Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader

"Who is Klein?"

Faced with Miss Sharron's question, Klein, though somewhat prepared, found it difficult to respond right away.

Sharron noticed his hesitation, and her cerulean eyes shifted slightly. She added, "You don't have to say."

Her words, however, only strengthened Klein's resolve. After exhaling deeply, he led Sharron to a secluded corner and said in a low voice, "My previous name was Klein."

Before coming to Narcissus Flower Street, Klein had already decided to lift one of his "masks" in front of Sharron. After all, he knew that the events in Tingen revolved around Klein, and sooner or later, Miss Sharron would piece things together.

Moreover, Klein had met Miss Sharron shortly after arriving in Backlund, before he'd had time to craft a proper disguise. Their encounters, paired with their similar appearances, would inevitably raise her suspicions.

Even now, if he didn't tell her, Miss Sharron would likely investigate the Tingen incident after returning to reality. At that point, Klein's identity would be exposed anyway.

Since it was impossible to keep it hidden, he decided to come clean proactively and earn more of her trust.

Sharron tilted her head slightly, her expression thoughtful, and speculated aloud, "A failed suicide attempt, followed by joining the Nighthawks?"

Impressive. If Miss Sharron ever became a detective, she'd definitely outshine me… Klein sincerely admired her deduction skills. He nodded and replied, "Exactly."

Without waiting for Sharron to ask further questions, Klein succinctly recounted the events that had led him to his current situation. Of course, he deliberately omitted all details related to the "Fool," the Tarot Club, and his resurrection.

"In summary, if 'history' hasn't changed, the Captain will die on September 9th. We have just over ten days to prepare," Klein concluded.

Sharron shook her head slightly and stated, "It will happen sooner."

Klein agreed with her assessment. Without him in this timeline, there was no one to subtly guide Captain Dunn toward "acting." Consequently, Dunn's mental state would likely be worse than it had been in the original timeline.

After all, Ince Zangwill's ultimate goal was to push Captain Dunn into making a disastrous decision at the moment of the "Evil God's Offspring's" emergence—to retrieve St. Selena's ashes due to mental strain.

In this scenario, the conditions for Ince's plan might already be met. The only thing missing would be the fully-formed state of the "Evil God's Offspring," which could explain why Ince hadn't acted yet.

This was evident from the fact that Old Neil hadn't died today. While part of that was due to the absence of Klein's rapid promotion to Sequence 8, which had previously triggered Neil's descent into madness, the main reason was likely that Dunn's condition was already dire enough. Ince no longer needed Old Neil's death as a catalyst.

If more deaths among his teammates further destabilized Dunn and caused him to lose control, the Church might replace him with another captain—something that wouldn't benefit Ince at all.

"Whether it's Linster, who has possessed the 'Evil God's Offspring,' or Ince Zangwill, a bishop of the Church, they are both far beyond what we can handle at Sequence 7. We'll need some external help to get through this trial," Klein analyzed calmly, having regained his composure.

After all, a "Magician" never performs an unprepared show.

Earlier, before coming to Narcissus Flower Street, Klein had found a chance to ascend to the Gray Fog and conduct a divination. He had confirmed that Linster had indeed possessed the Evil God's Offspring but would require another two to three days to complete the initial fusion. He had already shared this information with Sharron.

Sharron acknowledged his words with a soft "Mm," patiently waiting for Klein to continue.

"I can think of two potential sources of assistance," Klein began. "The first is Mr. Azik, a history professor at Hoy University. He might be a demigod-level powerhouse and should still be in Tingen at this time. I'm somewhat confident I can convince him to help.

"The second source of help will require your assistance."

"What do you need?" Sharron asked, her voice calm and steady.

"I need you to create a few 'haunting' incidents within the Nighthawks' jurisdiction. While this dream scenario suppresses your full strength, I believe even just using your 'Werewolf' abilities should suffice, right?" Klein asked with a grin.

