The preparations for creating Marionette Town are quite tedious and complicated, at least that's what Klein thinks.
Inside the vast, ancient palace, Klein sat in the high-backed chair belonging to " The Fool," holding a fountain pen and using ordinary paper to write the names, ages, and Fate of each Marionette, while " Worm of Spirit " emerged from his body and Reorganization into one clone after another beside him.
Some of these Klein sat on the ground, some occupied the twenty-one seats besides the " The Fool's " seat, and some materialized beds and lay down on them...
Then, they each retrieved different books from the pile of junk and began to read them carefully.
Those books include, but are not limited to:
How to Make Fine Wine
Train Dispatching
The Complete Guide to Dessert Making
The Self-Cultivation of Clergy
Repair Manual for Gas Wall Lamps, Gas Meters, and Various Household Appliances
Desi's Food
Port Management Practice
Legal Foundations
" Ladies' Aesthetics " magazine...
These are the professional skills that different Marionette need to master. Only in this way can they Acting their roles well and make themselves authentic in every aspect, so that even when they have in-depth conversations and interactions with outsiders, they will not expose any problems.
Simply memorizing this knowledge would be no challenge for Klein, but he must truly master and be able to apply it. Moreover, he cannot confuse his role with that of a burly, low-paid switchman who might blurt out things like "How effective is this skincare product for moisturizing?" or "What are the defects of this silk?"
Such a situation might create a unique attraction in dramas or operas, but in reality, it would be clearly distorted and detrimental to the progress of the ritual.
To avoid similar problems, Klein had to put in a lot of hard work in the early stages to ensure that every character in the Marionette Town was realistic, well-rounded, and appropriate.
Fortunately, there aren't many people in a town who truly need in-depth professional knowledge. Most residents are semi-literate or even completely illiterate, living by experience and drifting aimlessly. For these roles, Klein needs to learn relatively little, much like workers who go to the assembly line with little or no training.
After an unknown amount of time, Klein put down his pen, rubbed his temples, and let out a long sigh of relief.
He has finally compiled data on nearly five thousand residents of the Marionette Town, and the corresponding knowledge base is also nearing completion.
"It's like directing a super-sized movie, and I'm the screenwriter, the lighting director, the prop master, the makeup artist, and all the actors... As this ceremony went on, I was really teetering on the edge of losing control, and I could easily have a personality split and fall into the Abyss of madness... Luckily, I have a competent Psychiatrist..."
"Hmm, there's one issue to be mindful of when operating the Marionette Town: while I personally am a polite and well-mannered gentleman, most residents in a town are from the lower class, and their speech and behavior tend to be vulgar... I can't maintain a proper demeanor while Acting, or I won't be able to overcome my psychological barrier..." Klein sighed silently, causing his surrounding clones to disintegrate into " Worm of Spirit Worm of Spirit," which then burrowed back into his body.
Of course, that's not all. There's still " Klein " in the same position, ready to take over " Sefirah Castle's " duty.
The next second, Klein's true form returned to reality, took out " Creeping Hunger " from the Historical Void, and put it on.
Then, he was " Teleportation " to an island in the Raging Sea, but clearly off the safe route.
This was the "stage" he had chosen beforehand.
This area is isolated by Storm year-round, with no trace of human activity, only vast forests and animals that depend on them.
Klein looked around, chose an open space, placed his right hand on his left chest, and prayed devoutly:
"I hope there is a city here suitable for five thousand people to live in."
As soon as he finished speaking, Klein raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, the open area became extremely flat, and the surrounding forest seemed to have "retreat" significantly, providing a large amount of trees, rocks, and soil.
Almost simultaneously, buildings sprang up, all of them a mix of stone and wood, none exceeding four stories in height, and in a style reminiscent of the Desi Bay of the Kingdom of Loen.
In the blink of an eye, residential houses, libraries, police stations, telegraph offices, municipal councils, small hospitals, candy factories, waterworks, gas companies, Steam train stations, parallel railway tracks, and plantations outside the city all took shape, and the streets were paved with cement or stone bricks.
Finally, next to the square in the center of town, a steeple church emerged from the ground and stood proudly.
This is the church belonging to the " Evernight Goddess," because it needs to fit the background setting of this city.
"I wish this island had a deep-water harbor." Klein didn't stop there; he made a second Wishes to himself.
Snap!
He snapped his fingers again, fulfilling his Wishes.
About three kilometers from this town, a small port quickly took shape, with two docks, five warehouses, a harbor hotel, a simple restaurant, a police station, a bar, a lighthouse, and a garrison...
