My green eyes stared at the card, my pupils immediately dilated in shock; goosebumps rose at the card that read "Sequence 0: Darkness."
This is... the Card of Blasphemy, right? The thought came to me immediately after reading the card. I remembered the Card of Blasphemy clearly because they were really interesting in the novel, and this thing was now right in front of me. The characteristics of this thing also perfectly matched the description in the novel, where Emperor Roselle was clearly depicted on the Card of Blasphemy, and this card depicted Emperor Roselle pouring silver liquid into a river with a wolf beside him and many stars on the card.
The card felt hot against my fingertips. Or was it just my imagination? My heartbeat thundered in my ears, drowning out all other sounds. Cold sweat beaded on my palms; I nearly dropped this treasure and curse. After all, who wouldn't be afraid of a card that could transform you into a god?
After thinking that, I tried to calm myself down so as not to arouse suspicion and stared at the words 'Sequence 0: Darkness' again, quickly searching for all the information I knew about the Darkness path from the novel. A moment later, I remembered that the Darkness path was the same as the Sleepless path, which was controlled by the Nighthawks and the church of the Goddess of Eternal Night, and Dunn Smith was one example of a user of this path. Hey, if I'm not mistaken, Leonard was also a user of this path, right?
But wait... how could Mr. Hobert have a Blasphemy Card, and the Blasphemy Card he had came from a path controlled by the Goddess of Eternal Night? How could the Goddess of Eternal Night or the Church of Eternal Night not know about this?
Could he actually be from the Church of Evernight and is here in disguise? As I thought that, I subconsciously turned to look at Mr. Hobert and saw his red eyes staring back at me, and he smiled when I glanced at him.
No... there's no way this person is from the Church of Evernight. His appearance doesn't resemble that of a person from the Church of Evernight at all, and his red eyes are... terrifying.
Wait! Red eyes? Isn't it abnormal for someone to have red eyes, even by this world's standards? Is it even possible for a human to have red eyes? And to top it off, Mr. Hobert looks too young for his age.
Is he... a Sanguine? I clearly remember from the novel that Emlyn is a Sanguine, and he also has similar eyes to Mr. Hobert. Does that mean he's really a Sanguine?
How could a Sanguine possess a Blasphemy Card? Is Mr. Hobert a high-ranking member of the Sanguine? No... I've never heard of a high-ranking Sanguine member named 'Hobert Tinker' in this novel.
Hmm... as far as I've read, high-ranking Sanguine have never been mentioned, so I have no idea about this. Heh, heh, Emlyn, you stupid Sanguine, why are you so antisocial that you can't predict anything!
However, even though Mr. Hobert was a high-ranking Sanguine, that didn't answer why he had the Blasphemy Card from the Sleepless pathway, even though it proved that Mr. Hobert was at least a Demigod or was in Sequence 4 to 2. How annoying.
Suddenly, I felt someone touch my shoulder from behind, which didn't make me shiver, and my eyes widened, my heart pounding. But when I turned around, it was Mr. Hobert who touched my shoulder.
"What's wrong, Mr. Lynch?" Hobert asked from behind me. His gaze, coupled with the touch on my shoulder, was so intense that it made the room feel even more tense. "Is your 'client' also interested in 'tarot cards' and asking you to buy them too?" Hobert continued to me.
Unconsciously, I shuddered, jolted back to reality after being lost in thought. Then I realized that Hobert might have said something to me.
When Mr. Hobert said the word "tarot cards," his tone changed as if he were emphasizing the word itself, as if he was trying to threaten me regardless of whether I understood it or not, which made me swallow hard. Sweat poured down my head, but I quickly calmed down.
"No, Mr. Hobert, my client didn't ask me to buy tarot cards. Besides, she probably already has her own set at home," I said casually and somewhat jokingly, remembering that my fictional 'client,' Audrey, probably did have a set of tarot cards at home. After all, she was a mysticism enthusiast; perhaps she was like John, who liked things like the way he liked to collect strange objects related to Roselle.
"But, it's just that when I look at this deck of tarot cards, I somehow feel less mystical than the other items. Even though tarot cards are used for divination," I immediately lied, while looking at Hobert with the best smile I could muster in John's life.
