Upon hearing the Fool's question, Audrey didn't respond immediately as she had in the past, but instead gazed steadily at the Pendulum with a thoughtful, assessing look. Alje unconsciously settled his posture. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke: "I've discovered two pages from the diary of King Roscel and have memorized their contents." "I have one." Audrey, her line of sight interrupted by the gray mist, replied with a calm, observational tone. "Very good." Caine didn't let his enthusiasm or slight disappointment color his voice. He was delighted by the three pages, yet somewhat disappointed that it was only three, since the initial gathering had been relatively easy—representing a clear exploration of his own resources and channels—and as time progressed, the task would grow increasingly difficult, involving more complex factors. "Shall we now 'express' them?" Audrey asked calmly. "Yes," Caine nodded simply. He maintained his previous posture with almost no change, remaining cautious before the audience. As soon as he finished speaking, yellow-brown vellum sheets and a deep-red steel pen materialized instantly before Audrey and Aljer. Each of them picked up their writing tools and began recalling symbols from memory, conveying their emotions with urgency. Without a single sound, one line after another of text appeared on the vellum—some neat and dignified, others elegant and flowing, some crooked and uneven. Within less than a minute, all the content Audrey and Aljer had managed to force themselves to remember was fully transcribed. With a mere thought, Crane summoned the three vellum pages into his hands. As he scanned them, he reviewed the journal and noticed that the language order was reversed, with several missing and incorrect words. Yet experiments have shown that a certain degree of sequence errors does not impede Chinese reading, and the one who has long suffered from asterisks is utterly unfazed by missing or incorrect characters: "On April 8th, I stood at the bow of the 'Black Throne,' arms outstretched, and said to格林and Edwards, 'Would you like my treasure? Then go to the far end of the Mist Sea—my entire treasure is hidden there!' They completely missed my humor, even asking if I truly had any extra treasure—what a dull audience! You simply can't be my Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!" "On April 11th, we discovered an unnamed island off the established safe route, home to numerous extraordinary species—no, I prefer to call them 'extraordinary beings,' as it sounds more refined. Besides these, there are many odd and fascinating creatures on the island. I'm certain Darwin, if he had come over, would have found it impossible to write a new theory of evolution." "On the 15th of April, Green seemed a bit off—was he infected with something?" When did the Great King Roscel have his voyage? The Mist Sea should be the ocean to the west of the Intes Republic... Ah, I'll need to check some historical records in the library... Klein quickly scanned a page and then turned his gaze to the following entries. Now, he no longer concealed his knowledge of the secret symbols of the Great King Roscel, as this was precisely what a Fool would do. Neither Oudel nor Aljer spoke; they sat quietly, waiting, as if completely unsurprised by this outcome, even as though it were entirely natural. "On the 2nd of October, they decided to have me marry Matilda of the Abel family without even consulting me! Honestly, I haven't even met her yet! No, I'm refusing!" "I'll walk out of my home, live independently, endure all the pressure and setbacks—I will resist this arranged marriage!" "On the fifth of October, Miss Matilda truly looked beautiful." "On the sixth of October, her personality and grace were exactly what I've always admired; I now look forward to our marriage." Hey, Emperor, where's your dignity?... Kline leaned back against the high-backed chair, holding his emotions at bay against the gray haze. He noticed that early in his life, Rosel didn't write a diary every day—only when something significant happened, when he needed to vent, record, or express his emotions, would he pick up the pen. His gaze shifted downward, settling on the final entry of this page: "On the ninth of October, they called me 'the Son of Steam,' and I really liked that." Seeing that the content of the first two pages held little value, Kline felt a slight sense of disappointment. But he didn’t lose heart. He moved the third page of his journal to the very top, and both sides of that page were filled with content: “May 21st: The Church of the Craftsmen’s God offered me two choices—two starting paths within their sequence pathways. One is the ‘Universal Scholar,’ which belongs to their own complete sequence chain; the other is the ‘Observer,’ drawn from the Moes Monastery, lacking a higher sequence.” “May 22nd: My choice was simple—the ‘Universal Scholar’! A ‘Universal Scholar’ with a complete sequence! While deeper knowledge of esoteric studies would certainly aid me in finding my way home, the issue is that, without sufficient personal strength, such a journey must rely on external forces—forces that could be either favorable or adverse, benevolent or hostile, and ultimately unpredictable and dangerous. Given that, it makes more sense to strengthen myself and return on my own strength. Therefore, a complete sequence is my top priority.” "On the 23rd of May, I became a 'Generalist.' Thanks to the power of the potion, I managed to fully recall all the knowledge I had