"The Lord's teachings are the roar of the sea, and the towering waves contain eternal majesty..."
Inside the local Storm Church in Bayam, a sermon was in progress.
The bishop stood at the pulpit, proclaiming the doctrines from the "Book of Storms" in a voice full of cadence.
Behind him, Alger Wilson wore clerical robes and stood in a row with other assistant priests, hidden in the church's shadows.
Suddenly, thick gray fog surged up and filled Alger's vision, covering the Storm holy emblem and altar before his eyes.
"Esteemed Mr. Fool, please inform Mr. [Hanged Man].
I have something I'd like to consult him about and hope to meet with him above the gray fog."
In an instant, those wave patterns symbolizing power and violence were swallowed by the gray fog, and the bishop's voice praising the "Lord of Storms" at the altar became difficult to hear clearly.
What Alger could see was only a figure praying with bowed head in the mist, and what he could hear was only the words that figure spoke.
[The World] wants to see me?
That means he still hasn't left Bayam...
Alger's face remained calm as he received the complete message, his expression maintaining its original piety, as if nothing had happened.
Until the fog dispersed and everything returned to normal.
"The kingdom of storms and lightning is open to everyone, as long as you believe in the Lord from the bottom of your heart and carry out the will of the storm..."
The bishop's voice rang in his ears again, echoing throughout the entire church.
Open to everyone, is it?
Alger slightly turned his head, taking in the entire scene inside the church.
He saw well-dressed Loenese gentlemen and ladies sitting in the front seats near the altar, ordinarily dressed Loenese and influential locals gathered in the middle and back sections.
As for those poor locals, they could only crowd outside the church doors.
Yet they appeared to be the most devout, a group of people kneeling on the ground, half-understanding the sermon in Loenese, tears of excitement glistening in their eyes.
"..."
Alger, whose appearance showed some local bloodline, silently watched all this until the ceremony ended, then left alone.
After returning to his residence far from the church, he bowed his head, called upon the Fool's honorific name, and then said: "Esteemed Mr. Fool, please inform [The World] that I agree."
Whoosh!
Soon, a large expanse of crimson light appeared before his eyes, carrying his consciousness away from the real world.
"Hm?"
Sitting in the bronze high-backed chair, [Hanged Man] Alger instinctively glanced toward the far end of the long table and, sure enough, saw [The World]'s figure.
But at the same time, he noticed a third person.
"Why is Mr.[Temperance] here too?"
He asked in a low voice.
"Because this matter concerns him as well."
[The World] replied hoarsely.
"…What exactly are you planning?"
Alger immediately felt uneasy. Whenever [Blood Reverend] got involved, it was guaranteed to turn into a major problem.
"Oh, it's nothing serious. We're planning to infiltrate the Governor's Mansion in Bayam, so we wanted to check the situation with you first."
Silas answered lightly.
"...What did you say?"
For a moment, Alger even doubted his ears had heard wrong.
"We plan to infiltrate the Governor's Mansion in Bayam."
So Silas repeated it once more.
He looked at [Hanged Man].
"But Bayam's situation is somewhat complex.
There are at least two Sequence 4s and one Sequence 3 'Sea King,' which isn't easy to handle.
[The World] said you're currently also here, so we wanted to ask your opinion."
What do you mean "my opinion"? This has nothing to do with me, don't drag me into this!
Alger really wanted to distance himself and get out of the gray fog right then. His head was already starting to throb.
He hadn't expected [Temperance] to hit him with such a huge "surprise" right off the bat.
Still, he knew all the more that he couldn't show any weakness in front of the two of them, it would lower their opinion of him and hurt his future standing within the Tarot Club.
"The other two demigods, I'm not clear about."
Alger remained silent for several full seconds before slowly speaking.
"But I know something about how strong the 'Sea King' is. At sea, he can greatly amplify his abilities.
Even that 'King of the Five Seas,' when encountering him, cannot guarantee an advantage."
His meaning was very clear. Trying to cause trouble under that person's nose was seeking death!
"Does Jahn Kottman have any plans to leave Bayam recently?"
Silas asked.
He also clearly understood how strong a "Sea King" would be at sea.
Home field advantage was enough to suppress same-tier Beyonders, so if they could avoid him, they should try their best to avoid him.
"My position isn't sufficient to access such core intelligence."
Alger's eyes flickered as he spoke.
At this moment, [The World] suddenly spoke hoarsely:
"Then what about making him voluntarily leave Bayam?"
What does that mean?
Both looked over simultaneously.
They heard [The World] further explain, "Lure the 'Sea King' away from Bayam."
According to Alger's description, this "Sea King" had an almost tyrannical desire for control over his waters.
If someone caused trouble in the waters, he would naturally fly into a rage and pursue them. This way, they would lure the biggest danger away from Bayam.
"That is indeed a method, but what would you use to attract the Sea King's attention?"
[Hanged Man] Alger said.
If the commotion was too small, the "Sea King" would disdain it.
If the disturbance was too large, they would be locked onto by the "Sea King," and that would be troublesome.
But Klein already had an idea.
"I plan to hold a ceremony and pray to [Sea God] Kalvetua for a thunderstorm."
After all, he possessed the "Sea God Scepter" and could separate from his main body to attract the "Sea King" from above the gray fog.
Although his strength wasn't sufficient to destroy the other party, attracting him, exhausting him, and buying time should be possible.
"That… could work."
Silas paused for a moment, then frowned. "But involving Mr. [Fool], isn't that a bit… inappropriate?"
Setting aside whether it could actually be done, this method carried the risk of seeming presumptuous, even like exploiting a deity.
The Fool seemed magnanimous, but if he got angry…
"It's fine! I, this [Fool], agree!"
Klein thought to himself, but verbally gave a plausible reason.
"The deity we're praying to is [Sea God] Kalvetua, which doesn't directly involve Mr. Fool, so the Storm Church won't be able to discover it. Moreover..."
He directly stood up and bowed toward the head of the long table where there was nothing:
"Esteemed Mr. Fool, may I ask if what we're doing can be permitted?"
"It can."
From the other side of the gray fog came a calm and grand voice.
This was naturally a two-person monologue performed by Klein himself.
"Thank you for your magnanimity."
But [Hanged Man] and [Temperance] were unaware.
Both stood up simultaneously to express gratitude to this generous deity.