A majestic ancient palace with a vast dome supported by towering stone pillars stood above a boundless expanse of gray fog.
A man was seated at the seat of honour at the center of the palace.
He was cloaked in the mysterious gray fog and rapped the edge of the table in thought. After a moment of deliberation, he raised his hand and touched four crimson stars.
Suddenly, the long table was enveloped in crimson light.
After a moment, the blaze faded to reveal four individuals occupying different seats at the long table.
…
Audrey stood up from her seat, lifted her skirt and happily greeted, "Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~"
She then turned towards each of the Tarot Club members and welcomed them with a pleasant smile.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hanged Man!"
"Good afternoon, Mr. Sun!"
"Good afternoon, Mr. Emperor~" she said with a deeper bow.
Finishing, she took her seat at the left hand side of Mr. Fool.
Klein cleared his throat, drawing attention from everyone present. He then spoke in a mysterious and commanding voice.
"Mr. Emperor," he said, gesturing towards Casper, "is not the same Mr. Emperor you think he is. Instead, he is one of Mr. Emperor's promising Blessed who he wants to cultivate into an outstanding talent. He has sent this Blessed towards our Tarot Club for us to nurture him."
Upon finishing, he lazily leaned against his seat and waved his hand. "You can continue."
Audrey subtly turned her head towards her side, furtively glancing at Casper from the corner of her eye.
I wonder what sequence he is?
Alger on the other hand had an entirely different train of thought.
Does Mr. Emperor think our Tarot Club is too low level for him to entertain? Is that why he took his leave?
He then quietly stole a glance at the new Mr. Emperor — Casper still and thought simultaneously. Is he here to evaluate our gathering, to see if we're worthy of cooperation?
And thus, Alger resolved to showcase the full extent of the Tarot Club to Mr. Emperor's Blessed.
Derrick on the other hand just quietly listened to Mr. Fool's words without pondering too much, focused on the horrors he had to combat after going back.
Ah! Is this what light is? It feels so good. It's completely different from the cold of the dark.
"Mr. Hanged Man, you should be handing this week's six pages."
Audrey reminded.
Alger nodded and began to produce the six pages of Roselle's diary with Klein's help.
Previously, he had thought about consulting The Fool about whether he should directly submit the rest of the diary via a sacrifice. However, seeing that The Fool didn't seem too interested or take the initiative to mention it, he gave up on this idea.
And this was in line with his understanding of The Fool. Roselle's diary had a certain effect on the godlike-man — Mr. Fool — but it wasn't that great. He would collect it, but he definitely wasn't in a rush.
The six pages of the diary were completed very quickly. As Alger was about to offer it to The Fool who sat at the end of the long bronze table, he suddenly remembered something. He hurriedly said respectfully, "Mr. Fool, I have obtained a piece of information related to the Secret Order."
There was no obstruction of information on the ocean; it just wasn't timely enough.
The pirates also valued intelligence and often sent people to the colonial island to exchange information that they had gathered. It was through these channels that Alger learned something about the Secret Order.
"Very good." Klein nodded his head slightly, giving his permission to The Hanged Man to recount what he knew. He didn't stop the presence of Miss Justice and The Sun from letting him speak.
This would help the former gather more information about the Secret Order, while the latter understood nothing.
At the same time, he allowed the six-page diary to appear in his hands.
The Hanged Man said unhurriedly, "The Secret Order has some connection with the Intis Republic."
The Intis Republic. Yes, Emperor Republic was from Intis, and Zaratul had sought him out in Trier, the capital of Intis... The Secret Order was also involved in the famous incident at Intis... Well, it's not too surprising that the Secret Order still has some connection with the Intis Republic today…
After validating this new piece of information with what he knew, Klein confirmed that the information provided by The Hanged Man was true.
Casper on the other hand watched their exchange with slight amusement.
Ah, I really want to read their thoughts. What do they think of this unexpected development? Still, this is much better than I expected. With this, I'm able to collect the 1800 pounds I'm owed and also trade for the Black Emperor pathway potions.
Maybe I could even exchange formulas, materials, and Beyonder Characteristics, Casper thought happily.
He had experienced such ominous luck with what happened at Mr. A's gathering and the train murder, so much that he needed a win.
And this was exactly the win he needed.
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A/N - How'd I do with this chapter? I'm not really good with multiple pov's in a single chapter so I want an honest opinion. It was pretty fucking hard coming up with ways to switch pov's without it seeming to awkward. I really couldn't do. Audrey pov undeline then Alger pov.