After divining whether he should get the Clown Potion from the church or not, Klein wanted to talk privately with the Sun but realized that it was still somewhat early. Maybe I should wait some more, so that once I'm done I can bring Ms. Justice and Mr. Hanged as well, without sending Little Sun back.
Just then, he heard the voice of a female prayer as well as a new red star appearing where once was none.
Did someone give my honorific name away to someone else?! No, that voice sounded somewhat familiar. Klein made to reach the star and see just who had prayed to him.
He pressed down on the new pulsating dark red star and a vision appeared before him, his eyes widened in recognition.
No way... how does she know?! Before him, a scene with a kneeling woman praying reverently before an altar was shown. Long dark hair tied in a neat high ponytail, a different, but still similar dress to that very same morning greeted him.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;
the Mysterious Ruler above the gray fog;
the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."
Irina's tone filled with mirth as she continued, a grin spreading widely on her face, "Don't you think it's about time we have a chat in your own home?"
To say that Klein was shocked was an understatement. He had absolutely no idea how she could have found out about his secret.
Should I talk to her like she asked? But it's almost three and I also want to discuss the Sun's development... As a true charlatan, he chose to seek guidance through divination.
Talking with Irina now is a good idea... He closed his eyes, repeated the statement seven times and once he opened them, he watched the pendulum rotate clockwise relatively quickly.
He nodded to himself before extending his hand and touching the dark red star.
Oh my GOD. I FINALLY DID IT! I prayed to the Fool! Please answer quickly Klein! I really want to be part of your Tarot Club~ Irina looked like a kid in a candy store, emanating such bright and positive energy that even when swallowed by a dark red color, her smile only but widened.
A gray, boundless, cold, and fog-filled world appeared before her. A long bronze table with the seat of honor occupied by The Fool, obscured by the thick fog. The seat to my left is empty since it's Ms. Justice's.
"Good Afternoon Mr. Fool, or should I call you Klein~"
The man in question sighed, "Should I be surprised that you knew? Just... how."
Irina squeaked with joy, "The Library, you dummy! I know many other things but I can't tell them to you right now! I already explained why." Irina tilted her head slightly, "Can't you move the fog as you wish? I wanna see your face!"
Klein froze momentarily before waving his hand, and with it, both of them finally became visible. She pointed at his face, loudly exclaiming, "Much better!"
He stared at her shortly. "You look happy... very happy... you're quite literally glowing."
"Your spirit vision right? But yes! I've been wanting to talk with you in here for FOR-E-VER."
"Should I ask why you prayed to me now in specific? With not even 15 minutes to three?"
Irina leaned on the table, "I was sleeping, Dunn's visit in my dream was quite literally a Nightmare. I needed the long nap."
Klein's face seemed to ease at her words, "Your timing was—"
"Oh! And also because you host your Tarot Club meetings at three. Can I join? Pretty pretty please~"
Silence stretched on between the two. An expectant Irina stared at the seer with big, luminous, puppy eyes.
The man in question lowered his head and massaged his temple, "You are—fine. But there are rules!"
Irina jumped in happiness, "Lay them on me! I can help your little group! I have a lot of useful information. Oh! But not now! I have to wait until the new year for that."
Klein sighed. "It's always like that with you. You know much more than you let on but never explain."
The custodian reeled back in distaste. "Not those words again, last time I heard them I got a revolver pointed at my head."
The seer's head snapped upright. "You WHAT?! When?! From who!?"
Irina shrugged as if the matter wasn't important. "Our dear poet, who else? He knows we're hiding something and he thought I was either losing control or praying to an evil existence... hehe, he wasn't entirely wrong Mr. Fool~"
Just as Klein opened his mouth to ask her more, she stopped him, "TIME Klein, it's almost three, what are the rules? Also, you said something about timing, right? Did you perhaps want to talk with someone else? I also have a rough idea of how you handle things here, so no need for the long explanation."
Rough idea my ASS, I didn't read more than 1400 chapters plus a daily browse of the wiki to have a 'rough idea'.
The man sighed again, already exhausted from the interaction, "If you say so. During the meeting, call me The Fool. You also need to pick a card from the Major Arcana to be your codename."
He stopped shortly as if an idea had crossed his mind. "You... also have an honorific name, right? The one I used to enter the library? That's yours, not 'His', correct?"
Irina nodded slowly, "Yes. I don't know 'His' honorific name if I have to be honest. I never asked and since 'He' is asleep now, I can't exactly do it. Why the question?"
His brown creased deep in thought, "You said you have useful information, to what level exactly?"