Besides, it would be dangerous if he found out I recognized this as a Card of Blasphemy! He would definitely kill me; he could easily kill me, considering he was probably a Demigod or at least possessed enough power to obliterate me in an instant.
I immediately got goosebumps at the thought of being killed by the red-eyed, strangely tattooed old man in front of me, and I massaged my temples to calm myself from the thought.
"Is that so...?" Mr. Hobert looked at me, then his hand touched his chin, and he looked very thoughtful, making the room fall silent.
I'm doomed! He's going to kill me! He must be a Beyonder from the mind-reading pathway, and he realized I knew he had the Card of Blasphemy. Damn it! I've only been in this damned world for a few hours! I scratched my wrist slightly as the atmosphere in the room grew increasingly uncomfortable.
Mr. Hobert lowered his hand from his chin, his expression suddenly turning neutral. Then he smiled and looked at me with his red eyes.
"It's just a regular 'tarot deck,' Mr. Lynch. I keep it in the mystical section because tarot cards are synonymous with mysticism," he said suddenly, looking at me very intensely and studying me carefully.
The air felt heavy under Hobert's gaze. Goosebumps rose up my spine, and I shivered. The stare wasn't just uncomfortable; it felt threatening. It felt like I was a mouse being watched, my every move being monitored, waiting to be killed if I stole a piece of cheese. It was a truly unpleasant feeling, even worse than when I first arrived in this world.
"Hoo... Really? Oh... of course, this card must be related to mysticism, right? Haha." I tried to smile as casually as I could, even though my heart was pounding and my hands were sweating.
"But do you know why this deck of tarot cards still looks so well-preserved? Shouldn't they be old considering their age?" I continued my questioning, trying to gather as much information as possible about the tarot cards, even though I was afraid that Hobert would be offended or find it strange and then kill me!
"There is a myth that says that the cards were used for certain rituals, which is why they are still preserved until now," Hobert replied while observing my behavior with his sharp red eyes.
"That's very interesting. What kind of ritual is used on these cards?" I asked, quickly placing the Card of Blasphemy back into the mess.
"You don't need to know that," Hobert said with a relaxed smile on his face. He didn't seem to be staring as intently as before, and his eyes began to focus on the cards themselves.
Aku tidak mengerti mengapa dia mengalihkan pandangannya dariku! Tapi, setidaknya aku telah melakukan sesuatu yang membuatnya berpikir dia hanya salah paham. Setidaknya aku berhasil lolos dari upaya pembunuhan yang mungkin dilakukan oleh seorang Demigod. Sebuah pencapaian yang benar-benar menggembirakan.
Maksudku, aku benar-benar tidak tahu apakah Hobert sebenarnya karakter dari novel itu atau bukan, tetapi jika dia memang karakter dari novel dan perilakunya berubah karena aku, yang menyebabkan kematian Klein dan kehancuran dunia ini, itu akan menjadi kekacauan. Tidak, aku bahkan tidak yakin dia benar-benar penjahat, mengingat hampir tidak ada petunjuk tentang karakter seperti ini di dalam novel.
Hei, tunggu! Bukankah Kartu Penghujatan memiliki semacam kata sandi yang dibuat oleh Roselle sebelum seseorang dapat menggunakannya? Apakah itu berarti pria ini mengetahui kata sandi untuk mengaktifkan Kartu Penghujatan?
Tidak, tidak. Seingat saya, setelah seseorang mencapai Urutan 5 dan seterusnya, mengaktifkan Kartu Penghujatan tidak memerlukan kode khusus yang disiapkan oleh Roselle.
Mungkinkah ini hanya paranoia saya, dan saya keliru menganggap pria ini adalah seorang Demigod... Tanpa sadar, saya menatap Hobert, dan dia hanya tersenyum pada saya dengan mata merahnya, membuat bulu kuduk saya kembali berdiri.
Dia adalah seorang Setengah Dewa! Aku yakin! Kalau tidak, bagaimana mungkin mata merahnya yang aneh itu bisa begitu mengintimidasi aku?
