Audrey was in an excellent mood—better than usual, even—because after a week of effort, she had finally broken through the eighth level of the Dream Labyrinth Tower, reached the seventh level, and entered a real historical scene that had taken place more than ten years ago.
Unfortunately, she still failed to help the Tingen Nighthawks uncover the truth or capture the "Bloody Butcher" who had murdered five young girls…
But regardless of the outcome, she had relied on her own effort to finally defeat "Conan" for once, and that was quite an achievement.
Additionally, her brother, Hibbert Hall, had sent a telegram telling her that she needed to return to Backlund ahead of schedule to attend a ball their family was hosting that night, and to discuss the matter of acquiring the 10% of the bicycle company shares that Viscount Ebner Bryan was selling on consignment.
If it had been someone else, she actually wouldn't have needed to attend personally—she could have simply signed a full authorization under a lawyer's supervision, and afterward, once everything was settled, she would then sign a confirmation…
But according to her father's arrangements, buying the bicycle shares and believing in their prospects was only part of the reason. The more important goal was to establish good relations with this newly-minted noble and persuade him to jointly establish the film-and-theater "Academy Awards."
"In order to obtain Viscount Bryan's approval, I'll make some concessions and invest a little in his territory. I suppose Father will definitely support that, right?"
Thinking of Mr. Tower's request, Audrey's lips curved elegantly. She then rose from her seat and led everyone in greeting the figure shrouded in gray mist at the head of the bronze long table:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~"
May Mr. Fool bless us, and let there be clues for the Bewitching Bell-fruit today… she silently murmured to herself.
After everyone greeted the Fool and sat down, the Hermit, Cattleya, did not disappoint Klein's expectations. She lowered her head again, as if she didn't dare meet His gaze, and said:
"Mr. Fool, I have three pages of Emperor Roselle's diary this time."
So the "Mystery Queen" still hadn't found clues about Roselle's assassination… and was still providing the diary through Miss Hermit… What a pity. I've been in my family's territory recently and haven't had much contact with the Psychological Alchemists. Now I'm even on a train—I wasn't able to acquire any new pages at all… Hmm, in a few days I'll write to the Antiquities Collection and Protection Foundation. Maybe they collected something…
"Justice" Audrey listened curiously.
The Fool, Klein, chuckled lightly.
"Very good.
"You may proceed with your request."
Actually, I know the Mystery Queen already told you her question… I just don't know what she wants to do in Backlund… Klein's thoughts drifted slightly.
For some reason, he glanced at the Tower and felt that this gentleman probably knew.
Most likely still grinding away in the Dream Labyrinth Tower… but she's really terrible at it—she hasn't even cleared the eighth level yet.
Ebner silently commented to himself, recalling Klein's thoughts from the original novel.
Because both Audrey's and Bernadette's "permissions" had been granted by him, he could check their strategy progress.
Soon, the Hermit manifested the three diary pages and handed them to Mr. Fool.
"...After becoming an angel, my mind gradually split…
"...Sanity is temporary; madness is eternal…
"...Faith is the anchor of gods…
"...Adam and Amon were the result of the Ancient Sun God drinking a potion…"
Although Klein had expected that the carefully selected pages from the Mystery Queen would contain important content, the things revealed still weighed heavily on him.
After all, Roselle was already an angel when he wrote these—he had joined the Twilight Hermit Order, had seen the Blasphemy Slate, and knew far more about the mysterious world and Beyonder characteristics than Klein did now. Yet he was even more pessimistic, as if he believed that this world was twisted from the very beginning—mad, doomed to self-destruction.
In this regard, he was quite similar to Liu Bo's usual worldview… except that when Liu Bo spoke about these things, the tone was relaxed, and he never created an atmosphere of "despair." But Old Huang's writing was overwhelmingly bleak!
According to his description, even Sequence 2 came with such terrifying changes. Then at Sequence 0, at the level of True Gods, how horrifying must the madness they had to resist be?
Right, I remember a diary where Hermes once told Old Huang that Death Consul Vicente Miranda—that is, Liu Bo—barely needed an "anchor"… Is that Liu Bo's "cheat"?
If so, no wonder so many goddesses favored him!
Of course, the gods must also have found their own methods of withstanding madness—after all, not every orthodox deity is connected to Liu Bo.
But then, why did the Seven Gods abandon their original human forms and adopt symbolic, abstract holy emblems instead? I just can't understand…
And about Roselle's statement that "Adam and Amon were produced when the Ancient Sun God drank a potion"—I wholeheartedly agree. The Creator that Silver City worships must have "recycled" too many ancient god authorities, too many messy powers, causing confusion and madness to appear—so He promptly produced two children to expel part of the "mess."
Muttering to himself for a while, Klein quickly turned to the remaining two pages:
"...A uniqueness cannot be accommodated; it is a burden…
"...Dreamed of Green, explored the primitive island once more, discovered a large number of out-of-control monsters gathering to perform a mysterious ritual…"
That last description carried a deeply terrifying atmosphere. Out-of-control monsters were mostly creatures of pure madness—just gathering peacefully was already extremely difficult, let alone cooperating to worship some existence!
If anything, this method vaguely resembled "Liu Bo"… perhaps both could be considered forms of "pollution"…
Wait… If I further mastered the gray fog, would I also have similar effects? After all, merely having objects connected to the gray fog allows me to pinpoint their holders and drag them into the space above the fog…
That process—could it also be a kind of "pollution"?
It's only because I bear goodwill that it doesn't harm them… just as "Liu Bo" only allowed people he acknowledged to know his "name"!
For those he didn't acknowledge—was that "pollution"?
If so, then my "cheat," in essence and in level, is similar to Liu Bo's…
What exactly are they? The "Sefirot" that Mr. Tower mentioned but refuses to explain in detail?
A flood of questions flashed through his mind, but there was no one who could answer them. Klein had no choice but to speculate aimlessly while letting the diary pages vanish. Then he turned toward the Hermit, smiling warmly.
"What is your request?"
Without hesitation, the Hermit asked:
"Honorable Mr. Fool, I wish to know what Emperor Roselle left behind inside the great lighthouse behind the Miracle City, where he was dragged?"
Dragged into the back of the Miracle City's great lighthouse? Isn't that just the Dream Labyrinth Tower?
Is Bernadette feeling so hopeless about clearing it that she's come directly for spoilers?
Bernadette, you must not become a "cloud player"!
Hearing this question, Ebner glanced strangely at the Hermit, then turned toward the Fool with a pleasantly amused expression, waiting for His response.
Although Mr. Fool had personally experienced the great battle on the first floor of the Dream Labyrinth Tower, he had only a partial understanding of Roselle's actual plans.
After all, Klein's level was still too low—he simply couldn't comprehend Roselle's series of operations involving various authorities.
(End of this chapter)