As crimson rays rose one after another, the Tarot Club members scattered across the world gathered above the gray fog once more.
Justice Audrey did not immediately rise to greet Mr. Fool. Instead, she turned toward the high-backed chair belonging to Miss Empress beside her and, as expected, saw that familiar figure.
When she had met her in the Charity Fund's office yesterday, Audrey had guessed why Empress had missed a week's gathering. She had most likely been handling matters following the Primordial Demoness's fall and taking possession of that deity's legacy. Now that she had reappeared, clearly having advanced in Sequence, her return to the Tarot Club had been inevitable.
Audrey was not the only one. The other members quickly noticed the return of the occupant of the chair that had stood empty last week. They cast concerned glances her way before rising together to greet the Fool as usual, beginning today's gathering.
Sensing everyone's glances, some discreet and others direct, Angel felt warmth well up inside her.
Here, too, were people who cared about her. Whether their concern stemmed from being her "colleagues" or genuine worry for her safety, she found it comforting.
Meeting their gazes, she looked around and was pleasantly surprised to discover that, with the latest addition of Miss Chariot, Angel Gray, there were finally five members on each side of the Tarot Club's bronze table. Together with the Fool at its head and the World at its far end, they formed a perfectly symmetrical arrangement.
Although Gray is a woman, Chariot should be a Beyonder of the Red Priest pathway, which effectively makes her male... She glanced at her other self beside Star Leonard and found that the other woman happened to be looking back. Her gaze was entirely composed, without any of the