"I wish for convenient transportation to the ports and towns," Klein made his third Wishes.
He then raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.
A cement-paved highway and a freight railway appeared instantly between the town and the port.
According to Klein's plan, the port area was intended for visitors arriving by sea, while the town area was mainly for visitors from the Northern Continent.
After admiring the empty city, Klein adjusted his top hat and Teleportation directly to the side of the city square, walking step by step into the church he named Saint Arianna.
The church doors were open, and the interior was dark.
After an unknown amount of time, three figures appeared at the door: a gentleman in his thirties dressed in a suit and bow tie, a woman of ordinary appearance and gentle demeanor, and a child dressed like a little adult.
The woman took a few steps with slight difficulty, stretched her neck, then smiled, reached out her hands, and took the arm of the gentleman beside her.
With a faint smile, the gentleman allowed the lady to lean against him while extending his right hand to take the little boy's hand.
The little boy walked with a bouncy, lively gait.
Their movements were a little awkward at the Original, but they became more and more fluid as they walked, passing through the square peacefully.
After they left, more and more people emerged from the Saint Arianna Church: police officers, repairmen, gas company employees, restaurant cooks, elderly men with gray hair, and simply dressed farmers...
Over the next hour, people kept emerging from the Evernight church. They either turned into different streets, went to different places, entered different houses, or lingered in the square, admiring the scenery without white pigeons.
During this process, the number of people who came out far exceeded the church's capacity, yet there seemed to be people still inside, as if it were connected to another city.
Nearly fifteen minutes later, the entrance to the Saint Arianna Church finally returned to quiet, but elsewhere rats, cockroaches, moths, ants, flies, mosquitoes, and other insects scurried out.
Finally, a stained-glass window high up in the church opened, and white doves flew out and landed in the center of the square.
Those who stayed there came to life. Some teased the white doves, some searched for vendors, some played the seven-stringed zither, and some chatted with friends with smiles on their faces.
A man wearing a top hat and trench coat, carrying a cane and a revolver, left the town square and came to the other side of town, where he stopped in front of a wooden sign.
He then took out his tools and wrote the town's name on the wooden sign:
" Yharnam ".
After thinking for a moment, the man erased " Yharnam " and wrote a new name:
" Utopia ".
Inside the luxurious villa of the Earl Hall in Backlund.
" Alfred has already boarded the passenger ship returning to the Northern Continent?" Audrey didn't hide her surprise.
It was now September 1352.
For the past six months, Audrey hadn't spent much effort persuading her father to abandon his plan to return to East Chester County in the first half of the year. This was because cities like Backlund and Constant were in dire need of rebuilding, and the kingdom's political landscape needed a new balance. Earl Hall had too many things to deal with and wasn't in the mood for a vacation.
Therefore, all Audrey needs to do when Earl Hall is in a dilemma is to proactively mention that she is willing to stay in Backlund and return to East Chester County in the second half of the year, and she can make things go as planned and gain praise for herself.
The Psychology Alchemists did not urge them to do anything. Since then, the Psychology Alchemists's review committee has held three meetings, mainly to exchange their research findings and various intelligence reports from their respective jurisdictions. Regarding the clues about the Mind Dragon, only " Greed " Lady inquired twice.
To be honest, if Mr. The Fool hadn't reminded Audrey to be wary of the " Wrath " rabbit and the easily forgotten chairman, she would have found the council meeting very interesting and Mr. Rabbit very insightful. But now, she remained as vigilant as ever.
"Yes, the ferry has already departed," Earl Hall nodded with a smile. "Once Alfred arrives in Backlund and completes the necessary social procedures, we'll return to the Fox Hunt in East Chester County."
Autumn is the best time for fox hunting.
Audrey hummed in agreement.
"OK."
As a major general in the army, Alfred did not travel with the navy fleet to Desi Bay. Instead, he boarded a Steam- sail hybrid passenger ship bound for Pritz Harbor with his adjutant and entourage.
After sailing for nearly two days, they encountered Storm in the Raging Sea.
Amidst the violent rocking of the ship, the Sailor on the lookout tower spotted a glimmer of light through their binoculars.
That came from a lighthouse.
PS1: I wrote down the three plans in detail yesterday because I personally thought the third plan was the most exciting, but given Little Klein's personality, it's impossible for him to do it, so I had to regretfully give up on it. Therefore, I had to write it down specifically for you to see, as well as the most Mysteries approach.
PS2: Requesting monthly votes and recommendation votes on Monday!