What Raphael had said just now sounded rather crazy, but he knew perfectly well that official Beyonders had a whole set of procedures for handling cases. By the time they dispatched a demigod, his carriage would already be hidden in the East Borough.
Raphael had discovered that the Prisoner and Criminal Pathways actually complemented each other very well.
When he had first advanced to Lunatic, Raphael had felt crazy ideas springing up beyond his control, and he often acted without thinking things through.
But ever since drinking the Criminal potion, his back no longer ached, his legs no longer hurt, and he could climb five floors in one go, then throw a brick down from the fifth floor to attack other gang members.
Most importantly, Raphael possessed the composure a criminal ought to have, though his emotions and speech still occasionally betrayed a streak of madness.
Inside the carriage, Raphael, the kidnapper, looked relaxed, as though victory were already in the bag.
Audrey, his captive, was relaxed too, showing none of the awareness one might expect from someone who had been kidnapped.
Amid this relaxed yet peculiar atmosphere, the carriage traveled another two blocks. Raphael then pulled off the mustache glued above his upper lip and took out a handkerchief to wipe the freckles from his cheeks, revealing lustrous, wheat-colored skin.
When he took off his hat, Audrey saw a young, handsome face. His eyes were particularly attractive, and the corners of his mouth habitually curled upward into a roguish smile.
Accustomed to the staid faces of gentlemen, Audrey found his expression quite distinctive, but she could not think of a suitable word to describe it.
If Raphael, sitting opposite her, had been asked to describe it, he would have had a very precise term: roguishly handsome.
Raphael took off his coat, retrieved a trench coat from beneath the carriage seat, and put it on.
The carriage stopped then, and Raphael tossed Audrey a cloth bundle. "Change into the clothes inside. Hmm... you only have two minutes. If you aren't finished by then, I'll come in and help you change."
Raphael stood up and said, "Don't try any tricks. Since you know so much about mysticism, you should be familiar with the concept of spirit world creatures.
"A certain 'Miss Susie' is keeping an eye on you for me at all times."
With that, he opened the carriage door and waited for her to change.
Audrey smiled slightly and thought, What you probably don't know is that I sent Susie.
Susie, the large golden retriever who had remained under Psychological Invisibility all this time, was taken aback. Since when did I become a spirit world creature? And you make it sound as if you were the one who invited me!
They were in a quiet alley. His subordinate Carter was changing too, pulling off his hood and glued-on mustache before asking with a lewd grin, "Boss, aren't you going to watch that beautiful noble lady change?"
Raphael lit a cigarette and took a drag before replying, "That sort of 'changing' wouldn't be over anytime soon. It would take too long."
Carter gave him an understanding look. "True enough."
After changing, they immediately left the street. Once they had walked for a while, they boarded a genuine cab.
Just then, Audrey suddenly felt her spirit body being lifted. This was a sensation she only experienced when entering the Tarot Club's meeting place, the space Above the Gray Fog.
With Susie guarding her, Audrey was not worried about her safety. She pretended to close her eyes and rest, while her spirit body entered the Tarot Club's meeting place.
Inside the magnificent giant's hall in Sefirah Castle.
The World, Gehrman Sparrow, had called a temporary gathering. Only after confirming that Justice would not be discovered had he brought her here to hear the full account of her interaction with Raphael.
The other members of the Tarot Club had also attended this temporary gathering.
The World first explained the purpose of the gathering, then asked Justice to describe her "observations" of Raphael.
After hearing the World and Justice describe the tasks assigned by the Fool, everyone sensed how much importance the Fool attached to this matter.
The reason Klein, the Fool, took it so seriously was that three months earlier, the space Above the Gray Fog had suddenly been awakened by a power other than his own and projected its power into the real world.
To Klein, Above the Gray Fog was his greatest source of support in this Beyonder world. Naturally, he had to find out what had happened.
Klein had actually been unable to quickly pinpoint the power projected from Above the Gray Fog, which worried him even more.
After persistent investigation and divination, he had finally discovered that the power previously projected into the real world had "landed" on this person named Raphael.
The young man's fate and memories both seemed to have been subjected to "Fooling"... Klein had thought about it for a long time before settling on that term to describe it.
Just as Klein was considering how to approach Raphael, he learned that Raphael intended to kidnap Audrey.
After confirming that Raphael posed no real danger, Klein decided to play it safe and have Audrey observe him first.
Now, using his identity as the World, he had called this temporary gathering to hear everyone's thoughts on Raphael.
Recently, the Tarot Club members had joined forces to punish a vampire who had supplied false intelligence, giving them experience in a joint operation in the real world. They had held several temporary gatherings back then to discuss the details of their plan.
The World was clearly continuing that same approach.
After hearing Miss Justice's account, Judgment, Xio Derecha, commented, "What a lunatic! Kidnapping the daughter of a powerful noble just to digest a potion!"
The Hanged Man, Alger Wilson, said instead, "I'm more curious about how he learned the Acting Method."
He paused before continuing, "Neither the churches nor secret organizations teach the Acting Method to their peripheral members.
"And this Raphael doesn't seem to be a core member of any organization."
If a secret organization were kidnapping Earl Hall's daughter in Backlund, it would need to send at least one or two Sequence 6 Beyonders to be safe. It would never leave something like that to a Sequence 8.
At this point, Alger briefly fell into a daze. At his first Tarot Club gathering, he had learned of the Acting Method from Mr. Fool.
From then on, his life had changed dramatically.
At that moment, the Hermit, Cattleya, said, "That may be what makes him special. Otherwise, why would Mr. Fool have taken notice of him?"
She then turned to Justice and asked, "Could you describe the task Mr. Fool assigned in greater detail?"
Justice, Audrey, nodded. "Certainly."
The World, who had received a similar task, had already given them a general account. Moreover, Mr. Fool had approved this temporary gathering, which meant the information did not need to be kept secret.
She paused briefly before saying, "Mr. Fool said He foresaw that a special 'Lunatic' would come into contact with me to some extent. He asked me to observe his actions and try to establish contact with him.
"Mr. Fool also said He had already subjected Raphael to 'Fooling,' so Raphael was missing many important memories and pieces of information. However, I was still to watch for anything unusual in his words and actions."
At the foot of the Bronze Long Table, the World appeared to be listening quietly to Justice's account, but inwardly he was thinking, It was actually Above the Gray Fog that subjected him to 'Fooling,' not the Fool.
After hearing Justice describe her task, Alger and Cattleya both looked toward the World, hoping that this "blessed of Mr. Fool" could provide some additional clues.
In a low, hoarse voice, the World said, "I performed divination on Raphael's background twice, but obtained two completely different results.
"The first time, I saw a Devil card. The second time, I saw a Temperance card."
As a Sequence 4 Mysticologist, Cattleya explained, "Sometimes divination only reveals the symbolic meaning of something."
She attempted an interpretation. "Taken together, these two symbols may mean that some of Raphael's actions seem evil, but deep down he has limits and understands restraint."
Before you continue