After discussing the informant matter, Alaric enthusiastically chatted with Klein about Beyonder knowledge, fully embracing his role as a teacher before seeing Klein off, who needed to head home for dinner.
Watching Klein's trackless carriage disappear into the distance, Alaric returned inside, the naive university student smile fading from his face. He stretched, chuckled softly, and muttered, "Klein, you really are a good guy…"
He truly enjoyed dealing with good people.
If Klein had been a high-ranking figure, Alaric might have soared to demigod-level power just from this exchange.
"Pity, but being an angel investor isn't bad either…" Alaric mused to himself. He headed upstairs to his laboratory, where a half-carved charm lay on the desk, spiritual materials scattered nearby, and an open book rested to the right.
Alaric approached the workbench, tossed the incomplete charm's runes into the trash, and started anew with fresh materials. After crafting a new charm, he yawned but didn't continue practicing.
Instead, he tidied the desk and left for an unoccupied apartment... another of his safe houses, used for receiving certain letters from Backlund.
Opening the mailbox, Alaric found a single letter with no postmark, clearly delivered directly. He took it inside, opened the envelope, and reviewed its contents. The letter was from Mr. A in Backlund, detailing recent activities of Beyonders there... part of Alaric's deal with the Aurora Order.
At the letter's end, Mr. A mentioned that someone had been buying Emperor Roselle's diaries. Following Alaric's earlier instructions, he had sold the diaries Alaric provided.
Alaric raised an eyebrow, a playful smile spreading across his face. "So, my Transmigration Diary might soon appear at the Tarot Club. Shame I'm not a member yet…"
"When the Fool sees the diary, he'll likely suspect my background and divine its origins. By our next meeting, I'll know if the gray fog can counter Nyarlathotep's fragment interference…"
Alaric muttered to himself, having deliberately shaped his persona for this test. Even if Klein divined that the diary came from him, it wouldn't matter... a naive, playful university student forging Roselle's diaries for profit was hardly suspicious.
His thoughts turned to the idle duo in Backlund. After a moment, he began writing a letter, not to Mr. A or Azik, but to Xio and Fors.
In it, he first extended greetings, politely inquired about their progress investigating the Fool, and concluded:
"…I've learned the Abraham family was a noble lineage in the Fourth Epoch's Tudor Empire. Due to their loyalty to the Blood Emperor, they were at odds with the Trunsoest Empire. Could their curse be tied to Trunsoest? Backlund was once part of the Trunsoest Empire, and some noble families there served it. Perhaps their libraries hold records on this. We might try approaching Backlund's nobles to uncover such knowledge.
Your loyal friend, Jack Jones."
Alaric's aim was to nudge Xio and Fors toward contacting Audrey and others. With his butterfly effect at play, he wasn't sure if Fors would still, as in the original story, approach Audrey to free Xio from prison.
He wasn't one to sit idly by, so he took the initiative. The full moon curse was something even the idle duo couldn't ignore.
After writing their letter, Alaric penned ones for Mr. A and Azik. Checking his pocket watch, he saw it was past nine in the evening and shook his head. "This schedule of mine... I'm really going to collapse one day."
Nine wasn't late, but after three sleepless days, Alaric felt he was pushing his limits.
"Forget it. Better listen to advice and rest." He muttered, shaking his head. He headed to the post office, mailed the letters, and returned home to catch up on sleep.
Monday, three in the afternoon.
Klein convened his third Tarot Club meeting.
He first congratulated Audrey on advancing to Sequence 9 Spectator, then collected Roselle's diaries from Alger and Audrey, kicking off the Tarot Club's tradition: the Fool reading Roselle's diaries.
The first three pages were unremarkable, detailing Roselle's pirate-themed antics post-transmigration, discovering an unnamed island, and his initial resistance to an arranged marriage before embracing it. Klein gained insights while mentally chuckling.
But when he turned to the fourth page... Audrey's second submission... he froze. The diary read:
[June 29, clear. I've been in this world for three days…]
The brief entry described a transmigrator who wanted to coast but found their new identity had a formidable enemy, forcing them to become a Marauder. They were quickly caught by said enemy.
Yet, the previous three pages had detailed Roselle joining the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery as a Savant, with his family being the Gustavs. This page, however, mentioned a transmigrator in the Zoroast family, with their great enemy named Amon.
"Unless Roselle was bored enough to forge his own diary, this last page likely belongs to another transmigrator." Klein mused, surprisingly calm.
He was used to it by now. Upon transmigrating, he'd learned of Roselle, a fellow transmigrator who'd caused waves. Days later, he met Jack Jones, another apparent transmigrator. He was already prepared for the possibility that this world held many such individuals.
***
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