Your Majesty, even you have started scamming food and drink? Klein couldn't help but make a jab when he reached this point. Then he refocused on the page and continued reading the rest of the diary:
"…Liu Bo told me that it's because his current true body—that is, the 'Calamity Seal'—has been 'contaminated' by a higher-level power, which always brings 'misfortune' to those around him. That's why the Sauron family named it 'Calamity.'
"A major reason why the Sauron family has declined to its current state is precisely because they've been holding onto this 'Grade 0' Sealed Artifact for so long.
"After Liu Bo transmigrated here, he's been doing his best to 'restrain' the side effects brought by that 'contamination'... Now, it only 'activates' during banquets or balls, and that's already the result of his efforts.
"I thought about it and felt it might be because in banquets and balls, everyone wears a false mask, scheming for their own interests and those of others. Isolation, alliances, provocations, honeyed words with a dagger behind the back—such behaviors are everywhere. In a certain sense, this resonates with the 'Calamity Seal,' a Sealed Artifact from the 'Hunter' pathway. That's probably what causes the loss of control over its negative effects during those occasions.
"It reminds me of those wars in my previous life—they always began with a meeting, and ended with another meeting...
"But seriously, what kind of 'contamination' could even a Sealed Artifact at the Sequence 1 level not resist?
"Something related to fate… Could it be the uniqueness of the 'Wheel of Destiny' or something like that?
"This also solves a long-standing question that's been bothering me: for over a thousand years, the Sauron family has been unable to produce a 'Conqueror' using the traits of the 'Calamity Seal,' and it's probably because they just couldn't handle the contamination."
The Calamity Seal is contaminated too? And it even caused the Sauron family—an angelic lineage—to fall into decline due to its side effects… That's terrifying!
And the fact that Liu Bo could restrain such dreadful negative effects to only act up during events like balls and banquets... he clearly isn't simple either!
Still, Liu Bo didn't say that the Calamity Seal has zero side effects during ordinary times… In fact, the Emperor did go downhill later… though that might also have been entirely his own fault…
Lastly, is the "Wheel of Destiny" the name of a Sequence 0 from some pathway? Fate… the "Monster" pathway perhaps? While mulling over it, Klein flipped the page to its back.
Indeed, Miss "Temperance" was more "conscientious" than the others—this kind of double-sided diary entry was still counted as just one page's contribution!
Feeling a bit of admiration, Klein lowered his head and read on:
"September 4th, the night of the full moon.
"As I stared at the crimson sky, considering whether I should 'Intis-ify' a few ancient poems to match the mood, Liu Bo suddenly began singing a Chinese song with a rather offbeat tone...
'Without the bright moon's light, how would one long for home?
Where am I going, through these glittering lights and wine?
Standing in a noisy square, a bone flute's gentle whine.
Beside me, only emptiness, a void so wide…'
"I've never heard this tune before, and the lyrics… I feel like they were written just for me!
"Since when did Liu Bo get so talented?
"And he's even been to Feysac before? He actually knows those half-giants use bone flutes to mourn the Giant Court?
"But it just made me even more upset, made me miss home even more…
"Oh, my homeland!"
Homeland... Reaching this part, Klein—for the first time—felt a hundred percent emotional resonance with the Emperor.
The Emperor, Liu Bo, and himself… In this world, perhaps only the three of them truly understand the emotional weight those two characters carry for someone from Huaxia!
Sighing, Klein looked toward the final paragraph on the back of the page:
"I asked him why the song only had a few lines… and he gave me this cryptic response, saying the story beyond hadn't happened yet, so naturally there were no lyrics…
"Damn it, cryptic my ass! He completely scattered all my melancholic feelings with that one line!
"Don't tell me this guy just couldn't come up with more lyrics and was faking profundity to cover it up?"
The Emperor and Liu Bo really do seem like a pair of trollish friends… Klein even felt a twinge of envy. After all, burdened with so many secrets and such a heavy responsibility, he had always felt rather alone.
After a few seconds adjusting his emotions, Klein finally opened the diary submitted by Fors.
The first page was filled with the Great Emperor mocking a young Sauron family member named Floran, based on the fact that the "Iron-Blooded Knight" stage would turn women into men.
