At the sight of the words on the business card, Klein's gaze grew slightly grave. A multitude of thoughts flashed through his mind in that instant, but he let none of them show on his face. He merely smiled at Nimrod and said:
"I understand. I'll come find you later."
"Besides that, there are a few things I need to tell you." In an utterly calm voice, Nimrod told Klein something that left him dumbfounded:
"The Aurora Order is currently preparing to conduct a 'Descent of God ritual' in Tingen City, using the lives in this city to bring the True Creator here."
At this point, Nimrod said to Klein with complete sincerity:
"I'm not a fanatical believer in the True Creator. No one from our era with a normal moral compass would aid and abet evil by helping the True Creator descend. As it happens, I hold a certain position in the Aurora Order. I'll do my best to stop their Descent of God ritual."
Stop the Aurora Order's Descent of God ritual? You really are a double agent...
But that's undoubtedly extremely dangerous. Now I'm not the least bit envious that he transmigrated into a Sequence 7 Beyonder... The Aurora Order has Oracles, too, and their Sequences might even be higher than the captain's...
Klein thought to himself, a trace of admiration rising within him for Nimrod's willingness to risk himself to pass along this information. He spoke to Nimrod in Chinese, which only the two of them could understand-the Celestial Worthy didn't count as a person:
"Nimrod, you must be careful. The... organization I belong to received word that the Aurora Order's Oracle, Mr. L, is contacting the Church of Evernight. He seems to be setting something up."
"Even if you hold a certain position in the Aurora Order, you still need to be careful. Most of its members are lunatics, and that 'Mr. L' is probably the craziest of them all!"
With that, he exhaled and picked up the coffee in front of him, intending to drain it in one gulp.
After much hesitation, Klein had still only made a vague reference to his organization. He told Nimrod what he knew about the Aurora Order's Oracle, hoping it might help this fellow countryman who was "enduring humiliation for a greater cause."
For a moment, there was even a touch of solemn admiration in his gaze as he looked at Nimrod.
Nimrod's expression, however, turned rather strange. His face twisted briefly:
"...I am Mr. L."
"Huh?"
Klein looked up and addressed Nimrod in bewilderment. For a moment, he even forgot to drink the coffee he had raised halfway. Plain confusion spread across his face, his eyes seeming to ask what Nimrod was talking about.
"I am Mr. L."
Nimrod told Klein:
"You're actually overthinking it. My current situation isn't all that dangerous, because I'm the Aurora Order's highest-ranking leader in this city."
"And the reason I haven't simply called off the ritual is that I'm not the only Oracle in the Aurora Order. Mr. Z, whose code name is 'Z,' is also stationed here. Calling off the ritual would inevitably arouse suspicion, so all I can do for now is provide the local churches with some assistance."
Nimrod revealed part of the truth.
Klein and Nimrod exchanged a glance. Neither spoke; everything seemed to be written in their eyes.
Klein's lips twitched. "You really only transmigrated ten days ago?... You took control of the Aurora Order in Tingen in ten days?"
"A Sequence 7 Beyonder wouldn't be a complete lone wolf. When I transmigrated into this Beyonder's body, I was already an Oracle."
Nimrod shrugged and switched to Loenese as he spoke to Klein:
"It's time to go, Klein. Remember to think over what I told you. We can meet again at this time next Saturday."
"Also, my business card has my public address on it. If anything comes up, just send a letter there."
"...All right. See you next Saturday, then." Suppressing the indescribable thoughts churning in his chest, Klein briefly worked out his schedule. Only after confirming that he had nothing to do next Saturday did he answer Nimrod.
The two walked out of the coffeehouse side by side. Klein boarded a carriage and slowly exhaled:
"What an incredible encounter..."
Suddenly, something stirred in Klein's mind. He lifted the window beside him and looked outside.
Dressed in a well-tailored suit, Nimrod maintained a faint smile, his body seeming to blend into the shadows along the street.
Several black figures slipped unobtrusively out of the shadows. They approached Nimrod with their backs bowed, seemingly speaking to him with great reverence.
"Mr. L, this is what you requested. We've also obtained the Beyonder potion formula for the Hunter Pathway through Mr. A's channels. I'll hand it over to you once we return to the Lord's pasture." Holding an exquisitely wrapped bag, Mr. Z respectfully offered it to Nimrod with both hands.
Nimrod took the bag, casually inspected the specially made clothing inside, and handed it back to Mr. Z:
"Just put it on my desk. Also, Mr. Z, has the Church of Evernight begun to act?"
"...According to reports from the brethren we sent to monitor the Church of Evernight's heretics, the Evernight heretics are currently conducting some covert investigations. They seem to be trying to confirm something."
Mr. Z's voice was filled with admiration:
"Mr. L, with just a single letter, you dealt an effective blow to the Evernight heretics' strength! The Lord's faithful can move more freely now. All we need to worry about are those disgusting Storm heretics launching occasional operations to wipe us out-I shouldn't have questioned you before! My loyalty to the Lord falls far short of yours. Ah, praise the Lord, we should..."
Seeing that Mr. Z looked ready to go on endlessly, Nimrod hurriedly interrupted him:
"We should head back, Mr. Z. We cannot waste time on the road. That would be blasphemy against the Lord who bears our sins."
"...Yes, I understand. I'll be mindful of that in the future."
Mr. Z abruptly fell silent, but from his fanatical gaze, Nimrod could still tell that he was continuing to praise the True Creator in his heart.
After boarding the carriage, Nimrod went over everything he had done these past few days once again:
Obtain the next Sequence's Beyonder potion formula and a Beyonder weapon equivalent to Sequence 5 through the Aurora Order's channels;
Begin swaying Hanass Vincent and attempt to steal faith from the True Creator;
Get specially made clothing from Sirius, then stuff it full of Beyonder materials to bring to Cordu Village;
Make contact with Klein and convince him that I'm his "fellow countryman"...
The Aurora Order's two Saints were currently being held up by Ince Zangwill for a short time, possibly with some accidents engineered by Adam mixed in. For now, Nimrod still couldn't be sure whether he would obtain the Beyonder weapon before "transmigrating" across timelines.
But just as Nimrod was pondering this, gray fog slowly emerged beside him, making him abruptly raise his head.
[Compatriot.]
The Celestial Worthy's figure appeared within the gray fog, faint and indistinct. His tone carried a hint of mockery, and he seemed entirely unaware of what had been written on the business card Nimrod had given Klein earlier:
[My successor is performing a divination on you-it seems he wants to tell the Church of Evernight your secrets.]
[Heh, how does it feel to be betrayed?]
The corners of Nimrod's mouth lifted slightly, and he slowly uttered four words:
"I expected as much."
Sure enough, the Celestial Worthy can only hear what I hear and see what I see.
...I deliberately wrote the words on that business card without looking at them.
Before you continue