Chapter 88: Neither Admit nor Deny

Chapter 88: Neither Admit nor Deny

Huh? Why is she looking at Mr. Fool… Justice Audrey keenly noticed The Hermit’s small movement, and it left her quite puzzled.

In her view, this was an unusual reaction. What Mr. Hanged Man had described was clearly something unrelated to everyone present. It concerned the so-called Sea God Kalvetua seemingly falling yet still occasionally responding to believers. Why would Madam Hermit look toward Mr. Fool?

Kalvetua’s fall… occasional responses to believers… Madam Hermit looking at Mr. Fool… Could it be… Audrey’s eyes brightened, and she subconsciously formed a guess:

“Could the one now responding to believers in Kalvetua’s place be Mr. Fool?

“Madam Hermit knows something, so she reacted that way?”

As thoughts flashed through her mind, Justice Audrey also turned halfway, looking expectantly at Mr. Fool, who sat leisurely in the high-backed chair at the head of the bronze long table.

At the same time, The Hanged Man Alger felt surprise and shock because The Hermit’s action lay outside his expectations.

“I was only probing her relationship with Leticia, a member of the Moses Ascetic Order. Why did she suddenly look toward Mr. Fool?

“Could it be—could it be that she knows the current Sea God is Mr. Fool’s incarnation?

“Her reaction largely proves that point!

“Before being pulled into the Tarot Club, she had multiple secret contacts with Mr. Fool. She may even have been secretly serving Him for a long time.”

The more Alger thought about it, the more importance he attached to The Hermit. Then, almost subconsciously, he followed her and looked toward Mr. Fool within the grayish-white fog.

He, The Hermit, and Justice acted one after another, but their nearly identical movements made The Magician Fors and the others clearly notice that something was amiss as well.

Why are they looking at Mr. Fool? Does Sea God Kalvetua’s death have something to do with Mr. Fool? Fors and Emlyn White, each considering themselves clever, began speculating on the reason and turned their gazes to the head of the bronze long table.

The Sun Derrick did not know who Sea God Kalvetua was, nor did he understand what it meant for someone to still occasionally respond to believers after death. But since everyone else was looking at Mr. Fool, he naturally followed suit and looked over as well.

The World was a second late, as though weighing something.

First, he swept a glance at The Hanged Man, making Alger’s heart tremble slightly. Only then did he follow the crowd and shift his gaze in the same direction.

At that moment, Klein had already realized from which detail Madam Hermit had guessed that he might be responding to believers in Sea God Kalvetua’s place. He was struggling with how he should respond.

Should I pretend, “This is just a trivial matter. I never took it to heart, but since you mentioned it, I shall casually admit it,” or “As a deity, I do not need to explain everything to you, nor do I need to admit or deny anything”… Klein recalled The Fool’s established image and quickly made a decision.

He would neither admit nor deny it, avoiding any loss of divine status, but he would still add a key sentence. Those who had not guessed the truth would become even more confused, while those who had would feel enlightened yet still surrounded by dense fog, deeply sensing how difficult Mr. Fool’s intentions were to fathom.

With that thought, Klein, leaning back in his chair, gave a light laugh. In an unbothered and leisurely tone, he said, “Kalvetua became a demigod by relying on an item left behind by Calamity Cohinem.”

So they were asking Mr. Fool about something related to Sea God… But that still does not convince me. I keep feeling that some deeper truth is hidden here… Could it be… surely not? The Magician Fors frowned slightly, making all sorts of associations.

As expected! The Hermit Cattleya took this as Mr. Fool’s direct response, with a secret casually revealed alongside it.

Was that demigod-level scepter Kalvetua’s characteristic, or an item left behind by Calamity Cohinem, or did it fit both definitions at once? Who is Calamity Cohinem? The name feels distinctly elven. Right—The Hanged Man mentioned that Leticia discovered an ancient elven ruin… The residence of a High Elf?

How did Mr. Fool obtain that scepter? Through The Hanged Man, or someone else? No, it does not seem to be The Hanged Man. Otherwise, he would not have brought this up of his own accord… What is Mr. Fool plotting by responding to believers in Sea God’s place? Is this one step of His revival, a step that allows Him to truly affect the real world?

The more The Hermit Cattleya thought, the more she felt that Mr. Fool’s profundity was impossible to measure—just like His figure, concealed within thick gray fog. The more one could see a little, the more confused, shocked, and awed one became.

Perhaps this is a game between deities… Cattleya sighed inwardly, moved by the thought.

My guess was not wrong! The Hanged Man Alger finally confirmed that the current Sea God was Mr. Fool’s incarnation. His worry and unease from earlier seemed to be repaid at this moment.

