After seeing Adam leave, Odis was in no hurry to go either.
Reflecting on his encounter with Adam, he realized he didn't feel any nervousness whatsoever at all, even inwardly complaining.
Adam must have "observed" all of his complaints.
This must be due to Adam's influence, which lowered his guard and prevented him from controlling his thoughts.
But Odis couldn't quite understand why Adam would do this. Surely it wasn't just to listen to her complaints?
Then Odis realized that Adam's last words should help her digest the Sequence 3 potion more quickly.
Previously, Odis had prepared for six to nine months after advancing to Sequence 3 to digest the "Master of Prophecy's" potion. In the worst-case scenario, he would need to "prophesy" the outcome of the divine war in order to digest the potion.
He knew very well that because he knew a lot of hidden history, the "mystic's" potion was digested almost immediately.
However, the potions of the "Master of Prophecy" cannot be digested so easily, because these sequences of potions require a "prophecy" before they can be digested.
Adam's words should have made Odis's "prophecy" more effective, or even twice as effective.
However, Odis didn't quite understand why Adam said he was "a master of prophecy since ancient times."
He seemed to have a clue in his mind, but just as he was about to grasp it, it suddenly slipped through his fingers.
Odis shook his head, deciding not to think about the problem for the time being.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Klein quickly drank the potion and was now engaged in a mental battle with the Sequence 4 potion.
Leonard still held his revolver in his hand. He sat on the ground, looking at Ince Zangwell's body, and smiled.
Dai Li also looked at the corpse and suddenly fell into a daze.
In the battle just now, she was prepared to perish together with her enemy, and perhaps she could meet Dunn again in the goddess's divine kingdom.
But that was all an illusion. Everything that followed was beyond her expectations, and her determination seemed to have hit a wad of cotton.
At this moment, Daly became very confused again, as if she had suddenly lost all her goals.
Odis took a deep breath and recited aloud: "The past cannot be undone, only the future should be anticipated."
He said: "My love!"
"If one day we are separated."
"I wish you to always bloom in happiness, rather than wither in loneliness."
Daly looked at Odis, her eyes regaining some sparkle.
Leonard, who was sitting on the ground, was also taken aback when he heard these lines of poetry, and then asked, "What kind of poem is this? I've never heard of it before?"
Odis said, "I wrote a short poem on a whim."
Although it may seem like a patchwork, it is indeed a collection of words that came together from personal feelings.
Leonard twitched his lips, feeling his mood suddenly sour.
At this moment, Klein had completed his advancement. Odis nodded to him, then "reappeared" as Suzaku and disappeared from the square.
Klein said to Daly and Leonard, "You can report that I suddenly asked you for help, which is why you came here."
"But I hope you don't involve 'Mr. Garr'. I invited him to help, and it wouldn't be good if the church investigated him."
He paused for a moment and then said, "Of course, you can take this opportunity to leave the 'Red Gloves' and leave the church."
Leonard stood up, put away his revolver, handed "Wriggling Hunger" to Klein, and said, "I... I've gotten used to the church."
Although Daly did not express her opinion, she did not seem to have any intention of leaving the church.
Klein put away the sealed artifact, then removed his silk hat and gave a farewell bow.
Leonard seemed to suddenly realize something and stretched out his hand: "You, you're not going back to the church?"
Klein took a few steps, then paused, his back to Leonard, and replied, "There's no going back..."
There's no going back.
Leonard stared blankly as the familiar figure walked further and further away, gradually disappearing from sight.
A while later, several extraordinary beings flew into Resurrection Square. The Church of the Goddess of Night, which had received a warning from Leonard, arrived.
...
Odis returned to Backlund and asked his secretary to brew a pot of tea.
He wasn't worried about the Church of the Goddess of Night investigating him; when asked, he simply said, "I appeared there following the guidance of the goddess."
As a demigod, one can argue about such matters.
