The next day, the Dawn arrived at Toscat Island.
The surrounding waters were also known as the "White Whale Sea," named for the whales that frequented it.
Brave sailors boarded whaling ships here to venture into the wind and waves and battle those oceanic giants, obtaining large quantities of whale meat and even precious ambergris.
This was the easternmost colony of the Loen Kingdom. Beyond this point, there were no safe shipping routes.
Only those insane adventurers and cutthroat pirates would venture deeper, and most of them never returned.
To avoid drawing attention, the Queen didn't bring the Dawn too close to the island.
Instead, she concealed the ship and let Silas disembark at a slightly more distant location.
"If you keep going forward, you'll reach dangerous, uninhabited waters. Before that, you can go to the island to rest and prepare," the "Queen Mystic" Bernadette said.
"I happen to have some other matters to handle. You can stay here until tomorrow."
"All right."
Silas readily accepted.
Not only because he was growing weary of being constantly at sea, but also because today was Monday, the day the Tarot Club convened.
Attending the Tarot Club on the Queen's ship might lead to discovery, but going to the island would be much safer.
As for what the Queen planned to do, it had nothing to do with him, and he didn't intend to find out.
"Luna, come here."
He called to the black cat sprawled on the deck.
"Meow."
The black cat straightened up and followed behind him. He scooped her up and held her in his arms.
"Whoosh..."
A powerful wind generated beneath Silas, lifting him into the air. He quickly reached Toscat Island's harbor.
In this harbor, quite a few ships were docked, including several pirate vessels. Black skull-and-crossbones flags flew brazenly high, snapping loudly in the sea breeze.
Technically speaking, this was a Loen colony.
But because it was so far from the kingdom, government control was far weaker than inland, and management had become quite chaotic.
They say this is a pirates' paradise. I wonder how many famous pirates here could become my lambs?
Silas calmly glanced at the pirate ships, then turned and headed inland. There was still some time before three in the afternoon.
He planned to first find an inn to check in, then have lunch, and then attend the Tarot Club in his room.
Toscat Island's prosperity couldn't compare to Backlund's, but it had the advantage of bright sunshine and pleasant sea breezes.
This small island was full of bars, casinos, and red-light districts, clearly targeted services for those pirates.
The wealth pirates obtained through life-and-death struggles would be consumed here at an astonishing rate, forcing them to set sail again to conduct frenzied plundering at sea.
Silas walked the streets holding his black cat, and no one noticed him.
The inn's front desk unconsciously processed his check-in, and the bar's bartender, in a hypnotized state, provided him with food.
He enjoyed the local famous grilled fish, while Luna enjoyed fresh fish meat.
Throughout this process, Silas remained quite discreet because he would be heading to the ruins of the gods' war tomorrow and shouldn't provoke any incidents today.
However, he still overheard some news from the bar patrons.
Besides the [Blood Reverend] attacking the palace, the next most noteworthy matter was that in a while, the Pirate Conference hosted by the "King of the Five Seas," Nast, would be held.
This was a grand gathering for pirates. At the conference, they divided loot, traded, negotiated, made enemies, fought over territory, and mediated disputes.
When the time came, the other three Kings, the Seven Admirals, all sorts of famous pirates, and emerging pirates eager to gain recognition might all attend. It would be quite lively.
Of course, for now this had nothing to do with Silas, unless he planned to gather his own crew and form his own pirate band.
After finishing lunch and returning to his inn room, it was around two in the afternoon.
Silas sat in the room's chair and began thinking about what to do at this Tarot Club meeting.
Setting other matters aside, the first thing he needed to do was confirm a certain member's identity.
That person had warned him through The Fool, reminding him that the Witch was about to attack his parish.
Very few people knew his sphere of influence was those few streets in the East Borough.
It could be [Justice] Miss Audrey, Sharron, or even Fors. But only one person clearly knew it was his [parish].
Klein.
As a fellow transmigrator, he had once told the other party that to role-play, he had established a parish in the East Borough, imitating a true Shepherd.
So Klein was indeed also at the Tarot Club and had guessed his identity?
Then which codename at the Tarot Club was Klein?
First, rule out the female members. Among the remaining males, [The Sun] could also be ruled out, and [The Hanged Man's] seasoned cunning was completely different from the Klein in his memory.
That left only one person sitting across from Mr. Fool.
Mr. [The World].
That gloomy, stiff person... was Klein?
When he got there, he'd have a showdown with him.
Silas secretly decided.
After that, he would request to purchase auxiliary materials for the Black Knight potion at the meeting.
[Justice] Miss had the "Psychology Alchemists" behind her, [The Hanged Man] was in the Church of Storms, [The Sun] was in the City of Silver, and [The Magician] could write to her teacher.
They all seemed to have channels and might be able to help him.
After thinking this through, he looked up at the clock and found the hands were almost at three.
"Come out."
Silas spoke to the empty air.
"Swish."
As his words fell, Ma'am M's hazy figure appeared in his vision and smiled at him.
"While I was on the Queen's ship, you never appeared."
Silas said to her.
"Yes, that ship seems to have some restraint over me."
Ma'am M explained with a smile.
Is that really so?
Silas glanced at her but didn't pursue the question further.
Instead, he let her create a virtual personality for him and waited for the gathering to begin.
***
When the crimson radiance faded, Silas once again appeared in this ancient castle shrouded in gray fog.
At that moment, he suddenly sensed something unusual beside him and couldn't help but look toward the lower seat.
There, on the bronze chair that had previously been empty, now sat a mottled figure.
A new member?
Height seems like a normal person's, eyes appear to be red...
Just as he was examining the other party's blurry appearance and guessing the new member's identity, [Justice's] voice already reached his ears.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
Her voice lacked its usual lightness, but compared to when her friend Kons had died, there was less melancholy and more composure.
"You have once again saved Backlund."