~2940 words
Miss Justice's heart skipped a beat as she saw the Card of Blasphemy. However, her reaction was not as gobsmacked as Miss Magician, who was sitting the closest to The World's Blessed, who had her eyes plastered over the words: "Sequence 0: Black Emperor"
While Audrey's heart was thumping wildly, she reeled in her chaotic thoughts and instead, looked towards the host of the meeting—Mr. Fool. With a sincere tone, she parted her lips. "Honorable Mr. Fool, I have something I would like to report to you alone."
Klein nodded slightly.
"Sure."
Unlike before, Klein did not include Kiyotaka in the veil of mystery and had excluded him from hearing the content of discussion between himself and Miss Justice.
Kiyotaka did not think much of it, given he knew the reason behind this isolation.
After a while of Miss Justice and Mr. Fool talking in privacy, Klein finally dismissed the veil of secrecy and everyone turned their attention back to the two. Hanged Man casted a weary glance in Mr. Emperor's direction, but refrained from saying anything.
Soon after their private talk was done, Miss Justice rose once again. "Honorable Mr. Fool, I've memorized another two pages of Roselle's diary."
"Very good." Klein knocked gratefully on the edge of the long bronze table to help Miss Justice conjure the diary pages.
When he had the two pages in hand, he cast his eyes over, only for him to sigh silently. The content in the diary given by Miss Justice was the useless diary entry of Roselle lamenting about eating some food that gave him a bad stomach.
Besides, it seemed like the gift of a collection of entries that Kiyotaka had given him held far more information.
Klein placed the diary entries down and looked up. "You may begin the exchange."
As soon as he said that, Hanged Man, Justice and Little Sun all turned their heads towards Mr. Emperor. After about 2 seconds, Mr. World also turned and stared intently at The Emperor's Blessed.
However, there was a problem. Which one of them was going to buy the information from him? Or exchange something of equivalent value? It seemed like almost everyone was interested in the Card.
Other than Miss Magician, the other could not really see what was written after "Sequence 0"
Kiyotaka, realizing that all of them were interested in the information, placed his illusory arm on the corner of the card and slid it towards himself. Not putting on any airs, he spoke in a rather eloquent manner.
"It's a Black Emperor Card of Blasphemy." Without waiting for them to ask, Kiyotaka answered the question in their head by himself.
'A Black Emperor Card of Blasphemy! Our Tarot Club has obtained one of the 22 cards that are almost impossible to obtain! This is such a joyous moment! Our Tarot Club is finally going to make waves!' Audrey's heart palpitated with excitement.
'A Black Emperor Card of Blasphemy? It has the name Emperor in it... Does that mean that the real Mr. Emperor—the deity friend of Mr. Fool bestowed a Card of Blasphemy to one of his adorers... Just like that? Is he that special?' Alger had his doubts regarding the new member.
'No, it's not possible. The real Mr. Emperor is an existence on almost the same level as Mr. Fool. Something like a Card of Blasphemy should mean nothing to "Him"! It is possible that "He" gave the Card of Blasphemy as a part of a small blessing to "His" adorer before "He" got busy with "His" urgent business.'
Fors and Derrick did not have much reaction to anything. Fors understood the implication, and hence due to the shock, she did not show any other outwardly reaction. As for Derrick, while it was a Pathway unknown in Forsaken Land of Gods, he more or less knew about Sequence 0, and hence was unsurprised by it.
After a moment of silent, mental outrage, Kiyotaka cleared his throat and everyone was brought back to the real moment.
Not letting the silence linger for long, Kiyotaka raised his voice once again. "I am looking for some materials. I am willing to pay for it in cash— or a Mystical Item in exchange for it."
Audrey's ears perked and she turned to face him. "What are the materials you require?"
"Weeping Infant Flower and Strange Faced Cannabis Crystal." Without holding back, Kiyotaka presented his demand for the main ingredients of Briber. While he was far from digesting his Barbarian potion, he believed that getting the Main Ingredients ahead of time, or at least putting an order for them would be of great help.
'Strange Faced Cannabis...? That sounds like a Mid-Sequence formula... Don't tell me, is The Emperor's Blessed not even a Mid-Sequence Beyonder yet?!'
The Hanged Man fell into contemplation.
"I will have to look around for it. What can you offer in compensation? Other than cash."
"I have a few Mystical Items. Is there any specific Mystical Item you are interested in?"
The World stared at Mr. Emperor and then folded his hands. It looked like he didn't want to partake in the conversation.
"There is, but I am not sure. Perhaps if you could be more specific." Miss Justice's implication was quite clear. Since Kiyotaka was being quite reserved, she wanted him to tell her about his arsenal of Mystical Items.
"One of them increases your overall mobility and strength, along with laying traps and enhanced danger intuition at the cost of making you feel a little... belligerent. The others have a lot more abilities, but I am afraid they correspond to Sequence 7 and 6, and hence will outweigh the price of two materials."
