Upon hearing Adam's words, Lynn raised an eyebrow, inevitably recalling the people Adam had smuggled in—clearly not his parents or relatives. Whether they were Adam's friends remained unclear, but they were all intellectuals, some even conducting experiments in top-tier laboratories until they were dragged into the gray fog.
'Could they have been former colleagues of the Ancient Sun God? Or were they high-caliber talents carefully chosen by him?'
Lynn speculated inwardly while joining in on the conversation. With a smile, he said, "Amon is currently wandering around Backlund. Once you've advanced to Scholar of Yore, you can directly punch him to vent your frustrations."
Sensing everyone's enthusiasm, Klein couldn't help but smile wryly. However, he didn't reject the idea outright. Wishing to bring down his family and friends from Sefirah Castle as soon as possible, he nodded, "I've already prepared the potion ingredients for Scholar of Yore, so I don't need any help with that. But if something unexpected happens during my advancement, I'll need to trouble Mr. Adam…"
Although confident in himself, Being a cautious person, Klein didn't mind adding an extra layer of insurance.
"No problem." Adam nodded naturally. Unlike in the original timeline, where there was tension between Adam and Klein, the current timeline—disrupted by Lynn—had the two barely interacting. Aside from Adam silently observing Klein and The Fool's daily antics, their paths rarely crossed.
Thus, under the eager and expectant gazes of a group of Sequence 0s and Kings of Angels, The Fool asked Roselle for help. Roselle reverted the mystical item made from the Scholar of Yore's Characteristic back to its original state. Then, Klein quickly prepared the auxiliary ingredients and mixed a cup of the Scholar of Yore potion. Without hesitation, he drank it in one gulp.
"That potion looks terribly unappetizing," Lynn commented, pinching his chin as he observed Klein's condition. Glancing at Adam, he suddenly asked, "So, why does the Spectator Pathway's potion taste good while most others are awful? Did the Sun God sneak in some personal preferences when crafting these recipes?"
"First, the first Blasphemy Slate wasn't created by the Sun God," Adam replied calmly, accustomed to Lynn's odd thought processes. "Second, it's not just the Spectator Pathway. The Wheel of Fortune Pathway's potions also taste decent, and a few others have passable flavors."
In other words, Lynn and Klein were just unlucky to have chosen pathways with unpleasant-tasting potions.
"Tch, so you can be sarcastic too!" Lynn didn't seem angry but rather looked at Adam as if he were some rare creature.
"I wasn't being sarcastic, just stating facts," Adam replied, glancing at Lynn. "Though I won't deny I've picked up some habits."
"Pfft, just admit that Lynn has corrupted you!" Roselle burst out laughing, winking at Lynn. "Anyone who can stay pure after hanging out with someone like him must be a saint or a fool!"
Lynn turned to Roselle with a bright smile and said, "Adam is fine with it because he's almost dead. Are you?"
"Or are you eagerly awaiting social death?"
Roselle's laughter abruptly stopped. He stared at Lynn like a rooster whose neck had been wrung, muttering after a while, "Just don't threaten me like that…"
"Well, why don't you read your diary to Bernadette and teach her Chinese yourself?" Lynn still smiled as he added, "Or would you prefer me to do it?"
Roselle fell completely silent.
Meanwhile, Klein successfully completed his advancement to Scholar of Yore. He opened his eyes with a somewhat complicated expression.
"What's wrong?" Lynn asked.
"The Scholar of Yore potion really melted in my mouth," Klein replied, unsure how to describe his feelings. Overall, though, he was pleased. "It's probably because of the extra lessons from Mr. Door and my recent journey."
The secret knowledge of the Fourth Epoch, as well as Klein's firsthand experience of the early revivals and the destruction of the Modern era, had helped him digest the potion instantly.
"So, once we deal with Amon, we're heading to the Forsaken Land of the Gods?" Lynn's mood was just as upbeat, though he added regretfully, "It's a shame Frank's mushrooms have only just started growing. All his hard work over the past two months feels wasted."
Klein didn't disagree. Even without being forcibly taken to the Forsaken Land by Amon, he had planned to go there after advancing to Scholar of Yore to complete the Miracle Invoker's advancement ritual and to free the citizens of Silver City and Moon City.
Klein thought for a moment, recalling fragments of memories from the future Fool. "It's not entirely wasted. Even when the people of Silver City reach the outside world, there'll be a long period of resource shortage. Frank's mushrooms will ensure they have enough food in the beginning."
As he spoke, his expression grew more nuanced. "And for Frank, the research itself might be his biggest reward."
Thinking of how, in the future, though Frank wouldn't destroy the world with mushrooms and fish, his title of Lord of Mushrooms would still resound throughout the Five Seas, Klein felt a headache coming on.
"Well, at least Cattleya is watching over him…" Lynn wasn't entirely confident in his response, deciding to leave the matter alone. Instead, he cheerfully said, "So, do you need me to call Amon over, or will you go fishing yourself? Just remember, don't leave your Marionette lying around—he'll track you…"
"Cough…" Klein understood Lynn's jab at how he had been caught by Amon in the original timeline due to his Marionette. He lightly cleared his throat and said, "I'll handle it myself."
That afternoon, a postal worker named Amon, riding the latest model of bicycle, was slightly surprised when he spotted a wild Scholar of Yore Marionette walking toward him. The Marionette carried a faint aura of Sefirah Castle.
(End of Chapter)