Mr. The Fool

"He's very emotional, excited, worried, as well as ecstatic and a bit vigilant..." Klein quietly activated his Spirit Vision, judging the young man's mental state through his aura. Sno, standing across the bronze long table, quickly reacted and spoke with the humble tone he learned from the Aurora Society:

"Praise be to you, great and benevolent existence. Sno von Perrdax pays his respects."

"Sno? He's that suspect from earlier!" Klein finally remembered where he had heard the surname Perrdax. However, he suppressed his surprise and said in a relaxed and casual tone:

"There's no need to be so formal. You can call me The Fool."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Klein suddenly noticed that the young man's expression became even more humble. He bowed deeply, lowering his head.

"Why would he react like this? Although his tone was humble before, it was just the polite respect of a weaker being towards a stronger one. But now he's completely treating himself as a subordinate... Does the title 'The Fool' have some special meaning?" Klein momentarily forgot his original intention of bringing him up, but he quickly suppressed his doubts.

Compared to the issue of his title, the safety of Tingen was far more important!

He carefully considered his tone and then asked with a hint of playfulness:

"Relax a bit. I'm rather interested in your previous prayer. Tell me about it."

"Please forgive my rudeness for speaking carelessly during my prayer..." Sno placed a hand over his chest, bowed, and then looked up. "Respected Mr. The Fool, I come from a hidden and ancient family. Although the family has declined, it has left behind many precious books and secret records. In the process of pursuing my ancestors' glory, I accidentally encountered the Aurora Society. To save my life, I had no choice but to join this organization.

They forced me to drink the Secret Speaker potion—those lunatics don't care at all about their members' loyalty, because to digest the Secret Speaker potion, one must pray to a mysterious existence. But as you must know, the True Creator has long since gone mad. Once you pray to Him, your spirit will inevitably be distorted.

Although I used a mystical item passed down in my family to fake the appearance of devout prayer, according to the Aurora Society's rules, if the Secret Speaker potion isn't digested within two months, I will be considered disloyal to the True Creator and executed. Therefore, I wish to secretly pray to you to digest the Secret Speaker potion."

"The Aurora Society? That organization that only appeared in the last one or two hundred years, worshipping the True Creator?

Right! Hainason Fosen's incantation did point towards the True Creator, but... the True Creator has gone mad? This Sno... or rather, the Perrdax family he comes from, seems to know a lot of secrets!

He risked praying to a hidden existence using his family's inherited ritual, was it to play the role of a Secret Speaker to digest the potion?

Also, that mystical item he mentioned, could it be that white horse I saw earlier?"

Klein thought to himself, then asked in a casual tone, as if discussing common gossip:

"You mentioned earlier, 'The descent of an evil god'?"

"Yes, respected Mr. The Fool." Sno nodded, his tone respectful yet tinged with worry. "The members of the Aurora Society are all lunatics. They are constantly planning for the descent of the True Creator. Half a month ago, I was sent to Tingen City. Not long after, I learned of their plan to bring about the descent of an evil god from a Secret Speaker.

I ambushed and killed the two Secret Speakers who were orchestrating the plan, and reported it under the pretext that 'they attracted the attention of official Beyonders.' However, according to what those two said, they had already planted seeds in Tingen. Even if I killed them, it would only delay things. If the seeds cannot be found, when they erupt, the entire city... even the entire Kingdom of Loen will be utterly destroyed."

"This!" Hearing Sno's words, Klein felt his hair stand on end, but at the same time, he began to consider a strategy.

Report Sno to the church?

The thought was immediately dismissed by Klein. Setting aside the fact that he had no reason to report someone the Captain had already cleared of suspicion, even if they caught him, they would only learn that Tingen was in danger.

Conversely, if he were allowed to continue lurking within the Aurora Society, he might be able to uncover more intelligence.

Moreover, the other party seemed to know many secret pieces of knowledge. If he were to join The Tarot Club, Klein felt he could extract a lot of information.

The most important point was that this person had principles.

But how should he phrase it?

Should he directly ask him to investigate the relevant intelligence?

Wouldn't that be inconsistent with The Fool's image?

Or should he directly agree to his request?

But what excuse should he use?

Or should he directly invite him to join The Tarot Club?

Seeing that Mr. The Fool at the head of the long table was leisurely stroking the edge of the bronze table, Sno knew that this gentleman must be struggling with how to phrase his words. Just as he was contemplating whether to give Mr. The Fool an out, Mr. The Fool suddenly chuckled:

"I am a Fool who likes equivalent exchange. To get something, you must pay a corresponding price. What can you offer?"

"Everything I have! My soul! My flesh and blood! As long as you desire it, I can offer it to you!" Sno's answer was almost instantaneous, but Mr. The Fool lightly shook his head and chuckled:

"I have no interest in the flesh and blood and souls of mortals."

Having said that, Klein glanced at the emotions sliding towards despair and said leisurely:

"But I can give you an opportunity!"

"You can use everything you can obtain, from me, from others similar to you, to get what you desire. Note that it must be of equivalent value..."

"By the way, I'm also very interested in your information about the descent of the evil god. As compensation, I permit you to pray to me to digest the potion. Also, the meeting time is every Monday at 3 PM. Remember to be in a private environment. Of course, before that, you need to choose your codename."

While hinting that Sno could continue to exchange information about the evil god's descent for benefits, Mr. The Fool took out a deck of tarot cards and spread them on the bronze long table:

"The members of the gathering have decided to use the names of the tarot cards as their codenames. However, Justice and The Hanged Man already have owners and cannot be chosen..."

"The Devil." Sno calmly looked at Mr. The Fool and, with little hesitation, uttered the codename he had decided by rolling a twenty-sided die before coming:

"I am now merely a prisoner bound by chains, but I hope for the day I can transform into the reversed form and break free from the shackles."

"Remember your choice, and do not succumb to temptation."

ps: The Devil card represents temptation. The upright position signifies being bound, fallen, subdued, and a captive of desire, while the reversed position signifies breaking free from restraints, resolving troubles, resisting temptation, and bidding farewell to the past. Incidentally, the original plan was for the protagonist to choose The Lovers card, as it would be interesting for Audrey to always call him "Mr. The Lovers" during their meetings, but in the end, he chose The Devil, which better fits his character. Moreover, through other avenues, even without joining The Tarot Club, there are corresponding relationships within The Tarot Club, but for the Abyss pathway, it's unlikely any individual from that pathway could join The Tarot Club.