On Friday evening, after waiting nearly ten minutes outside the Grand Prayer Hall, Klein supported Miss Sharon, who had transformed into Daly, and entered alongside the other believers attending the Moonlight Mass under the guidance of a priest.
In the dim and tranquil atmosphere, they were greeted by an orderly and ethereal chant:
"The crimson full moon rises, shining upon the earth,
All people sink into sweet dreams, dreaming of themselves,
Dreaming of parents, wives, and children — this is eternity…"
As those sacred, rhythmic voices echoed layer by layer, the congregation within the Grand Prayer Hall unconsciously grew calm, as though they had forgotten all worldly worries and sorrows.
At the front, Bishop Electra, who presided over this service, began a brief sermon.
After reading a classic passage from The Revelation of the Night, distributing the sacrament, and concluding with a hymn of praise to the Goddess, Klein took Sharon's arm, his other hand holding a wallet, and walked down the aisle toward the altar under the bishop's gentle gaze.
Touching his chest four times clockwise and drawing a scarlet moon, Klein placed all his high-denomination bills into the donation box.
A total of 300 pounds!
In that moment, Klein felt neither pain nor reluctance. His heart was calm, because it reminded him of the ritual when Old Neil had repaid his debt.
At that time, under the Goddess's blessing, they had found a wallet filled with more than three hundred pounds in cash.
Stepping back, he again traced a scarlet moon across his chest and gave way to the next donor.
At this time, Bishop Electra approached them, performing the same motion as he said warmly:
"May the Goddess bless you both, Mr. Dantès, Mrs. Dantès."
After Klein and Sharon returned his smile and blessing, the bishop guided them toward a side exit of the prayer hall and said with a grin:
"Dwayne, Daly, it's been a while since we've met… I heard you went on a sea voyage and made a fortune in business?
"Hehe, I thought it was just a rumor, but seeing your devotion to the Goddess today, I know I was wrong."
Hearing that, Klein's expression didn't change, but inwardly he tensed — he knew this was the real test of the Moonlight Mass.
Originally, he had wanted to teleport to Feysac to invite the real Daly to help, but after discussing it with Miss Sharon, she insisted it wasn't necessary — that she could easily handle Daly's acquaintances without arousing suspicion.
Seeing her so confident, Klein had chosen to believe her, yet now, as the moment came, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Still, with his Clown ability, he controlled his expression perfectly and, imitating his old captain's manner, smiled gently and said, "The Goddess has blessed me, allowing me to gain wealth beyond anything I had before."
"This is indeed the Goddess's blessing, but also your own effort," Bishop Electra replied with a smile before turning to "Daly." "You've become much quieter since your pregnancy — that's good… By the way, Shona has been expecting you to invite her to a ball ever since she heard you moved to 160 Boklund Street. Don't forget her, hmm?
"You know how she is — she loves lively gatherings and never misses a party if she can help it."
Shona was Bishop Electra's wife, more than twenty years younger than him, a lively young woman.
According to the records, Daly and the Electra family were quite familiar with one another. So, instead of giving a polite answer, Miss Sharon swept her gaze up and down the bishop, then smirked and said, "Electra, I think it's you who can't handle Shona's enthusiasm. You just want her to tire herself out dancing, don't you?
"What's wrong? Did you run out of the sleeping potion I gave you to help her rest easily?"
Klein was genuinely impressed — while Sharon's tone lacked Daly's signature brazenness, her delivery still captured seventy or eighty percent of Daly's spirit.
Bishop Electra was also surprised. He sighed, "Daly, you've actually learned the Loen-style subtlety? Seems pregnancy has mellowed you out.
"If it were before, you'd have said outright that I was— cough, cough, right, this is a church, I shouldn't say such things here."
He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "By the way, Leonard Mitchell came looking for you recently, but missed you several times."
Leonard? Isn't he supposed to be investigating Sherlock right now? I was planning to use that to build up the story… Why would he come looking for Dwayne? Hmm… could it be that Dwayne's recent 'sea voyage' with Daly made him suspicious?
Just as Klein was pondering this, an elderly man in a black priest's robe walked through the side door toward a nearby spiral staircase.
His white hair was still thick but unkempt, his face gaunt, as if his skin barely clung to bone. His expression was cold, his skin deathly pale, and his eyes an unusual shade of pure black.
As he passed the trio, he ignored Dwayne and the bishop entirely, only nodding slightly to Miss Sharon.
An internal guard… and he knows Daly… I can ask Daly through The Fool about him later… seems like a good target.
Klein didn't forget his original purpose for disguising himself as a wealthy man — the Goddess's trial: to successfully infiltrate the Chanis Gate of St. Samuel's Cathedral, obtain the Antigonus family's notes, and acquire the complete formula for the Trickmaster.
