"June 17th—another new day. My ministers tell me the stable shipping route to the Southern Continent has already been established.
For what I must do next, I don't know whether this is right or wrong, but to obtain the power needed to resist the apocalypse, I must proceed—even if it means sacrificing many innocent people."
"Apocalypse? He sacrificed many innocent people to obtain power against the apocalypse... this guy."
The content of this first page made Klein's eyelids twitch, giving him a new understanding of his fellow countryman. After a moment of thought, he turned his gaze to the second diary page.
"March 5th—I feel deep sorrow regarding Bonova's condition. This is my child, mine and Matilda's child.
I am the Son of Steam. It was I who helped Him digest the potion, I who lifted Him onto the true divine throne, I who provided Him with a vast number of anchors. Why does He treat me this way?
He wants to control me, using my child to threaten me. I will make Him pay the price!"
"Who is using Roselle's child to threaten him? The Steam Church? Lifting onto the divine throne—it couldn't be that one..."
Thinking about how the Artisan Church had changed its name to the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery over a hundred years ago, Klein gained some insight into the "Him" Roselle referenced.
"Just how powerful is this fellow countryman to make even deities wary, forcing them to use his son as leverage..."
Klein clicked his tongue and looked toward the third diary page.
"May 15th—another full moon. I saw that mysterious 'Mr. Door' again. As usual, he offered sufficient temptation, wanting me to help him return to the real world.
Unfortunately, my favorability is locked, and moreover, for the current me, the benefits He offers have no value whatsoever.
He conceals himself well on the surface, but for the current me, it's not enough. Having completed my advancement, I can discern His true state from our exchanges...
How pitiful and ironic—He is a madman, though even He doesn't know it.
If I release this Abraham ancestor back to reality, what awaits might be divine descent.
Sigh, poor Benjamin. It's not that I don't want to help you solve the curse problem, but I have the heart yet lack the strength."
"Mr. Door, Abraham? Isn't this a name from Christianity? What is Angel King—a type of title or status?
Curse, full moon, madness... this page contains quite a lot of information..."
Rubbing his temples, Klein turned to the fourth diary page.
"September 22nd—arrived in Trier from the territory. This is my first time seeing a giant city similar to medieval times.
Mm, what's that style called? Baroque, right—that's it!
Oh, my God of craftsmen!
I can't wait to enter the kingdom's social circles and have romantic encounters with those beautiful ladies."
"Nowadays, anything with a dome gets called baroque, and anything strange gets labeled gothic style.
This must be from Roselle's early transmigration period—I can't see any trace of what he would later become..."
Muttering quietly, Klein looked at the fifth diary page.
"Baron Lorrington's wife is truly beautiful. Just seeing her once at yesterday's ball, she invited me to participate in her literary salon.
Unbelievable—this sexy young woman with wine-red hair is so forward.
Ah, my damned, irresistible charm. I hope Baron Lorrington won't mind."
"Damn, you really know how to play..."
Shaking his head with a laugh, Klein turned to the last diary page.
"March 22nd—damn it, can't stand it anymore. I really want to punch Steam and make Him explode.
Bonova's advancement ceremony succeeded. He has already become an angel like his old man.
Hehehe, an angel in his twenties—what grace to bestow upon me. Just because I became Knowledge Emperor, possibly threatening your divine throne, you treat my child this way.
Perhaps I should consider the trade the Lamp God spoke of..."
"The Emperor's child became an angel—an angel of the Steam and Machinery God's pathway?
What sequence's potion name is Knowledge Emperor? It wouldn't also be from the Steam and Machinery God's pathway, would it?
He does have the title "Son of Steam..."
Klein, who understood too little about extraordinary knowledge, could only speculate wildly. After completely memorizing the content of all six pages, he rubbed his somewhat mentally drained head and exited the gray fog space.
Pulling the flush valve, Klein opened the private washroom door and stepped out. What he needed to do now was recover his spirit in preparation for tomorrow's gathering.
"I wonder what interesting knowledge or matters I'll learn tomorrow..."
Returning to the front hall, after chatting with Rozanne for a few more minutes, Klein smiled and bid her farewell.
Going down the stairs, after walking a few steps, Klein suddenly stopped and reached to touch the banknotes in his inner pocket again.
Feeling the friction of those 12 pounds in paper money, his face showed a smile as he felt happy about earning his first pot of gold in this world.
After careful consideration, Klein decided to treat himself to something good, while also buying some beef, milk, white bread, and pan-fried fish for dinner for his sister and brother.
"I wonder how Benson is doing. I heard him mention his company recently had personnel changes—I hope it doesn't affect him.
Fortunately, I found this job. Otherwise, if Benson had problems, Melissa and I would have no choice but the poorhouse..."
On Pasu Island, outside the Storm's Abyss Church in the port's residential area, the roughly and deeply featured Alger Wilson locked his room door and entered a windowless basement.
Before him stood a half-burned candle, its dim yellow flame illuminating the surrounding objects and casting moving shadows across the long table's surface—ghostly and indistinct.
Alger's hair was disheveled like seaweed, deep blue and nearly black in color. His body wore clergy robes embroidered with lightning patterns.
But his fierce appearance and bulging muscles made him look more like a pirate than a clergyman of the Lord of Storms.
Pinching his temples to relieve the tension in his heart, Alger opened his pocket watch and relied on the candle's light to see the hands positioned at 3 o'clock.
Just as restlessness and unease filled him, a deep red tide of light appeared from thin air, immediately drowning him!
In Backlund's Queens District, within Earl East Chester Hall's luxurious villa, Miss Audrey Hall sent away the golden retriever Susie and locked the door to her modest 100-square-meter bedroom.
Sitting properly at her dressing table, Audrey opened a blank notebook bound in exquisite light brown sheepskin paper under the sunlight streaming through the window.
On the right side of the dressing table lay steel pens with golden tips and red gem inlays adorning their bodies.
Audrey tested her setup, confirming that once she left the "gathering," she could grab the pen as quickly as possible to record the "Audience" potion formula.
"The Audience formula and the mysterious gathering—Mr. Fool and Mr. Hanged Man. I'm really looking forward to it..."
She took a breath, suppressing her excited emotions. Just as she quieted down, a deep red and illusory light suddenly burst from within her body...
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