Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

Chapter 1040 Individual Impressions
"Though outwardly quiet and reserved, he actually likes to joke and tease in his mind, and occasionally even rambles…"

Madam Magician listened with inexplicable tension, thoughts instinctively flashing through her mind, Am I allowed to hear this? Should I be hearing this?

If Gehrman Sparrow finds out I'm listening to what he's really like inside, that he's even somewhat lively, would he blow my head off with a gun?

"Those are my impressions," Madam Justice concluded her recollections and summary.

Madam Magician quietly let out a breath.

After calming down, she thought carefully and felt that if Gehrman Sparrow was really as Miss Justice described, then probably, perhaps, he wouldn't use violent means to eliminate people who knew his true nature.

Seeing that Madam Justice had said so much, Mr. Star, sitting next to Lumian, leaned back against his chair, as if trying to enter a relaxed state.

In a rich timbre, he intoned, "He is a learned person, and this is reflected in more than just his being a university history graduate;

"In supernatural events, he was very green at first, but quickly became skilled, becoming someone people could rely on;

"He's not comfortable getting too close to others, always maintaining a certain distance, appearing as if he fears loss and doesn't want to gain anything, but in reality, he's someone who values relationships deeply, and inevitably relaxes over time, gradually integrating and carefully building friendships with others;

"He's calm but not introverted, can take jokes and has a sense of humor, values life and is willing to enjoy it, but doesn't like waste;

"He's cautious, perhaps due to the influence of the Seer pathway, completely deserving to be called very cautious. When encountering matters that aren't urgent and won't cause immediate harm, he chooses the most conservative response, leaving first or waiting for backup, but if a disaster is very pressing and will affect many people, even if he's not powerful enough himself, he's willing to step forward and try to resolve it despite the risks;

"He deeply values his brother and sister, is more relaxed around them, and shows some of the personality traits Madam Justice just described;

"He is the best brother, both younger and older, and also the best colleague…"

After Mr. Star finished speaking, the majestic palace remained silent for quite a while, until all the Major Arcana card holders except Madam Magician turned their gaze toward her.

Madam Magician cleared her throat and said, "My impressions of Gehrman Sparrow can be read in 'The Great Adventurer' novel series.

"If I really have to summarize…"

This Angel of the Door pathway paused, her voice unconsciously becoming softer.

"Cold, powerful, mysterious, and will kill people on the spot if they say one wrong word.

"But, but very reliable—when you're with him, you only need to worry about whether he might eliminate you, there's no need to worry about anything else."

You're closer to teasing than stating facts with that last part… I can clearly hear that you're somewhat afraid, yet you still insist on teasing both Gehrman Sparrow and yourself—is this the nature of writers? Well, from 'The Great Adventurer' series, it's clear that you respect, fear, and somewhat admire Gehrman Sparrow, yet you persistently write gossip about him… The Chariot Lumian, listening quietly, couldn't help but think to himself.

After speaking quickly, Madam Magician turned her gaze to Mr. Hanged Man sitting diagonally across from her, meaning it was his turn.

Mr. Hanged Man had already prepared his thoughts. "I haven't had much contact with any of Mr. Fool's identities, and some I haven't met at all, so I can only say briefly.

"An experienced, very intelligent, and powerful adventurer.

"His luck seems quite good too.

"Not actually as cold and hard as his exterior suggests.

"Willing to listen to others' opinions and respect their experience."

After Mr. Hanged Man finished, Madam Judgment, who appeared small compared to her chair, shared her understanding, "Most of my impressions of Gehrman Sparrow come from Madam Magician, so there's no need to repeat them.

"I've had the most contact with the identity of Dwayne Dantès. He's a mature, cultured, wealthy gentleman, but very mysterious, with unusual things always happening around him.

"He's said to be romantic, fond of beautiful women with different characteristics, but I haven't noticed him having any truly deep relationships with any women.

"Well, he also has a kind heart, does charity work with genuine desire to help others, and treats his male and female servants not just with surface politeness, but actually without arrogance or hidden discrimination…"

This is also one side of Mr. Fool, especially certain details that really reflect his inner nature… Madam Justice carefully memorized what the other Major Arcana card holders were saying, to summarize and distill it later.

Mr. Sun, tall and wearing a plain white robe, followed by saying, "Powerful but not arrogant, cold but not heartless.

"He practices all that is righteous, he's willing to take great risks to help people who are actually of no use to him, he is light in the darkness, a guide walking ahead, an angel sheltering everyone."

