After the members followed Miss Justice's lead in greeting Mr. Fool and exchanging simple courtesies among themselves, but before Audrey could congratulate Miss Temperance on her advancement, Klein followed his original plan and struck at Cattleya.
Although he had accepted payment from the Queen Mystic, a reprimand was still due—he could treat that payment as Bernadette's "discipline fee."
Ebner watched with a smile. He saw Klein, just as in the original tale, publicly call out "Bernadette" in front of Miss Hermit and the other Tarot Club members, exposing her identity as Roselle's eldest daughter and the captain of the Dawn. And when Cattleya furtively glanced toward the Fool, Klein directly "grafted" the muttering pollution of the True Creator, causing the young lady—who always liked to "peek"—to scream and groan in agony. Her cries echoed above the gray fog, and the Hanged Man Alger, the Moon Emlyn, the Magician Fors, the Judgment Xio, and the rest exchanged looks, as if viscerally sensing the pain she was enduring.
At the same time, the blurry projection grew clearer, allowing them to see the grotesque distortions wracking the Hermit's body.
The sickening, ghastly sight frightened Justice Audrey into instantly withdrawing her gaze, sitting upright, staring straight ahead, not daring to move.
The others reacted less dramatically but with the same discomfort.
Only Ebner and Miss Sharon remained calm: the former knowing Klein was bluffing, the latter having seen far more revolting things within the Rose School.
Just then, Alger spoke up with timely solemnity: "The divine must not be peered upon." His words not only filled the members with awe toward the usually approachable Mr. Fool, but also gave Klein a swell of satisfaction. The performance had been worth it.
Instinctively, he glanced at "The Tower," but saw not a trace of fear in his spiritual color.
Not even pretending? Or is this the confidence of someone who's the paramour of several goddesses? Klein sneered inwardly. This display of authority wasn't perfect, but it had served its purpose. He swept his gaze around and said, level and calm:
"That will do."
At this, the Hermit Cattleya, her spirit only just recovering, relaxed all at once. Exhaustion and relief surged together, leaving her yearning for nothing more than a soft chair to collapse into.
She also cast a grateful glance at "The World" Gehrman Sparrow, believing it was his intercession that had tempered Mr. Fool's punishment—leaving her to suffer pain but no permanent harm.
Yet that pain rivaled the torment of having knowledge forced upon her by the Hidden Sage. She had no doubt: Mr. Fool truly was a god, a real god, unknowable and unseeable!
Her gesture was subtle, but it didn't escape the sharp eyes of Justice, Judgment, and Temperance—let alone Ebner, who missed nothing.
The Hermit's expression shows she already knew her actions would bring punishment from Mr. Fool. She even sought out Mr. World, His follower, in hopes of forgiveness? From the outcome, it does seem Mr. Fool chose only to give a warning… Was that thanks to Mr. World? Audrey pieced together the clues seriously.
Judgment Xio was all too familiar with such matters—pulling strings through connections. She only hadn't realized Mr. World's sway with Mr. Fool was so great.
Of course, it was also possible that even the Hermit's private appeal to Mr. World had been foreseen by Mr. Fool, who simply… well, as Roselle once phrased it, "pushed the boat along with the current."
Temperance Sharon was the most direct: she turned to look at the World, who immediately returned a glance that said, We'll talk in private later.
Ebner, looking from one to another, felt delight in his grasp of the whole picture.
In the silence, Cattleya finally steadied herself and said with earnestness:
"I will remember Your mercy."
The Fool Klein nodded faintly, offering no further words.
At that, Justice Audrey let out a small sigh of relief. To brighten the atmosphere of the Tarot Club and dispel the lingering heaviness, she turned to Sharon with a smile:
"Miss Temperance, welcome back to the Tarot Club.
"May I call you 'Your Excellency' now?"
Like a delicate doll, Sharon inclined her head and answered in her ethereal voice:
"The old title will do."
Huh? Miss Temperance is speaking more than before—did becoming a demigod change her? Except for Klein, everyone shared this thought, confirming to themselves that Sharon had become a Saint. After all, her words implied she deserved to be addressed as "Excellency," but graciously declined.
