"Also, Xio's princess superior is probably in a rather delicate situation... By rights, as a royal demigod of the Augustus family, even if she gathered her promotion materials herself, it's still highly unlikely that she would marry outside the family...
"And yet George III's attitude toward this matter was somewhat ambiguous. He neither refused nor promised, as if waiting for the highest bid... trying to get more benefits from the Delien family before agreeing...
"Finally, according to the news Owen revealed to Seyrow, in this plan to 'capture' Princess Vera, he and George III actually had a certain tacit understanding.
"Perhaps George III is also happy to see his sister being controlled? Or maybe Owen offered a very high price?
"Hmm, it seems I'd better have a talk with that princess before the operation..."
As his thoughts turned, Ebner once again wrote and drew on the paper, continuously adjusting and perfecting his plan.
Once everything was complete, he directly "teleported" to the nearby Wheat Sprout Church and found Ms. Helene, who was wearing eccentric clothing. The two had a private conversation.
Afterward, they went together to the suburban Gute Manor, used the underground teleportation altar, and traveled to Backlund.
...
In a hotel room on Oravi Island, Klein placed the wireless telegraph machine on the table.
Not long after, the sound of rapid tapping echoed.
Tap tap tap — the wireless telegraph machine spat out a sheet of illusory white paper with words written in Ruen:
"Great Master, your loyal and humble servant Arrodes has finally, finally caught up to your footsteps again!"
...No need to be this excited... Still, Arrodes's speaking skills were as professional as ever. He didn't express any 'resentment' over the long silence, nor ask why I hadn't contacted it in so long. He directly blamed himself, saying he hadn't kept up with my pace... licking so hard it's making me feel a bit guilty... But even so, I still need to be on guard... Klein suddenly recalled Mr. Tower's nickname for it — "bootlicker mirror" — and felt it was very apt.
Arrodes didn't wait, and using the wireless telegraph machine, tap tap tap, it created a little emoticon of a cautious head peeking out on the illusory white paper:
"Great Master, Dominator Above the Spirit World, your servant feels that you are troubled by something?"
This guy can now skillfully use emoticons, even starting to create full expression packs? Is he asking me this so that he can answer my question according to the 'rules'?
Being licked like this really does feel nice... But calling me 'Dominator Above the Spirit World'... That means in its mind, I'm some ancient god in the process of awakening? The 'Celestial Worthy' that Mr. Tower spoke of?
After figuring out why Arrodes deliberately asked, Klein calmly nodded and said:
"Yes."
"You have answered my question. As an exchange, as a rule I must follow, you may ask me one question." Arrodes typed back quickly, even adding a little smiley face at the end.
As expected! Without hesitation, Klein asked, "Arrodes, do you know about the 'God's Coffer'?"
Arrodes was silent for two seconds, then the wireless telegraph machine tapped again, spitting out more illusory white paper:
"Great Master, your question is too considerate of me — I could answer it simply with the word 'yes'. I've slightly revised it to 'Tell me what you know about the God's Coffer.'
"It is a box similar in origin to me. It once contained several special souls, but now it is empty, and even the lid of the coffer is lost.
"I cannot see the details of those souls or know where they went, but what I can confirm is that the coffer was fully unsealed by one of the personalities of the Queen of Calamity, and the lid was taken away by Roselle Gustav, who hid it somewhere unknown.
"At present, because it has lost its lid, the God's Coffer has lost all functions and become an ordinary box.
"Only by reuniting the two can the God's Coffer regain its power."
A long strip of illusory white paper emerged, bearing this entire explanation.
One of the Queen of Calamity's personalities fully unsealed the God's Coffer? Roselle took the lid? This information should be useful to Mr. Tower...
Hmm, that lid must have some special property, otherwise Roselle wouldn't have gone out of his way to take it... Perhaps the experiment eleven years ago was related to this...
Thoughts flashing quickly, Klein asked the now darkened and deepened telegraph machine:
"Second question — your origin."
The tapping paused for two seconds before resuming.
White paper was fed out in strips, revealing a new scene:
From a hole in the ground surged large amounts of thick black liquid. They twisted outward, growing varying numbers of arms and legs, then transforming into strange monsters that rushed forward.
