"I also heard about the Backlund and the Great Smog at sea. I didn't expect that the death toll reached six figures. May their souls rest in peace."
Hanged Man Alger first expressed his surprise and respect for the deceased, then changed the topic and his tone became sharp.
"However, in this Catastrophe, the upper echelons of the kingdom, and even Orthodox Church, may have benefited a lot.
"You said these reforms were initiated by King? Oh, I'm afraid he was forced by Three Great Churches. Military power has always been in the hands of the Augustuss. After hundreds of years of management, Church of Storms has only embedded a few wedges in the navy. This time King actually allowed members of Three Great Churches to be stationed in the army. The compromise made was greater than the other things you mentioned combined.
"But this King seemed to be giving in, but he actually used these concessions to sow the seeds of suspicion among Three Great Churches. He deliberately allowed Church of Evernight to enter East Borough, which has a large population and undecided beliefs. He wanted to attract one family and suppress two others, making Church of Evernight a target of the other two major churches and reducing the pressure on himself."
Having said this, Alger paused for a moment, enjoying the shocked gazes of everyone. This made him feel a sense of relief that he had suppressed for a long time in the church and on the sea.
After a moment, he lowered his voice and continued:
"And the factory owners and bankers took this opportunity to leverage the seats of Upper House. This was originally a privilege of the traditional nobles. They could not buy it with money. Now they can enter Upper House through donated titles and exert influence on the national situation. They are all supporters of New Party. Conservatives's power will be hit hard again after Duke Negan's death.
"Finally, there are the people at the bottom of Backlund. The much-questioned Poor Law will be revised, and working hours will be subject to new restrictions. With all due respect, the population reduction caused by Great Smog this time will probably cause the factory to increase work remuneration in order to retain the remaining workers. For those who survive, it is, well, a blessing in disguise."
Audrey tried hard to use the ability of "Spectator" to stabilize her facial expressions and body movements, but the shock in her heart could not be greater. She now feels that even if Mr. Hanged Man is not Beyonder, she still has a great chance of getting a high-ranking position in the government department.
Because of what he said, he had heard his father and brother discuss it privately at home. The conclusion they drew based on various information was actually similar to the conclusion Hanged Man came to after a little thought by Tarot Club.
Of course, most of the credit goes to Susie. Who would care about Golden Retriever sleeping in the corner with dog food in his arms during a confidential conversation?
"So, what about the royal family? They seem to have only made concessions and losses in this incident, right?"
Angel asked with a frown. She was a little fascinated, but she didn't hear Hanged Man mention this until the end.
"The meteorite that fell near the Red Rose Manor that day caused a fire in the manor, and Prince Edessak Augustus was unfortunately buried in the flames," Miss Justice added. "But it is said that he colluded with the Demoness Sect and intended to rebel. After the incident was exposed, he committed suicide in fear of guilt. This is the real reason why the royal family gave in to Three Great Churches and the factory owners."
"No, Prince Edessak was silenced. There was Beyonder of Sequence 5 beside him as the steward and bodyguard. He also died in the sea of fire."
Angel told everyone the information obtained from Lola.
"So, Prince is just a scapegoat who was pushed out, and several parties who have benefited have chosen to cease activities because of the benefits they have gained, and will no longer pursue those forces in the royal family that really cooperate with the Demoness Sect and Aurora Order."
Hanged Man added, he seemed to have come up with some new conclusions in the analysis of everyone's words, and kept nodding.
"But what is the real purpose of the royal family? Would it be beneficial to them to cause a large-scale disaster in this way?"
Magician Fors also joined the discussion. With the intuition of a novelist, she instantly thought of several wild possibilities, but she lacked evidence and quickly denied them.
Dong Dong——
Mr. Fool suddenly knocked on the table, causing everyone to stop communicating and look at the host Tarot Club.
"The root of the problem has not yet been discovered, but clues have been revealed. I hope Three Great Churches will not give up pursuing the truth because of immediate interests."
He said slowly, with a calm tone, as if he was dismissive of these Orthodox Church.
The first person to react was Hanged Man. He bowed slightly and replied:
"Thank you, Mr. Fool, I understand."
What do you understand? Can you tell me by the way... Klein could hardly hold back the sense of mystery he created. He just casually mentioned that the royal family might have another purpose, hinting that everyone present would continue to inquire about the news through their own channels, but Mr. Hanged Man seemed to have "understood everything."
Fortunately, he still has a vest... But the "world" also has to maintain his personality, and sell Beyonder Characteristic of "Faceless", let alone Angel discover his relationship with "Klein"...
Klein hesitated and looked at the other Tarot Club members, only to find that they were all thoughtful and silent, so he had to pretend to be cold and said:
"You guys go ahead."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after ending this depressing yet confusing topic.
