"I want... a part of your body."

The remark left Audrey stunned.

As a Spectator, Audrey had naturally noticed the newcomer. She wore clothes made of animal hides, which Narani had brought her of her own accord, supposedly on High Priest Nim's orders. Neph could only remain silent about that.

Then she had bathed and changed.

Neph had stored her original clothes in the Pure White Space. She felt she would not be taking them out for quite some time. After all, they were among the few traces of her past she had left.

Audrey knew nothing of this complicated history. All she could tell was that the style was clearly unlike anything commonly seen in Loen. The fact that the clothes were made of animal hides was strange enough, but the strangest thing of all was the girl's gaze.

It was like the look in my eyes when I first saw Susie... no, worse than that.

Audrey frowned. The girl looked her over as though she were some legendary treasure, with admiration, excitement, and curiosity. Yet it still made Audrey uncomfortable all over, because she felt that, at this moment, she was less a person than some rare and precious object.

Like Audrey, Alger was sizing up the new member. He had just collected nineteen entries from Roselle's Diary and had intended to submit them at this Tarot Club gathering, only to encounter a newcomer unexpectedly. Moreover, she seemed remarkably familiar with the gathering's proceedings, even knowing about Miss Justice's greetings.

Who was she?

Alger turned toward the Fool. Klein apparently also felt that letting the silence continue would be inappropriate, so he introduced her:

"It seems you already know the other members, Pure White.

"You may address this young lady as Pure White. From now on, she will participate in our gatherings, just as you do."

Pure White...

A designation that did not belong to the tarot cards once again stirred something in Audrey and Alger. Neither spoke. After a brief silence, Audrey rose and bowed toward the head of the Bronze Long Table.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."

As always, she greeted everyone in turn, ending with Neph. Hearing, "Good afternoon, Miss Pure White," Neph happily responded:

"Good afternoon, Miss Justice~"

Then, without the slightest reluctance, she turned her gaze away and settled it on Alger, the Hanged Man.

Alger, who had been about to speak, paused before continuing as though nothing had happened:

"Mr. Fool, I obtained nineteen pages of Roselle's Diary this time.

"I must thank you for sending your blessed one to help me eliminate Qilingus. These diary pages are the payment I owe you!"

He did not attempt to turn his head toward Neph, instead glancing at Audrey out of the corner of his eye. Turning around would have been too obvious; he could not conceal it.

Audrey, meanwhile, stared at Neph. The girl showed no reaction to Roselle's Diary, merely slumping against the back of her chair. A few seconds later, as though uncomfortable, she sprawled over the table.

-Neph was actually wondering whether she could persuade Klein to replace all the high-backed chairs here with sofas.

As for a certain Miss Spectator's gaze... heh, let her keep staring if she can.

Bored, Neph waited for Klein to finish reading the diary. At present, Alger could only remember six pages at a time and had to submit them in batches. Neph remembered that this batch contained quite a lot of information-there were not so many mentions of some madam or some young lady.

...Come to think of it, could reading Roselle's Diary help my digestion progress?

No, the diary's contents alone probably wouldn't do much. I might need something tangible... most importantly, I've already read practically every diary entry that appears at the Tarot Club.

Disappointed, Neph abandoned the idea that had just occurred to her.

She patiently waited as Klein finished reading the diary and introduced the Law of Beyonder Characteristic Indestructibility. To her, all these things had already happened. Only when Klein finished explaining the Law of Conservation of Beyonder Characteristics within neighboring Sequences did Neph sit up straight and look at Alger.

"Why neighboring Sequences?" Alger asked, just as she had hoped.

Klein smiled and replied, "What will you offer in exchange for the answer?"

Alger asked respectfully, "Mr. Fool, what sort of payment would you like?"

He was not the only one who wanted the answer. In fact, everyone except Neph showed obvious eagerness. As for Neph... honestly, nothing she claimed to know would surprise Klein now. He was only curious about what that supposed prophecy was actually like.

Klein stated his request with a smile: "Information concerning the Secret Order."

"I know." Neph raised her hand and answered before anyone else could react.

She paused, turned toward Klein, and blinked. "Then, what will you offer in exchange for the answer?"

Alger immediately held his breath. He looked at the Fool at the head of the long table, then at Neph at its foot, and finally understood why they sat opposite each other.

...Then who was the empty seat beside Miss Pure White reserved for?

Alger let his gaze drift away from that empty chair as though casually, lowered his head, and waited for the Fool's response.

"What do you want?" Klein chose the same reply as Alger.

Neph blinked. She did not want to make things difficult for Klein. Mr. Fool's current finances certainly could not be called healthy-Klein only became truly wealthy after becoming Gehrman Sparrow. At that point, although he did not have much cash on him, he had a whole pile of Mystical Items.

But if I didn't ask for money, what could I ask Klein for?

After pondering for a few seconds, Neph said, "I want... a memory."

Klein was slightly taken aback. Alger and Audrey exchanged looks, while Derrick had never managed to understand what was going on.

"What sort of memory?" Klein asked.

"A memory you consider precious enough," Neph answered without hesitation.

A memory precious enough... Klein paused, instinctively thinking of Benson and Melissa.

...Would I forget them?

"How should I give you this memory?" Klein asked again.

Neph frowned.

She had not actually considered that question. But when Klein asked, she felt that what she wanted was to view the memory directly. That ability, however, belonged to Sequence 6, so for now, Neph could only say:

"Perhaps you could give me an object that bore witness to that memory? For example..."

Then Neph shook her head.

She smiled and said, "If you are willing to indulge my greed, you could give me a part of your body."

"?" Alger kept his head firmly lowered, not daring to look up.

-What kind of person would dare ask an entity suspected of being a god for a part of his body?