Backlund, Dr. Aaron's house.
Klein visited early in the morning as the great detective Sherlock Moriarty, without performing a divination beforehand to check if it was an appropriate time to visit.
Since he was visiting a Snake of Fate, there was no need for extra divination; whether it was suitable to visit depended entirely on the little infant's mood.
With thoughts flashing through his mind, Klein had already reached the front door of Dr. Aaron's house. He straightened his collar slightly, then raised his hand and knocked on the door.
Thump! Thump!
The door was opened by a servant from Dr. Aaron's house. Coincidentally, Dr. Aaron was also in the living room at that moment. He happened to see Klein standing outside the door, a look of pleasant surprise on his face, and he quickly went to greet him:
"Long time no see, Sherlock. You're finally back in Backlund. We hadn't seen you return and were guessing if you planned to stay in Desi Bay."
"That's a good idea. Compared to the smog of Backlund, the air there is much better."
Klein followed up on the other party's words, then took off his semi-tall silk top hat and handed it to the servant beside him, following Allen into the living room.
After sitting on the sofa, Klein brought up the previous topic again, hinting that he indeed planned to stay in Desi Bay in the future and that this return was only to handle investments he hadn't yet arranged, as well as to bid farewell to his old friends.
The two chatted for a while, and Klein naturally guided the conversation to Dr. Aaron's child.
When mentioning his child, Dr. Aaron's face showed a happy, benevolent smile:
"Yes, you haven't met Will yet. He's a very adorable boy, but he's still sleeping now. If you had come a little later, you would have seen him."
If you had come a little later, perhaps you would have gone out due to certain matters. Just as this thought flickered, the sound of a baby crying suddenly echoed from upstairs.
Dr. Aaron looked somewhat surprised towards the staircase, then turned to Klein and said:
"Will is awake. I'll go check on him, Sherlock. Please wait a moment. I'll bring Will down to see you later. I originally planned to ask you to be his godfather, but unfortunately, you're not planning to stay in Backlund anymore."
Klein smiled and nodded towards Dr. Aaron. Perhaps it was sensing your thoughts that Will was startled awake from his dream. He only had a nap and almost gained a godfather whose age wasn't even a fraction of his own.
Klein sighed inwardly, then followed behind Dr. Aaron towards the staircase, ascending to the second floor.
During this process, no one felt anything was amiss. They were all immersed in the illusion Klein had created, believing he was still sitting on the sofa, sipping tea.
On the second floor, Klein saw a maid pushing a baby crib out of the bedroom. Inside the crib lay a child wrapped in silver silk. His skin was very white and looked chubby, with a lot of flesh on his hands, giving them a segmented appearance.
The little infant tugged at the silk wrapped around him, and his inky black eyes met Klein's, revealing a human-like expression of disdain.
After a brief silence, Klein pressed his hand to his chest and bowed slightly towards the baby crib, saying:
"Good morning. What should I call you now?"
The infant in the crib put a finger in his mouth, looking at Klein with a blank expression. Just as Klein thought the other party didn't want to bother with him, he heard the other party's voice again:
"Hmm... I haven't decided which name to use yet. You can call me Will for now."
"Alright, Will, do you know anything about the Specter Empire?"
As his words fell, Klein calmly looked at Will, awaiting his reply.
"Of course I know. You're not the first person to eye it, and you won't be the last."
While speaking, Will didn't forget to bite his finger, acting no different from a newborn baby, which made Klein somewhat doubt the state of this Snake of Fate.
He's really playing the role of an infant immersively, Klein sighed inwardly, then saw Will, wrapped in silver silk, glare at him and say angrily:
"You're so rude."
"A baby should act like a baby. This helps me maintain a good mental state, otherwise, I'll end up like that silly snake Ouroboros, going crazy from time to time."
"Why?" Klein asked curiously.
Will's dark eyes rolled in their sockets, and he said with little fluctuation in his tone:
"Every time he restarts, he grows up beside the True Creator, lacking a proper childhood. This makes his 'restart' less than perfect, leaving some hidden dangers."
Klein nodded knowingly, then brought the topic back to the Specter Empire, pondering and asking:
"Is the Specter Empire a real treasure?"
"What else? It can't be just a boring fantasy of a group of pirates, can it?" Will gave Klein an annoyed glare, then continued:
"You want to eye it? I advise you to give up."