Since she was speaking a little more, even without the World's translation, all could understand her.
"Congratulations, Miss Temperance, for becoming the second demigod in our Tarot Club," said Justice, the Magician, Judgment, and others in unison.
Faced with their congratulations, Sharon found herself at a loss. Instinctively, she looked to the World.
Seeing this, the World cleared his throat and said deliberately:
"Miss Temperance wishes me to tell you that if you need help in Backlund, you may ask her."
No sooner had he spoken than Sharon nodded and affirmed:
"Yes."
Miss Temperance and Mr. World are so in sync… And, am I imagining things, or is Mr. World livelier than before? Not so much like a… dead man… Ugh, Audrey, how could you think of him that way? That's unladylike! Audrey scolded herself inwardly.
While she was busy with her self-reproach, the congratulations to Temperance wound down. The Magician Fors swept her gaze around, and seeing no one else speak, she turned respectfully to the head of the table:
"Mr. Fool, I have here two pages of Emperor Roselle's diary."
She had received them the previous week from her teacher Dorian, along with a certain book—Lemano's Travel Notes.
Ebner wasn't surprised. He had already seen them at Fors' place and knew they held some useful information.
Klein drew the diary pages the Magician had manifested into his hand, but he didn't read them immediately. Instead, he asked:
"What do you require?"
"Mr. Fool, I would like a demigod level ability," Fors replied. But realizing her words were vague, she quickly added:
"I have a magical item.
"It has thirty-eight pages. Each page lets the user record a supernatural ability they've seen and reproduce it later—though weaker than the original…
"Each page can be rewritten, but each recording can only be used once… Among them, three pages may record demigod abilities, but the success rate is very low—less than one in ten…"
She summarized the traits and drawbacks of Lemano's Travel Notes, while fretting over its low success rate with demigod abilities.
That night, she and Ebner had experimented for hours and managed to record only two demigod abilities. One, "Domain Without Darkness," had worked well enough. But the other—Mind Extraction from the Spectator pathway—was already weakened by Ebner's simulation. Once further diminished by the Notes, it was barely stronger than a Sequence 5's Intimidation.
Even so, Justice Audrey and the others listened with growing brightness in their eyes.
No longer novices in mysticism, they could all tell the Notes were at least a half-artifact. Envy stirred in their hearts.
So she wants me to record a demigod ability for her? That's not a problem… But if the recorded power isn't impressive, it'll dent my image… Klein hesitated briefly, then made the World rasp in his hoarse voice:
"Miss Magician, I can help you record one demigod offensive ability, or one demigod ability that briefly steals a chosen concept. Shall we make an exchange? You give me the diary pages as contribution."
The Magician Fors turned her head to glance at the World, then pondered a moment before nodding:
"Very well… I want the theft ability."
So long as she could fill the demigod slots, she didn't care who provided the power. And from the look of it, the World was short on contribution points—it was better to do him a favor.
With her agreement, Klein relaxed. Controlling the World to express thanks, he picked up the first of the two diary pages and began reading carefully:
"May 19th. Bernadette's eighteenth birthday banquet was utterly ruined. I don't know whether to be pleased or sorrowful.
"Sorrowful, because this was my daughter's long-awaited event. She had even designed dresses for the whole family—though in the end, neither she nor I adopted them.
"But pleased, because the so-called 'romantic' schemes of those bratty boys were ruined as well. A series of accidents exposed their hypocrisy, cowardice, and lack of backbone. My Bernadette surely won't ever give them a second glance.
"Heh, serves them right!
"They always flattered Bernadette, but never with such passion…
"But ever since I moved into White Maple Palace in January, it's all changed!
"Those brats must have ulterior motives. My Bernadette must keep her eyes open!
"Oh, I told the Calamity Seal about this, but he only stayed silent, and at last said: 'Next time, don't bring me to such a banquet.'
"What did he mean? That my banquet was boring?
"If that's the case, I'll have to take him to see a real spectacle next time—let that Fourth Epoch bumpkin who loves to boast witness the splendor of modern nobility!"
(End of chapter)