Chapter 166: Fors: Praying to the Great Fool
The cathedral's response was swift.
By the next day, their opinion on the matter had already reached the Night Watcher squad in the West District.
They agreed to use a fake Follower of the Stars to lure out those with ill intentions hiding in the shadows, and even had the Red Glove squad members coordinate with them in action, with the Punishers and the Heart of Machinery members joining in.
They aimed to take this opportunity to strike hard at those arrogant individuals, to achieve the effect of 'killing the chicken to scare the monkey' and 'beating the grass to startle the snake.'
They wanted to restore the usual peace of Beckland, or at the very least, curb the trend of indiscriminate killing.
Regarding the choice of impersonating a Follower of the Stars, Leonard, who had recently joined the Red Gloves, was indeed a suitable candidate, but his consent was needed, and they could not force him.
"I am willing to accept this mission."
Upon this, Leonard, the person involved, solemnly took on this seemingly extremely dangerous task.
"Very good, the original purpose of establishing our Red Gloves was to resolve the church's tricky extraordinary events. Every member of the squad must be prepared to sacrifice everything for protection at any time."
The captain of the Red Gloves patted Leonard on the shoulder, very satisfied with Leonard's stance.
Although it was said that they should not force anyone, once someone backed down, there would always be people who would come out and gossip.
Their Red Gloves would not allow their members to shrink back out of fear.
"Captain, I will definitely complete this mission successfully." Leonard's face was radiant with a smile.
His intention in coming to Beckland was to have a new beginning, to say goodbye to his past self who was naive, weak, and incompetent.
He did not want to become someone who needed others to save him, but to become a hero who could protect others, like his eternal captain, Dunn Smith.
After finalizing the matter, Leonard took a moment to breathe alone.
"You really dare to take on any task."
A familiar voice echoed deep within Leonard's heart.
"Old man, don't you think it's cool to be someone who carries the expectations and hopes of many?"
"Heh, do you think you are the Hanged Man?"
"What does this have to do with the Hanged Man?" Leonard didn't quite understand this remark.
"The Stars are an unknown existence. Even if their followers are truly active in Beckland, they are not something a Sequence 7 like you can resolve."
"Don't worry, old man, I'm just bait. Once I lure those lurking in the dark out, I can safely leave."
"What makes you think that someone who wants to kill will need to show themselves from the shadows?"
"…"
"The waters of Beckland are deep, very deep. You, as a Sequence 7, are like a drop of water falling into the ocean, without even the qualification to become a wave."
Leonard fell silent for a while, then laughed, "Old man, you seem to care about me more and more."
"Yes, if you die, how can I possess your body?"
"Old man, I already believe you mean me no harm…"
"That only makes you seem even more foolish."
"…"
Leonard didn't want to talk anymore. Back in Tingen, he had always been on guard against the old man, which caused his promotion to be slow and left him without the power to change the situation. The old man called him foolish, and he accepted it.
But now in Beckland, he believed the old man meant him no harm, yet the old man still called him foolish.
"Tsundere old man." That was Leonard's final assessment.
After clearing his mind, Leonard returned to the Red Gloves to discuss how to properly impersonate a Follower of the Stars, what cooperation was needed, and how to fish out the enemies hiding in the shadows, and so on.
…
Late at night, after a busy day, Klein returned to his rented house in the Jowood District to rest.
There was a considerable distance from here to the Night Watcher squad's office in the West District.
Originally, he also wanted to live in the West District to avoid running back and forth between life and work, but after glancing at the rent of houses near the West District, he silently left the West District and chose to come to Jowood District.
The same set of houses, the rent difference between the two was like that between the second and eighth rings, and the food was much cheaper as well.
Choosing to live in Jowood District, he could still have a little surplus from his housing and meal allowances. If he were in the West District, he would have to pay a third of his weekly salary.
As for the distance to work being a bit far, he could take the public horse-drawn carriage. From his place to the West District office, it was 4 pence a trip, then a walk of about 200 meters.
A round trip a day was 8 pence, exactly 4 soli for six days a week.
Apart from being a bit of a waste of time, everything here was better than in the West District.
"I still need to work hard to earn money."
Klein thought about whether he could save enough for a house within half a year.
