Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader

What should I call myself? There are too many names; even my fellow countryman, Liu Bo, doesn't know all my aliases...

Klein maintained his posture and replied in a low voice:

"Gehrman Sparrow."

"Gehrman Sparrow..." "Pale Admiral" Maria pondered for a moment, then looked into Klein's eyes and said seriously: "The Celestial Sect is looking for you!"

Celestial Sect? Isn't that the organization Mr. Tower asked "The Hanged Man" to report? Why are they looking for me?

Wait... Could it be that the Governor of Bayam inviting me to the ball is also related to this organization?

"The Governor of Bayam?" Klein asked calmly on the surface, but cautiously inside.

Maria nodded seriously and replied: "According to my intelligence, it's highly probable that the Governor is being used by the Celestial Sect."

At this point, she paused, then added: "The Celestial Sect is backed by the Rose School, and they are ultimately the enemy I must face."

"Pale Admiral" has a grudge against the Rose School? No wonder she also wants to deal with "Admiral of Blood."

Klein thought for a moment and tentatively said: "I also plan to hunt 'Admiral of Blood'... Do you have any clues about him?"

Maria first shook her head, then stated directly: "You likely have something the Rose School needs, and so do I... He will eventually come looking for either you or me."

What does that mean? To use me as bait? Or for her to be the bait herself?

However, after considering "Pale Admiral's" consistent behavior, Klein dismissed this guess and asked calmly: "So, how do you want to cooperate?"

Maria didn't answer immediately but looked at "Vice Admiral Iceberg," who stood nearby. Clearly, after meeting Gehrman, her target for cooperation had changed.

Edwina immediately understood. She calmly nodded at the two, then exited the cabin, leaving them space for a private conversation.

If it had been anyone else, they might have been angered by this, but Edwina was quite familiar with Maria's personality. She knew Maria simply didn't understand such things and always handled interpersonal relationships poorly. Without the assistance of Kent, the first mate on the "Pale Saintess," she would actually find it difficult to gather that ship full of followers.

It's just that Kent's origin is somewhat questionable...

Maria didn't pay attention to what Edwina was thinking. After the latter left, she looked into Klein's eyes again and said sincerely:

"I can secretly follow and protect you for a while... until the Rose School appears."

As she spoke, as if to demonstrate her hidden ability, her figure quickly faded and disappeared within the cabin.

However, her voice still echoed around: "Because I am somewhat special, ordinary Rose School demigods would find it difficult to detect me."

"Wraith?" Klein remained outwardly calm, but his heart was filled with surprise.

He was all too familiar with this method of disappearance, but he hadn't expected that "Pale Admiral," renowned for her swordsmanship yet never revealing her Sequence abilities, would actually be a Wraith.

What surprised him even more was that she would reveal this long-hidden secret to him, someone she was meeting for the first time...

As if sensing Klein's surprise and doubt, Maria reappeared and explained: "Since 'Pale Justice' trusts you, there's no need for me to hide anything from you."

Those words could easily lead to misunderstandings... And even if you trust me, I don't trust you! Especially since I have many secrets. Even if "Pale Admiral" has a good reputation, it's impossible for me to let you follow me around all the time... You're not Miss Sharon!

Klein refused bluntly without much hesitation: "I still can't trust you, so I will only provide the summoning method for my messenger."

Upon hearing this, a hint of disappointment seemed to flicker in Maria's brown eyes, but she nodded understandingly: "Understood."

Klein pondered for a moment, then took out paper and pen from his pocket, quickly wrote down the summoning method for his messenger, and handed it to her.

"I will summon your messenger once I return, so it can remember my aura... That way, if you encounter someone from the Rose School, you can find me immediately."

Actually, I think Mr. Tower, "Vice Admiral Iceberg," or even Madam Yalolan would be more reliable... Though he thought this, Klein simply nodded slightly on the surface: "Good."

"Then I'll take my leave!" Seeing that the matter was settled, Maria exchanged no further pleasantries and directly left the "Golden Dream," returning to her flagship.

