As it turns out, time always flies when you need it most.
Since Klein's journey to the Foggy Town, he resumed his previous life routine, hunting pirates across the Five Seas while occasionally traveling to the Roselle era with Lynn.
In the midst of these events, they encountered various situations. For example, they once met the Admiral Iceberg, entering an adventure inside a book called Groselle's Travels, where they successfully rescued a long-trapped adventurer team. This was thanks to the timely appearance of the Angel of Secrets, who used special methods to stabilize the team members. Without it, figures like Siatas would have aged to death the moment they left the book.
There was also an instance when, at Lynn's urging, Klein attempted to hunt the Admiral of Ailment. The opponent, however, used a technique called "Mom, Save Me!" which led to Klein responding with "Dad's Here!"—a standoff between two figures of great power, neither willing to fully engage, resulting in a peaceful outcome.
Additionally, the name of Vampire Duke Dwayne Dantes from the Roselle era spread beyond Trier during their travels. Despite being labeled as harmless by the Church, they were pursued by wild self-proclaimed "justice warriors."
Yes, during an outing, Klein, as Vampire Duke Dantes, was attacked by an overly righteous, novice Beyonder. Due to the inexperience of the attacker, not only did Klein remain completely unharmed, but the whole situation became somewhat farcical. Klein found it rather amusing, despite being exasperated.
As for the novice Beyonder, they were later recruited into Steam Church for training, on Klein's recommendation.
Many other events unfolded during this period, leading Klein to marvel at the excitement of his life as time quietly moved towards the end of December.
Now, less than a week before the New Year, Klein had finished digesting his Marionettist potion, thanks to the time-traveling cheat, and he was also prepared with the materials needed for the Bizarro Sorcerer potion—the main ingredient was already in hand, and the auxiliary materials would be easy to acquire, thanks to an upcoming trade with the City of Silver.
"So, it's decision time, Gehrman. Are we heading straight back to Backlund to prepare for the upcoming major events, or do you want to fish for a bit before we go?" Lynn asked with a smile, leaning against the window of a hotel in Bayam, while multi-tasking with his typical efficiency.
For Klein, the past two months had been busy and exciting. For Lynn, however, these two months had been relatively relaxed.
In the Second Epoch, Lynn was participating in the Ancient Sun God's war against the dragons to liberate humanity. The progress was going well, and in a few days, the Dragon of Imagination would be defeated, ushering in a new epoch: the Third Epoch, belonging to both the Ancient Sun God and humanity.
In the Fourth Epoch, Lynn was steadily digesting the Illuminator potion—mainly by overseeing Artisan doing 24/7 shift—and continuing to change the Church of the True Creator.
Thanks to Lynn's exceptional persuasion skills and formidable strength, the infiltration was progressing smoothly, and the situation of the True Creator was improving. The only issue was that Solomon's gaze toward Lynn had grown more suspicious, leading Lynn to suspect Solomon might be planning to ambush him.
In the Fifth Epoch, things were even more leisurely. Lynn's main body traveled with Klein, stirring up trouble and having fun, while his divine incarnation stayed in Backlund, either supervising the Aurora Order's progress or chatting with old friends like the Snake of Mercury.
By the way, to help Bernadette ascend to Sage, Lynn had instructed Mr A to make contact with the Augustus royal family, signaling that the Aurora Order wanted a role in the upcoming major event—summoning their Lord.
Of course, the plan was to bug the ritual, ensuring Bernadette would stop the summoning, allowing the ceremony to proceed without consequence.
'And there's no Hidden Sage to interfere now…' Lynn mused internally. Though he had almost forgotten about the Hidden Sage, he later realized the absence of its influence had no significant impact, confirming that his possession of the Sage's Uniqueness had not caused a butterfly effect.
In fact, the Moses Ascetic Order's followers seemed to have adjusted well to the Hidden Sage's disappearance. Lynn, amused by this, decided to have his divine incarnation wear the Hidden Sage's mantle and occasionally fool the members of the Moses Ascetic Order.
No one seemed to notice that their god had changed.
"If I wanted to return to Backlund, I wouldn't be here now," Klein replied, looking at Lynn as he polished his weapon.
After two months of trials, Klein had fully digested the Marionettist potion, gathered all the necessary materials for the Bizarro Sorcerer potion, and now, only the hunt for a Despair Witch remained.
He and Lynn were in Bayam to lure the Rose School of Thought into their trap. Their enemies had been watching them closely, especially after Klein took down Admiral of Blood Senor and his team. Sensing the Rose School's heightened interest in Klein's movements, he and Lynn, along with their allies, had decided to turn the tables.
Now, they were just waiting for the Rose School to take the bait.
TN: Man, you won't believe how long I've been waiting to use that joke in the title! lol.
(End of Chapter)