Klein had already learned this from Ebner, so he wasn't surprised. He just couldn't help but mutter a complaint when he saw Roselle's concern over whether the "Savant" might undergo a gender change: Your Majesty, you didn't change genders, but you not only slept with a Demoness, you even printed the imagined female version of yourself onto a card…
Glancing at the "Demoness" card by his side—where a bandaged, female Roselle was depicted—Klein continued reading the rest of the diary:
"February 15th. The improved cannon I designed and supervised has been completed. Its performance was slightly worse than expected, but it's not a major issue. With it, and with mass production, I'll let this world and this era witness truly advanced tactics!
"To celebrate, I've decided to hold a banquet and invite those people who look down on me. Just wait to be completely slapped in the face!"
Your Majesty… treasure these days when banquets go off without a hitch… Klein silently grumbled before turning the page.
The second page detailed the operations of the "Twilight Hermit Order" and Roselle's first encounter with Hermes.
As for the former, Klein had already deduced much of it based on various information revealed by Mr. "Tower," and had more clearly identified the mysterious gathering's convener than Roselle had at the time of writing—it was "Angel of Imagination " Adam, the offspring of the ancient Sun God, a king among angels.
As for the latter, Klein wasn't surprised either. After all, in previous diary entries he'd received, there were mentions of Roselle asking Hermes about the "Death Archon" Vicente Miranda.
But Hermes's so-called "brilliant" explanation of 'Authority' got cut off before even starting… that's just frustrating!
Klein sighed, but there was nothing he could do. After all, all Roselle's diaries available on the market were scattered, copied versions. It was normal for them to be incomplete.
He quickly flipped to the third page, which wasn't of much value. It merely contained the Emperor's account of manor life—wanting to hunt, reminiscing about delicious food, hoping to gain supernatural powers, and longing for pretty maids.
.....
While Mr. "Fool" was reading the diary, Ebner was also trying to think about some matters he had previously avoided due to the warnings from the "Pure White Eye." He had dared not think too deeply.
But to his surprise, even within "Sefirah Castle," even with the concealment of the "Gray Fog," the moment he tried to contemplate the deeper connections between the "Pure White Eye" and transmigrators, his spirituality went into a frenzy of warnings, forcing him to stop.
He even had a premonition… thinking about those things inside "Sefirah Castle" might be even more dangerous than doing so in the real world!
Ebner immediately ceased his attempt, but a hint of realization dawned within him:
Unlike the pollution risk from learning about those Outer Deities, delving into the connection between transmigrators and the "Pure White Eye" likely had consequences that didn't stem from an external source—but from the "Unknown Land" behind the "Pure White Eye."
The "Unknown Land" was directly connected to my spirit, in a bond so close it couldn't be severed… So the "Land of Hidden Night" outside my spiritual body couldn't block the internal influence on me, and neither could "Sefirah Castle"…
And once I'm affected by something from the "Unknown Land," Sefirah Castle might even launch its own counterattack… That's probably why my spirituality kept trying to stop me.
Looks like the key is becoming a demigod… Lilith once said that after I become a demigod, I'll come to understand certain things… maybe that's because divinity is the lowest threshold for carrying knowledge about the 'Unknown Land.'
Hmm, but Lilith never stopped me from collecting stories and items related to other transmigrators… so that should be fine… Once I become a demigod, I should be able to piece together part of the truth using the intelligence I've gathered.
Sighing lightly, Ebner stopped overthinking. At this moment, the "Fool" Klein had also just finished reading the diary. He leaned back slightly and smiled.
"You may begin."
"Justice" Audrey immediately looked across at "Tower," a little worried as she asked, "Mr. 'Tower,' I forgot to ask earlier… I heard that you and the Demoness who created the smog were both 'erased' by a powerhouse from the Church of the Evernight Goddess… You weren't injured, were you?"
Although Mr. "Tower" sitting here meant that Mr. "Fool" must have intervened and rescued him, Audrey was still concerned that the "hero" of Backlund might have gotten hurt… After all, in a way, it was partly her fault that the Evernight Church's powerhouse had been able to arrive so quickly.
(End of chapter)