On a steam locomotive heading for Midseashire's Constant City.
Klein, who was dressed as a Wandering Magician, looked at the young man and his parents across a narrow table.
"I have two types of magic tricks. One is to grant your wishes, and the other is to use a mirror to answer your questions. Of course, the first magic trick requires money, and the second requires you to answer the question posed by the mirror. Which performance do you want to see?"
The young man had black hair and brown eyes. He seemed to have received a good education. He looked at his parents sitting next to him and said with a smile,
He looked at his parents sitting beside him and said with a smile, "My wish is too difficult, so I won't trouble you.
"In contrast, I'm more curious about a mirror that can answer questions."
Klein sighed and shook his head. With a flip of his left hand, he revealed a silver mirror with a black gem on each side that could be placed in his sleeve.
"It looks like an antique," the young man opposite him commented with interest. "My question is, what's my purpose in going to Constant City this time?" The young man opposite him commented with interest before saying, "My question is, what's my purpose in going to Constant City this time?"
A smile that was commonly seen on Street Magicians appeared on Klein's face. He reached out his right hand to touch the surface of the mirror and whispered seriously,
"Mirror, mirror, tell me what the answer to the question is."
After repeating it three times, he released his right hand and showed the surface of the mirror to the three passengers opposite him.
There were already a few silver words on it:
"To get married."
"… Miraculous." The young man and his parents looked at each other with an incredulous expression.
After they boarded the train, they had never mentioned anything related to the wedding, nor had they shown any items that made people think of it.
This was the first time they had seen a magic trick that didn't rely on props or a fake audience.
"Alright, it's time for the mirror to ask its question." Klein smiled as he covered the surface of the mirror with his right hand.
"Alright," the young man replied curiously.
"Next, let's see what question the magic mirror will ask." Klein released his right hand in a slightly exaggerated manner, as though he was performing a formal magic show.
The silver words on the surface of the mirror had already changed, stretching into a complete sentence:
"You would prefer your bride to be a lady over forty, right?"
The young man's expression froze for a moment, then turned deathly pale, and then completely red.
"Impossible!" He immediately retorted and couldn't help but turn his head to look at his parents. He hurriedly complained, "What kind of strange question is this!"
"… It's just joking." Klein smiled apologetically and quickly pressed his right hand on the surface of the mirror, acting as if he didn't know this would happen.
Then, he loosened his right hand again.
Sure enough, the words on the surface of the mirror changed again.
"How old are you?"
"25 years old …" The young man replied cautiously, as if he was afraid that he would fall into a trap.
He felt that the way his parents and the surrounding passengers looked at him had changed.
"Well, the magic show is over." Klein smiled and put away the mirror. "You can try another magic trick."
Just as he finished speaking, the steam locomotive whistled, a sign that it was about to enter the station.
"Sorry, it's time for me to alight." Klein took out his golden pocket watch and opened it.
He then picked up his luggage and left the steam locomotive along with the crowd of passengers. He came to the platform where the gas lamps had yet to light up.
This was Midseashire's Belltaine City, a city that had risen and fallen because of coal mines.
To Klein, the greatest significance of this place was that it was an important node in Feysac's invasion route in the World War.
Feysac had a total of three invasion routes. One was to attack the Amantha Mountain Range at the border in an attempt to break through the land defense line there. Another was to set off from Sonia Island, attack the coastal ports, and attempt to land there. The last was to start from Midseashire and invade Baekeland along the main railway.
Among them, due to the existence of the Church of the Storm, as well as the might of the ironclad warships and high-level Arbiters, the Feysac and Feynapotter navies failed to achieve their desired results. They didn't even manage to control the seas. As for the Amantha Mountain Range battlefield, the headquarters of the Church of Evernight blocked wave after wave of attacks. It didn't fall until the end of the war, preventing Winter County, East Chester County, and other places from being directly baptized by the flames of war.
Of the three routes, the only one that succeeded was the Midseashire troops. They combined land and water to capture the second largest city in Rouen — Constant City, the capital of Midseashire. Then, they advanced southeast and met up with the people of Intis in the greater Baekeland region.
Klein acted as wandering Magicians. On the one hand, he had to accumulate wishes, produce miracles, digest the potion, and increase his strength. On the other hand, he planned on returning to the path of war. He wanted to use his eyes, ears, and heart to truly see the trauma brought about by war.
After knowing the secrets of the cosmos and underground, he could understand the Evernight Goddess's plan and accept it to a certain extent. However, this didn't mean that he was indifferent to those sacrifices.
