Chapter 181: A False Alarm

Chapter 181: A False Alarm

Hearing Anderson’s question, Klein did not know how to answer for a moment. He could hardly tell the man that he had fallen out of a dream suspected to belong to the Queen of Mysteries.

He looked indifferently at the unlucky “Strongest Hunter,” raised his right hand, and pointed upward.

“So that’s how it is…” Anderson Hood nodded, as though enlightened.

Just what exactly did you think of…? Even I don’t know what I was trying to express… Klein’s mouth moved almost imperceptibly. He changed the subject, recalling what had just happened.

“I met someone earlier…”

“Not someone we know? Not a member of the Future? The one who previously opened a door and walked out from the depths of this hall?” Anderson suddenly grew excited.

This fellow has none of the bearing of the Strongest Hunter. He’s practically a tabloid reporter chasing a hot story… Klein lampooned silently. Without answering, he said directly, “She asked me to pass you a prophecy.”

“She… what prophecy?” Anderson was somewhat surprised.

If I were using the identity of Klein Moretti right now, I’d answer, “Sorry, I forgot. She only said it once”… Klein imagined a prank that would never happen, then said in a low voice, “The deadliest danger is often hidden in the most ordinary life.”

Anderson listened seriously. Then he hissed and said, “That sentence is simply too true! I nearly drank myself stupid earlier. Who could have imagined that most of the alcohol aboard the Future had something wrong with it?”

He pondered for a few more seconds and asked, not fully reassured, “That’s all?

“You didn’t forget any details, or any crucial words?”

I feel like you’re provoking me… Klein ignored Anderson Hood and walked to the entrance of the mural hall, looking out toward Frank, Nina, and the others outside.

Earlier, in the library, the Queen of Mysteries had suddenly pointed out that he was the Hero Bandit “Black Emperor,” inevitably placing him in a passive position. Then he had tried to disrupt the other party’s rhythm and not follow her baton. Therefore, his mind had remained extremely tense the entire time. All his thoughts had been focused on how to respond and how to clash in words. He had neither the time nor the opportunity to review the entire process and dig out details he had failed to savor. Now, at last, he had that leisure.

“First, the most important question—the one I must immediately figure out—is this: to what extent does the Queen of Mysteries understand my identity and Roselle’s diary?

“Mm… She thinks I possess a method to interpret the script Emperor Roselle created, not the script itself. Although the difference between those two meanings isn’t too great, it is enough to prove that she has no way of imagining, and no clues pointing toward, the deeper layer of truth that both the Emperor and I are transmigrators.

“Miss Sharron isn’t a newcomer who has only just entered mysticism circles or only just encountered complicated matters. When she looked for someone to help forge an identity for me, she couldn’t possibly have revealed who the commissioner was. And the photograph I provided used Gehrman Sparrow’s appearance…

“In other words, the Queen of Mysteries has not concluded that Sherlock Moriarty equals Gehrman Sparrow. Right. If she had already understood that, then just as I thought earlier, a better way to address me would have been Mr. Sherlock Moriarty, the ‘Black Emperor.’ The blow that would have dealt to my psychological defenses would have been three to five times greater than directly calling me the Hero Bandit ‘Black Emperor.’

“From her perspective, how did she find useful information among all those scattered clues?

“She knew that bookmark was the Black Emperor card, so she linked the ghostlike Hero Bandit ‘Black Emperor’ with the strange spirit body that stole the Card of Blasphemy from the Kingdom Museum. Then, because the King of the Five Seas, Nast, abruptly appeared in the waters of the Rorsted Archipelago, she used the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence to suspect that the Hero Bandit ‘Black Emperor’ might also have appeared in Bayam, in the archipelago.

“Through investigation, she discovered the familiar identity Gehrman Sparrow and, from the consistency between his activity trail and the Hero Bandit ‘Black Emperor’s,’ made a guess, pursued it all the way here, secretly boarded the Future, and observed me at close range.

“That is logical, but parts of it rely on certain coincidences. Nast, the King of the Five Seas, can appear wherever he wants. Perhaps he suddenly missed some lady in the Red Theater and had his ship pass through the spirit world into the Rorsted Archipelago. Perhaps Bayam happened to contain a High-Sequence Beyonder ingredient from the Black Emperor pathway that strongly attracted him… None of that can directly point to the Hero Bandit ‘Black Emperor.’

“Of course, it isn’t incomprehensible for the Queen of Mysteries to make such an association. Perhaps when it comes to clues regarding important matters, she would rather be wrong than let one slip. Heh, that is a good habit. It’s just very tiring.

“Also, she most likely didn’t lock onto Gehrman Sparrow from the beginning. But in the waters of the Rorsted Archipelago, in Bayam, the City of Generosity, the crazy adventurer Gehrman Sparrow’s fame was quite resounding. As soon as she heard that name and compared the timing, she could make a basic judgment.

“Sigh. It’s still better to keep a low profile. Fortunately, the acting is finally over. In the future, I can let the identity of Gehrman Sparrow disappear!” Klein went through the entire matter and felt that he had more or less clarified the issue.

