"Is the Moses Ascetic Order the power behind you now?"
When Lin Ruo asked this, Cattleya was momentarily stunned, then nodded and said, "The power behind me now is indeed the Moses Ascetic Order."
After a moment of hesitation, she added, "But the Moses Ascetic Order doesn't really trust me. Although I've publicly broken with the Queen, there are still people within the Moses Ascetic Order who suspect I still have ties to her."
"That's normal; if I were them, I'd be suspicious too." Lin Ruo smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, I just plan to ask you about the Moses Ascetic Order's situation, but I don't intend to do anything for now."
After all, he was busy enough as it was; he really didn't plan to make himself busier in the short term. Understanding the Moses Ascetic Order was just to get a head start on understanding the enemy's pawns—just based on the fact that Lin Ruo had once saved Steam God from the Hidden Sage, he didn't think he and the Hidden Sage would be allies.
Damn it, there aren't enough tools. When will Klein grow up… Lin Ruo, who deeply felt he needed tools to share his work, glanced at Klein. Under the latter's puzzled gaze, he suddenly reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, saying, "Keep it up, I'm waiting for the day you advance to demigod."
Klein:?
Why am I suddenly involved?
After a brief moment of stunned and confusion, Klein, who understood a certain person's character very well, suddenly realized what Lin Ruo's subtext was. He immediately pulled away the certain person's hand with a dark expression but said nothing.
Because Klein also knew that much of Lin Ruo's busyness was for him.
Even for that alone, he would inevitably have to share those tasks in the future.
Cattleya looked at their interaction in confusion. Only when Lin Ruo looked at her did she come back to her senses, hearing Lin Ruo ask, "So, can you give me some information about the Moses Ascetic Order later?"
"Of course, but I don't know much. Many core things within the Moses Ascetic Order haven't been opened up to me." Cattleya quickly replied. She wasn't truly loyal to the Moses Ascetic Order; she was only an undercover agent because of the Queen's orders, so she naturally had no intention of keeping secrets for the Moses Ascetic Order.
"It's alright, I just want to understand a little." Lin Ruo smiled gently, then remembered something and said, "Oh, right, regarding the upcoming changes in the Five Seas, do you think the Moses Ascetic Order will agree to your cooperation with Nast Solomon?"
Although Cattleya's true stance was with Bernadette, she was still publicly a member of the Moses Ascetic Order. Some matters still needed to consider the Moses Ascetic Order's attitude.
"You don't have to worry about that. Although I'm not highly trusted by the Moses Ascetic Order, I have a great deal of autonomy at sea. As long as it doesn't delay the tasks assigned by the Moses Ascetic Order, they won't interfere with who I cooperate with." Cattleya replied. She indeed had no worries in this regard.
Although the Moses Ascetic Order had become Chaos from its original orderly alignment due to the Hidden Sage, its desire for knowledge and exploration of the unknown had never diminished. They let Cattleya drift at sea, not only because they didn't trust her but also to have Cattleya explore various unknown mysteries at sea.
So Cattleya was confident that as long as it didn't delay her exploration work, the Moses Ascetic Order wouldn't interfere with this matter.
"That's good, otherwise, if you were truly caught between us and the Moses Ascetic Order, I'd have a headache too." Lin Ruo smiled, chatted a few more words with Cattleya and the other two, then announced the meeting adjourned.
After the meeting, Danitz, whose eyes were still dazed, returned to his room with a muddled head, while Cattleya eagerly began writing to Bernadette.
As for Lin Ruo, he naturally returned to the previous cabin with Klein.
"Are you really planning to turn the Five Seas into The Fool's diocese?" Once the cabin door closed, Klein, who had been holding it in for a while, finally couldn't help but ask.
"Strictly speaking, it's more than just the Five Seas, but other countries are still the Seven Gods' territory, so we can only make do for now." Lin Ruo replied without raising his head, as he refilled the teapot with hot water.
