August 27, Monday.
Klein, who had worked the night shift at Chanis Gate last night, returned home and slept blissfully through the morning after receiving Mr. Devil's good-morning greeting. Then, during Mr. Devil's lunchtime, he was cruelly awakened.
Fortunately, the maid he had hired yesterday for odd jobs was quite diligent. As soon as he woke up, she promptly prepared a steaming hot lunch, soothing Mr. Fool's wounded heart.
After his growling stomach had been comforted by lunch, Klein picked up a copy of the Tingen Honest Man Newspaper and used reading the paper to conceal his thoughts.
Having stood watch at Chanis Gate, he had earned two days off. He planned to use this opportunity to advance to Clown.
After all, although the Beyonder conflicts in Tingen City had gradually settled down, neither the Aurora Society's Oracle, the as-yet-unborn Evil God Progeny, nor that Spectator who had remained hidden in the shadows showed any intention of appearing.
On top of that, Mr. Azk had already left for Backlund. His thirst for power had now nearly reached a critical point.
"After the Tarot Club, I'll go buy the Extraordinary Materials..."
Thinking this, Klein hurriedly finished lunch, then returned to his bedroom and began considering how to disguise himself before heading out later.
"Finished." Sno reread the draft before him once more. Only after confirming there were no omissions did he burn it. He wanted to achieve quite a few goals at today's Tarot Club gathering, so he had written the plan in exceptional detail.
As time passed, Sno gradually shook off his languid state. With the eruption of deep crimson light before his eyes, he once again appeared before the ancient, mottled Bronze Long Table. Across from him, Miss Justice, the Tarot Club's only lady, stood up as usual. However, she was clearly somewhat anxious this time and did not greet everyone in turn as she normally did.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool. I'm very sorry, but I didn't obtain any Emperor Roselle's Diary entries this week. However, the situation in Backlund has improved, so I should be able to attend some Beyonder gatherings this week!"
"Very well." Although Klein was somewhat disappointed, he maintained the Fool's dignity. After Mr. Fool responded, Audrey immediately said eagerly,
"Mr. Sun, did you obtain the Telepathist formula?"
The Little Sun's credibility was naturally excellent. Although he had only barely scraped together the Extraordinary Materials needed for the Telepathist formula and the Worshipper by selling off his possessions, he did not show it. Instead, with Mr. Fool's assistance, he readily wrote down the Potion Formula.
And Mr. Fool thoughtfully replaced the material names with their modern terms for Miss Justice.
Perhaps because she had not obtained any Emperor Roselle's Diary entries, Miss Justice felt a little guilty after receiving the formula and immediately said,
"Mr. Fool, to express my apology and make up for the difference in value in this transaction, I am willing to provide your Blessed with three hundred and fifty pounds in funding."
"Three hundred and fifty pounds?!" Mr. Fool, who had thought he would have to bid farewell to those lovely little banknotes today, brightened at once. Still, he pretended to be completely indifferent to money as he said calmly,
"A fair trade."
At that, Klein recalled that Miss Justice did not have a messenger. He then displayed the anonymous Backlund account he had not used previously on the parchment and handed it to Miss Justice, while muttering inwardly—
Messengers really are so useful. Maybe I should ask Mr. Azk how I can get one?
After straightening out his finances, Klein held down the parchment that Mr. Devil had silently manifested, covered in neat handwriting and presumably titled Perrdax's Diary. He did not rush to read it, instead looking toward the Little Sun—
"What compensation do you wish to receive?"
Hearing that, the Little Sun thought seriously and honestly for a moment before answering,
"I don't have anything I urgently want at the moment, but I should be able to digest the Worshipper potion soon. So let the compensation accumulate for now. Um, let it be preparation for the Sequence Eight formula or necessary materials."
"Even if I knew the materials, I couldn't send them to you... If you really are in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, then even a messenger probably couldn't deliver them, right?" Although Klein did not know whether a messenger could be summoned in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, it was, after all, a place with Sequence IV combat power. If ordinary messengers could enter and leave at will, no one could have been trapped there for so many years.
Just as Klein nodded and prepared to read Perrdax's Diary, Miss Justice noticed the word "digest" in the Little Sun's words. After choosing her phrasing carefully, she asked,
"Mr. Sun, have you mastered the Acting Method?"
The Little Sun's eyes showed a trace of confusion, but he still answered frankly, "Isn't that normal? The City of Silver's general education courses teach the Acting Method..."
"Snap!"
Just as Hanged Man and Justice were both astonished that general education classes taught such knowledge, a soft sound suddenly rang out. Everyone turned their heads together, only to discover that Mr. Devil, who had always seemed unconcerned with anything, was displaying an expression of shock that even the Gray Fog could barely conceal.
"Mr. Devil actually lost his composure? That shouldn't be possible!" If anyone was the most astonished at that moment, it was surely Mr. Fool seated at the head of the Bronze Long Table, because he might have been the one who knew Mr. Devil's background best among them.
A Beyonder who possessed an Extraordinary Item likely originating from a High Sequence, held intelligence related to Gods, and had a family inheritance—how could he possibly be shocked by the widespread teaching of the Acting Method?
Unless the Acting Method held an even deeper secret!
With that thought, Mr. Fool slowed his movement as he picked up the diary. And Mr. Devil, just as he had "hoped," asked in an unprecedentedly solemn tone,
"Can you tell me about the faith and population of your City of Silver?"
"Why would Mr. Devil ask that? What does general education teaching the Acting Method have to do with faith and population?"
Perhaps because he noticed everyone looking at him curiously, or perhaps simply because he felt there was nothing to hide, the Little Sun nodded slightly.
"Our City of Silver believes in The Lord that Created Everything, the Omniscient and Omnipotent God. The entire city has a little over two thousand people."
Under the Tarot Club members' gazes, Sno took a deep breath, then said in a solemn, profound tone,
"Although I'm not sure whether the Omniscient and Omnipotent God you speak of is the one I know, nor whether your City of Silver is in the place I know, if my guess is correct, he should not have responded to you for a very long time, right?"
"How did you know? What else do you know? Can you tell me? I'll trade everything I can offer for it!"
Before you continue