Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 265 The Name of a General
At this moment, Roger looked at Zeus with the same gaze as the others.

"...I'll emphasize again, I have no grudges against that 'Star General,' so please stop coming up with such strange names."

To be precise, her mother and I are still friends...

Roger's expression was rather helpless.

Finally, Philip, the first mate of the "Star Lord" who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up:

"I have a great idea. How about calling it 'Galactic Admiral'?"
"The name is simple and easy to understand, and it is of a higher rank than 'General of the Stars,' sounding more grand. In a broad sense, 'Galaxy' can refer to the universe."

"Wow, after hearing this name, I feel like I'm not a shepherd, but a Transformer."

Roger couldn't help but complain.

But then, amidst the puzzled gazes of the others, he waved his hand:

"I think this name is fine. Let's use it for now. If it doesn't suit us, we can change it later."

Although the name is a bit too flamboyant, it has to be said that it sounds very powerful.

Especially in today's world where most people are illiterate, the name "Admiral of the Galaxy" immediately gives people the feeling that they have attended university.

Soon, as the "secret" status automatically disappeared, Roger, standing on the deck, saw Longtail Island not far away.

Compared to the "generous city" of Bayam, Longtail Island is far inferior in terms of resources and intelligence network, but it is also less constrained by laws and authorities.

Therefore, Roger did not deliberately require his fleet to disguise its ships, but simply sailed the ships into the dock in a swaggering manner.

Seeing such a large fleet arrive, many people in the dock area stared wide-eyed.

Because the size of this fleet was clearly not that of an ordinary merchant fleet, nor did it resemble warships, and considering their overall paint scheme and the armor clearly designed to defend against artillery fire, many people immediately thought of pirates.

Longtail Island wasn't previously free of pirate ships, but due to the influence of the Church of the "Lord of the Storm" there, even pirates on the bounty list had to keep a low profile when they came to replenish their supplies.

Such an undisguised and swaggering entry into the harbor is rare even in the entire history of Nagao Island.

However, Roger had thought this through very thoroughly. First, he had not openly flown a pirate flag, and second, Ophina King was the only wanted pirate in his fleet.

However, compared to those who are notorious and extremely harmful, Ophina is not particularly outstanding in terms of either fame or the amount of the bounty.

Furthermore, the "Moon" had already undergone secret modifications at an illegal ship repair shop, so even the Storm Church and the military did not have the legal authority to search them.

Furthermore, since Roger specifically delivered Bratov's head to the governor's mansion before leaving Bayam, obtained the bounty through Luna's coordination, and split it with his crew as agreed beforehand, it can be said that he not only did not break any laws, but also had the merit of eliminating a major pirate.

It can be said that, although there is no guarantee that things will remain the same in the future, Roger is currently completely innocent.

So he planned to take this opportunity to advertise his fleet, especially to promote the names "Star Fleet" and "Galactic Admiral".

Roger assigned this task to Zeus and Jennifer, who both possessed the "Dawn Gauntlets." Zeus was rather flamboyant and liked to boast, while Jennifer had a network of connections and was more composed than Zeus. Therefore, the two complemented each other in their collaboration.

In addition, there was the recruitment of the first batch of personnel for the fleet.

Roger entrusted this task to Dionysius and Matteo—the former, after a few days of reflection, is now gradually accepting his new identity.

Considering that he was the former first mate of the "Musketeer," possessed considerable skills, and was not the kind of stubborn person, Roger gradually began to delegate some of the existing management affairs on the "Mars" to Dionysius, while Matteo led a group of sailors, playing the role of assistant and supervisor.

Fortunately, Dionysius is doing a good job so far. Even Deleuze, who had previously refused to cooperate with Roger, has started doing some physical labor under Dionysius's influence and is generally more peaceful and compliant than before.

As for Philip and Lindsay, they were assigned to design and procure a batch of flags for the fleet. Roger did not impose too many restrictions on the specific requirements, only saying that they needed to be generous and straightforward, and not look too sinister.

Ophina, due to her sensitive status, was temporarily left on the Moon by Roger to work with Lupin to plan the personnel structure in advance, including making room for new crew members and compiling a list of supplies, food and beverages that needed to be purchased.

