Chapter 1039  Every Beginning is Difficult

At the telegraph office in the arts district.

Still wearing her sun hat and black veil, Jenna paid the telegram fee and gazed at the constant tinkling sounds next door, muttering to herself, “What are they renovating?”

A male telegraph operator looked up and said with a mixture of disdain and worry,

“The telephone office.

“They say they want to develop wired telephones extensively. Can they really lay lines to so many places? In the end, they’ll have to rely on wireless!”

Yes, mobile phones should also be a type of wireless… Jenna suddenly felt nostalgic.

She was also looking forward to the development of telephone networks in Intis. That way they could communicate in real-time instead of going through the trouble of sending and receiving telegrams.

Walking out of the telegraph office, before Jenna could decide whether to take a carriage back to the luxurious villa or browse around the neighborhood, she heard a newspaper boy shouting at the intersection:

“Extra! Extra!

“Ms. Fors promises to finalize ‘The Great Adventurer 7′ within two weeks!

“Extra! Extra!

“The large generator manufactured by the Church of Steam’s Deep Valley Cloister has entered the factory production stage!”

Large generator… Jenna paused for a moment, her gaze involuntarily drawn to the horse-drawn trams on the road, women wearing different styles of sun hats, men carrying canes and wearing top hats, classical-style gas street lamps, luxurious theaters and nearby cafes, and various shops.

This hardly looked like a scene approaching the apocalypse.

Jenna gazed greedily at everything, worried it would suddenly dissipate like the dream city.

…

In the luxurious villa.

Lumian stood before the full-length mirror, staring motionlessly at his beautiful face that was both familiar and strange.

He was waiting, waiting for the reflection to smile on its own or show some other expression.

One of the major difficulties in the Demoness of Unaging advancement ritual was finding one’s Mirror Person—this wasn’t something one could encounter just by wanting to.

The mystical connection between a Demoness and their Mirror Person served both as a locating aid and as an alarm that allowed the other party to detect danger early and constantly relocate.

Moreover, according to the actual experiences and daily observations of the three Demonesses—Lumian, Franca, and Jenna—the stable Mirror People born from becoming Demonesses were different from those Mirror People in special mirror worlds.

Under normal circumstances, the Demonesses’ Mirror People could not leave the mirror world. Once these Mirror People entered reality, it meant there was a major problem with the Demoness’s own state.

“We’ll still need to ask Madam Magician for help with positioning and containment…” Lumian, who had been watching the mirror image for an hour, withdrew his gaze and muttered to himself.

At that moment, Madam Magician appeared in the bedroom, surrounded by twinkling starlight.

She looked around and asked, “Where’s Two of Cups?”

“She went to meet with her subordinate, preparing for tomorrow’s meeting with the Demoness of Black,” Lumian answered simply.

Madam Magician frowned and said, “Is she still going to continue with the Demoness Sect’s missions?

“At the Sequence 4 demigod stage, the Demoness of Despair only provides potions and helps prepare rituals. How will Two of Cups explain how she was able to advance to Demoness of Despair, where the potion formula and corresponding ingredients came from, and how the ritual was completed?”

“No explanation is needed. Her advancement to Sequence 4 was completed under the Primordial Demoness’s watch, and these past few days, she often takes out that white bone figurine and places it beside her, with no abnormalities or dangers arising,” Lumian explained on Franca’s behalf. “This situation makes her feel she still has value to the Demoness Sect, or rather, to the Primordial Demoness. When the time comes, she can make up a convincing reason that the Demoness of Black should believe, such as divine bestowal or divine favor.

“She can also take this opportunity to learn more mystical knowledge about Mirror People from the Demoness of Black, which might prove useful in the upcoming Demoness of Unaging ritual.”

Madam Magician looked at Lumian for several seconds. “This is dangerous.”

“We know,” Lumian replied in a low voice.

Madam Magician sighed and said, “When she goes to meet the Demoness of Black tomorrow, remember to notify me in advance. I’ll provide necessary protection nearby.”

“Thank you,” Lumian then asked, “Why did you suddenly come over? Is something wrong?”

Weren’t we supposed to wait until we gathered all the information before setting a time for the ritual?

Madam Magician made no attempt to hide it, her expression becoming quite complex.

“To have a small meeting.”

“Small meeting?” Lumian raised an eyebrow.

“A small meeting means a private gathering without Mr. Fool present, but still held in the palace above the gray fog,” Madam Magician explained briefly. “Previously it was fixed at once a month, but now that formal meetings have resumed and are fixed for 3 pm on the first Monday of each month, we obviously can’t continue with the small meetings in the same way. They might become more impromptu in nature, specifically convened for special matters.”

