Chapter Summaries

Lorry prepared the Black Lady and its illusions for battle against the approaching Black Emperor. On the Southern Continent, Pali Beria Lorry killed her pursuers, then encountered Adrian, who revealed that he had used hypnosis to trap her.

• Lorry established a kingdom of fantasy aboard the Black Lady, creating independent painted figures who took up crew roles.
• Lorry gave a painted Traveler Lorry the Black Emperor card and Curse of Knowledge, then created another double and sent it away with the Calamity Bracelet.
• Pali Beria Lorry tricked three Rose School members into believing she had fled, then killed them with an attack fueled by their joy at surviving.
• Pali collected the three Beyonder Characteristics and followed her sense of danger into a broadleaf forest.
• Pali recognized Adrian and transformed into a Devil to attack him, but Adrian explained that hypnosis had helped him steer her into a trap.

Pali fought Adrian after he tried to control her and turn her into a marionette. She used painted Lorry figures and stolen abilities to strip Adrian of most of his powers, then bound him and struck him with lightning.

• Pali resisted Adrian's control by stealing the distance to her pouch and summoning a painted Lorry, whose holy light forced Adrian out of his Wraith state.
• Adrian used his black medal to prohibit Sun Pathway abilities and destroy Lorry, but Pali summoned multiple painted copies and slowed him.
• The painted Lorry figures attacked Adrian, and one used Wraith Shriek while others stole many of his Beyonder abilities.
• Adrian summoned a Zombie marionette to interrupt Evil Spirit Possession, then used his medal to disperse the painted figures and blast away the Zombie.
• Pali bound Adrian with Wind Binding and called down Lightning Strike as he was left with few abilities.

Pali fought Adrian, whose black medal gave him formidable strength and resilience, while Burns Solomon entrusted the Earl's Coronet to Mumulik as they fled across the Fog Sea. Mumulik betrayed and killed Burns, revealing he had secretly cooperated with Nast to obtain the Fallen Earl Formula.

• Pali struck Adrian with Lightning Strike and Lightning Arrow, but he survived and used the black medal to issue prohibitions.
• Pali fought Adrian with the Sword of Lava and realized the medal gave him a Knight-like physique, making it the key to defeating him.
• Burns Solomon gave Mumulik Solomon Lorry the Earl's Coronet and explained its abilities, and Mumulik made the seawater solid by establishing a new order.
• Burns noticed Traveler Lorry appear nearby and decided to reclaim the coronet, but Mumulik stabbed him from behind and threw his heart into the sea.
• Mumulik told Burns he had cooperated with Nast in exchange for the Fallen Earl Formula and help destroying the Earl's Coronet, and Burns died as Traveler Lorry questioned the need to deceive him.

“Traveler Lorry” used the Black Lady’s powers and the White Bone Ring to attack Nast, the “King of the Five Seas,” but the two ships eventually stopped fighting. After the Messenger delivered a letter, the Lorrys sent “Traveler Lorry” to negotiate with Nast, who agreed to receive it in his cabin.

• Mumulik gave the Earl’s Coronet to “Traveler Lorry” and explained that Shadow of Order could use Nast as a scapegoat.
• “Traveler Lorry” attacked the Black Emperor with cannon fire and decrees, while Nast countered with his own abilities.
• “Traveler Lorry” used the White Bone Ring to raise a tsunami, and Nast ordered his crew to take shelter as the wave struck the Black Emperor.
• The Messenger appeared aboard the Black Lady, delivered a letter, and vanished; the Lorrys learned that their master wanted them to negotiate with Nast.
• The Lorrys chose “Traveler Lorry” as their representative, and Nast invited it to come to the captain’s cabin.

Pali stripped Adrian of his Mystical Item and charms, severed his arms, and chased him as he fled toward Lord Davis for help. Meanwhile, Traveler Lorry took the dropped items and moved to intercept the approaching Rose School demigod.

• Pali used Volcanic Eruption and Slow to expose Adrian's Mystical Item and charms, then blasted him and cut off both his arms.
• Adrian escaped at full speed while Pali pursued him with her wings, and he prayed to Davis Simonida for rescue.
• Davis answered Adrian, while Pali sensed the overwhelming presence of a Half-Human, Half-God figure ahead.
• Traveler Lorry retrieved Adrian's cloth doll, black medal, and charms, then set out to intercept the Rose School demigod flying north.
• Traveler Lorry appeared on a desolate beach and raised his silver-white Bracelet as the demigod approached.

