"..."
"..."
'What happened?' Derrick noted uncomfortably as a tense, thick silence covered the bronze table and the rest of the members.
He looked at Justice and noticed how she had tensed and frozen for a few moments, the same with the Hanged Man.
'Is it really just a small problem to react like this?' Derrick thought suspiciously as he narrowed his eyes at Chariot.
'If it really is, it's not small…' Derrick glanced discreetly at the figure in the seat of honor.
The Fool just had a small smile, his posture calm and unshakable.
This immediately relaxed Derrick and he just looked around in confusion.
'If it's a problem that doesn't bother Mr. Fool then there's nothing to worry about.' Derrick thought, losing almost all interest in the subject.
"Mr. Fool, would you like this to be a private chat or for the other members to listen to us?" Adryan asked calmly, his tone unhurried and polite.
Klein immediately narrowed his eyes as his eyebrow twitched.
'Little problem you say? Bastard we are talking about a large-scale ritual to an Evil God! What part of it is small?!' Klein thought with annoyance at Chariot but putting that aside, he thought of the man's strange request.
'Why would Chariot offer to do a private chat? Is there something that is not appropriate to say? Something dangerous?'
'No, it can't be that. If it was that dangerous then he would have requested a private talk directly instead of asking my opinion on it. There is something else...'
After weighing the risks for a few seconds, Klein gently shook his head.
"Let's chat normally. With more minds, we might even come up with unexpected solutions."
Adryan nodded at The Fool's words.
"Regarding the information from a few days ago, I managed to obtain several important details."
'Information from a few days ago? When did Mr.Chariot...Oh! I almost forgot! Mr.Chariot will surely pray to Mr. Fool and report any progress in the investigation.' Audrey thought, remembering what Chariot had said a few weeks ago.
'I wonder how the investigation on the Blessed Fool's side is going...' The noblewoman thought worriedly as she put a hand to her chest.
'Goddess please let this not end in a tragedy.' she prayed internally.
Klein nodded to Chariot's words without saying anything but feeling very curious to know what the man had obtained.
Adryan smiled mysteriously and said.
"It seems that the skull they used for the ritual belonged to the direct Son of someone with whom you are very familiar."
'Someone Mr. Fool is familiar with?' Everyone present thought in surprise and looked at The Fool with stunned expressions.
As soon as Chariot finished speaking, Klein regretted his decision and wanted with all his might to smack his head against the bronze table for his stupidity.
'Why the fuck didn't I choose the private chat?!!!'
Because the revelation had been unexpected, Klein had frozen and thanks to this he had not shown any abnormality that would have attracted the attention of the rest of the members.
Discreetly making the grayish-white fog around him thicker, Klein smiled and said calmly and mysteriously.
"So is it that..."
He didn't delve into what Chariot had said or ask about it.
He had no idea what the man was talking about.
'If it's someone I'm familiar with then Chariot must refer to someone familiar to the Antigonus Family Ancestor, The Half-Fool...'
Klein felt his heart heavy.
'I knew dealing with this wouldn't be easy but this? What kind of monster am I going to face?'
While Klein thought about what to do, Adryan continued.
"Although there is something very curious Mr. Fool. It seems that the state of this person is very bad, horrible even."
The redhead then let out a disappointed sigh.
"For someone as great as 'Him' to sink so low is a true tragedy. 'His' current strength does not even touch the shadow of what 'His' Peak touched."
Klein's pupils narrowed.
'Him'?!
'Is my old friend a great existence? And what do you mean that 'His' condition is horrible?'
Klein discreetly glanced at Justice in the hope that the noblewoman's curiosity would save him again.
"..."
No matter how curious Audrey is, she wasn't stupid. If it was a matter personally related to Mr. Fool she didn't dare offend him to satisfy her curiosity.
'Don't meddle in God's business...' Alger thought, not inquiring into the subject at all.
Derrick was more lost than before, not understanding anything that was happening.
Seeing how silent Justice was, Klein wailed deeply.
'This is what happens when you're dependent on someone else…I really need a Smurf account…' Holding back a sigh, Klein nodded at Chariot's words.
