Audrey's crystalline eyes focused on the robed man, her expression serene, yet her frown was slightly furrowed, almost imperceptibly.
She had never dared stare at the man for very long in the past, as it always ended in her being teased.
But in this situation, she decided she could do it.
Watching the man intently, trying to detect any signs of nervousness or discomfort, Audrey could only squeeze her dress under the table. Her hands were trembling, and she could barely maintain her status as a spectator.
The noblewoman found herself extremely disturbed and stunned. She wanted to deny what she was seeing, but it was impossible.
'Why are you so calm, Mr. Chariot?!'
The aura he was emitting was the very reflection of calm, a sea of peace and tranquility. The clear waters of the sea made it easy to see the land at the bottom, and the sun's reflection created a beautiful mirror that reflected everything.
Her heart, which had been pounding since the Tarot Club began, could not resist the influence of this calm and slowed until it returned to a normal rhythm.
Amid this state, a fleeting thought struck Audrey. Her eyebrows rose, and she felt she had seen the truth.
'I was right! It was all Mr Fool's plan, after all! I knew Mr Chariot would never betray the Tarot Club! It was all part of a plan! No...
'A secret mission personally commissioned by Lord Fool!!!' the noblewoman thought ecstatically, barely able to contain a squeal of delight but unable to contain a huge, joyous smile.
For his part, Alger gazed unsurprisedly at the red-haired man in the distance, his back straight.
A silent sigh left his lips, and he could only nod toward Chariot.
A nod that Adryan returned with a slight chuckle in his throat. 'We men understand each other, after all~'
'What is this, a pact of manhood? Are they that close?' Klein thought with a quiver in his lips, his smile trembling as he didn't know how to process the strange exchange.
'Turns out their relationship wasn't as bad as I thought; maybe they'll get some booze when this is over.' Klein joked inwardly at such a ridiculous possibility.
'Mr. Hanged Man finally recognizes Mr. Chariot as his superior and tries to stay on his good side... Yes, he has shown the traits of someone like that. Someone who only hangs around with the strong to gain similar strength...'. Audrey read the man's psychology with crystal clear eyes; what she had noticed in previous meetings and how he acted showed her a little more of his true self.
Derrick looked at the other members in confusion. The tension was still there but wasn't as strong as before. Now, there was a strange feeling that he could not describe, but it was both uncomfortable and highly fragile.
'Has something happened in the World of Light? His brow furrowed, and his attention also shifted to where everyone was looking, 'Something Mr Chariot was involved in?'
Being the victim of so many stares, some doubtful and some suspicious, Adryan didn't feel nervous or uncomfortable at all, but his smile widened a little. He raised his head, his left hand now free, and extended it to the group before him as he bowed slightly.
"I know you have many questions, so why don't we get right to it? Go ahead, ask, and I'll answer. Let me save you from the world of the unknown with my knowledge~" he said poetically and with a hint of mischief. His hand opened a little wider, inviting them to take it.
At such a move, Audrey couldn't help but think of the many others she had seen at parties and dances, between men and women, when music played, and their feet and bodies wanted to move to the notes.
She couldn't help raising her eyebrows somewhat incredulously: 'Is he asking us to dance?
Klein and Alger had similar thoughts.
Chuckling softly, Adryan lowered his hand but kept a slight smile on his face.
"So? Who gets the first piece?" The man asked as if he knew what they were thinking.
'Mr Chariot, if it's with you. I'd rather stand in a dark corner and look at my calculator...' Klein grunted, holding back the urge to bite his tongue and ignoring the shiver down his back, "And Mr Hanged Man and Miss Justice are no better off than I am..." The clown glanced sideways at those mentioned earlier.
Both stood strangely still, not responding to Chariot's invitation. Although they stared at the man with clear annoyance and a great desire to strike him, neither dared to take the first step.
"Excuse me, Mr Chariot..."
The eyes of the trio shifted to the newest and youngest member of the Tarot Club.
"Has something happened in the World of Light?" Derrick asked worriedly. Was that world of blue skies, not the paradise he thought it was?
'Well done, Mr Sun!' Klein praised happily in his heart that someone was willing to dance with that snake.
'Mr Sun...' Audrey couldn't help biting the inside of her cheek.
'He's either very brave or foolish... I shouldn't be surprised, Mr Sun is still inexperienced about what Mr Chariot's full personality is like. Not to mention that he does not know about his exploits in the Forgotten Land of the Gods, nor of what has happened on this side of the world, so he is not as alert as we are...' Alger thought coldly, criticizing the innocence of the young man who did not yet know how to defend himself on this battlefield disguised as a 'gathering.'
'If you want to rise to the top with the Scarlet Monarch and the Fool, you must be much more careful, Mr Sun...' The Seafarer made a mental note to work on this in the future. If this aspect wasn't polished soon, it would only be a matter of time before Sun died from not knowing how to read the environment.
They couldn't afford to lose a member so soon, and Alger knew Sun's importance because of his background and his enormous potential.
Unaware of what his fellow members were thinking, Derrick looked expectantly at the man in the black robes.
'Ah~ Sweet child of summer, you are warm, you know that, don't you? I'm sure if it weren't for this mist, your eyes would shine so brightly it would hurt to look at them.' Shaking his head gently at such purity, Adryan sighed softly before speaking.
