In the Second Epoch, as the vampires and demon wolves clashed, the Goddess of Moon Lilith and the subordinates of the Annihilation Demonic Wolf "Flegrea" joined the fray. The battle grew increasingly intense, and it seemed that the leaders themselves would soon intervene.
In the Fifth Epoch, our Fool, Klein, finally experienced his first Tarot meeting since arriving in Backlund.
As usual, the Tarot meeting participants, besides Klein as Mr Fool, included Miss Justice, Mr. Hanged Man, and Little Sun.
During this Tarot meeting, Klein not only gained advanced knowledge through the Roselle diary trade but also introduced the sacrificial ritual belonging to the Fool.
This undoubtedly made Klein's image even more mysterious and profound in the eyes of the Tarot members, especially Mr. Hanged Man.
Moreover, Miss Justice recommended two female Beyonders in Backlund, hoping the Fool would consider them for the Tarot Club.
Honestly, this instantly reminded Klein of the two women he had met at Mr. A's gathering a few days ago.
So, feeling complicated, Klein didn't outright reject Miss Justice's suggestion, choosing instead to delay with the excuse of "evaluation"—neither agreed nor refusing.
Whether they could pass the evaluation, and when they could pass it, was, of course, up to the Fool's discretion.
'...I'm almost certain those ladies' are friends of Miss Justice, but why does Miss Justice want to buy Sequence 8 and Sequence 9 potion formulas? Just to hide the Tarot Club's existence? Is this what it means to be wealthy?'
After the Tarot Club meeting, and after confirming the sacrificial ritual's feasibility through Mr Hanged Man and Miss Justice, Klein, who had just left the gray fog, opened his eyes and murmured, unable to resist checking his wallet, which contained only a few gold pounds, feeling the stark contrast of the world.
"Sigh..." Klein sighed, putting his wallet away and getting up from the bed, leaving the bedroom.
"Hey, Sherlock, done with your nap? Want to play a game of chess?"
A cheerful voice rang out, and Klein, almost without looking, knew it was a certain detective. He walked over and indeed saw Leonard and Lynn playing chess.
Although Ian had reported to the Evernight Church days ago, giving them leads on the Turani von Helmosuin manuscript, the church decided to use this opportunity to lure Intis spies into a trap. As a result, Klein and Leonard's guard duty hadn't ended yet; they had to wait for the church to wrap things up.
By the time Klein came to his senses, he realized that his newly rented house had been taken over by two who, when not playing cards or chess, were discussing drama and poetry. They had only known each other for a short time, yet acted like old friends.
However, Klein didn't mind much. After all, he somewhat enjoyed it too.
—Before crossing over, Klein had also had goofy roommates.
"Thank you, but I'm not good at chess…" Klein shook his head and sat on the nearby single sofa. His eyes casually swept over the chessboard and then he paused.
Because Klein noticed that the game was in a stalemate, unlike Leonard's usual one-sided losses.
The poet seemed to have had a breakthrough?
Klein looked at Leonard in surprise, who, feeling his gaze, turned away guiltily, coughing lightly and urging Lynn, "It's your turn, hurry up."
"I'm moving, I'm moving…" Lynn, with one hand on his chin, picked up a black piece and placed it down, then glanced at Klein.
Of course, Lynn knew that Klein, supposedly napping, had actually gone to the gray fog for a meeting.
Really curious if this Tarot meeting differed from the original. I need to find a way to join the Tarot Club…
While pondering various ideas, Lynn looked at the chessboard and suddenly remembered his recently built folder for the Chess of Blasphemy. As he waited for Leonard to make a move, he decided to lay some groundwork for the Chess of Blasphemy's future appearance.
So, Lynn said, "Speaking of chess, have you heard of Chess of Blasphemy?"
"Chess of Blasphemy? Are you talking about Roselle's Cards of Blasphemy?" Leonard, who had been listening, asked in confusion.
Klein, who had just poured some tea, also looked at Lynn.
"No, it's not Roselle's Cards of Blasphemy. Chess of Blasphemy is an older thing, hmm, I read about it in an ancient book. It's said to be related to the Blasphemy Slate," Lynn said, resting his chin on his hand and speaking casually, as if sharing an interesting fact with friends.
Leonard tried to recall for a few seconds, confirming he hadn't heard of Chess of Blasphemy, and looked at Lynn curiously, "Really? I've never heard of it. Does this Chess of Blasphemy also contain secrets of godly sequences?"
"Probably. Otherwise, why name it like that? And…" Lynn said, sipping his tea.
"And what?" Leonard, who had been left hanging, urged.
Klein also looked at Lynn with interest. This kind of potentially high-level information, even if just a rumor, intrigued him.
"And according to that ancient book, the origin of Chess of Blasphemy seems to be related to an angel. I think the angel's name was something like Secret, Angel of Secrets, yes, Angel of Secrets..." Lynn said, making light of it and adding, "But I haven't found any information about this angel in other materials. Maybe it was just made up by that book."
For Beyonders of the Fifth Epoch, the concept of an angel was not a secret. Any Beyonder with some knowledge knew angels were real.
So it was plausible for ancient books to mention angels, even if rarely.
"Angel of Secrets… sounds like an angel related to mystery or knowledge," Klein said thoughtfully, making a mental note of the name, just as Leonard straightened up.
At the same time, in Leonard's mind, Pallez's slightly weary voice said, 'Angel of Secrets… I seem to have heard this name before.'
(End of Chapter)