Klein decisively dismissed Frank's idea. After instructing the man not to bring the experimental subject onto the deck, Klein returned to the captain's cabin.
Sealing the wall of spirituality, Klein took four counter-clockwise steps and ascended above the gray fog. He took the telegraph machine from the pile of miscellaneous items and brought it back to reality.
Azik's awakening brought him a long-lost sense of security. Aside from Aaron, whose background was mysterious, the Tarot Club finally had a reliable angel supporting it.
It was no longer the empty shell it used to be; now, it truly lived up to the name of a secret organization, and certain hesitant ideas could now be attempted with confidence.
As soon as Klein brought the telegraph machine back to the captain's cabin, a rhythmic tapping sound eagerly rang out. Illusory white paper was spat out, and lines of text appeared:
"Great existence above the Spirit World, your most humble and loyal servant Arrodes has finally caught up to your footsteps, ready to serve you at any time!"
This guy couldn't have been sensing this telegraph machine the whole time, could he? Klein, who had originally expected to wait a while for a response, was stunned. He glanced at the telegraph machine in his hand with a strange expression, feeling a sense of déjà vu, like a common trope from his previous life where a simp waited for a goddess's reply.
Resisting the urge to rub his forehead, Klein suppressed the strange thoughts in his mind. Maintaining the aloofness of a mysterious existence, he calmly nodded:
"Arrodes, tell me the current location of 'Vice Admiral Ailment' Tracy of the Demoness Sect."
Arrodes was silent for two seconds, then made the telegraph machine emit tapping sounds again. A large amount of illusory white paper was spat out, forming a series of portraits, which were precisely Tracy, whom Klein had seen on the wanted posters.
"Great Master, is this the one you are looking for?" A sentence was appended to the end of the illusory white paper.
This magic mirror is getting better and better... After examining the portrait, Klein clicked his tongue inwardly and slowly nodded.
Tap, tap, tap, the telegraph machine immediately gave a reply:
"The Black Death is currently in the Lip Islands in the southern waters of Segar, but Tracy is now a Sequence 4 Demoness of Despair..."
The illusory tapping sound paused. Before Klein could speak, Arrodes quickly continued "typing":
"Great Master, that dangerous fellow Ince Zangwill is also there, and that terrifying Sealed Artifact is blocking my prying."
Klein suddenly stood up, looking at the bolded and enlarged text on the illusory white paper, his fists involuntarily clenched.
0-08 could even affect Sefirah Castle's divination to a certain extent, let alone Arrodes. Klein, who had similar experiences, knew that asking further would not yield any useful information.
Taking a deep breath, Klein waved his hand at the telegraph machine, ending his inquiry to Arrodes so quickly for the first time.
"Your most humble and loyal servant Arrodes awaits the next opportunity to serve you, Great Master!"
After this page of illusory white paper was spat out, the telegraph machine immediately stopped and lost that deep, obscure feeling.
Touching the pure white feather placed on his chest, Klein's expression suddenly became somewhat ferocious. Outside the captain's cabin, the marionettes silently raised the sails, heading towards Feynapotter's territorial waters, where the Golden Dream was to undergo maintenance.
-----------------
Fog Sea, Lip Islands.
Since the end of the Battle of the Violated Oath over 600 years ago, when Segar officially gained independence from Feynapotter, this archipelago has been in a state of chaos.
Segar, which nominally held control, was sandwiched between Intis to the north and Feynapotter to the south, and could only tacitly allow this archipelago to become a pirate's paradise.
On a desolate small island at the edge of the archipelago, the Black Death lay quietly anchored on the beach. The entire ship appeared quite lifeless.
Ince Zangwill, dressed in a black clergyman's robe, stood on the deck. As if sensing something, he withdrew his gaze from the sky, clicked his tongue, and glanced at Tracy not far away:
"Little Crow, it seems something is prying into us."
The beautiful figure standing at the bow of the ship did not move. A male voice, tinged with amusement, echoed:
"Just a small mirror, huh. What it can see depends on what I want it to see. This only requires a little bit of deception of the rules."
His single eye, blue to the point of being almost black, rotated. Ince Zangwill murmured with a playful expression:
"It's best if you're confident, but I really didn't expect you to be able to persuade Cheek so quickly."
"Tell me, what do you need me to do? Hmm, I can consider it."
Listening to that irritating tone, "Tracy" tilted her head slightly, toying with a monocle in her hand, a slight curve on her lips:
"First, play a scene according to that fanatic's idea—a grand play of hunter and prey."
After reapplying a layer of seal to the restless 0-08, Ince Zangwill snorted, but did not refuse:
"I really don't want to give this thing to that fanatic, but alas, when under someone else's roof, one has no choice but to bow one's head."
"However, the trouble this body has caused is already big enough. Remember to find me a new body, one that hasn't been parasitized by your Worm of Time."
-----------------
East Chester County's capital, Stoen City, within the Hall family manor.
Audrey stopped Avonie, who was holding Evelina and full of curiosity, wanting to explore. Passing through the busy male servants and maids who were setting up, she returned to her bedroom, but her thoughts couldn't help but drift north.
The entire Amantha defense line stretched from Winter County in the north to East Chester County in the south. Such a long border meant a large amount of manpower and resources were needed.
The special train arrived in Stoen half a day later than expected. Melissa and the other Nighthawks of the Church of Evernight had no time to rest and immediately headed to the border defense line of East Chester County with the supplies transported from Emlyn Port.
In the corner of the bedroom, the golden retriever Susie was lying on the ground, her front paws crossed, exuding an elegant charm. From time to time, she would lift a paw to flip through the open book placed in front of her.
Seeing Audrey walk in, lost in thought, Susie skillfully closed the book and picked it up, placing it on the nearby bookshelf.
Closing the slightly ajar bedroom door, Audrey composed herself and looked around. Not seeing a certain baby, she was about to ask Susie when her vision suddenly blurred. She saw boundless gray fog and a majestic, ancient palace.
Within the gray fog, a blurry figure was praying to the deity seated high above:
"Great Mr. Fool, please inform Miss Justice that the former renegade Archbishop of the Church of Evernight, Ince Zangwill, has appeared in the Fog Sea, in the Lip Islands within Segar's territorial waters."
Ince Zangwill? Audrey was momentarily dazed, her pupils suddenly widening. The illusory gray fog instantly vanished, replaced by a pair of large, clear black and white eyes.
Will Auceptin, who had appeared from nowhere, sized up Audrey, muttered something softly, then his figure flickered, and he directly sat on the head of the still-confused Susie, using her thick, smooth golden fur as a pillow.
☰