On the sea.
Klein, wearing a fierce-looking face covered in a thick beard, casually tossed onto the ship's deck the blade he had just used to kill a pirate with a bounty of 1,200 gold pounds.
He wiped the blood splattered, on his hand, with the corner of the clothes of a pirate standing nearby, too terrified to move. Only after finishing did he look around at the pirates who had already been scared witless.
"You'd better stay alive and try to raise your value a little. That way, I can use your heads to exchange for some drinking money in the future." A smile appeared on Klein's face. Coupled with his deep, hoarse voice, it made everyone who heard him feel a chill run down their spines.
"Now, get lost, before I change my mind."
Hearing those words, the surrounding pirates hurriedly fled the pirate ship. Some even grabbed empty oak barrels and jumped directly into the sea.
Just like that, the Black Skull Pirate Crew, which had a modest reputation among pirates, completely fell apart.
After all the pirates had left the ship, Klein muttered, "A bounty of 1,200 gold pounds. Not bad."
"But I still have to pay Mr. Hanged Man 100 pounds for the intelligence, and I still owe Miss Messenger 7,600 gold coins."
"Given the unequal exchange rate between gold coins and gold pounds, I still need to earn nearly 8,000 pounds in bounties. That's probably seven or eight bounty missions."
"Sigh, unfortunately, those famous pirates have all gone into hiding because of the Church of Storms' crackdown. If it weren't for Mr. Hanged Man's inside information, it would be very difficult for me to accurately hunt them down."
He thought that if he could hunt down a major pirate worth 5,000 pounds, it would be easy to clear his debt.
Fortunately, Miss Messenger had never taken the initiative to ask him to repay the money.
"I'll head back first. Tomorrow, I'll hunt another pirate hiding nearby."
Just as Klein was about to leave the pirate ship, his spirituality began frantically warning him to head above the gray fog.
With no other choice, Klein found a somewhat filthy washroom nearby. Enduring the unpleasant smell, he walked four steps counterclockwise and entered the space above the gray fog.
When he arrived, the gray fog surrounding Sefirah Castle was violently churning. The disturbance was even more intense than when that mysterious person had visited last time.
He sat at the head of the long bronze table and looked down from above. Through the gaps in the rolling gray fog, he vaguely saw seven pillars of light of different colors soaring upward and reaching the space beneath the gray fog.
Several creatures resembling hunting dogs emerged from cracks in time, their tails raised as they remained fully on guard against something.
Klein had seen this kind of creature in the books Mr. Azik had given him.
They were Hounds of Fulgrim! The loyal guardians of the spirit world!
Something was wrong!
Klein noticed something different from last time.
Last time, it had been while he was observing the City of Silver that the mysterious figure discovered him and then followed the traces he had left behind to reach the outskirts of the gray fog.
At that time, not only had the gray fog separated them, but there had also been the vast distance of the Forsaken Land of the Gods between them.
But this time, it seemed that the other party was heading directly for Sefirah Castle itself!
Even Klein himself didn't know where Sefirah Castle was actually located. How had the other party managed to find his doorstep?
Those Hounds of Fulgrim guarding Sefirah Castle outside must have feared that the other party intended to harm Sefirah Castle, which was why they had chosen to manifest themselves.
Klein couldn't help but feel a surge of panic. This was the first time some unknown existence had followed the "internet connection" all the way to his actual home address.
Who exactly was it? Was it the mysterious person from last time?
Klein watched the scene beyond the gray fog intently and anxiously.
After a while, a bird's cry loud enough to pierce the surroundings resounded throughout the entire gray fog.
Immediately afterward, a fiery-red radiance spread upward from below, continuously expanding until even the gray fog was dyed into a vast expanse of crimson clouds.
The Hounds of Fulgrim's vigilance reached its peak at that moment. Under their wary gazes and Klein's watchful eyes, a gigantic phoenix appeared before the gray fog, flapping a pair of wings that seemed capable of blotting out the sky.
And upon that enormous phoenix seemed to rest a palace formed from hazy starlight.
Inside the palace sat a mysterious existence, likewise seated at the head of a long table.
Klein studied the other party through the gray fog and immediately felt his scalp go numb. He struggled to suppress the panic in his heart, maintaining a calm exterior as he stared across the distance at that mysterious existence.
The gray fog surrounding Sefirah Castle began to churn and spread, attempting to devour the illusory palace radiating starlight.
Yet strands of starlight descended and transformed into a barrier, completely blocking the gray fog's spread and corrosion.
"Fool."
Inside the starlight palace, the mysterious existence calmly uttered the Fool's title.
