Early in the morning, atop the gray mist. Caine materialized a quill and ink, carefully composing the divinatory phrases: "There is danger in using a radio telegraph." After reviewing them twice, he removed the pendulum from within the cuff of his left sleeve and began the divination. Throughout this process, he remained highly alert and somewhat apprehensive—much like a child lighting a firecracker while holding her ears. Should the divination indeed involve the "True Deity" or the "Primordial Women" themselves, the act of divination itself would pose a threat; for others, such an event might merely result in a sudden loss of control or death. But Caine was protected by the gray mist, so his experience would not be as severe as that in the real world. Here, the risk of explosion was clearly greater than in the ordinary world. What he feared, however, was that after repeated attempts, the devils would lock onto his location and come to visit him personally. Soon, he entered a meditative state, silently reciting the divinatory phrases. After seven repetitions, he knew the outcome without needing to open his eyes—because he remained seated, undisturbed, and free from extreme suffering. As Klein looked at the yellow crystal pendant, he noticed it was indeed rotating counterclockwise. Huff... Klein exhaled, relieved, and immediately returned to the world, busy preparing the ritual, bringing the radio receiver out of the mysterious space above the gray mist. After waiting for about half an hour, he finally heard the radio receiver emit a steady tapping sound, and a translucent sheet of paper emerged, bearing rows of Runes: "I am here. 'Great Lord, is it you?'" How strangely familiar this hesitant, probing feeling is... Klein suddenly recalled a meme from his previous life—a gentler, anthropomorphized alpaca extending its head forward. He took two steps forward and responded with a composed, "Hmm." Tapping, tapping, tapping—the translucent paper immediately produced more text: "Your humble and loyal servant, Arodos, awaits to serve you." Klein concealed his discomfort within, and asked: "Arodos, could you tell me where Lord Roy King of the School of Life is?" Based on Pao Yao's description, he knew that their organization developed through a master-apprentice tradition and inferred that they possessed two exceptional pathways—the "monsters" and the "pharmacists"—which aligned perfectly with the characteristics of the School of Life. At the same time, Klein prepared Roy King's photograph in a manner of "better to rely on oneself than to ask for help." The steady tapping sound intensified, and the magic mirror, Arodos, used the radio telegraph to sketch out a portrait—exactly Roy King with his hair neatly combed and wearing round glasses. "Is that him?" a line of Runan script followed immediately. Klein nodded: "Yes." The magic mirror made the tapping of the radio telegraph sound unusually lively: "Great Master, the person you are seeking is being held in the governor's mansion of the city of Bayam, the City of Generosity." Held in the governor's mansion? Klein furrowed his brow slightly, not rushing to ask further, and spoke with confident composure: "Well, according to your principle, it's now your turn to ask questions." With a soft tapping sound, Arodés transmitted a simple sketch of a smile and a line of words via radio: "I've asked, and you've answered." When? Klein was momentarily taken aback, then glanced at the content before the ethereal sheet of paper and saw the previous question: "Is it him?" Really? That counts? At this moment, Klein fully grasped the remarkable flexibility and leniency of Arodés' mirror's rules—strict and demanding with ordinary people, often harsh to the point of being unbearable, even requiring witnesses—while here, it was simply enough to give a cursory response and openly water down the standards. How could this man have developed such a personality... Klein paused for two seconds, then shifted to ask a different question: "Arodos, do you know of the book *The Travels of Grols*?" Arodos remained silent for two seconds, then had the radio telegraph emit a steady series of dots, spilling out more phantom sheets of white paper: "My great lord, your question is most kind to me. I only needed to respond with the word 'know' to answer it, so I slightly revised it to: 'Tell me what you know about *The Travels of Grols*.' It is a truly magical book—several of its previous owners have vanished. I cannot see who the original author is, but I can confirm that it first appeared among the dragonkind, following the disappearance of the 'City of Wonders,' Liviethed." Following the disappearance of the 'City of Wonders,' Liviethed, as manifested by the 'Dragon of Imagination,' Angerwied? Perhaps we could pitch it to the "Justice" lady—she might be interested. If she actually purchases it, as an intermediary, I’ll be able to conduct some early research above the gray mist… Should anything go wrong and the books suffer irreversible