However, he had another thought, another guess:

When Admiral of Stars Cattleya received Gehrman Sparrow aboard the ship, her actions had been far too high-profile. It had been as though she feared others would not know that the crazy adventurer was cooperating with her!

“Perhaps she was sending a certain hint. Then the Queen of Mysteries came, learned of Gehrman Sparrow, figured out my activity trail at sea, and thus had a comparison, had a judgment. She may have been bluffing me, but she was actually quite certain!” Klein put one hand in his pocket and walked out of the mural hall, heading straight toward Admiral of Stars Cattleya outside the black monastery. He intended to take advantage of her half-dreaming, half-awake state and directly ask for the answer.

By this point, he had actually relaxed quite a bit. The Queen of Mysteries clearly only knew that Gehrman Sparrow equaled the Hero Bandit “Black Emperor,” and that he was a Beyonder serving a certain powerful figure. It did not involve more hidden matters.

“Even if she also connects the great detective Sherlock Moriarty, who appeared nearby on the night the Black Emperor card was stolen, to the matter, the problem still isn’t too serious.

“From very early on, I have been equating Sherlock Moriarty with The World, with a Blessed of The Fool. Gehrman Sparrow belongs to an extension of that identity. Heh heh, this was exactly preparation for similar situations. I always felt I could not treat others like fools. As long as a person is active, has a trail, and has interpersonal interactions, something will always be exposed. Therefore, I prepared this layer of identity ahead of time for those intelligent people, and in daily life I strictly followed the corresponding setting.

“And it is completely understandable and acceptable for the Blessed of a powerful figure to have a preliminary understanding of Roselle’s diary. It belongs to a normal blessing from a particular existence.

“Heh. Didn’t expect that, did you? Beneath the mask is still another mask!”

Amid the whirl of thoughts, Klein also felt that the gray fog’s assistance and his own caution had played no small part. If he had not sensed the gaze upon him in advance and instinctively obeyed the will of his heart, he might have summoned his messenger right under the Queen of Mysteries’ gaze.

The messenger itself wouldn’t expose anything. The fear is that the Queen of Mysteries might have a way to track it, find Mr. Azik, and dig out my Klein Moretti identity from his recent movements… Klein crossed the square where many gigantic arrows had been embedded, left the black monastery, and saw Admiral of Stars Cattleya still sitting with her arms around her knees, gazing at the stunning view beneath dusk.

Klein leaped onto the boulder and arrived beside the withered yellow tree. While looking toward the magnificent complex of buildings on the opposite mountain, he asked in a seemingly casual manner, “When you displayed the starlight bridge in Nas and created a path for me to board the ship, did that contain some other purpose?”

Cattleya tilted her head slightly and said, “I won’t tell you!”

“…” For a moment, Klein truly did not know how to respond.

He had originally thought that Admiral of Stars in the dream world would be very honest. He had not expected this sort of situation. Of course, this was also a kind of honesty—only, what was honest was her personality.

After two seconds of silence, Klein decided to bluff her.

“You wanted to use that method to tell a certain person that I was worth paying attention to?”

Cattleya exhaled. Her posture, sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees, did not change.

“More or less.

“The main purpose was to tell others that, if I encountered a relatively serious problem or showed an obvious abnormality, you would be one clue.”

As expected… Klein sighed inwardly.

He could understand that Admiral of Stars had taken small measures for self-preservation, but as The Fool, this was behavior that had to be tapped down.

However, he could not directly use this specific incident to make a fuss. That would make The Fool appear too protective of His Blessed, and His posture insufficiently lofty… Mm, Admiral of Stars has certainly done more than this one little thing. I can treat this series of actions as a whole and issue a vague warning… Klein quickly formed a line of thought. He was no longer especially flustered by what had happened in the dream world.

As for the Queen of Mysteries’ proposal, he did not even consider it.

Emperor Roselle’s diary contained matters about transmigration and Earth. If he taught the Queen of Mysteries how to interpret it and she discovered that point, she could make even more fatal guesses!

She is wary of the powerful figure behind me, someone who can casually lend out even the Sea God Scepter, so she won’t act too forcefully. If I truly need her help someday, or if she gets hold of some other leverage over me, I can agree to translate a few key diary pages she wants to know about—but I absolutely cannot teach her Chinese. Mm, even when translating, I must mix in some water, use approximate words, and only guarantee that the key meaning is correct. That way, she can’t use it to reverse-engineer the language… Klein withdrew his gaze and casually asked Admiral of Stars Cattleya, “Rumor says that you and the Queen of Mysteries have already fallen out, but from what I have observed, that is not the case.”

A vivid change suddenly appeared on Cattleya’s confused face. She pressed her lips together and said, “What right do I have to fall out with her?

“I am only someone who was banished.”

Banished… Klein was just about to ask more when dazzling sunlight poured in, naturally waking him.

Looking at the brilliant sky outside, he wiped his forehead and silently muttered to himself, “What a frightening dream.”

Putting away his sigh, Klein got out of bed and went to the deck area. He continued observing their surroundings, waiting for mermaids to appear.

Nearly an hour later, he finally heard fine, ethereal singing drift over with the waves from afar.