previously studied—physics, chemistry, and so on." "Not only did I recall it, but I also deeply understood and mastered it. Ha! This is truly a career perfectly tailored for an outsider like me, maximizing my strengths. Without a doubt, if I return to my senior year in high school in this state, I can certainly become the top student. With further rigorous and in-depth professional studies, becoming a scientist wouldn't be too difficult." "On the 26th of May, I thoroughly enjoyed being a 'Generalist.' A curious thing happened: whenever I acted in accordance with the role of a 'Generalist,' the constant whispers that had nearly driven me mad gradually quieted down. My frequent outbursts of temper also began to subside, and I started remembering my journal entries." "This is exactly what the enigmatic Mr. Chalatu described to me as 'playing'—perhaps the key to resolving the potion-related risks." Kieran gazed at this page of the journal, deeply aware of the clear differences in temperament and approach between himself and Emperor Rosel. For instance, when it came to returning home, he tended to focus on deepening his mastery of esoteric knowledge as a means of mitigating risks and achieving his goals, whereas Emperor Rosel believed in relying on his own strength to actively manage and hold onto those risks. "I must admit, at times, I quite envy such individuals. Perhaps everyone yearns for qualities they themselves lack... Of course, I also need to strengthen myself—balancing both aspects, striving for excellence in both." One after another, these thoughts surfaced in Kieran's mind, leaving him moved. Moreover, Rosel's description of the reduced potion risks gave him renewed confidence in his own summary from last night and sharpened his understanding of the true nature of 'playing'. Setting down her three pages of journal entries, Caine looked up at "Justice" and "The Hangman," smiled gently. "I'm sorry, I've been completely absorbed." Audrey smoothed out her inner admiration, spoke calmly. "I completely understand. I look forward to one day exchanging with you the contents of the journal of Emperor Rosel." "That will require a price," Caine said, smiling slightly and glancing at "Justice," then smoothly sweeping his gaze over the silent "The Hangman." Audrey clasped her hands together and placed them before her. "Mr. The Fool, Mr. The Hangman, I have three questions I'd like to ask you. If you believe the answers hold significant value, please tell me what you'd like in return—I will do my best to find it for you later." "Absolutely," Alger replied simply and steadily. Caine nodded lightly, leaning back more comfortably. Audrey paused for a few seconds, then said: "My first question: What exactly does 'to play a role' mean?" "I find the lingering mental impressions within the potion have a rather mild effect on me—has it been because I've been acting more like an observer these past days?" Aljer remained silent, gazing steadily at the Fool, as though also awaiting an answer. Kaine lightly tapped the edge of the long table, speaking with a relaxed tone: "Let me illustrate this with a more concrete example. The core strength of the sequence potion is akin to a well-defended castle. The residual mental influences that could cause adverse effects reside within the castle walls—our objective is to resolve them and ultimately become the true masters of the castle." "We currently have two approaches. The first is to force our way in—this approach may not succeed, and certainly will come at a cost to ourselves, unless we achieve overwhelming superiority. Yet clearly, we do not currently possess such strength." "The second method: we have an invitation from the castle's lord, which allows us to pass the guards' scrutiny and enter the castle smoothly, eliminating our enemies with ease. However, the invitation includes descriptions of the guests' appearances and personal qualities—so we must disguise ourselves and 'assume the role' of the invited guests, correct?" Aljer asked immediately, as if he had anticipated this. "Yes," Kline confirmed. Audrey listened intently and suddenly felt completely clear on what "assuming the role" meant. And as soon as she became slightly excited, she immediately broke free from the state of "observer," praising with genuine delight: "What a truly outstanding method! I think, I think—it perfectly matches your title. Its style is so very in tune with that of the ' Fool'... I never expected the role of 'performance' to work quite this way, and it's a relief that I've been instinctively playing the role of 'observer' these past days." She paused and added: "I believe this is a profoundly valuable answer. I can't simply accept it without further thought. Fool, what would you like in return? Of course, I still owe you one page from the diary of King Roxel. " "More pages from King Roxel's diary, or perhaps..." Caine paused. He had originally intended to mention any news about the 'Seer' sequence, but then decided that such a modest request might undermine the Fool's image, so he set it aside and planned to gently inquire about it at a more convenient time. After all, I've only just been promoted and haven't yet fully absorbed the "Seer's" potion... Thus, reassuring himself, he quietly added: "Or any situation within the Antigonus family—whether it's part of what I previously knew or not." Aljer paused for several seconds, carefully glanced at the bronze table's head, and then spoke slowly: "Mr. The Fool... then I may now pay you for your earlier explanation."