"Tower" is Ebner's code name, and the owner here is The Fool… Could it be a secret organization that uses the tarot card as its code name? And the leader of the organization is a god?
Xio counted the number of seats on both sides of the long table. After two seconds of silence, she said,
"Honorable Mr. Fool, can I join like him?"
Thankfully, I became a Clown… Sequence 8. Otherwise, I really wouldn't be able to afford the cost of you joining…
Klein secretly rejoiced as he leisurely chuckled.
"This is a gathering they organized themselves. It's organized by me.
"There are still seats available at the moment. You can join."
As he spoke, Klein smiled and pointed at the cards that suddenly appeared on the surface of the long bronze table. "They've decided to use the names of the tarot cards as their code names. You can choose one of them. The ones below already have an owner, so you can't choose…"
He had chosen Miss Xio to join the Tarot Club after some consideration. Firstly, through a few "live-streams" and "Recording" observations, he was certain that Xio was a kind, upright, and principle-oriented lady. Apart from often causing unnecessary trouble for Mr. Fool in the middle of the night, her character was trustworthy.
Second, Miss Xio is a spy from MI9, and she's very famous in Backlund's East Borough and the dock area. By joining, she can expand the intelligence support and resources of the Tarot Club. If he were to leave Tingen one day and head to Backlund, Miss Xio would be of great help to him.
Third, and most importantly, joining the Tarot Club was Miss Xio's own wish, and she wasn't forced. As an "evil god" during her entrepreneurship, she naturally had no reason to refuse.
After receiving the tarot cards that had been conjured, Xio didn't ask or speak further. She immediately took one out and flipped it over.
Her card depicted an angel with a trumpet and the deceased awaiting redemption.
The Judgment card!
Looking at the Judgment card in her hand, Xio was taken aback.
"This is in line with my expectations."
Shrouded in the gray fog, The Fool Klein nodded slightly and calmly said,
"Backlund time, gather here at three in the afternoon on Mondays. Make preparations in advance.
"At the gathering, you can exchange information, ingredients, formulas, and knowledge. You can also pay a certain price to entrust missions to other members."
Xio thought back to Ebner's work and rest and said in enlightenment,
"Yes, Mr. Fool."
"Alright, you can go back now." Klein felt the fatigue brought about by his lack of spirituality, so he didn't speak further.
Xio immediately stood up and bowed according to the descriptions in the religious rituals.
"Your wish is my wish."
Just as she said that, dark redness soared in front of her. By the time everything dissipated, she had already returned to the real world and was lying in bed with Ebner.
Subconsciously looking at her arm, she realized that the black spots had vanished. Xio sat up and saw that Ebner was sitting on a chair in front of her desk, smiling at her.
Xio looked around and realized that the room had been sealed by spirituality. Hence, she pursed her lips and didn't beat around the bush. She went straight to the point. "Ebner, are you Mr. Tower from that gathering?"
"Yes, that's the Tarot Gathering organized by Mr. Fool." Ebner nodded and explained. Then, he looked at Xio, who seemed to have thought of something, and he said with a smile, "I guess you also received your code name. Is it Judgment?"
"You guessed it again…" Xio sighed when she heard that. She asked with a complicated expression, "So, you were the one who arranged the Feast of Blood in the study during the banquet?"
"That's right. I recommended you to Mr. Fool, but some of the necessary tests are indispensable. Therefore, you need to establish a connection with Mr. Fool… Don't worry. That existence isn't an evil god. Instead, it's very benevolent and just. Besides, the Tarot Club is indeed a very good gathering. Your Interrogator main ingredient was bought from Mr. Hanged Man."
Since he had joined the Tarot Club, there was no need for him to hide this from Xio. After discussing what had happened at the Tarot Club, he finally concluded in a profound manner, "In short, with Mr. Fool's help, there's hope for the matter you wish to complete!"
Upon hearing this, Xio's eyes widened as she said in surprise, "According to your description, Mr. Fool is an important figure that's almost like a god. But having the support of such an existence is only hope?"
Ebner nodded solemnly and said, "That's also why I haven't told you the whole story."
"Do I have the right to know something only after becoming a demigod?" Xio recalled what Ebner had said when they were traveling together. She muttered to herself, "Father actually got embroiled in such a terrifying matter?!"
