"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~"
[Justice]'s familiar greeting rang out above the gray fog.
Silas looked up to find a new figure had appeared in the empty seat directly opposite him, next to [The Magician].
The gray fog obscured her form. Silas could only make out that she wore a robe, had black hair, and magnificent deep purple eyes.
Hm?
Something seems off about those eyes.
At the same time, the other members of the Tarot Club also noticed the new member and turned their scrutinizing gazes toward her.
As [Justice] greeted each person in turn, the new member's eyes moved along with her.
"Admiral of Stars" Cattleya was cautiously observing everyone.
Using her unique ability, she could pierce through the gray fog's barrier with her "Eye of Secrets" to see each person's blurred features and clothing. She saw...
[Justice] was a stunningly beautiful young woman in an expensive dress.
[The Hanged Man]'s attire suggested he might be from the Church of Storms.
[The Sun] had a tall, young build and seemed to be from Intis, but his clothing style was extremely archaic.
[The Magician] dressed like a Loen city woman. [The World] wore a hood and didn't seem like a living person.
As for [Temperance]...
Cattleya's purple eyes suddenly contracted sharply.
This, this is...
That robe so crimson you could almost smell blood, that cold and crazed aura, it all bore striking resemblance to a certain person who had just caused major trouble on Toscarter Island!
Just as "Admiral of Stars" Cattleya was feeling extremely shocked, she suddenly realized that Silas across from her had also looked up at this moment, staring coldly at her.
"What are you looking at?"
Silas asked in a cold voice.
Through the gray fog, he saw a pair of eyes floating before the new member.
A pair of eyes without eyelashes, cold and indifferent.
---
Backlund, beneath St. Samuel Cathedral, in a certain room.
"Captain, there are two new pieces of intelligence."
A Nighthawk wearing red gloves hurried into the temporary office assigned to them by the church, holding a telegram.
He looked somewhat excited.
"What are they?"
The Red Gloves squad captain, "Soul Assurer" Soest, asked while stroking his temples.
"First, the [Blood Reverend]'s appearance has been determined."
The Nighthawk answered, handing over a wanted poster that had been clipped beneath the telegram.
"The Storm Church's 'Mandated Punishers' examined the local residents' memories and used a ritual to sketch out his appearance!"
The office instantly erupted.
The Red Gloves members scattered around the room immediately gathered around, eagerly passing the wanted poster among themselves.
In previous incidents, though people had seen the [Blood Reverend], their memories had somehow been mysteriously blurred for peculiar reasons.
Though several angels of the royal family had clearly seen his appearance, they hadn't spread it publicly.
Until this recent incident, when the Blood Reverend publicly declared he would oppose the Loen royal family.
As if to demonstrate his resolve, he hadn't even concealed his face, allowing many people on the island to remember his appearance.
"Hey, I have to say, this guy's actually quite handsome."
"With all the things he could do, why become a criminal? Being a gigolo would be so much better.
With that face alone, he could probably bewitch plenty of ladies..."
"Handsome is handsome, but look at how vicious his eyes are. Truly worthy of being a villain who dared attack the palace."
"Leonard, come take a look. This guy's way more handsome than you."
The Red Gloves discussed among themselves, pointing and commenting on the face in the wanted poster.
Some looked toward the man in the corner, teasing him.
Green-eyed, black-haired Leonard had his legs propped on the table, arms pillowed behind his head, hat covering his face, chair tilted back, looking as leisurely as if he were napping.
Hearing someone call him, he removed his hat, revealing a smiling face.
"Is that so? Then I'd better take a look."
With that, he adjusted his hat and walked to the center of the group to look at the portrait on the wanted poster.
There on the paper was a strikingly handsome yet coldly crazed young man.
His eyes were full of charm, but deep within them seemed to hide unfathomable pain, as if possessing a terrible magic that could make people sink into them.
"I'll admit, he's a bit better looking. But even so, I'm still the most handsome one in our squad."
Leonard handed back the wanted poster, joking with everyone.
He hadn't recognized this as his former colleague.
The reason was simple: Silas had modified his appearance.
Ever since the "Capim case," Silas had developed the habit of modifying his appearance before doing anything major.
By slightly altering his features with "Flesh Magic," he could make himself look quite different from his original appearance.
Especially after adopting the alias [Alexander Gascoigne], he'd fixed on a particular look.
In other words, what Anderson, Sea Serpent, and the people of Toscarter Island had seen was all the same face.
Because he'd only slightly modified his features, his appearance was still quite handsome, just not in a way that would make people connect him with "Silas Londor."
Compared to his time in Tingen City, his current appearance was somewhat colder and more sinister.
"Alright, what's the second message?"
After the Red Gloves had chatted about topics related to the [Blood Reverend] for a while, Soest stepped in to stop them and asked the team member holding the telegram.
"Oh, I almost forgot. The second matter concerns new developments about that 'Fool.'"
The team member handed over the second telegram.
Leonard stopped smiling and glanced that way.
"That 'Fool' the Aurora Order is publicly searching for?"
After reading the telegram, Soest couldn't help but laugh.
"Someone falsely claimed to be his follower in an attempt to commit fraud.
After reciting his honorific name, they were struck dead on the spot by lightning.
To think there really is a mysterious existence called 'The Fool'..."
"Captain."
Leonard reached out and took the telegram from him.
He read it carefully.
---
At the same time, above the gray fog.
As Silas's words landed, the atmosphere around the long table suddenly froze.
Two members reacted quickly: [Justice] and [The Hanged Man].
"Mr. [Temperance] seems very displeased. He doesn't like this new lady looking at him? That's strange.
When we usually look at him, he doesn't react this strongly." [Justice] Audrey's thoughts turned rapidly as she wondered privately.
"Could it be that this new lady's [observation] is unusual?"
"Gascoigne is angry... Mm, has he realized the person across from him is the 'Admiral of Stars'?
Or is it something else? I really want to know. But [Justice] will definitely ask first, so I won't speak up."
[The Hanged Man] Alger had already raised his guard after recognizing the "Admiral of Stars."
Seeing the situation suddenly change, he maintained his silence even more.