Chapter Fifteen: The Masquerade Fool's Little Classroom Begins

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After Mr. Fool finished assigning the task, Audrey carefully turned to Sir Ceris and asked, “Mr. Demon, do you remember? During the last Tarot meeting, you mentioned something about sharing the names of the first three sequences of the 22 Divine Paths. Could you tell us now?”

Alger also recalled this and shifted his gaze toward Ceris.

Klein was even more curious—he had been waiting all week for this. Pretending to be calm, he looked at Ceris, eager to know what lay beyond the fortune-teller’s words.

Ceris cleared his throat and said to Audrey, “Since you asked so sincerely, I shall graciously ‘bananalyze’ you. After all, Rossel once said, ‘Banana knows no class.’”

“That’s ‘teach without discrimination,’ not ‘banana,’ and don’t think I haven’t watched Pokémon, Your Majesty,” Klein quipped, subtly passing the blame to Rossel.

“But before that, you should at least address me as ‘Master Banana.’”

Though Audrey didn’t understand the phrase “Master Banana,” she smiled politely, playing along, “Alright, ‘Master Banana.’”

Ceris raised both hands, “Good, everyone, focus your eyes on me! Look at me, look at me! I hereby announce—a little lesson from Masked Fool, officially begins.”

Klein’s eye twitched. Was this yet another piece of performance art introduced by Emperor Rossel?

Ceris raised one finger in a mockwise manner and began, “First, the Sleepless Path mastered by the Night Church: Sequence 9 Sleepless, Sequence 8 Midnight Poet, Sequence 7 Nightmare.”

Klein blinked; he knew this one well. Captain Dunn and Leonard belonged to this path.

Ceris raised a second finger and continued, “The Warrior Path is held by the War God Church: Sequence 9 Warrior, Sequence 8 Fighter, Sequence 7 Weapon Master.”

[Counting fingers now? You’re not going to start counting toes, are you?]

“The Night Church also holds part of the Undertaker’s Path: Undertaker, Gravedigger, Medium.”

Klein nodded silently; this was the path chosen by Lady Daili.

“Next is the Observer,” Ceris’s words revived Audrey’s spirit. “Observer, Mind Reader, Psychologist.”

Mind Reader! Audrey smiled with longing. She silently encouraged herself, “Audrey, you must digest the potion quickly and ascend to Mind Reader soon.”

“Seeker, Listener, Recluse.”

“The Aurora Society…” Alger mentally added what Ceris omitted. As a notorious terror group, they were also quite active at sea.

“Reading, Reasoning Student, Detective of the Knowledge and Wisdom Church.”

“Chanter, Light Priests, Sun Clerics of the Eternal Sun Church.”

“The Storm Church holds the Sailor Path: Sailor, Fury Folk, Navigator.”

Klein glanced discreetly at Alger while Audrey stared openly. Alger remained calm; he had known these three names for some time.

“Seeker, Martial Scholar, Wizard, and the Steam and Mechanical Church’s Generalist, Archaeologist, Appraiser.”

After counting ten fingers, Ceris didn’t resort to toes but clenched his fists and started over.

“Fortune Teller, Joker, Magician.”

“Joker and Magician? The circus’s big three, right?” Klein couldn’t grasp the connection among these three. “Next up won’t be Beast Tamer, right?”

“Thief, Trickster, Cryptologist.”

“Apprentice, Trick Master, Astrologer.”

“Monster, Machine, Lucky One.”

“Arbiters, Sheriffs, Interrogators of the Rune Royalty.”

“Then Lawyer, Barbarian, Briber.”

“Lawyer followed by Barbarian and Briber? That’s knowingly breaking the law,” Audrey found this path’s progression contradictory.

“Barbarian… Your Excellency, if you don’t understand reason, then I’m a bit skilled in fist and footwork? Reasonable. As for Briber, that means bribing after losing? Hmm, also reasonable,” Klein mentally evaluated the lawyer’s path.

“Hunter, Provoker, Arsonist.”

“Assassin, Instigator, Witch.”

“Witch.” Audrey repeated the word silently, wondering how a man could play a witch. She imagined her brother, Alfred Hall, dressed in elaborate court gowns, gracefully dancing hand in hand with another gentleman on the ballroom floor. “Eek,” she shivered.

“Farmer, Healer, Harvest Priest.”

“Apothecary, Beast Tamer, Vampire.”

Well, looks like the Beast Tamer wasn’t behind the Fortune Teller path but here, Klein thought.

“Vampire as an extraordinary profession?” Alger knew more and pondered further. “So vampires can be artificially created… extraordinary traits… no wonder vampires mostly despise humans.”

Ceris withdrew one hand and raised two fingers with the other, “The last two sets: Prisoner, Madman, Werewolf, and Criminal, Fallen Angel, Serial Killer.”

