Chapter 318: Verification
*His manuscripts of plagiarism. No, his manuscript of creativity should
be considered a very valuable book... Could that bookmark be a Card of
Blasphemy?* Klein's heart skipped a beat, lightly tapped his
molars, and quietly activated his Spirit Vision.
However, he didn't find anything abnormal.
He then scanned the other bookmarks and obtained the same answer.
*That's right, if it's that easy to detect it, it wouldn't have remained
till this day for me to have this thought...* Klein deactivated
his Spirit Vision, and once again, he thought via method of elimination,
based on the details he had learned from Roselle's diary and the
personality the Emperor had shown.
As far as he could tell, since Roselle had said that the book with the
Card of Blasphemy was valuable, it couldn't be too ordinary, or it
wouldn't satisfy his sense of warped humor---to use lots of valuable
knowledge to serve as a foil for an unobtrusive bookmark would be a form
of teasing the recipient of the book.
*Thus, books with value but aren't of great value can be ignored. In
that case...* Klein looked around, trying to make sense of it,
completely turning a deaf ear to what the guide was saying.
*In summary, in the entire study, the only book that fulfills these
conditions is that manuscript of creativity. The others are only
ordinary in value. With Roselle's personality, he definitely wouldn't
choose them. Yes, Roselle is the kind of person who would claim 'I'll
hide the secret in the most obvious place, but none of you can find
it"...* As Klein imagined this, he added a cackling expression
to the Emperor in his mind.
*Of course, there's no way he could confirm that the bookmark was the
disguised Card of Blasphemy because the books Roselle had, which were of
great value, clearly included those in the field of mysticism. And those
books were definitely not going to be put on display by the Church of
the God of Steam and Machinery!*
*Yes, I have to first confirm if it's the Card of Blasphemy before
considering if I should take action... Unfortunately, I can't use the
date 20th January as a method of elimination. No one knows which
bookmark is placed into which book on and on which day...* Klein
silently muttered to himself and turned to look towards the guide. He
asked with a smile, "Do the books on the shelf also have things stuffed
in between them?
"For example, a note written by some noble lady to Roselle."
This question made many men give a knowing chuckle. The female guide
shook her head and said, "No, there aren't any. The books that contain
other items have all been taken out and placed here for everyone to see.
"This is just a restoration of Emperor Roselle's study, not the
restoration of a particular point in time. There is no need to maintain
an immutable state."
Klein laughed and said immediately, "I understand, this sure is
disappointing..."
*That's simply great! There's only one bookmark in the entire exhibition
hall that requires verification. The difficulty has greatly
fallen...* he added happily in his heart.
As the guide introduced "Roselle's Favorite Books," Klein looked around
the room again, taking in the overall layout.
To restore the room from more than a century ago, there were no gas
lamps around the room.
The lighting mainly relied on the iron-barred oriel windows that were a
few meters away and the huge crystal chandeliers hanging from the
ceiling.
As for the brass lamp on the desk, there were no candles installed. It
was purely a decoration.
Looking out the oriel window, Klein saw the yellow, withered lawn and a
straight, iron-black lamppost.
He took note of the location and turned his attention back to the book
the female guide was introducing. In his mind, he began to analyze the
feasibility of the theft.
*There's one premise. According to Roselle's intentions, the various
Churches and the ancient royal families wouldn't wish for him to spread
the Cards of Blasphemy and destroy the stable order that has been in
place for more than a thousand years.*
*Therefore, if I'm an archbishop in charge of handling this matter, I
will directly burn all of Roselle's items. If the Cards of Blasphemy can
be destroyed so completely, the outcome will perfectly suit the thoughts
of the deities. If the Cards of Blasphemy are difficult to be destroyed,
they will definitely expose their abnormality after the
burning.*
*Since Roselle's items still remain, that means that he used certain
methods to make everyone, including the deities, believe that he had
sent out all the Cards of Blasphemy without keeping a single
one.*
*Of course, I can't eliminate the possibility that some Churches or
ancient families might attempt to use the Cards of Blasphemy to make up
for their incomplete Beyonder pathways. But this possibility is very
tiny. This is because it will give Roselle an opportunity to come up
with a united front strategy. There wouldn't be a need for him to go so
far as to destroy the order by spreading the Cards of
Blasphemy.*
*In that case, his diary will show a certain level of confidence and
corresponding concern, and he definitely wouldn't be left with pessimism
to the point of only thinking of relying on that ancient secret
organization.*
*Furthermore, it's been more than a hundred years. The Church of the God
of Steam and Machinery, who has retained these remains, must've made
numerous supplementary searches. Therefore, no one would believe that
the Card of Blasphemy remains hidden in here.*
*In other words, the security level of this exhibition wouldn't be too
high.*
*Besides, the most important point is that Backlund is currently under
siege by the terror caused by the Devil's serial murders. The Beyonders
of the three Churches must be sweeping through the entire city. The
amount of manpower that the Machinery Hivemind Squad can afford to place
at this unimportant exhibition would be extremely limited.*
*Yes, the thing most worthy of protection here is Roselle's diary. Many
wild Beyonders worship the Emperor greatly. They believe that the book
written with independently-created symbols must contain more profound
mysteries. There's a motive to stealing them, and they have the ability
to do so. Therefore, the guards' focus will definitely be in that
exhibition hall.*
*I'll do a divination above the gray fog when I'm back to verify my
analysis.*
*However, I have to first test if it's a Card of Blasphemy. Otherwise, I
would be taking a certain risk and wasting tremendous effort only to
steal an ordinary bookmark. If that happened, I might as well lie back
in my grave! Yes, how should I verify it? It can't wait till I
infiltrate again, and I don't have an opportunity to do so now... I have
to find someone to help... I have to be careful!* Klein's
followed behind the guide with a focused expression as though he was
very attentive.
