Hints

Looking at it that way, he might be in an even worse situation than I am... Being hunted by a High Sequence Beyonder of the same pathway definitely qualified as starting out in hell!

Still, the Seer pathway might run into something like that down the line. I had better be careful and prepare early...

Some inexplicable thoughts surfaced in Klein's mind. He suddenly felt that Nimrod's earlier remark, "I might not make it to the end," contained a deeper meaning. He let out a soft breath and asked tentatively:

"Would you like to get in touch with a church, then? Perhaps I could help you find a way?"

"Hmm... It seems you have some connections. Have you joined a church?" Nimrod shook his head lightly, declining Klein's offer. "There's no need for now. I've already joined an organization, and a church might not accept an unaffiliated Sequence 7 Beyonder-especially a Marauder, who could be considered dangerous in every sense."

"All right." Klein nodded with some regret. Driven by both a desire to help each other and his curiosity, he asked, "Speaking of which, what organization did you join?"

"The Aurora Order."

Klein took a sip of coffee. That was what he had expected. "Oh, the Aurora Order..."

...Was it what he had expected?!!

But then Klein abruptly raised his head and looked at Nimrod, his voice tinged with disbelief and briefly cracking. "...The Aurora Order?"

Was-was that right?

If I remembered correctly, wasn't the Aurora Order the organization of evil god worshippers Captain Dunn had mentioned, the one that reported Old Neil?

He also remembered that after discussing Old Neil, the captain had specifically warned him that members of the Aurora Order were either raving lunatics or lunatics who appeared normal but were secretly insane. But this "fellow countryman" sitting before him... could he be a hidden lunatic too?

Could I already be in danger?

"Don't worry. I know what you're concerned about." Nimrod nodded lightly and sipped his coffee, letting its bitter aroma drift into Klein's mouth.

"Ever since I transmigrated, I haven't heard the True Creator's ravings. Whenever I have no choice but to pray to the True Creator, a wisp of gray fog appears before me, blocking my prayers to the True Creator."

-Nimrod had long since planned to say that he, too, had seen "gray fog." Otherwise, he had no way to explain why he wasn't a lunatic... That was the trouble with the Aurora Order's reputation.

Conversely, Nimrod wasn't worried that Klein would grow wary and hostile upon learning that he also had access to the gray fog.

"Also, didn't you want to ask about what happened before I transmigrated? I came across a novel online. In it, there was a form of address for a higher being that ended with '...Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.' I tried reciting it using the method described, and it unexpectedly sent me here."

At that point, Nimrod sighed.

"Unfortunately, after transmigrating, I did wonder whether that higher being was responsible. I tried reciting it again, just as I had before transmigrating, but I discovered nothing new and gained nothing. Every time I recited it, all I could see was a stretch of gray fog..."

-With that foundation laid, he only needed to tell Klein that he "couldn't ascend above the gray fog." Klein would fill in the blanks himself.

The honorific name he knew before transmigrating should also have been those four lines related to the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings. But after reciting those four lines and performing the Luck Enhancement Ritual, he should have been able to enter that mysterious Gray Fog Space... Klein brought his coffee cup to his lips, contemplating the matter as he savored the coffee's bitterness.

Suddenly, however, Klein's arm went rigid for an instant.

-Wait.

Ten days ago, I already entered the Gray Fog Space. Surely the reason he couldn't enter wasn't that there was already a "King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck" Above the Gray Fog?

"What's wrong?" Nimrod asked Klein with a look of "confusion."

Klein immediately felt sweat prickling down his back. He shifted his gaze slightly, keeping his expression unchanged.

"...Nothing. I was just thinking that I also recited the honorific name of that Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings before transmigrating. Perhaps I have the same protection that you do as a transmigrator."

"Perhaps Emperor Roselle came here after experiencing something similar, too-does that mean we can now confirm that the reason we came here was that Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings?"

As he spoke, Klein's gaze grew fervent again, as though he had found hope of returning home.

"Probably. Heh, it's about time. We should head back." Nimrod took a pocket watch from inside his clothes and checked the time, then took out a business card, pressed it against the table, and slowly pushed it toward Klein.

"Although you haven't admitted to joining a church, regardless, even if it wasn't a church, you must have joined some Beyonder organization by now. Otherwise, your financial circumstances couldn't have suddenly improved enough for you to spend a substantial sum joining a club like this."

"But I imagine you've signed some sort of confidentiality agreement, so I won't force you to say anything that would cost you your job. Still, let me guess. The Church of Storms treats unaffiliated Beyonders rather poorly, so you must have joined the Church of Evernight?"

You're right. If I hadn't joined the Church of Evernight, I would still be struggling to make ends meet... Klein thought. His expression abruptly changed. "Wait, how do you know about my finances...?"

"Forgotten? I'm a Mystery Pryer," Nimrod said casually. "Beyonders of the Marauder pathway can sense valuable things, and their powers of observation improve as they advance through the Sequences. As for what you have on you..."

Nimrod shook his head, glanced over Klein, clicked his tongue, and left the rest unsaid.

Even the spot where Klein kept his wallet wasn't marked with a red dot by Excellent Observation.

It seemed nothing more needed to be said.

-What's that supposed to mean?! Why are you looking at my wallet?! Noticing where Nimrod's gaze had settled, Klein immediately felt so embarrassed and annoyed that he wished he could crawl into a crack in the ground.

But a moment later, his gaze froze on the business card Nimrod had pushed toward him. The embarrassment and annoyance vanished from his face, and cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.

In the blank space on the business card, a line of elegant, square characters had been written with a fountain pen:

"But don't let on. Someone is watching us."

"I suspect a conspiracy is brewing in this city."