Chapter 56: When in Doubt, Delay First

Chapter 56: When in Doubt, Delay First

After hearing The World Gehrman Sparrow’s question, the other Tarot Club members produced three types of reactions in total:

Who is that? I feel like I have heard of him… Is he one of the Four Kings?

Who is that? Why have I never heard of him…

Mm, I forgot to ask about matters related to the Psychology Alchemists again. I had just planned to seek some advice in a more tactful way…

The first reaction came from The Hanged Man Alger, The Hermit Cattleya, and The Magician Fors, who had lived at sea for some time. The second came from The Star Leonard, The Moon Emlyn, Judgment Xio, and The Sun Derrick. The third belonged solely to Justice Audrey.

Seeing that no one gave an answer, The World Gehrman Sparrow did not continue asking. His main purpose had actually been to remind Miss Justice so she could bring out matters that bypassed her promise and discuss them.

Of course, if Miss Justice sought Mr. Fool’s help, Klein would also use Grafting to briefly connect the restriction formed by the promise within her subconscious to a paper figurine, giving her a period of time during which she could speak freely.

This was also a high-level application of Paper Figurine Substitution. With Klein’s current status, only inside Sefirah Castle could he do it easily. If he were in the real world, he would have to rely on the Spirit Worms taking shifts above the gray fog to manipulate the “curtain” and respond.

At this moment, Justice Audrey thought for a while and said,

“Do you still remember that I once followed traces of a mind dragon and went to a place with dragon-worship customs?”

The Hanged Man Alger, The Hermit Cattleya, and the others nodded one after another. Only The Star Leonard and Judgment Xio indicated that they had not heard of this matter.

—Because this was not an especially important incident, The Magician Fors had not mentioned it when she first explained common knowledge to Judgment Xio. Later, after being frightened by the Visionary Angel Adam, she had seldom discussed the various secrets shared at the Tarot Gatherings in the real world.

Audrey considered her words and continued,

“Almost two years have passed since then. A certain secret organization that does not trust me very much suddenly brought up this matter again and commissioned me to investigate it further, saying it is an examination of me. What is their purpose?”

She did not believe this was a coincidence.

The Moon Emlyn had initially recovered from his earlier shock. He gave a light laugh and said,

“This should be a test.”

For him, Sequence 1 Beauty Goddess was still very, very far away, and he had no intention of switching to the Planter pathway. Therefore, for a very long time, he did not need to be troubled by the corresponding problem and did not have to worry too much.

Emlyn can actually say the word “test” now. He really has grown quite a bit… Of course, that is also because the sanguine have done too many similar things to him. Every time, he needed Mr. Hanged Man to say, “This is a test”… The Fool Klein was very satisfied with Emlyn’s answer.

Of course, he did not believe the answer was correct. He merely felt that Emlyn reaching this level of thought was already quite good.

Justice Audrey said, not quite agreeing,

“I suspect they already know there is a problem with me. They may even know where my problem lies and which force is involved. There is no need for them to test me again.”

After leaving Eden, she had thought about many things and remembered that Mr. World had once said the Twilight Hermit Order wanted a war that swept across the entire world.

Judging from the current situation, that goal had already been accomplished over the past year.

In other words, the Twilight Hermit Order or the Visionary Angel Adam had certainly seized no small amount of benefits from this and undergone corresponding growth.

And before this, Mr. Fool had hinted that Adam was closer to godhood.

Combining this information, Audrey preliminarily judged that there was a substantial chance the Visionary Angel Adam had ascended to the divine throne and become the Sequence 0 Visionary.

Even if He had not, He should not be far away!

If such a god who grasped the domain of the mind directed His gaze over, Audrey did not believe her secrets could remain very well hidden.

For now, she could only comfort herself with the thought that this leader of the Twilight Hermit Order and behind-the-scenes controller of the Psychology Alchemists would not place too much importance on a Sequence 4 Manipulator. At the same time, she would rely on various preparations to deal with possible “accidents.”

“Perhaps that organization wants to test exactly how many members our Tarot Club has, and what each of our identities are,” The Moon Emlyn continued along his own line of thinking, responding with a smile.

Justice Audrey thought for a moment and gently nodded.

“That possibility cannot be ruled out.”

When she said this, she glanced unobtrusively toward the head of the mottled long table and discovered that Mr. Fool was merely listening leisurely, with no intention of giving the correct answer.

This reassured her considerably. At the same time, she silently decided that she had to be even more careful and cautious. She could not have reached Sequence 4 step by step and still be unable to solve certain problems independently.

—In any orthodox Church or secret organization, Sequence 4 was a powerful person capable of overseeing an entire region.

