At , first published across the web.
At the docks, inside the captain's cabin of the Blue Avenger.
A vast expanse of grayish-white fog suddenly surged before Alger's eyes. He saw someone praying in a dim room and heard the person's voice: "Mr. The Fool, I intend to hunt 'Steel' Mavity in Bayam. I need some cooperation."
After the image and voice of the prayer vanished, Alger immediately fell into thought. "That was... 'The World'? He's already in Bayam?"
"He needs cooperation, yet Mr. The Fool directly informed me about this. Is it a warning, or simply because I can help 'The World'? Or perhaps both?"
"Mr. The Fool is not entirely indifferent to the members of the Tarot Club. At the very least, our identities, whereabouts, and even every action we take are likely beneath His gaze."
"That makes sense. Since Mr. The Fool gathered the Tarot Club, it couldn't have merely been for us to communicate, gain channels to one another, and grow stronger quickly."
"When necessary, we must also help and cooperate with Mr. The Fool, or His blessed, in accomplishing certain matters—just as Justice did during the Great Smog incident in Backlund."
"But why did 'The World' directly seek help from Mr. The Fool? Normally, asking a deity for help is the last option when one cannot complete a mission alone."
"From the exchanges at the previous Tarot Club gathering, he should have been staying with Fate. Wouldn't it have been more convenient to seek him out directly?"
"Have they already separated? Or does he not want Fate involved in this matter?"
Alger frowned for quite a while before finally coming up with a plausible possibility.
The mission to hunt "Steel" Mavity had come from Mr. The Fool, while Fate had identities beyond being a Tarot