Although the effectiveness of Insight was greatly weakened above the gray fog, Ebner still discerned hints from Klein's barely concealed emotional changes:
It seemed that the Roselle diary he received this time contained information regarding the Calamity Seal… moreover, those contents most likely involved the Fool!
So, Klein's earlier question—and the obvious relief he showed after learning that Ebner still hadn't recovered any memory from the Calamity Seal—now made sense.
As for this sort of "self-deception" on the Fool's part, Ebner naturally noted it down silently, treating it as material he could use in the future to help Klein "preserve his humanity."
Yes, Ebner had long confirmed that Klein already suspected that he had "seen through" his identity as the Fool.
After all, in the last several instances when Ebner needed the Fool's help, Klein barely bothered to conceal anything—at most making the World pray perfunctorily… and sometimes even skipping that step entirely.
This meant Klein subconsciously no longer regarded the Fool's identity as a real secret.
Otherwise, given Klein's caution—and his natural love for theatrics—how could he be this careless?
What he was doing now was merely a last, futile resistance—or rather, his refusal to confront the reality of "social death"!
This was actually wonderful—full of the light of humanity.
If one day Klein stopped caring about such things entirely… that would be the real tragedy.
As these thoughts turned in his mind, Ebner decided not to expose the truth proactively—unless Klein personally came to confront him.
After all, once the Fool's "vest" was ripped away, Klein might very well give up pretending entirely, and that would remove a great deal of fun.
At the same time, Klein had no idea what Ebner was thinking.
He was currently editing the final diary pages of Roselle.
After cutting out all the parts regarding the Fool, he manifested the remaining section and sent it to the Tower's side, saying:
"This is Roselle's final diary. Most of it concerns you."
Concerning me?
Ebner's attention sharpened immediately. He lowered his gaze to the parchment and began reading intently.
"Unknown authority… can it define all things as 'unknown,' making them impossible to comprehend or utilize?
"Hm… that must be just one of its functions—and it must also be able to reverse the effect, restoring an 'unknown' object to 'known,' otherwise Roselle wouldn't have recognized the words on that sticky note.
"I wonder where that note is now…
"If I could obtain it, perhaps I could spend some time seeing through its mysteries.
"And, the 'Unknown' is more compatible with pathways related to fate…
"No wonder the Wheel of Fortune would choose to cast itself into the Domain of Unknown!
"And I even told Little Snake about the grand concept of the 'Ring of Fate'…
"Lastly—Sequence 3 is a threshold…
"Likely because advancing to it induces a disturbance in the 'Unknown', right?
"Fortunately, I completed the advancement at the Goddess's side.
"She seems to have resolved that issue for me…
"At least, I haven't noticed any erosion from the Unknown.
"As for personality changes… aside from acquiring some of Danitte's habits, nothing major has shifted.
"After all, Danitte is Liu Bo—Liu Bo who had just finished graduate school… slightly younger than me the university lecturer, but still me.
"From Ebner, to the Mechanical Emperor, to Danitte… the further back the timeline, the younger the version of 'me' the memories belong to…
"I remember I once mocked the 'God of Luck' for being too chūnibyō…
"Don't tell me that really was me when I was still chuuni?!
"Thinking of what that self-proclaimed Oliver Constantine did… it's not impossible!"
Ebner's thoughts drifted far for a moment, but he soon returned to the present.
He refuted Roselle's slander about his "woman troubles," then looked at Klein—whose expression clearly showed disbelief—and said after some deliberation:
"As for the Calamity Seal…
"Based on the memories I just recovered from Danitte's lifetime, Roselle may indeed have guessed correctly.
"Its creation was probably the result of theoretical research and experimentation conducted by 'me' and the God of Knowledge…"
He then gave Klein a brief outline of Danitte's life.
Klein listened with great interest, then latched onto one of the glossed-over points and asked:
"You said you and the God of Knowledge conducted research for a hundred years?
"What were you studying?"
Ebner shot him a flat look.
"We were studying me."
Are you sure you're not telling a joke? Klein inwardly complained.
But seeing that the other party had no intention of further explanation, he could only give up and change the topic:
"The Hanged Man invited me to explore that primitive island with him on Wednesday.
"Do you have any advice?"
