Edward continued reading:
"Ah, I've been here for so many days now. So boring, even more boring than before. The food's terrible, I don't like it here!"
---
"That woman has been following for over ten days now. I've beaten her several tis during that period, but she still refuses to leave, or even talk. What a strange person."
---
"Today, that woman finally spoke. I thought she was mute. She told her na…"
At this point, Edward finally rembered—this was from the diary pages he had found in the gang leader's safe after eliminating the Zmanger Gang. These pages were suspected to be from another transmigrator—a predecessor like himself.
Unfortunately, he had only read the first two pages before Bernadette suddenly showed up and took the diary away. Edward suspected that was when she began keeping an eye on him.
He carefully turned to the second-to-last page. The first four words instantly made his pupils shrink:
"Her na is Cheek."
Cheek?
Edward leaned in and double-checked. It really was Cheek!
Cheek—such a seemingly ordinary na—was by no ans ordinary in the world of Lord of the Mysteries. It represented a Sequence 0 True God, the Primordial Demoness!
But…the diary described a woman nad Cheek who followed "" around and was even beaten up by "" several tis?!
These short sentences carried a surreal, almost postmodern absurdity that made Edward's brain lag for a mont.
After a beat, a thought popped into Edward's head: Could it just be soone with the sa na? After all, the true nas of deities were highly secret in this world, especially those of evil gods like Cheek. Hardly anyone would know.
So it wouldn't be odd if soone happened to choose that na unknowingly.
But wait—
Cheek was a male na. Why would a woman be called that? That's just…suspicious!
"You seem to have read sothing unbelievable?" Bernadette asked.
"It is...rather unbelievable. Let finish reading first."
Edward rubbed his forehead and continued reading:
"Ugh, still bored these past few days. Every day is just eating, sleeping, and hitting Cheek."
---
"...Finally got out of that endless wasteland today and saw people again. They told this place is the Solomon Empire, a land ruled by gods. But all I want now is a proper feast!"
---
"The feast…sucked! Cheek seed to enjoy it though, so I beat her up again! Hmph, she said she's my underling, yet dares talk back to ?"
---
"Last night, Cheek suddenly ca to ask about the formula for the Demoness of Despair potion. How should I know? She insisted I'd seen all the witch formulas before. I asked where I supposedly saw them, and she said: a gray-white stone tablet. Oh right, I have seen one like that, but I couldn't read any of it...To stop Cheek from calling illiterate, I beat her up again."
---
"...Haven't written in a while. Half a month ago I was ambushed—would've died if Cheek hadn't blocked the attack for ! Hmm…I've decided I'll stop beating (crossed out) beat her less. She's now officially promoted from my underling to my little sis."
---
"Been recovering these past few days. While half-dazed, I suddenly rembered that stone tablet again. Still had those unreadable symbols…but sohow, I could suddenly understand them! Perfect timing. Since I don't know how to thank Cheek, I'll just give her the Demoness of Despair formula."
—The diary entries ended there.
Edward stared at the last page, lost in thought. He now fully confird that the Cheek ntioned here was indeed the future Primordial Witch Cheek!
And at the ti these entries were written, she had only reached Sequence 5.
Damn…this transmigrator "predecessor" sure woke up a long ti ago, huh?
There wasn't a specific date in the original novel for when Cheek beca a god, but based on what we know, she likely ascended soti during the early Fourth Epoch.
The Third Epoch belonged to the Ancient Sun God—there were no records of the Primordial Witch then. But by the ti of the Four Emperors War in the Fourth Epoch, Cheek already existed and had even tead up with the Underworld Emperor, Salinger, to unleash the Pale Disaster.
So going by the tiline, this diary must be from early Fourth Epoch, and Cheek probably ascended with help from that transmigrator predecessor.
That gray-white stone tablet ntioned? Most likely one of the Blasphemy Slates. It's unclear whether it was the first or second, or how exactly the predecessor accessed it.
Edward turned to Bernadette. "I believe even if you can't yet read Rosellean, you can still tell that these notes didn't co from Emperor Roselle."
Bernadette nodded slightly. "That's right. And that only makes more curious."
She explained, "I've seen many forgeries before—imitations of Rosellean. But they were always crude. Even when I didn't know the language, I could still tell they were fakes."
"But these few pages are different."
Edward sighed inwardly. As Bernadette beca more fluent in Chinese, it was only a matter of ti before she realised what he had intentionally left untranslated. Honestly, most of Roselle's salacious escapades wouldn't be that big a deal.
He could always say he'd done it to preserve her "good image" of her father.
