Chapter 236: Internal Commission

As Klein's knowledge of mysticism and Beyonders deepened, as well as his

experiments with some of the powers of the space above the gray fog, he

no longer felt anxious when facing Justice, The Hanged Man, and The Sun.

He became less preoccupied with maintaining an enigmatic and

unfathomable image so as to prevent the Tarot Club members from keenly

noticing his facade.

He now knew that although the deities in this world were powerful and

bizarre, they were by no means omnipotent and omniscient. This

description was something that only the legendary Creator of everything

could do, one that only the City of Silver was still worshiping.

The deities had their limitations, and the deities could also be put

into tough situations. That was something Klein could now confirm. Be it

The Book of Storms or The Revelation of Evernight, they more or less

touched upon this.

Therefore, at the recent Tarot Gathering, Klein was consciously building

"character traits," slowly shaping himself into a restricted powerhouse

who, for some reason, couldn't move freely but was almost a deity.

This way, even if he occasionally showed that he didn't understand

certain things and occasionally asked for help, it wouldn't arouse the

suspicion of the Tarot Club members.

Of course, the premise of all this was that, through his previous

attempts and through the power displayed by his "Blessed," Azik, he had

undoubtedly embedded the image of a deity-like existence into the minds

of Justice, The Hanged Man, and The Sun.

*Phew, I hope that this building of character traits will succeed. That

way, I won't have to worry about not being able to answer their

questions in the future... Of course, things that are part of "general

knowledge" still have to be known, and I shouldn't show fear...*

Klein tapped the edge of the ancient table and said with a chuckle, "I

want to issue a mission."

Mission? Audrey's ears pricked up slightly as her eyes

widened. She was astonished, expectant, and perturbed at the same time.

She clearly remembered that this was the first time that Mr. Fool had

officially issued a mission!

*Although "He" had previously made a few requests, they all involved

prepaid rewards. It seemed like "He" had randomly selected missions to

conform to the principle of equal exchange... This time, He used the

word "issue"...* As a Telepathist, Audrey was already very good

at reading the hidden meanings behind words.

At the same time, she keenly realized that although The Hanged Man

appeared to remain unperturbed, he was actually abnormally tense. As for

The Sun, he seemed to be muddle-headed, treating this as a very normal

thing.

"You can choose to accept it or not." With the help of his Clown's

powers, Klein's tone sounded much more relaxed. "Another Blessed of mine

has arrived in Backlund. He wants to finish a matter, but it's not

convenient for him to show himself."

Another Blessed... The Hanged Man nodded, seemingly in

thought. He wasn't surprised at all.

In his eyes, for a powerful godlike existence like Mr. Fool, possessing

many Blessed was a matter of fact.

*I wonder what the Sequence number of Mr. Fool's Blessed is... Well, I

still owe "His" previous Blessed a reward... Even though Mr. Fool's

reward was paid by Mr. Hanged Man, and "He" doesn't really care about

money, I did pray for help at that time. Furthermore, Vice Admiral

Hurricane was killed by that Blessed..."His" Blessed would still need

some funds for their activities...* Audrey thought with some

guilt.

Frankly speaking, thirty thousand gold pounds and a large plantation was

an enormous amount of wealth to her, but that alone didn't have any

significant effect on her life.

*It's good having it, but it didn't matter if I didn't. Well, I might

feel the pinch a little...* Audrey nodded to herself earnestly.

As a teenage girl who wasn't considered an adult yet, ignoring the large

plantation, she actually didn't have absolute control over the remaining

thirty thousand pounds. She could only go with her father's

arrangements, purchasing some stocks from Backlund Munitions Corporation

and invest in a company that was attempting to spinoff some of the

technology in ironclad warships for commercial ships.

The amount she ultimately received and could be used as an allowance was

only 5000 pounds. However, her fixed annuity had increased by at least

2000 pounds from its original range of 15,000 to 25,000 pounds.

Seeing that Justice and the others hadn't spoken, Klein issued the

mission.

"The task he wants to be completed is the assassination of the Intis

Republic ambassador to the Loen Kingdom, Bakerland Jean Madan."

"Assassinate the Intis Republic's ambassador!?" Audrey lost her

composure as she asked in surprise.

This would cause conflict between the two countries and might even be an

act of war! As a qualified aristocratic lady, her first thought was

about international foreign affairs.

As for why Mr. Fool didn't do so himself, she found the answer obvious.

Which mighty figure would always be helping their subordinates?

After the Kingdom suffered defeat at the east coast of Balam, the King

didn't personally set off. At most, the general would be replaced and

new troops deployed.

*Hmm, rumor has it that His Majesty wanted to set off for the frontline,

but was stopped by the nobles and officials...*

Alger was only mildly surprised by the task; his focus was on another

matter.

*Mr. Fool is indeed unable to strongly interfere with the real world...

