Chapter 199: An Indirect Answer

Chapter 199: An Indirect Answer

The Sun Derrick, who had become the focus of everyone’s attention, did not appear nervous. Instead, he said with unconcealed eagerness, “During this period, I followed the exploration team led by the Chief to Afternoon Town.

“This is the necessary path to the Giant King’s Court. It is the gate that separates myth from reality.”

His opening successfully drew the interest of the Tarot Club members, and each of them, in different postures, waited for what would follow.

Derrick skipped the less important experiences along the way and began directly from their arrival at Afternoon Town. First, he described its gray, lifeless, deathly silent appearance. Then he spoke of how their three-person team had discovered the altar in the basement, how he had identified the names Ouroboros, Medici, and Sasrir, and how, without realizing it, he had entered the other side of the town, where he had seen titles such as “Dark Angel” and the phrase “Rose Redemption.”

At that point, he once again thanked Mr. Fool for helping him escape.

Then Derrick briefly introduced the monsters transformed from their own shadows, focusing especially on the clergyman in the half-collapsed church who had kept confessing without end.

He repeated those sentences in his own words and mentioned that when the clergyman had been about to say the name of the fourth King of Angels, he had suddenly destroyed himself, burned into ash by transparent flames.

We’ve learned about another King of Angels! And Afternoon Town’s atmosphere really is gloomy and frightening. That clergyman’s confession was very, hmm, very much like a prophet foretelling disaster… Audrey listened with great interest, becoming extremely curious about the two names—one blanked out, and one impossible to say.

At that moment, The Sun Derrick turned sideways, looked toward the head of the bronze long table, and asked devoutly, “Mr. Fool, who tempted the Dark Angel Sasrir? And whom does the fourth name represent? Why can it not be spoken?”

Here it comes… Behind the gray fog, Klein’s smile nearly stiffened.

The reason he had hurriedly thrown Little Sun back to the real world earlier was precisely because he feared the boy would ask similar questions!

At the time, he had been worried that Little Sun would ask about the Dark Angel Sasrir. What he faced now was an even more unanswerable question.

Fortunately, a Magician did not perform without preparation. After that day, Klein had of course seriously considered how to answer similar questions. Now, he had a certain foundation in mind. His right palm lightly came to rest on the armrest, and his gaze carried a meaningful smile as he said, “Because it is concealed.”

Through his eyes and body language, he hinted to the Tarot Club members that this “concealed” was not merely concealment in the ordinary sense of the word. It contained a deeper, more specific implication. As for what exactly that implication was, they would have to comprehend it themselves. A deity’s words always hid profound meaning.

After completing that whole set of motions, Klein could not help repenting a little inwardly, feeling that he was increasingly carrying the air of a charlatan. At the same time, he also sighed that The Hermit’s prying sometimes had to be partly attributed to his own guidance. After all, Mr. Fool would use gaze and body language to provide additional hints, so all the members would subconsciously observe His attitude.

There’s no helping it. If I don’t rely on these things, how am I supposed to keep up the act… It’s not as if I’m truly an evil god! Klein sighed inwardly.

Concealed? The name itself equals concealment? Is Mr. Fool’s hint hidden right there? Uh, what names are themselves equivalent to concealment… True Gods at the level of Sequence 0? The Hanged Man Alger thought of many things in an instant and, combining them with certain matters Little Sun had previously described, reached a tentative conclusion.

When names themselves become hidden, that means the matter involves true gods. And it is very likely that the Evernight Goddess is involved, because She is the Mother of Concealment! The extremely dangerous darkness in the Forsaken Land of the Gods is a side proof of this… The Hermit Cattleya, relying on the knowledge she had mastered and Mr. Fool’s hint, made an uncertain deduction.

At the same time, she was almost certain that the great disaster the clergyman had referred to was the Cataclysm that ended the Third Epoch.

A tempted King of Angels, the fallen residents of Afternoon Town, a city-state corroded little by little, and a black “flower of disaster” blooming there—this buried an epoch and created the Forsaken Land of the Gods… What a heavy sense of history… Cattleya could not help sighing a couple of times inwardly.

While the Tarot Club members thought, The Fool Klein was also analyzing why one name had become blank and why another could not be spoken:

“Could they be the true names of gods? The one who tempted the Dark Angel Sasrir was a true god, and the King of Angels represented by the fourth name later became a true god as well?

“But it’s not as if I haven’t spoken the true names of deities before. The Primordial Demoness Cheek is widely regarded as being on the same level as the seven deities, and yet nothing happened then…

“Maybe it’s related to the language used? Loenese, Intisian, Feysacian, even ancient Feysacian, are languages that can’t stir natural forces. But the Giant language commonly used in the City of Silver can. That clergyman was likely using this kind of language.

“Should I try saying Cheek in Jotun later? Then die on the spot, successfully courting death… Forget it, forget it. Besides, one name was blanked out while the other could not be spoken, and their manifestations were different… I still don’t know the reason.”

