once more. A spectator is always only a spectator.

“I know many spectators like to imagine themselves as the protagonist or some other character, investing a great amount of emotion—crying with the play, laughing with the play, growing angry or sorrowful with the play. But that is not what you, as a Spectator, should do.

“Facing the plays of secular society, facing those people who consciously or unconsciously act out one role after another, you must maintain the attitude of an absolute observer. Only then can you examine them calmly and objectively. You will discover their habitual gestures, notice the verbal tics they reveal when lying, smell the scent of their nervousness, and from all manner of tiny clues, grasp their true thoughts.

“Believe me: under different emotions, every person naturally secretes different things and gives off different scents. But only a true Spectator can smell them.

“Once you invest your own emotions, your observation will be affected, and your perception of other people’s emotions will deviate.”

Audrey listened earnestly, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

“That sounds very, very, very interesting!”

At the head of the table, Klein felt his heart stir.

The requirement of the Spectator potion, summed up simply, seems to be: “be an absolutely neutral spectator.”

That is, to a certain extent, a kind of acting…

Acting?

Could Roselle’s “acting” mean something like this?

Then do I need to act as a Seer in order to slowly digest my potion?

While Klein fell into thought, Alger finished explaining everything he knew about the requirements of Spectator. After pondering briefly, he said, “It seems there is nothing else?”

“Perhaps we can simply chat and talk about what is happening around us. News that feels ordinary to one person may be a very important clue to someone else,” he added.

“Acceptable.”

Klein came back to himself and nodded slightly.

He had already decided to try acting as a Seer. At the very least, it did not seem likely to cause any negative effects.

“Then shall we begin with you, Mr. Hanged Man?” Audrey agreed with considerable interest.

Alger thought for a moment and said, “That great pirate who calls himself Admiral Ludwell has once again begun a voyage to explore the eastern end of the Sonia Sea.”

“Mm. The owner of the Black Tulip?” Audrey asked after thinking it over.

“Yes,” Alger replied with a nod.

I have no idea who that is…

Klein listened without speaking. Meanwhile, he considered what kind of news he should mention—news that would not expose him, yet might yield useful intelligence in return.

Very quickly, he made his decision. Maintaining the Fool’s profound image, he rubbed the edge of the bronze long table with his fingers and said, “As far as I know, the Secret Order has lost a notebook belonging to the Antigonus family.”

This was not information known only by the Nighthawks of Tingen. The Secret Order itself, as well as Beyonders closely connected to them, likewise knew it.

“The Antigonus family’s notebook?”

Alger repeated the words, then gave a low laugh and shook his head.

“I am truly curious how the Church of the Evernight Goddess will react after learning this news.”

Why specifically mention the Church of the Evernight Goddess?

Klein keenly noticed the problem, but could not ask directly.

That would damage the Fool’s mysterious and unfathomable image.

At that moment, Audrey asked in confusion, “Why are you curious about that? Will the Goddess’s church have some special reaction?”

Alger smiled.

“The Antigonus family was destroyed precisely by the Church of the Evernight Goddess.

“As for whether that happened at the end of the Fourth Epoch or the beginning of the present epoch, I am not too clear.”

This…

Klein’s pupils contracted. A chill suddenly welled up inside him.

“In that case, the Nighthawks value that Antigonus family notebook far more than I imagined.

“The reason they suggested that I become a Beyonder—‘some merit’ and ‘preventing danger’ should be only a small part of it. What they truly hope is that my inspiration will improve, which will help find the notebook.

“The Captain did not hide this. He did mention it. I just did not pay it enough attention at the time…”

After listening to the Hanged Man’s explanation, Audrey spoke with strong interest.

“I never expected there to be such a matter…

“All right, it is my turn. Let me think of what to say.”

She tilted her head slightly, pressed a hand to her forehead, and said with a soft laugh, “Yesterday, my etiquette teacher taught me how to faint—how to faint gracefully and without losing politeness. It is a practical technique for escaping awkward situations and hateful people at social occasions… Hehe. I was organizing my words just now. What I truly wanted to say is this: ever since the defeat in the war on the eastern coast of Balam, the king, the prime minister, and all the gentlemen have felt tremendous pressure. They have an urgent desire for change.”

Note:
The poetic line is from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind.”