It must be said that the amount of supplies needed for an eight-ship fleet is astonishing. If Roger didn't have the bounties of three great pirates and the spoils he had previously seized from the "Twilight Fleet," it would have been really difficult to gather the first batch of supplies.

This made him think about how to create some revenue-generating business for the fleet. He couldn't really be like a pirate and plunder passing merchant ships and passenger ships, could he?

Roger had previously considered exploring some secret islands and treasures at sea, which was interesting, but wouldn't bring a stable cash flow.

To ensure the financial security of the entire fleet, he can currently think of several ways.

The first type is assisting the government and some private companies in salvaging sunken ships—in fact, this business may sound a bit niche, but the market demand is extremely strong.

Although steam technology is now widespread, the vast majority of ships traveling on the seas are still made of wood, and not all of them are equipped with steam turbines.

In addition, the frequent occurrence of storms and reefs at sea means that shipwrecks and sinkings happen all the time. This has led to the emergence of ship salvage services – because both valuable cargo and dead people are worth salvaging.

More importantly, these salvage operations are often based on a percentage of the value of the sunken cargo. As long as the client can afford it, Roger's crew of "sailors" with exceptional skills can be deployed to the job at any time.

The second option is relatively dangerous, but market demand is equally strong.

That is to escort or even transport goods for the government or some commercial transportation companies, protecting them from harassment by pirates or even hostile countries.

This kind of work is relatively simple, and Roger's fleet is undoubtedly powerful. As long as he can establish enough reputation in one or two escort missions, subsequent missions will become much easier.

Roger could even assist the military and the church in transporting some of the more precious sealed artifacts, even if it was extremely dangerous.

Considering the unique spaces behind the doors on the "Star Lord," sealing those magical items safely wouldn't be difficult; even Philip could perform the operation safely.

Of course, this requires sufficient connections and reputation, but it can still be listed as one of the medium-term development goals.

The third option is relatively more dangerous.

That is, Roger could directly hunt down some famous pirates, such as the "Undead King" Agarito, and after plundering the resources and wealth on their ships, he could then go to various countries to exchange them for bounties.

Of course, this requires a certain opportunity, and it will be relatively easier in the early stages. However, after he hunts down one or two pirates, the remaining pirates will inevitably become more vigilant. Therefore, in the long run, this matter will gradually evolve into a long-term task.

However, it must be said that Roger felt much less pressure after having more than a hundred people. He only needed to have a plan for the future development of the fleet, and the specific implementation could be left to his first mate, second mate and the captains of each ship. Although the organization was more difficult to manage, the overall workload was reduced because of the abundance of manpower.

So, while waiting on Longtail Island, Roger's life was quite leisurely, and time quickly passed to Monday afternoon at three o'clock.

As the rust-colored starlight shone once more, Roger once again sat atop the "Source Castle" and met his colleagues from the "Tarot Society."

"This is……"

Roger looked around and quickly spotted a new member.

The member sat next to "The Magician" Fors Wall, with an eye inside a triangle engraved on the high-backed chair behind him, emitting a faint purple glow.

"The extraordinary one who glimpses the secrets... must be Cattleya?"

Roger had just been discussing the "Star Admiral" with others on his ship, never expecting to encounter him so soon.

This "mysterious queen" Bernadette's adopted daughter, a Sequence 5 "astrologer," likely came to the "Source Castle" and received protection because she recently encountered the eerie "Knowledge Chaser" of the evil god "Hidden Sage," who was uniquely activated through the "Hermit" pathway. At a crucial moment, she recited "The Fool's" command and was thus protected.

Alger the Hanged Man also noticed "Admiral" Cattleya. Like Roger, he immediately recognized the woman in front of him as "Admiral".

Not for any other reason than that he had seen Cattleya in person at the pirate convention a few months ago!

At that time, Cattleya was dressed in the same way: a long black dress embroidered with intricate patterns, and a pair of slightly purplish eyes visible beneath her black hair.

All of these characteristics fit the description of "Admiral of the Stars"—when Alger first met her, the scattered starlight inexplicably created a long, illusory bridge between the sailboats and the island where the gathering took place, and Cattleya, dressed in a black wizard's robe with an astrolabe and a short scepter hanging from her waist, floated on it and landed on the ground in a strange manner.

This scene greatly shocked Alger, so he had a very deep impression of Cattleya.

