Chapter 897 Everyone Exposed
Huh? What's going on? What's that expression on Klein's face?
Angel was a little confused, and the "voice" in her heart was expressed unreservedly in English in the hall and heard by everyone.
But this time, even Audrey and Leonard frowned slightly, and their expressions changed.
Did they...understand?
After a brief moment of shock, Angel understood what was happening amidst the words spoken in his own voice.
In order for people from different countries and eras who come to "Groselle's Travels" to communicate with each other smoothly, an "automatic translation" mechanism is necessary. This book left by the "Imagination Dragon" uses the ability to peek into everyone's mind, or solidify some kind of language code to allow everyone to understand each other's expressions, allowing them to communicate naturally without having to learn a new language.
It seems that even if I think in another language, this "mechanism" can quickly adapt and open my heart...
Angel's muttering was amplified, echoing in the "Hall of Honesty", and she switched back to Loenese to stop wasting her energy.
At the same time, she could also hear the distinctive inner monologues of her other three teammates.
"I've never heard the language Christine used just now... It's a Northern Continent language that didn't originate from the ancient Feysac language. It has a lot of tongue-biting sounds and a strong sense of pause... Ugh, I'm not saying there's something wrong with the pronunciation..."
"What is Angel saying... Hey, I can actually understand it? Is this palace's effect? Miss 'Justice' calls her Christine... Could it be Christine Theresa? No wonder I thought her purple eyes looked familiar!"
"That language, that's what I just heard... Concentrate your thoughts, concentrate your thoughts... A fool who doesn't belong to this era, a mysterious ruler above the gray fog, a fool who doesn't belong to this era..."
Klein's expression was a little tense. His voice, solemnly reciting the first two parts of Mr. Fool's name, began to echo repeatedly in the palace hall, causing the other three fellow Fool followers to quickly calm down.
After her scattered thoughts were interrupted, Angel's inner monologue finally subsided. She quickly looked at Klein, who had also controlled his inner thoughts, and simply spoke directly:
"Do you want to leave here first?"
The Hall of Honesty immediately supplemented her thoughts:
"The Darkless Cross will extract his special properties in an hour... Time is running out. If I carry him, I'll also need to give him the magical items I have. His combat effectiveness will be significantly improved..."
"No, let's explore this palace as quickly as possible before leaving. It may not be so smooth next time we come in."
Klein frowned, his thoughts amplified by the hall and heard by Angel.
Audrey also used her own way of controlling her emotions and thoughts to gather her thoughts. She pointed to the right side of the magnificent hall and said:
"I agree. Let's start with the mural over there. Once everyone is in a synchronized discussion, their minds won't wander too much."
Angel and Klein nodded in unison and walked over there.
Only Leonard's mind was still full of various thoughts, which spread throughout the palace in a manner close to roaring:
“It turns out that the lady who often goes to St. Samuel’s Church to donate is Angel… I even asked her in my dream if she knew Angelica Sage. Can she resist dream censorship?
"'Justice' wasn't surprised by this. It seems she'd known about this for a long time, and I was the only one who was kept in the dark..."
As the other three approached the mural, browsing and communicating with each other, he calmed down, joined the conversation, and put away all his random thoughts.
These murals are hundreds of meters high. Although the style is rough and details are missing, their size alone is shocking. They start from the palace gate and extend to the half stone pillar in the depths that serves as the throne of the Dragon of Imagination. They depict the history of the creation, migration and development of a country, as well as the ending of adventurers of different sizes and blurred faces killing a giant ice dragon.
Finally, some of the dragon-slaying adventurers pushed open a door and disappeared from the screen, and a new city-state was established on the land where the ice and snow melted. Another part of the adventurers stayed here and started their new life.
Isn't this the scene we left after killing Jurisian, the "King of the North"? The mural ended with the city of Pesot covered in ice and snow, exactly when we entered. Has it been recording this world?
Angel said in surprise as he looked at the familiar dragon figure and the huge double doors.
"No, maybe it's the other way around. First there's the complete mural, then there's the whole 'Adventurer Slays the Dragon' story..."
Klein's calm analysis boomed in everyone's ears in a tone that wasn't so calm.
"Was this painted by the 'Imagination Dragon' himself? Did he make the contents of the mural come true?"
Audrey thought with some excitement.
"Look at the painting on the other side to be sure."
