Lynn had a brilliant idea—to take advantage of the two months before the great smog event in the original story. Using the time flow difference, he planned to make several trips to the Roselle era and help Klein digest the Marionettist potion. Ideally, during these two months, he'd also try to bring Roselle back.
That way, when the Royal Family tries to initiate the great smog to cover their crimes, the real Black Emperor Roselle could appear and give the Augustus family a harsh reality check. At the same time, Klein could directly kill the Despair to complete his ritual for advancing to the Bizarro Sorcerer Sequence. How satisfying would that be?
"Of course, considering the danger posed by the Despair, we could teleport both her and Klein to a deserted area beforehand. Then, we can weaken the Witch with a debuff and stack multiple buffs on Klein. After all, the original novel proved that the Bizarro Sorcerer ritual only requires the direct killing of a Sequence 4, without prohibiting outside help or using magical artifacts..."
Lynn calculated in his mind, "The only issue is the audience for the ritual. But if Adam could replace the required audience in the original story, there's no reason I can't bring in a group of big shots to do the same. If worse comes to worst, I'll just pull Adam over since he's always ready to appear from thin air."
As for whether Adam would want to be the audience—Lynn felt confident he would.
Thinking about this, Lynn glanced at a patch of air and then nonchalantly looked away.
"Are you thinking something strange?" Klein suddenly shivered, giving Lynn a suspicious look, clearly very familiar with this kind of situation by now.
"Not at all!" Lynn shook his head, blinking his innocent eyes.
He was earnestly thinking about how to solve Mr. Fool's Bizarro Sorcerer advancement ritual. How could that be considered strange?
Klein cast a doubtful glance at Lynn but eventually looked away.
"I'll inform Admiral Amyrius of what you said," Archbishop Kottman spoke at this moment, his gaze sweeping over the two of them as they laughed and joked, completely ignoring him. His anger boiled within, but he couldn't show it. His expression grew even colder as he asked, "Anything else?"
"Dinner is almost ready. Would the esteemed Archbishop Kottman mind having a meal with the two of us?" Lynn thought for a few seconds before flashing a radiant smile.
Archbishop Kottman: ... "I mind very much. Leave at once!" was what he wanted to say.
"You're welcome to stay." Kottman took a deep breath and left those words behind as he turned around with a swirl of his cloak, walking away briskly.
It was clear that if he stayed any longer, his anger might really explode.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, his self-control is still lacking compared to the Lord of Storms, though they're about on the same level." Lynn gave his commentary.
"It seems like you're deliberately provoking him?" Klein finally caught on.
"Not really, but when there's such an easily angered pigeon in front of you, wouldn't it be a waste not to tease him a little?" Lynn shrugged, acting totally righteous.
Klein's mouth twitched. 'So, in your eyes, what exactly is the Church of Storms? Have they been downgraded to the point where you describe them with animal metaphors?'
Mr. Fool didn't quite understand, but that didn't stop him from joining Lynn for a free dinner at the Church of Storms.
Truth be told, though Jahn Kottman had a fiery temper, his generosity was commendable. Instead of offering them a simple, inedible dinner as revenge, he had served a rather nice feast. Afterward, Lynn even expressed a desire to pack some leftovers and promised to come back next time.
A few days later—
"I think Archbishop Kottman never wants to see you again in his life..."
Standing on the deck of The Future, Klein gazed at the distant black dot that was the City of Generosity, sighing from the bottom of his heart.
By now, Klein had already arranged matters for the Sea God Church and the Resistance on the Rorsted Archipelago. Over the course of several meetings with Archbishop Kottman after that dinner, he witnessed Lynn repeatedly and deliberately provoke the Storms Church leader.
Honestly, even Mr. Fool felt that the fact Jahn hadn't summoned lightning to strike Lynn dead was a testament to the man's immense restraint.
"Be more confident. It's 'us'—he doesn't want to see either of us," Lynn responded without a hint of guilt, confidently patting Klein on the shoulder. "Besides, don't you think teasing a pigeon is really fun?"
Klein recalled how, over the past few days, Archbishop Kottman had been on the verge of exploding but was forced to suppress his temper, and suddenly found himself silent, 'You know what... it is kind of fun... cough!'
Lynn was not at all surprised by Klein's reaction. After all, while Mr. Fool was known for his serious, cautious nature, he still had a mischievous streak. Why else would he have played pranks under the guise of Merlin during his Miracle Invoker phase?
Unlike Amon, whose antics often crossed moral lines and endangered lives, Klein's pranks typically served as life lessons for those who deserved them. Still, the fact remained: Mr. Fool did have a playful side.
And Lynn certainly didn't mind encouraging it. Much like how he'd once led Bethel into mischief in the Fourth Epoch, there was nothing quite like finding entertainment with a friend.
Witnessing all of this from the sidelines, Danitz was at a loss for words.
He knew nothing. He said nothing!
If, a few days ago, Danitz still harbored a faint hope of leaving the Church of the Fool, that hope had now completely evaporated. After witnessing this series of absurd events, he had begun to look forward to the future—though he was also vaguely worried about his own well-being.
Somehow, he felt like his days ahead would be filled with endless challenges!
As for Cattleya, who had also been present for the entire incident, she was already numb. She cleared her throat to draw everyone's attention and calmly said, "I've directed The Future to head towards the mermaid's sea as quickly as possible. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll arrive in three days."
Normally, the journey from the Rorsted Archipelago to the mermaid's route would take over a week. But Cattleya was desperate to get these two "guests" to their destination as soon as possible. She was even willing to use some of the more dangerous methods of navigation she rarely employed.
'May the Queen Mystic bless me, and may I deliver these two of them to the mermaid swiftly!' Cattleya prayed fervently in her heart.
(End of Chapter)
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