Tarot Cards

"Sure."

Arthur lightly tapped the table. The card in Mr. Red Grail's hand appeared before him.

It had a blue border. On the front was a sandy island beach, with a coconut tree in the middle of the white sand. Two coconuts, one large and one small, hung from its branches.

Its back bore an image of a chalice. An invisible force shrouded the image, concealing something.

Tarot cards were a card game that had risen to popularity during the Age of Discovery, becoming all the rage among pirates and sailors.

This tarot card had no number, and it wasn't like an ordinary tarot card either.

Arthur had seen tarot cards in taverns. Most depicted geographical landmarks, ships, or kings.

Interpret it?

Mr. Red Grail had said to interpret this tarot card. What exactly did it represent?

He dropped the tarot card into [Research]. Lines of mist appeared before Arthur, wriggling and twisting until they formed text.

The text was written in Sea Race Language, including some words he had never seen before. The mist conveyed their meaning directly to his mind.

Tarot Card: Location Card.

A special supernatural card, a natural product of the collision between the Old Continent and the New Continent.

It represented a special location in the Mist Sea.

After [Researching] the card, Arthur turned it over. The area shrouded by supernatural power was revealed.

[Twin Coconuts of White Sand Island]

This tarot card represented a location on White Sand Island.

He suddenly thought of [Explore] and dropped the tarot card into it. A dark region appeared in his mind.

In the darkness, a faint glimmer lit up: White Sand Island in the Mist Sea.

Arthur's gaze settled on White Sand Island. He saw the coconut tree from the picture standing alone on the island's white-sand shore.

"Twin Coconuts of White Sand Island. The main ingredient for the Scholar Path's Sequence 7 potion."

The information startled Arthur. The locations recorded on the tarot cards held the main ingredients for Pathway potions.

He withdrew his mind from White Sand Island and sent the tarot card back to Mr. Red Grail.

Edmond Tide watched the card return. A line of text had appeared on its back: Twin Coconuts of White Sand Island.

The tarot card had been deciphered!

"A special location in the Mist Sea, where the main ingredient for a Sequence potion grows."

Arthur briefly explained the card's contents, then added casually:

"You can look for more tarot cards. They contain natural knowledge of the Sequences."

Captain Edmond asked in a low voice, "Mr. Mansus, may I ask which Pathway's ingredient is recorded on this card?"

"The main ingredient for the Scholar Path's Sequence 7."

In Arthur's mind, a dark sea appeared. A straight line pointed toward a faint glimmer, stretching from his current position to the waters around White Sand Island.

With the tarot card in his possession, it was essentially a special sea chart.

The main ingredient for the Scholar Path's Sequence 7—this saved him a great deal of trouble. He had already learned where to find one of the ingredients.

Arena listened from the side. The tarot cards held information?!

The supernatural Sequences of her Stuart Family had always been plagued by a shortage of ingredients.

As a family passed down from the Era of Light, the Stuart Family's Darkness Path lacked little in the way of knowledge.

It was the scarcity of high-Sequence ingredients that had gradually left them short of materials, forcing them to keep searching for equivalent substitutes.

She was now a Sequence 7 Silver Moon Swordmaster. If she could gather the ingredients for the Darkness Path's Sequence 6 potion, there was a very good chance she could advance to Sequence 6, the Star-Gazing Warlock.

She would have to keep an eye out for tarot cards while gathering the main ingredients.

"Thank you, Mr. Mansus," Edmond Tide said. After thanking him, he considered his next steps.

He needed to find a scholar proficient in Sea Race Language, and locate the starting point on the map in the Mermaid Book: a peculiar island.

Seeing that neither of them had anything else to discuss, the Society of Hours meeting drew to a close.

Arthur tapped the table twice, drawing their attention back to the meeting. In a cautionary tone, he said:

"The Black Devil Order will be very active soon and may take action. Miss Moth, be careful."

Arena was startled by Mr. Mansus's warning.

The Black Devil Order was going to act again? But how did Mr. Mansus know?

Divination? Prophecy?

Or had he recovered some of his power and made contact with the group that had worshipped him in ancient times, giving him "eyes and ears" in the real world?

"Mr. Mansus, do you mean the Black Devil Order will act in the Tudor Dynasty?"

Arthur pondered for a moment, then gave a vague answer:

"Either of the two islands is possible."

Considering her own circumstances, Arena thought the Black Devil Order might act on either Blue Bay Island or Rhine Island.

Mr. Mansus wasn't entirely ignorant of the real world?!

A sense of crisis rose in her heart. At this Society of Hours meeting, she hadn't been... all that useful.

Edmond Tide glanced at Arena. She was probably a noble from the Old Continent.

He suddenly spoke up. "I need a large amount of supplies. I'm planning a long voyage of exploration in the Mist Sea. Could Miss Moth provide them?"

Arena asked, "How many people are on your ship?"

"About thirty."

"Good. I'll arrange six months' worth of supplies and send half the payment in gold coins.

How can I contact Mr. Red Grail?"

Edmond Tide considered this for a moment before answering, "You can send the goods to the starting point of the Grand Route. There's a tavern there called the Battleaxe Tavern."

"Give them to the barmaid at the Battleaxe Tavern, and tell her they're supplies for [Fish Scale]."

Fish Scale, Arena mused over the codename. It really was plain and unassuming.

"No problem."

The two parties concluded their second deal. Arthur nodded with satisfaction and tapped the Secret Sect Long Table.

"Meeting adjourned."

Fog enveloped the long table. The Pure White Gate opened a crack, and the two souls twisted as they flew out through it.

Arena opened her eyes aboard the ship. The Black Devil was going to act on Blue Bay Island?

"When you're focused on your prey, someone else may be watching you. This credit should go to our own people."

She immediately sent someone to contact the nearest Church of Night chapel and secretly pass along the message.

"The main ingredient for the Scholar Path... Looks like I may get the chance to make a trip there. Arthur will need it someday."

Arena toyed with the Scholar Potion as the ship headed for Blue Bay Island.

The next day.

After waking, Arthur grabbed the Fear Musket and Janna Fish Bone, then woke Mickey, who was still half-asleep.

"Mickey, we're heading back to Blue Bay Island!"

"Aye, Captain!"

After returning to Blue Bay Island, Arthur went straight to the usual place to visit Arena.

He ordered Mickey to gather everyone, then returned to the Great White Shark after lunch at noon.

The Scholar Path's Sequence 9 potion—at last, he was about to step into the supernatural world and become a true Sequence holder.