"Edward" glanced toward the washroom, flicked out a gold coin, and watched it fall. The number landed facing upward—a negative answer—so he smiled faintly.
"Mr. Fool, I'll be right back."
With that, he stepped forward and vanished from the room.
———
In the North Borough of Backlund.
From thin air, Edward emerged on the bustling street outside a commercial shop. Yet not a single passerby spared him a glance. His gaze fell upon the storefront before him; mysterious, intricate characters shimmered faintly in his eyes as his sight pierced all obstructions and locked onto the woman lying lazily on a sofa inside—a woman in a violet long dress, the one known within the Psychology Alchemists by the codename "Sloth."
A second later, he appeared before Lady Sloth. Before she had time to react, he lifted his wand and cast the Imperius Curse, seizing control of her.
"Why did you want Audrey to join the Psychology Alchemists?" Edward asked.
"Sloth"—Althea—smiled with relaxed delight. "She is one of the few new members developed by the previous batch remaining in Backlund."
"Anything else?"
"I wish to find out whether she is connected to what happened to the previous batch of members. It seems she isn't. And since I can't be bothered to manage things, I simply let her stay and assist me. She's the daughter of Earl Hall—she has excellent connections among Backlund's nobles, which is convenient for the Psychology Alchemists to recruit new members."
Edward continued, "Why did the Edessak siblings return to Backlund?"
"To take revenge on George III."
"And how do they intend to take their revenge?"
"I don't know."
"Where does their confidence come from—to believe they can take revenge on someone who was only one step away from ascending as a deity?"
"I don't know."
"How did the Edessak siblings join the Psychology Alchemists?"
"The President recommended them to me."
"Where is your President?"
"Uncertain. But possibly in Eden."
Eden—the headquarters of the Psychology Alchemists—was a world that had been imagined into existence, one that did not belong to reality.
"Why was that vote held? What significance did Audrey's vote have?"
"Edessak said that behind Audrey stands a mysterious organisation and a deity. Through this vote, they could test her and, at the same time, convey their intention to oppose George III."
"And what makes the Edessak siblings believe a deity would care about their intentions?"
"I don't know."
"Where are the Edessak siblings now?"
"I don't know. Their movements have always been extremely secretive."
"Do you have any items related to them?"
"No."
Edward lowered his head and pondered briefly. Then he snapped his fingers lightly. "From now on, protect Audrey."
"All right."
He turned around to leave—then suddenly paused, looked back at Lady "Sloth" Althea, and asked, "Who are you?"
"I am—"
Before she could finish, Edward reached out to seize her. But the Althea who had been smiling under the Imperius Curse suddenly leapt backwards. Her figure vanished, leaving behind a teasing laugh, "So vigilant."
Edward stared at the spot where she disappeared, his brow tightening.
"Amon? Did you lure me out on purpose? Is this supposed to be a threat?"
Amon's figure appeared abruptly behind Edward, standing back-to-back with him.
"A threat? If you say so. But I'm not threatening you, this fake body of yours. I'm threatening the real body that's still hiding and refusing to come out."
"I'm no different from my real body."
"Oh? Is that so? Anyway, I can send my avatars to die whenever I please, and all my avatars also hope my original body dies. Once consciousness emerges, that's inevitable."
Edward fell silent.
Amon chuckled.
"Not speaking? So you're admitting it?"
"Cut the nonsense. What do you want?"
"I simply want your real body to know that I have the ability to turn everyone he cares about into my avatars—anytime, anywhere. If he continues hiding, I might lose my patience."
"So, hurry up."
With that, Amon's voice dissipated along with his figure.
Edward exhaled slowly.
"Amon…"
He walked a slow circle around the shop interior, then casually leaned against the wall. As he closed his eyes, he recited a divination statement, "The current location of the Edessak siblings."
Within a hazy, indistinct dreamscape, two unfamiliar faces came into view—they were the Edessak siblings, their appearances altered. Yet aside from their faces, no other useful information could be seen.
The siblings were speaking to each other when Edessak suddenly seemed to sense something. His eyes lifted and met Edward's across the dream, completing a silent confrontation through the void.
The next instant, the dream shattered.
Edward opened his eyes.
With a contemplative expression, he swept his hand and erased all traces of his presence from the room. Then he stepped forward, re-entered the hotel, passed through the wooden door, and arrived inside the washroom—
Where our great and esteemed Mr. Fool was sitting on the closed toilet lid, leaning against the wall with his eyes shut, a mysterious, inscrutable smile curving his lips.
"Oh, so this is the expression Mr. Fool wears when he's in the Sefirah Castle."
He pulled out a Polaroid camera, let it hover in midair, and click—took a photo.
"Mm. Not bad."
Expressionless, he put the photo away, stepped through the wooden door again, returned to his previous seat, and allowed the spiritual radiance in his eyes to fade rapidly—his form reverting to that of a Marionette.
———
Above the grey fog, the Tarot Club meeting continued.
