Another reference to that "Grade-0 Sealed Artifact"... What kind of grudge did it have against the Sauron family, to engineer their downfall through such elaborate "plots" until a once-angelic family lay in ruin, and Roselle swooped in to benefit...?
Well, it wasn't all its doing—the Sauron family was already declining on its own…
And what's this "Genie's Lamp"? "Civilization Enlightener"… that name sounds like a high Sequence title within the Knowledge pathway. To kill an angel, even if they were mad, you'd still need to reach Sequence 2 at the very least, or perhaps even Sequence 1!
An artifact capable of elevating someone to Sequence 2 or Sequence 1, even just for a day, is terrifying. It seems even more fearsome than 0-08.
With this unsettling thought, Klein reached for the third diary page from "The Tower." This one contained mundane gripes from Roselle about bad food, inconvenient living conditions, and limited entertainment… until he got to the final paragraph:
"April 1st, a day for 'fooling' others. Today I invented the world's first flush toilet, finishing it with a layer of gold leaf on the exterior and decorative carvings to disguise its true purpose...
"I then invited my family and friends to come to admire it. Some thought it was a handwashing basin, others believed it to be for washing their feet…
"And that fool Florent even considered drinking from it…
"Hahahaha, I can only imagine the look on their faces when I finally bring this to market!
"This was the happiest 'April Fools' I've had since my arrival here, though no one else knows of the day's significance…
"Well, I did secretly share it with my little princess, Bernadette. Then she sternly scolded me, in her serious little voice, telling me it was wrong to trick others.
"My little princess, your father knows it's wrong… but it makes him happy."
Holding the parchment, Klein had so many thoughts that he didn't know where to start, so he simply adjusted his posture and managed to keep the other Tarot members from noticing his shoulders subtly shaking with laughter.
Naturally, Mr. Tower was the exception.
Ebner knew the exact moment Klein had finished reading and was likely struggling to suppress his amusement.
In all honesty, when he'd first read that diary page, Ebner had also been speechless, firmly convinced that Roselle would have been perfect for the Hunter Pathway. If he had chosen "Red Priest" instead of forcing himself to jump Sequences, it might have been enough to resolve the pollution from the Outer Deities—after all, if the forces from Bansi are any indication, the "Red Priest" seems to be just as corrupted by the power of the "City of Calamity." Then pollution versus pollution… might yield a positive result…
Alright, maybe that's just a joke, but Ebner did ponder the connection between the concept of "pollution" and the unusual properties of the Sauron family's Sealed Artifact, theorizing that it might also be "contaminated" by the power of a certain "Essence," which could explain why it "came to life" and began using dream-based abilities.
It's even possible the Sauron family's angel's "madness" was somehow related…
While lost in thought, Ebner suddenly heard Mr. Fool's voice, saying with a slight smile, "You are free to communicate among yourselves."
Klein had managed to settle himself and allowed the parchment in his hand to disintegrate.
The moment Klein spoke, Derrick the Sun raised his hand, saying:
"Mr. World, the Beyonder weapon you provided surpassed my expectations. I've already saved enough contributions to exchange for the necessary materials and ascend to Sequence 8. In the next two days, I'll hire help with the remaining contributions to retrieve the real root and sap of the Misted Treant... Oh, and I've obtained the Bloodthirsty Grass for you, which I can give to you after today's meeting."
He provided a detailed report, anxious to avoid any doubts about his trustworthiness.
Of course, Derrick was entirely sincere. Though the axe hadn't perfectly matched his expectations for a Beyonder weapon, it was immensely powerful and quickly became one of his favorites.
In Silver City, power alone was enough to earn admiration! The pressing darkness and monsters in the depths had forced each generation to live by that rule.
The potency of the Storm Axe had drawn interest from others, such as Ms. Antelina, who had once traded the "Thousand Skills Illusion Crystal" for the "Wolf Armor." She wanted to acquire the Storm Axe for her husband Dolores, but Derrick, now the proud owner of a weapon he loved, wouldn't part with it.