After all, adding to the family and buying property was an old tradition. He also wanted to buy a house that belonged only to himself in Beckland, the most prosperous city, preferably a detached house with a garden.
So that when Benson and Melissa came to Beckland, they would also have a real home here.
"Half a year, it seems a bit unrealistic."
Klein sighed at the difficulty of earning money, looked at the time, and saw it was already past nine o'clock at night. He went to the washroom to take a bath and then went to bed to rest.
After the bath, before he fell asleep, his spirituality reminded him that someone was praying to the Fool's honorific name.
"So late, who could it be? Little Sun?"
Klein entered the gray fog above and looked at the shining little light point. It was not Justice, the Hanged Man, or Little Sun, but a completely unfamiliar person.
Strange, the Fool's honorific name should only be known by Miss Justice and the other two, right?
How could someone else know the Fool's honorific name and pray to the Fool at this time? Perhaps the Fool had also left traces in this world?
Klein thought about the reason for his transmigration. Even he could buy books about the Fool's honorific name at a street stall. It seemed quite normal for the people of this extraordinary world to know the Fool's honorific name.
Just like Little Sun's prayer, it also startled him.
Another new member of the Tarot Club?
Klein didn't immediately pull this person into the gray fog. He had to observe carefully first to avoid any accidents.
His gaze penetrated the gray fog, watching the figure praying. It was a lady, her brows furrowed, seemingly troubled by something.
"Great Fool, omnipotent ruler of the gray fog, king of yellow and black who holds good fortune, I pray for your merciful gaze to bring me the good fortune to overcome illness."
"Great Fool, omnipotent ruler of the gray fog, king of yellow and black who holds good fortune, I need your help, your salvation, your pity."
"Great Fool, omnipotent ruler of the gray fog, king of yellow and black who holds good fortune, only you can relieve my pain, only you can eliminate my calamity, only you can change my misfortune."
…
Klein listened intently for a long time. The lady repeated these sets of words, sounding quite sincere.
But she looked healthy, without the pale complexion of a sick person.
Could it be that she was experiencing a brief recovery before death?
Klein observed carefully again and confirmed that the lady praying was indeed healthy and not like someone on the verge of death.
"There's no need to bother for now. Perhaps she just wants to use her own good fortune to make her life happier."
Klein didn't respond, just made a small note to observe more times in the future before making a decision.
…
There was no response, it seems I need to try harder.
Fors, who had been praying for about twenty minutes, felt a bit discouraged, wondering if her acting was too exaggerated, causing the Fool to see through her flaws? Indeed, in front of such a mysterious existence, her acting must be very clumsy. Next time, she needed to change her rhetoric, and her complexion and attire also needed to be dressed accordingly.
Otherwise, her current appearance didn't look like a seriously ill person in need of help at all.
Fors pondered for a long time until Hugh outside started calling her, and then she got out of bed and left the room.
Hugh complained, "Why did you stay in the room for so long again?"
"It's nothing, I was just memorizing book knowledge."
"Memorizing knowledge?!"
Hugh's voice rose several degrees, looking at Fors in shock, "Someone as lazy as you, actually studying diligently! The sun hasn't risen from the west."
"Can't I be a little diligent?"
"No, no, you are definitely not the Fors I know!"
"…"
Fors didn't want to argue about this topic anymore and asked, "Did you come back suddenly because something happened?"
"Indeed, something big has happened."
Hugh put away the playful expression on her face and said seriously, "A Follower of the Stars has appeared!"
"???"
Fors was full of question marks. Were there other Followers of the Stars in Beckland?
"It's true, I'm not joking with you."
"I just find it strange, where did you get this news?"
"It's already spread throughout the extraordinary community. It's said that the Night Watcher squad discovered a Follower of the Stars and chased after him, but he managed to escape. His current whereabouts are unknown."
"Is this news reliable? I feel like something's off."
"Don't worry, we don't need to concern ourselves with its truth. We can just stay at home and watch as spectators."
"You didn't get involved?"
"No, there's no need for me to get involved."
Fors felt more at ease. She wondered whether she should report the situation to the Stars tonight. Both the Fool and the Follower of the Stars were important matters.
(End of this chapter)