A flicker of astonishment crossed Zaratul's eyes, but he quickly masked it, maintaining a calm demeanor as he watched the figure on the opposite sofa gradually become clearer.
He had a rectangular face, a white wig, and two mustaches that curled slightly upwards at the ends of his mouth.
His eyebrows were thick, and his eyes were large, bearing a resemblance to figures on playing cards.
He wore a suit, a large cloak, and shoes with extremely long pointed toes, his attire completely out of sync with the current era, like an antique from a century ago.
"Prince of the Loen Kingdom, Grove Augustus," Leyton whispered, revealing the man's identity.
Then, the brilliance flowing in his eyes receded, and the figure illuminated by starlight rapidly dissipated.
Leyton withdrew his gaze, looking at Zaratul and sighing, "I didn't expect Mr. Zaratul's friend to be a prince."
He paused, then added, "Next time, you don't have to take such a long detour around your doorstep; it wastes a lot of time when entering and exiting."
As his words fell, his body suddenly disintegrated into streams of invisible information, surging into the Spirit World and rushing into the distance.
Gazing at the spot where Leyton's figure disappeared, Zaratul let out a light sigh.
"This is somewhat similar to the 'Insight' of the 'Tower' pathway, but to easily see through the 'Concealment' I applied, even a complete analysis of a 'Cognizer's' Beyonder ability wouldn't suffice, unless he received support from an angel."
"His fate doesn't seem to intersect much with mine, so why do I always feel uneasy?"
After muttering to himself for a few moments, Zaratul rose from the sofa, and with a step, his figure quietly vanished from the room.
Time quickly reached noon, and Leyton arrived at Leonard's home again.
Sitting on the sofa in the living room was a middle-aged man with distinct Intis features; his facial features were sharp, and his eyebrows were yellowish-brown, sitting casually on the sofa.
Leyton raised an eyebrow, a deep, pale purple glow flickering in his eyes.
The image of the casually leaning Intis man in his vision faded, returning to Leonard, with black hair and green eyes, wearing a white shirt, black vest, and black trousers.
He nodded at Leonard, his voice calm, "It seems you're ready; let's go."
Phew~ Leonard let out a long breath, rose from the sofa, and approached Leyton in two steps, casually asking, "Are we going to wander through the Spirit World?"
"Yes," Leyton extended his left hand and placed it on Leonard's shoulder.
The two figures rapidly faded into transparency, silently disappearing from the living room.
In the West Borough, on King's Boulevard, a young postman cycling along the road suddenly slowed down.
He raised a hand to press the monocle over his right eye and sighed softly, "Pallez hasn't changed his parasitic target; is he trying to play a psychological game with me, or is there something special about that Nighthawks of the Night that makes him believe he can gain some support through their identity, thereby increasing his leverage against me?"
"Backlund's fate has accumulated too much chaos and will soon erupt; things are becoming more and more interesting."
"I am here, Zaratul is here; if Pallez does not change his parasitic target, he will still return here.
Then, will The Fool also be attracted here?"
"Perhaps I need to inherit the extremist's relics so that my main body can sneak into Backlund and give Pallez a surprise when he returns to Backlund with a full harvest."
Curling his lips, the young postman began pedaling again, quickly weaving through the crowd on his bicycle.
In Trier, the capital of the Intis Republic, in the Square District on the north bank of the Srenzo River, Leyton and Leonard's figures materialized in an empty alley.
Leyton's gaze swept around, and as he walked out of the alley onto the street, he chuckled, "This is my first time in the sunny, bustling, and open Trier; the atmosphere here is indeed different."
"You can tell the atmosphere here as soon as you arrive?" Leonard questioned, then followed Leyton out of the alley, curiously observing this great city, so different from Backlund.
Unlike Backlund, which is perennially shrouded in smog, Trier's weather was excellent, with bright scenery.
Many different colored roses lined both sides of the street, and the air carried a faint floral scent, as if it could sweep away inner gloom and bring joy.
Taking a deep breath of Trier's smog-free air, Leonard curiously looked around and said, "I heard that the humanities and arts are developed here; it's a holy land for painters, musicians, and novelists.
It seems to be true to some extent, but it doesn't appear that prosperous?"
Leyton walked at a leisurely pace, deep blue, almost purple, brilliance constantly flowing in his eyes.
Various floating pieces of information entered his vision, rapidly being processed and absorbed.