Tapi bukankah seharusnya aku mencoba menyelidiki pengetahuan Tuan Hobert untuk menguji apakah dia benar-benar seorang Demigod atau bukan? Heh, heh, mustahil, aku tidak ingin langsung mati! Tapi aku benar-benar perlu mencari tahu bagaimana seorang Sanguine bisa memiliki Kartu Penghujatan dari jalur Tanpa Tidur? Bukankah seharusnya Sanguine mengendalikan jalur Bulan? Ini benar-benar tidak masuk akal.
Namun, ini adalah Kartu Penghujatan. Saya benar-benar membutuhkan informasi dari Tuan Hobert tentang mengapa dia memiliki barang seperti itu agar saya bisa berhati-hati. Tidak, sebaliknya, saya harus memiliki Kartu Penghujatan ini. Akan lebih baik seperti itu daripada membiarkan 'orang' ini memegang kartu tersebut. Lagipula, sungguh tidak logis jika kartu itu berada di tangan 'orang' ini.
"Tuan Hobert, saya ingin bertanya, Anda mengatakan bahwa 'kartu tarot' ini adalah 'dek tarot' biasa, bukan? Namun, saya mengamati keanehan pada salah satu kartu yang tersusun di dalam dek tersebut. Ada kartu yang bertuliskan 'Urutan 0: Kegelapan' dengan gambar Kaisar Roselle di atasnya. Apakah Anda tahu artinya?" "Apa... apa hubungannya dengan Kaisar Roselle?"
Upayaku untuk terdengar biasa saja malah berakhir dengan bisikan serak. Aku langsung menyadari kesalahanku. Suara itu bukanlah suara seorang kolektor yang penasaran; itu adalah suara seorang pemuda yang ketakutan. Dan dari sudut mataku, aku melihat senyum tipis di wajah Hobert sedikit melebar, seolah-olah dia baru saja menangkap sesuatu yang sangat menarik. Tanganku gemetar hebat sehingga aku harus mengepalkannya erat-erat, menyembunyikannya di saku celana. Tapi itu tidak menghentikan jantungku berdetak kencang dan tak menentu, berdetak seperti burung yang terperangkap dalam sangkar tulang rusukku, mencoba melarikan diri dari sangkar ini, ruangan ini, situasi yang semakin tak terkendali ini.
Sebenarnya... aku benar-benar tidak ingin melakukan ini demi keselamatanku sendiri. Lagipula, siapa yang mau berurusan dengan seseorang yang memiliki kemampuan untuk membunuh orang lain semudah melipat selembar kertas! Tetapi jika aku tidak melakukan ini dan ternyata Hobert adalah penjahat yang menyebabkan Klein kalah di akhir cerita, itu akan menyebabkan dunia ini hancur karena Klein adalah tokoh utama dalam cerita ini.
Tidak! Aku tidak berniat melakukan apa pun pada Hobert. Astaga, aku baru saja membuat aturan bahwa aku tidak boleh ikut campur dalam cerita, tetapi ketika aku menemukan sesuatu yang luar biasa kuat, aku malah berpikir untuk ikut campur dalam cerita. Heh, heh, aku bahkan belum membaca sampai akhir, jadi aku tidak akan mengambil risiko itu. Aku melakukan ini hanya untuk... memastikan keselamatanku sendiri.
Hobert tidak langsung menjawab. Ia hanya mengamati getaran halus di tangan John, seolah membaca setiap denyut ketakutan yang mengalir di sana. Senyum tipisnya tak pernah pudar, tetapi matanya yang merah, yang kini tampak lebih gelap daripada bulan merah di dunia ini, memancarkan kesan yang sama sekali tidak ramah.
"Gambar Kaisar Roselle?" akhirnya dia berkata, suaranya semerdu denting lonceng yang dalam. "Mungkin pencipta kartu ini menambahkan ilustrasi mereka sendiri ke dek tarot lama. Sebuah keanehan... atau mungkin sebuah penghormatan, atau mungkin kartu ini diciptakan oleh Kaisar Roselle sendiri." Dia mengatakan itu seolah-olah semua itu adalah pilihan yang bisa saya pilih.
