After spending a night at the headquarters of Ninth Bureau of Military Intelligence, Xio returned to the house she shared with Fors, carrying two breakfasts, only to discover that her friend wasn't home.
She set down the breakfast and glanced at the clock on the wall. It matched the time on her pocket watch—it was 9 a.m.
"Fors actually got up before ten and even went out?" Xio found it hard to believe. Today was the last day of October, and while the outdoor temperature in Backlund wasn't unbearably low, it was still unusual for her friend to overcome the warmth of the fireplace and venture out in such foggy and bone-chilling weather.
After briefly searching the room, she found a note left by Fors. Apparently, she had gone out to seek inspiration for her writing.
"Ever since Fors joined the Tarot Club, she's become much more diligent... But I'm the same. If we don't work harder, we won't be able to afford next month's rent..." Xio sighed, feeling reassured. She quickly ate her breakfast and began packing her belongings.
Meanwhile, in a small private booth of a café, Fors was sitting across from an elderly man named Lawrence Nord. She had encountered him outside the former residence of Mrs. Annelisa, the elderly lady who had left her a mystical characteristic and a bracelet. Lawrence was said to be a relative of Mrs. Annelisa's husband.
Ebner mentioned it... Hmm, and Mr. Fool also confirmed it. My bracelet and the Full Moon Curse are likely related to the Abraham family... Fors took a sip of her Felmer coffee, gathering her thoughts before recounting her experiences with Mrs. Annelisa to Lawrence, though she omitted some of the finer details.
After a brief silence, Lawrence said, "Thank you for sharing this. It has clarified some things for me. By the way, where are Loboro and Annelisa buried?"
"Green Cemetery." Fors glanced at her pocket watch and said, "Mr. Lawrence, I have other matters to attend to. I must go."
Lawrence didn't stop her and politely saw her off. Once alone, he rubbed his temples and muttered, "Loboro has passed away, without leaving any children. I don't know where his mystical characteristics ended up... With the help of Viscount Karen, Richard, our family's only Sequence 6 in a century, died at the hands of the Aurora Order... Sam doesn't want to contact us at all, let alone take on the responsibilities of the family name... Is the Abraham family truly going to fade away ?"
After leaving the café, Fors didn't immediately return home but instead went straight to a public restroom a few streets away. Adjusting her state of mind, she lowered her voice and recited a name representing her hope and future:
"Th Fool who does not belong to this era..."
At 15 Minsk Street, Klein was enjoying a breakfast of white bread with jam while browsing the day's newspaper.
"What? A safe?" As he read, he nearly choked on his food. I wasn't there, I didn't do it, stop slandering me...
The situation had been so dire back then. A demi-god could have arrived at any moment. He hadn't even had time to collect the Beyonder characteristic left by the last deceased enemy named Berris, let alone search for a safe.
Could it be like the "goods" in the West Borough Warehouse before? Am I being framed again? Klein muttered silently, concluding that the investigators who had followed up must have been the ones to empty the safe.
Despite feeling indignant about their conduct, he couldn't help but feel smug about the nickname they had given him: the Phantom Thief Black Emperor. Isn't that much cooler than something like "Iron Man" or "Hulk"?
After finishing his breakfast, Klein planned to visit the Quelaag Club to practice his marksmanship and maybe score a free lunch and afternoon tea when he suddenly heard a faint prayer.
He immediately set down his cane, returned to his bedroom, spiritually sealed the room, and walked backward four steps into the gray fog. There, he saw the crimson star representing Miss Magician expanding outward, sending ripples into the void.
After understanding her request, Klein lightly tapped the edge of the ancient table with his finger and remarked, "Miss Magician is truly Mr. Tower's friend. She's been in the Tarot Club for such a short time, yet she's already mastered how to 'reasonably use' Mr. Fool?"
Despite his teasing, Klein still acted. Considering the safety of a Tarot Club member and the potential risk of exposing Mr. Fool's secrets, he used the power of the Blasphemy Card to craft a Paper Angel and sent it to embrace Fors.
In the restroom, Fors suddenly saw a majestic angel with twelve layers of dark wings wrapping around her! "An angel... Twelve wings... According to the scriptures of major churches, this is the highest rank of angels..."
She was stunned. Heaven have mercy, I had only asked for some interference with Lawrence's divination. Yet Mr. Fool directly sent an angel to protect me? Isn't this... too extravagant? How many pages of Roselle's Diary would this cost me to repay?
Above the gray fog, after resolving Miss Magician's issue, Klein heard Mr. Tower's prayer, requesting the delivery of the corpse of the Beyonder, Strongman Ozil.
Without hesitation, Klein grabbed the bag containing the corpse and tossed it through the Gate of Summoning. After all, the ancient palace above the gray fog was vast, but it wasn't a morgue.
Recalling some details from his séance the day before, he reminded Mr. Tower before ending the ceremony, "A high-ranking deacon from the Church of the God of Combat placed something on Ozil's body. In the real world, they might sense its location or use divination to track it."
In the underground workshop of Fragrance Manor in Bayam, Ebner received Ozil's corpse and praised Mr. Fool before activating the Edwards-Bryan Teleportation Technique. A circular gate of flickering flames appeared on the pre-prepared altar.
Carrying the bag with the corpse, Ebner stepped through and arrived in the Collection Room of the Golden Dream.
Not far from the altar, Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina looked at her pocket watch and remarked, "The time taken matches previous transfers... It seems that no matter the distance, the time spent in the spirit world remains the same."
"The spirit world doesn't follow the rules of the material world. Past, present, and future overlap... Time probably doesn't mean much to it," Ebner replied before asking, "Where is the Golden Dream now?"
Edwina returned from her thoughts and, with her light blue eyes, said, "We're at the edge of the Furious Sea."
"Well, this place is fitting as a villain's grave... Even if the Church of the God of Combat divines the location, they'll struggle to find him here." Saying this, Ebner casually opened another door and stepped into the churning waves.