Traveler Lorry used the silver-white Bracelet to stop Davis Simonida, who tried to pass through the waves as a Wraith but was driven into the Spirit World by lightning. Meanwhile, Pali Beria Lorry kept pursuing the disarmed Adrian and counted down as he waited in vain for Davis to arrive.

• Traveler Lorry raised towering waves to block Davis Simonida, who identified him as Jodson and decided to attack rather than flee into the Spirit World.
• Davis Simonida used his Marionette ability to take on a Wraith's form and pass through the waves.
• Traveler Lorry unleashed a Lightning Storm, forcing Davis Simonida to plunge into the Spirit World.
• Pali Beria Lorry continued chasing Adrian, taunting him about Davis Simonida's absence as she closed the distance.
• Pali Beria Lorry counted down the seconds, and Adrian finally shouted at her to shut up.

Pali killed Adrian after his prayer to Davis Simonida went unanswered, while Traveler Lorry fought off the Rose School demigod who had been sent to help him. Pali and Mumulik regrouped with Lorry and prepared to leave.

• Adrian prayed to Davis Simonida for help, but the demigod did not answer, and Pali killed him with the Sword of Lava.
• Davis Simonida used Source of Curse against Traveler Lorry, but Lorry redirected their mystical connection to a fish with Distortion.
• Davis considered retreating after realizing Lorry had two Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts, and Lorry used Bestowal to weaken his fighting spirit.
• Davis sensed that Adrian was already dead and flew away, while Traveler Lorry teleported to join Pali and Mumulik.
• Pali gave Mumulik Adrian's Wraith Beyonder Characteristic, and the three prepared to leave.

Lorry’s messenger negotiated a deal with Nast, King of the Five Seas, promising access to the Black Emperor card’s true owner in exchange for Nast accepting the blame for Burns Solomon’s death and publicizing Jodson’s rise as a king. The chapter ended with Lorry resting on Fors’s lap in Backlund and admitting that he had come to her because he was tired and needed her.

• Nast questioned Lorry’s messenger about its master and heard the terms of a proposed transaction involving Burns Solomon’s death and the Black Emperor card.
• Lorry’s messenger gave Nast a way to summon its master and announced that its master’s title was King of the Curtain.
• Nast accepted the deal, ordered Bird Mustain to prepare to enter the Spirit World, and told him to spread news that Jodson had left the Iceberg Pirates and declared himself a king.
• Lorry rested his head on Fors’s lap, and when she asked why he had returned, he told her he had been exhausted and that she was the first person he thought of.

Fors congratulated Lorry for avenging Colonel Vera, and the two shared an intimate moment as he told her about his recent experiences. After using Mirror Substitution to escape Lorry’s eager embrace, Fors returned to comfort him and asked him to leave her time to breathe next time.

• Fors asked Lorry to close his eyes, then invited him to tell her what had happened lately.
• Lorry recounted his investigation into Yamaha, his encounter with an ancient secret organization, and his time at sea using an imagined Painter to create self-portraits.
• Fors kissed Lorry and congratulated him on avenging the upright Colonel Vera.
• Lorry pulled Fors close, and she used Mirror Substitution to escape before returning to sit beside him.
• Fors told Lorry she was glad she could comfort him, and he said she was the most important of the three people who had helped him.
• Fors asked Lorry to give her time to breathe next time after their intimate encounter.

Lorry and Fors shared an affectionate moment before discussing her wish to travel with him. He agreed they could go after she finished digesting her Astrologer Potion, and his Messenger arrived as he hinted that her promised Advancement gift had come.

• Fors told Lorry she was happy to be the first person he turned to and asked whether she could go to sea with him.
• Lorry considered his search for a Dream Stealer Beyonder Characteristic and agreed to wait for Vice Admiral Iceberg's letter while keeping Pallez as a fallback.
• Fors said she had less than a third of her Astrologer Potion left to digest, and Lorry proposed a trip to gather her next Advancement materials once she finished.
• Fors agreed to digest the Potion as soon as she could, and said her teacher, Dorian Gray, was busy but intended to give her an Advancement gift.
• Lorry said her promised Mystical Item gift had arrived, and his Messenger emerged from the Spirit World.

Fors used the Earl's Coronet to bestow a loss of fighting spirit on Lorry and kissed him until Xio walked in on them. Xio fled with Albert, while Lorry recovered and examined the items his Southern Continent avatar had brought back.