"Even the Church of the Lord of Storms, the most active at sea, and the Augustus Family and Castiya Family, who know the Justiciar pathway best, haven't been able to obtain the treasures on it."
"They haven't been able to obtain them, not that they haven't found them?" Klein keenly noticed Will's choice of words.
"That ship is corrupted and has become active. It's fine if you don't board it, but once you get on that ship..."
Klein asked curiously, "What happens if you board that ship?"
Will waved his chubby hand and chuckled, saying:
"Of course, you become a part of that ship! I once encountered the Specter Empire by chance while avoiding that silly snake Ouroboros's pursuit. I saw some things on it. There happened to be someone I knew on it, a saint who controlled a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact."
"This is exclusive information. Even the Church of the Lord of Storms and those two angel families who control the Justiciar pathway don't know it. No one has ever been able to leave that ship, let alone transmit messages."
"However, if it's you, it might be possible to succeed. What do you plan to offer me to buy the information and gain my help?"
Will actually knew some information; wasn't this luck too good? Is it because he is the Snake of Fate who can represent a part of fate? Klein lowered his gaze to Will in the baby crib, thought for a moment, then asked in a deep voice:
"What do you want to gain?"
Will said without hesitation: "Hehe, of course, it's a way to restore a certain amount of power during my weak period. I know you can do it. If you don't know how to do it, go find that guy who controls knowledge."
"It feels like you've planned this all along, just waiting for me to come to you," Klein mumbled softly, just loud enough for Will to hear.
"Isn't that normal? I just grasped a small opportunity in fate. This is what the 'Fate' pathway is best at."
Responding to Klein, Will tugged at the silk on his body, acting as if he didn't want to chat anymore.
Klein seized the moment and stated his main purpose for coming today: "I want a method or item that can temporarily boost luck."
"Waaah—"
The baby's cries suddenly echoed in the room on the second floor. Dr. Aaron and his wife somewhat flusteredly comforted Will, taking him back to the bedroom.
Klein froze for a second, then looked helplessly at Will being carried back to the bedroom, sighed, and returned to the living room on the first floor.
This Snake of Fate's style really is... I don't even know if he's acting, or if he's truly become an infant from body to mind with the "restart."
A moment later, Dr. Aaron came downstairs from the second floor and smiled apologetically at Klein:
"I'm sorry, Sherlock, for keeping you waiting. I originally wanted to bring Will down to see you, but he seems to still be half-asleep and was crying as he was carried back to the bedroom."
"It's alright, I just didn't choose a good time to visit today."
Klein nodded gently in response, then chatted with Dr. Aaron about the recent situations in Desi Bay and Backlund. Until close to noon, Klein declined Dr. Aaron's invitation for lunch and took his leave.
Southern Continent, at the edge of the Ancient Forest in the northernmost part of East Balam, Leyton and Bugs Bunny's figures quietly emerged.
"Boss, what are we doing here?"
At Leyton's feet, Bugs Bunny looked at the tall grass that completely submerged him, scratching his head uncomfortably.
"Bringing you to understand biodiversity. Don't always focus on fruits; your Biologist potion will be hard to digest that way."
"Even Frank knows to expand his experimental subjects to wheat, milk, fish, sheep, mushrooms, and Rose Bishop."
As he spoke, Leyton extended his right hand forward, and illusory "light" that was difficult to observe with the naked eye gathered from all directions, condensing into a ball of illusory light in his hand, a ball of light formed from the surrounding information.
He squeezed his right hand slightly, and the illusory light ball instantly shattered, turning into tiny specks of light scattered around, rapidly evolving into various insects with wings or carapaces, birds flapping their wings, and rodents scurrying through the grass.
Bugs Bunny looked at the various creatures evolved from the scattered information around him, his head drooping, and said unwillingly:
"Boss, you can just directly instill the knowledge into my head. Running around in the forest, that's what wild rabbits do."
"Learning is a process, and besides, this is exactly to make up for your missing wilderness survival knowledge."
Leyton casually retorted Bugs Bunny, then kicked him away. Bugs Bunny's dusty figure instantly disappeared among the grass.
Just as he retracted his foot, a thick gray fog suddenly surged before Leyton's eyes, and Klein's figure, seated on a high-backed chair, appeared faintly within the gray fog.