Klein's expression abruptly changed as he immediately realized the other party's true identity.
The Stars! Who else besides the Stars could sit within a hall formed from the radiance of the stars?
Moreover, not long ago, he and the other party had worked together in Backlund to stop George III from ascending to godhood.
Could it be that their cooperation that time had allowed the Stars to lock onto his true location? Then why had He come today?
Klein didn't think about it for too long. He leaned slightly back against his chair, assuming an air of complete composure, then chuckled lightly and said, "Stars."
Since the other party had already arrived outside his front door, and even the gray fog couldn't stop Him, Klein could only bluff and pretend that he was the true Fool, the true Lord of the Mysteries.
Only this way could he protect himself and frighten the other party into retreating.
"You, who have only recently awakened, seem to still be very weak?"
Faced with the Stars' undisguised probing, Klein merely tapped his fingers lightly against the table, the corners of his lips curling into a faint smile.
"Didn't the Stars awaken only recently as well?"
It wasn't difficult to arrive at this conjecture. The organization of the Stars and his own Tarot Club had appeared at almost the same time, and the followers of both were simultaneously active in Backlund.
This was enough to show that the Stars had also only recently awakened and was using His followers to continuously expand His faith and actively influence the real world.
This manner of doing things was very much like a powerful existence awakening from a long slumber, beginning to reacquaint Himself with the world and interfere with it.
Huh... Why does that sound so much like the identity I've fabricated for Mr. Fool?
In the eyes of the Tarot Club members, Mr. Fool was precisely such a mysterious existence.
The only difference between Klein and the Stars was that Klein's identity as the Fool was an act. He was bluffing, all appearance and no substance.
Meanwhile, the Stars truly was an existence that had awakened.
Klein felt somewhat uncertain inside, but he still worked hard to maintain his outward composure, wanting to hear what the other party had to say.
Had He come with malicious intent, or did He wish to discuss cooperation?
"Do you still remember the agreement we made back then?"
"??" Klein's mind was filled with question marks.
The agreement from back then? What agreement?
Why don't I know anything about it?
The person the Stars was referring to should be the original Lord of the Mysteries, right?
But I don't have the Lord of the Mysteries' memories. Who knows what kind of agreement the Lord of the Mysteries and the Stars reached back then?
I'm screwed. Am I about to be exposed?
No, I absolutely can't answer this question directly!
Klein remained silent for quite a while before finally replying, "Times have changed. Everything in the past should have long since been buried in the river of history."
"A new era can also have new agreements."
"Does the Stars also need a partner?" Seeing that the Stars had come today without any apparent malicious intent, Klein decided to turn the question back on Him and see if he could probe out some of His background.
"In the past, it was the Lord of the Mysteries. Now, it is the Fool. Since they are different, naturally, we should begin anew."
Klein frowned slightly, unable to quite figure out the meaning behind those words.
It seemed as if the Stars had deliberately said that. Had He seen the difference between Klein and the Lord of the Mysteries?
Or did He regard Klein as the reborn Lord of the Mysteries?
"How does the Stars wish to cooperate?" Klein decided to probe the Stars' intentions further.
"Fool, you are far too weak right now."
"..." Klein was speechless. He could actually hear a hint of teasing yet familiarity in those words.
Could it be that the Lord of the Mysteries and the Stars had shared a friendly relationship back then?
Forget it. I don't need to figure out their relationship. Even if He really sees through me, at worst, I'll just leave Sefirah Castle and return to the real world, leaving the Stars alone outside Sefirah Castle's front door.
"Usually, the party actively seeking cooperation is the one that is weakest and bluffing the most." Klein appropriately displayed Mr. Fool's tougher side.
"Fool, aren't you the one bluffing right now?"
Those simple words made Klein's heart tremble.
He was indeed bluffing. Was this merely another probe from the Stars, or had He truly seen through Klein's actual situation?
Klein continued speaking in a calm tone, "I'm not the one who came knocking to seek cooperation."
"Perhaps I came to offer you my protection."
"The Stars' protection should be reserved for those who need it more."
After Klein finished speaking, he vaguely heard what seemed to be a soft chuckle from the Stars, as though He had been amused.
Was what I said really that funny? Klein carefully reviewed every answer he had given before and couldn't find anything particularly laughable.
Although he wouldn't dare claim that his disguise was flawless, it wasn't so easy to find a hole in it either.
"The Stars seems to be in quite a good mood?"
"Indeed. I have met an old friend again."
Klein's heart trembled once more.
Met an old friend again?
Neither the Stars nor the Lord of the Mysteries nor the Fool could really be considered human anymore, so why had the Stars used the term "old friend"?