• Ms. Messenger returned to the Spirit World after reminding Lorry to pray twice.
• Fors put on the Earl's Coronet and used Bestowal to weaken Lorry's fighting spirit, then pinned him down and kissed him.
• Albert asked Xio when he could practice interrogation, and they agreed he would keep digesting his Potion and helping with commissions until they could buy his Mystical Item.
• Xio and Albert returned home with Desi Pies, where Xio caught Fors kissing Lorry and fled in embarrassment with Albert.
• Xio said she was going to the Metropolitan Tenants Association, while Albert asked whether she would adopt him; she said goodbye and left.
• Lorry recovered from Bestowal, reflected on its power, and looked over the spoils from his Southern Continent avatar.

Lorry sorted the spoils from Adrian’s defeat, planned how to use the Beyonder Characteristics and Angel blood, and learned the abilities and danger of Adrian’s Marionette Doll. After purifying the doll so it could safely be given to Fors, he turned to the black medal and began a dream divination.

• Lorry sealed the Wraith, Zombie, Werewolf, Lunatic, and Prisoner Beyonder Characteristics, then shattered them and took two drops of Angel blood from his Traveler illusion.
• Lorry counted the remaining characteristics, considered trading them to the Rose School’s Temperance Faction, and reviewed the ingredients and rituals needed to advance his avatars.
• Through dream divination, Lorry witnessed Adrian receiving the Marionette Doll from a mysterious grandfather and learned the item’s abilities, limits, and negative effect.
• Lorry realized Adrian had a demigod elder, then purified the Marionette Doll with the Eternal Blazing Sun’s power so it could be given to Fors without risking the elder’s retaliation.
• Lorry stored the purified doll in another Dimension and began divining the black medal left on the coffee table.

Lorry learned through a dream how the Lieutenant Colonel died and how Adrian acquired the Justice Medal, then discussed the relic and the Lieutenant Colonel with Sebastian. After asking Sebastian about MI9, Lorry welcomed Xio and Fors to share his food, leaving the group together for dessert.

• Lorry witnessed the Lieutenant Colonel's defeat by a Half-Human, Half-God, his sacrifice on Adrian's altar, and the Lieutenant Colonel's escape after sending away the White Bone Ring.
• Lorry heard Adrian receive the Justice Medal and learn that its virtues could drive its user to suicide after repeated use.
• Lorry told Sebastian about the dream and the Justice Medal, and Sebastian revealed that he sensed the Lieutenant Colonel's Spirit Body among those he had taken in.
• Lorry explained that he had offered the Black Lady to Edwina in exchange for the Church of Knowledge's help obtaining a Prophet Potion or Beyonder Characteristic.
• Sebastian told Lorry that the Lieutenant Colonel had been a chatterbox, and Lorry asked him about MI9.
• Xio arrived with a dog, initially refused Lorry's food, then accepted dessert and went to get Fors.

Fors struggled with embarrassment after Xio caught her acting intimately with Lorry, but Lorry reassured her and the household settled into an evening of games and storytelling. Later, Cattleya prepared to attend the Tarot Club while thinking about Jodson declaring himself the King of the Curtain.

• Fors hid in her bedroom, mortified that Xio had witnessed her intimate behavior with Lorry, until Lorry revealed he had heard her and told her he had liked it.
• Fors and Lorry joined Xio for dinner, then played Fight Evil, and Xio lost again and had to clean up.
• Fors suggested Albert use a Mystical Item to help interrogate suspects, and Lorry offered the Dieter Copper Whistle while telling Albert he would have to work to pay for it.
• Lorry teased Albert by saying he would use the Harvest Garland to catalyze crops across two hundred thousand mu of land, then promised he would only have to run errands.
• Lorry, Fors, Xio, and Albert shared tea and stories as the night passed.
• Cattleya prepared for the Tarot Club aboard the Future and recalled that Jodson had left the Golden Dream and declared himself the King of the Curtain before joining the meeting.

At the Tarot Club, Audrey learned that Alger had a lead on a Hallucinatory Wind Chime Tree fruit and agreed to buy Fors’s Hypnotist-based Mystical Item, Dieter, for seven thousand pounds. Fors then sought rare Beyonder ingredients, and Audrey asked what creatures they came from.

• Audrey asked the Tarot Club for a Young Mind Dragon pituitary gland, Black Hunt Giant Lizard spinal fluid, and Hallucinatory Wind Chime Tree fruit, and Alger offered a lead on the fruit.
• Fors offered Audrey a Hypnotist-based Mystical Item called Dieter, and Audrey agreed to buy it for seven thousand pounds after negotiating the price down.
• Fors asked the members to look for ingredients for Dream Stealer, Fallen Earl, Demon, and Scribe.
• Audrey asked Fors whether the unfamiliar creatures that supplied the ingredients were nearly extinct, like Mind Dragons.