“In certain situations, I, who have disguised myself as a Sea God believer, can openly and naturally pray now… I wonder how much Mr. Fool has recovered, and how much power He can let seep out from within His seal? Even if it only reaches the demigod level, that can provide tremendous protection at sea…

“The Hermit did not show too much surprise. That means she indeed had prior contact with Mr. Fool and learned some information ahead of time. In reverse, this also proves her Sequence cannot be low. Perhaps she really is a pirate admiral-level powerhouse… This is both good and bad news for me.

“The good part is that, at sea, there is another major force and another powerhouse supporting us. At certain times, we can completely cooperate by tacit understanding and accomplish things previously unimaginable. The bad part is that my intelligence and resource channels will mostly overlap with hers, and my role within the Tarot Club will decline sharply. Of course, all of this has one premise: that she truly is Admiral of Stars.

“Mm. I need to adjust the focus of my intelligence and resource gathering, leaning more toward Church-related matters. That is something she cannot replace me in.” The Hanged Man Alger thought with both joy and vigilance.

That Sea God really is Mr. Fool! No, no, no, I should say that the current Sea God is Mr. Fool’s incarnation! Has He begun to truly interfere with the real world? This is wonderful! In the future, if I travel by sea, can I directly pray to Sea God and receive a response? Justice Audrey felt surprised, delighted, and proud.

As far as she knew, within the major Churches, those who could receive a deity’s response merely through prayer, without performing various fixed ritual magic procedures, were either priests who had served for many years and happened upon a rare chance, or a number of divine favored who could be counted on one’s fingers.

As for those who received a response with every prayer, even among the divine favored, that was an extreme exception.

And I can! Mr. Fool is step by step returning to His divine throne. Replacing Sea God is one of those steps… Audrey did not conceal the change in her emotions. With a smile on her lips, she sat upright and graceful.

Cohinem? That is an elven name. I feel like I have heard someone mention it… The Moon Emlyn let his thoughts scatter, trying to recall, but for the moment he had no result.

As for Kalvetua being dead while Sea God still responded to believers, and what connection that had to The Hermit, Justice, and The Hanged Man looking at Mr. Fool, he vaguely guessed a little but did not think about it deeply.

What does this have to do with me? It will not affect my saving the Blood Clan, nor is it anything interesting! In any case, if there is a problem, praying to Mr. Fool is the correct answer! Emlyn muttered inwardly, expressing disdain toward the others’ emotional changes.

“Calamity”? “Queen of Calamity”? But there are no records showing that she was named Cohinem… The Sun Derrick tilted his head very slightly to the left, a habitual movement when he was recalling something.

It seems Little Sun also does not know whether Cohinem is the Queen of Calamity. Otherwise, he would not react like this… Klein withdrew the corner of his gaze with a faint sense of disappointment.

He controlled The World and made him give a soft cough, pulling everyone’s thoughts back.

Then, with The Fool’s help, The World materialized an image and showed it to the left and right sides.

“Do any of you know her?”

It was the photograph of the red-haired Elaine. Klein mainly wanted to see whether Admiral of Stars Cattleya and The Hanged Man Alger knew her. After all, they were both well-informed people of the sea.

Alger glanced at it and was about to speak, indicating that he did not know who she was, when he heard Madam Hermit say in a steady tone, “Red-haired Elaine. She has the bloodline of the Intis Sauron family, a fallen noble lady.”

Cattleya paused, then added, “She once worked as a maritime merchant. Later, she was reportedly captured by the Maiden of Sickness, Tracy.”

Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy’s captive? I thought this was some melodramatic story of a domineering pirate and a noble girl… Though Tracy can also be counted as a domineering pirate, heh heh… Klein’s imagination drifted in many directions for a moment.

The Magician Fors had still been immersed in the relationship between Sea God and The Fool. Now, she suddenly snapped back to herself and keenly felt that the story between red-haired Elaine and Vice Admiral Ailment contained great potential, with many points worth imagining.

Unfortunately, Madam Hermit said only those two sentences and nothing more.

The Hermit knows Vice Admiral Ailment… But that proves nothing. Any higher-Sequence Beyonder, and any knowledgeable ordinary person, knows who the seven pirate admirals are. Their wanted notices are posted everywhere… Mm, The Hermit seems relatively familiar with matters involving Intis. That is a preliminary judgment… The Hanged Man was not interested in red-haired Elaine. He cared only about The Hermit’s true identity.

After the matter of red-haired Elaine came to an end, Justice Audrey began thinking about whether to ask about the mind dragons.

Unlike before, a new Madam Hermit had joined—a person whose personality she did not yet understand and whose trustworthiness remained unclear. This made Audrey hesitate.

After a brief moment of deliberation, she still spoke.

“Recently, I have been pursuing traces of the mind dragons and went to a place with customs of dragon worship.”

She hid the specific location and the details that might reveal her identity.