Mr. World

The news of World's debut came before Neph could ask High Priest Nim.

When Klein invited Neph to Sefirah Castle again, she immediately noticed the extra figure beside her. She tilted her head, glanced at Klein at the head of the long table, then smiled faintly, raised her leg, and kicked.

"? What are you doing!" Klein exclaimed in astonishment, hurriedly trying to stop her.

At this point, the All-Black Eye was nowhere near as smooth to use as a Marionettist's abilities. As soon as Klein's attention shifted away, Mr. World naturally toppled to the floor. Neph withdrew her foot and marveled:

"So he's solid? He clearly looks more like a phantom formed from mist..."

Klein silently focused his mind on World, then controlled him to get up from the floor, sit back down in his chair, and turn his head. He spoke in a gloomy, raspy voice:

"It seems you don't need me to introduce him."

"...Could you change the voice acting?" Neph asked sincerely. "I remember you can adjust that, right?"

Klein froze for a moment. He made World meet Neph's gaze, then, after a few seconds, asked thoughtfully:

"What kind would you like?"

"Uh..." Neph opened her mouth, then swallowed all the rather impolite words in her head. "Never mind. This is fine."

"?" Klein said nothing, but Neph felt sure he was utterly baffled at that moment.

He dismissed World's figure, then asked Neph, "Do you have a way to remove the corruption from a Beyonder characteristic?"

"Yes." Neph nodded. "But this corruption might actually be useful to you."

Klein paused briefly, thought for a moment, then asked, "Can I come to you when I need it, then?"

"Sure." Neph nodded. "Do you still need me to buy the ingredients for your Magician potion?"

"Since you've already asked about them, let's leave that with you for now," Klein replied. "It would look strange if we switched back."

Neph had no objections. Klein then asked, "By the way, do you know about some ruins in Backlund..."

Neph frowned. She knew which ruins Klein meant. The evil spirit of the Red Angel Medici lay hidden beneath them. As the True Creator's temporary Oracle, she ought to encourage Klein to release this Red Angel and give the Aurora Order another helper, but-

"Your level is too low." She shook her head and advised, "You'd better stay away from those ruins."

"They're dangerous?" Klein pressed. "In that case, leaving them in Backlund...?"

"I'm only telling you not to try exploring them." Neph spread her hands. "You can report them to the Church, try gathering information, or find a way to block the entrance."

Klein nodded, accepting Neph's advice, then carefully asked, "...Do you know the difference between orthodox gods and evil gods?"

"Hmm?" Neph raised an eyebrow at him.

"I saw statues of six true gods in those ruins..." Klein began hesitantly. "It seemed..."

"All six gods were there except Steam, right?" Neph asked in return.

"Yes..." Klein nodded, his tone still uncertain. "As far as I remember, only evil gods have statues..."

"That's not how it works." Neph shook her head. "You didn't see a statue of Steam there because Steam hadn't become a god yet."

"Huh?" Klein was dumbfounded.

Neph tapped the table and turned her head slightly.

"Let me think about how to explain this... Hmm, the difference between orthodox gods and evil gods isn't in their statues, but in... Honestly, if you ask me, I'd tell you that orthodox gods simply won."

"Won?" Klein repeated the word, his heart giving a thump.

"Yes." Neph nodded. "That doesn't mean orthodox gods are good people. But at least on the surface, they certainly have to promote some positive ideas. Otherwise, it wouldn't help them spread their faith."

She paused, then continued hesitantly:

"You're missing too much background knowledge, so the statues are actually rather difficult to explain... Hmm, let me put it this way. You used to read novels, didn't you? Among novels involving faith and gods, there's a school of thought that faith influences the gods."

"I know that." Klein raised a hand. "Faith is actually corruption to gods, right?"

After saying that, he grew uncertain himself and asked in confusion, "Then why do the Seven Gods still spread their faith?"

"Because that corruption helps the Seven Gods resist another kind of corruption," Neph replied, glancing at Klein. "We call Beyonders at Sequence 4 and above demigods, and whether they're demigods or true gods, they all have to face the influence of divinity-faith can help true gods resist that influence."

Looking at the contemplative Klein, she added:

"Using symbols and emblems instead of a specific image allows true gods to bear less of the corruption brought by faith. The Seven Gods only discovered this after learning their lesson.

"In other words, they did indeed have statues during the Fourth Epoch."

Understanding dawned on Klein. Neph said no more, and Klein had no further questions. He politely asked a couple of questions about how his fellow transmigrator had been doing. Unable to bear it any longer, Neph took the initiative to say goodbye.

The next time they met was at three on Monday afternoon, Backlund time. Neph opened her bleary eyes in Sefirah Castle, muttering words no one could understand:

"I hate time differences... I hate international calls..."

-The great Mr. Fool did not translate that remark.

Justice Audrey, who had been about to stand and offer her greetings, first looked over because of that incomprehensible complaint. With that glance, she naturally noticed the other figure beside Neph. She looked toward the Fool in confusion and delight, and sure enough, heard his leisurely voice:

"This is our new member, Mr. World."

Audrey felt briefly disappointed that it wasn't her friend, but quickly perked up and greeted World. The others also greeted World in turn. Neph turned toward him and asked earnestly:

"Do I have to, too?"

"...Good afternoon, Miss Pure White," Klein replied through World.

"You should be saying good night to me..." Neph complained unhappily, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes to rest.

Klein ignored her. This behavior suited the identity of Pure White perfectly. He turned to look

at Justice and said:

"The two candidates you proposed are still being assessed.

"I have a simple task for you. Commission them to carry it out in your own name. This is part of the assessment."