Back at her desk, Odis found two letters on it.
He put away the two Level 1 sealed artifacts he carried with him, leaving only the "Gus Staff" by his side, and then, as usual, drank tea and read the letter.
One of the letters was from First Mate Bazel, who had obtained secret intelligence about the Remnburg Radicals, who were indeed about to take action.
They were very dissatisfied with the Minister of the Interior, Duke Bowen, and planned to assassinate him. They also asked the King to select a member of the radical faction as Minister of the Interior to implement reforms in Remenberg.
Odis smiled and shook his head: What good would assassinating a minister of the interior do for these radicals? They're making far too simplistic a coup d'état.
However, considering that there is likely a Sequence 3 in the Remnantburg Palace, and that there are certainly no demigods among the radicals, their method of advising the king by assassinating the Minister of the Interior is understandable.
Although Bazel did not know the specific plan, Odis could guess that the radicals would have a clear division of labor, with one group carrying out the assassination.
After the assassination, he immediately fled.
Another group of people did not participate in the assassination at all; their job was to explain their demands to the king after the assassination was completed.
Odis remarked: It's no wonder that extraordinary powers can maintain the rule of a secular regime. In cases like Remburg, the radicals at least have the backing of demigods, so the king will listen to what they have to say.
As they continued reading, Bazel learned that there seemed to be differing opinions within the radical faction regarding the assassination attempt; some believed it would be ineffective, while others were determined to proceed with the preparations.
It seems that the two sides finally reached an agreement recently.
Odis concluded that the assassination attempt would fail and the radicals would suffer a heavy blow.
However, this may not necessarily be a bad thing for Odis.
He could have used this opportunity to recruit his own political team.
Barzel's letter had several pages left, all of which described the situation of the radicals, and it seemed that he had "captured" an important figure in the radicals.
According to the intelligence obtained by Bazel, almost every noble family in Remenberg has several radical members.
The king was aware of their existence and his attitude toward them was basically to "use them cautiously," using them to eliminate some forces and put pressure on the conservatives, while not giving them too important a position.
Therefore, the radicals have never been a match for the conservatives. These contradictions have accumulated to the point where assassination is the only solution.
The current radical faction has three leaders, two of whom Odis knows. One leader is the governor of Solothu, Celt, who is a pragmatist who believes that local power should be taken over and that new policies should be implemented during his term.
One of the leaders was Enoch Alex, who had consulted Odis. He was the most radical of the radicals and kept advising the radicals to be tougher and not to tolerate the bloated conservatives anymore.
This assassination attempt was something he had been insisting on all along.
There was also a nobleman named Clarence, who was considered a moderate and even tried to find a governing philosophy that could be accepted by both conservatives and radicals.
Odis thought to himself: Three leaders are no leader at all.
He put down the letter and suddenly had some thoughts about "extraordinary politics".
Odis had this concept before: the political activities of extraordinary individuals are different from normal political activities.
Currently, a system has been established in which churches check and balance each other, and the government is subject to church supervision.
Odis himself lacked political acumen, but in this respect, he possessed a "cultural archive" that the people of this mysterious world did not have: history books.
Anyone who has attended junior high school and boasted to friends, even without having formally studied history books, has a general understanding of Chinese history.
They know those famous historical scenes by heart.
With such cases as a reference, even though Odis never entered politics, his way of looking at problems was much better than that of the people in the mysterious world.
In his mind, the main contradictions and games in political activities seemed to be the contest between the central government and local governments, while the "central government" in the world of the extraordinary could maintain its dominance with extraordinary power.
After thinking along this line of thought for a while, Odis went to look at the second letter, which was from Hugh. She had recently investigated something very strange: a small cult seemed to have emerged in the eastern part of Backlund.
However, they do not harm normal people; they only occasionally collect the bodies of homeless people, and it is currently unknown what they want from these bodies.
Hugh said he would continue to investigate the matter and report back to Odis if there were any new findings.