Her smile tightened, making the Seer worry "Up and beyond that of the Gods themselves. But Klein, you, just like everyone in here are too weak to learn about them. That's why I have to wait to tell you."
Her gaze lowered, "Every single day I consume my entire spirituality, simply because I sometimes think about those things. And I'm protected, both by 'Him' and from my Sequence. If it weren't for those factors, I would have lost control long ago."
"I don't have much money, nor do I have artifacts. But I know many Potions formulas—YES, from your Pathway as well and NO, I can't tell them to you—as well as some snippets of the future, disasters, enemies or allies, and more."
Klein was left speechless for a long time; then cleared his throat, coughing into his hand. "We'll be having a talk after the meeting," he said, his voice steady but pointed.
She smiled weakly. "Sure, but I don't think you'll learn much more."
He waved his hand and continued with the previous topic, "What I wanted to ask is, Irina, do you want to be a normal member? Since you know so much, you could..."
Irina's eyes widened slightly. "You mean... Like you do with them?"
Klein averted her eyes as he replied, "Well, it would make more sense, you also have a place similar to the gray fog. You can share your honorific name with them if you want."
Her smile widened. "Will I be presented as the friend of the Honourable Mr. Fool?! Or maybe a companion?! Associate?! Partner?!"
He smiled at her theatrics. "You seem quite happy about it."
Irina jumped up, slamming her hands on the table, "Happy?! I'm ECSTATIC MAN!" Her expression dropped, "Oh... but..."
He prompted her to talk, "But?"
She silently sat back. "I can't act like you. I'm a Ward—well, my current sequence is called Custodian. In general, my acting method should mostly be as a guardian of knowledge or similar. I have quite an open personality after all..."
Klein sighed in defeat, closing his eyes briefly. "I already thought about it. As long as you don't ruin my persona it shouldn't be a problem," he said, then smoothly changed the topic. "It's settled then, your card?" He asked, a small smile tugging at his lips as he glanced at her.
My card... I've long since decided on which one I want! In front of her, multiple Major Arcana appeared with only four missing.
Her hand moved with confidence as she picked it up and looked at the intricated drawing on it. "This one!"
Klein straightened his back as his hand moved closer to a dark red star, a thick fog rising and hiding everyone's features once again. "We're out of time, I'll talk with little Sun later. I hope you'll enjoy your first Tarot Club meeting."
Absolutely!
"Welcome, Ms. Hierophant."
The seer extended his hand and pressed on the dark red stars representing Justice, The Hanged Man, and The Sun.
Irina watched the light burst forth opposite and beside her, as two hazy figures extended from within.
It's way better than how the novel described it! It's also very different from when I made Klein enter Alexandria!
Audrey Hall surveyed her surroundings and froze suddenly. She then heard the ever-calm voice of Mr. Fool. "Those are our newest members, his code name is Sun."
"This is Miss Justice, and that is Mr. Hanged Man."
Newest member? Audrey was shocked at first, but then her shock immediately turned to joy, and her joy then to confusion when the last new member had still not been presented.
But she was still very excited to see the development of the Tarot Club. She felt like a protagonist.
The Hanged Man Alger creased his brows, a little upset that The Fool would drag in new members so suddenly.
He should've at least mentioned it to us... but a great figure like Mr. Fool wouldn't have to care about our feelings... The pirate thought in exasperation.
"Her code name is Hierophant, she is an old acquaintance of mine, and she will be of great help to you all in the future."
Irina was absolutely NOT vibrating in her seat from excitement.
Silence reigned supreme as the only thought crossing all three old members' minds was the same. Acquaintance?! Old acquaintance!?
In this short process, Audrey managed to pull herself together and enter her Spectator state, she first paid close attention to the newest member Sun.
He should be quite young... his body language tells me that he's a little nervous and restrained... but he ultimately maintains a tolerable air of silence, giving the feeling of, hmm, a lone wolf, yes, a lone wolf... Audrey thought as she cast her gaze back on the other new member, who was seated at her very left.
She looks... happy? Very excited to be specific, she's wearing leonese clothes but they could be a simple image made just for us, just like Mr. Fools'. Her body language is completely different from his, making them look like complete opposites in everything... Audrey couldn't help but analyze The Hierophant.
In the end, she decided to simply act as usual, so she turned towards the end of the long bronze table and said in joy, "Mr. Fool, I've collected another two pages of Emperor Roselle's diary."
Alger's mind seemed to have short-circuited. Another divine being at the level of Mr. Fool? And presented to us as a new member as well?! Has his power grown so much that he was able to contact the outside in other manners? Who else did he talk with?! Just what are his plans... 'Help us in the future'? What does the Fool want us to do? Will he ask us to do some more tests?
