Chapter 130: Each in Their Own Way

Chapter One Hundred Thirty
Each in Their Own Way

After The World and The Sun finished their private exchange, this Tarot Gathering entered its free discussion phase. Justice Audrey asked with great interest about the ocean’s unique scenery, as well as strange stories and anecdotes from the sea. The Hanged Man Alger selectively described them based on his own experience.

The Magician Fors quietly listened from the side and gradually gained inspiration. She wanted to write a novel about a pirate king who captured a female passenger, and how between the two of them unfolded a story of love and hatred, intertwined with fantasy and reality.

As for The Sun, Derrick, he could only rely on the paintings preserved by the City of Silver and the corresponding written explanations to imagine what the sea was like.

At the end, Klein, whose spirituality was gradually running dry, announced the end of that Tarot Gathering and swiftly returned to the real world to catch up on sleep.

…

At seven thirty that evening, Queen’s Borough, inside a house that appeared to belong to a certain noble.

Fors put on a hooded robe and, after many days, once again attended the gathering organized by Mr. A.

She sat quietly in a corner, pretending to casually look around once. She discovered that Mr. A, seated alone on an armchair, seemed a little different compared with before.

This was not a change in appearance or bearing, because the other party’s face was completely hidden within the shadow of his hood. Fors could not see it at all.

She felt he was different purely through something close to intuition.

Mr. A no longer seemed as relaxed and indifferent as before, no longer looking down on everyone with a kind of condescension. Now, he seemed extremely suppressed, as though struggling to control something. The sense of danger he gave off had risen sharply.

The former Mr. A had been like a great mountain. Now, he was closer to a venomous snake that had lifted its body and flicked out its tongue…

The bestselling novelist Fors suddenly felt fortunate that, in order to hide the Tarot Club, and to keep Xio from knowing she was seeking to buy items from the Sun domain, she had not brought Xio with her.

That way, even if some unexpected change truly happens, escaping will be much simpler for me…

Fors turned the bracelet that had only two stones remaining.

She did not hurry to write her need on a slip of paper and hand it to the attendant. Instead, she patiently observed for a while.

This was not because she had been born cautious, but because the lessons from her past experiences had left an extremely deep impression. The two stones remaining on her bracelet were proof.

After waiting more than ten minutes, she finally picked up the paper and fountain pen before her and, using deliberately distorted handwriting, wrote:

“Seeking mystical items or powerful Beyonder weapons of the Sun domain.”

After handing the slip to the attendant, Fors again looked around, but among the many disguised or concealed figures, she could not find the believer of the Eternal Blazing Sun who had helped perform the purification and exorcism ritual last time.

Transactions brewed and fermented as attendants moved back and forth. The entire hall was quiet and orderly.

After the middle portion of discussion and exchange, Fors’s request was added to the two blackboards at the front.

Not long afterward, she received a reply brought by an attendant.

A small sheet of white paper was filled with densely packed words:

“Mystical item: Ring of Light. It allows the wearer to become a messenger of light, an attendant of the sun, granting immunity to many illnesses and command over sacred power. The wearer can summon dazzling beams of light, use quite a few spells from the Sun domain, and purify dead spirits within a fifty-meter range. It is the bane of such creatures.

“Those whom the wearer acknowledges will be enhanced through this ring. Those whom the wearer disapproves of will be weakened.

“Its only problem is that if the wearer uses it frequently, they will gradually become a believer of the Eternal Blazing Sun, slowly and sincerely following doctrine and praising the sun from the heart.

“If you wish to obtain it, please pay 9,000 pounds in cash all at once. I can wait for you to gather it.”

9,000 pounds?

Fors opened her mouth slightly, nearly feeling as though the other party were robbing her.

This was an enormous sum that she could not borrow even if she tried!

Aside from the advance payment for assassinating the Intis Ambassador, all the money she had ever seen added together had not reached that amount!

A person with 9,000 pounds in cash would absolutely count as a wealthy person even in Backlund!

Although I knew mystical items were all expensive, I never imagined they could be expensive to this degree… Is this person hoping to get 9,000 pounds, stop attending Beyonder gatherings, leave this circle, and enjoy life in peace?

Fors quietly drew in a breath and, for a short while, did not dare respond.

She pretended nothing had happened and listened from the side for nearly ten minutes, yet no other reply arrived. Nor did any far cheaper Beyonder weapon appear. Having no other choice, she rose and went to the washroom.

After confirming no one was around, she closed the stall door, sat on the toilet, recited Mr. Fool’s honorific name, informed Him of what had just happened in the form of a prayer, and asked Him to relay it to The World.

Above the endless gray-white fog, Klein, hearing the illusory layered voices, quickly entered and preliminarily grasped the situation.

9,000 pounds?

He silently repeated that number, and his expression twisted slightly.

After silently calculating how much money he could gather in the short term, he exhaled, manifested the dummy, The World, and controlled him to give a response.