Hanged Man also put aside the seriousness of a political critic and tried to find clues to the formula of Potion "Wind-blessed" of Sailor Pathway Sequence 6. This also means that he has finished digesting the existing Potion and is ready to seek promotion.
Miss Justice also started to buy Beyonder Ingredients. She successfully mixed into "Psychology Alchemists" last week and used the money offensive to quickly solve several items issued by internal members. Although he pretended not to have taken "Telepathist" and "Potion" yet, he had already obtained the formula of Sequence 7 and "Psychiatrist" in advance.
The mysterious Mr. "World" is selling a mysterious Beyonder Characteristic in a mysterious tone. He is trying to get the well-connected Hanged Man to sell it on behalf of him, or to make it into Mystical Item., and Miss Justice expressed strong interest and joined the transaction. The three "communicated alone" for a moment and reached a high-value transaction of more than 3,000 pounds, which made Angel envious.
She purchased some Auxiliary Materials - Blue Eucalyptus Essential Oil in the "Affliction" Demoness formula, and spent money to get several seriously ill patients in the hospital. After receiving blood, she had less than 2,000 pounds of money on her body. Although many people, including Justice, still owed her money, Angel still felt that her wallet was in danger.
Fortunately, Angel Lady from the church left me "Affliction" Demoness's Beyonder Characteristic, otherwise Main Materials or complete I'm afraid it will cost more than 8,000 pounds to buy Beyonder Characteristic... Well, my promotion has to be put on the agenda. Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man are working hard, so I can't relax...
She secretly planned.
Seeing that the others stopped speaking, Mr. Sun slowly raised his hand, and after everyone looked at him curiously, he said:
"Everyone, do you still remember what I said last time about preparing to participate in exploring the ruins of 'Fallen Creator'?"
"Are you on your way?"
Hanged Man immediately asked back. He had guided Mr. Sun in many of his previous decisions at City of Silver, and had formed an almost fixed "teacher-student" relationship, so everyone looked at the two without interrupting.
"We will set off tomorrow. The 'Shepherd' Lovia elder who went to explore last time is still locked in the dungeon. Our team is led by the 'chief', who is the 'Demon Hunter' of Sequence 4."
In order to seek help, "Sun" Derrick did not hide it, and even informed Hanged Man of the strength of the "chief".
"It sounds like the level of danger will be much lower, but you still have to pay attention, especially to your own behavior. This exploration requires you to participate, probably to eliminate the possibility of you being controlled by 'Amon'."
"Then what do I need to pay attention to?"
"Of course, follow your usual training. Don't expose knowledge you shouldn't know. Follow orders and don't be curious about anything. That will kill you and your teammates."
Hanged Man seems to have a deep understanding of this, and his tone is somewhat serious.
"What about something more specific? It's impossible for me to do nothing, everyone in the team has their own tasks."
Derrick asked.
"Flesh and blood, and gibbering."
Mr. Fool at the top of the long table suddenly spoke.
"Flesh and blood, gibbering, these are really... the most dangerous things in Fallen Creator's ruins." Seeing that Derrick was a little confused, Hanged Man took the initiative to explain to Mr. Fool, "You don't have to worry too much. The 'chief' must have rich experience in this. You can get through the difficulties by following his orders and not 'playing freely'." "
"Thank you, Mr. Fool, and Mr. Hanged Man, I understand."
I just got through the Great Smog caused by the followers of "True Creator". Now I heard that the young Beyonder was about to embark on a journey to explore the ruins of this evil god. Others were also a little worried about him. Worry, it is a pity that everyone does not know where City of Silver is, so they can only offer various verbal blessings to Mr. Sun, wishing him a safe return, so as to prevent Tarot Club from losing a precious member.
After this Tarot Club is over, Angel will have no special arrangements in the short term. She and Klein only need to wait for the false identity certificates to be obtained, and after dealing with the interpersonal relationships left behind by Backlund, they can leave this city that is still immersed in grief.
The first thing she has to do is to find an opportunity to be promoted to Sequence 5, "Affliction" Demoness.
After carefully storing the Blue Eucalyptus Essential Oil that had been properly preserved through Ritual Magic, as well as the blood of seriously ill patients that can be seen everywhere at present, Angel recalled the Potion formula that he saw in the "Demoness" brand, and the corresponding Promotion Ritual:
Main Materials: Painted Bat's head, Two-Tailed Black Snake's gallbladder;
Auxiliary Materials: 30 ml of blood from Painted Bat, the tail tip of Two-Tailed Black Snake, 50 ml of seriously ill human blood, 10 drops of Blue Eucalyptus Essential Oil.
Promotion Ritual: Survive being burned on the stake for a quarter of an hour without using a double, without going crazy.