The Beginning of Acting
"However, this way you're actually safe."
[The Hanged Man] Alger looked at [The Sun] and said in a deep voice, "To your chief, you and Lovia now represent two different forces, both in danger, and both potentially bringing new hope to City of Silver."
"I guess he'll try his best to ensure your safety from now on, and he'll ignore any unusual behavior you exhibit."
"I see."
[Sun] breathed a sigh of relief, but quickly felt a sense of helplessness. He wanted to do his best to save City of Silver, but his sincerity was not being fully appreciated. After all, the Chief had to make the most reasonable decision.
After that, the Hanged Man shared some news from the sea, and the others taught the Sun some Hermes. Seeing that time was almost up, the Fool was at the head of the group, said, "Let's call it a day."
"As you wish."
Everyone immediately stood up and bowed.
"As you wish."
Luther, the newcomer, was a second slower, only standing up after seeing what others were doing.
The next second, crimson light surged from the void, enveloping every member present and sending them back to reality. Only Klein remained on the Gray Fog, along with the [World] puppet opposite him.
He stared for a long time at the strange pattern behind the high-backed chair where Luther was, and fell silent.
The current residence of East Borough, at 9 St. Martin Street, Luther End.
Luther, who had been sitting and waiting, suddenly felt a slight tremor in his body, and a deep red light seemed to appear before his eyes. Then, he seemed to see another illusory version of himself appear in the light.
Is the party over?
"Buzz--"
Before he could react, the illusory figure suddenly shattered, transforming into a pure stream of Consciousness that flooded into his brain, displaying images and dialogues in his mind.
Is this what the Virtual Personality experienced in the Gray Fog?
The codenames and characteristics of the five members, the clues to the Black Knight recipe Forsaken Land of the Gods, and the Beyonder Characteristic of City of Silver have provided Pathway to make a move.
Luther absorbed the memories, feeling as if he had personally experienced the Gray Fog. The Virtual Personality's decisions and actions on the Gray Fog were completely consistent with his own. If his real body had gone up there, he would have basically done the same thing.
However, why did this personality suddenly collapse the moment it returned to reality?
What happened?
Luther Consciousness glanced at the illusory figure beside him and saw that the red-haired, golden-eyed woman was teasing a cat, waving her transparent finger in front of the little black cat.
"Mi"
After being well cared for for a few days, the little black cat's messy fur became much smoother. It held its tiny tail high, solemnly lay down on the ground, and kept turning its head to follow the movement of the finger.
"What's wrong?"
M felt his gaze and turned to ask.
Squeak!
Seizing its opportunity, the little black cat kicked its hind legs hard on the floor, its claws scraping as it pounced on M's right hand.
"Mmm?"
It naturally missed, then raised its head in confusion.
Why did my Virtual Personality collapse?
Luther asked.
"Because it lacks a physical entity to anchor itself, once its Spirituality is exhausted in the Gray Fog, it naturally can't sustain itself upon returning to reality," M replied matter-of-factly. "That's how I originally designed it, to prevent conflicts between personalities that would drive you even more insane."
Oh, I see. That saves me a lot of trouble.
Luther nodded.
After confirming that Luther was alright, M turned back to play with the cat. She used her Spectator Pathway ability to project her own image into the cat's mind, allowing the cat to see the image that originally only existed in Luther's Illusion.
Seeing that she was engrossed in playing with the cat, Luther ignored her and instead lowered his head to recall what had just happened on the Gray Fog.
First of all, Mr. Fool is indeed unfathomable, managing to pull the people of the Forsaken Land of the Gods above the Gray Fog and establish a connection. Luther speculates that all the members of this gathering He presided over may have something special about them, worthy of the attention of a deity. He might even be willing to provide assistance to the members of the Tarot Club, with the reward being only some of Roselle's diaries!
Well, speaking of which, Mr. Fool once sent down three Angel to help me dispel the will of the True Creator. Shouldn't I reward him?
Luther suddenly thought of something.
We definitely have to give something. Even though the other party didn't say it, we can't be disrespectful to the gods. It was one thing if they didn't know they needed a reward before, but now that they do, pretending not to know is a matter of attitude.
"Anyway, I have a stack of Roselle's Diary that Klein gave me; they're full of valuable information. I can just take a portion and give it to Mr. Fool."
He muttered to himself.
As for the Black Knight's Potion recipe, that's even more troublesome. Lovia clearly won't help the [Sun], who is her enemy, so obtaining the recipe will likely require a lot of effort.
However, my "Shepherd" Potion hasn't even started to take effect yet, so this isn't urgent. I can take my time to think about these things. Luther stood up from the sofa.
He was about to begin Acting of the "Shepherd".
East Borough, Lyman Gang headquarters, in the office of gang leader Ciel.
How many members does your gang have in total?
Luther asked.
"Nominally there are 600 people, but only about 100 of them truly obey me completely."
Ciel answered honestly.
He felt a vague sense of unease, wondering why he had so readily revealed all the gang's secrets. But when he met Luther's vertical pupils, which gleamed with golden light, this question was quickly forgotten.
How much territory and population do you control?
Luther continued to ask.
"Our Lyman Gang mainly controls three docks and six or seven city blocks. Dockworkers, bar owners, thieves, streetwalkers—they all have to pay the Lyman Gang money to do business here," Ciel replied smugly. "I haven't counted the permanent residents, but it's at least a few thousand, isn't it?"
Extorting protection money—a classic tactic.
Luther glanced at Ciel indifferently, offering no judgment.
"Have I found the person I'm looking for?"
He asked again.
"We've found him. Bring him up!"
At Ciel's shout, a man dressed in tattered worker's clothes was rudely pushed into the office. His face and hands were covered in dirt, his body was hunched, and he looked miserable.
"That's the guy. He used to work on a ranch in East Chester County."
"That's what Ciel said."
"Gentlemen."
The man said to them with a pained expression, took off his hat to bow, revealing his gray hair.
"You don't need to call me 'Master,' what's your name?"
Luther sized up the old man and asked...
"My name is Nick, sir."
"Nick, were you Shepherd before?"
"Ah?"
Luther's question made the old man Nick look up in confusion.
Thank you to reader 20241208529_aC for the 200 reading coins.