When the blood-colored words displayed in the mirror came into view, Sharon's expression still did not change much, but Maric was already so shocked that his mouth fell open, his gaze darting back and forth between Klein and Sharon.
At the same time, the way he looked at Klein became somewhat unfriendly. He felt that this fellow must have harbored improper intentions toward Sharon long ago, otherwise he wouldn't have proposed that kind of "acting" method.
In response, Klein felt a bit awkward, so he coughed lightly and said, "At that time, it was only an attempt to test the effects of 'acting'…"
As he spoke, he emphasized again, "An academic attempt!"
Of course, that was only "at that time." Now, things were rather different.
Hearing this, Maric shot Klein a few suspicious looks, his heart full of disbelief.
But at this moment, Sharon seemed to awaken from her "daze" and said without any change in expression:
"Every set."
Every set… Upon hearing this answer, ripples immediately rose in Klein's heart.
Although Sharon's initiative that night had already made her feelings clear, such straightforward words still struck the softest part of Klein's heart. The way he looked at Sharon gradually changed.
However, at this moment, Sharon—who still had not looked at Klein—had already turned to ask:
"What problems does the mummy of Tutankhamun II have?"
On the mirror's surface, the blood-red words writhed and transformed, giving rise to a complete sentence:
"It is filled with curses, the embodiment of curses, and has the possibility of transforming into a living corpse on its own."
This mummy is composed of 'curses'? As expected of the remains left behind by a high-Sequence powerhouse… But transforming into a living corpse? That leaves a lot of room for maneuver!
Because of Sharon's question, Klein shifted his attention back to the mirror's surface. While thinking of countermeasures, he associated it with the Azik Copper Whistle in the pile of miscellaneous items above the gray fog, feeling that perhaps this matter could be approached from a different angle… for example, letting the mummy of Tutankhamun II "run out" on its own.
After Arodes finished answering, according to the principle of equivalence, it was just about to ask another question when it suddenly noticed Klein looking over with a "warning" in his eyes. It hurriedly adjusted its prepared question on the spot:
"You…
"…Why do you strive so hard to advance your Sequence?"
For some reason, Klein felt that the blood color of this latter part seemed much dimmer than before. Fortunately, the question itself was not out of line.
Does this mean Arodes is hesitating, struggling, fighting against itself? On one hand, it can't restrain its nature and wants to ask questions that are hard to answer; on the other hand, it has to suppress itself because of my instructions?
No… it might also be deliberately acting this way to gain my 'sympathy.' After all, after answering my questions, the questions it asks are always the kind with "no bottom line."
Klein chuckled inwardly in thought, then refocused his gaze on Sharon.
As for Sharon's "wish," she had mentioned it to him before, so Klein did not feel that it was difficult to answer.
However, Sharon stood silently before the small table holding the mirror for quite a while before finally parting her lips and saying:
"At first, I just didn't want to be bullied—having the ability to protect myself and my companions, and revenge, and spreading the concept of Temperance… If everyone could restrain their desires, there wouldn't be wars, there wouldn't be killing, there wouldn't be so, so much suffering…"
Although he had known this for a long time, hearing Sharon once again voice these thoughts that seemed to have been suppressed deep in her heart for a very long time still filled Klein with emotion.
Although this "wish," or rather "goal," was somewhat naive, when one thought of the chaotic reality of the Southern Continent filled with strife—of the large numbers of enslaved natives, of the lower classes dying batch after batch from hunger and disease, of the endless wars and the constant occurrence of live human sacrifices—it became clear that this young woman had already relegated revenge to a secondary position. What she wanted more was for the Southern Continent to obtain the same stable and beautiful environment as the nations of the Northern Continent…
Unfortunately, even in the Northern Continent, the days of stability are probably numbered…
While Klein was still sighing inwardly, he heard Sharon suddenly change the topic and say earnestly:
"And now, the reason I strive to improve is to help him…"
As she spoke, Sharon turned her head to look at Klein. Although there was still no expression on her face, anyone could sense the firmness of her attitude.
Hit by two consecutive "straight balls," Klein found it hard to withstand them. But in the end, he did not do anything cowardly like avoiding Sharon's gaze. Instead, he followed his heart, met her eyes, and gave a direct response.
Seeing this, Sharon seemed satisfied. She turned her head back, preparing to ask the mirror a third question.
At this moment, Klein also came back to his senses and stared at Arodes as well. He suspected that this thing had probably already known Sharon's "answer," and that the forced change of question just now had merely been passive resistance!
As for Maric, he could no longer stand watching this. How could he fail to see that these two were using questions to express their feelings?
Although he already knew that his "sister" had not been deceived and had indeed developed feelings for this little detective, they couldn't be this blatant about it… hm, using the description from one of Emperor Roselle's novels, this was called "feeding dog food"!
Thus, without waiting for Sharon to speak again, Maric took the initiative to seize the conversation and asked Arodes:
"Other than Mekhamus, which high-Sequence powerhouses will appear in this trap?"
For the descendants of the pharaohs, having their ancestor's "mummy" stolen for research was the greatest humiliation. And Mekhamus was the most powerful demigod among Tutankhamun II's descendants—a Sequence 3 Silent Disciple. He was bound to come and reclaim the mummy.
The mirror's surface rippled like water for a moment, then finally solidified into brilliant light—light that covered everything, leaving nothing else visible.