When Odis arrived in Backlund, he instructed Hugh to keep an eye out for any strange occurrences in the city.
Later, with the help of the "Goddess of the Night," the "Hidden Sage's" plan was initially thwarted. Odis once again reminded Hugh to pay attention to the movements in the eastern district of Backlund.
He guessed that the escaped "intelligent entity" was likely hiding in the East District, where there was a large population but the government and official extraordinary beings were severely lacking in management, making it a suitable hiding place.
Odis then wrote letters to Bazel and Hugh, praising Bazel and his team and awarding them merits or bonuses.
In his letter to Hugh, he emphasized that she should not reveal herself and should investigate slowly.
After replying to the letter, Odis summoned the messenger and first thanked her for her help in the Resurrection Square.
Then he told her who the two letters were for, and finally said, "I plan to be promoted next Tuesday morning, in the church of the Goddess of Night."
"Good idea." The messenger smiled. "I'll come ahead of time."
After saying that, she disappeared into the void and went to deliver the message through the spirit world.
Odis took a deep breath, then used a magical artifact to change his appearance, and went to the Church of St. Musel to tell the "Goddess of Night" when he planned to ascend to the rank of Ascension.
After receiving a "yes" reply from the "Goddess of the Night," Odis went to the province of Chater to tell Bernadette.
Bernadette could hardly believe her ears: "You're getting promoted again?"
Odis laughed and said, "What do you mean by 'again'?"
Bernadette examined Odis and, after confirming that he was indeed in good condition, said, "I never expected that you would advance so quickly after becoming a demigod."
She paused for a moment and then said, "If you're confident, then go for it."
Odis hummed in agreement: "My messenger will also be at the promotion ceremony. You need to keep a close eye on her for me. This is my final test for her."
"Only if she can withstand this test will I provide her with some assistance in the future and accept some people recommended by her."
Bernadette nodded slowly: "Okay."
After explaining the matter, the two chatted for a few more minutes before Odis returned to Backlund.
In the following days, Odis prepared for the promotion, mainly by adjusting his condition. After all, the promotion to demigod was no joke and he had to be in the best possible condition to be promoted.
On Saturday, she suddenly received a letter from Hugh, saying that she and Fors had encountered danger while exploring outside the city.
It seemed to be an ancient castle built by vampires, with a thick stone door. Behind the stone door, there seemed to be something terrifying, and she and Fors were affected without realizing it.
The influence seemed to be a special kind of erosion, not only eroding the physical body, but also the spirit and mental body.
In his letter, Hugh asked Odis what exactly that erosion was, and what was behind the door.
Odis thought to herself: The next tarot gathering will have two more new members.
He thought for a moment and picked out the parts he could say in his reply: The vampires are an ancient race, and there are rumors that they once received a mission to guard against the pollution from the earth.
Those erosions are extremely advanced; do not attempt any exploration before you become a demigod!
As for the so-called "underground pollution," I don't know the specifics. I only know that sometimes the pollution is very serious, and sometimes it seems to have entered a dormant period, with little impact on the outside world.
When pollution is severe, there must be extraordinary forces guarding the area, driving away all living beings that try to approach the pollution, lest they be corrupted.
This should be the origin of the vampire castle.
Once the pollution enters a dormant phase, the extraordinary forces there may have withdrawn.
After sending the letter, Odis soon received a reply from Hugh expressing his gratitude.
Odis smiled, somewhat looking forward to Monday's tarot session.
Monday arrived in the blink of an eye, and Odis, as usual, prepared in advance and lay down in her armchair early.
At exactly three o'clock, his vision was covered by gray fog, and in the blink of an eye, in the magnificent and ancient palace, he saw a short figure appear beside the "priestess" Cattleya.
Then he tilted his head and, sure enough, saw another new member below the "moon".
As soon as "Justice" Audrey regained her senses, she prepared to rise from her seat and bow to the person at the head of the bronze table.