"I can do that," Sharron replied with a slight nod. Then, without waiting for Klein's response, she added, "Do you need a Sealed Artifact from the Nighthawks?"

"Yes. There's a particular Sealed Artifact in Tingen, one aligned with the 'Sun' domain, that has a rather unique nature. I need to confirm whether it retains its original power in this dream scenario," Klein admitted frankly.

"I'll control my strength," Sharron said softly, tipping her small black hat slightly.

Control her strength? Wait… does that mean knocking out Leonard and the others to make it easier for me to grab the Sealed Artifact? Miss Sharron, I was just planning to pull them into a dream and craft some 'Solar Flare Charms' while they were distracted...

Suppressing the urge to complain further, Klein maintained a serious expression and said, "Then let's split up. I'll head to Hoy University, and you can start creating the ghostly incidents. If all goes well, the Nighthawks should act tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest."

"Okay," Sharron replied concisely.

In Bayam, at the meeting room of the Mandated Punishers' headquarters, Leonard and his team finally learned the true purpose of their mission to the Southern Continent.

Just as the elite Nighthawks earned the nickname "Red Gloves" due to their standardized red gloves, the elite Mandated Punishers were known as "Lightning Badges" because of the lightning-inscribed badges they wore.

One of the "Lightning Badges" spoke up, "Based on the intelligence gathered, the Loen military has deployed at least four demigods, half of MI9's official members, and a squadron of elite soldiers to escort an important item to the Southern Continent along multiple routes.

"Our task is to uncover their ultimate objective."

The Lightning Badge gestured to the final section of the report and continued, "Additionally, according to the latest intelligence, the Rose School of Thought has deployed a similar number of demigods to counterbalance Loen.

"Just this morning, they incited the Intis colonial army to enter Pass Valley, trying to create trouble for the Loen colonial forces who are blockading the valley's northwest entrance. However, they were defeated by Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Hall and his 36-man special operations unit."

The gathered group marveled at Lieutenant Colonel Hall's exceptional command ability. Only Leonard's mood visibly darkened as he thought, Special operations? Isn't that based on the strategy Klein suggested to Captain Gawain? It's only been a few months, and it's already making waves in the colonies? If Klein knew about this, he'd definitely be thrilled...

Leonard quickly composed himself and raised a question, "Since the military and the Rose School of Thought both have demigods involved, wouldn't our strength be insufficient to interfere with their actions?"

The Lightning Badge shook his head and replied, "Our task is to figure out their objective, not to stop them. Moreover, in East Balam, both the Church of Storms and the Church of the Evernight Goddess have Saints stationed here, so you don't need to worry too much about safety. On the surface, we're investigating the mysterious Doctor Strange who enjoys answering questions. I believe the military won't go out of their way to target us."

"I understand," Leonard said with a nod, signaling that he had no further questions. He then quietly listened as the others raised their concerns.

After about ten minutes, once all questions had been answered, the Lightning Badge ended the meeting with a final reminder, "Our Trident will set sail at 3 a.m. sharp. Don't be late."

After the meeting, Leonard said goodbye to Captain Sost and hurried to the Amyris Leaf Bar. There, he dragged the sleeping "Sea Serpent" Welf into a dream and began questioning him. However, to his surprise, Welf woke up the moment Leonard asked about the identity of the person backing him.

Standing outside the bar, Leonard frowned and muttered under his breath, "Old man, what's going on?"

"It's the power of a contract notarized by the God of Knowledge. For it to be this effective, it seems the person backing Welf is likely a Blessed of the God," the ancient voice of Pales Zoroast echoed in his mind.

.....

In the Southern Continent, in the city of Gulain, Ebner had just walked out of the Wall family residence after a busy night. He planned to have breakfast with Xio when he heard a newsboy shouting, "Extra! Extra! Lieutenant Colonel Hall leads 36 warriors to defeat a thousand Intis troops!"

(Chapter End)