"Although he didn't delve deep into it, the level of the matter he discovered is indeed very high," Ebner said with certainty.
Xio exhaled and reined in her emotions. She then asked worriedly, "You… What price did you pay to get Mr. Fool to save me? I can help you share some of the burden."
"It's nothing. I just promised to collect ten pages of Roselle's diary for free for Mr. Fool in the next few Tarot Gatherings," Ebner replied with a smile. There was no hint of embarrassment in his tone.
For a mere ten pages of Roselle's diary, if he were to give up his integrity and randomly piece together some random code, it wouldn't take more than half an hour.
"Roselle's diary? Those Roselle manuscripts? Those are diary pages? Mr. Fool is collecting them? Wait…" Xio suddenly thought of Miss Audrey's penchant for Roselle's manuscripts. She suddenly looked at Ebner and asked hesitantly, "Could Miss Audrey also be…?"
Ebner replied with a smile, "When you told me that the lady was also collecting Roselle's manuscript, I guessed that she was Justice from the Tarot Club…"
"I remember that you sold the two pages to Miss Audrey through me… Could it be that you were testing me? Did you finally confirm it?" Xio asked thoughtfully.
Although that makes sense, I really didn't have any intention of testing Justice's identity back then…
After muttering to himself, Ebner said in all seriousness, "Justice did hand over two pages of the diary at that Tarot Gathering… However, I can confirm that her identity is actually a commission for the investigation of Vice-Admiral Hurricane."
The commission to investigate Qilangos also came from the Tarot Club? Xio quickly reacted. She never expected that she would unknowingly be deeply involved with the Tarot Club. Could this be Mr. Fool's observation and test of her?
"That's the investigation Mr. Hanged Man entrusted to Miss Justice…" Ebner simply recounted the details of the request to Xio.
"So, you were just fooling us with your reasoning about Qilangos's identity the other day? After that incident, Fors would always say that she was struck down by you and lost her spiritual perception, even though I know that it was just an excuse for her to delay writing…" Xio couldn't help but lampoon. After some thought, she asked Abna,
"Then, does Miss Audrey know of your identity?"
Ebner thought for a moment and felt that he should've been completely exposed to Klein, but Audrey and Alger were temporarily unable to associate themselves as detectives with the knowledgeable Mr. Tower. Hence, he replied, "She likely doesn't know."
"Then… when heading to Mr. Fool's palace, can you… disguise your height?" Xio asked with a conflicted expression.
After all, if I were to be recognized, it would probably be difficult for you to hide your identity.
After a moment's thought, he guessed what Xio was worried about. Hence, he said with a smile, "It's likely only our Soul Bodies that have stepped into Mr. Fool's kingdom… Yes, more accurately, it's our Astral Projection. Therefore, our image comes from our understanding of ourselves. It's about what clothes you wear in real life, and what clothes you wear in the hall above the gray fog."
This is proven by how everyone wears their clothes during every meeting. If it's just a pure mental image, I'm afraid we'll be seeing each other naked…
"That makes things easier…" Xio heaved a sigh of relief.
As he looked at her relaxed expression, he kindly reminded her, "Miss Audrey is already a Spectator. To fool her, you'll probably have to put in a lot more effort."
Miss Audrey was actually a Beyonder long ago? That's right. With the mysterious Tarot Club gathering as her backer, how could she lack formulas and ingredients… She had previously gotten Fors and me to bring her into the various Beyonder circles, probably to find a suitable excuse for herself to become a Beyonder.
Despite having such thoughts, Xio wasn't too worried. She was very confident in her disguise skills. As long as her height wasn't exposed, she felt that Miss Audrey, who she had only met a few times, wouldn't be able to recognize her.
Seeing how confident she was, Ebner couldn't help but think mischievously,
According to the past few Tarot Gatherings, Audrey seemed to be the same as before, trying to pull Xio and Fors into the Tarot Club…
Then here comes the question: What kind of mood does Miss Audrey have when she realizes her "arrangement" one day?
What kind of expression would Miss Audrey have when she eventually learned the truth?
Thinking about it makes me look forward to it…
Just as Ebner was lost in his fantasies and Xio was deep in thought, the wall of spirituality that sealed the room was suddenly stirred.
After regaining his senses and sensing for a moment, he realized that it was Jane who was knocking on the door. Only then did he remove the seal…
Then, he saw three ladies enter.