After glancing at the deck for a moment, Cadellia left the captain's cabin, walked toward the entrance of the cabin, and waited for Frank Lee, who came in with a large bucket of non-alcoholic beer. "Captain, would you like a glass?" Frank lifted the entire bucket with one hand. Cadellia firmly shook her head, and in a casual tone asked, "Is this another manifestation of the mother's mercy?" "No," Frank replied seriously. "I simply feel that drinking fortified wines enriched with a modified sedative over a long period isn't quite good for the body. I hope they'll accept this beverage—tasting like wine but actually alcohol-free. Of course, this is only an initial success; it doesn't yet involve the fortified wines, since distillation can't enhance their flavor." Cadellia found herself at a loss for words, pushed her heavy glasses up her nose, and after a moment of silence, said, "Have you ever heard the voice of the mother, received a divine revelation?" "No." Frank shook his head carelessly. Hh... Gisela silently exhaled, relieved. At that moment, Frank added casually, "The gentle mother's will is found in the wheat heads, in the milk of cows, in the growth of mushrooms, and in every corner and every aspect of nature—no divine revelation is needed to feel it." Gisela's gaze instantly settled on Frank's eyes, finding no madness, only pure sincerity. She said nothing more, merely nodded, and stepped forward, past Frank Lee, to the deck. She gazed at the sea scene for several minutes in quiet focus. Then, returning to the captain's cabin, she laid out the letter paper and began to write: "What do you think of Frank's performance? He claims to have received no divine revelation, yet believes the gentle mother's will is present in every part of nature." This was the letter addressed to Germán Sparo. Cadellia believed that just one question accompanied by a brief addition would suffice to make the other understand exactly what she meant. Folding the letter, she produced a gold coin and began summoning the dreadful messenger. . . . Shortly after concluding the Tarot reading, the Lady of "The Hermit" had written to me—this was surely not information about the "Hidden Sage," which would have come sooner. At that moment, Caine was traveling by riverboat along the Tassok River. In his black robe, he received the letter from the messenger girl, unfolded it, and read through it in one glance. Ah—Caine's brow furrowed slightly. Perhaps it was because Frank had always appeared sufficiently dangerous and eccentric, he had overlooked the possibility that this "Druid" might have been influenced by the "Falling Mother Goddess." Frank had been sent to the tribunal of the Earth Church for forbidden experiments and later placed under warrant... If the Earth Church—still intact, if the Great Mother Earth had not yet been eroded—remained relatively stable, then it could be said that they considered Frank to be problematic. However, if the evidence were conclusive, Frank should have perished upon reaching the tribunal. Klein's thoughts raced, as he tried to draw connections based on his understanding of Frank. "There's no issue with the actions themselves—the posture of prayer and the gestures of praise differ from usual. Just as the extraordinary ones of the Night Court don't trace constellations in a clockwise motion over their chests during prayer, at most doing so as a closing gesture... 'Aside from this minor point, Frank has problems everywhere—quite like a child raised by the 'Falling Mother Goddess.' "As thoughts flowed through him, Klein formed two contradictory hypotheses: Either Frank's contamination is subtle enough to elude even the Court of Judgment of the Earth Court, or he has never been influenced by the 'Falling Mother Goddess' at all, merely suffering from a cognitive issue that makes him appear as though he were a favored servant of a divine entity. Regardless of which hypothesis held true, Klein believed the outlook for the future was not promising. He remembered clearly that Frank's breakthrough in his mushroom experiments had been due to the presence of an assistant who held faith in the 'Primordial Moon,' one of the incarnations of the 'Falling Mother Goddess.' " That is to say, from that point on, regardless of whether Frank had any issues prior, he was very likely now under the gaze of the "Falling Mother Goddess." Nothing good about that. "Of course, it's not out of the question that Frank has become so wildly erratic that the 'Falling Mother Goddess' herself has deliberately turned her attention away," Klein mused with a touch of dry humor. Yet this scenario was almost impossible—outer gods' terrifying power and might far exceeded anything comprehensible to half-gods. Klein even questioned whether, had the responses been any more intense, the divine anchors might have been shattered, prompting the gods to launch furious attacks upon one another, ultimately leading to further convergence of their