Completely unaware of what had happened outside, Klein dispersed the diary pages in his hand, glanced around, and said in a calm tone:
"You may begin."
Little Sun Derrick spoke first.
"I…"
Instinctively, he wanted to share what he had heard earlier that afternoon from that Steph in Afternoon Town, hoping for guidance. But then, recalling this was the transaction segment, he forcibly reined in his impulse and quickly changed topics.
"I'd like to purchase the potion formula after Solar High Priest."
His reaction fooled no one. Alger silently gave him a mental thumbs-up. Little Sun is gradually learning to control his emotions and use another subject to cover his true thoughts. Not bad. Worthy of someone I've guided.
Audrey, however, thought the opposite. Little Sun used to be such an honest and straightforward person…now he's slowly learning to become smooth and tactful.
Bernadette spoke.
"The sequence after Solar High Priest is Notary. I happen to know its formula."
Derrick immediately asked, "Lady Strength, what do you require?"
His question instead left Bernadette silent. As a Sequence 3, she had long since gathered all the later formulas and materials she needed. And what she truly required…no one present could provide—except, perhaps, Mr. Fool.
Even if Mr. Sun came from the Forsaken Land of the Gods, the situation remained the same.
But she could not say that directly. So she asked, "Does the City of Silver have any records related to the Hidden Sage?"
The moment she spoke, she realised she had asked something foolish. Based on the clues they currently had, the Hidden Sage should have appeared after the Forsaken Land of the Gods was sealed.
Sure enough, Derrick shook his head.
"Sorry, I've never heard that name. But I can check once I return."
Bernadette nodded. "That will do."
"All right."
Alger followed up, "Mr. Sun, have you already returned to the City of Silver?"
"No. We're temporarily stationed in Afternoon Town, though the Chief did let some people return first."
"Why didn't you continue forward? Didn't Lady Strength say that past Afternoon Town is the Giant King's Court? The exit from the Forsaken Land of the Gods should be there."
Their conversation immediately left Leonard completely lost.
Afternoon Town? Giant King's Court? Where is that?
Wait!
Forsaken Land of the Gods? Is that the same Forsaken Land of the Gods I'm thinking of?!
This Mr. Sun actually came from the Forsaken Land of the Gods?—
Oh, right, he did mention that earlier…but I didn't pay attention.
In an instant, Leonard's impression of Mr. Fool's "power" grew even more concrete. After all, that's a place even gods cannot reach, and yet Mr. Fool can casually bring someone from there to attend a Tarot meeting.
"This…"
Derrick hesitated a few seconds. "Let's discuss this later. Right now…isn't it transaction time?"
"…"
His words left Alger utterly speechless.
Lil bro…are you pointing at me right now?
But he couldn't deny it either—he had been the one to interrupt the meeting structure. He had completely forgotten that the Tarot Club always had a transaction segment followed by a free discussion segment.
He quickly sneaked a glance at Mr. Fool, terrified his breach of etiquette had left a bad impression. But Mr. Fool merely rested his chin on his hand, watching everyone calmly, without the slightest visible reaction—as if none of this concerned him at all.
Praise the Fool—He was as tolerant as ever.
In truth, the "Mr. Fool" being praised had already quietly projected his consciousness into Mr. World. And once Lady Strength and Little Sun finished their transaction, Klein lowered his voice—deep and hoarse—and said, "Does anyone know about the mystical creature called a Bizarro Bane?"
He paused, then added, "This extraordinary creature is extremely adept at disguise. Its abilities are bizarre, close to the demigod level. It has a primary eye composed of concentrated characteristics."
Everyone exchanged looks. A demigod-level extraordinary creature was far beyond their capabilities. So naturally, they all turned toward Lady Strength—surely the Queen Mystic would know.
Seeing Lilith also glance toward her with interest, Bernadette fought the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose.
Sister Lilith, last time you came to the Tarot Club, you literally exposed the fact that you went to the Astral World to fight someone. Why are you pretending now?
…She quickly realised it was likely due to the low sequences of everyone else. Even if they knew the Astral World was where the deities dwelled, they didn't have the mindset to appreciate what that truly meant.
This feeling of everyone being ignorant except me was…utterly exasperating.
"Apologies," Bernadette said. "I've only heard of Bizarro Bane, but never encountered one. Are you preparing for Sequence 4?"
"Yes. Besides the Bizarro Bane, I also need a Spirit World Plunderer. I plan to hunt the latter myself in the Spirit World. But there's still very little information on the former."
At that, Klein turned to Derrick.
"Mr. Sun, is there no record of Bizarro Bane in the City of Silver?"
Derrick thought for a moment.
"They're not among the common monsters, but perhaps someone has encountered one. When I return, I can search the archives or ask around."
Maintaining his "World" persona, Klein answered simply, "My thanks," then fell into silence.
Sigh…If Little Sun can't find anything either, who else can I turn to?
The Evernight Goddess?
Maybe She'll help me out for the sake of a fellow 'countryman'…
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.