The five pages of parchment flashed into Klein's hand. He skimmed them quickly, noticing the sentences jumbled, with missing or misspelled words. Still, as experiments had proven, a little disorder didn't stop Chinese from being legible. And after being tortured by endless asterisks, typos didn't scare him in the least.
In fact, many people seemed to have a natural gift for reading. For instance, they might not recognize the character "岁" (age), but in the sentence "我保证我已18岁" ("I guarantee I am already 18 years old"), they'd instantly understand.
Because Sairuis sat the farthest, Klein looked first at the diary pages from Audrey and Alger.
The entries mostly described: Emperor Roselle discovering a primitive island; Roselle becoming a Child of Steam; Roselle choosing the path of the Savant; Roselle forming his own views on "acting"; Roselle rejecting an arranged marriage, refusing to marry Miss Matilda; Roselle deciding to leave home in rebellion; Roselle marveling at how beautiful Miss Matilda was; Roselle beginning to look forward to his wedding with her…
Turning the page, Klein's gaze fell on the diary Sairuis had submitted.
"August 21st. I'm almost Sequence 6 now. Based on Roselle's advice in his diary, I chose the Seer pathway. But up to now I haven't felt anything special."
Another transmigrator! Klein's eyes widened. If not for the gray fog, Audrey might have noticed his reaction already. He drew a deep breath, steadying his emotions, and read on.
"August 30th. I became a Faceless (Sequence 6), but still I don't sense anything special about the Seer pathway. Roselle really caused me trouble."
"September 1st. I met a god. He called Himself the Trailblaze Aeon Akivili. He was rather benevolent, allowing us to call Him directly by His true name. I'd like to call out the Lord of Storms here for comparison."
Klein flipped the page—nothing on the back—then moved to the second diary page.
"June 9th. Akivili asked if I wanted to go on an adventure with Him. He said it was to carry out Trailblaze's will."
"June 10th. I decided to go on the adventure with Him. I'm so excited!"
"June 11th. Oh, Akivili above, this is absurd! This god's vehicle turned out to be a high-speed rail! It's called the Astral Express!"
The diary ended there, leaving Klein once again in deep thought.
High-speed rail… Could this Trailblaze God also be a transmigrator? No, high-speed trains are a natural invention once civilization advances far enough. But "Astral Express"… Could this god be from an entirely different civilization?
Sairuis didn't need to look to know what Klein was thinking. He was delighted—indeed, the Tarot Club was the ultimate cat toy.
[+1 +1 +1 to Buffoon Meter]
"Stop adding points. I still can't cash them out," Sairuis muttered to himself.
[-1 -1 -1 to Morality]
"Forget useless junk like that," Sairuis dismissed it cleanly.
Putting down the diary, Klein looked up with a smile.
"Apologies—I got too absorbed in reading."
Audrey smoothed out her envy and laughed softly.
"We understand. I look forward to the day I can trade for more of Emperor Roselle's diary entries from you."
[Original edition? No chance—you'll only ever see my edited, censored version.]
"That requires a price," Klein replied with a smile, glancing at "Justice" and then at the silent "Hanged Man" and cheerful "Devil."
[But Gul'dan, what is the price?]
Audrey folded her hands in front of her.
"Mr. Fool, Mr. Hanged Man, Mr. Devil. I have two questions I'd like to ask. Of course, if you feel the answers are very valuable, just tell me your price, and I will do my best to find what you want later."
"No problem," Alger said steadily.
"OK," Sairuis flashed Roselle's hand gesture.
Klein leaned back comfortably and nodded.
Audrey thought for a moment, then asked:
"My first question: what exactly does 'acting' mean? I've noticed the potion's lingering spiritual influence on me is very slight—is that because I've been acting as a Spectator during this time?"
Alger didn't answer. After a glance with Sairuis, he looked expectantly toward the Fool.
Klein tapped the long bronze table lightly with his finger and used the metaphor of a castle and its guards to explain the meaning of "acting."
Audrey's eyes lit up—she felt she finally understood.
[Wonderful! I am gradually understanding everything.]
As payment, Klein offered to accept more of Roselle's diaries or information about the Antigonus family.
He almost added questions about the Trailblaze Aeon, but then realized: with just their meager resources, investigating a true god was utter folly. For the Tarot Club's safety, he wisely kept that thought unspoken.
Eager to contribute, Alger immediately offered his payment: the Antigonus family could be traced back to the Fourth Epoch and was tied to the second Blasphemy Slate.
"The second Blasphemy Slate?" Miss "Justice," the Club's first straight-man, couldn't hold back her astonishment.
A good question! Klein silently applauded her. This was something the Fool himself couldn't ask openly.
"I know this one," Sairuis cut in before Alger could reply.
"According to the records of our Masked Fool cult, the second Blasphemy Slate was born from the corpse of the Ancient Sun God. He was an omniscient, omnipotent being, and after His death, His knowledge crystallized into the second Slate."
[More like the Blasphemous Corpse-Slate.]
Omniscient, omnipotent? Ancient Sun God? Who—was that the Eternal Blazing Sun?
Audrey gave a slightly awkward smile.
"Sorry, I might not be clear—who exactly was the Ancient Sun God?"
"You've heard the Creator myth, haven't you? The Creator awakened from chaos, shattered the darkness, brought forth the first light, and then merged completely into the universe, becoming all things. His body became the earth, the stars. One eye became the sun, the other the red moon. His blood surged into seas and rivers, nurturing life…"
"I know this one," Audrey answered cheerfully. "The Apocalypse of Night mentions this creation myth in both the 'Book of Wisdom' and the 'Epistles of the Saints.'"
"So, you mean this Creator is the Ancient Sun God?"
"Yes," Sairuis nodded. "That's Him."
Audrey nodded, satisfied.
Seeing her quiet down, Alger concluded by saying the Antigonus pathway was unknown but was strange and terrifying.
"Very good," Klein said gravely. "I'm satisfied with this payment."
"It's my honor," Alger replied humbly—his grumpy old-pigeon demeanor gone completely.
Audrey hesitated before her second question, embarrassed:
"If—just if—a normal animal were to drink a Sequence 9 potion… what would happen?"
(End of Chapter)