Chapter 97: Persecution Never Ends
join the Church of MissRaven and become a Sequence 9: Reader p atreon.com/KeyofStars for more chapters
Monday, Tingen —
When Klein woke up, the hands of his pocket watch pointed to two in the afternoon.
He sat up, slightly dazed, and it took him several seconds to fully wake up before he yawned.
Klein hadn't fully slept enough because he had been rushing to complete the five-thousand-word self-criticism report since the end of special training on Saturday.
Because there was no internet in this era to search for self-criticism templates and copy answers, Klein had to write every word of the report himself.
Moreover, considering Lin Ruo's personality, if he tried to fool her, he would likely be asked to rewrite it, so Klein wrote each word with careful consideration, which further slowed his progress.
He barely managed to squeeze out two thousand words while staying up late, and on Sunday, Lin Ruo gave him a reprieve, saying, "I'll come to collect the self-criticism report tomorrow. If you haven't finished writing it by then, be prepared to write twenty thousand words."
After Klein finished his theory class, he was planning to rush the report when the Blackthorn Security Company received a mission that seemed to involve an extraordinary event.
Because Klein was still one personal mission away from becoming a formal Nighthawk, Dunn naturally assigned the mission to him.
Klein couldn't refuse, so he spent the whole afternoon busy with the mission.
In the end, the mission was resolved, and Klein himself successfully transitioned from a clerical staff member to a formal Nighthawk, but the daytime of the weekend was spent in this way, and Klein didn't write a single one of the remaining 3,000 words of the report.
There was no choice; Klein could only frantically rush the manuscript in the remaining time, fully experiencing what it meant to have 'a pen, a lamp, a night, and a miracle.'
After staying up all night to finish the self-criticism report, he didn't even sleep before going to the Blackthorn Security Company to hand it over to Lin Ruo.
However, because he was in poor condition, Lin Ruo temporarily canceled the special training on Monday and asked Dunn to grant him a day off to go back and catch up on sleep.
So, Klein slept from morning until now.
Hmm… Klein touched his slightly shriveled stomach, which was a little empty because he hadn't eaten lunch, and silently went to the kitchen.
He first found the leftovers from last night, heated them up, and filled his stomach without being picky, along with a piece of oat bread.
After eating and drinking his fill, Klein pulled open the curtains.
Because it was July, the sunlight outside the window was very bright, carrying a scorching heat.
Klein looked through the window at the pedestrians on the street below, their clothes old and tattered, and after watching for a while, he let out a long breath.
Yesterday, he personally went to the East Borough of Tingen because of the mission.
It had to be said that this gave Klein a deeper understanding of the cruelty of this world and how terrible the lives of the people at the bottom were.
This is truly a world where human life is as cheap as grass… Klein thought absentmindedly, his mood inevitably tinged with heaviness.
However, he quickly shook his head and suppressed this feeling, because he knew that one had to eat one bite at a time.
With his current strength, even if he really wanted to do something to change society, he wouldn't be able to do it.
I should still study hard and think about how to advance in sequence…
Thinking this way, Klein sat down at his desk and picked up the Jotun textbook that he had already read more than halfway, reading for a while until it was soon 2:50.
Klein once again ascended to that blurry, boundless, grayish-white, empty fog, and sat on the high-backed chair at the head of the ancient, mottled bronze table.
Klein leaned back in his chair and waited for a while before reaching out and tapping the crimson stars symbolizing 'Justice,' 'The Hanged Man,' and 'The Chariot.'
…
Backlund, Empress Borough.
After discovering once again that she was being secretly observed by Susie, Justice Audrey sighed and finally couldn't help but begin to educate her pet, who wasn't playing her role properly:
"Susie, you can't do this. This is peeping. The audience should watch openly from their position…"
Regarding her education, Susie, who could now fully understand human speech but hadn't yet learned to speak it, looked up at her master and wagged her tail cooperatively, giving her considerable face.
After educating the Golden Retriever for a few sentences, seeing that it was almost three o'clock, Audrey didn't dare to delay any longer.
She went into the bedroom, read a few newspapers, and allowed herself to enter the state of 'audience' while waiting.
…
Sonia Sea, on the Blue Avenger.
The Hanged Man, Alger Wilson, had already taken his seat in the captain's cabin in advance.
He picked up the almost transparent spirits placed in front of him and drank it all in one gulp.
This calmed his slightly trembling mood, which had been caused by thinking about the upcoming gathering, the response he received after chanting the Honorable Name, and the mysterious Fool.
Soon, he regained his usual composure and calmness.
…
Backlund, Lin Ruo's office.
After writing another letter to Miss Salted Fish and indicating in the letter that he would return to his hometown soon to retrieve the ancient book containing rumors of the Abraham family, Lin Ruo finally received a reply from Salted Fish Fors.
Taking the letter back to the desk in his room and sitting down, Lin Ruo didn't rush to read it but took out his pocket watch and glanced at it.
After confirming that it was almost three in the afternoon, he placed the letter on the desk, glanced at the self-criticism report written by Klein, which was also placed on the table, and began to adjust his state.
Soon, crimson erupted from within him, engulfing his entire being.
With a familiar sense of daze, Lin Ruo opened his eyes again and found himself above the gray fog.
Lin Ruo glanced at Justice Audrey and The Hanged Man Alger, who had appeared next to the bronze table at almost the same time as him, and finally paused his gaze on The Fool Klein for a second before retracting his gaze, stood up, gave a salute, and said with a smile:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool! Your strength is truly beyond our imagination.
Although you may not need cheers, I still want to celebrate your success and praise your greatness here."
Although Lin Ruo and The Fool Klein knew each other inside and out, in the eyes of Justice Audrey and The Hanged Man Alger, Mr. Chariot would naturally try to use The Fool's Honorable Name to perform ritual magic, just like them.
And since he was going to act, Lin Ruo would naturally play the whole part, and also persecute a certain Fool a little.
Originally intending to greet Mr. Fool and express her congratulations, Justice Audrey saw this and swallowed her original words.
In the end, she could only echo Lin Ruo and express her praise for Mr. Fool.
The Hanged Man Alger did the same.
Here it comes again, this guy… Although Klein had long been accustomed to being persecuted by Lin Ruo in this way and was no longer as embarrassed as he had been at the beginning, wishing he could dig out a three-bedroom apartment with his feet.
But at this moment, listening to Lin Ruo's words and watching the Tarot Club members express their praise for Mr. Fool under his guidance, Klein couldn't help but feel a little helpless.
However, as a strength-based actor, Klein still maintained his image of The Fool on the surface:
"Very good. This shows that we are indeed on the right path.
In the future, if you have something urgent and cannot attend the Tarot Club, inform me in advance by holding a ritual.
Well, you only need to change the content in the incantation from 'Pray for a good dream' to a specific reason."
"Alright."
The Tarot Club members naturally followed suit and had no objection to Mr. Fool's proposal.
And after a small interlude, it was naturally time to offer the diaries of Emperor Roselle to Mr. Fool.
Justice Audrey unexpectedly collected a page of the diary, The Hanged Man Alger gained nothing, and Lin Ruo, who had already thought about what diary to provide to Klein this week, also presented a page of the diary.
And so, we entered the daily reading time of Mr. Fool.
join the Church of MissRaven and become a Sequence 9: Reader p atreon.com/KeyofStars for more chapters