At the Tarot Club, Fors sought rare spiritual materials, while Derrick and Cattleya offered ways to obtain several of them. The meeting moved toward another sale when Fors announced she had a Mystical Item to sell.

• Derrick told Fors that the City of Silver could provide an Archdevil's black heart and a Lust Demon's blood after he earned more contribution points on an upcoming exploration.
• Fors confirmed Derrick's previous transactions covered the materials and promised to gather the Sequence 5 Sun Pathway formula for him.
• Klein decided to keep the Priest of Light's soul in Creeping Hunger until after his planned sea voyage, prioritizing his combat strength.
• Cattleya explained the creatures' rarity and levels, then offered to sell Fors thirty milliliters of Dream-Eating Mouse blood for three hundred pounds within a week.
• Fors announced that she had another Mystical Item to sell, and Audrey turned her attention toward the offer.

Fors presented the Marionette Doll, a gift she had no real intention of selling, while Klein weighed how to teach her a lesson for seeming to use the Tarot Club to show it off. After Klein invited the members to talk, Alger announced that the fifth of the Five Kings had emerged.

• Fors described the Marionette Doll, and Audrey realized Fors was showing off a gift rather than sincerely offering it for sale.
• Klein suspected Fors was testing the club and considered several ways to punish her, but ruled out acting against her directly.
• The Tarot Club members privately speculated about Fors, the Fool, and the Marionette Doll, while none made an offer.
• Klein told the members to talk among themselves, and Alger announced that the fifth of the Five Kings had officially emerged.

At the Tarot Club, the members discussed the emergence of the King of the Curtain and learned that he and Nast had clashed over a legendary ghost ship. Fors confirmed that Jodson had joined the Golden Dream to search for treasure, while Klein speculated about her associates and recognized how dependable she was.

• Audrey asked Alger about Flower Bow Tie Jodson, and Alger explained that the pirate had left the Golden Dream and declared himself the King of the Curtain.
• Cattleya said a Demigod could influence the political landscape and revealed that Alger's news likely came through Nast's channels; she added that Nast might no longer be the most powerful Pirate King.
• Cattleya reported that Intis Navy intelligence said Nast had clashed with the new king in the Fog Sea and come off slightly worse, possibly over a ghost ship from the Solomon Empire.
• The members discussed the ghost ship as one of the sea's legendary treasures, and Fors confirmed that Jodson had joined the Golden Dream to search for treasure.
• Klein connected Fors's requested materials to Demigod advancement and wondered whether her friend had companions or clones; he then thought of Fors as a dependable Tarot Club member, a change Alger noticed.

At the Tarot Club, Audrey explained that a spirit body gradually shapes the physical body, prompting Klein to reflect on his identity and his bond with Klein Moretti’s memories. Back in Backlund, Fors pursued a writing idea and later told Lorry about the meeting, leaving him intrigued by the spirit-body revelation.

• Audrey shared results from experiments showing that spirit bodies could gradually alter physical traits and preferences, while Fors asked whether subjects’ appearances and heights changed.
• Audrey clarified that the transformation affected the body’s interior, not its exterior, and Fors summed up the idea as the person beneath the mask mattering most.
• Klein concluded that he was still himself despite merging with Klein Moretti’s memories and emotions, and reflected on his ties to Benson and Melissa.
• After returning to Backlund, Fors told Xio she wanted to write down an idea inspired by Audrey’s account, and Xio teased her for leaving past ideas unwritten.
• Lorry visited the Face Mask Factory, then later told Fors that its new First Manager seemed pragmatic and capable.
• Fors recounted Audrey’s explanation to Lorry, who raised an eyebrow at the claim that the spirit body transformed the physical body.

Lorry considered how to obtain the main ingredients needed for Pali’s advancement and decided to focus first on finding the ingredients for Dream Stealer. Fors divined that the missing main ingredient was in the Rorsted Archipelago and another ingredient was best sought in western Intis, but her spiritual guidance also showed her a beautiful woman who made her uneasy.

• Lorry weighed three ways to obtain Pali’s missing main ingredients, but set aside joining the Blood Sanctify Sect and searching the market, while considering whether Madam Hermit or the City of Silver could trade them.
• Lorry told Fors that gathering the ingredients for Dream Stealer was his most urgent task, and Fors proposed using divination to help find them.
• Fors used her crystal ball to divine where they could find the ingredients, receiving guidance toward the Rorsted Archipelago and western Intis.
• Fors told Lorry that another spiritual vision had shown her a strikingly beautiful woman, leaving her feeling uncomfortable.