Chapter 14: The Fool’s Sigh

Chapter 14: The Fool’s Sigh

When the name Gehrman Sparrow was heard, all the members on both sides of the bronze long table turned their gazes toward The World, seated at the very bottom. No one spoke. No one interrupted.

More or less, they all knew that Gehrman Sparrow, this mad adventurer, had once again done something major by killing Hell Admiral Ludwell. But Justice Audrey did not believe that this was the main reason for the abnormalities in his mental state.

Their reaction caused Star Leonard to instantly understand a fact: every person in the Tarot Club knew that The World was Gehrman Sparrow!

Klein’s disguise really is good… But why did he let the other members know about the identity of Gehrman Sparrow? In a gathering like this, hiding one’s background should be common sense, no? Amid Leonard’s puzzlement, he heard The World’s blurry figure ask in a hoarse voice,

“What clues does MI9 have?”

Judgement Xio answered frankly, without the slightest shame of selling out MI9.

“They have confirmed that the identity of Gehrman Sparrow was forged, and that its source is in Backlund.”

Indeed. Before that, he was Sherlock Moriarty. When he left Backlund, he became Gehrman Sparrow. But Sherlock Moriarty also wasn’t his true identity… Leonard subconsciously looked around and discovered that although the other members were not particularly astonished, they did not show expressions of realization either. He therefore believed that their understanding of Klein was only at the most superficial level.

Under Klein’s control, The World, Gehrman Sparrow, gave a low laugh and responded to Miss Judgement’s information:

“There is no need to pay attention to this matter.”

To him, if they wanted to find out who had been given the fake identity of Gehrman Sparrow, the prerequisite would be capturing the Mystery Queen, Bernadette, or obtaining information about Sharron from her. Clearly, this was so difficult that it was almost impossible to accomplish!

By comparison, starting from the cases involving Sherlock Moriarty, the great detective, as Leonard had done, would lead to more discoveries. Since MI9 had chosen the wrong direction, Klein was happy to see them gallop onward along that path.

Mr. World is very certain, very confident… Xio withdrew her gaze and said no more.

At that time, Justice Audrey considered briefly before asking,

“Mr. World, will you still return to Backlund afterward? Will you continue using the identity of Dwayne Dantès?”

As a qualified Psychiatrist, she certainly would not tell the other members of the Tarot Club that The World had developed psychological issues. She merely wanted to confirm whether the other party would still go to the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation. If he did, she could make contact in the real world at close range and conduct a better follow-up consultation.

She mentioned Dwayne Dantès openly because the original members of the gathering all knew about this matter, while Mr. Star was clearly familiar with Mr. World, and Xio had been informed in advance by Fors.

Ah… Hearing Miss Justice’s words, Leonard almost could not believe his own ears. For a moment, he was a little dazed.

Klein Moretti is also Dwayne Dantès?

I once personally asked Dwayne Dantès about Klein Moretti…

No, impossible. Dwayne Dantès is an undying monster who survived from the Fourth Epoch! His behavior at the time completely proved that point!

The Old Man said so too!

At this moment, Leonard completely failed to control the changes in his emotions, instinctively rejecting the fact pointed out in Miss Justice’s words.

If the present him were not merely an astral body, he felt that his expression would certainly be very obvious—turning red, then white, then white, then red.

Across from Leonard, Xio also raised her head and looked in astonishment toward Mr. World at the very bottom of the bronze long table.

He is Dwayne Dantès? Dwayne Dantès is Gehrman Sparrow?

I accepted a commission from his butler… I protected him before… I pitied him before…

He could crush me to death with one hand…

Xio then turned her head and glared at Fors.

I didn’t dare say too much about Mr. World. I could only roughly mention a little… Magician Fors guiltily shifted her gaze away and silently muttered to herself. The Hanged Man Alger and The Hermit Cattleya read something from the reactions of the two:

Miss Judgement and Miss Magician knew each other in the real world.

Miss Judgement had once had dealings with Dwayne Dantès but did not know he was Gehrman Sparrow.

As a senior Spectator, Audrey naturally also noticed the abnormalities in Star and Judgement. She immediately understood that she had made too many assumptions.

Audrey, you need to reflect! she said to herself inwardly in embarrassment. Then, before Mr. World could speak, she tried to make up for it:

“Dwayne Dantès is a public identity. Sometimes it is Mr. World, and sometimes it is another favored one of Mr. Fool.”

