Chapter 61: A Strange Symbol

Chapter Sixty-One
A Strange Symbol

“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…”

Audrey Hall silently repeated those three descriptions. In her heart, a storm rose violently, and she could no longer maintain the Spectator state.

As a lover of mysticism, before being pulled into this gray-fog space, she had never formally come into contact with extraordinary power. Yet during private gatherings with nobles who shared her interests, they would still exchange all sorts of information whose authenticity was unknown. They would learn Hermes used in sacrifices and try certain rituals others mentioned.

Without exception, those rituals had produced no effect. But they had still given Audrey some understanding of the standard structure of incantations.

Therefore, she clearly understood what the three-part description the Fool had spoken represented in other rituals.

It represented—it pointed toward—the seven gods who looked down over the world!

It was almost equivalent to “Lord of Crimson, Mother of Concealment, Empress of Misfortune and Horror.”

Is Mr. Fool an unknown, hidden existence—powerful as a god—just as Glaint and the others once mentioned? Is he a dangerous source that one must carefully avoid in rituals?

Audrey quickly recalled the sighs of her friends when they wanted to attempt certain strange rituals yet dared not. For a moment, she could not speak at all.

Alger Wilson, who knew and understood more than she did, began to tremble from the depths of his heart.

If the ritual magic designed by the Fool can truly point to Him and allow Him to receive our requests, then—then He must be addressed with the respectful third-person form used for gods and similar existences…

How fortunate. How wise. I have always acted cooperatively, never doing anything foolish. Even when I probed, I kept it within the normal range…

He may be an ancient, hidden, terrifying existence, only not appearing before us in His original form or true name… The Primordial Demoness? The Hidden Sage? Or the True Creator worshipped by several mysterious cults?

Alger understood that the Fool he currently saw was not necessarily His true appearance. The other party might not even possess a gender. He might not even be humanoid.

Klein supported his forehead with one hand and lightly tapped the edge of the bronze long table with the other. He keenly sensed the changes in the Hanged Man and Justice.

But he pretended nothing had happened, presenting a posture that said everything was within expectation, and continued speaking on his own.

“I pray for your help.

“I pray for your favor.

“I pray that you allow me to have a good dream.

“Deep-sleep flower, herb belonging to the red moon, please pass your strength into my incantation.

“Bergamot, herb belonging to the sun, please pass your strength into my incantation.

“…”

He described the incantation belonging to another format line by line. Finally, he smiled.

“Lady and gentleman, have you memorized it?”

“Ah…”

Audrey gave a soft cry, hurriedly covering her mouth, then began seriously recalling.

Relying on the powerful memory of a Spectator, she quickly finished recording it and repeated it aloud for confirmation.

Alger behaved far more normally than she did. Regardless of what he thought inwardly, the fountain pen in his hand never stopped.

After confirming Audrey’s record, Klein smiled faintly.

“If this attempt succeeds, then next time, you can slightly alter the incantation and achieve the effect we want.

“By Wednesday at the latest, I hope you can find time to complete this ritual.”

He planned to enter this place again on Thursday evening to confirm whether the ritual magic was effective.

The reason he did not have the Hanged Man and Justice pray directly for “absence” was that Klein worried he would be unable to distinguish whether they truly wanted to ask for leave, or were merely testing the ritual magic. When the time came, should he pull them in or not?

“I shall follow your will,” Audrey and Alger answered respectfully, gathering their emotions.

“According to the Hanged Man’s suggestion last time, after proper business comes casual conversation. Who would like to begin?”

Klein made an inviting gesture.

Audrey pondered for a moment and said, “Mr. Fool, the suggestion you gave last time—using examinations for selection, separating administrative affairs from politics—has won the approval of quite a few members of parliament. Perhaps it really may become reality. Of course, with the Kingdom government’s efficiency, the earliest a concrete plan might appear would be half a year later.”

She was not worried that the Hanged Man could trace her identity through this matter, because she had merely guided things casually by chance and allowed those proud ladies to believe that their own brilliant minds had taken effect. They had then become impatient to boast before their husbands, fathers, and brothers.

At that moment, Audrey felt she had seen one golden peacock after another spreading its tail.

She believed those ladies would constantly suggest the matter to themselves, attribute the honor to themselves, and completely forget her role, arguing among one another over who had first proposed it.

And to influence the Kingdom’s situation through such a subtle method gave Audrey a strange sense of accomplishment. It felt as though she had discovered how a Spectator could also affect the plot of a play.

“May it be so,” the Hanged Man, Alger, answered in a mocking tone.

He paused for several seconds, glanced at the Fool at the head of the bronze long table, and chose his words carefully.

“In recent decades, the number of activities by various secret organizations has shown an upward trend. There have even appeared several new, organized groups that possess a certain amount of extraordinary power.”