extraordinary traits. In such a case, perhaps the outer gods themselves might have directly destroyed the sun and disrupted the world's ecological balance—how could they possibly withstand the original barrier, let alone a star beyond it? At times, Klein wondered whether the sun observed in astronomy was truly the sun—or whether it might simply be the "Eternal Blaze" hanging there, suspended in place. "Frank's mushrooms so far haven't shown any major issues—I've had them treated in the Ashy Mists. Moreover, the residents of Silver City and the Moon City haven't exhibited any abnormalities. In fact, after leaving the God-Abandoned Lands, they've abandoned mushroom cultivation altogether due to the lack of monster corpses and ample food supply. We need to intensify monitoring!" Kline grew more and more apprehensive. If the "Mother Goddess of Decline"'s ability to penetrate the Primordial Barrier were still limited, Kline doubted that the combination of the "Card of Desecration" and the mushrooms would have already contaminated him, leading to the gradual takeover of the "Source Citadel."—after all, these are items that have simply been left in the Ashy Mists without any special sealing. Compared to the flamboyant "Mother Tree of Desire," the "Mother Goddess of Decline" has proven to be far more formidable, in no small measure! Both the "Gate" gentleman and the Emperor have been silently eroded by her. "Indeed, a being who has lost two extraordinary paths and a primal essence yet still stands at the pinnacle of the Outer Gods...” Kline murmured to himself, pulling out a sheet of paper and pen, ready to compose a reply to the "Hermit" Gautheria. At that moment, he realized the messenger girl had been waiting beside him, never returning to the Plane of Spirits—the four heads with their eight eyes fixed steadily upon him. "What do you think of Frank?" Kline hesitated, then asked, "I mean, beyond his nickname?" "Since Frank Lee always summons Renette Tynicor every time he writes a letter to Germann Sparrow, Caine believes that the highly esteemed messenger has a clear and accurate understanding of the Mushroom King's condition." "Me...," "Also...," "Not...," "Know...," Renette Tynicor's four heads responded in succession. Then, He added: "Body...," "Temporarily...," "Hasn't...," "Been contaminated..." So the spirit—has it been affected? That remains unclear. Indeed, Frank, aside from his relatively lower level, often behaves more like a true divine entity than I do. Caine made a brief comment, then lifted a gold coin, which rang sharply into the air. Through this medium, he swiftly entered the state of 'dream divination.' At the same time, he prepared to activate the 'Source Citadel,' thereby blocking the outer gods' observation. A series of visions unfolded, and Caine witnessed several possible futures. Well, the biggest concern right now is that the devotee of the "Primordial Moon" must be kept separated from Frank—otherwise things will become very troublesome and dangerous... If Frank doesn't come into contact with anything related to the "Fallen Mother Goddess" in the future and fails to achieve semi-divine status, there won't be much of a problem. However, if only one of these two conditions is met, the likelihood of an unexpected event increases significantly. If both are satisfied simultaneously, I simply can't see what kind of development will unfold... Klein regained consciousness and interpreted the results of the divination. Perhaps because Frank himself is still at a relatively low level and hasn't been deeply affected, Klein's divination proceeded smoothly without any danger. He exhaled silently—then, with a soft snap, caught the coin in his hand. Then he noticed the messenger girl's eight red eyes fixed intently on the coin in his palm. Klein raised an eyebrow, expressing his curiosity. "It..." "possesses..." "the Source Keep..." "a presence..." The four golden-haired, red-eyed heads of Reniet Tini科尔 moved up and down in succession. Is this one of the five coins I often use for divination, now imbued with the essence of the Source Keep? In that case, it has, to some extent, become a magical item—though its effects will gradually diminish over time... Klein carefully examined the coin in his hand, making a general assessment based on his intuitive spiritual sense. This coin enhances the accuracy of divination and strengthens the user's ability to resist disturbances. For Klein, this proved to be a pleasant surprise—he now decided to rely on the coin's physical form rather than its historical projections. He retrieved the coin and wrote a reply letter to the Lady of the Hidden Ones, delivering it to her through Reniet Tini科尔. …After giving a gold coin to the messenger of Germain Spalro, "General of the Stars" Gardeleia unfolded the parchment and swiftly scanned the letter. Upon finishing, she felt an unexpected weight settle upon her shoulders. With no delay, she drew out another sheet of paper and wrote: