Chapter 16: Fellow Villagers Recognizing Each Other
Klein was certain there couldn't be two "Devil" cards in this tarot deck—before Ning Lu had even entered, he had already checked the faces and hadn't seen any duplicates.
Still, he tactfully said, "Well… maybe there's something wrong with this deck. Should I ask Miss Angelica to replace it so we can start the reading again?"
"No, no need."
Ning Lu shook his head, refusing Klein's offer. Considering the Celestial Venerable he carried and his own "Error" status, he could guess why this had happened.
"I believe this is also part of fate—I actually like the meaning of the reversed Devil. Getting out of trouble is a pretty good future."
Klein nodded, giving a polite smile. "You're right. For two "Devil" cards to appear in one tarot deck, there might well be Beyonder factors involved."
Ning Lu inclined his head. He shifted back slightly, gathered his tone, and tried to sound as though he were making light conversation.
"Mind if we chat a bit?"
Chat? Klein didn't refuse; he simply nodded. Seeing that, Ning Lu paused, then spoke.
"By the way, earlier when you mentioned Roselle Gustav's inventions you seemed a bit embarrassed?"
Uh… Klein hadn't expected Ning Lu to open with that question and felt a sudden unease.
Don't tell me someone in this world has already realized the Emperor's works were copied—no, plagiarized—no, borrowed?
Your Majesty! How can I save your image?
Klein thought it over, exhaled slowly, and said to Ning Lu,
"You know, when a person achieves too much, people always suspect later additions—philosophy, inventions, things like that. Someone else's work often gets pinned on a famous name."
"…I see." Ning Lu nodded "thoughtfully." Klein, watching him, felt the man lacked the Loen typical tact and couldn't help asking,
"Your expression just now looked odd too… why?"
Hearing the question, Ning Lu smiled.
"Because the reason you just gave—well, I know Roselle borrowed it from someone else."
Klein's heart gave a sudden lurch. Casually, but in a lower voice, he asked, "How can you be sure Roselle borrowed it?"
"…Fate often guides the compliant," Ning Lu said slowly. "Roselle didn't change a single word, fellow countryman. I'm a Cryptologist; the moment I saw you I could confirm your identity."
"To people who've never known our world, we only seem slightly out of place, but to me the thick outsider 'mark' on you is obvious at a glance."
As those words fell, Klein's heart began to pound.
He almost blurted out what he was thinking, yet his cautious nature kept him from taking the final step and asking, "You're a Transmigrator too?"
Can't say it. Beyonders exist; I've only just arrived and don't know whether they're aware of Transmigrators or what their attitude is… that predecessor, Roselle Gustav, ended badly… He hasn't spoken our language yet; I must be careful, Klein warned himself—yet the next moment a voice struck his ears:
"I don't know if you're Chinese, so I didn't greet you in our Mother tongue."
"But there's one thing only people from our world would know: what color do you think the Moon is?"
Klein's head snapped up; Ning Lu went on,
"I remember the Moon was white, just like that line of poetry says…"
"Before my bed, the bright moonlight…"
"…I lower my head, thinking of home."
…[Compatriot, you were born to be a fraud.]
The Celestial Venerable's voice drifted softly into Ning Lu's ear—soft, yet like a vicious curse:
[I look forward to the moment my heir sees you betray him.]
"…Buddy, your name's just 'Ning Lu'? Isn't that a name from myth, the King of Babel (note 1)?"
In the café, Klein's voice brimmed with excitement as he spoke to the quietly seated Ning Lu.
Though he'd learned Ning Lu was a fellow villager, he'd suppressed his excitement then, agreed to meet here that evening, and afterward carried out his original afternoon plans step by step, even taking a carriage to tell Benson and Melissa he wouldn't be home for dinner.
During that time, what concerned Klein was Leonard telling him something about the antigonus family notebook, making him a bit wary of Leonard.
"Ning Lu—'Lu' as in good fortune."
Ning Lu sipped his coffee and said to Klein,
"After I transmigrated I didn't like the original owner's name, and since his father had died young and there was no memory of his Mother, I decided to revert to my real name. Luckily, the combination of my given and family names sounds natural here, and it helps me remember the past."
"I see…"
Klein gave a small nod, exhaled, and smiled faintly.
"Actually, I never thought I'd meet another Transmigrator here. I don't know if you're aware, but so far I've only found one fellow villager—Emperor Roselle."
"Roselle… I've looked into him and collected some of his diaries, but unfortunately someone bundled them off not long ago; otherwise I could show you Roselle's diary right now." Ning Lu set down his cup, a cryptic smile appearing:
"Believe me, once you dig deeper into Roselle, your opinion of him will change completely."