Angel suggested, looking towards the mural on the other side that was obscured by the central pillar.
No one objected to this proposal, and the four of them walked to the left side of the palace. As they walked, Klein's divergent thoughts continued to echo:
"It's not difficult to make the world in the book develop as planned. Adventurers sucked into the book must kill the ice dragon before they can leave. This gives this travelogue the possibility of guiding everything back on track..."
"That's right. The adventurers' faces are blurry. This is the author's way of leaving room for 'accidents'. So, even if we hadn't joined that time, the King of the North's strength would have been weakened, allowing Groselle and his team to narrowly win and achieve the story's ending."
Angel also "said" in agreement.
"Hmm, do they usually communicate like this during their expeditions? Naturally and tacitly, with a mutual understanding. If I could join in... Wait, they heard it all! This hall is so embarrassing..."
"Justice," Audrey's whispered voice came from all directions.
It's really embarrassing. Oh, when I think about it this way, I feel even more ashamed...
Angel listened to his own voice echoing in his ears with a somewhat vague look in his eyes, until he came to the other side of the hall and stood in front of a mural that required him to look up. He was attracted by the content and did not care about his inner feelings being exposed.
The mural depicted a giant with gray-blue skin and only one eye holding a dark brown-covered book.
That person looked almost identical to the giant Groselle they had just seen!
Of course, in the eyes of most humans, all giants look the same, so the one in the painting may not be the protagonist of this travelogue. However, considering the parchment-bound "Groselle's Travels" in his hand, it is almost certain.
As the mural stretches toward the throne of the "Dragon of Imagination," the scene centered on this travelogue constantly shifts. It falls into the hands of an elf, and the story unfolds. It's discovered by a group of devout believers, only to disappear on its way to be offered to the gods. It passes from merchant to merchant, finally being purchased by a young noble in asymmetrical attire... until this thick, ancient-looking tome soars into the clouds, reaches the sea of stars, and lands in the claws of a massive dragon.
The faces of the people in the murals were extremely blurry, but based on the background environment and exaggerated movements, Angel guessed the specific people and events depicted in each painting.
That was what happened to Siatas, Snowman, Mobet, and others who were sucked into the world of the book!
When her eyes fell on the penultimate mural, the image of a thin man in a top hat holding a book leaving a sailboat and falling into the sea no longer surprised her.
Audrey and Leonard's gaze fell on the owner of the mural—Klein. The latter's expression remained unchanged, but his inner surprise was fully displayed through the "Hall of Honesty".
"The mural here seems to depict the experiences of Groselle's Travels in the material world... and it even depicts the scene where I obtained the travelogue. Is it automatically expanding according to external conditions, or is it like the mural on the other side... predicting these events?"
Not caring about his inner thoughts being completely exposed, he looked at the last mural on this side.
Compared to the previous paintings with backgrounds and plots, this final mural is extremely simple, presenting only two things:
A book that connects all the murals, and an antique feather pen.
“That’s 0-08!”
Leonard, who had been trying to clear his mind to avoid saying anything he shouldn't, heard a surprised voice in the hall.
The four people present, except Audrey, were all victims of the Tingen Incident and participated in the suppression of Ince Zangwill. They were no strangers to this quill that could turn written stories into reality.
Therefore, combined with his previous experience and the murals on both sides of this "Hall of Honesty", Angel immediately thought of a possibility:
"Does this palace and this travelogue possess properties similar to Sealed Artifact '0-08'?"
Before she finished her words, Klein beside her shook his head.
"Unlikely. 0-08 can only affect a city. The 'Writer' at Audience Sequence 1 isn't much stronger. And it's highly likely that 'Uniqueness' remains in Adam's hands. So, where does the 'City of Miracles' in the book get the power to guarantee the fulfillment of its prophecy?"
Angel also analyzed with quick thinking:
"Since this is the kingdom of the 'Imagination Dragon', it must have been built when he was still a god. At that time, he had gathered three copies of Sequence 1 and 'Uniqueness', so perhaps he was able to accomplish all of this... He used the 'brand' in the collective subconscious to pass these stories through the consciousness of generations of living beings, thereby driving the development of the story?"
"So, it seems that Angerwede's goal was to finally bring Groselle's Travels and '0-08' together. Unfortunately, almost all of the murals became reality, but were destroyed by Adam at the very last step... Did the Angel King secretly plot to destroy the 'Imagination Dragon's' plan just for that moment?"
