harleyscars Chapter 292 The Fool's Reputation is Harmed
Chapter 292 The Fool's Reputation is Harmed
Chapter 292 The Fool's Reputation is Harmed
Above the gray fog.
With some time to spare before the Tarot gathering officially began, Klein arrived early to prepare for the upcoming event.
"Sigh—" he sighed softly, then skillfully materialized the mannequin "world".
"Praise the sun!"
The moment "World" solidified, a line that was completely opposite to his gloomy temperament and full of passion and high spirits burst out of his mouth uncontrollably, and the voice echoed in the empty palace.
"Uh—" Even though he had heard it many times, Klein's lips still twitched, and his face was full of black lines.
"Praise the sun! Praise the sun! Awesome!"
As time passed, the "sun" aura surrounding the "world" gradually weakened, and the enthusiastic praises finally subsided.
This "world" dummy was created by him using the extraordinary characteristics left behind by Rosago. Since the original dummy was purified by him using the "Sunfire" spell, a strong "sunshine flavor" remained in his remaining characteristics.
He also clearly remembers that when "The World" first attended a tarot meeting, Miss "Justice" was politely greeting him when "The World" suddenly shouted "Praise the Sun" out of control.
The scene startled Alger, the "Hanged Man," and delighted Derrick, the "Sun." Even Miss Justice, who was in the "audience," was stunned. The scene was incredibly awkward.
This led everyone to believe that "The World" was also a traitor lurking in the Church of the Eternal Sun, and had become an accomplice of "The Hanged Man" of the Church of Storms.
He went to great lengths, even resorting to the authority of the "Fool," to explain that the "world" was affected by some magical item from the solar realm, which was why it was like this, and that he was not a traitor.
After that socially awkward experience, he learned his lesson. Before each gathering, he would let "the world" out for a while to burn off his excess "solar energy" so as not to suddenly "go on strike" at the party.
"It's almost time—" Klein muttered to himself as he calculated the time.
A moment later, several blurry figures appeared one after another beside the bronze table.
Good afternoon, Mr. Fool.
"Recently, the stock market in Backlund experienced a severe financial crisis."
"Many nobles and business owners suffered heavy losses."
"There was even a viscount who, unable to accept the reality of losing all his houses and land, jumped off the top of the tower—"
"Justice" Audrey is vividly sharing the latest news from Backlund, the most prominent of which is the dramatic stock market turmoil.
"Such a thing actually happened in Backlund—" Alger the Hanged Man nodded thoughtfully, but being at sea and not having the habit of buying stocks, he listened more as intelligence information.
Little "Sun" Derrick, on the other hand, was completely listening to gibberish. He didn't even know what "stocks" were and could only listen blankly, as if Miss "Justice" was telling a bizarre story that took place in a faraway world.
But the remaining two—
Klein, the Fool, sat at the head of the table with his expression tightly pressed together. As one of the instigators of this storm, he was now extremely grateful that the Joker potion had given him the ability to perfectly control his facial expressions.
Meanwhile, Fors, the "Magician," couldn't hide her embarrassment. She had lost all the royalties from her previous book, and now, listening to Miss "Justice" vividly recount the story, she felt not only anger but also a deep sense of shame at having her embarrassing past publicized.
"There's also a massive financial fraud case involving a mining company in the Southern Continent with far-reaching connections," Audrey continued sharing the news, "and the entire kingdom is offering a reward for one of the masterminds, Rustig—"
hiss----
Klein gasped, almost losing his composure.
"Stop talking, girl, I had no choice," he thought to himself.
"The kingdom recently issued an arrest warrant for him, with a reward of 30,000 pounds —"
How much? Klein was slightly taken aback, almost thinking he had misheard.
A list worth 30,000 pounds?! I'm actually worth 30,000 pounds!
Although I personally persuaded those nobles to buy the stocks, the actual operations were done by the professionals from the Society's Treasury!
I work hard as a detective, but I only earn a few dollars a year!
For a moment, Klein even had the absurd impulse to "turn himself in for the bounty" arose in his mind.
After the message-sharing session ended, Audrey subtly observed everyone's reactions.
As usual, Mr. Hanged Man didn't miss any opportunity to gather information. Mr. Sun, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious, indicating that Silver City lacked any financial knowledge.
As for Fors—to be honest, Fors' emotions were far too complex. Audrey saw indignation, guilt, and shame in her reaction.
Did Fors also invest in the stock market and then lose money?
Audrey shook her head, not intending to pry into her friend's privacy. The only thing that concerned her was the other person's attitude towards...
The attitude of "The Fool".
Fors's feelings toward Mr. Fool were still the same as before: a hidden fear, a hint of barely perceptible anger, and—a faint disdain that she couldn't understand.
Audrey could barely understand fear and anger, but she couldn't understand that hint of disgust at all. Why would Fors despise Mr. Fool, such a great, benevolent, and unfathomable being?
-
On the other side, "Magician" Fors felt extremely uncomfortable. Ever since she was pulled into this strange space, this feeling had never stopped. Especially when Mr. Fool's deep gaze fell on her, she would always subconsciously squeeze her legs together, with an urge to cover her body.
Damn it! Stop looking at me!
Fors's strange reaction stemmed from something that happened a long time ago. It was shortly after she and Hugh became acquainted with "Scott".
That day, the three of them were studying the full moon ramblings together. On the way, Hugh suddenly asked "Scott" about the evil god they encountered during the exorcism.
She vividly remembered what Lorne had said back then.
"I don't know the specifics of the evil god that Xiu is provoking either."
"But—cough cough, I heard that that evil god really enjoys peeping at people taking a bath—"
"You must be extra careful."
1
Just as the Tarot session was about to end, Klein, controlling "The World," requested a private conversation between "The Fool" and "Miss Justice."
"I'm sorry, Mr. 'World,' I have failed your trust."
As soon as the conversation began, Audrey apologized dejectedly. "The World" had subtly warned her that there might be problems with the stock market, but she had failed to prevent the storm from happening or help more people, and she couldn't help but feel guilty.
Honestly, why doesn't Dad tell me these things? Also, he seems quite happy lately.
Thinking about the joyful expression on Earl Hall's face each time he returned home recently, so different from the other overwhelmed nobles, Audrey was puzzled. She vaguely guessed something, but still couldn't quite believe it.
"It's alright, it's not your fault—" "The World" responded in a hoarse voice. Klein himself hadn't expected Miss "Justice" to really change the tide, so he wasn't disappointed. After comforting her for a few moments, he got down to business.
"There's something I'd like to ask you."
"What request? As long as I can do it." Audrey immediately perked up.
"Help me save someone."
"Save someone?" Audrey was slightly taken aback.
"Hmm," came the deep, certain voice of "The World," identifying the person as James Scott.
what? !
Four more days passed.
Lorne spent another four days in the detention cell.
During this time, Ted brought a well-known solicitor from Backlund to see him. The solicitor reportedly charged by the minute.
This made Lorne, who was currently facing financial difficulties, very uneasy. He didn't have much spare money to waste on legal fees, and deep down he didn't believe that such matters involving the extraordinary and the upper echelons could be resolved simply by legal provisions.
The outcome was as he had predicted. When the lawyer negotiated with the substitute officer posing as a policeman, he spouted legal statutes and claimed the procedures were illegal, speaking with great conviction. However, the substitute officer overpowered him, and the lawyer left in a huff, covered in injuries.
"Sigh...when can we leave?" Lorne sighed.
Clang!
Just then, the heavy iron door to the detention cell opened. A police officer stood in the doorway, his face expressionless, and announced in a businesslike manner, "James Scott, your bail application has been approved. You can go."
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