Chapter 83: Eye of Mystery Pryer

Chapter 83: Eye of Mystery Pryer

Inside the captain’s cabin, Cattleya slowly climbed up from the floor. In silence, she walked to the full-length mirror beside the bookshelf.

In the mirror, the skin of her face was fair and smooth. Not a single split could be seen. Her ears were normal and small, showing no sign of spreading outward. Her black eyes, faintly tinged with deep purple, were calm and rippleless, as if nothing at all had happened.

Yet Cattleya’s eyes, which carried a somewhat mysterious air, could see far more:

The eyeball-like flesh and blood still hidden beneath her skin, not yet completely dissolved; the pain and madness within her spirit body, rapidly fading away; the countless illusory things of indescribable form swimming all around; the sailors several rooms away, cleaning the deck…

Everything within a range of several dozen meters appeared in her field of vision without obstruction, but in a state of abnormal chaos.

From the day she became a Sequence 5 Astrologer, her Mystery Pryer abilities had undergone an enormous improvement. She could even faintly see, around her, layer after layer of thick curtains that seemed made of shadows. Behind those curtains, something appeared to be watching her—watching all living things.

There are no traces of influence from Mr. Fool. In reverse, that explains many problems… He—no, He—directly pulled my spirit body into that mysterious space. That ability is strange, powerful, and hidden. It is not something that demigod-level scepter can compare with… Although He wore currently fashionable clothing, that proves nothing. For an existence at His level, appearing in different images to different people would be very simple. His true appearance would likely make every direct observer lose control and die… Cattleya gazed at herself in the mirror, silently recalling everything that had just happened.

Regarding Mr. Fool’s identity, she inevitably had some guesses. But they could only remain guesses—guesses with no evidence.

“The fact that He wears a tailcoat does not mean He is young or that He was born only recently. Perhaps His essence is ancient, older than the seven gods. The knowledge that pursues me has told me that, before the Cataclysm, more ancient deities did indeed exist. Perhaps He is one of them,” Cattleya muttered soundlessly.

She turned away from the full-length mirror and walked back to the spot where she had earlier struggled in agony, picking up the heavy-framed glasses that had fallen to one side.

She placed the thick glasses on the bridge of her nose, covering her deep-purple eyes. All things that did not belong within normal vision swiftly vanished from “before” her.

Standing there, Cattleya once again pondered what sort of influence Mr. Fool and the so-called Tarot Club would bring her.

Without realizing it, a tall figure surfaced in her mind. In her ears, that sentence she had never been able to forget echoed once more:

“Leave. Your fate is not with me.”

Is this my fate, Your Majesty? Cattleya closed her eyes briefly.

…

Above the gray fog, inside the ancient, majestic palace.

Klein lightly tapped the edge of the mottled long table, making all the Tarot cards upon it vanish.

He was thinking about the follow-up matters after Admiral of Stars joined the Tarot Club.

“If there is no other way, I may truly have to leave the safe sea route and enter that ocean transformed from the ruins of a divine war in order to search for the singing of mermaids. When that time comes, The Hermit, who fears The Fool and can be controlled by me to a certain extent, will clearly be more reliable than Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina and the others as a collaborator. Borrowing her ship would be safer… Mm. Mr. Hanged Man is the backup option.

“Admiral of Stars is a member of the Moses Ascetic Order and possesses a great deal of knowledge. That will be very helpful to the Tarot Club. But for me, it also creates a certain hidden danger. Mr. Fool’s image is built upon being profound and unfathomable… In the future, I must be even more cautious. I absolutely cannot pretend to understand what I do not understand. When I am unsure, I would rather speak ambiguously, or even handle matters in the manner of a charlatan. Of course, if I want to solve this kind of problem completely, I must improve myself as quickly as possible and become a High-Sequence powerhouse soon. My strength has to match my level. My competence has to match my status.

“With a Sequence 5 powerhouse who has many subordinates joining, the Tarot Club’s overall strength can no longer be considered low.

“After obtaining the Sea God Scepter, I also no longer need to worry that a Tarot Club member of this level may be too strong and create problems.

“I hope that one day, Admiral of Stars, a member of the Moses Ascetic Order, can become an important helper in my retaliation against the Hidden Sage.”

Klein exhaled, and his figure vanished from above the gray fog.

…

Backlund, beneath Saint Samuel Cathedral.

A Nighthawk wearing red gloves entered the temporary office assigned to them with a telegram in hand.

“Captain, something has happened at Enmat Harbor,” he said to Soest, the Requiem, with slight excitement.

Soest touched the hair at his right temple.

“What happened?”

“New information about that Fool. The Fool the Aurora Order is searching for.” The team member holding the telegram handed over the paper.

His answer instantly drew the attention of several Red Gloves present, including the black-haired, green-eyed man in the corner, whose chair was tilted backward, both feet resting on the table, hat covering his face as though he were napping.

Soest took the telegram and glanced over it. He immediately laughed.