Everyone around the long table fell into thoughtful silence, while Ceris’s vanity was well satisfied.

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[Are you a three-year-old child?]

“Surely Stella lowered my IQ. You know, she’s especially good at dragging other people’s IQ down to her level.”

[Actually, I don’t know that.]

“That means your IQ isn’t that high either. I’ve met the Enlightened Man myself; you don’t think I’d lie to you, do you?”

[But you’ve also encountered the Enigma.]

“Can you compare? It never shows its face.”

[Of course not, if it did, it’d die.]

“Enough, stop doubting. Our Masked Fool’s reputation is renowned throughout the universe.”

[Then swear on your old Beijing chicken wrap.]

“What? You don’t want to believe me?”

[I believe you, but you have to swear on your old Beijing chicken wrap first.]

“Wait a minute, what about basic trust between people? This really hurts my heart.”

[I really believe you, I really do. Just swear on your old Beijing chicken wrap.]

“This is pointless. I’m telling you, I’m the kind of person who jokes around easily but if you cross my line, you’ll see real darkness.”

“That’s the baby-faced wolf—seemingly innocent but actually cunning and insightful. You can’t outsmart him because from the start, you were part of his plan. He’s the chess player, you’re just a pawn. Defy him, and you’ll know cruelty and darkness. I’m never short of thunderous methods nor merciful heart. I have Buddha and demon inside, but I’ve sealed the demon away, leaving only Buddha.”

“I wanted to face everyone with compassion, but some insist I unleash the demon inside. So I ask you, when confronted with a true demon manifesting, can you still keep calm?”

[Okay, okay, fine, then swear on your old Beijing chicken wrap first.]

“Alright!”

[You’re about to swear?! (Overjoyed)]

“I’m not playing with you anymore.”

[…]

[Fine, fine, if you play like that, I’ll tell you—you’re done. I’ll show you cruelty. I’m like the old ginger slice in a spicy chicken pot—anger me, and you’ll see real revenge. Normally, I hide among the noisy dishes, unnoticed, and we coexist peacefully. But once you pick me up without care, you’ll witness my fury! My punishment will make you weep and regret deeply. The more you hurt me, the fiercer my revenge. The moment you pick me up, hunter and prey have switched roles!]

“What! The old ginger slice! The legendary old ginger slice! The cosplay legend! The one who can cosplay as any food without being noticed!”

[Exactly! You’re finished! Hehehe.]

……

“All right.” Ceris snapped his fingers, drawing everyone’s attention again. “Stop thinking, look at me.”

Once Audrey and the others refocused on Ceris, he continued, “Now, after all this free info, how about some paid content?”

“Paid content?” Audrey’s eyes lit up. “You mean potion recipes?”

“No, no, no, of course not. I don’t know those either. But I can talk to you about…” Ceris pondered his words, “the characteristics of these paths.”

No recipes here; no matter how good his memory, he can’t invent what the original text didn’t say.

“Characteristics?” Audrey repeated softly.

“Yes, characteristics.” Even though she spoke quietly, Ceris heard. “Like the extraordinary abilities of a certain sequence in a path, or typical traits shown by the extraordinary practitioners of these paths.”

“Hmm…” Audrey brightened, feeling this was quite interesting. “So, how much do I have to pay to learn these?”

“No money needed. What I really want is a ticket into the upper circles. Miss Justice, as payment, you can choose ten of the sequence professions I mentioned, and I’ll tell you right here.”

Ceris gestured a few times. Though uncertain what he was doing, he felt more gestures gave him more presence.

[Not really. You now look more like a curly-haired baboon courting.]

“I don’t think my movements are that dramatic. You need to respect facts, not make things up.”

[Then a coquettish, curly-haired baboon.]

“Then I’ll be the courting baboon.”

“Ticket into the upper circles—I think I get your meaning, Mr. Demon. But don’t you care about revealing your identity?”

“Of course I won’t go myself. I’ll send someone to the front as my spokesperson.”

“Alright,” Audrey asked next, “How do I contact your person?”

Ceris pondered for a while, then said, “In the coming week, someone will post an investment ad in the Tingen Honest Folk Gazette. I hope you can guide it, attracting more noble youth to my product. As an Observer, you should be able to do this.”

Audrey didn’t quite understand, “But that doesn’t seem to get you into the noble class.”

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“That’s okay.” Ceris’s smile grew sincere. “You only need to bring enough noble youth.”

Hearing this, Audrey felt uneasy. Was this going to be something illegal?

Sensing her obvious unease in posture, Ceris added, “I won’t do anything to them. We’re making this deal under the witness of Mr. Fool. I definitely won’t act recklessly.”

