Debtor

Although the Blood Emperor was a True God of the Red Priest pathway, he had switched from Sequence 1 of the Black Emperor pathway to the non-Adjacent Pathway of Red Priest. Therefore, the Blood Emperor had always been Half-Mad.

After the Blood Emperor fell, his descendants must have greatly desired to restore their former glory. That was why they had planned to excavate the ruins of the Tudor Empire.

As for the evil spirit within the ruins, that involved a conspiracy between Adam and the Blood Emperor during the Fourth Epoch.

Hobart took a deep breath. Now everything made sense. The Balk Family, far away on the Southern Continent, was a Beyonder family of the Black Emperor pathway.

As descendants of the Blood Emperor, the Pound Family must have inherited the Tudor Family's Black Emperor pathway Potion Recipe. After all, before becoming the Red Priest, the Blood Emperor had belonged to a Black Emperor Beyonder family loyal to the Solomon Empire.

The Country of Disorder was the Sephirot of both the Black Emperor and Arbiter pathways. Thus, within the Country of Disorder, Hobart could see and influence two Beyonder families of the Black Emperor pathway.

"Emperor?" Audrey was somewhat puzzled. Why had Emperor suddenly gone blank?

Hobart came back to his senses. He thought, Justice, you might not believe this, but you just lost an opportunity to repay your debt.

He said, "Sorry, I was thinking about something else.

"I haven't decided what compensation I want for now. Once I have, I'll collect it from you."

Audrey nodded. "All right."

Then she asked, "I have another question. Why did the two Royal Family families become Beyonder families of the Arbiter pathway because they were loyal to the Solomon Empire and the Trensoost Empire?"

"This involves the matter of Adjacent Pathways," Hobart said. "It's still too early for you to learn such knowledge. I suggest that you first learn more about Beyonders before looking into Adjacent Pathways."

Audrey was somewhat disappointed. "All right, then."

Klein and Alger were also a little disappointed, especially the great Mr. Fool. He dearly wanted to say, "I already know a great deal about Beyonder knowledge. I can learn about Adjacent Pathways!"

However, reason stopped Klein from speaking. That would ruin the Fool's image.

After the first transaction ended, Hanged Man Alger initiated the second. He said to Justice, "I hope you can help me investigate something. You may name your price according to the difficulty of the matter."

Audrey asked with great interest and confusion, "What is it?"

Alger said, "I want to know whether the Loen Kingdom intends to retaliate against the Fosac Empire this year or before June next year by starting a new war off the Bayang East Coast."

Hobart froze. At the Mercenary Club yesterday, retaliation against the Fosac Empire had been a topic everywhere he turned.

He said, "Mr. Hanged Man, I can answer that question right now!"

Alger said, "Y-you're sure?"

The reason he had asked Justice was that she was clearly a Noble of the Loen Kingdom. If she paid a little attention, she should be able to encounter discussions of this sort and sound out the answer from the side. But why would Emperor know?

Alger was not the only one surprised. Klein had not expected it either. Why would Emperor know the answer to this question? Could he, like Justice, be a Noble of the Loen Kingdom who happened to have the right channels?

Audrey, on the other hand, was already used to it. It seemed there was no question Mr. Emperor could not answer.

Hobart smiled. "As it happens, I learned the answer to your question by chance yesterday as well.

"What you want to know is whether the Fosac Empire's earlier sneak attack on the Loen Fleet will provoke the Loen Kingdom into retaliating at sea, correct?"

Alger leaned back against his chair as though somewhat weary. "Yes."

Emperor had laid out the entire chain of events. Alger now believed that Emperor truly knew the answer.

After considering it, Hobart said, "For the payment for today's question, together with the payment you owed me from the last gathering, it wouldn't be excessive for me to ask for an Extraordinary Item at the Sequence 8 Level with relatively mild side effects, would it?"

Alger let out a breath. "That's a very fair deal."

It was not difficult for him to handle. First, he knew a Wild Artificer, making it relatively easy to obtain an Extraordinary Item.

Second, once he Came Ashore, he could collect the 1000 Pounds in cash that Justice had previously paid him. Generally speaking, Sequence 8 Extraordinary Characteristics were worth around six or seven hundred pounds, while Extraordinary Items of that level were worth roughly eight or nine hundred pounds. There would certainly be a premium, of course, but 1000 Pounds should be enough.

Klein, the Fool seated at the end of the long table, suddenly realized that Emperor had unknowingly become the gathering's biggest creditor. Even Klein, the initiator, could not compare to him.

Of course, that was also because, in order to maintain the Fool's image, Klein could not conveniently initiate certain "low-end transactions." At this moment, Klein desperately wished he had an alternate identity.

Hobart said, "As far as I know, the Loen Kingdom does not intend to retaliate against its old rival, the Fosac Empire, at sea. Instead, it is preparing to retaliate on the Southern Continent, though I do not know the exact location or method."

"Your answer exceeded my expectations," Alger said honestly.

Hobart smiled. "As long as you're satisfied."

The transaction phase ended, and everyone entered the information-sharing phase.

After considering it, Hobart decided to remind Audrey. "Low Sequence Beyonders of the Spectator pathway are not suited to participating directly in battle, because your weakness is too obvious. If I knew my opponent was a Spectator, the first thing I would do would be to find a way to make him lose his sight. That would deprive him of most of his Extraordinary Ability."

Audrey fell silent at first. She suddenly realized that the Beyonder World was actually very cruel. The Extraordinary Ability she had been so proud of would likely become the target her opponents focused on attacking. If she were not a Beyonder, other Beyonders might not attack her. But once she became a Beyonder, she could no longer harbor any wishful thinking. She had to be prepared at all times to face challenges from other Beyonders.

She said sincerely, "Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Emperor. I'll be a good Spectator and try my best not to come into conflict with other Beyonders."

Hobart smiled. "I hope you become a Middle Sequence powerhouse soon. I remember that the abilities of powerful Spectators are extremely strange, and extremely formidable."

Audrey smiled. "Actually, I entered the Beyonder World out of curiosity. I never intended to become a powerhouse in the Beyonder World."

But Hobart Shook her head. "From the moment you step into the Beyonder World, your Fate becomes twisted. Things will no longer go however you want them to."

He felt that way entirely because his family's Curse had given him some thoughts about the Beyonder World.

Yet his words made Klein and Alger fall silent at the same time. Klein remembered Professor Azik telling him that there was something discordant about his Fate, as well as the Red Chimney he had divined above the Gray Fog. The recent coincidences might not have been coincidences at all.

Alger, meanwhile, recalled his rather unhappy childhood and his experiences after becoming a Beyonder.

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