If I tell you 'Be careful of Adam', you'll probably refuse to go entirely…
Ebner grumbled inwardly, but on the surface he thought for a moment and said:
"If you encounter danger you can't resolve, ask the Hanged Man for the Nolayman's Travel Notes, and pull out a projection of me."
After ascending to Sequence 3, with the augmentation from the Domain of Unknown, he could sense his own projections anywhere in the world.
"Alright!"
Klein accepted immediately.
…
While his Insight avatar was holding the "small meeting," Ebner's main body had just finished discussing Toulon City's affairs with Fanny.
After parting with her, he "teleported" to the Intis headquarters of Braine Film Company, visiting his most capable employee—Helene.
After discussing business for a while, Helene sealed the room with spirituality, then said excitedly:
"A few days ago, Tracy came to capture me—but I managed to defeat her head-on!"
This was the first time she had held the upper hand against Tracy, and she was eager to share it.
Since then, the menace of the Vice Admiral of Ailment no longer weighed upon her mind.
Indeed—Helene had advanced to Sequence 6 Conspirer;
She carried multiple powerful items given by Ebner for self-defense, and even possessed a demigod-level talisman…
Under such conditions, if she still lost to Tracy—who was away from the sea, without her subordinates, and unwilling to go all out…
Miss, you would truly become a disgrace to the Hunter pathway.
Ebner watched Helene's bright smile and didn't have the heart to dampen her excitement.
He switched the topic, warning her about the hidden dangers in Trier and urging her to go to Toulon to continue filming The Saint of Toulon.
After hearing this, Helene thoughtfully said:
"No wonder Tracy suddenly appeared…
"She must have gotten some inside information and wanted to take me away."
She's really quite attached to you…
Still, poaching my company's employee so brazenly—
That absolutely requires punishment.
If Helene were taken away, where would I find another employee with such ability, background, connections, and enthusiasm?
After boosting her confidence with more "chicken soup," Ebner used spiritual triggers he had secretly planted in Tracy's mind long ago to locate her—
and instantly teleported to the Vice Admiral's side.
Tracy was hiding in a manor at Trier's outskirts—property belonging to her mother, Saint of White Katerina.
When Tracy saw Ebner suddenly appear, she trembled in fear and attempted to activate her mother's magical item to escape through the Mirror World.
But her understanding of Ebner's strength remained stuck months in the past—she believed he was merely an over-spec Sequence 5 incapable of countering a demigod-level object.
Reality, however, was vastly different.
She crashed into the full-length mirror—
and shattered it completely.
Stunned, Tracy had no time to react before Ebner grabbed her shoulder and locked gazes with her blue eyes.
In the next instant, the secret technique Charm Human activated.
Tracy's spirit wavered… and soon she regarded Ebner as the person she admired and trusted most.
After becoming a Cognizer, Ebner could simulate many pathways' traits—the technique had thus evolved to a fundamentally higher level.
The secret technique originated from the vampiric pathway—a sublimation of the Beast Tamer's power, a low-tier version of using "Beauty" to tame any creature with spirit, akin to the Primordial Demoness.
It worked only on humans or humanoids lacking strong will or sufficient status.
And Tracy—despite being a half-Demoness demigod descendant—had lived far too smoothly.
Aside from her encounters with Klein and Ebner, she had never suffered true setbacks; her will was not strong.
Coupled with her mid-sequence status being insufficient to resist the elevated secret technique…
She was easily charmed—
becoming, for the time being, Ebner's fan.
"To be honest, using Manipulator powers to brainwash her, or directly invoking Liu Bo's honorific, would have been easier…
"But the former causes irreversible mental damage, and the latter's consequences are… Unknown.
"Tracy has done plenty of wrong things, but she treats Helene quite well.
"So she'll simply be punished with a few months of work."
After asking for the location of the Black Death, Ebner took Tracy with him onto the pitch-black ghost ship.
If he showed leniency toward Tracy for Helene's sake,
he showed none to the crew.
Those with heavy sins were eliminated instantly—leaving only their heads, to be handed over to Alger for bounties.
Those with lighter sins had their Mind Islands breached, false personalities implanted—forced to atone for their crimes.
Before a Cognizer, none of their pasts could be hidden.
(End of Chapter)