At the same time, he also confirmed one thing. Even if he failed to stop George III from becoming the Black Emperor, the war of the World would still erupt. However, Rouen would have the advantage. The Evernight Goddess and "Her" allies would directly suppress the God of Combat, forcing "Him" to seek the help of Earth Mother.
When that happened, the number, intensity, and scale of the battle of the gods would exceed that of the present.
Due to this reason, Klein followed the route of Feysac's invasion and wandered forward one station at a time.
After leaving the platform that still had traces of cannon fodder, he carried a worn-out suitcase that contained a change of clothes, identified the direction, and walked towards a place that might be a hotel.
At night, he would stroll through the streets and alleys of the city, performing wish magic for people.
After taking a few steps forward, Klein's spiritual perception was triggered as he cast his gaze at the end of the street.
There was a female figure wearing a simple linen robe and a tree bark belt. She had long black hair and was not wearing any shoes or socks.
Arianna!
The leader of the ascetics of the Church of Evernight, the Grounded Angel Arianna!
Why is "She" here in Belltaine? Shouldn't "She" have already returned to the Evernight cloister of the Cathedral of Serenity? Or was "She" sent to the capital of Feysac, St. Millom, to preside over the reception of the God of Combat's legacy? For a Grounded Angel to appear in such a small city, it's definitely not a simple matter … Klein was puzzled as he frowned slightly.
He hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to inquire.
It wasn't that he wanted to be a busybody, but that everyone was in the same city. If anything were to happen, no one would be able to escape.
But at this moment, Arianna had already disappeared into the crowd. As a Servant of Concealment, "She" made it impossible for Klein to track her. Similarly, when it came to matters related to Concealment, Arrodes was a little helpless.
Klein slowly took a deep breath and turned to enter the hotel in thought. He got a room and put his luggage away.
Then, he maintained his attire as a Wandering Magician and brought Arrodes with him. Following his spiritual intuition as a Seer, he walked all the way to Belltaine City's Municipal Square.
Near the Municipal Hall, there was a notice board with quite a number of notices pasted on it.
Seeing that many people were watching, as though a new document had been released, Klein went over and stood at the periphery of the crowd, looking at the wooden sign.
In the middle of the notice board, a piece of slightly yellowed paper covered the other notices. On the surface was written in black ink and Rouen:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am your new consul.
"Now, I will promulgate three new laws:
"First, without my permission, no living being is to leave this place.
"Second, all living beings are equal in front of the law. Even angels can be killed by ordinary people.
"Third, those who commit the following crimes will be severely punished, the highest being the death penalty:
"1. Murder;
"2. Theft;
"3. Recite the complete honorific name of a deity;
"4. Sacrifice evil gods;
"5. Fraud;
"6. Divulging secrets;
"…"
Such a notice … Klein pricked up his eyebrows. He didn't even need his spiritual intuition to sense that there was something wrong with the contents.
He instinctively tried to get his Spirit Body to return to Sefirah Castle.
However, an invisible force stopped him from "leaving". He could only come into contact with the grayish-white fog, but he could not pass through it.
This … Klein narrowed his eyes and took a few steps back, distancing himself from the crowd.
From his point of view, this level of abnormality had already reached the level of a deity.
He had previously been unable to return to Sefirah Castle, but the main reason was that he didn't have the time to take four steps counterclockwise, recite the incantation, or be disrupted and obstructed by "himself."
There was only one instance where he couldn't escape from the real World with an external force.
It was in the foggy town — it was a powerful seal that was personally created by the Evernight Goddess in the secret World.
Apart from this time, even Blasphemer Amon hadn't done something similar. Of course, back then, Amon's main goal was to force Klein to activate Sefirah Castle. Then, he would seize the opportunity and use the loophole to replace him as the great ruler above the spirit world. Otherwise, this Angel of Time could have used "Stealing" thoughts to prevent Klein from returning.
Who is the new consul of Belltaine City … Is this the reason why Ma 'am Arianna came to Belltaine City? As his thoughts raced, Klein made the magic mirror slide down from his wide sleeve to his left hand.
"What happened?" Klein asked softly.
On the surface of the silver mirror, aqueous light flickered as slightly white silver words appeared:
"A few of the rules here have been replaced. It's impossible to know who did it. Great Master, you can try to find the Servant of Concealment, Arianna, and learn the truth from 'Her.'
"Are you satisfied with my answer?"
The rules have been replaced … Lawyer? Arbiter? Or could it be a "bug"? Klein raised his head in thought and looked around. He realized that the citizens in the square were a little puzzled. They didn't understand why the new notice would mention angels and why they needed to apply and obtain permission to leave.
The war was already over!
PS: Seeking monthly recommendation votes on Monday ~
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