After all, it's not like I would be socially ruined…Wait, unless she really starts treating like her dad, then what if she flips out and backstabs her 'old man'?
And what if she asked about the other transmigrator?
Hmm…maybe I should just co clean. Tell her: "Hey Bernie, I may not be your dad, but I'm kind of like your dad's peer. So just call Uncle from now on."
"You're thinking about how to make up a convincing story, aren't you?" Bernadette suddenly said.
"No such thing, Bern—ahem, Your Majesty."
Edward cleared his throat and said, "The person who wrote these pages…should be from the sa place as Emperor Roselle."
Her eyes flickered slightly. "Ho?"
Eh?
Edward was startled. In the original story, she only learned the true aning of "ho" from Klein. How could she know it this early? Could it be that she asked Mr. Fool during her ti in the Forsaken Land of the Gods?
"That's right."
Edward decided to be straightforward. "But from the context of the writing, it seems to describe events from the early Fourth Epoch. The author ntioned travelling abroad and arriving at the Solomon Empire of that ti. He also t soone…" He hesitated a mont before continuing, "That person's na was Cheek."
Bernadette paused in surprise. "The Primordial Demoness?"
"More precisely, Cheek before she beca a god. According to these pages, she received her Sequence 4 potion formula from the diary's author."
Her deep blue eyes grew more profound. "That's…a truly astonishing revelation."
After a few seconds, she asked again, "So, this so-called Rosellean language wasn't invented by my father—it ca from their holand?"
"Well…yes, that's probably the case."
Bernadette gazed steadily into Edward's eyes.
"And what about you? How is it that you know Ro—this language? Are you also from this 'ho'?"
"I am."
Edward fell silent for a few seconds, then said in a low voice, "So…if you've misunderstood in any way before…"
"There's no misunderstanding."
She cut him off calmly.
"…Huh?"
Bernadette stood up from the swing chair. "Two days from now, I'll return to Erald City to retrieve more of my father's journals. They're stored in my palace on Rasha Island, part of the Fog Sea. Since you won't be heading to Intis anymore, why don't you co to Erald City instead?"
"As for the next two days, keep using your spare ti to teach Rosellean."
With that, her figure vanished, swallowed by a towering stalk of pea vines.
"Edward, she's gone now~" ca Lilith's voice.
"Mm."
Edward looked toward where Bernadette had disappeared, briefly lost in thought.
They had practically laid everything bare just now—so why did Bernadette insist there was no misunderstanding? And even invited him to her private palace?
What was she really thinking?
Tch, I've got no clue at all.
Whoooooooo~~
At that mont, the White Agate's whistle blew. The ship gave a slight jolt and began slowly pulling away from the pier.
——
By midday, the warm sun had driven off the chill of late autumn. Though the deck still had a biting wind, many passengers ca out to bask in the sunlight.
Edward and Klein picked a spot near the railing, enjoying the sound of the waves lapping against the hull as they ate lunch. Lilith ran about without a care, curiously inspecting everything. When she saw flying fish leap from the sea, she even struck a dramatic pose as if preparing to dive after them.
The whole scene was peaceful and comfortable.
Klein couldn't help but think: If only this trip really were just a vacation…how nice that would be.
Edward read his expression and chuckled, "We've only just set out. But think about it—every day from now on, all you'll see is endless ocean and sky. And the ship's not exactly spacious. Won't it get boring fast?"
"Hmm, that's true." Klein nodded. "But I looked at the White Agate's travel schedule—basically, it stops at an island every 2–3 days. So it shouldn't be as bad as you say."
He paused, then asked, "We should arrive at Damir Harbour by tomorrow afternoon. Are you planning to disembark and change routes there?"
Edward's fingers intertwined as a thought struck him. "Why don't you divine it for ? Should I get off at Damir?"
As the Anchor of Fate in this world, Klein's divinations were certainly worth consulting.
"…Huh? What do you want to divine?"
Then Klein realised sothing. "Wait a sec—you can divine for yourself!"
"Co on, who can out-divine a Seer? My pitiful skills would only make a fool of ."
"…I feel like you're being sarcastic."
Klein pulled out a citrine crystal. "So, what exactly are you asking?"
"Just—should I disembark at Damir Harbour or not?"
"Hey now, you do know divination doesn't work well with vague questions like that, right?"
Edward pulled out a gold coin and handed it over. "Then don't divine. Just flip this. Heads, I get off. Tails, I stay. Either way, the coin is yours."
Klein squinted, accepting the coin.
"Well, if you're this determined to give free money, I won't say no."
He held up the coin for Edward to see.
"Watch carefully."
———
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