Chapter 12: Labeling

Chapter 12: Labeling

Crimson rays rose one after another, solidifying into different human figures on both sides of the bronze long table.

The eternal silence above the gray fog was broken, and an indescribable vitality entered the magnificent, ancient palace.

The moment Justice Audrey recovered her perception of her surroundings, she prepared to rise from her seat and greet the figure at the head of the bronze long table.

At that moment, as an experienced Spectator, she keenly sensed that this gathering was somewhat different:

There were two more members than last week!

One was a man seated to Mr. Moon’s right, while the other was a woman seated to The Hermit’s left.

Audrey first instinctively felt happy that the Tarot Club had grown and expanded. Then, following her professional instinct, she swiftly began observing.

Based on her own position, the gentleman diagonally opposite her was easier to observe without leaving traces than the lady two seats away on the same row. Therefore, she directed most of her attention toward him.

Black hair… greenish eyes… no coat… waistcoat and shirt… sitting posture a little awkward, likely not fond of sitting so properly in daily life… estimated height around 180 centimeters… somewhat lazy bearing… rather tense state… With only one sweep of her gaze, Justice Audrey “read” quite a lot of information from that somewhat blurry figure.

Immediately afterward, she discovered another difference:

That gentleman was rapidly looking around.

There was nothing wrong with this behavior in itself. Anyone who arrived at such a strange and secretive occasion would subconsciously observe the other members, trying to grasp their characteristics and the general situation so as to feel calmer. The problem was that this gentleman’s gaze moved too quickly!

His eyes swept across The Moon, The Hanged Man, and the others without pausing at all.

To Audrey, this was a very clear phenomenon. It meant that the gentleman was not observing the environment or examining the members. He was looking for someone!

Looking for someone with a clear target!

Justice Audrey instantly grew a little excited, believing that this newly arrived gentleman knew one of the members present!

Who could it be? She observed for one more second and discovered that the diagonally opposite gentleman’s gaze had stopped on The World, Gehrman Sparrow.

Audrey felt as though she had discovered a secret. Secretly delighted, she thought in sudden understanding:

“This new gentleman and Mr. World are friends, or at least know each other in the real world, and he knows Mr. World is a member of the Tarot Club…

“Or perhaps Mr. World was the one who introduced him to the gathering… No, that possibility isn’t high. If that were truly the case, the new gentleman would be comparatively certain inside. He would not be so anxious to find someone familiar, and his gaze would definitely linger on the other members for a little longer…

“Also, this performance proves that he is not a favored one of Mr. Fool.

“What exactly is his relationship with Mr. World?”

With the intention of continuing her observation later, Audrey stood and turned toward the head of the bronze long table.

During this process, she seized the opportunity to naturally sweep a glance over the new member seated beside The Hermit.

She’s looking at Miss Magician… Her height… Has Xio finally passed the test and joined the gathering? Audrey recognized the other party’s identity. Filled with delight, she lifted the hem of her dress in a small, ceremonial gesture and bowed to the figure shrouded in gray fog.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~”

The bright greeting had just ended when she discovered another issue:

Compared to before, Mr. Fool seemed to have undergone a subtle change.

This great existence appeared more harmonious and unified with the entire palace, the entire space, and the entire gray fog. His aura had grown more distant and lofty, like the sea and also like the sky.

This feeling cannot be described concretely with words… Has Mr. Fool further revived, reclaiming more authority over His divine kingdom? Audrey’s eyes turned slightly. She was curious and delighted, and also carried a faint sense of pride and honor.

At this moment, The Hanged Man Alger and The Hermit Cattleya had also seen the two new members. They noticed that the lady was short and had subtle interaction with Miss Magician. She was both unfamiliar and familiar with the Tarot Gathering, at least unlike the man in the white shirt and black waistcoat, who only hurriedly stood up after everyone else began greeting Mr. Fool.

In addition, they also sensed that the new male member seemed to pay special attention to The World, Gehrman Sparrow, leading them to form many guesses out of nowhere.

These thoughts only echoed in their hearts and were not expressed. The Hanged Man and The Hermit did not reveal anything abnormal as they followed Miss Justice and completed the gathering’s first procedure.

As for Sun Derrick, he simply felt happy, because the Tarot Club had gained more members again! Moon Emlyn’s emotions were somewhat complicated. On one hand, facing the new members, he was filled with the superiority of a senior. On the other hand, he felt that there might be a few too many saviors of the apocalypse.

After searching for a while, Star Leonard preliminarily judged that the person at the very bottom of the bronze long table should be Klein Moretti, because his physical features matched the descriptions in Gehrman Sparrow’s files.

He is hiding his most real identity… Even at a secret gathering like this, he hasn’t relaxed. He has put on two layers of disguise. I need to be careful as well… Just as this thought flashed through Leonard’s mind, he saw the young lady seated in the first position on Mr. Fool’s left stand, leading everyone to bow together.