In this process, a point of light was ejected along with the black liquid, landing on a rock. It quickly merged with the rock, transforming into an ancient-patterned silver mirror decorated with black gemstones on both sides.
What a bizarre scene... So Arrodes was born this way? And that light — what was it, where did it come from? Looks like Beyonder characteristics... The more I look, the more familiar that black liquid seems...
Klein suddenly remembered the "black sludge" he had seen flowing from the so-called Holy Grail on the first floor of the Dream Labyrinth Tower.
I recall Mr. Tower saying those black viscous fluids are a projection of the Sea of Chaos... So Arrodes comes from the Sea of Chaos? A kind of so-called 'primal essence'?
But why would it seek me out specifically? I'm obviously tied to the Sefirah Castle — another primal essence mentioned by Mr. Tower... If it really wanted to find someone, shouldn't it seek out that Creator of Silver City who crossed over from the Sea of Chaos?
And it said the God's Coffer has a similar origin... so is that coffer also from the Sea of Chaos?
Perhaps... that transmigrator predecessor, the Creator of Silver City, was one of the special souls that came out of the God's Coffer?
While his mind spun with speculation, Klein stopped examining the scene and nodded. "Very well, your turn to ask a question."
He waited with interest for Arrodes's question, curious to see if it could surprise him again.
The tapping slowed, hesitating, and the illusory white paper was fed out bit by bit:
"Great Master, may I... may I say something to you?"
"You may." Klein, slightly surprised, answered and waited to hear what Arrodes would say.
The tapping suddenly sped up, filled with enthusiasm.
On the illusory paper, lines of words appeared:
"Great Master, happy birthday!
"Today is March 4th, 1350, and the body you now possess was born on March 4th, 1327. I had wanted to be the very first to wish you at midnight, but I couldn't keep up with your footsteps."
...Definitely a topic I didn't see coming... I even forgot about my birthday... Klein's mouth twitched slightly, unsure what to say.
He had inherited fragments of the original body's memories and some of its emotions, so he knew the date. But drifting alone for so long, he had no reason to keep track of such things.
So Arrodes is actually the first to wish me a happy birthday... Wait, could its earlier refusal to respond to Mr. Tower's summons mean it calculated that I would 'summon' it today, deliberately leaving the question for me to ask now?
Hmm, at least that's part of the reason...
Klein felt a wave of emotion, his gaze toward the telegraph machine softening.
At the same time, he thought of Benson and Melissa. On this day, they were probably more sad than happy... The interviews had ended back in February — had Benson managed to become a government employee? After Melissa became a Savant, had she faced any danger? Unfortunately, Sharon was still in the middle of a ritual, so he couldn't check on Melissa's situation.
While he sighed, the tapping didn't stop, producing another line:
"Great Master, do you have any other questions?"
After a moment's thought, Klein nodded.
"I want to know about the fifth survivor from the God's Coffer experiment eleven years ago, apart from Abby, Bianca, Maria, and Lofia."
The telegraph machine tapped and spat out illusory paper:
"I'm sorry, Great Master. Because of an inexplicable concealment, all I can see is that she is a woman in her twenties, currently in Backlund...
"The information is scarce... Can you accept my apology?"
It can be like this? Klein shook his head with a small smile and replied in a low voice, "I accept."
"Glory to you, merciful Master!" The tapping grew lively again. "The aura is about to fade... Great Dominator Above the Spirit World, your loyal and humble servant awaits the next time I may serve you, and looks forward to always following in your footsteps. Farewell~" The final image on the illusory paper was a waving hand.
The quiet hotel room returned to normal as the darkened telegraph machine regained its usual state, and the gloomy air dissipated.
Klein busied himself preparing a ritual, sacrificed it to the gray fog, then sat in the Fool's seat to respond.
At that moment, Mr. Tower's crimson star pulsed and contracted.
Extending his spirituality to touch it, Klein read the message, hesitated for a moment, then moved to the World's seat and pulled Mr. Tower into the gray fog.
On the other side, as the crimson glow faded before Ebner's eyes, he glanced toward the World's position and smiled.
"Klein, happy birthday."
(End of Chapter)