“This discussion…” Lumian asked thoughtfully, “Is it to unify the Major Arcana’s understanding of Gehrman Sparrow?”

“Yes,” Madam Magician nodded slightly. “In half an hour, recite Mr. Fool’s honorific name.”

After speaking, her figure transformed into countless starlight and flew into the illusory door.

Half an hour later, Lumian recited Mr. Fool’s honorific name and once again arrived above the gray fog, sitting at one side of the bronze long table.

In his eyes, streaks of light were rising up, condensing into slightly blurred figures in different seats.

In less than a minute, all the Major Arcana card holders were present.

After glancing at Madam Justice, The Magician began speaking.

“I just returned from Two of Cups. She compared the current Mr. Fool, or rather Gehrman Sparrow’s image, to an AI…”

After roughly repeating Franca’s original words, this lady said, “I think it makes sense. We must quickly unify our understanding of Gehrman Sparrow to minimize the corruption of the faith anchors.”

Madam Justice picked up the thread.

“The most fundamental and widespread public perceptions of Gehrman Sparrow don’t need to be changed, and can’t be changed in the short term—these themselves don’t contain contradictions.

“What we need to do is make the Gehrman Sparrow beneath this shell closer to Mr. Fool’s true self, and ensure there are no contradictions.

“Since we want to unify this understanding, we must start with ourselves. If our own understandings still differ and contain major contradictions, it will certainly affect later corrections and dissemination.”

Seeing all the Major Arcana card holders nodding slightly in agreement, Madam Justice said,

“Then let’s first share our impressions of Mr. Fool and Gehrman Sparrow, record them, and then discuss which ones are correct and which can be unified.

“Who wants to start?”

Madam Justice first looked toward Madam Magician and Mr. Star.

She found that the former showed hints of fear, seemingly afraid to speak or listen, while the latter kept his mouth shut, appearing quite hesitant, as if unsure which things should be said, which shouldn’t, and whether to say everything.

The Chariot Lumian clicked his tongue imperceptibly and shook his head.

“What are you thinking about?” Mr. Moon, who was sitting not far from him, tilted his head curiously to ask.

Lumian chuckled and said, “I’m imagining how I would feel if a group of people were discussing what kind of person I am behind my back, each with different impressions.”

“Embarrassed?” Mr. Moon couldn’t help but consider it too.

The Chariot Mr. Lumian smiled and said, “I don’t know if others would be embarrassed, but for myself, I’d probably be excited, find it fun, and wish I could sneak in to listen.”

Mr. Moon raised his right hand and touched his face.

He instinctively looked at the huge chair at the head of the table, then glanced at the position at the bottom, confirming that neither Mr. Fool nor The World was present—truly not present.

“If it were the Sherlock Moriarty in my impression, he would genuinely be embarrassed, but if it were Gehrman Sparrow, he would maintain a cold expression, making it impossible to tell what he’s thinking,” Mr. Moon responded to Lumian’s words.

After speaking, he found that the other Major Arcana card holders were all looking at him.

Seeing this, Lumian inwardly chuckled and muttered to himself, See, someone to kick things off has volunteered themselves.

Mr. Moon froze for a moment, and seeing everyone waiting for him to continue, he had no choice but to maintain outward composure and continue.

“I haven’t had much interaction with Gehrman Sparrow; it was mainly above the gray fog. Many of my impressions come from rumors, centered around words like cold, powerful, and quick-to-action.

“Comparatively, I know Sherlock Moriarty better. He’s quite perceptive, fairly vigilant, very concerned with money, but judging from his behavior at the Harvest Church and other places, he’s actually quite caring and possesses a true gentleman’s sense of humor…”

After speaking in one breath, Mr. Moon slightly raised his chin, looked around, and said, “You guys’ turn.”

Madam Justice didn’t wait for other Major Arcana cards, deciding to follow Mr. Moon’s example and set a model for everyone.

“I’ll go.

“I was once Mr. World’s psychiatrist, provided him with corresponding treatment, and even entered the Hall of Truth with him, hearing many of his inner thoughts.”

Upon catching the term Hall of Truth, Mr. Star unconsciously adjusted his sitting position, with his right side more forward and his left side slightly withdrawn.

After all the Major Arcana card holders, including The Chariot Lumian, turned to look at her, Madam Justice spoke in a steady voice,

“My deepest impression of Mr. World is that he was very lonely. He had many things piled up in his heart and weighing on his shoulders…

“But he could still control himself, not indulging, not despairing, not acting willfully, not becoming distorted…

“What Mr. Moon just said is correct—he was indeed a very caring person, his heart was actually very gentle, and his cold and tough exterior was just a facade he had put on…”

Miss Justice’s gentle voice slowly echoed above the bronze long table.

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