“Someone falsely claimed to be His Blessed and attempted fraud. As a result, after reciting His honorific name, a bolt of lightning struck him dead on the spot.

“There really is a hidden existence called The Fool…”

All files related to the two Tarot ritual cases and The Fool had been handed to Soest’s Red Gloves team for investigation. But because there were no real clues, they had not taken the matter seriously. They had other assignments on hand.

“The Fool has powers in the domain of lightning?” Leonard Mitchell removed the black hat covering his face and asked.

“Who knows? If He is an incarnation of some old friend, He could have prepared the corresponding mystical item ahead of time and achieved something similar. There were precedents for that in the past, especially with the false gods in the Southern Continent and the colonial islands. Heh. That swindler falsely claimed The Fool was an incarnation of the Lord of Storms. Perhaps that is why he was struck to death by lightning rather than dying in some other way.” Soest leisurely tossed the telegram aside.

Leonard glanced at it. He put his feet down, turned halfway, and asked with a soft chuckle, “You do not plan to investigate?”

“How would we find Him? Have you disguise yourself as an ignorant person and recite His honorific name?” Soest sneered.

That would very likely catch that Fool’s tail, but I would basically be saying farewell to this world. My Nightmare digestion is progressing well, and I have just obtained something good. Many Sequences still lie ahead of me. How could I bear to sleep forever? Leonard smoothed the hair falling down beside his face and said, “We could find a few death-row prisoners to try.”

“But He can also simply choose not to respond.” Soest shook his head.

“We can start from those two cases involving Tarot rituals. I increasingly feel that they are connected to The Fool. First, The Fool itself is one of the Major Arcana cards. Second, the organization searching for, or rather, placing a wanted notice on, His Blessed is the Aurora Order. And the first case involving a Tarot ritual was the Lanevus case. Because of it, the Aurora Order’s attempt to let the True Creator descend was destroyed.” Leonard tugged at his black waistcoat as he stood.

Soest thought seriously for a moment and said, “The clues from the other cases have just happened to break off, and for the time being, we have nothing that must be done. You can try reinvestigating the two Tarot ritual cases.”

“Very well.” Leonard answered with a smile.

That was exactly the effect he wanted. By using a case no one would care much about whether he found results or not, he could obtain a certain degree of freedom of movement for a period of time.

…

At ten minutes to three in the afternoon, Fors returned home from the cold, damp streets, shivering all over.

It was not that she wanted to go out in such humid, freezing weather, but the food stored at home had been nearly exhausted. Xio, in order to capture a fugitive and claim the bounty, had chased the target all the way toward Pritz Harbor, and there was no telling when she would return.

“She always instinctively tracks down and captures fugitives. That counts as acting, to some extent…” Fors hugged the large brown paper bag and habitually took out her key to open the mailbox, collecting the letters and bills inside.

Once inside, she put away the food, removed the thick coat wrapped tightly around her, and flipped through the letters.

Suddenly, her eyes brightened, because one of the letters was from her teacher, Dorian Gray.

After advancing to Trickmaster, she had immediately written about it in a letter and mailed it to Dorian Gray, hoping to receive her teacher’s congratulations and subsequent guidance. Yet several days had passed without any reply, making her somewhat worried and even wondering whether she should go to Pritz Harbor to take a look.

Fors quickly opened the envelope and began reading:

“…I apologize for replying only now. I left Pritz Harbor for a period of time because of a relative’s funeral.

“…Your talent comforts me. Perhaps the stories hidden within your heart have helped you complete better acting. Once you digest the Trickmaster potion, aside from providing you with the Sequence 7 Astrologer formula and a portion of the materials, I will also give you a gift…

“…The key points of acting as a Trickmaster lie in the two words performance and fooling. Fooling may also be replaced by deception. These are matters verified by generation after generation of Beyonders… You may refer to the Swindler and Magician of other pathways. The meanings of their names are similar in certain aspects…”

Fors let out a breath of relief, looked up at the wall clock, and walked briskly back to her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

The weekly Tarot Gathering was about to arrive.

It did not take long before crimson light surged like water before her eyes, drowning everything.

Inside the ancient, mysterious palace, Fors was just about to look toward Mr. Fool when she suddenly noticed another figure at her side.

That seat had always been empty before!

A new member? A lady? The Magician Fors moved her eyes slightly and pretended to turn only casually, as though she did not care.

Another new member? And a lady… Miss Justice was just about to rise and greet Mr. Fool when she suddenly saw an unfamiliar figure.

With both curiosity and anticipation, she discovered something: the women were all on one side, while the men were on the other.

This should be an intentional division by Mr. Fool. I wonder if there is any symbolic meaning hidden within it… Mm, the left side is women, the right side is men, while neither left nor right is Mr. Fool, a deity who cannot be defined by gender. Ah, right. There is also Mr. World… Hehe. Could it be that he is neither male nor female as well, or even not human? Audrey, you are thinking too much… Justice stood and greeted in a lively tone:

“Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~”