"Mr.Fool your blessed one won't have to worry about meeting 'Him'. The last sighting was several centuries ago and he may well have left Tingen so your Blessed can investigate Lamud Town in peace."
The Blessed who was actually Klein almost let out a huge sigh of relief and had to suppress the desire to sink into his chair and cry with joy.
'You should have started with that! I was so afraid of meeting an ancient monster that in the end it was in vain!'
But before Klein could continue to gloat, Adryan said something that chilled him.
"Honestly I'm surprised. The Death Consul was originally thought to have died over a thousand years ago but it turns out that 'He' had gone into hiding. Hehe I think that makes sense, someone as special as 'Him' wouldn't die so easily."
Silence filled the Hall of the Giants again.
'Death Consul...'
The mere thought of the title of this existence made a chill go up the spine of those present.
Klein felt his leg shake and he wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation and the fury he felt burning in his heart.
He wanted to suffocate Chariot with all his might.
'But say something else Damn! I'm not the Ancestor of the Antigonus Family so I don't have the slightest fucking idea who the Death Consul is! How do you want me to investigate this with peace of mind knowing that something with that title could be out there!' Klein on the outside remained immovable and imperturbable but on the inside he exploded in curses and insults.
But again demonstrating his incredible and ridiculous ability to control himself, Klein gave Chariot a small smile and nodded slightly.
"Thank you for your information, Mr. Chariot. Is there anything else you want to report, Mr. Chariot?" He asked calmly and Adryan shook his head.
"That's all Mr. Fool. I hope this helps your Blessed One."
'Klein your ability to control yourself has to be a superpower at this point. I thought you would have another reaction but you controlled yourself wonderfully. Do I have to use another Roselle adventure to get a reaction? Klein should advance to Clown soon...' Adryan thought feeling a bit mischievous.
The Tarot Club did not last much longer, after a few more minutes Klein cut the connection with the Crimson Stars and the Crimson and Black Flame and was left alone in the Hall of Giants.
Tap* Tap* Tap*
Rapping his finger on the edge of the bronze table, Klein thought about what Chariot said.
"Lamud Town... That's not far from Tingen, about two and a half hours by carriage... But how can I investigate this without drawing the attention of the Nighthawks? The situation is too dire to request a vacation trip... ." Klein lampooned trying to think of what to do but after a while, he could only imitate the sensation of falling.
...
"Argh." Letting out a little groan, Klein rubbed his legs.
As soon as he returned to his body in his room, his legs complained from standing still for so long.
Raising a hand to his head, Klein rubbed his temple and sighed.
'Stretching would be a good idea...'
Yawn*
Bringing a hand up to cover his mouth, Klein yawned, feeling sleepy.
'A nap would be better...'
As soon as he lay down on his bed, Klein fell asleep and went into a dream.
He was a bit dull for a few moments but his eyes sharpened.
He was now in the living room chair and with his half-height hat on the table in front of him.
Klein wasn't alarmed that someone had put him to sleep but sighed quietly and turned serious.
'Looks like the Captain has something to say.'
Knock* Knock*
Giving permission, Captain Dunn Smith entered the room with his tall hat on his head concealing his receding hairline.
The man wasted no time and looked seriously at Klein.
"We have a mission, I'll wait for you downstairs in the carriage."
Klein only had time to nod weakly pretending to be sleepy when the dream was broken and he woke up in his bed.
Burying his head on his pillow and sighing, Klein got up from his bed, and after fixing himself and placing his mid-height hat on his head and his revolver in its holster under his left armpit, he left his room and left the apartment that he shared with his siblings.
Benson and Melissa were out, one in work and the other in school so Klein had had time to relax by himself.
Entering the black carriage and sitting next to Dunn Smith, Klein asked.
"What is the mission about, Captain?"
Dunn looked at Klein and answered calmly.
"The Machinery Hivemind encountered a woman disturbed by an encounter with a Wraith. Her name is Elizabeth and her faith is that of the Goddess so the case was passed on to us."
At the Captain's words, Klein suddenly felt a chill and couldn't help but ask a question.
"Captain. The woman Elizabeth, where did she meet the Wraith?"
"In the ruins of a castle in Lamud Town." Dunn responded calmly finding nothing unusual in the question.
Klein's pupils narrowed.