At this moment, she realized that there were two more members at this gathering than last week!
One of them was a man, sitting to the right of Mr. "Moon," and the other was a woman, sitting to the left of Ms. "Priestess."
Audrey was initially pleased with the growth and expansion of the Tarot Club, but then, following her "professional" instincts, she quickly made an observation.
She first glanced at the row of men opposite her. They had black hair, weren't wearing coats, and wore vests with shirts. Their posture was a bit awkward, as if they didn't usually like sitting so formally, and their demeanor was somewhat casual...
Huh!
Audrey suddenly realized that this gentleman looked a lot like the "Red Gloves" member she had met before, Mr. Mitchell!
She then recalled that she had noticed something special about the man at the time, and that the "hermit" had confirmed it.
Is it because he believes in Mr. Fool that I find him somewhat special?
At this point, she was certain that the new member was most likely Mr. Mitchell.
This made Audrey exclaim: She never expected that among the extraordinary ones in the church, there would be members who believed in Mr. Fool and joined the Tarot Society.
She was about to look at another member when she suddenly noticed that the man was quickly looking around.
There's nothing wrong with such behavior. Anyone who comes to such an unfamiliar and private place will subconsciously look at the other members, trying to get a general idea of the situation and calm themselves down.
The problem is, this gentleman's eyes moved too fast!
His gaze swept over the members, including "The Moon" and "The Hanged Man," without lingering on them.
For Audrey, this meant that the man wasn't scrutinizing the other members, but rather searching for someone.
She then concluded that the other party must be looking for Mr. "The Hermit," and Audrey even believed that this new member, Mr. Mitchell, had joined the Tarot Club through the introduction of "The Hermit."
Because she clearly remembered that when they solved the "Seven Priests of Death" incident together that day, judging from the conversation and interaction between the "Hermit" and Mr. Mitchell, the two were very familiar with each other.
Furthermore, from some of their conversations, it was learned that they had indeed carried out an operation together and were considered comrades-in-arms.
Audrey resisted the unseemly act of rubbing her hands together and quietly observed. Sure enough, the other person paused for a moment when their gaze fell on the "hermit".
But what puzzled Audrey was that she only paused for a moment, as if she was somewhat confused.
But then, the new male member's gaze continued to move, finally settling on the bottommost character, "World"!
He is Mr. World!
Audrey felt that she hadn't enjoyed this ultimate feeling of being an "audience" in a long time: the new member was friends with Mr. "The World," and the new member knew that "The World" was a member of the Tarot Club, but was not sure if "The Hermit" was a member of the Tarot Club.
This suggests that, at least in the real world, the new member is more familiar with Mr. "World".
This left Audrey unsure whether the new member was Mr. Mitchell, but it excited her even more, making her feel like she had discovered their secret.
Audrey didn't continue observing, but stood up and addressed the person at the head of the long bronze table: "Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
As soon as the greeting ended, she noticed that Mr. Fool had undergone some subtle changes compared to before.
This great being seemed to blend more harmoniously and uniformly with the gray mist of the entire palace, and its aura became even more lofty, as vast as the sea and the sky.
She guessed that this must be because Mr. Fool had been further resurrected and regained more authority over the Kingdom of God.
Then, Audrey went to observe the new female member. After seeing the woman's height, Audrey instantly understood: Hugh had finally passed the test and joined the party!
Meanwhile, Alger the Hanged Man, Cattleya the High Priestess, and others also saw the two new members and noticed that the woman was short and had a secret interaction with the Magician. She seemed both unfamiliar with and familiar with the Tarot Club.
Unlike the man in the white shirt and black vest, who hurriedly stood up only after everyone had begun to bow.
Then they noticed that the female member glanced at the men's row and her gaze immediately settled on "The Hermit"!
This made Gadriya take a closer look at the new member: Did she know the "Hermit" in the real world?
