Everyone who knew the situation was aware that Klein's abilities on paper only amounted to Sequence 9 — but his standing was at least equivalent to Sequence 0.
So: if at a Tarot Club meeting, in the presence of Mr Fool, he were to make a trivial, inconsequential request of Klein, and Klein were to fulfil it — would that count as completing the transaction in the contract?
And if so, would that trigger the Shadow Merchant potion's digestion?
At first glance, this seemed a bit of a stretch.
After all, the contract was signed with Klein, not the Fool.
But the Fool and Klein were the same person — in both the real world and in the mystical sense. It was absolutely worth trying. And even if it failed, there was nothing to lose.
"Your attitude toward that Klein Moretti seems rather particular."
Bernadette spoke up unexpectedly. "It doesn't seem to have anything to do with his sister. I get the feeling... you know him."
"In a manner of speaking. During our very first exchange, when I was penniless and starving, it was Klein who gave me a few pennies to buy bread."
Vincent cleared his throat. "And then, under the influence of your body's instincts, the whole bread-stealing incident happened."
"..."
Are you blaming me for that?
"That's not even all of it. In the last few minutes before our first exchange ended, Klein and his partner came to apprehend me. I grabbed Klein as a hostage — he was the most vulnerable-looking — to protect myself."
"..."
"After that I wouldn't know, because you swapped back."
"..."
She remembered now. The moment she'd returned, she had taken the man she found in her arms — the one being held hostage — and thrown him aside.
What a mess.
"But that's not actually why my attitude toward Klein is particular."
"Oh?"
Vincent said seriously: "Because when I was near him just now, I sensed a familiar presence — the presence of a divine domain. The domain of Mr Fool."
Bernadette was startled. "Are you certain? Why did I feel nothing?"
"Hmm. Perhaps it's some special ability granted by the Realm of Chaos?"
Vincent was obviously making this up, but the Realm of Chaos happened to be a perfect excuse. He planned to use it as cover for further "spoilers" he'd feed Bernadette down the line.
The logic remained the same: given how deeply he and Bernadette were entangled — practically two halves of the same whole — he had no objection to telling her everything. With her abilities and insight, knowing the future in advance would let her prepare far better than he ever could.
"So," Bernadette reasoned, "that Klein is also a member of the Tarot Club? No — I'm certain the Hanged Man is a pirate. But wait..."
"A few days ago, I answered a question on behalf of one of the Fool's blessed. And the question concerned the Hidden Sage, of all things."
Vincent said, as if realising: "Could that 'blessed' have been Klein?"
"Very likely."
Bernadette thought about it. "As a blessed follower, he apparently doesn't attend the weekly meetings. That seems odd, doesn't it?"
"Maybe our standing in the Fool's eyes is higher than that of a blessed follower?"
"That doesn't add up. You only ended up in the Fool's line of sight by accident — you stumbled into a meeting. Why would a god place such weight on someone like that?"
Vincent shrugged. "Alright — just tell me what you're actually getting at."
"If Klein is the special one — the one the Fool truly values — then studying him might let us glimpse more of the truth about the Fool."
"..."
Right. Of course. The Queen Mystic, a Sequence 3 demigod, and she's not so easily redirected. She's still trying to investigate the Fool.
And she wants to strip Klein down to the bone right out of the gate.
"Aren't you worried about provoking His anger?"
"I'm more interested in understanding what connection He has to my father. And whether He really does come from your world. If He does — how did He and Father cross over, and whether there are clues hidden in that which might explain our soul exchanges."
She paused. "Now that I think of it — have you never been curious about any of this?"
Vincent blinked. I slipped up.
It's not that I'm not curious. It's that I already know.
"What good is being curious? If things are really as you suspect, then the two people connected to our crossing are: your father — who's gone missing — and the Fool — who appears to be some kind of god. Rather than wasting curiosity on this, wouldn't it be better to focus on digesting the potions and advancing in Sequence?"
Bernadette considered this. "So you'd advise against pursuing the Klein thread?"
"That's entirely up to you. Just be careful how far you push."
"..."
She said nothing more.
The afternoon slipped by quickly. One by one the streetlamps along the road came on, and the golden light of dusk pushed back the dark. Vincent found a restaurant nearby and ate a Loenish dinner, then strolled back.
The smell of cooking drifted from the surrounding streets, mixed with the sound of laughter from people gathered indoors. Oddly, it made his sense of solitude deepen.
Especially once he returned to the quiet house. He realised, with some surprise, that despite all the exchanges, this was the first time he had truly spent a night alone.
"Should we just head back to Caesar Restaurant?"
Bernadette, sensing the shift in his mood, asked.
"Ha — no, no, it's not that bad. In the few years before we started exchanging, I always lived alone. It takes some getting used to, but it's fine."
Vincent smiled. "It's mostly just... I've lost the luxury of having someone to wait on me hand and foot. As they say — it's easy to grow accustomed to comfort and hard to go back. Back when Vivian was running around looking after everything, I wasn't used to it. Now I find I miss it."
"Laziness and the love of comfort are the most basic of human instincts," Bernadette said. "Father used to say that laziness is the greatest driving force behind human technological progress."
She paused briefly. "Oh... that line was probably someone else's too, wasn't it."
"Mm."
After a moment Vincent ventured: "You must have admired your father a great deal once, given how capable he seemed — apparently brilliant at everything."
"I still do."
She didn't hesitate. "Even knowing that most of his so-called inventions and creations were borrowed from others — it doesn't change what he was. He changed the entire course of an era almost single-handedly. That's remarkable by any measure."
"And actually — thinking about it now, Father's seeming omnipotence once made me feel a certain distance from him. But learning the truth has, strangely, made me feel closer to him."
"Before, my only reason for wanting to find him was that I missed him. Now... I'm desperate to confront him in person. I want to throw the original works at him one by one — right in his face — and recite his diary to him out loud, and watch what expression he makes."
Vincent: "..."
Emperor, look at the thorn in your side.
To be continued…
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