New pages of Roselle's diary? Klein's mind stirred. He smiled and asked in reply when he already knew the answer, "Miss Justice, what do you need?"
Audrey's eyes beamed with excitement, but she replied in a reserved manner, "You know that I'll soon fully digest the Spectator potion. I hope that I can get the formula for the Telepathist potion so that I can prepare the ingredients ahead of time. Hmm, I know that there isn't much content for two pages of the diary, and it might not equal to the value of the Telepathist formula, so I'll give you another page, hmm, I'll also pay you a sum of money on the side..."
Irina couldn't help but smile. Money huh? He'd very much appreciate them.
Audrey had yet to finish what she said when she suddenly felt that it had come out wrong. She couldn't help but berate herself in her head, Mr. Fool is at the very least an important figure who approaches that of a god, how could he be bought over by money?!
Hence, Audrey couldn't maintain her Spectator state as she hurriedly added with a stammer, "That's not what I meant! Mr. Fool, what I meant is that you can determine the compensation that you'd like. Yes, that's what I meant!"
Irina had to avert her eyes from the blonde noblewoman or she would have definitely started laughing out loud. O no no, Ms. Audrey, he'd very much need the money~
I like your earlier suggestion—Is Irina laughing? My fault for letting her in, I guess. I would answer like this: When you have fully digested the Spectator potion, you will get the formula you need. I have a subordinate, no, I have to use the word 'adorer' that sounds more awesome. He happens to be handling some matters that require money, and this is his anonymous account in Backlund Bank... Yes, then I will disguise myself and make an anonymous account in Backlund Bank. Still... doing this in front of my coworker is a bit... Klein didn't answer immediately but weighed his words carefully with an unfathomable expression.
Just then, The Sun, Derrick Berg, suddenly spoke. "The Telepathist potion formula? Telepathist that is followed by Psyche Analyst?"
Audrey looked towards him puzzledly. "You know of it?"
At the same time, Miss Justice saw a problem through her instinct as a Spectator. The young man had used the ancient title "Psyche Analyst" instead of the modern term, "Psychiatrist!"
This guy is very strange... Audrey examined Sun's every movement.
Derrick didn't think that he behaved any differently but replied seriously, "I can get you the formula!"
My dear Klein, you just lost a hefty sum of money from Audrey. Irina lamented the loss inwardly.
The Sun felt guilty as he couldn't provide it immediately. He tried his best to explain himself, "It's a Sequence pathway that stemmed from the Dragon race. And our City of Silver was once ruled by the Giant King's imperial household. As you know, the Giants and the Dragons are sworn enemies. Hence, the City of Silver has all of Sequence 9, 8, and 7. I have ways to get them."
Chill MAN! This is info-dumping at its finest! The custodian looked at the youngest member with bewilderment.
This kid... I already warned him not to speak carelessly or expose his origins. In the end... Klein nearly wanted to cover his face.
Sigh, although The Sun appears to be in great pain, very mature and silent for his age, he's just a boy after all! However, that clarifies one thing for me... It turns out that the Spectator Sequence's origins stem from the Dragon race. It's no wonder that the symbol formed by stars behind Miss Justice's high chair is the Dragon... The City of Silver has preserved history well... Klein maintained his posture of leaning against the back of his chair while he listened thoughtfully to The Sun's description.
Giant King, Dragon race, the City of Silver... Audrey was confused. She first took a look at The Hanged Man opposite her, but she could tell that he was shocked and confused as well from his body language.
She looked sideways towards the seat of honor on the long bronze table. She saw The Fool sitting on the high chair, engulfed in thick grayish-white fog. His right arm was placed on the armrest while he leaned sideways leisurely. He showed no shock, no curiosity, no thoughts, and no doubt. He only looked at them with a smile.
She turned her gaze in the other direction and found that The Hierophant's reaction matched that of The Fool. No wonder he introduced her as his old acquaintance.
They know... they knew all of this... Audrey and Alger made the definite judgment almost at the same time.
"The City of Silver, I've never heard of this place... where is it?" Audrey probed while Alger listened attentively.
At that very moment, Derrick Berg's head was filled with questions as well. He could tell that, besides the godlike Fool and Hierophant, Justice and The Hanged Man were some sort of Beyonder.
In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, besides the people in the City of Silver, Derrick had never seen another living human.
So, he asked in reply, "If you aren't residents of the City of Silver, which city-state are you from?"
Sigh... Klein couldn't help but wish to sigh again.
Audrey trembled her lips, momentarily at a loss for words.