So that’s it… That makes sense! Star Leonard’s spirits lifted. He accepted Miss Justice’s explanation instantly, and from it he thought through many things:

The Dwayne Dantès during the period before someone entered Chanis Gate at Saint Samuel Cathedral should have been Klein. Earlier and later, it would have been some other favored one of Mr. Fool… That Death Consul? As expected, he is an undying monster who survived from the Fourth Epoch, an old friend of the Old Man…

Mm, it may also be a favored one I do not know, but his status cannot be low either… Uh, what does “another favored one” mean? Does that mean Klein also counts as a favored one of Mr. Fool?

No wonder Mr. Fool said that his way of coming here and joining the gathering was different from mine… Because they are both favored ones, both possess Mr. Fool’s grace and the same ancient aura, the Old Man did not discover that Dwayne Dantès was played by different people?

This also explains my earlier question. As a favored one, Gehrman Sparrow does not need to keep his identity secret…

To Judgement Xio, however, whether Dwayne Dantès was a public identity, and whether he was Gehrman Sparrow, were not the issues she cared about. The reason she had reacted so strongly was that after understanding the truth, she felt ashamed and annoyed by all the thoughts and mental states she had had at the time.

Seeing the atmosphere return to normal, Klein inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and manipulated The World, Gehrman Sparrow, to answer Miss Justice’s question.

“Yes.

“When the time comes, there may be certain matters that require your assistance.”

When he spoke the second half of the sentence, The World’s gaze swept over Justice, Magician, Judgement, Star, and Moon.

He… he is planning something in Backlund? Audrey immediately understood Mr. World’s meaning. For a moment, she felt inexplicably excited, yet also a little worried.

She was excited because she was about to join a secret operation in which, on the surface, all participants appeared to have no possibility of cooperation and might not even “know” one another. This was something she had never experienced but had always longed for. What worried her was whether this would threaten Backlund’s stability or endanger innocent people.

As for her own risk, she was not too worried. She believed that the task Mr. World assigned to her would most likely be at the edges, either providing key intelligence or delivering a fatal misdirection to the target, with no need to participate directly in battle.

Moon Emlyn was the second member to understand the hidden meaning in The World’s words, and this was due to his instinctive dislike of trouble.

Will that be very troublesome… He frowned in thought and did not speak.

While the other members gradually understood one after another, The Hanged Man Alger took a deep look at The World, Gehrman Sparrow, then changed the subject.

“I recently received some intelligence. Ince Zangwill, the archbishop who defected from the Church of Evernight, was killed in West Balam. Before that, he had already become a demigod, and the Sealed Artifact 0-08 that he stole has fallen into unknown hands. The only thing that can be confirmed is that the ones who handled the battlefield were members of the Church of Evernight.”

Mr. Hanged Man really is well-informed… It has only been a few days… The Church should be keeping this strictly confidential… However, there may have been people from other forces who arrived at that square at the time… Star Leonard was stunned briefly and did not reply.

Justice Audrey and the others were all hearing this news for the first time. They could only determine from phrases such as archbishop, 0-08, and demigod that this was an extremely significant matter. But it had little to do with them personally, and there was no particular point to stimulate them, so it did not spark much interest. Among them, The Hermit Cattleya, having a relatively deep understanding of Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts, planned to separately exchange information on this matter with the Mystery Queen and the higher-ups of the Moses Ascetic Order after returning to the real world.

In the brief silence, The Fool, Klein, suddenly reached out and lightly tapped the table.

He felt it necessary to remind the members of something:

In the coming years, the tide of the era would roll forward!

Amid the knocking sound, all the members instantly straightened their backs—or straightened them even more—and simultaneously turned toward the head of the bronze long table. Even the newly joined Star Leonard and Judgement Xio did not hesitate, making the corresponding movement almost by instinct.

Then they heard the distant, lofty figure within the gray fog chuckle and say:

“The era has changed because of this.”

The era has changed because of this? Ince Zangwill’s matter is actually that important, that crucial? Although it involved a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact… The Hanged Man Alger, who had shared the news, had not expected Mr. Fool to give such an evaluation. For a moment, he did not know in what direction he should begin making associations.

Star Leonard, who had participated in the Ince Zangwill incident, felt the same way. He knew how important and terrifying Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts were, but he had never imagined that what happened that day would change the era.

While Justice Audrey and the others were astonished and bewildered, their spirits all lifted. Even Sun Derrick could not help revealing a posture of waiting for what would follow.

The Fool, Klein, swept his gaze around and said, half-smiling, half-sighing,

“Adam is now closer to divinity.”