Are you trying to fish the reason out of me? I have not even begun looking into the files on “illegal organizations”…

Klein merely smiled. He did not comment on the Hanged Man’s information. Instead, he said with deliberate ambiguity, “Some ancient powers are awakening.”

For example, the power represented by the Antigonus family notebook…

“Is that so…”

Alger murmured, seemingly thinking of something.

Klein swept his gaze over the Hanged Man and Justice, then said with a smile, “If there is nothing else to share, today’s gathering ends here.”

“I shall follow your will.”

Audrey and Alger rose at the same time.

Klein moved his fingers and severed the connection with the crimson stars, watching as the two figures vanished from the towering palace.

He stood and turned to the back of his own high-backed chair—the seat at the head of the bronze long table—and looked at the constellation symbol there.

The brilliant stars were linked into a strange symbol, one outside the current scope of Klein’s mystical knowledge.

He carefully identified it for a while. From within it, he saw the “Pupil-less Eye” symbolizing concealment, and the “Distorted Lines” symbolizing change. Each lacked a portion of itself, overlapping with the other to form a new symbolic sign.

“Incomplete concealment, incomplete change… Added together, what does that mean?”

Klein frowned and whispered, unable for now to think of an answer.

He withdrew his gaze and began walking around the magnificent, ancient temple, not allowing his line of sight to miss any corner.

“When I first imagined this place, it was a random, casual thought. I gave only a rough concept and never described the precise shape of the palace, the long table, or the chairs… Then what is their appearance based on? An optimized choice? An initial template? Or a reflection of reality?”

As he looked around, Klein suddenly thought of a problem he had previously overlooked.

Sigh. I have to admit, as a keyboard powerhouse, I truly lack experience in many matters. I am not sensitive enough, which makes me notice things only after the fact…

With this self-reflection in mind, Klein began carefully inspecting the area above the gray fog and around the temple. He found no other living beings and discovered nothing else strange.

As for the more distant area, the illusory place that seemed boundless and endless, he did not yet dare enter too deeply, afraid he might lose himself there completely.

“Hoo. This place is indeed full of mysteries… I wonder whether there will be new changes once I become stronger…”

Klein sighed, unfolded his spirituality, enveloped himself, and simulated the sensation of rapid descent.

Everything swiftly flowed past. All kinds of illusions shattered into pieces. He pierced through the gray-white fog and saw the real world: the desk inside his bedroom, the curtains, and the coat rack.

…

Backlund, Queen’s Borough.

Audrey saw the oil painting hanging on the wall and felt the softness of the velvet pillow.

She did not rise immediately. Instead, she carefully reviewed today’s gathering, as though watching a play unfold again.

“When Mr. Fool spoke of trying that ritual, when he gave the descriptive incantation involving the mysterious ruler and the King of Yellow and Black, his tone carried a certain confidence… Confidence…”

Audrey, silently analyzing, suddenly inhaled. Her body trembled slightly.

Forget it. Since I cannot resist, there is no point thinking about it… Mr. Fool has always behaved kindly. He should be an orderly existence…

Audrey’s mood quickly improved. She thought of her acting, and of the weak backlash from the potion.

Humming a light melody, she left the large bed and walked toward the door, actively adjusting her state and becoming a Spectator.

Opening the door, she saw a maid passing by the opposite side. She noticed the calluses on the maid’s hands, the sunspots on her face, and many similar details. From them, she could infer quite a number of things.

Just then, Audrey suddenly sensed something and hurriedly turned her head toward the shadowed corner away from the balcony.

She saw Susie the golden retriever crouching there, quietly observing her—just as she observed the maid.

Goddess…

The corner of Audrey’s mouth twitched. She very much wanted to cover her face and let out a long sigh.

…

On the Sonia Sea, within the heavily protected captain’s cabin.

Alger woke and discovered that nothing around him had changed. It was as though nothing had happened at all.

He sighed and said silently to himself:

“An ancient existence?”

…

Having exited the ritual, Klein pulled open the curtains, took out his notebook, and began writing once more.

He recalled the contents of Emperor Roselle’s diary pages, using this method of recording to deepen the impression, so that he would not forget them in the future.

After finishing, he read them again and again. In the end, however, he still tore up the notes he had silently written from memory and burned them cleanly.

If I do this once every week, I should not forget the key points… It is only that as time passes, the task will become heavier and heavier… What a pity. I have not studied cryptography…

Klein gathered his thoughts, stretched his neck, and planned to go out to the Divination Club.

After all, in different people’s minds, the standard of a “Seer” was different. No one could say that someone else was definitely wrong. Therefore, Klein did not yet know what kind of “Seer” best matched the requirements of the potion. He could only calibrate and determine it through practice again and again.