Klein froze, a strange mix of emotions swirling within him. He knew exactly why the Fool's honorific name was so telling... it was designed by him, a transmigrator.
Unable to hold back, he said, "That was pretty reckless. What if the Fool was an evil god?"
"I'm not scared. Did you forget I have a teacher?" Alaric glanced at Klein, puzzled. "You don't think the old man would let me run around without some protective measures, do you?"
Klein thought of Lucifer's protective nature and the Church of the Evernight Goddess's attitude toward him, and he relaxed.
Fair point. For a normal Beyonder, provoking a suspected evil god would be suicidal. But with someone like Lucifer backing him, Jack had the capital to be reckless.
"Wait a second." Klein said, suddenly suspicious. "If you've got protective measures from Lucifer, why did you nearly lose control when you connected with Mr. Door?"
Alaric blinked, meeting Klein's skeptical gaze. Instead of defending himself, he gave Klein a meaningful look. "Klein, I don't recall telling you about that. How did you know?"
He hadn't planned to expose the Fool's identity just yet, but since Klein had walked right into it, Alaric, the cunning schemer, couldn't let it slide.
Now it was Klein's turn to freeze. He instinctively blurted, "The Fool told me…"
"Oh, you and the Fool must be really close if he's sharing that kind of info with you." Alaric said, grinning. "Yet, someone who knows so much doesn't even have a seat at the Tarot Club."
Klein's skin prickled with goosebumps. If he were a cat, he'd be puffed up by now.
He had to admit, he was starting to miss the naive sweetheart version of Jack. Back then, whether due to his persona or not, Jack wouldn't have been this sharp.
Klein also recalled how, thinking Jack was a naive sweetheart, he hadn't been too guarded. Looking back, his actions were riddled with holes.
Could someone who spotted his transmigrator identity in one meeting really have missed that he was the Fool?
Klein looked up at Alaric, testing the waters. "You know, don't you?"
The question was flexible... it could mean "You know I'm the Fool" Or "You know I have a special connection to the Fool."
"What do I know? I'm just an empty-headed naive sweetheart." Alaric said, flashing an innocent look.
Klein's stomach churned. After some internal struggle, he said irritably, "You know I'm the Fool, don't you?"
He was laying it all bare. The secret wasn't a secret to Lucifer anyway, so letting Jack know was no big deal.
And, as expected, Alaric's expression showed no surprise, confirming he'd known Klein was the Fool all along.
Damn it!
Even Klein couldn't help grinding his teeth. He glared at Alaric, practically hissing, "So you've been watching me make a fool of myself this whole time!"
"No way! You're the one who tried to trick me with the Fool's identity first. I just played along like I didn't know. How's that my fault?" Alaric said, not only unapologetic but boldly shifting the blame.
Klein felt a fleeting pang of guilt, but then he caught on and asked, "When did you figure out I was the Fool?"
"Of course, I knew the moment I met the Fool." Alaric said truthfully. While he'd known who the Fool was from reading the book, connecting the real-world Fool to Klein happened at their first meeting.
Klein ground his teeth again. "How did you do it?"
He thought he'd played the Fool convincingly enough not to be exposed so easily.
"Klein, what's a god like in your mind?" Alaric didn't answer directly, instead smiling and countering with a question.
Klein paused.
Alaric didn't need an answer. He continued, "The Fool is too gentle. He even got angry when I accidentally provoked Mr. Door. Why would a god who doesn't know me care so much?"
He looked at Klein, grinning. "Only a friend would get mad over my reckless antics and care that much, right?"
Klein was speechless, a bit embarrassed by Alaric's sincere smile. After a moment, he pressed, "So what was the deal with provoking Mr. Door?"
"Just a test." Alaric said openly. "Mr. Door is a friend of the old man's, so I asked him to help push my state to the brink of losing control to see how the Fool would react."
"If the Fool was really tied to my transmigration, he wouldn't let a pawn like me die. He'd take action."
Alaric glanced at Klein, winking. "And he did take action, didn't he?"
Klein frowned. If he'd been blinded by Alaric's naive sweetheart act before, now that Alaric had dropped the pretense, Klein's sharp mind picked up on something about him. "What if the Fool wasn't me? Or if he had nothing to do with your transmigration?"
"No big deal. Mr. Door would've pulled back in time. I wouldn't have actually lost control. A bit of potion treatment later, and I'd be fine." Alaric said matter-of-factly, as that was his original plan... if Klein had let him die, he wouldn't have let himself spiral out of control.
"Jack…" Klein's frown deepened. He sighed, looking at Alaric. "Did you ever consider what might happen if something went wrong and you did lose control?"
"No chance. Mr. Door knows his limits, and I'm not that easy to break." Alaric said, waving it off. Seeing Klein's concern, he added, "Don't worry, really."
"Jack, what kind of attitude do you have toward your own life?" Klein asked, unconsoled, his brow still furrowed.
"What attitude? Hah, Seer, don't tell me you didn't know your buddy doesn't care much about his own life or death?" Medici's snarky voice cut in. He reappeared on the sofa, holding an apple.
"Honestly, I value my life more than he does."
***
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