Yes, the hidden meaning behind his question is that if you don't want to answer a similar question, don't pry into the questions about where the other person lives... Miss Justice nodded faintly and elegantly kept quiet.
Obviously, Alger had misunderstood The Sun's intentions as well. He didn't know the other person was really just asking straightforwardly. So, he kept quiet too.
The more time went by, the wider Irina's smile became. This is so much fun! Look at those young Tarot club members! They're misunderstanding absolutely everything!
When Derrick didn't receive any reply, he seemed to realize what was happening. He didn't bring it up again and instead said, "I will try to get the Telepathist potion formula as soon as possible. I would like to use it to exchange for the beginning Sequence pathway of the Sun."
"Sun Sequence pathway? Sequence 9 Bard?" Alger asked in reply.
Derrick thought and said, "Probably, but I lack information about it."
Klein who was watching from the side decided to get involved, he smiled and said, "I believe Miss Justice doesn't have the Bard formula."
Hehe~ Someone doesn't want to risk losing any more business. Irina mused happily in her head.
Seeing Audrey nod, Klein continued with a faint smile, "I will give The Sun the Bard formula. The Sun will pass the Telepathist potion to Miss Justice as soon as possible. Try to get it done within the next two Gatherings. Miss Justice, please pass me the new pages of Roselle's diary. Then, the deal is done."
Klein then intentionally added another final statement to redirect The Hanged Man and Justice's focus onto the fact that Sun might not be able to receive her compensation.
Might not necessarily receive the compensation... where exactly is The Sun? The Southern Continent? Alger suddenly creased his eyebrows.
The origin of The Sun is mysterious too... as expected, Mr. Fool does have subordinates in reality. Audrey finally saw her hope of becoming a Sequence 8 Telepathist. She suppressed her excitement and flashed a faint smile as she said, "I have no objections."
"Neither do I." When Derrick saw that he could obtain the beginning sequence of the Sun pathway, he nodded without hesitation. He couldn't care less about the additional compensation.
Klein then sent the formula before The Sun and saw the young man first crease his eyebrows and then relax.
He gazed directly at the Sun 'Himself'. He almost died for that small piece of knowledge! Sometimes I wonder how this man survived for the entirety of the novel...
And then I remember I actually read it so I know the HOW... but still!
My point still stands. This man is courting death!
Wait—not The Death! But like normal death, not the Sequence 0—Whatever, I hate wordplays.
When Irina finally snapped out of her thoughts, she realized that not only had Klein finished reading the new pages of Roselle's Diary, but that Justice had also updated the group on the progress of the new changes in the government and asked about Mr. A.
The custodian glazed over Alger's explanation, already knowing all of the information.
"Rear Admiral Hurricane Qilangos? One of the seven great admiral pirates?" Audrey widened her eyes, almost unable to maintain her Spectator state.
Oh, him already?
"Yes, he's a Sequence 6 Beyonder of the path of the Sailor, a Wind-blessed. He also has a miraculous item that could be classified as a Sealed Artifact. He's quite crafty and cruel. Don't attempt to deal with him," Alger introduced him seriously.
He suddenly turned to Klein. "Mr. Fool, can I get your adorer to assist me at the critical moment? I would pay a price that interests you."
The only adorer I have is myself... Klein lampooned to ease his emotions as he smiled. I hope Irina won't bring it up later...
"That is built on the premise that my adorer happens to be in Backlund."
Oh, I am so making fun of him after the meeting~ Irina's wicked smile went unnoticed by everyone.
"Alright." Alger retracted his gaze, a little disappointed, but also a little expectant.
Audrey then asked about the mystical item Qilangos carried and Alger proceeded to explain to her Creeping Hunger, but before he could finish sharing, Derrick Berg, who had been listening quietly, suddenly blurted, "Shepherd!"
Seeing that everyone was staring at him, Derrick suddenly panicked a little. He hurriedly explained with a stammer everything he knew.
After they finished their discussion and shared their insights, Klein smiled as he announced the ending of the Gathering. He saw Justice and The Hanged Man get up swiftly from their seats and bow while The Sun mimicked their motions, only slower.
The original members couldn't fail but notice how The Hierophant hadn't moved at all.
Klein pressed forward with his right hand and severed the connection with Alger and Audrey.
Irina observed with patience as the Seer talked with Derrick, giving him his honorific name and explaining how to hold the ritual among other small details.
Once done, he raised his hand and severed his connection with The Sun as well.
Irina finally allowed herself to lean against the ancient bronze table, a sly smirk playing on her lips as she asked, "So, my dear... your adorer, huh?"
Klein quickly looked away, clearing his throat and awkwardly coughing into his hand.