Chapter 130 [“I’m back?”]

Backlund North District, underground of Saint Samuel Church.

Klein sat in a room that looked like an alchemy room with some trepidation. Opposite him was a man in his thirties wearing a black windbreaker and a white shirt. This man had golden brown hair and dark green eyes. The collars of his shirt and windbreaker were raised high, hiding his entire chin in the shadows.

This is the church's senior deacon! One of the three Red Gloves, "Goddess Sword" Creste Cecima!

Klein didn't quite understand. He was supposed to be assigned to the Nighthawks and start investigating Lanevus right away. Why was he being talked to alone by the absolute top brass of the church?

Could it be that I had too much afternoon tea before... and the church doesn't like it anymore? No way?
The senior deacon smiled and said:

"Klein, don't be nervous. I've already introduced myself. I've read your information. Of course, if you want to introduce yourself again, I don't mind."

Let me introduce myself again... Was my private promotion to Joker discovered? Klein's heart trembled. He had to think more. This trip to Backlund was a little sudden and magical. No matter how he thought about it, he felt that there must be something wrong.

“My name is Klein Moretti. More than two months ago, I was discovered by Dunn, the captain of the Tingen Nighthawks, due to the Antigonus family notebook incident and joined the Nighthawks.

"In the past two months, I have experienced a lot of things, met a lot of good people, and received a lot of help from them. I think I should enjoy the atmosphere of the Nighthawks and cherish such companions very much.

"But one of my 'Secret Voyeur' teammates suddenly lost control... was seduced by a certain secret existence... and lost control...

"At that time, I suddenly had a deeper understanding of the motto of 'Do whatever you want, but don't hurt'; I also had a deeper understanding of what Ms. Daly said, 'Be a true psychic'...

"Enduring the grief, I tried to be a true 'Fortune Teller' and summarize and refine the 'Fortune Teller's Code'..."

……

Klein spoke sincerely and told the truth. According to his observation, the church's attitude was quite kind. At least they did not send this senior deacon to Tingen to escort him to Backlund. The red-gloved man still had a smile on his face, as if he knew it was true...

It seems that my identity as a "clown" was discovered in Tingen, and the captain just pretended not to see it... Fighting teacher Gawain should be the first to discover it, right? After all, I mastered the use of weapons such as canes, rapiers, and broadswords in such a short time...

The captain said before: My merits are enough to be promoted to Sequence 7 with some extra... It seems that was a hint to me...

This time I was asked to come to Backlund not because of my application? But because Captain Dunn reported my situation to the Holy Temple? Hey, Captain, even if you tell me the truth, I won't run away...

I have already established a bond with Tingen, and if I escape, I will cause trouble for many people...

"After that, I quickly mastered the potion. When you really master the potion, you will experience a special and wonderful feeling..."

Klein was not panicked. Even if he was found to have been promoted to "Joker", it would be a financial problem at most! Well, he was not allowed to go to the Dragon Bar to borrow 600 pounds, sign a contract to sell himself, and get a Sequence 8 potion? Uh, it was indeed outrageous.

The most important thing is that when he was in Tingen, he performed divination in reality and in the gray fog, and the result was "there is no danger on this trip"! Although we can't be superstitious about divination... but when it comes to our own safety, plus the gray fog has eliminated interference, the credibility is extremely high!

"I hope to help my teammates reduce the probability of losing control, so I shared some experience with my teammates. The feedback they gave me was also helpful. I am very happy to be able to help them."

Klein made up his mind and was about to confess the fact that he bought the potion from the Dragon Bar, but the senior deacon in front of him finally spoke.

The deepness in Creste's dark green eyes disappeared, and his gaze returned to its original state as he said:

“I’m impressed by your honesty, I thought you were hiding this.

“Although you have only been a member of the Nighthawks for more than two months, I think you know your companions better than many people, and your mind is also very clear.

“Dunne praised you highly, and Daley confirmed your talent. I think you are indeed a genius with clear logic and sharp intuition. Your teammates should all trust you.

"Of course, you should have heard from Daly that the 'Acting Method' is explicitly forbidden to be disclosed at will. Well, the specific reason is a secret of the church. You are not authorized to know it for the time being. When you become an archbishop or a senior deacon, you will understand the reason."

Huh? Klein was a little stunned. Honest? Are you talking about me? Should I tell the secret of the gray fog and hand it over to the church? And the matter of the leader of the secret organization...

I spent half a day preparing myself mentally and was anxious the whole day... Was it acting? Did the captain praise me in the telegram? Did Ms. Daly endorse me?