He had to admit, his captain's careful shaping of the Dwayne Dantès persona, and the inherent advantages of Daly's identity, had given him tremendous leverage. Otherwise, he'd have had to study the rotation schedules of the internal guards himself before striking.
After musing briefly, Klein exchanged a few more casual words with the bishop. During that time, Sharon's "banter" became even more fluent, making Electra laugh that the old Daly had truly returned.
Roughly seven or eight minutes later, Klein and Sharon took their leave and rejoined their valet, "Ludwell," outside the church.
When they returned home, it wasn't even eight yet — just in time for dinner and a quiet evening.
Once the servants had been dismissed and Sharon sealed off the surroundings, Klein, cutting into his steak, praised her, "Sharon, your performance today was remarkable. Why didn't you show that level of skill during rehearsal?"
Sharon gave him a calm look and replied, "Would you really want me saying those kinds of things to you?"
Though he had to admit a small part of him did, Klein said righteously, "Of course not! I was only interested in the academic side of your disguise…"
Ever since learning the word academic from "Mr. Tower," Klein had found it immensely useful.
"Compared to what I used to hear from the followers of the Hedonistic school, these are nothing," Sharon said quietly after a pause.
That's true. For someone as beautiful as Sharon, even with the protection of a messenger, being in the Roselle School of Thought must've exposed her to no shortage of vulgar remarks… maybe I just reminded her of unpleasant memories…
Feeling a twinge of guilt, Klein sighed inwardly.
Sharon seemed to read his mind. She shook her head gently and said, "Don't blame yourself. I'm long used to it."
Her blue eyes met his again, steady and serious. "My first wish was simply not to be bullied — to have the power to protect myself and my companions, and to promote the virtue of restraint.
"But as for revenge… I had almost given it up. My enemies were too strong… It was you who gave me hope again."
Not only by showing me that beings like Mr. Fool — so great and merciful — exist in this world, but also by helping me find my teacher…
Klein was about to respond when he suddenly heard faint, layered prayers echoing in his ear — a man's voice.
At that same moment, Miss Sharon shed her earlier emotion and reverted to her calm "puppet" state, lifting the spiritual seal as she did.
Seeing this, Klein knew their conversation was over for the night — after all, Miss "Temperance" had very little time each day to indulge emotion.
He wiped his mouth, excused himself to the restroom, and stepped into the washroom.
Ten seconds later, he appeared above the gray fog, where the crimson star representing "The Hanged Man" pulsed and expanded rhythmically.
As expected… Klein leaned back in his chair, extending his spirituality.
The Hanged Man's voice became clear:
"Honorable Mr. Fool, the Storm Church's fleet organized to attack the pirate port on Sonia Island has assembled and may depart at any moment. They're expected to arrive and begin their assault by Sunday evening.
"The Trident, carrying elite Mandated Punishers, set out a day ago — its whereabouts are currently unknown.
"I hope Mr. World will keep his promise and, during our battle with the Feysac Navy, steal the Obnis sea monster the Feysac people are holding captive.
"I'll continue to provide the latest intelligence."
The Church of Storms is moving this quickly? Well, that makes sense — those hotheaded types wouldn't tolerate such a crucial ritual item of their pathway falling into enemy hands. If the Feysac side managed to raise a few "Ocean Songsters," it would be a huge blow to the Storm Church's rule over the seas.
Even the so-called pirate admiral, "Vice Admiral Hurricane" Qilangos, was only a "Wind-blessed."
But still, I can't shake the feeling someone's pushing this conflict deliberately… as if they want both sides at each other's throats.
Thinking that, Klein conjured paper and pen, performing a quick divination.
After confirming the danger hadn't increased, he manifested "The World," letting the fog-shrouded figure kneel in prayer and solemnly reply:
"Great Mr. Fool, please convey to The Hanged Man that I will do my utmost to help him capture the sea monster as promised."
Once done, Klein sent both voice and image into the crimson star symbolizing "The Hanged Man."
With the Sea God Scepter in hand, Klein was reasonably confident about this commission — he even suspected he could simply command the creature to "swim" away on its own amid the chaos.
Still, to be safe, I should discuss this with Mr. Tower… hopefully he's recovered by now. After all, yesterday's scene was…
Klein shook his head, banishing those intrusive images, and stretched his spirituality toward the crimson star representing "The Tower."
At that moment, Ebner, as Klein had guessed, had just climbed out of bed.
I was so focused on using the Wheel of Fortune to simulate fate branches that I forgot—once the Pure White Eye is active, the side effects of that "Calamity Mark" spread out… and of all days, that was when everyone showed up — it turned into a full-on gathering…
Sigh, well, at least Xio managed to completely digest her "Disciplinary Paladin" potion thanks to it. Guess my suffering wasn't in vain!
(End of this chapter)