Chapter 6: Explanation

Chapter Six
Explanation

If The Fool had merely said that Roselle’s diary recorded certain simple pieces of common knowledge, The Hanged Man Alger might not have made up his mind to pay compensation for the answer. On one hand, the word simple was very damaging to curiosity. On the other, he was always guarded about exchanges with The Fool. Such matters reminded him of those examples of deals made with evil gods and demons.

But now, he knew the contents of that so-called simple common knowledge. He had developed intense interest in it, yet could not understand some of the descriptions, let alone connect them to reality and grasp them deeply. Thus, he could not restrain himself and asked with absolute respect:

“Mr. Fool, what sort of compensation do You wish to receive?”

Mm-hm, mm-hm!

Justice Audrey nodded with very small movements but very high frequency, indicating that this was also what she wanted to ask.

Although The Sun Derrick remained silent and had no extra body language, the way he unconsciously looked toward The Fool explained everything.

Klein, who had been waiting precisely for such a response, smiled and said, “Information related to the Secret Order.”

“The Secret Order…”

The Hanged Man Alger murmured the term.

He was not unfamiliar with it. He had once received payment to explain various secret organizations to Miss Justice, and the Secret Order had been among them.

Audrey and Derrick both subconsciously furrowed their brows. One because her understanding of the Secret Order was limited to what The Hanged Man had once said; the other because he had never even heard of the organization.

Klein had long expected The Sun’s reaction and was not surprised. In his conjecture, the region where the City of Silver was located should have become the Forsaken Land of the Gods sometime after the first Blasphemy Slate appeared and before the second Blasphemy Slate appeared. It belonged to a certain stage of the Third Epoch and might even have been the direct cause or expression of the Cataclysm. Meanwhile, the Zaratul family had only stepped onto the stage of history in the Fourth Epoch, and the creation of the Secret Order was even a matter of the latter half of the Fourth Epoch. There could be no overlap between the two.

If The Sun knew of the Secret Order, Klein would instead be startled. He would have to overturn certain guesses and reconstruct his understanding of the City of Silver, the Forsaken Land of the Gods, and the Zaratul family.

After more than ten seconds of silence, The Hanged Man Alger looked toward The Fool within the gray fog and carefully said, “I will accept this commission and collect and investigate matters related to the Secret Order on Your behalf.

“May You pay the compensation in advance?”

It was not strange for an existence suspected of being a deity to be interested in an ancient and secret organization. Alger had no doubts on that point.

More importantly, after many gatherings, he had gradually formed a guess in his heart: Mr. Fool’s condition was not perfect. Perhaps He was in some kind of predicament, and the various experiments He performed and the actions of His blessed ones across the Northern and Southern Continents were all intended to help Him break free of restraint and no longer be limited.

This might even involve the great secret of why the seven gods stopped descending into the real world after the Fourth Epoch…

As the thought flashed, Alger trembled slightly, feeling as if he had stepped into the realm of deities.

Hearing The Hanged Man’s request, Klein leaned back against his chair and nodded gently.

“No problem.

“If the information you gather exceeds the value of the answer, I will provide additional compensation.”

As for what counted as exceeding the answer’s value, naturally, the respected Mr. Fool would decide. If he had the ability to pay extra, then it counted. If he did not, then it did not…

Klein silently added this in his heart.

Justice Audrey’s eyes immediately brightened. She raised her hand and said, “I wish to join this transaction.”

Klein smiled.

“Of course.”

Frankly, his primary target had actually been Miss Justice. After all, she was a local Backlund resident, and she had already mixed into several Beyonder circles. In the “Land of Hope,” the breadth of her information was greater than Klein, who had just arrived in the capital, and greater than The Hanged Man, who spent long periods active at sea.

According to the revelation from his earlier divination, Klein believed that clues to the Secret Order would appear in Backlund, not somewhere else.

The Sun Derrick listened silently and said after some thought, “I am willing to use my accumulated compensation from before to exchange for the answer.”

In that previous three-way trade, he had exchanged the Sequence 8 Telepathist formula for only the Sequence 9 Bard formula. Klein had promised compensation, and at the time, Derrick had chosen to accumulate it for later potion formulas and main ingredients.

Klein nodded and gave the explanation he had prepared long ago.

“So-called neighboring Sequences refer to several pathways that can be interchanged at high Sequences.

“I will give an example. Sequence 5 Gatekeeper of the Death pathway can not only advance normally, but also choose Sequence 4 Demon Hunter of the Giant pathway, which is also the God of Combat pathway.

“This will not bring the danger of losing control, nor will it accumulate madness. It is not the same as consuming the wrong potion.

“Of course, if the Sequences are not neighboring, half-madness is the best possible outcome.”

