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"Shua—Shua—"
In the quiet room, besides the rustling of turning pages, there was only the sound of a pen scratching across paper.
Lin Ruo sat upright at his desk, finishing the last word on the letter paper. He then put down his pen, reviewed the entire letter from beginning to end, and after confirming there were no major issues, folded it and placed it into a pre-prepared envelope, handing it to Douglas, who had been summoned.
"Hoo…" After Douglas left, Lin Ruo stood up, stretched lazily, and then looked at Klein, who was reading a newspaper on the nearby sofa, saying:
"Once Beibei receives the letter, she should reply to you shortly. When that happens, pay attention. Don't let me cover your identity perfectly, only for you to accidentally expose yourself."
"How could I be that stupid?" Klein put down the newspaper in his hand and retorted unhappily.
"It's better to be safe than sorry!" Lin Ruo smiled, pouring himself a cup of tea from the teapot as he spoke: "Although Beibei is trustworthy, if your identity is truly exposed, how awkward would it be to interact with her in the future?"
Klein was noncommittal, but then seemed to think of something, pausing. He then looked at Lin Ruo and asked: "If you leave today, can you attend next week's Tarot Club?"
"Hmm, hard to say. It's not something I can control. Anyway, if I can't make it, just ask for leave for me!" Lin Ruo sipped his tea indifferently, then paused and added:
"Oh, and if it's convenient, it's best to make meeting minutes for me, so I can stay connected with the Tarot Club."
Indeed, in the blink of an eye, ten days had passed. Klein's special training had ended yesterday, Medici had returned to the Southern Continent to focus on the Numinous Episcopate, and the Sea God Sect had completed its initial cleansing and was now secretly developing according to the guidance left by Medici.
No major events occurred during this period. However, perhaps truly influenced by Lin Ruo, the butterfly, Cattleya was not pushed to the brink of losing control due to the Hidden Sage's incessant nagging, nor was she saved by Fool Klein, and thus did not become a Tarot Club member.
Lin Ruo naturally raised an eyebrow at this and immediately discussed it with Klein. The two eventually reached a consensus, which led to the letter Lin Ruo wrote to Bernadette.
This letter briefly explained what kind of existence The Fool was. Of course, it didn't expose Klein's identity, but used some misleading language, such as existing since ancient times, being the current owner of Sefirah Castle, etc., emphasizing The Fool's investment value, Lin Ruo's friendly relationship with The Fool, and what kind of existence the Tarot Club was.
To summarize in plain language: Daughter, trust me, this The Fool is someone you can deal with. Investing in Him now is not a loss. If you're tempted, quickly get Cattleya to join the club, otherwise, in two more years, it'll be too late.
As for why Cattleya should join the club and not Bernadette herself, it's because the members of the Tarot Club are by convention representatives of various forces, and the gathering itself can be said to be a kind of benefit for these representatives. Therefore, there's no reason for the person themselves to personally participate.
"I don't think you're afraid of losing touch with the Tarot Club; you just want to torment me, don't you?" Hearing Lin Ruo's words, Klein's eyelids twitched, as if he had thought of something. He narrowed his eyes and said, "I think I saw you writing something about the 'chariot's diary' last time..."
"Oh ho, Klein, are you interested in my diary?" Not only did Lin Ruo show no guilt, he rather raised an eyebrow, taking the offensive, and said: "Tsk tsk tsk, I never would have thought, Klein, that you're the kind of person who likes to pry into others' privacy. You're getting more and more criminal!"
Klein: ...
Is that a proper diary? I only read the first two lines and knew it was definitely a short story slandering me.
And who writes a diary, anyway?
"The fact that you've lived this long without being beaten to death shows that there are still many good people in this world," Klein said with a forced smile after taking a deep breath.
"Exactly! Everywhere I look, there are big suckers, and I'm almost running out of tool-person numbers," Lin Ruo said with a grin, completely unfazed by Klein's sarcasm, and instead teased him.
In fact, after saying this, Lin Ruo even put down his teacup and reached out to pat Klein's head twice, as if petting a cat. Then, enduring Klein's speechless gaze, he said in a long-suffering, fatherly tone: "So, Klein, you must grow up quickly and become Daddy's number one tool-person, crushing all those big suckers."
"Heh heh!" Klein responded with two emotionless laughs, then coolly slapped away Lin Ruo's hand and said, "If you're going to leave, then leave quickly."
"Alas, as children grow up, they inevitably enter a rebellious phase," Lin Ruo sighed dramatically, then walked to the mirror to adjust his appearance.
After confirming that there were no issues, Lin Ruo did not avoid Klein. He directly pulled out the key that could open the door of history and allow him to enter historical phantoms. As Lin Ruo opened the door, he turned his head to look at Klein, smiled, and said: "Then I'm leaving, goodbye!"
"Goodbye!" Klein also put away the disgusted expression he had when they were bickering. He pursed his lips and still said, "Be careful."
"I should be telling you that," Lin Ruo replied. His body was already largely swallowed by the light emanating from the door. "Take it easy. Don't use up all your resurrection tokens before I get back."
As these words fell, the light completely swallowed Lin Ruo, and the door of history closed at the same moment, then vanished.
"Resurrection tokens…" Klein frowned, a thoughtful expression on his face. He then stopped thinking, looked at where Lin Ruo had disappeared, remained silent for a few seconds, and finally sighed soundlessly, feeling a slight melancholy.
But this melancholy, born from parting with a close friend, was quickly suppressed. Klein put down the newspaper, walked to the mirror, and also tidied his appearance, finally showing a standard Gehrman-style smile in the mirror.
Polite, yet subtly concealing madness and danger.
The legend of Gehrman, the Wild Rose of the Five Seas, begins today.
...
"Eh?"
In a historical rift that did not belong to the present, Lin Ruo couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation, because his entry into the historical projection this time was somewhat different from the last. This time, he did not directly enter the next historical projection, but first entered a strange place.
Lin Ruo didn't know where he was, but he could see familiar scenes flashing by quickly around him. These were scenes from the previous historical projection he had entered. Lin Ruo even saw himself, who was currently tricking Roselle, in these rapidly passing scenes.
But these images did not end where the historical projection in Lin Ruo's memory ended. After he in the image revealed the truth and disappeared, Roselle, who had become an Assassin and had no other choice but to change paths or stop advancing after ascending to Sequence 4, struggled repeatedly but still chose to continue advancing.
Then, Lin Ruo witnessed how Roselle played the role of an Assassin, how he advanced to Instigator, and how, after sufficient psychological preparation, he drank the Witch potion and became Roselle.
Lin Ruo admitted he was deeply shocked and decided to use ritual magic to paint a portrait of Roselle when he returned.
But just as Lin Ruo felt his perverse satisfaction greatly fulfilled and was anticipating what would come next, the scene abruptly stopped and then shattered.
At the same time, a piece of information appeared in Lin Ruo's mind, and he instantly understood what was happening.
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