Audrey pondered over it for some time. As of now, not having enhanced physical attributes was her biggest weakness. She did need the Mystical Item. As for the downside, she could inspect her own behavior beforehand and hence would be instantly alerted if she's doing something that is out of the ordinary.
"Ok, I will exchange the Mystical Item for the two materials, of course, after I confirm that those two things are within my scope or not." Audrey explained.
"Sure. I would pay the balance to you in cash, as the Mystical Item I will provide you corresponds to a Sequence 9."
'Mr. Emperor is quite honest...'
Smiling, Audrey nodded. "Deal."
Kiyotaka wanted a clear image for now. If he wanted to exploit the system of this meeting to its fullest, he needed to establish a very clear image in the first few instances.
When the conversation was over, Alger looked around and said, as if he had already prepared a draft.
"I recently took on an investigative mission. I'm not sure if you have any relevant leads. In the past two to three years, many original native tribes in the Southern Continent have been plundered and all their people were taken away. In the various colonies, on the islands at sea, some slaves have also mysteriously escaped. Such situations have not happened in a long time since the countries of the Northern Continent abolished the slave trade. Have you all heard anything that's relevant?"
His eyes swept over Emperor, Justice, The Magician, and The World, but he didn't look at The Sun. After all, how could a boy trapped in the City of Silver inside the Forsaken Land of the Gods know about what was happening outside?
Audrey carefully recalled the conversations she had heard at the many noble gatherings, but after a while, she said, "No, I've never even heard of such a thing."
The Magician and The World shook their heads.
Only when there was silence did Kiyotaka talk. "That makes sense."
Everyone, including Mr. Fool — who was shrouded in the fog of mysteries — looked at the Emperor.
"How?" It was Justice who raised the question.
"It might involve the royalty of Loen Kingdom. Of course, it is merely an assumption."
"How can you say that?" Hanged Man joined the conversation as well.
Kiyotaka had made a preliminary judgement already and had connected the dots. The logic was strengthened after his meeting with Prince Edessak Augustus. "It's part of an elaborate plan to help the current king ascend."
A hush suddenly enveloped the entire space. Everyone was silent. Despite the phrasing being so simple, almost no one could wrap their heads around what the newcomer had just said. Naturally, doubt began to creep into their minds as well.
When they turned their heads towards the one sitting at the head of the long, mottled bronze table, Mr. Fool simply smiled in an affectionate manner. "It is best for everyone to not know about it, as of now."
As soon as Klein said that, everyone nodded their heads and instantly decided to not talk about it any further. In reality, he was quite oblivious to what Kiyotaka was saying himself.
Noticing the silence take over once more, The Hanged Man spoke up. "You can attempt to seek out the formula for Wind-blessed. I will provide you with payment that would absolutely be enough to satisfy you. Any of you."
'Wind Blessed...? Hmm, whenever it comes to Sequences and Pathway names, I am quite behind in knowledge relating to that. I should probably start researching into the matter as well. For now, I should focus on Potion formulas from Bard, Apprentice, Sailor and Spectator Pathway. They can be used to deal with the Tarot Club members.
The only Pathway formulas I have are of Hunter, Provoker, Pyromaniac, Secrets Supplicant, Listener, Shadow Ascetic, Rose Bishop, Criminal, Unwinged Angel, Serial Killer and Devil.
It can also help later on. Once I have a tight-knit circle of people in the Zmanger Gang, I can use my persona as Hyde—the Hound of Zmanger, in collaboration with Mal to choose a select few of them and then have a set of my own Beyonder soldiers, while also regulating their advancement.'
Kiyotaka nodded. "Alright."
While the offer was extended to everyone, with Kiyotaka being the only to respond, he more or less had established that he would do it. Klein understood this and his brow twitched a little.
After The Hanged Man finished announcing his mission, Derrick raised his hand and said with some apprehension, "I've been assigned to go on a mission. I will be heading to the half-destroyed temple, that I mentioned previously, in the near future, yes, the one related to the Fallen Creator. The leader responsible for this operation is Shepherd Elder Lovia. Do you have any suggestions?"
'Elder Lovia. She is the one who everyone suspects. In all honesty, from what I have heard, she does sound evil, but there is a debilitating lack of evidence of her evil doings. However, staying cautious is the right course of action.'
"What do you know of the temple? Our answers or suggestions will depend on that." Kiyotaka answered.
It was his first meeting, so he wanted to make his presence known. While being perceived as a Blessed of a "deity" was enough to not make others consider him a mundane person, however, personal merit always trumped merit by connections.
"The only thing we know of regarding that semi-destroyed temple is the presence of the True Creator, or in other words, the Fallen Creator's unique statue. We don't know what else is there, so naturally, we aren't able to make much of an analysis of the situation. I've yet to see those murals with my own eyes. It's said that it records the prophecy of the end of days and how the Fallen Creator will save his believers, as well as the corresponding bloody ritual... In the corner of a certain mural, there are some strange characters that appear to have evolved from Jotun. After some deciphering, a few elders believe that they meant: Rose Redemption."
