"I'm not certain if that was Mr. Lucifer, Jack. Do you have a photo or portrait of him or something?"
Hearing Alaric's surprised and slightly aggrieved tone, Klein realized Jack likely hadn't seen Lucifer. After a moment's thought, he decided to confirm the mysterious man's identity first.
"Based on your description, it does sound like my teacher… A photo, let me think." Alaric adopted a thoughtful expression before heading upstairs. When he returned, he held a picture frame and a box, his face a mix of complex emotions.
"Klein, it seems my teacher really was here, but why didn't he see me before leaving? That's odd… Could he have finally decided I'm a lost cause and wants to start over with a new student?" Alaric said, looking puzzled and a bit dejected, like an abandoned puppy.
"Uh, maybe he was just busy. When I saw him, he seemed to be heading off to do something…"
Klein quickly offered reassurance, his gaze settling on the photo in Alaric's hand. The man in the picture was indeed the one who'd called himself Lucifer, stirring a mix of emotions in Klein.
"I guess that makes sense. If he wanted a new student, he'd have done it ages ago, not waited until now." Alaric said, quickly bouncing back to his lively self, leaving one to wonder if he had any self-awareness at all.
"Whatever, let's see what my teacher left me…" Alaric said, opening the box he'd brought down with the photo... a prop he'd prepared in advance.
Klein leaned in curiously, peering into the box. It contained several items: a letter, a Time Stone like the one Klein had seen that could summon people from the past, a deck of Tarot cards, and a few spiritual materials set aside separately.
Drawing on his knowledge, Klein identified the materials as ingredients for concocting a Clown potion.
But what caught his attention most was the deck of Tarot cards, which stood out among the items.
"Why would my teacher leave a deck of Tarot cards?" Alaric said, perfectly timed with a puzzled expression. He picked up the deck, opened it, and found it was a standard set... except for the Fool card, which had a circle drawn around it, like a mark.
Alaric put on a convincingly shocked expression, glancing at the card and then at Klein, as if struck by a realization. "Klein, does this mean my teacher knows about Mr. Fool and the Tarot Club? Is this a warning?" He asked, feigning slight panic.
Klein couldn't hide his own shock, though it didn't seem out of place. After a brief moment of disbelief, he tried to calm himself while recalling his encounter with Lucifer.
Even without the marked Fool card, the man had left a striking impression in a short time... not just because of his eccentric personality, but because he seemed to see through Old Neil's fate with a single glance.
"If he can truly see through others' fates, and he's a transmigrator who knows about the gray fog, it's not impossible that he's figured out I'm the Fool…" Klein mused, his mood growing heavy.
He'd hoped Lucifer's appearance might bring a breakthrough, but it seemed to complicate things further.
The circled Fool card felt like a clear warning.
"Looking on the bright side, while Mr. Lucifer's personality seems a bit abrasive, he did save that Punisher and warned us about Old Neil's risk of losing control. Plus, he didn't act against me directly…"
Klein gave a wry smile, instinctively analyzing other possibilities in his mind.
Alaric, of course, could guess what Klein was thinking. This was the outcome he'd intentionally crafted.
Jack Jones could be a naive, clueless friend to Klein, but Lucifer, as a "friendly Amon" Type, had to be a mysterious, all-knowing figure to serve Alaric's broader plans.
As a fellow transmigrator who knew about the Sefirah Castle, the three families, and Klein's connection to the gray fog, it was only natural for "Lucifer" To deduce who the Fool was. Combined with the letters "Jack" Had written to him, it made sense for Lucifer to want to warn Klein, the deceptive trickster.
From Lucifer's perspective, wasn't Klein just a con artist who'd been fooling his student, using Jack to gather information and causing him no end of worry?
Lucifer restraining himself from giving Klein a thrashing was already a courtesy for Jack's sake.
"Lucifer's biased, after all. Even if he rationally understands Klein's choices, emotionally, he's bound to side with Jack. Sorry, Mr. Fool, you'll just have to take the hit…"
Alaric mentally reviewed the logic behind Lucifer's actions, glancing at the obviously deep-in-thought Klein. After a moment, he deliberately opened the letter.
The action snapped Klein out of his thoughts, and his gaze fell on the letter, which contained a few lines in stark black ink:
[Focus on digesting your potion and stop overthinking. I've prepared the materials for the Clown potion. Advance quickly.
Don't make shady friends. Don't you know your own limits? Don't come crying to me when you get duped.
The Fool issue isn't a problem. If you like that gathering, stay in it. Leave the rest to me.]
The words were few, but the information was dense. Klein fell silent.
If he'd held any hope that he was overthinking, this letter confirmed it: Lucifer absolutely knew he was the Fool and was aware of the Tarot Club.
The only silver lining was that, despite the cryptic warning, Lucifer didn't seem hostile toward him or the Tarot Club.
Klein analyzed the potential emotions behind the words, his feelings a tangled mix.
Alaric glanced at the letter, then at Klein. "Uh, Klein, it seems my teacher has some opinions about you…"
I can see that. He probably thinks I've been stringing you along… Klein thought, exasperated but understanding. While he hadn't meant to deceive Jack, the truth was he had deceived him... and not just about one thing.
If Lucifer truly knew everything, it was only natural for him, as Jack's teacher, to be upset.
***
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