My guess is right... I wonder to what extent can "He" influence us after

establishing our connection... Can "He" easily take one's life

away?* Alger, a little pleased with himself, began to let his

thoughts wander.

Derrick blanked out listening to the conversation.

*What's the Intis Republic? What's an ambassador? These words sound so

strange in Jotun!*

Klein swept his gaze around and maintained his casual attitude.

"Which one of you is willing to accept this mission?

"What kind of reward do you want?"

*Eh... I can't convince myself to kill an innocent man for no reason.

And it could very well lead to a disaster, a disaster caused by

war...* Audrey, who wanted to raise her hand, hesitated.

Just then, The Hanged Man chuckled and said, "I've heard that this

Ambassador Bakerland is also the intelligence chief of the Intis

Republic in the Kingdom. He secretly supports bloodshed, planned a

number of incidents that destroyed the relationship between the nobility

and the rich, and spread rumors to incite the public into standing

against the government."

He seemed to notice the hesitation in Justice, so he described the dark

side of Bakerland in detail.

Then, he added, "I'm not sure if the ambassador is a Beyonder, but there

are many clues that suggest he may very well be.

"He has quite a number of Beyonders around him, Beyonders that come

under the Intis intelligence web. And this department is influenced by

the original royal family in Intis, the Sauron family. They're in

control of the early Sequences of the Hunter pathway.

"Moreover, the possibility of a war between the two countries depends

only on whether or not the upper echelons of both sides want to fight.

It has nothing to do with the life or death of a diplomat."

After the assassination of Emperor Roselle, Intis suffered several great

shocks but ultimately managed to maintain a stable republican system.

Because the Sauron family suffered a brutal blow during Roselle's reign,

their strength fell tremendously in all aspects. All they could do was

accept the reality and change their goal to fighting for a seat in

parliament and secretly influence the country's intelligence department

and parts of the army.

After listening to the information provided by The Hanged Man, the

hesitation in Audrey's heart disappeared. She gracefully nodded and

said, "For the past few years, the Feysac Empire has expanded rapidly,

having defeated the Kingdom and the Intis Republic on the Balam east

coast and the Highlands. As long as we push the blame to them, the

higher-ups and the citizens of the Intis Empire, it will be something

acceptable and believable."

Audrey didn't know much about politics, but with her father being a

Member of Parliament in the House of Lords, she still knew certain

things.

Be it the shirking of responsibility or shifting the focus onto the

Kingdom's internal problems, the unpopular northern barbarians were the

popular and easiest targets for the nobles and ministers.

Whether they did it or not didn't matter.

Of course, more than a hundred years ago, this role was played by Intis

and Roselle.

After pondering for a few seconds, Audrey looked at the seat of honor,

feeling a little perturbed and a little guilty.

"Mr. Fool, I can attempt to complete this mission, but I cannot

guarantee its success."

On the one hand, she was going to find her father and confirm that

Ambassador Bakerland was really the head of the Intis intelligence

service. On the other hand, she wasn't going to do it herself either. As

a Spectator or a Telepathist, neither one of them was good at combat,

and all she could do was gather as much information about Ambassador

Backlund from high society as she could and delegate the mission.

*Well, I could get Xio and Fors to ask Mr. A to do it... Or find the

hosts of the other Beyonder circles... I cannot be exposed. Things have

to be kept secret, and there might be Intis intelligence agents lurking

in those circles. I don't know how much money I'll have to pay, but 5000

pounds might not be enough...* Audrey was already beginning to

think of the subsequent plans.

Klein didn't pin his hopes on Sequence 8---Miss Justice---to succeed. He

nodded and said, "What compensation would you like?"

"The formula to the Psychiatrist potion," Audrey said before hesitantly

adding, "as well as the corresponding Beyonder ingredients. Oh, we can

wait until the mission is completed before discussing further. If it

doesn't succeed, I'll bear the expenses. I-I still ow-owe your Blessed

the bounty money."

*Bounty money? So it was given to Miss Justice... 10,000 pounds. That's

5000 if we split it equally...* Shrouded in the gray fog, Klein

pondered for a few seconds on how much Ambassador Bakerland was worth

and finally decided that he was definitely more valuable than Vice

Admiral Hurricane Qilangos.

"Sure," Klein replied in a normal tone.

At this moment, The Hanged Man Alger added, "I'll also accept this

mission. The compensation can be determined after the mission is

completed."

"Didn't you return to the sea?" Audrey asked in surprise.

"Just because I'm not in Backlund doesn't mean I can't kill Ambassador

Bakerland," Alger said with a smile without giving any detailed

explanations.

Derrick, who was beside him, never had the chance to join in on the

conversation.

Klein nodded in agreement.

"Okay."

He immediately turned his gaze to the Roselle diary in his hands.