On the other hand, the planetarium hanging on Cattleya's body was very similar to the strange, weather-bottle-like thing that Alger had obtained earlier, which had mysteriously broken after he was pulled into Mr. Fool's party.

Almost all members of the "Tarot Club" currently pray through prayer or by means of similar things connected to the "Source Castle," but Roger is the only exception.

In fact, the Abraham family, as an angelic family that has long controlled the complete "gate" pathway and a ducal family of the Fourth Age, also possesses many strange items related to the "Celestial Venerable".

When Roger left his home, he had made a point of bringing a similar item in his bag, but before he could form a close connection with it, he was pulled into the "Source Castle" by Klein and became Mr. "Wheel of Fate".

At first, he didn't pay much attention to it, but later, when Geheros's source material began to interact with the "Source Castle," he realized that it was possible that when he first met Klein and received that penny coin from him, the two source materials had already formed an indescribable high-level connection.

Actually, there was something else that made Roger feel a little uneasy.

That is, Roger originally just made up a "stray cat protection association" for fun, just to predict Klein's future. In the end, he actually adopted a tabby cat that later embarked on the "door" path, and even actually established a "stray animal protection association".

It's hard to say that all of this isn't preordained in some way.

However, Alger the Hanged Man still couldn't be sure of his judgment, because when Admiral Cattleya appeared, she was wearing a pair of glasses, but for some reason, those glasses were no longer on her. "Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."

Miss Justice naturally noticed Cattleya's presence. While feeling somewhat pleased, she still greeted everyone present in the order of the Major Arcana of the Tarot.

Similar to Alger the Hanged Man, Cattleya was also quietly observing everyone present as Miss Justice greeted her.

The purple light in her eyes flowed slowly as she carefully analyzed everyone present through the insightful power of her "Eye of Secrets."

She sensed that Alger, the "Hanged Man," was an extraordinary being from the Church of Storms by observing his hair color and the robes of the Church of Storms Lord. She also guessed that Mr. World might be an extraordinary being through a similar path as Senor, the "Blood General," and Maiviti, the "Iron General," by observing his gloomy demeanor and non-human characteristics.

In addition, she deduced that Emlyn was a vampire by the color of "Moon's" eyes and the priestess's robes of the Earth Mother Goddess, and she deduced that Miss "Magician" was a lazy bum by her clothes and temperament.

As for the lady who kept greeting people without a code name, she spoke with a standard Backlund accent typical of nobles, a fact confirmed by her expensive and exquisite clothing and dazzling array of gemstones and precious metal ornaments.

Only Derrick the Sun and Roger the Wheel of Fortune remain somewhat enigmatic to Cattleya.

Although "Sun" was a young man, he was dressed in a rare style of clothing that looked very tight and old-fashioned, seemingly suitable for fighting. She couldn't tell anything else about him.

As for Mr. "Wheel of Fortune," he is even stranger.

Judging from Roger's shoulder width, she could tell that he was a tall man, and from his demeanor, Cattleya could sense a casual air... or rather, a certain boldness.

However, the other person was wearing a beige trench coat that perfectly suited the characteristics of a Ruen gentleman, and his hands were smooth and delicate without a single callus, clearly indicating that he was a young master from a good family.

This undoubtedly created a strange contrast, and what surprised Cattleya the most was that this man made her instinctively feel an extreme sense of danger.

This is not a danger in the mystical sense, but rather a sense of oppression radiating from within, based on strength and insight.

Cattleya had only ever felt this way with her mother, the "mysterious queen" Bernadette!
This is truly a gathering befitting Mr. Fool… It not only involves the power of two major churches, but also includes such a powerful extraordinary being…

As Cattleya was analyzing the situation, she suddenly heard Miss "Justice" ask:
"Excuse me, who is this lady...?"

Caldelia was prepared; she nodded slightly and spoke in a low voice:
"The Hermit."

Cattleya was very cautious; she used Old Fussak instead of the more familiar Intis and Rune.

She also mentioned the detail that the rally would begin at 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon, Backlund time, as informed by Mr. Fool.

Based on this, the "hermit" lady deduced that the vast majority of the people attending the gathering here were Runes—which is understandable, since at this moment she was still completely unaware of the "simultaneous interpretation" function of the "Source Castle".

Good afternoon, Ms. Hermit.

Miss Justice smiled and said, "Justice."