Klein clearly shared Angel's thoughts, and his words, which materialized from his thoughts, carried a tone of approval.
"Three copies of Sequence 1's characteristics and 'uniqueness'... is that a necessary condition for becoming a god? Miss Queen and Mr. World are amazing, instantly analyzing so much information based on just one mural. They must have been constantly collecting information on mysticism and ancient history to be able to do this... Hmm, I was too blunt in my praise. Their unconsidered thoughts were so directly exposed, it's really hard to get used to..."
As Angel and Klein looked up at the mural and analyzed its contents, Audrey couldn't help but let out her somewhat unremarkable thoughts, which reached their ears.
Leonard's teasing voice echoed next to him:
"Heh, Klein was like that when he joined the Nighthawks in Tingen. He seemed to be a history major. Angel is more of a man of action. I didn't expect him to have so much inner drama..."
"Shut up!"
Klein immediately turned around, glaring at Leonard, who was at the end of the team, his mind wandering, and shouted in his true voice.
But this couldn't stop Audrey's overly sensitive thoughts from being led astray:
"Tingen, History Department... Klein Moretti? Why does this name sound familiar?... No wonder I didn't find his details back then. It turns out Mr. World joined the Nighthawks." His files must be confidential. So, Miss Queen is also from Tingen. Mr. Star just called her Angel... Ugh, I can't think about it anymore..."
Hearing his and Angel's names completely exposed, Klein could no longer maintain his composure. His gaze was fixed on Leonard, who wore an awkward smile. Angry words continued to drift from his side:
"Perhaps the only way to shut him up completely is to turn him into a Marionette... Or we can tie him to the 'Undark Cross'. Then we'll have Beyonder traits to sell at next week's Tarot Club..."
Leonard's expression froze, and his spirit actually showed a hint of alertness, which meant that the other party's thoughts might turn into actions in an instant.
Angel also looked at Klein with some concern, muttering to himself:
"Leonard has always been so frivolous and careless, you know that. Oh, Miss Justice was also punished by Mr. Fool after investigating our information last time... Alas, the characteristics of this hall make it too easy for things to get chaotic. If we're not careful, everyone will expose each other's privacy..."
Her words, which sounded like complaints but were actually words of dissuasion, quickly calmed Klein down. He retracted his hand, which was about to take out the Darkless Cross, and slowly shifted his gaze away.
Audrey pursed her lips tightly as she watched the interaction between the three people, and her eyes behind the mask gradually lit up.
"Miss Queen is so gentle, and Mr. World seems to listen to her very well... This reminds me of the night she saved me from Ms. D of the Aurora Society... Eh? Susie, Minnie, and Mela..."
At that crucial moment, she forced herself to gather her thoughts, using the method of reciting names to mask any subsequent thoughts. One name after another replaced her errant thoughts, echoing throughout the grand palace and successfully attracting Leonard's attention.
"Susie? Who's that?"
"It's my pet dog."
Audrey replied with a smile in her own voice.
"Well, it's about to be promoted to Sequence 6 Hypnotist."
Angel thought subconsciously.
"What? A mid-sequence dog? Is that a real dog? Or some kind of, uh, popular term for servants among the nobility?" Leonard's somewhat astonished "words" came immediately, and the divergence of his thoughts left Audrey stunned. "Wait, Ms. D... I remember Angel, when he was still 'Eileen', he rescued a noble girl. She also had a dog that liked to squat in the corner and quietly watch others. Daly and I even investigated this matter... She was the daughter of Earl Hall's family, her name was... Audrey?"
His eyes suddenly widened as he looked at Miss Justice, who was wearing an expensive lace dress and had a silver mask covering most of her face. At the same time, the latter seemed to have thought of something, turned her gaze, and looked at him.
A soft, gentle voice came between the two of them:
"There were official Beyonders who came to my house to investigate me... I remember there was a Ms. Daly Simone, and a male official Beyonder I've never met. I remember it was Mr. Leonard Mitchell?"
This "voice" belongs to Audrey, who looks thoughtful.
Hearing that Leonard, who had been constantly revealing other people's secret information, had also revealed his name, Angel and Klein looked over with suppressed laughter.
The four of them looked at each other, and for a moment they fell into a silence that even the "Hall of Honesty" could not describe.
There were no secrets left between the four of them.
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