Who Was That Man!

"Pallez?"

"That could work, too." Two of Spades nodded.

"But Jowes always had a fairly good opinion of Pallez," Two of Hearts added.

"He even helped him evade Amon to some extent back then."

"He even lent Pallez the Three of Diamonds card."

"All these years, we've coexisted peacefully with him."

"Amon, on the other hand, has been making trouble for us ever since Jowes died."

"Perhaps Jowes didn't want Amon to grow too quickly. After all, we all know what Amon is like," Two of Clubs reasoned.

"As for Pallez, well, blame fate..."

"After all, who can truly explain fate? Jowes did so much, yet in the end..." Two of Clubs sank into recollection.

"Solomon, Salinger, and all the others refused to listen to him, even though every consequence he warned them about eventually came to pass."

"Trunsoest, too. He seemed the most rational of them all, and Jowes warned him as well, but he still acted rashly before he was fully prepared and met that end," Two of Hearts added.

"You will not speak of His Majesty the Night Emperor that way. He simply had no other choice..." Ace of Clubs, who had remained silent until then, abruptly spoke up.

"Hmph! The Seven Gods put him on the throne, yet he ended up plotting to betray them. It's hardly surprising he met such an end." Two of Hearts glanced at Ace of Clubs' crimson eyes, a trace of mockery in the voice.

"You... Hmph! A certain someone wasn't much better. If someone hadn't been captured by Evernight back then, Jowes wouldn't have had to trade Arianna, whom he'd gone to such lengths to capture, for their release."

"If we'd had Arianna as a hostage, we wouldn't have been at such a disadvantage against Evernight."

The atmosphere at the meeting grew increasingly tense.

"Arrogance is the nature of every true god. Jowes was right about that." Two of Diamonds stepped in to smooth things over.

Two of Clubs seemed to recall something then, and sighed.

"Fate really is strange. Jowes was so close to Evernight at first, and trusted her so much.

"Yet in the end..."

"That's what makes Evernight so cunning. She can seem like an ally to everyone. You think she's sincere, but in reality, she's betting on multiple sides. Jowes stumbled over that very thing.

"In truth, even if her investment fails, Evernight loses nothing. It's simply a question of whether she profits or not." Two of Hearts offered an opinion, picking up the thread.

Those words struck a chord with the members attending the meeting. After all, with a little stretching, several of those present could be said to have a grudge against Evernight.

After a brief silence, Two of Spades spoke first.

"Let's find Pallez first. Keeping him under our control is better than letting Amon find him."

"The question now is how to find him. Amon nearly caught him last time, so he must be in poor condition," Two of Diamonds said, assessing the situation.

"Should we use that?" Two of Hearts asked the others.

"Does anyone object?" Two of Spades asked as well.

The others exchanged glances, but no one objected.

Seeing that no one objected, Two of Hearts snapped their fingers. Ripples immediately spread through the air, and a battered little wooden box appeared before them out of nowhere.

"We have fewer and fewer uses left." Looking at the wooden box, Two of Hearts sounded oddly sorrowful.

Daffodil Street.

"Melissa? I didn't expect to see you here." Lorne turned and saw the familiar girl, looking a little surprised.

As he recalled, Melissa lived on Iron Cross Street. He hadn't expected to run into her on the neighboring street.

"I'm surprised to see you here too, Mr. Dysenk." There was a note of delight in her voice.

"Perhaps it isn't a coincidence. Maybe fate brought us together."

For some reason, Lorne suddenly made a joke.

Melissa's cheeks flushed faintly at his words.

"Isn't that Melissa?" Klein, who had just finished work, was taken aback by the sight before him. He had just stepped off a public carriage and hadn't expected to run into his sister on his way home.

He had intended to sneak up and tease her, only to discover that she was laughing and chatting with someone else.

A classmate, or perhaps a friend... Klein didn't give it much thought and decided to go over and greet them.

But after taking only two steps, he sensed something wrong.

"Why is that a man's voice?" Klein frowned. As a Beyonder, his hearing was keen.

He hadn't expected his sister to be chatting so happily with a man.

Melissa's grown up!

But why does it feel like some pig has gotten into my cabbage patch...? The corners of Klein's mouth twitched.

Although he told himself to stay calm, seeing his sister laughing and chatting with a man still stirred an inexplicable anger in him.

He silently clenched his fists and crept forward.

But when he took a closer look at the man's face...

Klein abruptly froze in place, stunned as though struck by lightning.

Uh... Why does that man look so familiar?

Isn't he the man I met at the Divination Club that day, and saw above the gray fog?

Why does he know Melissa?

Could he have discovered something that day and come looking for me, only to stumble upon Melissa instead?

"Actually, you can just call me by my first name. I don't really like being addressed by my surname."

"All right, Mr. Lorne." Melissa nodded.

"By the way, what are you doing here, Mr. Lorne?"

Lorne looked a little awkward at the question.

Well, I can't exactly say I'm here to find someone to report!

His eyes shifted as he quickly came up with an excuse.

"I'm looking to rent a house, so I came specifically to check out this neighborhood."

"Rent a house?"

"That's right. I'm from out of town, and I've been staying at a hotel lately. It's a nice place, but it's too expensive, so I thought I'd rent a house.

"The rental agency told me this was a nice neighborhood, so I came to take a look."

"Really? What a coincidence! I can offer you some advice. I only just moved myself." Melissa sounded delighted.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, I recently moved here from Iron Cross Street."

"Oh, that explains why I ran into you on the next street before." Lorne nodded, accepting her explanation.

After that, Melissa shared her advice on renting a house with him, even reciting tips on how to hire a suitable maid.

Seeing her enthusiasm, Lorne inwardly marveled at what a thrifty, practical girl she was.

After chatting for a while, Lorne politely declined Melissa's offer to show him around for free and said goodbye.

Besides the fact that he wasn't actually looking to rent a house, Lorne had also noticed a strange gaze on him.

It bothered him a little.

Not long after Lorne left...

"Melissa, who was that man just now!"

Melissa turned to see her second brother emerge from the shadows at the street corner, questioning her in a somewhat accusatory tone.