This left Klein dumbfounded, feeling that this lady's personality was even more awkward than the "Gehrman" persona he adopted.

"She's always been like this. Although she means no harm, she always offends people in subtle ways... Please don't mind her." At this moment, "Vice Admiral Iceberg" walked over and explained for Maria.

"Are you two very familiar?" Klein asked curiously.

He wouldn't "act" too much in front of Edwina now, as his true identity had already been exposed in the "Hall of Truth."

Edwina nodded and said: "She once studied in Lenburg... We were in the same class."

No wonder! Klein realized. He then took out Ebner's bell and handed it to the pirate admiral, and asked her to have the "Golden Dream" sail towards the island where the fishermen had salvaged "Vice Admiral Disease." Only then did he return to his cabin.

Sitting on the bed, he was about to rest when his spiritual perception suddenly stirred.

Guessing that "Pale Admiral" had made a move, Klein quickly activated his Spirit Vision, seeing his headless messenger, Reinette Tinekerr, floating beside him at some unknown time, the four heads she carried still brightly vivid.

Unlike the Bone Messenger, whom I can detect as soon as he appears, she has completely entered the real world, and only then was my spiritual perception triggered... Klein thoughtfully took the letter that one of Reinette Tinekerr's heads was biting.

The letter contained little content, only pages of Maria's own diary entries.

Klein casually flipped through it, finding that the diary was written in a stiff tone, much like her own speech, with wording resembling an accounting ledger.

What does this mean? I said I didn't trust her, so she sent her diary for me to understand her, to gain my trust?

Is this pirate admiral so naive?

Just as Klein's thoughts ran wild, the four heads in Reinette Tinekerr's hands simultaneously turned, their crimson eyes staring at Klein for a second.

Then, the mouths of each of her heads opened in an orderly fashion, one after another:

"Outwardly..." "Wraith..." "Actually..." "Devil..."

"Her..." "justice..." "is from..." "malice..." "twisted..." "away..."

"Not..." "agreeing..." "to her suggestion..." "was the correct..." "decision..."

Having already received confirmation from Sharon that his messenger was once a high-ranking figure from the Temperance faction of the Rose School, Klein did not doubt her words. He continued to read "Pale Admiral's" dry diary entries while pondering:

"Justice" twisted from "malice"? In her view, is the "justice" she upholds "malice" towards others?

Looking at what she's done since becoming a pirate admiral... this lady is essentially from the "Indulgence" faction, right?

No wonder Sharon's teacher doesn't seem to like her very much...

...

On Monday morning, on the railway leading to Trier, a steam train sped by, leaving behind rows of Intis plane trees on either side of the tracks.

Inside the train's first-class carriage, many railway police and travelers gathered, watching a young man with brown hair and gold-rimmed glasses eloquently lecturing about a seemingly recently deceased body.

The young man was naturally Ebner, who was currently performing a reverse "deduction" after "Blight" on a murder case that occurred on the train.

The case was not complicated, but the culprit's methods were quite clever, successfully misleading others and exonerating himself.

Ebner originally didn't want to meddle, after all, the deceased wasn't a good person either; he had even verbally insulted Fanny and Fors earlier. But the criminal was too arrogant, even daring to target people close to him. Naturally, this would make the perpetrator understand the prestige of the "Hero Detective."

Just as his deduction was nearing its end, about to reveal the true identity of the murderer, a bystander from the crew suddenly became agitated. He pushed through the crowd, smashed the glass, and was about to jump out the window to escape.

However, at this crucial moment, a remarkably well-built lady suddenly grabbed the other person's arm, then with a strong pull, twisted his hands behind his back and brought him to the ground.

This lady was naturally Fanny, who was accompanying Ebner to Trier. At this moment, she felt greatly relieved, as she had been the primary suspect in this murder case!

Recalling how she had been unable to defend herself earlier, even with her "Lawyer" ability, and the stifling feeling of not being able to convince others of her innocence, she now felt exceptionally unburdened.

At this moment, amidst the enthusiastic applause from the surrounding travelers for the brilliant deduction, Fanny felt her "Barbarian" potion completely digested.