Mr. Moon, or the Vampire Emlyn White, hung his head low for a second. When he swallowed his embarrassment, he nodded once. No more words were said on this topic.
Now, I had no desire to shame Emlyn, but if he was willing to offer his bottom for me to flog, I would not deny. I will count this as future retribution for saying, "If only she didn't speak or move, then she would be perfect."
Lady Sharron, I have sanctioned penance on your future self's behalf. Even if neither you nor Emlyn realise this, I have done my duty as your fan.
...
At this moment, Justice Audrey, finally settled, had one last look at Mr. Empress.
Hm? He's pleased with Mr. Moon's fluster. Vindication? Almost as if he knows Mr. Moon since before.
Come to think of it, Mr. Empress did not acknowledge anyone's name, only their looks and position, nor did he pay any particular effort in taking in everyone's characteristics. Unlike Madam Hermit, who took her time analysing everyone present.
But he is not like Mr. World either, with no outward emotions. He's clearly pleased to be here, and even more so at seeing Mr. Moon flustered. Yet he doesn't seem to hold any ill will towards anyone, and above all that, he feels reverence towards Mr. Fool. He's quite a peculiar fellow.
Shaking her head clear of other thoughts, Audrey turned towards the head of the long, mottled bronze table.
"Mr. Fool, I'm out of town and have only managed to find one page of Roselle's diary."
...
Ah, right. Roselle's diary.
While I had none on me right now, if it meant getting into 'Mr. Fool's' good graces, I'll try to get help from Eleanor and Tracy when I get back. I'll make some excuse about testing some ideas of linguistics I got after learning three new languages in a month.
Emperor Roselle...
At this point I felt like addressing the Tarot Club and saying something along the lines of, "Ladies and gentlemen, did you know? Emperor Roselle once said: 'The taste of a Demoness ain't bad.' I quite like that saying."
Surely that would blow my cover in front of Klein, would it not?
Even if he does not realise my true origins, he'd at least think of me as another transmigrator.
It could be quite useful when I need to let him know, though.
How would I do it, though? In the heat of the battle, if I shout to Gehrman Sparrow, "The taste of a Demoness ain't bad!"
What would he think?
Clearing my head of such vain thoughts, I focused on Miss Justice, aka Audrey Hall, the daughter of Count Hall. The daughter of my, or Lorenzo's parents' liege lord. I did my best to conceal my thoughts though. Even if I was no Psychiatrist, as an Instigator, knowing the general mood of people around you always went a long way.
Audrey, as she was now, was keen at observing people, and with little time, she had seen I was reluctant to introduce myself first, and had turned to Cattleya instead. Truly a spectator. Is she already a Psychiatrist? That would make sense.
When Audrey mentioned Roselle's diary, the one with most visible reaction was of course Cattleya. Fortunately for her, from where she was sitting, only me and Mr. World had her in clear sight without having to turn our head. Rest were instead focused on Mr. Fool and Miss Justice. The latter herself couldn't pay attention to Cattleya's reaction due to the same reason.
"Mr. Fool, I received three pages."
Following Audrey, the brown haired lady sitting beside her in a comfortable beige shirt and a minimal bow tie also said with a smile.
"Mr. Fool, I've copied a new legend of the ancient gods."
Immediately after my favourite 'Salted Fish Without Dreams', the not so little 'Little Sun' spoke.
Emlyn's face twisted slightly for half a second when he looked at Derrick, before it returned to his normal, stupid, yet pretty face again.
Once no one chipped in further, the Fool, Klein said with a chuckle, "Very good."
Soon, a few pages of parchment appeared in the palm of Mr. Fool. These were the contents my fellow members had conjured.
Now that the job had been done, Miss Justice finally paid attention to Madam Hermit's odd reaction. Not only that, Mr. Hanged Man seemed to be strangely on guard against her.
Is it because she's a fellow pirate? Even if Alger is an undercover from Church of the Storms, he wouldn't want her to know that... well, no, actually. He's clearly wearing the robes of the Storm Church, so he can't hide that part. Then that would mean he is cautious against her finding out his pirate side, which would reveal his undercover status. Right, this would limit a lot of what he could say casually, and he'll have to be extra cautious.
As Mr. Fool read through the pages, everybody remained silent and observed each other, or the pseudo deity in front of them.
After reading half, or a full page, Mr. Fool would glance up once, before looking back at the pages to continue reading. There was no change in his expression, but everything he looked up, I couldn't help but feel that the protagonist of our era had written something truly outrageous again.
If I ever meet Huang Tao, I'll make sure to ask him what he thinks of the Great Mother's taste.
As Mr. Fool flipped through pages, Madam Hermit relaxed with a certainty. Right, she must be surprised to find someone who could read her god-grandfather's secret diary.
After several minutes, the pages vanished from Mr. Fool's hands.
"You may begin."
He addressed us.
Immediately after, Mr. Moon, Emlyn turned to Mr. Hanged Man, and spoke in a seeming suppressed voice which only sounded stupid since everyone heard him clearly either way.
"Mr. Hanged Man, I've done the preparation. When can you obtain the inheritance of that Sanguine baron? You mentioned before that it's in the hands of some powerful pirate?"