At that moment, The Hanged Man Alger, who had listened to their conversation, proposed a completely new possibility:

“If that secret organization truly does not trust you very much, then perhaps their examination is only an excuse. Their main goal may be to use you to carry out some form of cooperation with the Tarot Club and with Mr. Fool.”

He did not know why Miss Justice had not directly mentioned the Psychology Alchemists, so he could only carefully cooperate with her and use substitutes.

Mm… That would mean I have become the Tarot Club’s ambassador stationed at the Psychology Alchemists? Justice Audrey nodded slightly.

“That is also possible.

“Then what should I do next?”

The Hanged Man Alger considered briefly.

“Delay first.”

Good method… The Magician Fors and The Moon Emlyn both expressed approval inwardly.

After giving the overall strategy, Alger added in detail,

“First, delay the time you go to that place. Until the very last moment, keep finding excuses not to go.

“Once you arrive there, begin by investigating the outer areas first. Use caution as your excuse and slow the investigation.

“When you really cannot delay any longer, you can deliberately make mistakes in certain matters and create a little commotion, allowing that mind dragon to detect things ahead of time and erase traces.

“If that secret organization truly has some additional purpose, the longer you delay, the more they will lose patience. And once they grow impatient, their problems will be exposed.”

The Hermit Cattleya listened and nodded.

“This is the most suitable response at present.”

“I understand. Thank you, everyone.” Justice Audrey also felt Mr. Hanged Man’s suggestion matched her own thinking.

However, regarding one matter, she did not delay. She immediately turned her head, looked toward the head of the mottled long table, and bowed.

“Honorable Mr. Fool, has the Visionary Angel Adam already advanced to Sequence 0?”

Not bad. She can recognize this… The Fool Klein leaned back against his chair and gave a low chuckle.

“Just as the apocalypse approaches, He has finally taken that step.”

The level reflected by Eden allowed him to almost confirm that Adam had already become the Visionary.

The Visionary Angel Adam has become a god? This news instantly echoed through The Sun Derrick’s and the others’ minds, lingering for a long time.

As expected… Justice Audrey pursed her lips, expressed her thanks, and then asked,

“What payment do I need to give for this answer?”

The Fool Klein looked around.

“None.

“This is a reminder.”

After this topic ended, because most members of the Tarot Club were still immersed in the shock of Adam becoming a true god, no one spoke for a while.

After several seconds, The Sun Derrick looked to both sides and asked tentatively,

“The City of Silver has already reclaimed the surrounding fields and planted wheat and other crops, but harvest will not arrive immediately. I would like to know what we can do to earn gold pounds and purchase supplies.”

After the initial aid, the Church of the Sea God and the Rorsted Archipelago government had stopped providing free assistance. After all, their economic strength was also fairly limited. Facing that situation, the City of Silver and Moon City had each sold off a batch of Beyonder characteristics and monster pelts, exchanging them for a large quantity of funds that could be used to purchase various supplies.

But now that the entrance to the Forsaken Land of the Gods had been closed, Beyonder characteristics and monster pelts could no longer be effectively replenished. The City of Silver and Moon City also could not abandon force, sell off large amounts of strategic resources, and neglect the cultivation of later generations. Therefore, once their existing gold pounds, gold, jewels, and similar items were spent, they would undoubtedly fall into difficulty.

Because of this, the six-member council had recently been worrying constantly about how to earn gold pounds from the outside world and establish a stable economic system. This exceeded their ability somewhat.

—The batch of Beyonder characteristics previously provided by the City of Silver and Moon City had mainly been purchased by the Church of the Sea God and the Rorsted Archipelago government in order to establish their own official Beyonder force. After all, the number of Beyonders required for destruction and the number required to stabilize rule over a region were on completely different levels.

In addition, throughout the entire Rorsted Archipelago, only the Sea God Kalvetua and Storm Church Cardinal Alger Wilson were currently demigods. For a new government, this was slightly insufficient, especially since the Church of Storms and the Church of the Sea God were not allies.

After hearing Little Sun’s request for help, the other Tarot Club members began seriously considering what work the residents of the City of Silver and Moon City could do.

Justice Audrey thought for a moment and asked,

“What are you best at?”

“Fighting,” The Sun Derrick answered without the slightest hesitation.

The Hanged Man Alger nodded slightly upon hearing this.

“Although the world war has ended, colonial order on the Southern Continent has not yet been effectively restored. It remains very chaotic, with small-scale wars breaking out from time to time. You can try forming two or three mercenary teams and accept employment from any force.”

Military contractors… Klein gave a more modern term in his heart.

“That is a good method.” Derrick’s eyes lit up as he listened.

The Hanged Man Alger then asked,

“Fighting is an instinct for survival. Apart from that, are there any other things you want to do?”

The Sun Derrick answered somewhat embarrassedly,

“Quite a few people hope to become chefs, brewers, or work in candy factories…”