'Yay, I've successfully joined the Tarot Club! Another must-do item in my journey through the Lord of the mysteries.'
At 16 Minsk Street, after a display of mutual acting with Mr. Fool that could be described as a showdown between acting emperors, Lynn happily opened his sketchbook and began drawing and writing on one of its pages.
On that page was a scene full of fairy-tale charm: amidst thick fog, a cat holding a cat doll sat solemnly at the head of a tea party-like round table.
On the chairs to the cat's left and right sat anthropomorphized and twisted musical notes, a golden retriever with glasses, a salted fish holding a novel, anthropomorphized celestial bodies of the sun, moon, and stars, a petite sword, and a complex-patterned eye.
The round table was laden with various pastries, such as sweet iced tea, Dixie pies, and coin-shaped cookies.
The new addition Lynn made to this scene was a husky wearing a papal tiara—from a certain perspective, Lynn had a very clear sense of self-awareness.
"Perfect!" After adding the final touches, Lynn contentedly put down his pen and admired his work, nodding and mumbling to himself: "From now on, I shall be known as The Pope."
—It's worth mentioning here that the reason Lynn chose the "Pope" card as his code name, while claiming it was simply because "Pope" sounded nice, actually had other reasons.
Lynn's pathway was the Mystery Pryer, corresponding to "The Hermit" card, which in the original work already had a holder. Admiral of Stars Cattleya, who would join the Tarot Club next year, had that code name.
Although Lynn could have taken it earlier, he wasn't particularly fond of the "Hermit" code name anyway, so he didn't intend to take it.
Among the remaining code names, Lynn liked "The Pope" card the most. The Pope card itself signified spreading knowledge and wisdom and guiding the right path. Lynn appreciated this meaning, which also aligned with the tasks of his two alternate identities.
Additionally, the Pope card corresponded to the Tyrant pathway, which in many ways suited Lynn's temperament—you can tell how reckless Lynn usually is.
This is someone who, without a second thought, snatched 0-08, frequently beats up Medici, killed the Dragon of Nightmares, and faced off against the Bitch Tree. If he can fight, he definitely won't waste time talking.
Which normal Mystery Pryer has this kind of style?
If it weren't for being born with the Mystery Pryer pathway, Lynn might have chosen the Storm pathway himself.
After all, both are about charging ahead—if you're not convinced, fight first and talk later.
—But then again, maybe that's the hidden trait of the Mystery Pryer pathway. After all, in the original work, whether it's Admiral of Stars Cattleya frequently peeking at Mr. Fool despite knowing "gods cannot be directly observed," or Bernadette daring to look for her father before ascending to Sequence 2, or Emperor Roselle going to the moon alone, they all have a hint of recklessness.
Even the Hermit Sage, with their relentless and persistent poisoning of their pathway, has a sort of recklessness too.
Perhaps this is the Storm's true lineage in the Mystery Pryer!
…
While Lynn completed his masterpiece "Meeting Before God," above the gray fog.
'Angel of Secrets... I wonder if the church has any records on it. I can only wait to ask Mr. Cesimir next time to see if I can get any clues.'
'I wonder what that angel thinks...'
After sending Lynn away from the gray fog, Klein sat at the head of the ancient bronze long table, lost in thought. A few seconds later, he exhaled and mumbled:
'Regardless of what that angel thinks, Lynn's joining the Tarot Club is actually a good thing. He possesses knowledge of the mysterious far beyond an ordinary Mystery Pryer and has numerous potion formulas, which is beneficial both to me and to the other members of the Tarot Club.'
'The only problem might be that with someone like Lynn, who knows so much about Beyonders, it will be even harder for Mr. Fool to ask questions without losing face...'
Klein, feeling a bit troubled, then thought of something. He took out an iron box from the pile of miscellaneous items behind the gray fog, which contained the characteristics of the Marionettist.
"Now I can finally test if my previous inspiration works..."
After acquiring the Marionettist characteristics, Klein had the idea of opening a smurf account above the gray fog using the Marionettist's control over spirit lines. However, due to being busy these past few days, he hadn't had time to test this idea until today. He was interrupted by Lynn's "bomb" early in the morning, so he hadn't had a chance to verify his idea.
Now, finally remembering, Klein prepared to test his idea—he planned to use the Marionettist's control over spirit lines to create a smurf account above the gray fog.
As it turned out, Klein's idea was indeed feasible.
Thus, a few minutes later, a figure quietly appeared at the far end of the ancient bronze long table above the gray fog.
"Welcome, new member. Which card would you like to draw?"
Mr. Fool asked with a smile.
"The World!"
"I choose the World card!"
The figure answered.
…
That night, Backlund.
To observe the Nighthawks' actions from afar, Klein, after dealing with his smurf account "The World," went to East Borough docks to scout and familiarize himself with the area. He deftly climbed into the tallest clock tower at East Borough docks, which offered the best view of the dock district.
Of course, to maintain his identity secrecy, Klein went in disguise for this trip, even bringing a happy clown mask to meet the needs of playing the role of a clown. Although being discovered wouldn't be a big deal, it would be awkward, so Klein preferred not to expose himself if possible.
"I wonder when the church will take action. It shouldn't be too late..." Klein muttered silently, perfectly hiding his figure in the darkness.
What Klein didn't know was that not far from him, a telescope was pointed in his direction.
Having also scouted the area earlier, Lynn alternated between watching Klein and the dock district, with a drawing board in front of him, ready to record the upcoming scene.
'It's a pity that technology in this era isn't advanced enough. Otherwise, I would have used a camera. This would be such a memorable scene, possibly the first battle of the Tarot Club's debut. If Mr. Fool becomes a god in the future, these will be valuable records,' Lynn thought, his eyes darkening slightly as he looked towards the dock district, lost in his thoughts.
(End of chapter)