After a moment, he spoke as if reading a prepared promotional report: "This is the Square District, a town-like area, named after the Triumphal Arch built by Emperor Roselle.
It has large suburban forests and is one of the best wine-producing regions.
Chayot wine's global renown is second only to Aurmir red wine."
"If you want to see towering buildings, you should go to District Two and District Three; those are Trier's art, financial, and administrative districts.
There, you can see prosperity similar to Backlund's Hillston Borough."
"Aren't you here for the first time? How do you know so much information?" Leonard turned his head in surprise to look at Leyton.
In his ear, Pallez's aged voice echoed: "While talking to you, he has already received most of the information here through his own special abilities.
His understanding of this city even surpasses that of most Trier residents."
"That's possible!" Leonard exclaimed inwardly.
Being away from Backlund put Pallez in a rather good mood, and his voice continued to echo in Leonard's ear, explaining, "This is a special ability of the 'Mystery Pryer' pathway.
At the angel level, they can transform themselves into information beings, and naturally, they can easily read and receive the information present around them."
"Why do you think the Moses Ascetic Order came up with the concept of 'All things are numbers, knowledge is supreme'? In their eyes, the world is a product woven from countless complex and chaotic pieces of information, and the Hidden Sage is the embodiment of spiritual numbers, the knowledge itself."
Leonard clicked his tongue and said, "That sounds somewhat reasonable."
Pallez snorted disdainfully, "Every Hidden organization's philosophy has its merits; otherwise, how could they attract people to join?"
Having finished reading the surrounding information, the brilliance in Leyton's eyes gradually dimmed.
He listened to Leonard and Pallez's conversation for a while, then interjected, "The concept of 'All things are numbers, knowledge is supreme' only partially interprets this world; it's not perfect or complete.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many Sequences beyond 'Savant' and 'Mystery Pryer', would there?"
He paused, then continued, "Whether it's the Orthodox Churches or hidden organizations, their philosophies view the entire world from a certain perspective.
The conclusions drawn from this method are bound to be incomplete."
"But precisely because they are incomplete, they are safer and easier to understand, just as ordinary people cannot directly look at mythical creatures, you also cannot directly look at the true nature of this world."
"Why 'us'?" Leonard instinctively pressed.
"Because I am not in this category," Leyton explained with a light chuckle, then quickened his pace towards the Triumphal Arch.
Leonard, a short distance behind, muttered to himself, "Old Man—"
His words were cut short by Pallez, who interrupted, "I told you, you only have the right to learn more once you reach Sequence 4 and gain divinity.
To truly understand this world, you must at least become an angel."
"Unfortunately, the 'Darkness' pathway, let alone an angel, makes even becoming a demigod very difficult.
You have too many competitors."
"Unless a large-scale war breaks out and the Church is forced to extensively train new recruits under pressure, it's impossible for you to advance to demigod through the Church's pathway without waiting for decades."
"If there's really no chance to advance to 'Nighthawk,' I'll just find a way to hunt a Numinous Episcopate demigod and switch to the 'Corpse Collector' pathway," Leonard murmured, then quickened his pace to catch up with Leyton, who was walking ahead.
At the Triumphal Arch, the crowd was dense, with many tourists from out of town, as well as local vendors, pedestrians, and postmen.
Around the square, there were painters engrossed in their creations and wandering poets performing music on the street.
Several police officers were interspersed among the crowd, maintaining order.
After receiving enthusiastic invitations from countless ladies and even gentlemen, Leonard, feeling a bit unaccustomed, exclaimed, "The people here are truly passionate, completely different from Backlund—no, from Loen."
Leyton glanced at Leonard, who maintained his disguise, and said without much fluctuation in his tone, "This shows that your charm has been fully recognized, Mr. Wandering Poet.
Or, you could ask Old Man to choose a more ordinary-looking and temperamented person for your disguise, or directly steal your sense of presence."
"Can you, Old Man?" Leonard whispered, asking the Old Man within him.
Pallez snorted coldly, his tone displeased, "You are becoming more and more impolite."
"Yes, but there's no need.
This is Intis's passion; as long as you're not ridiculously ugly, someone will always like you and come to chat.
People here really enjoy physical pleasures; of course, they are more interested in the Philkins in your pocket, and then spending a pleasant night with you."
"Old Man knows Intis very well," Leyton slightly tilted his head, looking at Leonard and chuckling.