Chapter 218: Mr. Fool is Busy Today
This was Alice's first time witnessing Klein respond to prayers above the gray fog. To be honest, it looked rather strange.
Well, that might be a bit impolite to say. In truth, Alice simply couldn't understand what Klein was doing.
When Klein finally came back to his senses and summoned the Sea God Scepter, Alice quickly seized the opportunity to ask, "What happened?"
Klein gave her an odd look and replied, "Someone invoked my name, falsely claiming to be my follower to lure young women..."
Alice's eyes widened as she suddenly asked, "Where?"
Klein paused briefly, then swiftly struck down the deceiver before telling Alice, "I don't think he deserved such a harsh punishment."
As Alice pondered this, she was about to inquire about the Sea God Scepter when she noticed another deep red star pulsing.
"Are you this busy today?" Alice looked at Klein.
Klein said nothing and silently began receiving the prayer.
*Being an evil god seems troublesome...* Alice thought to herself, resting her chin on her hand.
Suddenly, Alice saw Klein open his eyes. Before she could ask anything, their surroundings rapidly changed. The ancient palace and bronze long table reappeared, with their position at the head of the table. Alice found herself sitting on the table itself.
Momentarily confused, Alice quickly realized what was happening. She turned halfway around, supporting herself with her hands on the table.
She saw the unfamiliar silhouette of a black-haired woman materialize in a chair - a seat that didn't belong to the original Tarot Club members.
The black-haired woman looked dazed as she took in the scene. After regaining her composure, she hesitantly asked, "Is this the Underworld?"
Before Klein could respond, Alice's solemn voice rang out:
"Yes, this is the Underworld. You may begin confessing your sins now."
After a few seconds of silence, Klein addressed Alice in a carefully measured tone:
"'Fate.' Return to your seat."
Alice turned back, glaring at Klein without a word.
Considering the presence of an outsider, Klein didn't let the silence linger. After a moment's thought, he tossed the Sea God Scepter to Alice.
Alice instinctively caught the scepter, glanced up at Klein, and decided to let him off the hook for now.
She nimbly jumped off the table, bounced over to her seat, and curiously looked at the silent black-haired woman.
Behind the high-backed chair, starry symbols swiftly moved to form a pair of cold, indifferent eyes without eyelashes, containing countless brilliant stars.
Alice immediately associated these eyes with similar ones she had encountered twice before - once with Old Neil and once with Bernadette, which she remembered as the eyes of the "Hidden Sage."
"'Spectator'?" Alice inquired curiously, leaning forward.
Cattleya remained silent, having already surveyed the scene.
The mysterious, aloof figure wore a white shirt, tailcoat, no tie, black trousers, and polished leather boots. His hair was dark, and his features were indistinct.
The lively young girl was much more casual - Cattleya was certain the child was wearing pajamas. Even with blurred features, she could make out the girl's bright golden hair and clear blue eyes. When she turned to look at Cattleya, she appeared as innocent as any young girl. The only issue was...
Cattleya looked at the milky-white scepter in Alice's hand, slightly longer than her arm, which they had been tossing around like a toy.
The scepter seemed to stir the surrounding essence of sea and storm, entwined with countless white light spots, giving off an aura of divine majesty.
It was at least a demigod-level artifact!
Yet in the eyes of this seemingly harmless girl, it appeared to be nothing more than a novel plaything!
And the other mysterious figure seemed to be the girl's... guardian?
Though internally shocked, Cattleya maintained her composure and asked, "How should I address you two?"
"You may call me Mr. Fool," Klein said evenly. "This is Miss Fate."
Fool, Fate... Cattleya pondered these words, then looked towards the head of the table and carefully said, "I've heard your name mentioned by Mr. Z of the 'Aurora Order.'"
After a pause, she turned to Alice, who was still fiddling with the Sea God Scepter, and added, "But I don't believe I've heard of you before."
Alice looked up thoughtfully and replied:
"You've reminded me... Since I'm a resurrected evil god, shouldn't I have had a title before?"
Cattleya froze.
She had only meant to probe a little, but... What? How could you just say that so openly?
The honest Miss Fate left a deep impression on the future Madam Hermit during their first meeting.
Klein had long since given up trying to stop such revelations. He looked at Cattleya with a smile and said:
"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?
"That should be basic etiquette."
After a few seconds of silence, Cattleya spoke in a measured tone: "My name is Cattleya. I have the nickname 'Star Admiral.'"
Alice suddenly stopped moving as she recalled the teacher Klein had found for her, "Ice Admiral" Edwina - who was also a pirate admiral.
She threw the Sea God Scepter onto the table in frustration, startling Cattleya, who instinctively looked towards Alice.
Alice paused for a moment, then quietly picked up the Sea God Scepter again, lowering her head as if nothing had happened.
Cattleya felt momentarily confused - every action of this girl seemed like that of a real young girl. Setting aside the fact that she was holding a demigod-level sealed artifact, it was hard to associate her with a resurrected evil god.
However, for someone like Cattleya with deep knowledge of the supernatural world, this could only imply something even more terrifying - after all, she had only ever encountered one evil god without malice, and it had nearly killed her moments ago.
With this in mind, she respectfully asked the figure at the head of the table, "Was it you who saved me?"
She had clearly recognized who the true master here was.
The figure slightly adjusted his posture and replied with a light chuckle, "Isn't that obvious?"
Cattleya immediately stood up and said:
"Thank you for your assistance. If there's anything you need me to do, please feel free to instruct me. As long as it's within my capabilities and doesn't violate my principles, I'll comply."
"There is one thing right now," Alice raised her hand, "Forget what you just heard."