Unfortunately, I couldn't see her face clearly, and I didn't know whether I should ask the "Hermit" man. I could only continue to observe and see.
Hugh learned from Fors that the "leader," or rather "Mr. Garr," was also a member of the gathering, codenamed "The Hermit," and that he knew the other's location.
So she looked at the "Hermit" almost immediately, and the "Hermit" seemed to recognize her, smiling slightly as a greeting.
Audrey wasn't surprised by Hugh and the Hermit's reaction. During her several encounters with Hugh, Audrey had learned indirectly that the Hermit seemed to have handed over Backlund's intelligence network to Hugh.
Moreover, Audrey also noticed during the party that "The Hermit" and Fors knew each other.
On the other side of the bronze table, after confirming that the person sitting at the lowest seat was Klein, Leonard looked to his left again, skipping over the handsome man in the middle and looking at the gentleman dressed casually in a Rune-style shirt.
He frowned: Why do I feel he looks so much like Mr. Odis Gard? Could it be that Mr. Gard…
Then Leonard realized that the fact that Klein had sought Mr. Gar's help to deal with Ince Zangwell meant that the two were quite familiar with each other, or at least that Klein trusted Mr. Gar.
Leonard hadn't noticed this detail before, but now he realized that it was very likely that both of them were members of the mysterious Tarot Society, which was why Klein sought Mr. Gar's help.
At this moment, "The Fool" Klein casually pointed and introduced, "This is 'Star,' and this is 'Judgment.'"
Leonard said with some helplessness: "Star" always makes me feel like it's a woman's code name.
Then he began to observe the other members one by one: "Miss Justice" seemed to be a young girl.
Mr. Hanged Man, rugged yet reserved...
After observing each other for a few seconds, the priestess Cattleya bowed to the head of the bronze table and said, "Honorable 'Fool,' we did not receive Roselle's Diary this time."
Didn't receive it?
Klein wondered to himself: What has Bernadette been up to lately?
The "mysterious queen" Bernadette has been very busy lately, fighting alongside someone against an evil organization while also confronting Intis's official extraordinary beings day and night.
Moreover, the results were remarkable: they killed a demigod of the "Rose School," prevented the resurrection of the "Grim Reaper," and dealt a blow to the "Witch Cult."
Klein then calmly replied, "Let's begin the transaction."
Immediately afterwards, he manipulated the "world" and said, "Respected Mr. 'Fool,' I wish to speak with the 'Hermit' alone."
Odis was well aware that the other party wanted to discuss payment with him.
Several days have passed since the killing of Ince Zangwell, and Klein has not contacted Odis to discuss the reward.
Odis guessed that Klein intended to discuss this matter at the Tarot meeting, so he said, "Okay."
So "Fool" Klein created a private communication environment and manipulated "the world" to say: "Thank you very much for your help in the previous battle. Without your help, that victory would not have been so easy."
The three of them would have to make huge sacrifices to have any chance of killing their enemy.
Then "World" continued, "I've been thinking about this for days, but I still don't know what to pay you, so I can only ask what kind of reward you need?"
Odis said, "I don't have any needs lately. Now that you've been promoted to demigod, consider it a favor you owe me."
"When I need you in the future, help me fight once more. The level of danger will not exceed this time, and the enemies you face will not exceed Sequence 4."
Klein secretly breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself: Sure enough, after becoming a demigod, some debts that seemed difficult to repay at Sequence 5 are now easy to settle.
He manipulated the "world" and said, "Okay, I owe you a favor."
Just as they were about to end their private conversation, Odis said, "Didn't you get your revenge? Why do you still look so upset?"
Is there?
Klein was taken aback. After advancing to Sequence 4, he felt that his ability to hide his inner thoughts and emotions had been enhanced. How did Odis see through it?
He cleared his throat, manipulating the "world," and said, "Something else has happened."