A more religious description, with more extreme and pure emotions… As expected of the Pope of the Church of The Fool and member of the New City of Silver's six-member council… Lumian could clearly hear some differences.

Ma'am Hermit pushed up her glasses and said, "A very capable adventurer who can always respond most appropriately to unexpected situations.

"He also yearns for something, he also gazes at the setting sun, and at such times, I can truly feel his loneliness—what he wants to grasp seems to be in a very distant, unreachable place.

"Also, a mysterious, powerful, and reliable companion."

The original Major Arcana card holders of the Tarot Club had finished speaking, leaving only the two new members.

The Chariot Lumian, whose figure was blurred but still recognizably female, thought for a moment before calmly saying, "I've never had any real contact with any of Mr. Fool's identities in the real world, my impressions of them all come from the materials you provided. I can only speak from my interactions with Mr. Fool through certain dream images in the dream city."

He was silent for a second before stating his first impression, "Guardian."

Mr. Star, sitting beside him, suddenly spoke, as if sighing and supplementing, "A guardian fighting against threats and madness."

Lumian nodded.

He strongly agreed with this description, especially after learning that the Celestial Worthys spiritual imprint was indelible and eternal.

This addition also resonated with the other Major Arcana card holders, and everyone fell into a new silence.

After a brief moment, Lumian shared his other impressions, "Gentle, kind, elder brother, teacher, friend, a person with stories, a deity with humanity."

After a pause, Lumian continued, "He values family and friends greatly, he probably very much wants to return to the era he truly belongs to, return to his homeland buried in history. He is lonely because of this, often sad and in pain, and only family and friends he acknowledges can help him find meaning in life.

"On the one hand detachment, on the other a deeper appreciation for life experiences, willing to experience beauty…"

As he spoke, Lumian stopped, because he felt that the more he said, the more he was thinking about how Aurore was the same way, and he worried he might mix up some of Aurore's characteristics with Mr. Fool's, affecting the Major Arcana card holders' summary of Gehrman Sparrow's image.

So it is indeed like this… Madam Justice felt that some of her private speculations and judgments made after understanding the truth about transmigration were confirmed.

While memorizing, she felt that Gehrman Sparrow's image had become more grounded, more detailed, and more well-rounded.

At this point, Madam Temperance, who couldn't easily speak due to her sequence limitations, displayed the paper she had been writing on.

On the paper were words in ancient Feysac:

"My impressions are:

"Brave, decisive, extremely fast growth, increasingly reliable, increasingly capable.

"Also, gentle, cultured, kind, rational, has a sense of justice, pursues fairness, has sufficient sympathy for those in suffering and poverty, and is willing to help, has a heart of mercy."

After reading the contents of Madam Temperance's paper, Madam Justice thought quickly.

After a while, she spoke slowly, "Currently, the public's mainstream impression of Gehrman Sparrow focuses on several labels:

"Great adventurer, cold and powerful, Angel of Redemption, Mr. Fool's proxy, pirate killer.

"We don't need to change these for now. What we need to do is make these labels richer, more detailed, and also show the complexity of human nature."

The early impression that Gehrman Sparrow was a "lunatic" had basically faded after the Church of The Fool widely publicized the matter of redemption, and was no longer believed by most people.

Madam Justice continued, "Let's now start summarizing and unifying our understanding.

"The first word I want to propose is 'guardian.'"

All the Major Arcana card holders, including Lumian, had no objections to this.

Thus, after multiple discussions, those present reached a unified understanding of Gehrman Sparrow's image: "Powerful, cautious, mysterious background, loves money but also generous, gentle at heart, shows mercy to people, redeems suffering, values family and relationships, always misses his homeland, is Mr. Fool's proxy."

The Major Arcana card holders didn't add all the details to make the description richer, as that would both make it difficult to spread and easy to misinterpret—it was enough that they themselves had the corresponding impressions.

Madam Magician thought for a moment and said, "I think we can add that he has rich inner thoughts, likes to ramble, joke, and tease in his mind.

"For the novel's text, this would be very interesting, and this is also the true Gehrman Sparrow."

"That works." Madam Justice looked toward Madam Magician and smiled, saying, "Then I'll trouble you to complete 'The Great Adventurer 7' within two weeks."

"Alright." Madam Magician's body stiffened for a second, then she forced a smile and said, "I've even thought of the promotional tagline, um, 'Want to see a more vivid and humane Gehrman Sparrow?'"