*Miss Magician is an Apprentice. She is able to go through walls and
doors. It's like she possesses a Master Key, so she's a good
candidate... However, she's only Sequence 9. The mission of infiltrating
to do the verification is way too dangerous for her...*
*Miss Xio? No, she wouldn't be up to this... Let her get a thief to
help? No, that's won't do. There are Beyonder guards here. The thief
would most likely get caught on the spot, which will expose the fact
that someone is looking into Roselle's bookmark...*
*Miss Sharron? She's powerful enough, and her state is suitable for this
kind of quest, but the problem is that the Card of Blasphemy is a divine
object that can make most Beyonders willing to kill. I still don't trust
her enough...*
Klein thought, analyzing the helpers he could use.
Gradually, he had a candidate in mind: Miss Justice!
*Is it possible for her to use her wealth and power as a noble to touch
the bookmark, using her interest as an excuse? Hmm, there are plenty of
opportunities. Furthermore, this method won't alarm anyone. It would be
beneficial for me to sneak in and steal it in the future...* The
more Klein thought about it, the more he found it feasible.
As for the question of how to verify it, as the Card of Blasphemy
possessed anti-divination and anti-prophecy characteristics, the only
solution he could think of for the time being was---to attempt to
destroy the bookmark!
*Doesn't anti-divination and anti-prophecy mean that using a similar
method on a particular object that hides a Card of Blasphemy would
result in failure or interference? Wouldn't that be tantamount to
exposing itself?*
*What it really means is that even with the Card of Blasphemy, divining
it will be equivalent to divining an ordinary object. The divination
would result in something equivalent to the ordinary object.*
*In any case, I can't figure out what "password" the Emperor set. I can
only use such a simple and crude method to confirm it. If the Card of
Blasphemy can really be destroyed, then it only means that I'm
temporarily unfated with it... Yes, with the Emperor's liking, perhaps I
can try an activation incantation...*
*He once joked in his diary, saying, "My fortune is yours for the
taking, but you'll have to find it first. I left everything I own at the
ends of the Fog Sea," and the Card of Blasphemy is one of those
treasures!*
*The activation incantation could be set to "One Piece" in ancient
Hermes? That's not right. That way, there would be no one who can obtain
anything, unless a second transmigrator appears. This isn't in
accordance with the Emperor's intention to create chaos and destroy
order, so the corresponding word for "Pirate King" was in either Hermes
or ancient Hermes?*
Klein slowly confirmed his thoughts, paying more and more attention to
the layout of the exhibition hall.
Under the guidance of the female guide, they left the restored study and
entered another exhibition hall.
When everything was over, and he was free to move around, Klein said, a
little embarrassed, "Excuse me, but I would like to know where the
washroom is? Upstairs?"
"No, that's where our office is. If you follow this path until the end
before turning left, you will see it." The female guide politely pointed
in a direction.
Using this opportunity, Klein figured out the connections of the
washroom and several large exhibition halls, and he sketched out a rough
layout in his mind.
At noon, he left the Royal Museum without doing anything and returned to
15 Minsk Street.
Klein had originally wanted to instruct Miss Justice as The Fool, saying
that his Blessed needed help. But on second thought, he felt that it
would ruin the image of Mr. Fool.
*As an unfathomable figure, he has to appear calm and collected. He
can't always be helping his Blessed. At the very least, he can't be
personally bringing up such matters, time and time again...*
Klein thought for a moment and quickly worked out a solution.
He decided to pass on the image and voice of his "Blessed's" plea
directly to Miss Justice.
In the process, Mr. Fool didn't say anything!
Phew. Klein exhaled, drew the curtains, rubbed his cheeks, and
began to pray to himself, "The Fool that doesn't belong to this era.
"The mysterious ruler above the gray fog.
"The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck.
"I pray for your help.
"I hope that someone can help me touch the bookmark in Roselle's
manuscript of creativity.
"Help me inflict small and unnoticeable damage to it and tell me of its
results. While doing so, one can recite the corresponding term for
'Pirate King' in Hermes or ancient Hermes.
"No matter who helps me, even if there isn't a reaction, I will be
willing to pay them 500 pounds. This can be deducted from the 5,000
pounds that has not yet been paid.
"If there is a reaction, I am willing to give more."
After doing all of this, Klein waited for a moment before entering the
gray fog, and he saw the scene of his prayer displayed on the screen of
light.
After divining that "the theft of the bookmark in the Royal Museum"
involved a certain amount of danger but wasn't too high, he extracted
the plea, and added more of a "mosaic" effect to it. He also distorted
his voice slightly, and he threw it into the illusory star that
symbolized Miss Justice.