According to the usual procedure before the end of the gathering, Ebner first rose with The World to salute and respectfully see Mr. Fool off. Only then did he give Klein a brief report on his "research" into Bianca, finally concluding, "In short, I discovered a hidden ritual on her, though it's incomplete. I fear it will take gathering the five survivors from that experiment eleven years ago to successfully decipher it."
Klein listened attentively, then said thoughtfully, "Among those survivors, the ones I can confirm are Bianca, Abby, and 'Admiral of the White' Maria… Mm, I wrote to Maria before to confirm it. She couldn't recall the exact details but readily admitted she had indeed participated in an experiment eleven years ago. However, her survival wasn't due to luck — she was special to begin with and had the protection of her elders.
"Considering the Admiral of the White's saber is directly related to Roselle… your guess is probably correct. It's highly likely Roselle was one of the masterminds behind that experiment…"
Ebner thought for a moment before asking, "Did she say what made her special?"
"No." Klein shook his head. "Although she's rather friendly towards me, we're not close enough for me to pry."
So that's how it is… Seems I'll still need to find a chance to 'research' her personally… Ebner muttered inwardly before saying, "In fact, I have a lead on the fourth survivor, the one recorded in Abby's diary — Ms. Lofia, who could restore damaged items. She's very likely the Lady D of the Aurora Order, stationed on Corsica."
That bit of intelligence had been inadvertently revealed in a letter Jane sent to him.
"Corsica?" Klein repeated the name with an odd look.
"As you guessed, it's a name taken by Huang Tao. Heh, it seems that although he calls himself 'Caesar,' deep down he wants to be Napoleon." Ebner quipped, then added seriously, "As for the fifth survivor, I have no leads at all, so I was hoping you could ask Arrodes… it's no longer responding to my mystical summons."
"I only just summoned it recently using the 'radio transceiver.' The next opportunity might take some time." Klein didn't refuse, but since the transceiver wasn't yet 'pickled' enough, there was nothing he could do for now.
"That's fine, this isn't urgent. I can use the time to track down the other survivors first." Ebner paused, then asked, "Any news of Abby from the Church of the Celestial?"
"No… but Maria speculated in her letter that she'd mingled with members of the Demoness Sect, and that she's most likely aboard the Black Death right now," Klein replied calmly.
The Black Death… Maybe I should send Tracy back, let her act as bait to lure Abby out? Ebner's mind instinctively began weaving plots.
At this point, seeing that the topic of the experiment survivors was over, Klein asked his own question. "Ebner, do you know what's parasitizing Leonard?"
Ebner came back to himself, thought of the private chat between The World and The Moon during the Tarot Club, and smiled. "You must have already asked Arrodes, right? That self-styled protagonist has an angel of the Thief pathway in him."
"So you do know…" Klein exhaled, then continued, "Arrodes told me Leonard is parasitized by an angel from the Zoroast family…
"In the Second Epoch of Darkness, angels could bear divine names and serve as subordinates to the ancient gods. None of them were simple beings!
"I don't know if Leonard will eventually become a victim of the angel within him, so I had The Moon test him under the pretense of buying a Thief pathway mystical item.
"From The Moon's feedback, Leonard is aware of the 'old man' inside him, but he can't tell whether the latter understands the danger…
"Heh, no wonder he's always felt like the protagonist of a drama, the special one, and was willing to help me keep secrets back then…"
After speaking at length, Klein finally returned to the main point. "What do you think of that angel from the Zoroast family?"
You really go to great lengths for Leonard… Ebner mocked inwardly but outwardly pretended to ponder for a few seconds before saying, "Pallez Zoroast isn't in great shape. He's parasitizing Leonard mainly to hide from Amon. As far as I know, his temperament is decent, and he's maintained much of his humanity. He likely won't truly take over Leonard's body. Once the 'parasitism' ends, at most he'll take a few years of Leonard's life."
So that's it… the old man's name is Pallez… Klein nodded thoughtfully, then asked instinctively, "Why take a few years of his life?"
"For a thief, 'might as well'… wouldn't you agree?" Ebner winked.
Might as well… a thief never leaves empty-handed, huh? Klein was speechless for a moment, then chuckled. "So Leonard isn't really in danger?"
