As the atmosphere grew heavy, Alaric clapped his hands sharply, breaking the mood with a smile. "Alright, enough of the heavy topics before you both end up in tears. Let's talk about something lighter!"
"Like what?" Roselle glanced at him.
"Like how great the Demoness taste!" Alaric said with a grin, turning to Roselle. "I've always been curious. Even if you didn't know at first, once you learned the truth about transmigration, you must've realized your diaries would eventually fall into another transmigrator's hands. So how did you have the nerve to write down all those romantic escapades? Weren't you afraid of a fellow transmigrator exposing them one day, leading to your social demise?"
"Uh…" Roselle broke into a cold sweat, stammering for a moment before sighing. "When I started writing those diaries, I didn't expect to meet another transmigrator. By the time I understood the truth of transmigration, I was barely lucid. I didn't exactly have the chance to destroy them…"
"Besides, I figured if another transmigrator benefited from my diaries, they'd have some gratitude and wouldn't do something as ungrateful as leaking them, right?"
"And who's the naive one here?" Alaric shot Roselle a sidelong glance.
Roselle immediately recalled the first time he met Lucifer, when he'd warned the man not to trust other transmigrators too much. He gave an awkward chuckle. "Well, I was younger back then…"
Klein, meanwhile, had a strange look on his face as he glanced at Alaric.
He remembered clearly that it wasn't just Emperor Roselle's diaries circulating out there... Lucifer's diaries were out in the world too.
"What're you looking at me for? My diaries don't have anything that'd cause a social death. I'm happy to let people read my stories." Alaric said, catching Klein's odd look and responding with a smile.
Klein lowered his head, embarrassed, and rubbed his nose with a sheepish grin.
"Wait, what do you mean your diaries?" Roselle asked, eyeing the two suspiciously.
Klein, already flustered, wasn't about to answer that question.
Alaric, fearless as ever, glanced at Roselle. "I wrote some diaries and spread them around."
"Bold move!" Roselle said, looking at Alaric like he was some kind of hero. "You've got some guts!"
"Not as much as you, writing down everything." Alaric replied with a smile.
Roselle found himself at a loss for words.
"Dad, what language are you even speaking?" Bernadette, who had been listening in confusion without understanding a word, finally spoke up.
"Ahem, it's the language from my hometown. Once things settle down, I'll teach it to you." Roselle said, clearing his throat and switching to Loenese.
He genuinely intended to teach Bernadette the language. He'd avoided it before to keep her from learning about transmigration and the diaries, but now that their contents were becoming public, Roselle figured he might as well embrace it. Once the issue of corruption was resolved and he could move freely, he'd teach her.
Bernadette's eyes lit up at the prospect. She'd long been curious about the unique language her father used, but he'd never offered to teach her before. Now that he might, she was thrilled.
The reunion of the transmigrator came to a close. Since they'd already run into each other, Alaric, Roselle, and Bernadette naturally teamed up with Klein and Lil' Amon to explore the Roselle memorial exhibition together.
The group eventually reached the book section, where the display featured books Roselle had once read, along with some of his own writings.
Roselle, stroking his chin as he looked at the books, seemed to recall something. He lowered his voice and said to Klein beside him, "Klein, see that bookmark?"
Klein froze, following Roselle's gaze to a bookmark tucked inside a book. His brow twitched as he suddenly remembered a passage from Roselle's diaries he'd read.
That diary had mentioned the whereabouts of a Card of Blasphemy.
"As your transmigrator senior, I ought to give you, my junior, a little welcome gift. But just handing it over would be boring…" Roselle said, noting Klein's reaction and realizing he'd likely read the relevant diary entry. With a grin, he continued, "I can tell you plainly... that's indeed a Card of Blasphemy, one I left for a fated person. Now, I'm giving it to you. Whether you can claim it, though, depends on your skills, Klein."
Klein was stunned for a moment, then glanced around nervously.
"Relax, no one can overhear us. Otherwise, our little chat in that language would've drawn attention by now." Roselle said with a laugh, clearly aware of Klein's concern.
As a Knowledge Emperor, he had ways to ensure their conversation went unnoticed.
Klein let out a relieved breath, his gaze instinctively returning to the bookmark. His heart raced.
This was a Card of Blasphemy, after all... a legendary item said to contain the secrets of an entire pathway.
Even if the pathway recorded on this card wasn't for the Seer pathway, the potion formulas alone could fetch a fortune.
Klein was flat broke. Most of his earnings went toward paying off debts for "Creeping Hunger," and the rest he'd invested in bicycles. All told, he had a grand total of nine pounds and fifteen pence to his name.
"So what do you plan to do with that Card of Blasphemy?" Roselle asked, clearly pleased with Klein's evident desire for it.
"Sell it." Klein replied without a second's hesitation.
Roselle's smile froze.
Realizing his bluntness, Klein quickly clarified, "I mean, I'd sell the potion formulas inside the Card of Blasphemy."
His explanation only made things worse. Roselle's mouth twitched, and he looked Klein up and down with an incredulous stare. "Klein, that's a Card of Blasphemy. It's immune to divination and holds the secrets of a divine pathway, and all you can think to do is sell its potion formulas?"
"But I'm really short on cash." Klein said, unabashed. He was genuinely poor.
"Cut him some slack." Alaric interjected, smiling at Roselle. "He's got thousands of pounds in debt to pay off. And honestly, besides selling the potion formulas, what else are your Cards of Blasphemy good for?"
"They're useful for plenty of things! Like, uh, for example…" Roselle faltered, realizing he couldn't come up with anything on the spot.
***
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