Before Alger, the Hanged Man, could recover from his bewilderment, Julian, The Tower, spoke up beside him with remarkably "good" timing:
"Miss Justice, that's a rather unusual question."
After a pause, he asked in a slightly teasing tone, clearly enjoying the spectacle:
"Don't tell us you actually did that by accident?
"Was it a dog, a cat, or some other animal?"
"I... well..."
Hearing the teasing in Julian's words, Miss Justice grew even more embarrassed.
She was about to offer an explanation when she saw Mr. Tower wave a hand:
"There's no need to be so nervous. Although such things are rare, they're a little more common than you think."
"Uh... huh?"
Miss Justice was about to continue explaining, but realization quickly dawned on her, and she looked at Julian in disbelief.
Alger, the Hanged Man, gave him the same look.
He had originally assumed Miss Justice was merely asking a hypothetical question, but it seemed she had actually done it.
Even more absurdly, Mr. Tower claimed such things were not particularly rare. What was that supposed to mean?
Klein, the Fool, was also deeply surprised. He raised his eyes to glance quickly at Audrey and Julian, then grumbled inwardly:
What the hell is going on...
"Yes, you heard me correctly. As I just said, these things aren't as rare as you imagine."
Julian, The Tower, smiled:
"In fact, I keep an animal like that myself."
Since when? Why didn't I know about this?
Klein, the Fool, was even more baffled by this revelation.
His reaction was perfectly understandable. Before having tea with Hanass, Julian had sent Ethan the Snowy Owl into the lounge to catch up on sleep, so Klein had not seen him before coming out.
"Really?"
Audrey, Justice, immediately breathed a sigh of relief. As though she had found a kindred spirit, she looked at Julian with eyes eager for affirmation:
"What species is your Beyonder animal? How did you manage it? Did you feed it a Potion directly?"
"An owl."
Julian answered with a smile, then looked back at Audrey, who once again appeared surprised and taken aback:
"Certain Sequences of a few special Beyonder Pathways can give otherwise ordinary animals the special ability to consume Potions and withstand their power. That's what happened with my owl.
"From what you've said, you gave a Potion directly to an animal that hadn't undergone any special training, correct?"
"Yes. One of my dogs."
Seeing that the conversation had already reached this point, Miss Justice simply stopped concealing the truth:
"She accidentally drank a Potion, and ever since then, she seems to have developed certain traits unique to a Spectator."
"That's extremely rare. All I can say is that this dog was very fortunate to withstand that power.
"In most cases, animals can't meditate, so even if they consume a Potion, they'll immediately lose control.
"But once they manage to withstand it, they gain Beyonder powers just like humans. Some animals that were already quite intelligent may also receive further boosts to their intelligence and spirituality from the Potion, fully developing minds comparable to those of humans."
"That's a relief."
Miss Justice finally breathed easily upon hearing this.
Although Susie's bloodline was not particularly pure, and she had even been a free extra when Audrey's father, Earl Hall, purchased a purebred hunting dog, Miss Justice had always treated her as a close friend and companion.
Hearing that Susie was not only fine but might also gain intelligence comparable to a human's inevitably filled Audrey with anticipation and excitement.
"Thank you for clearing that up, Mr. Tower."
After a pause, Audrey added:
"You're not only very kind, but also a gentleman of taste!"
Uh... what would you call this? A sense of kinship?
Julian, The Tower, grumbled inwardly while telling Audrey there was no need to thank him.
At that moment, Mr. Fool finally seized the opportunity to explain to the three Tarot Club members present the Ritual Magic they could use to contact him, along with the newly composed three-line honorific name of the Fool.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era, the mysterious ruler above the gray fog, the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck..."
As they silently recited this three-line honorific name, Alger, the Hanged Man, and Audrey, Justice, fell into a state of profound shock, just as Klein had expected.
Even Julian, The Tower, obligingly displayed a look of apprehension, leaving Klein, the Fool, feeling both embarrassed and uneasy.
For no other reason than that a three-line honorific name was something only a god could use!
As Alger, the Hanged Man, pondered the meaning of this honorific name, he could not help trembling inwardly with belated fear.
Fortunately, I've never shown Mr. Fool any disrespect or overstepped my bounds in front of him. Otherwise, I truly wouldn't even know how I'd died.
In that case... the human form he currently shows us is very likely an illusion. His true form might not even be human.
While speculating about Mr. Fool's true identity, Alger listened carefully to the ritual details this great being described and committed them firmly to memory.
Once all three had finished memorizing them, Miss Justice described the efforts she had made since their last meeting to promote the civil service examination Mr. Fool had proposed.
Klein naturally offered her affirmation and encouragement, giving Audrey an unprecedented sense of accomplishment.
After all, as far as she was now concerned, this was praise from a god!
"...Let's end things here for today."
As his spirituality neared exhaustion, Mr. Fool took the initiative to end the gathering.
"Your will is our wish."
The three participants rose and bowed to Mr. Fool, then once again transformed into streaks of light or stars and returned to reality.
"Phew... I hope Alger and Audrey can fulfill their promises soon and get that Beyonder item into my hands."
Julian was filled with anticipation. He briefly straightened his clothes, then took Ethan, who was nearly ready to wake up, and headed outside.
Klein also returned to reality. This gathering had lasted longer than he had originally
expected, by quite a bit.
Just then, the sound of a key turning in the lock came from outside. Melissa returned home and began preparing dinner.
"Melissa, let me help."
Seeing that his younger sister was about to cook again, Klein hurried to join her. Thanks to that, the table was already laden with delicious dishes before Benson returned home.
During dinner, Melissa suddenly spoke:
"Benson, Klein, my good friend Selena's birthday is in a few days.
"She and her parents would like to invite our family to her birthday dinner. Are you free?"