The two of them then turned to look at each other at the same moment — even after everything they'd been through recently, 2,000 pounds was still an enormous sum to either of them.
"Mr. Ikanser..."
Melissa said, sounding a bit conflicted, "If... what I mean is, if that serial killer actually gets caught because he came after me — and Miss Cleya — as bait for you, wouldn't that mean... we also played some part in catching him?"
Klein thought: Miss Christine, you are, quite frankly, a goddamn genius.
Ikanser blinked, taken aback for a moment, then rubbed his forehead with a helpless look. "That's... actually a fair point. If — if that does end up being the case, I'll absolutely push to make sure you both get your share of the reward."
Melissa picked up her water glass. "Oh, well, if you insist..."
Klein and Ikanser: "..."
...
Back in his room, Klein lay down on the bed until it was five minutes to three, then got up and went into the washroom. After flipping a coin to confirm it was safe, he took four steps backward into Beyond the Grey Fog, ran a divination check, then began methodically preparing for the upcoming gathering.
At three o'clock sharp, he raised a hand, spirituality spreading outward, touching each member's corresponding deep-red star, drawing their figures out of a wash of red light into the ancient hall — including "Miss Magician," who had just joined the Tarot Club during the full moon a few days earlier.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool!"
As always, class-representative Miss Justice was the first to greet the Fool, the others bowing and offering their greetings soon after. Only Fors, the newest member, was still cautiously watching the others when everyone suddenly rose — she froze for half a second before scrambling up in a panic, half a beat late: "G-Good afternoon, Mr. Fool!!!"
Her voice landed a beat behind everyone else's, and in her panic came out even louder than intended, standing out sharply in the vast, silent hall. In an instant, every gaze turned toward her.
"!!!"
Oh no.
Her very first gathering, and she'd already made herself the center of attention — Fors wished she could crawl into a hole and disappear.
While Fors's scalp prickled with embarrassment, Audrey was studying her with curiosity too — was she Xio, or Fors? Had one of them finally passed some kind of vetting? Or had Mr. Lovers brought her in personally?
The Hanged Man, Alger, looked thoughtful too: two new members joining in as many weeks — did that mean Mr. Fool's power was recovering further? He wondered if there was something special about this new woman's identity.
Vincent, meanwhile, had guessed right away — the newcomer was clearly Fors, that lazy fish of hers. Good thing he'd passed along Mr. Fool's honorific to her in time, or she probably wouldn't have made it through the full moon a few days back.
"Mr. Fool."
Audrey turned, lightly lifting the hem of her skirt, addressing Klein at the head of the bronze long table. "Who is this?"
Klein, lounging comfortably in the seat reserved for "the Fool," glanced around the room. "This is Miss Magician, our newest member."
He then looked at Fors and introduced everyone one by one: "This is Miss Justice, this is Mr. Hanged Man, this is Mr. Lovers..."
Seeing that no one seemed to react much to her earlier outburst, Fors quietly let out a breath of relief, then nodded politely to each of the seniors as Mr. Fool made the introductions, while continuing to observe everyone on the sly.
After a bit of scrutiny, Audrey had already pretty much settled on the newcomer's identity. "Based on her build, it can't be Miss Xio — brown hair, slightly curly — this must be Miss Fors, right?"
I can't believe Mr. Fool got ahead of me on figuring out my own recruit's identity, hehe. Well, Mr. Lovers, no matter how many times you beat me to it before — my person still joined before yours, didn't she?
She shot Vincent a smug glance, lifting her chin slightly.
Vincent blinked, then caught on to what that little glance meant, and couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation — but he didn't bother explaining. Whatever makes you happy, my lady.
He turned to Little Sun instead. "Mr. Sun, how are things on your end? Have you left that half-ruined temple and made it back to Silver City?"
Derrick nodded quickly. "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Lovers. I made it back to Silver City a couple days ago. The Elders gave our whole team a thorough checkup — we'd all picked up some corruption from an unknown source, but thankfully it was fairly shallow, and it was cleared out the moment we got back."
Vincent's tone carried a note of amusement. "Good to hear."
Even though his own actions had put Little Sun through a crisis that hadn't existed in the original story, thanks to his help, not only had Derrick made it through safely, but the team members who'd been corrupted in the original story had also avoided their fate of losing control and dying. All things considered, that was something worth being glad about.
"Oh, and Mr. Lovers — that bracelet you lent me, I might need a bit longer before I can return it. I'm worried I might still be under observation."
"No problem."
Fors was completely lost by the sudden exchange between the two seniors, but she at least had a rough grasp of what "corruption from an unknown source" meant — in the extraordinary world, corruption was without question one of the most terrifying, dangerous things there was, usually spelling loss of control and death.
Still, all of this had always felt very far away from Fors — ever since becoming a Beyonder, she'd stayed in Backlund the whole time, with no chance to run into anything like this.
No wonder it's a gathering involving actual gods — they're already discussing something this dangerous right off the bat!
She'd been thinking, just a moment ago, that if even a low Sequence like herself could attend this gathering, the others' strength and Sequence were probably around the same level. After hearing the exchange between "Lovers" and "Sun," she wasn't so sure anymore.
"Mr. Sun."
Klein, operating "the World," spoke in a raspy voice. "Would you mind sharing — when you told your Elder that you'd heard the True Creator's whispering and performed the ritual to open the Gate of Bestowal, how did she react? Did she say anything in particular?"
"A particular reaction?"
Derrick thought it over for a moment, then shook his head. "I didn't see anything unusual on her face directly, but her attitude changed right away. She didn't hesitate at all — she took me somewhere private and had me pray to... to Mr. Fool."
Alger picked up the thread. "So it's confirmed, then — your Elder really is a follower of the True Creator."
He paused for a few seconds, glancing at Vincent before continuing. "Mr. Sun, I think this is something you need to think through carefully going forward."
Derrick asked, confused. "Think through... what?"
"You managed to change your Elder's mind and resolve this crisis, on Mr. Lovers's advice, by using the fact that you'd heard the True Creator's voice and had that bracelet carrying its presence."
"But there's no getting around the fact that the True Creator is a mad, dangerous evil god. Believing in a god like that means your Elder is dangerous too. What she might do, what threat she could bring to Silver City — none of that is knowable."
Hearing this, Derrick understood. "Are you saying, Mr. Hanged Man, that I should report her to the Chief?"
"That's certainly one option." Alger nodded. "But that would also put you in danger yourself — after all, right now, you're also considered a 'believer' of the True Creator."
Derrick said quickly, "I'm not!"
"Unfortunately, in your Elder's eyes, you are. And if you report her to the Chief, she'll almost certainly drag you down with her. Even if you can prove you don't believe in the True Creator, there's no explaining away the fact that you believe in... Mr. Fool."
To be continued…
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