With Arodes's abilities, this must involve angels or a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, so it can't give an accurate answer…
But Maric, since you were the one who came up and asked this question yourself, there's nothing I can do about it. After all, Arodes always 'misinterprets' my instructions.
Klein muttered inwardly a few times, then smiled at Miss Sharon and Maric and said:
"It seems to be roughly the same as I expected. The Loen military has left quite a bit of leeway.
"But there's no need to worry too much. We also have angelic assistance on our side."
Not to mention Miss Messenger, Klein still had Ms. Yaloran's Golden Leaf in his possession, which could summon her angel-level projection… moreover, there were even more angelic existences behind Mr. Tower. If all else failed, he could ask him for help.
Sharon nodded slightly, while Maric—though curious—did not ask further. He simply looked at the mirror, waiting for that hidden existence to present its question.
As if sensing the will of its "great master," the blood-colored words writhed, no longer appearing intermittently as before, but displayed all at once:
"When you push 'Temperance' to the extreme, what is your method of occasionally 'indulging' your desires?"
Upon seeing this question, Maric's expression instantly went blank. His already pale face even seemed a bit more transparent. If he hadn't been locked onto by Arodes, he probably would have wanted to immediately turn into a wraith and mirror-jump away…
Seeing Sharon and that little detective both look over, Maric closed his eyes and gritted his teeth:
"I choose punishment."
Even though lightning was particularly restraining to wraiths and undead, he was willing to accept the punishment.
The moment his words fell, a silver-white bolt of lightning appeared out of thin air and struck the top of his head.
Crackle, crackle, crackle—Maric instantly convulsed into a bizarre "dance," and only after quite a while did he collapse to the ground.
After about half a minute, he finally struggled back to his feet. Although he hadn't suffered any real injuries, that sensation—more "terrifying" than indulging desire—made his entire body tremble, and the way he looked at the mirror was filled with "fear."
Once again, the mirror turned deep and dark. All the bright red words disappeared, replaced by new text:
"Continue."
Seeing this, Sharon glanced at Klein beside her. He immediately understood, coughed lightly, and said:
"That's all for today."
As soon as he spoke, several lines of text that only Klein could see immediately appeared in the mirror:
"Great Master, your loyal servant Arodes awaits your next summons…
"Additionally, your servant wishes to remind you that the infant you asked me to keep an eye on last time will be born this Sunday!
"Goodbye~~"
Immediately afterward, cracks spread across the surface of the mirror that housed Arodes, clearly indicating that it had already departed.
The infant I was watching… Will? He'll be born on Sunday… Looks like I need to prepare a gift…
Mm, it has to be an 'accidental encounter.' I can't be too deliberate, otherwise Doctor Allen might start to suspect my motives.
While calculating inwardly, Klein looked on the surface at Sharon and Maric and said with a smile:
"I have a plan, but I need to borrow an item from Mr. Tower… Of course, before that, I still need to help Mr. Tower contact Admiral Pale, complete his commission, and only then will it be appropriate to make that request…"
...
At the same time, within the "World" of Groselle's Travels, Ebner also gathered together the giant Groselle, the elf Shatas, the ascetic Snowman, the Fourth Epoch noble youth Mobet, and the Loen soldier Longzerl from over a hundred years ago.
After satisfying the "life-extension" wishes of the vampire marquises and counts the previous night, Ebner finally had the confidence to complete the "miracle" of breaking through the effectiveness limit of the Fountain of Youth.
Alvin Abraham stood at Ebner's side at this moment and said with a smile to the "protagonist group" of the Travelogue:
"Make your wishes to me."
Hearing this, Groselle and the others all turned their gazes toward Mobet Zoroaster, waiting for this well-informed and knowledgeable Fourth Epoch noble to make a judgment.
Mobet nodded slightly. Having an understanding of both Miracle Invokers and Immortal Demonesses, he knew that, in theory, such a method could indeed solve their problems.
Moreover, the other party was an angel, and there was nothing about the few of them that was worth scheming for.
Seeing Mobet nod, Groselle, Shatas, and the others—who trusted him deeply—did not delay any further. One after another, they made their wishes to Alvin and obtained a portion of Fountain of Youth water.
Only when the soldier Longzerl was about to speak was he stopped by Ebner:
"You don't need to…"
As he spoke, Ebner handed him a bottle of Fountain of Youth water containing three hundred years of "time"—Longzerl had only entered here a little over a hundred years ago, so he had no need for a "miracle."
In fact, if the others hadn't already spent well over a thousand years within the Travelogue, Ebner wouldn't have needed to accumulate wishes beforehand. He could have simply given them the Fountain of Youth water directly.
"But now, all the Fountain of Youth water I have on hand has been used up. Getting more in the future will probably be extremely difficult…
"Those Unaging Demonesses suffered tremendous damage themselves just to produce this small amount of spring water. To squeeze out more next time, we'll probably have to wait a thousand years…
"As for the Black Saintess and the Yellow Saintess, since they are angels, they don't need to wait that long—but before the apocalypse arrives, there won't be any more either."
While Ebner sighed inwardly, he saw that Groselle and the others had all drunk the spring water. Only then did he open the door leading back to reality.
—With the presence of someone who had once been a Wanderer, opening a "door" could naturally be done at will.
"Welcome home, you ignorant 'travelers' from all eras!"
(End of chapter)