“…The negative problem of this mystical item is too severe. I do not wish to become a believer of the sun.

“You do not need to worry about this matter any longer. We will switch to a cash transaction.

“Pay 450 pounds, and the Trickmaster formula is yours.”

The moment his voice fell, the connection was cut off. Klein watched The World vanish, raised a hand to rub his forehead, and spoke as though to himself.

“Next, it depends on what clues that Barbarian lady can collect…

“Otherwise, I can only find old Mr. Eye of Wisdom and buy that brooch.”

…

Inside the washroom, Fors let out a breath and expressed that she would conduct the sacrifice ritual as soon as possible after returning.

What a pity. I still do not know the formula for now. Otherwise, I could take the opportunity to see if this place has any Beyonder materials I need…

She returned to the hall and focused her gaze on the information written across the two blackboards.

She did not respond to the earlier slip. She did not even consider bargaining, because even if she could make the other party reduce the price by 1,000 pounds, she still could not afford it. She had no way to turn around that much money. More importantly, she felt that Mr. World probably could not afford it either.

She continued watching from the side until the gathering ended. Because of the change in Mr. A, she did not linger, did not speak with anyone, and quickly left the house.

More than ten minutes later, the gathering had completely ended, leaving only Mr. A and his attendants.

Mr. A slowly stood and walked along the stairs toward the basement.

Suddenly, his knees buckled. He fell to the floor and rolled down several steps.

He lay there, the shadow beneath him swiftly turning crimson.

His flesh and blood began to melt, seeping into it, making that shadow resemble a new, skinless, monsterlike person separating from his body.

Hah… hah…

Mr. A’s breathing gradually steadied. His tense body slowly eased.

Then the flesh and blood that had separated “flowed” back again.

Everything returned to normal.

Mr. A crawled forward and knelt inside the basement. Once again, he made a choking confession.

He confessed the mistake in what had happened before, his insufficient vigilance, and how the Lord’s descent had been ruined.

…

City of Silver, Derrick Berg’s home.

He walked around the table in silence, circle after circle, never able to make up his mind. His reason told him that Mr. Hanged Man’s suggestion was the best choice, yet faces of the other members participating in this mission kept flashing through his mind. He felt that pretending to show signs of losing control and not going would be equivalent to betraying them!

Is there no way to save them? Should I find a chance to request an audience with the Chief and tell him that the half-destroyed temple belongs to the Fallen Creator, to the evil god who controls the Shepherd pathway, and ask him to be cautious of Elder Lovia and replace the leader of this mission… But what would I say as the source of this knowledge? In their eyes, Mr. Fool would probably be equivalent to an evil god too…

Derrick irritably scratched his hair.

The Hurricane Axe was placed where it could be reached most easily. With every bolt of lightning that streaked past the window, it rose with a faint glimmer.

Suddenly, Derrick stopped in his steps and looked toward the alternately bright and dark world outside, toward the sky deep in the blackness.

It was as though he once again saw his parents’ faces before death and recovered the feeling of painfully stabbing down with the straight sword.

“There is no time this time…

“After this, I must make preparations. I must ensure that discovering it belongs to the Fallen Creator will not arouse suspicion…”

His expression twisted for a while. He clenched his teeth and murmured those words. Then he suddenly left the window, returned to the table, and began consuming his own spirituality by practicing the Beyonder abilities of a Light Suppliant, making it rapidly approach depletion.

…

Inside Earl Hall’s luxurious villa.

Audrey, who was in the painting room, leisurely applying paint, heard a rhythmic knock on the door.

After her personal maid Annie opened it, she discovered that the visitor was actually her mother, Countess Caitlyn.

Although the countess was already approaching fifty, she looked barely over thirty. With golden hair, blue eyes, and a beautiful, dignified bearing, she was enough to attract the gazes of the vast majority of gentlemen.

“Mother, is something the matter?”

Audrey set down the items in her hands and rose in puzzlement.

The countess looked at her youngest daughter, who was even more beautiful than she had been in her youth, and smiled.

“I just finished attending a dinner. Madam Della said you were very interested in psychology and wished to invite a private tutor. Is that right?”

“Yes, but I have not made a final decision…” Audrey answered with feigned hesitation, just as she normally would.

How could the countess fail to see her daughter’s thoughts? Smiling, she said, “She recommended a psychiatrist named Islant. If you have no objection, I will send someone to invite her. Two lessons each week. How does that sound?”

“You may decide.”

Audrey’s smile blossomed bit by bit.

“Mother, come, sit here. I happen to be lacking a beautiful model!”

…

Tuesday morning, Klein confirmed through the Backlund Morning Post that the gathering convened by old Mr. Eye of Wisdom would take place tomorrow night.

He immediately let out a breath, no longer worrying about whether the item would arrive in time for Miss Sharron’s operation to surround and kill the enemy.

To celebrate that good news, he decided to spend the day relaxing at the Cragg Club.