Fortunately, Silver City's culture was straightforward, with no infighting, so despite her disappointment, Ms. Antelina didn't pester him or attempt to forcibly acquire it.
Returning to the topic at hand, after listening to Derrick, World, through Klein's control, nodded slightly and said, "Good."
Then he looked around and asked in his raspy voice:
"Ladies and gentlemen, does anyone have leads on the Marrow of the Shadow Leopard and the Mistletoe Crystal from the Elf Fountain?"
With no success at the abandoned hospital's Beyonder gathering, Audrey, Miss Justice, shook her head, while Alger the Hanged Man considered for a few seconds and mentioned the upcoming "Pirate Conference." He believed there was a high chance that both the Shadow Leopard's marrow and the Elf Fountain's mistletoe crystal might appear at the event, but he wanted to know what World could offer in return.
Klein hesitated for a moment. With Justice's monthly contribution in pounds, minus the 1000 pounds given to his "bodyguard" and the 600 pounds for Confession, he still had 1400 pounds, though after his additional investment in Inventor Raphael's "bicycles" today, he had spent another 200 pounds, leaving him with 1200.
That amount could be enough for the materials if they sold at standard prices... but for rare items like these, they usually came with a markup. Adding in the Hanged Man's "brokerage" fee, it might not be enough...
After some thought, Klein first tempted Alger with a partial formula for "Unshadowed," which he'd divined from the Eternal Blazing Sun.
With Mr. Tower's input on the extent of the All-Knowing and All-Powerful domain, the Hanged Man was aware of his potential path to the Darkless One. Yet, he still had no need for it, as his focus remained firmly on the Catastrophe Priest.
Seeing his determined attitude, Klein offered him knowledge of a Sequence 0 instead.
In the last Tarot meeting, Mr. Tower had shared information about the Black Emperor and Sequence 0, but that had been limited to a private conversation with Justice. Ms. Judgment might have heard about it afterward, but the Hanged Man definitely hadn't.
To avoid raising suspicion from Justice and Tower, Klein temporarily shielded the other members, only leaving Fool as a witness to "certify" the exchange between World's knowledge and the materials.
Ebner, watching Hanged Man Alger slowly fall into Klein's rhythm, amused himself by recalling random topics to distract himself and hide his own amusement, lest Klein notice something odd.
Half a minute later, after reading the new piece of parchment that had mysteriously appeared, Alger stared in shock and muttered, his disbelief turning into delight:
"I see…
"I understand now! I understand what it meant!"
Taking a deep breath, he leaned back in his seat as if nothing had happened.
If he thinks it was worth it, then it really was worth it. Ebner cast a glance his way, thinking to himself.
Whatever the secret was, it had to be incredible... Alger's reaction was uncharacteristically candid... Across from him, Audrey cast a wistful look Alger's way, then turned her gaze diagonally toward Derrick, asking:
"Mr. Sun, I remember you mentioned that Silver City has the Sequence 9, Sequence 8, and Sequence 7 formulas for the Dragon pathway?"
"Yes." Derrick nodded earnestly. "The Sequence 7 formula is called 'Psyche Analyst.'"
"What would I need to do to obtain them?" Audrey asked demurely.
"The Sequence 7 formula of the Sun pathway," Derrick replied without hesitation.
Justice Audrey nodded slightly. "I'll do my best to collect it."
At this moment, Judgment Xio suddenly spoke up: "I have the formula for Solar High Priest."
She'd obtained it from an Intis spy during an interrogation in the MI9 dungeon. The benefits of such work, combined with the motivation from Ebner's advancement to Sequence 6, kept her working down there, despite the irritating nickname she'd acquired.
Ebner had been wondering whether to sell the formula so soon, but seeing Xio take the initiative, he decided to let her proceed.
After all, he couldn't very well compete with his best friend. Besides, while MI9 could provide Xio with the Judge formula, she'd still need to procure the potion's ingredients herself… so her funds were likely running low.
At Xio's words, both Audrey and Derrick's eyes brightened, and they spoke in unison:
"Miss Judgment, what would you like in return?"