Odis was able to "see" it because she remembered that after Klein became a demigod, he knew he was one of those hanging on the portal of light and didn't know if he could go back. Therefore, he was very disappointed and needed "righteous" psychological treatment.
"I'll treat you to a play in the next few days," Odis said with a smile. "It'll be like taking you out for a stroll to relax."
Just as Klein was about to refuse, Odis added, "That's a major event in Rembrandt that could determine the course of the country."
"And I just happened to get crucial information, enough to see the scene... cough cough, to go and take a look."
Fortunately, the word "live broadcast" doesn't exist yet, otherwise the secret would have been exposed.
This piqued Klein's interest. After all, for someone from the University of Tokyo, having the opportunity to be present at a political event was quite different from reading a newspaper: "Okay."
After agreeing on their contact information, their one-on-one conversation ended.
Leonard, no longer as nervous as he was at the beginning of the party, said, "I need a magical item."
After using Klein's "Crawling Hunger" before, he felt the power of a Sequence 5 level seal, so he wanted to have one of his own.
Odis responded promptly to avoid an awkward silence: "What type?"
Leonard made an "uh" sound and subconsciously responded, "I don't know."
He only has this idea in mind; he hasn't thought about the details yet.
Klein, who knew Leonard's nonchalant and casual attitude quite well, suppressed a laugh and thought to himself: Doesn't he know? He must be an idiot.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, "Star" Leonard felt a little embarrassed and quickly added:
"What I mean is, the type doesn't matter, as long as it's more focused on the attack domain, used in a more covert manner, and has fewer negative effects, I'm fine with it."
After "Star" finished explaining, "The Hanged Man" Alger asked, "What level are you looking for?"
Leonard, in his usual tone as an official extraordinary being, described it as: "The more powerful kind of '2' level sealed artifact, uh, comparable to Sequence 6 or Sequence 5."
At this moment, everyone except for Odis and Klein, two acquaintances, and "Sun" and "Moon," keenly realized that Mr. "Star" was an official Extraordinary, or at least had been.
Because in the gatherings of extraordinary beings, the trade of such magical items would specify the corresponding sequence number, rather than describing them in the way that the church classifies sealed objects.
Alger grunted and said, "A magical item at Sequence 5 level costs at least 9,000 pounds, and if it meets your requirements, it could normally cost more than 12,000 pounds."
Leonard nodded: "I understand."
"The Fool" Klein nearly covered his face, then sighed inwardly: Wasn't this just showing his hand to "The Hanged Man"? I bet if he had the right items, he'd quote over £12,000!
Alger responded, "I'll keep an eye out for you."
Cattleya and others also made similar statements.
After a brief silence, "Justice" Audrey raised her hand slightly and asked, "'The Hermit,' may we continue trading information about the Second Age now?"
Odis nodded: "Okay, still 5,000 pounds."
"Judgment" Hugh sat up straight immediately, because Fors had told her that she could ignore other transactions at the Tarot meeting, but she must participate in the information exchange with "The Hermit"—it would be absolutely, absolutely worth the price.
Leonard, the "Star," was somewhat puzzled: Second Age intelligence? What intelligence could be worth so much money?
Then, seeing everyone raising funds, he felt somewhat at a loss.
"Justice" Audrey, with a caring attitude towards newcomers, said, "'Star' Mr., you can also try to participate. We can pay the reward of 5,000 through fundraising. You only need to pay about 300 pounds."
Feeling the girl's enthusiasm, Leonard nodded and said, "Okay."
£300 is barely acceptable.
After the fundraising was quickly completed, everyone looked to the "hermit".
Odis said, "To accommodate the new members, let me briefly explain the true names and general information of the eight ancient gods."
With a smile on her face, Audrey immediately looked at the new member, as if she could already see the surprised expression on the new member's face.
Leonard didn't disappoint her, and even thought he had misheard: the true names of the eight ancient gods? This... such high-level information, really only 300 pounds for me?