At this point, Mr. Hanged Man's face twitched. If it wasn't for the gray fog, I could almost imagine it turning into an ugly scowl. I had to actively do my body's very best to stop myself from wheezing or snorting.
When I turned to see others' reaction, I found Miss Justice glancing at me for a second before turning back to Mr. Moon and poor Alger. Amusement was clear in her eyes, even if she was merely a spectator.
Of course, everyone else was focused on the conversation between Emlyn and Alger.
Oh, poor Hanged Man. It just so happens to be that he's wearing Storm Church's robes today, and the anti-social vampire also outed him as a pirate. At this point, even if I was an insane Zombie from Rose School of Thought, I'd conclude that he was an undercover pirate working for the Church.
If I could react with a sob emoji right now, I'd spam it on the mottled, long copper table.
Under Madam Hermit's gaze, Alger turned to Emlyn without a change in his expression.
"Have you obtained the funds?"
"Of course!" The Vampire answered, unable to hide his excitement.
Once the deal was finalised between the two members, Miss Justice took the chance to bring Mr. World into attention.
"Mr. World, you mentioned that you have clues to the characteristic left behind by a Psychiatrist. Have you successfully acquired it?"
Psychiatrist? Is she not one yet? If I remember correctly, she got the Sequence 7 potion from Psychology Alchemists. But if she's looking for another one... Ah! For our beloved dog almighty? That would make sense!
"If you're certain that you want it, then I will give it to you as soon as possible.
"The price is 1,800 pounds."
The World replied in his hoarse, emotionless voice.
"Alright."
Without missing a beat, Audrey agreed in a light tone.
Once this transaction was decided, Miss Justice and Mr. World remained silent. Following them, Mr. Sun raised his hand.
"Which one of you had the fruit of the Radiance Spirit Pact Tree?"
After a few seconds, the Hermit, Cattleya answered Mr. Sun.
"I do.
"What can you provide in exchange?"
"Uh... I can use the history of the City of Silver, or history of dragons, elves, and other dark creatures to barter." Mr. Sun sincerely answered Cattleya.
"Ma'am Hermit, this is a list of commonly seen monsters around the City of Silver. You can choose any ingredients you need from it."
Sigh.
As I am right now, I barely have a thousand pounds in personal wealth, so even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to buy anything for the time being.
Unless... I used my knowledge of the future. But that would put too much attention on me. And I'm nowhere near strong enough to be able to stand that. Right now, I'm the weakest member in the Tarot Club.
Only good thing is, I don't have to worry about potions and ingredients until Sequence 7.
Since Tracy had promised to sponsor me until I became a woman, and a very useful member of the crew, I was mostly carefree at the moment.
Hearing Mr. Sun, Cattleya took a second to think before she said with a neutral face, "I'll make a decision after seeing what the commonly seen monsters are around the City of Silver."
What a shrewd person. She gets to see what creatures exist without any pay, and can choose to not accept that payment if the creatures don't suite her need for materials.
I almost wanted to advocate for Mr. Suns rights as a business owner, but I refrained. If no one else said anything, including Klein and Alger, then there was no need for me to as a first timer.
Ugh... But everyone else is still scrutinising these two...
"Madam Hermit, do you not think it would slightly unfair to Mr. Sun if you get to look at the list of those foreign mystical creatures, only to not choose to buy anything? You would be gleaming rare knowledge without cost. I've never heard of this place called 'City of Silver,' surely it is bound to fashion species of some exotic fantastic beasts?"
Before Derrick could say anything, I ended up putting my leg in between instead.
While I also wanted to say something along the lines of, 'this may be below Mr. Fool's stature, but it wouldn't be quite an equivalent exchange would it?' I chose not too. That would be going too far in the accusatory territory, and I'd be doing the equivalent of putting words in Mr. Fool's mouth. Meanwhile, what I'd said so far was simply my personal opinion.
It was only when I said it, that an understanding settled in Little Sun's eyes, and he nodded, looking at Ma'am Hermit.
When I glanced through other members of the gathering, I noticed Miss Justice was looking at me a slightly pleased expression, mostly hidden beneath the gray fog, as if I'd just served justice she couldn't stand up for due to her role as a spectator.
Mr. Hanged Man seemed to be having mixed emotions though, even if they were deeply concealed most of the time.
Cattleya was silent for a few seconds, before she nodded without any resistance.
"I did not think of that. In this case, I will buy at least one unit of material from one of the creatures listed at the price, which I can sell afterwards if I don't need it."
"Thank you, Ma'am Hermit. It was only my opinion, but you are gracious."
Hermit Cattleya nodded at me, before turning to Li'l Sun, who was looking at me with an unexpectedly admiring expression.
When he noticed Madam Hermit looking at him, Derrick turned to her and agreed.
Soon, he materialised a list with Mr. Fool's help and handed it to her.
___
Howdy!? No chapter yesterday sadly. There's an update, y'all. Releases might be more sporadic starting this week since I'm no longer unemployed. I'll still try to put out at least three chapters at least. Besides that, I'm also trying to create a backlog so we can do bonus and advanced chapter shenanigans someday if you'd like. But that's only if I can make myself write that much.
Please comment on any grammatical errors or typos, I couldn't do much proofreading for this one.
Thanks for reading y'all, please drop a few comments to mend my broken heart, I will be happy.