'A God will save his believers while he constantly drives people mad at the same time.' Kiyotaka humored himself internally.
"This might be a code name for the original muralist. It might also be the code name of the organization that built the temple and the city. According to the Chief's judgment, these murals are at least a thousand years old. The thousand years I'm referring to is the one that you know, uh, but I'm not completely sure. In the City of Silver, w-we use the frequency of lightning to demarcate our days. It's considered night when the lightning eases up and day when there's plenty of lightning. One cycle is a day, and the four seasons only exist in books, so we can't grasp the specific number of days. Only the Chief can confirm that." Derrick continued.
Little Sun looked at Kiyotaka and waited for a response, since he was the one who offered to give a reply.
"It depends on Elder Lovia—in which case, in both situations, you should not go. The first is where we go by the commonly agreed upon consensus, and that is that Elder Lovia is evil. If she is, it is more likely than not that she's leading you all to a trap.
If she is not evil, well, Fallen Creator sits at the apex of her Pathway. Sequence 8: Listener already suffers from the ravings of Fallen Creator. It's positive to assume that if there is any lingering after-effect of him, then it would affect her negatively. It could be a disaster, which is why you should avoid going."
'He is using 'him' instead of "Him" for a God... Even if it's an evil god, isn't he worried about anything?' Audrey and Alger had the same thought.
Derrick's face darkened. "But participation is mandatory..."
At that moment, Alger decided to take the spotlight and sneered.
"You can always pretend to be on the brink of losing control. No, to be precise, you can push yourself to the brink of losing control. Under such a situation, I believe the higher-ups of the City of Silver would definitely not bring 'dangerous baggage' with them on the exploratory mission, right? There is a trick; as long as you keep your spirituality in an empty state for two days, you will begin to hear auditory hallucinations and show signs of losing control. If you stop suppressing yourself, then your situation will improve in a week, and you won't really lose control. Of course, your City of Silver definitely has some solutions and contingencies to cure those who show signs of losing control. Your recovery would definitely be quick, so you need to time yourself perfectly. It's best if you start doing so two to three days before you set off."
'Hanged Man 'sounds quite adept in deceit and trickery. And also quite knowledgeable in mystical matters. Well, he is a member of the Church of Storms so perhaps that is the reason.'
Kiyotaka nodded in affirmation towards Little Sun to which he beamed. "Thank you, Mr. Hanged Man. Mr. Emperor. But I would have to refuse that."
Alger's expressions darkened. "And why is that?"
"I can't let them go there alone, knowing that Elder Lovia might result in their deaths! My honor won't allow me!"
"You are not pretending to lose control or lying to others for your own personal interests. You are doing so to save the City of Silver." Alger explained, however, Derrick looked hell-bent on still going.
Klein looked at Kiyotaka and then at the semi-heated conversation. "Your honor is no good if you are dead. I have been told that you want to bring the City of Silver under the embrace of the sun, correct?"
Derrick turned his head towards Kiyotaka, calmed down, and then nodded.
"A dead person won't be able to do that."
Derrick calmed down and then breathed in. For a long while, he stayed silent.
"I understand... thank you."
'Mr. Emperor is not only knowledgeable but is also quite level-headed. He also mentioned about being told of Little Sun's aspiration. Was it The Emperor who did that? That would make sense. But still, despite his tone being really monotonous and him feeling quite distant from everyone, he is a warm person...
...or at least really good at pretending to be one. I can't tell at all.'
Audrey thought and then re-evaluated her opinion on The Emperor's Blessed.
After the exchange, the Tarot Gathering began its free discussion session. Audrey asked with great interest about the unique scenery of the sea and of any strange happenings, while Alger gave selective descriptions according to his own knowledge.
Fors listened quietly and was inspired to write a novel about a God and him entrusting his legacy to his most devout believer in his dying breath.
Derrick could only imagine what the sea looked like based on the paintings in the City of Silver and the corresponding words.
In the end, only Mr. World and Mr. Emperor stayed silent throughout the free exchange.
Klein, whose spirituality was gradually draining, announced the end of the Tarot Gathering. Once everyone was gone and Mr. World dissolved into the mist, he looked ahead and cancelled the fog of mysteries from around him.
The expressions on Klein's face were that of annoyance.
Tapping his fingers on the long, mottled bronze table, Klein spoke. "You nearly had me and my friend killed!"
*****
Author's Note: It'll take some time for the first official illustration to come out, so make do with this fully decked out Koji. It took me a whole hour to get his face and stuff right. This is what he looks like after advancing to Barbarian. By some sheer magic, he is now somewhat handsome!!!
(Fuck my life)