"You can ask other angels you know. Most of them will have heard of Pallez… after all, the circle of angels is rather small." Ebner shrugged, then changed his tone.
"But it's not absolutely safe. 'Trust in the power of the gods, but don't trust in their mercy.' That applies to angels just as it does to gods. As you said, angels were once called sub-deities in the Second Epoch.
"So, the best approach is still to find Leonard a backer to deter Pallez, so he won't give up Leonard's life so easily in a crisis."
You're really certain Mr. Fool won't be offended by that… Klein was already used to Ebner's calm way of speaking about gods. In truth, he was the same — respectful on the surface, but inwardly treating them as equals to some extent.
Perhaps it was a common trait among countrymen — Roselle was probably the same.
Of course, it also had a lot to do with Liu Bo having several goddesses backing him.
As these stray thoughts passed, Klein caught Ebner's implication. "You mean to pull Leonard into the Tarot Club?"
"Exactly." Ebner nodded. "If a 'star' gets snuffed out because of me, that would be bad."
Besides, Pallez could help Mr. Fool share a good portion of the pressure from Amon.
At the very least, I'll have to wait until I'm a demigod and have better control over that space above the grey fog — the 'Sefirah Castle' you mentioned — before I can attempt it. After all, this involves an angel, and one in the 'Bizarre' domain at that. Klein thought of this, then suddenly asked, "This 'Tenebrous World' you speak of — is it also one of those 'Sefirot' you mentioned?"
On the day they'd revealed themselves to each other, Ebner had given Klein a brief introduction to the Sefirot, but nothing in depth. Klein only knew it was part of the original Creator.
As for the Tenebrous World, he had read the term in Roselle's diary during the last Tarot Club.
"Knowing too much about the Sefirot won't do you any good for now." Ebner neither confirmed nor denied the question, diverting the topic instead.
Klein stared at him for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."
After that, the two chatted about their experiences over the past week, then ended the small gathering.
…
Bayam, the "City of Generosity," capital of the Rorsted Archipelago.
After returning from above the grey fog to reality, Ebner bid Xio farewell, then "teleported" to the Aromatic Manor.
Next, he changed his appearance and used "Evans' Secret Barrier" to conceal himself before quietly slipping into the Governor's Mansion and the Church of the Sea Waves, placing a recorded "video" on the desks of Admiral Amyrius Rieveldt and "King of the Sea" Yan Cortman.
It was worth noting that the "video" wasn't on a film reel for a projector, but on a specially crafted mystical item made from spiritual materials, deliberately kept separate from the booming "film companies."
The footage, of course, was a tutorial for a recovery ritual designed to treat the aftereffects of the Church of the Celestial's powers — and naturally, Ebner hadn't been foolish enough to appear in his true form, instead donning the identity of the "Professor" once more.
Among these deliveries, sneaking into Admiral Amyrius' place had gone smoothly since the latter was relaxing at his mistress Cynthia's home. The "King of the Sea," however, proved trickier.
Ebner hadn't expected the man to be "slacking off" at home during working hours.
It wasn't until he was cornered in the study that Ebner suddenly recalled — he had teleported straight from Backlund, and Bayam was nearly three hours behind.
What he assumed were working hours were actually post-dinner time here.
Fortunately, Ebner hadn't set down the item yet, and without a thorough search, the King of the Sea hadn't noticed his presence. He didn't dare to move recklessly, so he could only wait in the study, silently praying for the man to leave.
Over half an hour later, when Cortman finally left his residence, Ebner let out a long breath, quickly placed the item down, and wasted no time using short-range teleportation to get out.
Only after returning to the basement of the Aromatic Manor did he finally relax, beginning to reflect on his mistakes. Over-reliance on his mystical arts had led to an insufficiently cautious plan — a mindset problem. Forgetting the time difference was a careless oversight, an attitude problem. Running into the King of the Sea in his office was a matter of luck…
As a Reader, every action should be like that of a Magician — planned before execution… Making so many mistakes in one operation… maybe that's not normal…
Could this be a fate shift caused by prophecy?
This time he'd escaped unscathed thanks to the sheer power of his mystical arts — even a demigod couldn't see through them without a careful search.
It seemed Lilith's warning was spot on — before reaching demigodhood and truly controlling the Wheel of Fate, this mutated "prophecy" ability should be used as little as possible!
(End of Chapter)