He froze for a second and failed to react immediately. In an environment where everyone else had already stood, he was especially conspicuous.

Only after a second did Leonard return to himself, hurriedly stand, and follow the greetings.

Xio, seated across from him, glanced at him and, to some extent, mentally drew an equal sign between him and Fors.

Fors thought the same, except that she mentally placed the gentleman opposite her and Xio in the same category, because at first meeting, both appeared somewhat unreliable.

“This is The Star. This is Judgement. Sit. Introduce yourselves.” The Fool, Klein, raised His right hand and casually pointed.

The Star always makes me feel like a woman’s code name… While thinking helplessly, Leonard focused his mind and, following the order of introductions, made preliminary labels for every member:

Miss Justice. Seems to be a young lady, but perhaps like Klein, she has two layers of disguise… A rather optimistic and cheerful type. Her clothing and attire are unclear in detail, but she seems to have excellent taste…

Mr. Hanged Man. Rough, reserved. He should be a relatively straightforward but reckless person…

Miss Magician. The way she looks at me is a little strange, and she glances at Klein from time to time. I don’t know what she’s thinking. Overall, rather ordinary, with no special features…

Mr. Sun. Very tall. The way he speaks gives the feeling that his voice is still changing. Although silent, he seems very friendly…

Miss Hermit—uh, Madam Hermit. Her bearing is mature and steady. She should be an experienced Beyonder…

Mr. Moon. Relatively young, somewhat reserved. For some reason, he gives me the feeling that I’ve seen him somewhere before, but I can’t remember. I’ll observe more later…

Miss Judgement. Very short, with obvious characteristics. But I’m not sure whether she has also made a second disguise…

The World. Very gloomy, very gloomy. That should be his disguise… Mm, it might also reveal a little of what’s truly inside him… He wasn’t a demigod before, which means the gathering members here include no small number of mid-sequence Beyonders. I wonder whether I’m the weakest one…

While Leonard examined the other members, Judgement Xio Derecha used her Sheriff abilities to extract the characteristics of the different members and remember them:

Noble young lady… sailor or crewman… rather immature, a little withdrawn, but not serious… powerful, at least the leader of a mid-sized team… arrogant, from a good background… lazy, not steady enough… gloomy, terrifying…

Amid their many thoughts, the introductions of the other members ended. The Hermit Cattleya turned toward the head of the bronze long table and bowed.

“Honorable Mr. Fool, I did not receive any Roselle diary pages this time.”

Did not receive any… Does that mean the Mystery Queen didn’t reply? I wonder what Bernadette is busy with… The Fool, Klein, nodded gently and replied calmly,

“Begin the transactions.”

As He spoke, Audrey paid attention to the reactions of The Hermit, The Hanged Man, and the others, and discovered that none of them sensed that Mr. Fool had become more majestic and more distant.

Only I noticed? Justice Audrey’s eyes turned slightly in thought. She felt a little regretful, and also a little happy.

Of course, she also knew that Madam Hermit and Mr. Hanged Man did not dare look too much at Mr. Fool. The former especially spent most of the time only daring to look at the edge of the table in front of Mr. Fool.

The edge of the table… Huh, there is another Card of Blasphemy! Audrey’s gaze froze briefly before she drew it back in surprise.

Following a Spectator’s intuition, she somehow believed that the acquisition of the new Card of Blasphemy and Mr. World’s psychological problems reappearing were different outcomes of the same matter.

After considering briefly, she looked around and said,

“I do not have anything I want.”

The Hermit Cattleya, Sun Derrick, Moon Emlyn, and Magician Fors all belonged to the group who had already made preparations and were about to advance, so they had no requests at this time. The Hanged Man Alger, still in the process of digesting, likewise had none.

Star Leonard, however, did want to purchase a mystical item. But since no one provided an example, he did not know for the moment whether he should speak. He could only split his thoughts, pondering the fact that Mr. Fool actually needed Roselle diary pages.

After selling the Tinder glove, he was not short on money. And after his previous experience using Creeping Hunger, he felt that a powerful mystical item was truly quite useful.

At this moment, Magician Fors looked at the silent Xio beside her and took the initiative to turn toward the opposite side.

“Mr. Hanged Man, I have a material that I would like to entrust to that Craftsman to make into a mystical item.”

She was referring to the ancient wraith dust in Xio’s possession.

The Hanged Man Alger shook his head.

“That Craftsman has been controlled by certain members of the Rose School of Thought who believe in the Primordial Moon. That is the little I know. The follow-up has already been handed over to Madam Hermit.”

Rose School of Thought… believers of the Primordial Moon… handed over to Madam Hermit… Star Leonard and Judgement Xio looked left and right, suddenly feeling that the gathering they had joined was not as loose as they had expected.

They were acting secretly in the shadows of the world!