At that moment, seeing Little Sun confused and unable to understand Mr. Fool’s meaningful hint, The Hanged Man Alger took the initiative to explain, “Those two names may represent two gods, which is why they cannot be spoken.

“Perhaps it was the True Creator who tempted the Dark Angel Sasrir, leading several Kings of Angels and the residents of Afternoon Town into depravity, bringing about a tremendous disaster. That is why only He has temples and statues in your Forsaken Land of the Gods.

“The King of Angels corresponding to the fourth name might have obtained enormous benefits from the disaster and successfully advanced to become a true god.”

That’s close to my guess, but none of it can be confirmed… The Hermit Cattleya did not add anything. She did not believe that her and The Hanged Man’s guesses necessarily represented the truth.

Justice Audrey, The Magician Fors, and The Moon Emlyn listened very seriously while involuntarily sighing inwardly. When the Tarot Club discussed such topics, it always seemed especially high-end. Kings of Angels, evil gods and true gods, ancient secrets—these were all merely terms to them.

“So that’s how it is… I understand.” The Sun Derrick seemed somewhat enlightened and once again sincerely thanked Mr. Fool.

He was about to turn back when he suddenly remembered something. Somewhat worried, he asked, “Mr. Fool, is the key to leaving the Forsaken Land of the Gods truly inside the Giant King’s Court?”

After so much time, he had already accepted Mr. Hanged Man’s explanation that the region where the City of Silver was located was the Forsaken Land of the Gods.

That’s what I believe, but the problem is that I can’t be certain… Abandoning the search for the seaside and instead exploring the Giant King’s Court should have been Shepherd Lovia’s suggestion. That can indirectly prove my judgment, but it also doesn’t rule out the possibility of a conspiracy… The Fool Klein’s smile nearly stiffened for the second time.

His thoughts raced, and he quickly found a method that would avoid giving a direct answer while not lowering Mr. Fool’s status.

Relaxed in posture, he chuckled softly and turned his head toward The Hermit Cattleya.

“Speaking of this matter, heh, Bernadette already knows how to enter the Forsaken Land of the Gods.”

Cattleya immediately recalled blurry dream images and subconsciously looked toward the head of the bronze long table.

“It is that projection?”

Before she finished speaking, she suddenly realized that she had once again been examining Mr. Fool. She hastily closed her eyes and said, “My—my Eyes of Mystery Prying are instinctive. They can only be strengthened, not deactivated. I must rely on mystical items to seal them…”

And here, there were none.

So that’s how it is… Klein lightly nodded.

“You may conjure a pair of glasses.”

“Yes, Mr. Fool.” Cattleya followed the instruction and conjured a pair of glasses.

During the process, Klein slightly leveraged the power above the gray fog and fused it into the pair of glasses.

When Cattleya put them on, she discovered, as expected, that her Eyes of Mystery Prying had been sealed.

Only then did The Magician Fors and the others understand that Madam Hermit’s eyes were extremely special and were connected to mystery prying. She did not need to activate them in order to use them!

No wonder we didn’t notice anything, yet Madam Hermit suffered such severe injuries because she pried into Mr. Fool… Justice Audrey moved her lips in sudden realization, resolving one of her earlier doubts.

And The Hanged Man Alger, thinking of how The Hermit had looked at him before and remembering that he wore the robes of a Storm Church clergyman here, nearly turned black in the face.

The Fool Klein did not wait for the members to calm their emotions. He replied to The Hermit Cattleya’s earlier question with a low laugh.

“It is that projection.

“The projection of the Giant King’s Court.”

“So that was the Giant King’s Court’s projection…” The Hermit Cattleya murmured in surprise and delight.

Immediately afterward, she thought in something of a daze:

She should know this answer too…

The Sun Derrick took several seconds to digest the conversation between Mr. Fool and Madam Hermit. Vaguely, he understood one fact: the key to entering the Forsaken Land of the Gods was related to the projection of the Giant King’s Court!

So the key to leaving the Forsaken Land of the Gods really is inside the Giant King’s Court? The Sun Derrick’s heart trembled. Somewhat excited, he lowered his head and said, “Thank you for Your answer, Mr. Fool.”

Phew… Klein silently sighed in relief, feeling that scenes like this were far too exhausting for his brain.

The Hanged Man Alger, meanwhile, gathered his emotions. He looked left and right, then turned toward The Hermit.

“Where is the projection of the Giant King’s Court?”

He did not dare ask Mr. Fool about this, because his previous question regarding the Forsaken Land of the Gods had been rejected.

Cattleya answered frankly, “It is in the sea at the easternmost edge of the Sonia Sea, within the dreams that arrive at night.

“I was planning to share some of what I saw and heard there with all of you.”

Justice Audrey and The Magician Fors both slowed their breathing at the same time, waiting with great interest for Madam Hermit to describe what would surely be a marvelous experience.