“They can be interchanged?” Justice Audrey blurted, both surprised and delighted.

What surprised her was that Sequence pathways were not completely fixed. One did not have to walk only along the original road. If one wished to change, one did not necessarily have to pay the price of half-madness and the inability to advance ever again. Among the twenty-two pathways of the divine, special circumstances existed—neighboring Sequences existed.

As for her delight, it was because she would have the chance to choose again in the future, just like choosing interesting goods at the Phillips Department Store. That was a wonderful experience.

So that is how it is…

Alger silently murmured, feeling as though he had suddenly understood many matters and resolved many doubts accumulated through his personal experiences.

This information is truly valuable. As expected of Mr. Fool. Even what He calls simple common knowledge is enough to shock and benefit most low- and mid-Sequence Beyonders!

He sighed inwardly.

The Sun Derrick was slightly disappointed, because he had no intention of changing Sequences at all. He wanted to become the Sun who illuminated darkness and dispelled curses.

However, he quickly recalled something from the City of Silver’s past.

A former Chief, a powerhouse who had been the most likely to break through the limits of Demon Hunter, had built himself a mausoleum—a mausoleum deep beneath the ground—and had moved inside to make it his home.

Afterward, he appeared less and less frequently, until the mausoleum’s doors could no longer be opened.

At the time, the people of the City of Silver had believed that the Chief had encountered a problem during advancement, turned into a madman close to losing control, and ultimately solved himself.

Now, combining it with The Fool’s description, The Sun suddenly thought of another possibility:

Perhaps that Chief had been attempting to advance into a neighboring Sequence.

During one of his explorations deep in the darkness, he may have obtained the corresponding formula of the Death pathway, and the mausoleum may have been a special requirement… But in the end, did he still fail? But why did he not turn into a monster? In that dark mausoleum, what exactly did he encounter?

Does the City of Silver not possess the potion formula after Demon Hunter?

While thoughts surged, Derrick was suddenly awakened by Miss Justice’s deliberately reserved voice.

“Mr. Fool, I would like to ask: which pathways can the Spectator pathway interchange with at high Sequences?”

Sequence 4 Demon Hunter sounds very nice… It suits me very well. It suits Justice very well!

Audrey greatly admired the first high-Sequence name she had ever learned.

I want to know too…

Regarding Miss Justice’s question, Klein very much wanted to answer that way.

Before he could speak, Audrey added, lacking righteous confidence, “I-I can pay compensation for the answer. How many gold pounds do You think would be appropriate? I think—I think Your blessed one may need certain activity funds…”

At that point, she suddenly remembered that Mr. Fool’s blessed one had easily killed the pirate admiral Qilangos, who had possessed Creeping Hunger. The blessed one was clearly a high-Sequence powerhouse, and she nearly blurted out, “I am sorry, Mr. Fool. Pretend I never asked.”

But since I already asked, I cannot back down! Keep going, Audrey! Perhaps Mr. Fool also has comparatively weaker subordinates!

Audrey quietly bit her lip and silently encouraged herself.

Gold pounds?

Klein seriously considered it before saying, “When enough information on the Secret Order has been gathered, we will conduct that transaction.”

As he spoke, he thought of his informant inside the Psychology Alchemists, Daxter Guderian.

The Captain and I both… both… sigh… Daxter’s status as an informant can no longer be confirmed. I do not know whether this counts as tragedy or comedy… What a pity. I cannot contact him anymore. Otherwise, obtaining corresponding information about the Spectator pathway from him would be the most convenient…

The corners of Klein’s mouth lifted.

“All right,” Audrey answered happily.

Their conversation made The Hanged Man, who had intended to ask a similar question, close his mouth and wait until enough information on the Secret Order had been gathered.

After several seconds of brief silence, Audrey turned her head to glance at Mr. Fool and raised her hand with very small movements.

After receiving an approving nod, she looked toward the member opposite her and asked with expectation, “Mr. Hanged Man, my information allowed you to deal with Vice Admiral Hurricane. Have you prepared the complete pituitary gland of an adult Seven-Colored Lizard Dragon?”

That is one of the reasons I returned to the sea…

Alger nodded lightly.

“I have already obtained the Beyonder material you wanted.

“But how should I give it to you?”

How should he give it to me? How should he give it to me…

Audrey froze and fell into thought.

I cannot directly give out my address… Nor can I use Xio and Fors. That would expose the fact that I am a Beyonder… Mm, it is not entirely impossible. Emperor Roselle once said that when both choices have drawbacks, choose the one with the lesser degree…

At that moment, Klein’s heart stirred. His fingers lightly tapped the edge of the long table as he smiled.

“Miss, sir, regarding this matter, would you be willing to cooperate with me in an experiment?”