"Yes... Ms. Daly also told me that I needed to swear in front of the holy object that I would never tell anyone else. Because of this warning, I only told my Beyonder teammates and did not tell any civilian staff.

"I'm very confident in my divination, and I even want to come to Backlund to help find Lanevus..." Klein tried hard to make up for his "mistake" and show his value. Krestai was stunned for a moment, then smiled:

"Of course. To be honest, Backlund is so busy that we are already considering following the example of the Church of Storms and drawing elites from various dioceses to help with the investigation... Well, after your promotion, you should be considered Tingen's representative.

“Next, I will test your mastery of the potion, and then observe whether there are hidden dangers in your body, mind and spirit, and whether the remaining spirit of the potion has unconsciously changed your personality and left you with problems.

"After that, you will need to swear in front of the holy object that you will not pass on the 'Acting Method' to others. If everything goes well, then for your merits, the church will directly give you a Sequence 8 potion. Well, you have three minutes to prepare."

Huh? ?! Still drinking? Klein thought he had misheard. He watched as the other party took out a silver pocket watch and started counting.

...Give me another chance to honestly say that I'm a "clown", okay? I don't mind just giving me a sequence 7 potion!
Well, just think about it. Sequence 7 is already considered a middle-level member of the church... It must be very difficult to examine him. Didn’t you see that old Blue was so old before he was ranked...

This... Will I lose control if I drink the potion repeatedly? Klein's throat moved, and he used the Joker's powerful muscle control ability to hold back his facial expressions. Suddenly, he remembered the result of the divination he had done before: No danger...

I'll do another divination when I get the potion! Klein made up his mind and felt more at ease.

……

After Klein passed the test, held down the pure bone sword and swore not to reveal the secret, and praised the goddess, he once again began to mix the Sequence 8 "Joker" potion...

Looking at the familiar gray goat horn crystal and the complete human face rose, Klein's mouth twitched a little. His clown potion had been digested! Oh!

One by one, the ingredients were thrown into the iron pot. Soon, another cup of "Sprite" was poured into the glass bottle. He looked at the golden and red liquid and felt as if he were in another world...

The first time the Joker drank the potion, he slipped to the edge of losing control. It was Old Blue who used the power of the sun to pull him back from the abyss...

The materials for that potion were collected by Old Blue. At that time, he was eager to improve his strength, and he made that choice because of the craving he felt after digesting the fortune teller's potion.

But since I have made the choice, there is no reason to regret it. Moreover, after that incident, I got the "Sun Kitchen Knife", which was later upgraded to the "No Dark Kitchen Knife", and I have the real trump card...

Klein held up the glass of Sprite in his right hand, reached into his tuxedo pocket with his left hand, stroked the 10-pound throwing knife, and said with a smile on his face:
"My spiritual hunch is that this potion will do me no harm."

After saying this, he raised the cup, tilted his head slightly, and gulped down the extremely bitter potion while Krestey looked thoughtful.

Bitter! Really bitter! Drink it again! Is every potion that the fortune teller prepares going to be this bitter? Is this the price? The price of becoming extraordinary?
Klein's face flushed red, and other parts of his body underwent similar changes, but his mind was withdrawn.

He once again returned to a corner of his heart and saw the cage made of blazing light.

In the cage, a familiar figure slowly emerged. He covered the right half of his face with his left hand. He had black hair and brown eyes, and was wearing an old shirt and old pants. The exposed left half of his face was covered with a big smile. That was Klein!

[“I’m back. Have I thought it through?”]

Klein materialized the "10-pound throwing knife" with a twisted tip and threw it through the gap in the cage with skillful technique. The newly consumed "Joker" potion seemed to have found an outlet and poured into the cage and merged into the body of the "Face-Covering Clown" before disappearing in an instant.

The clown covered his face, picked up the flying knife, threw it upwards, and said loudly:
[“Haha, I’m really smart. I used this method to reduce the burden of the potion. Let me guess, was it the old man who taught me this?”]

hum!
The light cage shrank instantly to the point where it was almost touching the side of the clown, scorching the familiar figure in the cage with a sizzling sound.

Klein raised the corner of his mouth and said softly:
“It was his dog who taught me, um, called Ah Fu.

"Show me your respect. Maybe you want me to kill you again?"

[“…I have tasted the long-lost feeling of being alive, especially this potion…Actually, I am me, and I have never killed myself.”]

[“Hey, wasn’t I worried about how to appear at the same time as the Fool? I’m here now… I say, how about letting me be the ‘Fool’?”]

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(End of this chapter)