Hearing that, Audrey immediately relaxed. Right, these deals were witnessed by Mr. Fool.

Fool Klein twitched at the corner of his mouth, pretending calm, nodding as if this was a small matter.

Ceris waved to indicate Audrey could ask questions. Seemingly prepared, she asked without hesitation, “I want to know the traits of the three extraordinary professions under Observer.”

Ceris nodded but didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he asked, “Do you want me to write the answers down after the meeting and hide them somewhere, or say them here?”

Alger gave an awkward but polite smile, though only Ceris could see it.

Audrey glanced at Alger, smiling sweetly with a clear voice, “No need, just say it here.”

“Good, then I’ll say it.” Ceris didn’t waste time.

“Observer, Mind Reader, Psychologist—these extraordinary professions’ abilities are fairly literal.”

Ceris scratched his left palm. “Observer grants stronger memory, understanding, and most importantly, observation skills, letting you notice small details usually overlooked. This ability doesn’t affect spirit, so you don’t have to worry about seeing or hearing things you shouldn’t.”

“Observers have keen insight, like watching an opera or drama from the audience, examining all beings as a spectator. From their expressions, gestures, speech quirks, and hidden movements, they glimpse their true thoughts.”

Ceris paused, then continued, “Mind Readers, despite the name, can’t truly read minds. Their observation goes beyond surface details into mysterious fields like the Etheric body. This blend lets Mind Readers accurately grasp others’ thoughts through expressions, demeanor, and body language. Hardly any secrets remain before them.”

“Then there’s Psychologist, historically called ‘Psychoanalyst.’ They can directly influence targets with some degree of attack power. They can truly ‘read minds,’ perform ‘psychological suggestion,’ calm someone’s frenzy or loss of control, or provoke madness and loss of reason. They can simulate Dragon’s Might, ‘intimidate’ individuals or groups, and cause chaos.”

Audrey nodded repeatedly, feeling her yearning for the extraordinary deepen. She wished to drink the potion now and ascend to Observer.

Klein listened in alarm—mind reading, indeed. He felt he should carefully control his body language to avoid being seen through by Miss Justice.

For a moment, he felt as if he were about to be exposed naked.

“You can ask about seven more,” Ceris reminded.

Joker! Magician! Klein screamed wildly in his mind.

Unfortunately, Audrey couldn’t hear his silent pleas. She asked what she had long wanted to know.

“So, what about Witch? Um… I mainly want to know how men play witches.”

“That’s simple. When a man takes the witch’s potion, he ceases to be a man,” Ceris snapped his fingers. “Witch’s ascension forcibly changes males into females. The ascended gain greatly enhanced appearance and charm. They can become invisible, use mirror doubles and wand doubles, initially master various black magics, excel at anti-divination, and are favored by black flame and frost.”

“By the way, here’s another tidbit: the next sequence after Witch is called Pleasure. Yes, exactly what you’re thinking.”

Pleasure… so his, no, her role playing must be…

Audrey and Alger, eavesdropping beside her, shivered simultaneously. Klein showed little reaction but quietly clenched his teeth. Having lived in the internet era and been influenced by netizens, he was quite accepting of various eccentricities. If netizens’ knowledge of intimacy was a book, and practice was a sheet of paper, then their fetishes were like Cthulhu.

Our Lord Klein had indeed seen much of the world.

After a few interested questions, Audrey had nothing more to ask. Seeing her mood, Ceris proposed, “How about this? You don’t seem to have more questions, so I’ll give you the Mind Reader’s potion recipe. When you’re ready, I’ll hand it over.”

No! Joker! Magician! Klein wailed in defeat.

Ignoring Mr. Fool’s “life or death,” Audrey happily nodded at Ceris’s suggestion, “Great! That’s exactly what I want.”

Ceris glanced at Klein. Mr. Fool, seemingly motionless, had actually been like this for a while.

“Hehehe,” Ceris laughed heartily.

The meeting shifted to free discussion. Alger shared some sea tales, and Klein took the chance to bring up the Antigonus notes.

Mr. Fool’s focus on the Antigonus family was perfectly reasonable.

Ceris joined the fun, promoting his newly opened “World’s End” tavern.

Indeed, Klein confirmed his earlier suspicion—Mr. Demon was the same person they had met last time. Thinking of Ceris’s carefree laugh and the man’s aura back then, it fit perfectly.

This would undoubtedly risk exposing his identity further, but what did it matter?

Could they really come offline and kill him one-on-one?

Soon, the meeting ended. Before leaving, Klein offered some suggestions on the civil service evaluation system, shocking Audrey and Alger.

Afterward, Klein lingered above the gray mist, pondering whether to recruit one more person. In the end, he decided against it. The current number sufficed.