The First Step of the Deception

Few people could remain confident in their own uniqueness at Sequence 7. After thinking it over, Verdu ultimately concluded that the reason he had been targeted was probably his ancestor.

Or, more accurately, Miss Fortune seemed to want something through his ancestor. That was why she was willing to offer help, and she might be doing so behind The Fool's back...

For a moment, countless thoughts surged through Verdu's mind. In the end, he accepted none of them, because he did not think he could survive a game between two Great Beings.

—He did not pray.

This choice disappointed Alice greatly. She had almost wanted to tamper with Verdu's fate and alter his choice, but in the end, she did not do so, because—something seemed to have happened on Klein's side.

Since she had not heard a summons, Klein was probably safe. After all, there were not many predicaments left that could leave Klein unable even to call for help. If there were, her going over would likely be useless anyway. Thus, Alice was not overly worried. She secretly glanced at Verdu before ultimately turning her attention back to Klein.

Playing out an entire town was a burden for Klein, but it did not require him to give it his all.

However, the Goddess's show of weakness gave Klein inspiration. Over the past half year, Klein had kept up the appearance of having no energy to spare for other matters, leaving most things to the Tarot Club members while his true body remained inside that church, never appearing.

—In truth, he even had the spare energy to bicker with Alice.

Together with Alice vanishing after becoming a god, Klein hoped to use this method to make Zaratul lower his guard somewhat.

This was not foolproof. Klein had also used the