damage, I’ll simply inform the seller that they’ve backed out and can only issue a refund. Now that I think about it, running a platform truly looks promising! Klein’s thoughts raced as he said to the radio receiver, “It’s your turn now.” I’ll see what outlandish questions you can come up with. Klein thought silently. The mirror Arōdes didn’t pause; it tapped out a line in Rûn script: “Great Lord, I have asked, and you have answered.” When exactly…? Klein found it both amusing and bewildered as he browsed forward through the ethereal sheet of paper, finally locating the question at the very beginning: “Great Lord, is it you?” "No denying, this mirror known as Arodès has absolutely no sense of propriety when it comes to pleasing me—there's not a single shred of self-respect. Yet, the way it presents problems in pairs is incredibly satisfying for someone with a strong sense of obsession, much like the opening and closing braces { and } in the programming language I once studied myself. Kline cleared his throat and asked, 'Why was Roy King imprisoned in the Governor's Palace?' The radio receiver, tapping out its ethereal messages like sheets of blank paper, responded: 'Since the mercury serpent of the Life School went missing, internal divisions have emerged, and the group has faced numerous dangers—some even perished at the hands of the Rose School. The Life School has developed quietly through a master-apprentice tradition, but at the top level, there exists a council known as the Elder Council, which coordinates the struggles among various factions. Since the Fifth Age, this council's name has grown more refined, and today it is called the 'Council of Fate,' composed of seven members—the very mercury serpent is its president.' "Roy King's mentor was one of the Fate Senators, who also encountered difficulties after the disappearance of the Mercury Serpent. Prior to that, he had entrusted Roy King with a significant sealed artifact of the Life School—this is precisely why Roy King was secretly captured by the Lune military." The disappearance of the Mercury Serpent? Caine immediately recalled Wil Anderst, who had been hiding in Beckland, and the other Mercury Serpent who had been pursuing him but had never made an appearance—this one, seemingly the 'Fate Angel' Ulloiruus. The Mercury Serpent from the Life School couldn't be the one seeking Wil Anderst, since he had ample time and opportunities to maintain contact with the organization and thus wouldn't have gone missing. It must be either Wil Anderst or the third one—this remained uncertain. Caine nodded gently and addressed the radio receiver: "Go ahead, ask your question." "This time I can certainly confirm there are no issues ahead—hey, see what you'll come up with... Undeniably, people are a bit petty; everyone else fears when the magical mirror, Arōdes, asks questions, yet after it has successfully deflected two inquiries on my behalf, I now actually find myself eager for it to formally pose a question. Kline waits with genuine interest. He truly is a marvel—after all, how could one possibly fail to appreciate all this, given the wealth of knowledge contained in such a mirror? Caine watched the radio receiver settle into quiet. He paced a few steps, then sat by the edge of the bed, pondering Roy King's case. He had never even considered making a stealth infiltration of the Bayam Governor's palace to rescue Roy King, since he didn't know the man at all—hadn't even met him personally—his only connection being the stout pharmacist. Surely, the underground of the Storm Church still holds many extraordinary individuals in captivity, but what does that have to do with me? Caine chuckled and shook his head. Just then, the information shared by Arhodes revealed something significant: the magical artifact that had made Senyor, the "General of Blood," so fortunate might have originated from the "School of Life"—it was likely that this pirate general himself belonged to the "Rose School," which had, during the time of the Silver Snake's disappearance, eliminated numerous members of the "School of Life." This also reminds me that in dealing with the Admirals, we must be more cautious than before. When the "Admiral of Illness," Tracie, decided at will to summon the "Immortal Lady" Caterina Pele, it's clear that the other Admirals won't remain without supporters—each one represents a faction, an organization. Behind the "Admiral of Blood" lies the "Rose School"; behind the "Admiral of Stars" is the "Moses Monastery," and behind us, the Tarot Circle. The "Admiral of Hell" is likely backed by the Celestial Order combined with the Five Sea Kings, while the "Admiral of Ice" conceals the Church of the Gods of Knowledge and Wisdom. "Hmm. When hunting the Pirate General in the future, we must keep absolutely quiet beforehand, make only one attempt, and if it fails, immediately withdraw." While pondering, Kline suddenly remembered something—Wil. Aunseitin's paper crane, the serpent of mercury, was still in his hands!