"Make do" indeed… Klein suppressed the urge to complain, then suddenly thought of something and said with a strange expression, "You've been planning this for a long time?"
"Otherwise? Are you really going to rely on you slowly fooling people, or rely on Danitz, that guy whom even the Conspirer potion can't save, to proselytize?" Lin Ruo, who had finished brewing the tea, put the teapot down. This time, he finally looked at Klein and said:
"I'm afraid by the time you develop enough followers, the day will be long past, and you'll have turned into a divine Klein due to insufficient anchors."
"…So you really were fooling me before." Klein narrowed his eyes, clearly remembering the serious deception when a certain person tricked Danitz into converting a few months ago.
"Strictly speaking, that's not fooling; at most, I only concealed part of the truth." Lin Ruo retorted without changing his expression, "Or are you unwilling?"
The "unwilling" here naturally referred to turning the Five Seas into a diocese.
"That's still fooling." Klein first muttered, then shook his head and said, "It's not that I'm unwilling, but this is too sudden. Next time, could you tell me in advance, at least to give me some psychological preparation?"
As someone with sufficient knowledge of High-Sequence and anchors, Klein naturally knew the benefits and necessity of this matter for him. He wasn't an ungrateful person, so he naturally wouldn't have any complaints or unwillingness about it.
"Actually, I also think it's quite sudden." Lin Ruo said this, poured a cup of tea for himself and Klein, then explained:
"While I did have this plan for a long time, I originally intended to proceed gradually. According to my original plan, I was going to wait until the Rebel Army developed to a certain scale, and the people of the City of Silver were all fooled into believing in The Fool, before beginning to scheme for the Five Seas. That's why I wasn't in a hurry to tell you."
"It was just this unexpected meeting with Solomon, where I discovered such a good cooperation opportunity, and felt that not cooperating would be a disservice to myself, that I suddenly decided to do this, and thus didn't have time to discuss it with you in advance. But you're right, next time for such a big matter, I will discuss it with you in advance." Lin Ruo said here, he smiled and said:
"After all, you're not a child anymore. To become a powerful figure who can stand on his own, participating in the decisions of these matters is necessary."
Hearing Lin Ruo's words, Klein was stunned for a moment. He pursed his lips, then remembered something else and asked curiously, "What did you mean just now about Solomon and Nast becoming members of the The Church of the Fool?"
"Literally. I had a brief talk with Solomon and reached a cooperation with him. If you don't mind, when the The Church of the Fool is established in the future, he will be your Angel of Judgment." Lin Ruo took a sip of tea, saying:
"Of course, he won't truly believe in you; for now, it can only be described as a cooperative relationship, similar to being a Guest Elder. This kind of relationship is actually quite common; many Sequence 0s and their Judgment Angels don't have a belief relationship, like Bornova and the Steam God."
"Guest Elder, huh…" Klein muttered, then said with a subtle expression, "So His Majesty Solomon will be known as The Fool's Angel of Judgment from now on… But I haven't even met him."
"If you want to meet him, you can do so now." Lin Ruo said here, suddenly blinking, and said, "And you need to get used to this situation. Who knows, maybe when the The Church of the Fool is officially established later, you'll flip open the fool's scripture and find that not only Solomon, but even Will, Azik, and Pallez have become The Fool's Judgment Angels, and the key is that you yourself won't even know it."
Klein imagined that scene and immediately felt a sense of shame and awkwardness surge in his heart, only to hear Lin Ruo add the finishing blow:
"Oh, right, and me… something like the Angel of Judgment being a king from ancient times, who eventually submitted to The Fool, becoming the left hand of the Divine Kingdom."
"Stop talking…" Klein's body trembled, and he couldn't help but cover his face.
Just hearing about Solomon becoming The Fool's Angel of Judgment, he only felt a subtle strangeness. Now, hearing Lin Ruo's words, Klein truly felt an indescribable awkwardness and shame.