Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 29 Above the Gray Mist
"Help me collect Russell Gustav's secret diary, even if it's just one page."

The Fool's words echoed low in the palace.

"Diary? That's a diary?" the Hanged Man exclaimed in astonishment.

Claire suppressed the turmoil in her heart and deliberately expressed surprise in her tone: "Do you think Emperor Roselle wrote a diary?"

The statement had the desired effect. Klein leaned back in his chair, clasped his hands together, and said softly, "Let's just treat it as a diary for now."

At the same time, Klein was also pondering the identities of the three people he had "invited."

After drinking the "Fortune Teller" potion, Klein was able to use his clairvoyance to see through the fog the auras and surface of the celestial bodies of the three people.

Judging by the color of the surface of the Celestial Spirit's body, it can be confirmed that Justice is an ordinary person who has not yet drunk the potion.

The Hanged Man and the Priestess are Extraordinary Beings.

It's just that the Hanged Man looks more powerful.

The priestess, on the other hand, looked more complicated.

But the priestess knew knowledge that could make the Hanged Man lose his composure.

Klein stared at the priestess, but he still couldn't see her face through the gray fog. It seemed that he had to wait until he became stronger before he could see the faces of those people behind the gray fog.

"It's a pity that I can only see the Beyonder's astral body above the gray fog. Otherwise, I could confirm whether the priestess is Claire."

Klein had originally intended to test the priestess during this gathering.

But now he thinks it is better to play it safe.

Even if the test yielded results, it wouldn't be of much help to him.

On the contrary, it may expose your identity.

Klein was unwilling to take even the slightest chance of being exposed.

"I don't need to worry. There will always be a time when I can see the appearance of everyone, including the priestess."

At this moment, Justice asked in embarrassment, "Symbols or words we can't understand... How can we convey them to you here, Mr. Fool? Or, should we send them somewhere?"

Klein, calming down, slowly explained to everyone how to write here.

Klein materialized a pen and paper in front of each person.

“Imagine a piece of text and give it the emotion to write it down.”

Claire watched Miss Justice write poetry on paper.

Hearing this, Zhengyi asked with surprise, excitement, and fear, "Mr. Fool, can you read my thoughts?"

Mr. Fool soothed him, "No, I'm just a guide. If you don't want to express yourself, there won't be any trace left."

Claire also tried, first writing "Priestess" in Loen, Intis, and Feysac respectively, and then tried Hermes.

As Mr. Fool said, she could only put words on paper when she had an idea that she was eager to express.

But even so, Claire was still very cautious in her heart and didn't think about sensitive secrets.

Miss Justice actively expressed her willingness to collect Russell's diary, and then discussed with the Hanged Man the role of "audience".

The Hanged Man was the most responsible after-sales service Claire had ever seen.

Not only did he help Justice memorize magic formulas and provide him with some basic knowledge of the occult, but he also combined his own knowledge and experience to help Justice summarize a set of rules for playing the role:
“The audience is always the audience.”

"You have to maintain an absolutely spectatory attitude."

Based on her experiences with the Hanged Man, Claire also reflected on her own way of playing the roles of "the know-it-all" and "the peeper of secrets".

The source of both seems to be knowledge.

Acquiring knowledge is the common point between the two, but the "generalist" tends to think deeply, while the "secret-seeker" tends to know when to stop.

“I always feel like there are still some things I haven’t thought through…”

"There should be more specific differences in external characteristics between the generalists and the secret peepers."

Claire sighed inwardly:
"The key to my inability to figure this out is probably because my sequence is too low."

The sequence is too low... Yes, maybe I can ask Mr. Fool for advice!
With this thought in mind, Claire picked up her pen, intending to materialize two diary entries first, in exchange for a chance to consult the Fool.

Claire, eager to express herself, began to materialize Roselle's diary on the paper in front of her. However, just as she began, Mr. Fool, who was sitting at the head of the table, suddenly announced:

"Let's end today's party here."

Claire's train of thought was interrupted by this announcement, and without the Fool's guidance, she was unable to materialize the text.

Claire sighed with regret, then stood up at the same time as Justice and the Hanged Man and said:

"Do your will."

……

He watched as the three figures beside the long bronze table shattered and dissipated as he severed their connection.

Klein breathed a sigh of relief.

When the "priestess" materialized Roselle's diary, he was basically certain that the "priestess" was his Nighthawk predecessor, Claire Meazza.

But compared to the satisfaction of revealing the secret brought by confirming the identity of the "Priestess", the purpose of the "Priestess" to materialize Russell's diary made him more panicked.

Based on his interactions with this senior Nighthawk, as well as occasional introductions and descriptions from others, Klein guessed that this senior might be trying to exchange Russell's diary for some extraordinary knowledge from him, the Fool.

The problem is that he really doesn't understand anything!
Klein leaned back in his chair and said thankfully:

"Luckily, I reacted quickly... Otherwise, if I couldn't answer the Priestess's questions, or if I evaded them, it would have damaged the mysterious and profound image that The Fool had just established."

"only……"

Klein frowned and sighed softly:
"You can avoid it for a while, but you can't avoid it forever."

At the next gathering, this senior Night Watchman holding four diaries will definitely ask him difficult questions again.

Klein felt like... a hard-working teacher who was forced into his office to rack his brains over a difficult problem posed by a top student.

Looking at the "crimson stars" in the gray fog, Klein realized that as a Beyonder, he had enough energy to contact new "crimson stars."

But before he solved Claire's problem, he really didn't have the energy to think about recruiting new people.

Pull in...

"How about not inviting the 'Priestess' to the next gathering?" Klein suddenly thought.

Even though he felt somewhat sorry for Senior Nighthawk, compared to the danger of being exposed, Klein thought this was a solution.

Thinking of this, Klein sighed and imitated the heavy feeling of falling rapidly, breaking away from the gray fog and returning to reality.

Tingen University District, Meazza's home.

Claire, returning to reality from the gray fog, stared blankly in confusion.

As her consciousness returned, a spell emerged in her mind.

To be more precise, it was a spell that she recalled.

The world was created with "Fu Sheng Xuan Huang Xian Zun..."

Claire remembered that this was the spell that could summon the gray fog when she was contaminated and collapsed.

Claire couldn't help but touch her chest with her right hand. If it weren't for the gray fog that this spell had summoned to block the contamination of the Hidden Sage, she would not have been able to wait for the goddess's protection.

After pondering for a moment, considering that this spell had saved her life and had also shown to be effective in suppressing crazy ravings, Claire finally tried to recite it silently after comparing the pros and cons:
"Fusheng Xuanhuang Immortal Lord."

"Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianjun."

"The God of Blessing and Prosperity Xuanhuang."

"Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun."

During this process, the water drop mark on the back of Claire's hand lit up with a deep red light.

Claire felt as if the air around her had stopped.

Gradually, she felt as if she was flying upwards, as if passing through an endless film of water, and finally—

She saw gray mist and crimson.

(End of this chapter)