"To say 'something happened' is a vast understatement of what happened, Little Sun." He paused for a moment before continuing in a heavy voice.
"The most important city in the world suffered a terrible attack by the Rose School of Thought a few days ago. As we speak, more and more bodies are being pulled from the rubble and ruins of the disaster.
"I'm not up to date, but at last count, the death toll is around 190,000."
'As if that's real.' He added in his heart with a snort of derision.
'I thought it would be much higher, but it's only about 30,000 in 3 days? Yeah, right.'
The redhead didn't believe that the number was that low for a second.
'Something else happened that day... A fourth power, perhaps?' Hiding his discomfort, he continued his act, masterfully observing the frozen Sun, who - even through the thick fog that made it impossible to see his features - looked much paler than before.
Evidently, the young man was frightened, and Adryan had an idea why.
It was never confirmed or explicitly stated, but it was theorized that the Silver City had a population of around 40 to 50 thousand.
'That's the number he's known all his life, his world. What you hear now is like someone saying that Brazil was wiped out and its entire population died; 215 million, gone in an instant. A ridiculous number compared to the mere 7 million in Paraguay.'
'190,000?!!! THAT'S THREE TIMES THE POPULATION OF SILVER CITY! Derrick trembled visibly. His hands clenched into pale-knuckled fists, a nervous gasp accompanying him.
So many dead...
"Who could commit such a barbarity..." Derrick murmured, stuttering slightly.
"Kuku..." A dark laugh, without grace, came from Adryan's throat, who paused for a second before answering.
"Pathetic, shameless wretches who have abandoned their humanity and blindly follow divine whores for mere momentary pleasure, unaware that they are only pursuing a painful, deathless existence that will leave them in a ditch as soon as they get what they want, but not before leaving them drained of life and soul."
Adryan looked at those present, his scarlet eyes glowing with a cold edge, "Only miserable, wretched beings like those are capable of such a thing."
"..."
Audrey could not hold his gaze and finally ducked her head towards the bronze table. A cold sweat ran down her back.
The crystal clear water suddenly became turbulent, dark, abyssal blue, with high, powerful waves ready to crush any fool who dared to ride them.
The next second, a chuckle escaped his lips, and the red-haired man rolled his shoulders in disinterest, his eyes losing their edge, "That was our side; what about yours?"
'This guy's bipolar,' Klein suppressed a shudder along with the urge to growl.
'Is that normal for those blessed by the gods? Everyone has their own idiosyncrasies?'
Fortunately, he hadn't met enough blessed ones from large existences to draw any conclusions...
Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Derrick shook his head, "Nothing as dangerous and scary as what you went through...
"I don't know what the Rose School of Thought is; I've never heard of anything by that name. But if they're capable of such an atrocity... There's no way they're on the side of humanity."
'Oh, little one, you have no idea.' Adryan added in his heart and said nothing more, his only response being a small, simple smile.
'So the culprit of the attack was the Rose School... That's all you will say? What about the things you told me, eh?!' Klein mentally tapped his chin and could only curse how little the man had said. A vein in his neck threatened to explode.
'You were kidnapped by them and held captive for several days and tortured horribly? Isn't that something worth mentioning? Is this just another Thursday for you? Is it so normal to be kidnapped by an evil organization?'
The last time they spoke, Chariot had told him everything that had happened, but Klein had noticed several details had been left out.
'You bastard! At least say something else!
Klein glanced at the other members, using his control over this room. It was a little trickier, but he could see Justice clenching her fists under the table and the Hanged Man looking a little tense.
'He knows how much we want to know; that's why he holds back...' Klein lamented for a moment before a shiver ran down his spine.
He realized immediately that it was a reminder of his spirituality!
As he did so, a young voice spoke again.
"But Mr Chariot, why would the Rose School do such a thing? It's obvious that it was for some ritual, but why? So many lives lost..." Derrick asked with obvious annoyance and anger, his voice dropping to just above a whisper.
The smile on the red-haired man's face widened, his scarlet eyes flashing between Justice, Hanged Man, and Sun.
Unconsciously, Audrey and Derrick straightened while Alger tensed a little more.
"Fufu~" Adryan shook his head complacently with a simple chuckle.
"If you are unable to understand something so obvious... hehe... I fear and envy that simple mind." Dragging his tongue at the end, he continued, "But if you want to know so badly..."
Despite the clear insult, they had already built up a slight resistance, and no sooner had they received the slap than they were up and ready for more.
'Answers at last!' Audrey bit the inside of her cheek and moved a little closer to the edge of her seat, her crystalline eyes sparkling like gems.
Alger kept his guard up, only narrowing his eyes as he braced himself for what Chariot was about to say.
'Let's see what else the Church is hiding from me...'
Derrick was the one who hid his excitement the worst. The young giant stepped up to the edge of the chair, both arms resting on the musty bronze table, his hands trembling slightly.
Klein's eyes lit up, his senses opened a little wider, and he turned his full attention to the man in the robe.
Grinning from ear to ear, Adryan chirped, "You cannot know that now."
'...'
The entire palace fell into an awkward silence.