The Fool?
Never heard of that before.
Is this some evil god's new alias, or a mysterious being that appeared recently?
Anderson mulled over the title, pondering silently.
Although he remained vigilant in his heart, his face still wore a smile when facing Silas.
"Friend, are you a believer of The Fool?"
He asked.
"To a certain extent, yes."
"If that's the case, you can conduct the ritual yourself. Why do you insist I believe in Him?"
Anderson pressed.
"Because I want to spread Mr. Fool's glory while I'm at it."
Silas glanced at him. "I don't save people for free."
"Actually, I've gained some things during my adventures. I can also pay you more compensation after safely returning."
Anderson tried to persuade Silas. "I do have a bit of a reputation over in the Fog Sea..."
"Not necessary."
Silas said flatly.
"I'll give you two choices. Either conduct the ritual, pray to The Fool, and leave here with me; or be left behind and fend for yourself on this island."
"This..."
Anderson's face showed hesitation.
He could tell Silas wasn't joking.
"Um, can I think about it first?"
He asked tentatively.
"You can. I'll give you ten minutes to consider."
Silas tossed out this statement and walked away along the beach.
Luna played at his feet.
The black cat seemed interested in the waves lapping back and forth on the beach, chasing the receding tide, then quickly running away when new waves surged up.
"Only ten minutes..."
Anderson smiled bitterly and shook his head.
He felt like he'd entered a dead-end maze.
Either be trapped to death on this island, or establish a connection with a mysterious being of unknown background.
Both were dangerous. The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became, feeling his mouth go dry.
Anderson thought for a moment, then turned and walked behind a rock.
When he emerged, he was holding a coconut in his hands.
"Hey, want to try some coconut?"
He called out to Silas. "This is the last one on the entire island. I ate all the others."
"You have five minutes left."
Silas's voice came over.
"Alright then, looks like I'll enjoy it myself."
Anderson shrugged and sat directly on the beach, still holding the coconut.
He used flames to burn open a crack in the coconut shell and tilted his head back to drink the sweet coconut water inside.
Then he broke open the coconut shell, scooped out the coconut meat with his hand, and stuffed it eagerly into his mouth, chewing and swallowing with satisfaction.
Suddenly, his expression changed.
"Kah..."
Anderson made a strained, strange sound, his hands reaching for his throat, his mouth gaping wide.
"Crack!"
Both halves of the coconut shell fell to the beach.
"Kah, kah..."
Anderson's face flushed bright red, and within ten-plus seconds turned a deep purple like a pig's liver.
Flames flickered faintly in this Sequence 5 Hunter's eyes, veins bulging on the backs of his hands.
He fell backward onto the beach, starting to convulse, clearly about to die from suffocation.
Just then, a figure's shadow fell across him.
Silas lifted his foot and stomped hard on his chest.
"Poof!"
A piece of translucent coconut meat immediately flew out of Anderson's mouth.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Anderson's eyes immediately widened as he coughed violently.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
He gasped for breath, utterly bedraggled.
"You're really something. A Sequence 5, and you nearly choked to death on a piece of coconut meat."
Silas looked down at him.
"Huff, huff... This is because my luck has gotten worse."
Anderson grinned, revealing a smile uglier than crying. "But before, no matter how bad the misfortune was, it never directly threatened my life..."
"You've been entangled by bad luck for too long. Curses don't disappear, they only keep deepening."
Silas said matter-of-factly.
This was knowledge from the "Secrets Suppliant" potion inside him.
Anderson should have been cursed by a mural left by Ouroboros, his own fate tainted with serious misfortune.
Anderson gasped for a while, his breathing gradually becoming even, but his face still carried intense unease.
After all, he'd just escaped from the edge of death.
"No, I have to save myself..."
The Hunter muttered to himself in a low voice, then suddenly raised his head to look at Silas.
"You seem to understand these things quite well... Do you know something?"
"Probably."
Silas said ambiguously. "But why should I help you?"
Anderson thought for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face. "If I pray to The Fool, will you help me?"
"For Mr. Fool's sake, I can." Silas said. "But you'll still need to provide compensation for this."
"No problem."
Things having come to this point, Anderson didn't care anymore.
The curse of misfortune on him had already started threatening his life. He could only grasp at this sole hope, even if this hope would very likely bring other troubles.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Anderson Hood."
He climbed up from the beach and said to Silas, "Over in the Fog Sea, they all call me the 'Strongest Hunter.'"
"Alexander Gascoigne."
Silas gave his false name. "A missionary."
---
On the Sonia Sea route, in a second-class cabin aboard the steamship named "White Agate."
Klein, wearing Gehrman Sparrow's appearance, was resting with his eyes closed, waiting for dinner, when he suddenly heard overlapping prayer voices by his ear.
"Someone's praying to me. At this time, who could it be?"
He opened his eyes, took four steps counterclockwise in the narrow cabin, ascended above the gray fog, and saw the deep crimson star above the high-backed chair belonging to [Temperance] trembling and emitting spiritual ripples.
Is it Silas?
Klein extended his spirituality and touched that star. Soon, some images appeared before him.
He saw Silas bowing his head in prayer. "Esteemed Mr. Fool, I've currently encountered some situations..."
The end of the Sonia Sea, ruins of a divine battle?
Klein listened to Silas's experiences and couldn't help but be astonished.
After Silas briefly described his situation, he continued, "Right now I'm trapped on an island and urgently need a ship.
Please convey this message to [The World], [Justice], and [The Hanged Man] to see if any of them can buy one for me. Many thanks!"
What?
Buy a ship?
And from what he means, he's planning to have the ship delivered to him through me?
Klein was dumbfounded.
He felt a strong sense of absurdity, but thinking about it carefully, this method actually seemed feasible.
The only question was whether the sacrifice ritual could transport something this large.
Whatever, I'll relay the message for him first.
Silas asked me to contact three people because [Justice] has connections, while [The Hanged Man] and I are at sea... Unfortunately, I'm currently in transit and can't go buy one...
Klein thought this way, repackaged this information, and tossed it toward the stars representing [Justice] and [The Hanged Man].