This is her self-introduction.

In that instant, "Justice" Audrey also observed many of the characteristics of the "Hermit" lady and her lip movements, such as her rich experience in the extraordinary world, her cautious personality, and her keen observation skills, which most likely indicated that she was an extraordinary person who leaned towards the mysterious path.

But at that moment, the "magician" lady suddenly spoke up:

“Respected Mr. ‘Fool,’ I have obtained two pages of Emperor Roselle’s diary for you.”

Roselle the Great's...diary?
The Hermit, Cattleya's pupils dilated instantly, and she immediately turned to look at Mr. Fool.

People say that Emperor Roselle had many notebooks that have been passed down through the ages, and that these notebooks were written in a special script that Roselle created himself, but Cattleya knows that this is all a misconception.

Her mother, the "Mysterious Queen" Bernadette, once told her that it was the diary of Emperor Roselle, not a notebook—a diary that only Emperor Roselle could understand in the entire world.

"Can Mr. 'Fool' decipher the diary of Emperor Roselle...?"

It has to be said that when the "Hermit" Cattleya attended the Tarot meeting for the first time, she felt as if she had been hit hard in the heart.

What kind of organization is this...?

But soon, as Mr. Fool obtained the two pages of the diary and began to read them, Cattleya realized that she still did not understand the situation.

Judging from Mr. Fool's actions, it was not "interpretation," but reading!

He recognizes those characters; he can understand them!

Meanwhile, Klein, the Fool, at the bronze table, naturally sensed the turmoil in the Hermit's heart—in fact, it was something he had deliberately created.

He wanted to see how the members of the "Morse Ascetic Order," who possessed a great deal of knowledge, would react, but Cattleya's reaction was still far greater than he had imagined.

Although Klein felt a little strange, he remained calm and continued to look at the diaries.

April 9th.

"One woman, one woman, and another woman. I have never felt that women are so boring."

"It's an endless, disgusting emptiness, hollowness, and numbness."

"Roselle, you can't go on like this. I have to get rid of this degenerate state!"
"Also, I must remind myself not to habitually write Arabic numerals in my usual places..."

This self-reflection... is it from Emperor Russell?
Klein's heart pounded as he read it, then he turned to the second page of the diary.

"April 11th, I'm really looking forward to it. Countess Valin just invited me to a private party, and she said that Lady Julia will also be attending."

"She's a conservative blonde beauty who married into the family from Loen... To be honest, I've been fantasizing about her for a long time, and I hope her husband, Viscount Delien, won't mind..."

"Typo..."

While mentally criticizing Emperor Roselle's careless actions and so-called "reflection," Klein looked at the last entry in the diary.

"April 14th... Even with my 'archaeologist' physique, I felt my strength failing me..."

“Although I am still young, I must guard against the risk of decline in this area, Russell, you must exercise restraint!”

"Speaking of which, I seem to know a pharmacist who can concoct potions with corresponding magical effects..."

After that, Emperor Roselle actually began to explore philosophical questions, such as where he came from and where he was going, and what the nature of the world was.

Klein suddenly felt like he was reading a collection of Intis jokes; the saying "a wolf before the battle, a philosopher afterward" couldn't be more fitting.

Overall, these two diaries didn't give him much knowledge, but they provided Klein with immense emotional value.

He put down the papers in his hand with considerable pleasure and said calmly:

"You can start."

Having received permission from Mr. Fool, Mr. Hanged Man immediately looked at Roger and asked:
"'Wheel of Fortune,' according to my intelligence, 'Twilight General' Ivan Blatov has been eliminated. Was this your doing?"

Ivan Bratov? That "Twilight General" with the support of the Vladivostok government?

The Hermit, Cattleya, was once again shocked. She had heard some rumors before, but she never expected them to be true.

After all, the extraordinary beings of the Church of the Lord of Storms wouldn't lie about something like this.

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," nodded and then smiled slightly:

"Exactly.

"In addition, from now on, I will have a new name."

"What name?"

"The Hanged Man," Alger said with some suspicion.

"'Galactic Admiral'".

Roger answered, enunciating each word clearly.

"'Galactic Admiral'? That sounds a bit like the superior of 'Star Admiral'..."

Cattleya paused for a moment, a strange thought popping into her mind.

"Are you coming for me?"

(End of this chapter)