Ia berjalan perlahan, jari-jarinya yang panjang dihiasi tato aneh menelusuri bagian belakang sebuah kursi kayu tua. "Anda tahu, Tuan Lynch, dalam dunia barang antik yang penuh teka-teki, terkadang hal yang paling berbahaya bukanlah monster dengan wujud yang jelas... tetapi sebuah gagasan. Sebuah gagasan yang tertanam dalam sebuah objek, menunggu pikiran yang tepat untuk memicunya."
Aku menelan ludah dengan susah payah. Setiap kata dari Hobert seperti pisau bedah yang mengiris pertahananku. Dia tidak menjawab pertanyaanku. Sebaliknya, dia memberiku peringatan atau umpan?
Huh, and again he asked a question I already knew the answer to. After all, I already knew how the Blasphemy Cards were made because I was a reader of the Lord of the Mysteries novels, and my memory of them was still fresh.
Wait... isn't it true that... a lot of information about the gods has been erased from my memories since I came to this world of the Master of Mysteries? So why wasn't the information about the Cards of Blasphemy, which are items that point to divinity, forcibly erased as well? What exactly are the specifications for certain memories being erased or not erased? Who exactly summoned me to this world?
No, no. Stop thinking about whoever summoned me to this world. Don't even think about any gods. Heh, I'll probably attract their attention and die because of it, so stop speculating about this. I shook my head, trying to clear my speculation about whoever summoned me.
"Sequence 0: Darkness..." Hobert said the word softly, as if it were the name of a former lover. "Interesting words for a 'common tarot deck,' aren't they? As if someone were trying to map the divine onto paper and ink." He stopped in front of John, his shadow cast over the young man. "Do your 'client's' interests... extend to such sublime realms?"
The emphasis on the word "noble" felt like a blow. John felt his chest tighten. This was no longer a question about a fictional client. It was a direct question about how much John himself understood what he was dealing with.
I have to divert this. Right now!
"M-my client is simply a noblewoman with an interest in spiritual matters," John replied, struggling to keep his voice even. "She probably considers the 'Sequence 0' inscription to be... some sort of supreme power talisman suitable for her collection." He smiled falsely, trying to imitate the empty arrogance of a wealthy playboy. "You know how young nobles think, don't you, Mr. Hobert? It's all about prestige and mysterious-sounding words."
Hobert was silent for a moment, and for a second, John was sure he was going to laugh mockingly. But all he did was nod slowly, as if accepting the shallow explanation.
"Of course," Hobert murmured. "Prestige. That's always a valid reason in Backlund." He took one of the tarot cards from the deck and drew the Wheel of Fortune. "So, is this 'prestige' worth it to you, Mr. Lynch? To bring this 'talisman' back to your client?"
My heart was pounding. This was it, the tipping point. Refusing meant losing the Card of Infamy forever. Accepting meant admitting that he, John Lynch, had personal reasons for wanting this item.
"Everything has its price, Mr. Hobert," I replied, trying to sound like a firm merchant, not a frightened young man. "As long as it's a fair price for such a... unique, artistic piece."
Hobert placed the cards on the table, right between us, like a bet in a poker game.
"That's right," he said. "Everything has a price. And sometimes, the price of 'curiosity'... can be much higher than we imagine."
"That's right," he said. "Everything has a price. And sometimes, the price of 'curiosity'... can be much higher than we imagine."
The air between us felt stuffy, dusty, and filled with unspoken things. The Wheel of Fortune card lay on the table like fate waiting to be decided. My fingers still trembled in my pockets, damp with cold sweat. I had to end this dangerous guessing game. Now.
"Of course, Mr. Hobert," I said, forcing a more even and confident voice than I felt. I took a deep breath, imitating the nonchalance of a collector interested only in commercial value. "But as I said, my client is a pampered noblewoman. She's interested in the mystical aura, not in... philosophical puzzles."
I took a step back, away from the table and the cards, as if losing interest. "He'll be more interested in this red revolver and this mask. At least they have a clear function and story. As for these old cards..." I made a small, empty gesture with my hand, "...they're too abstract for his taste."
My green eyes deliberately avoided contact with the deck of tarot cards. I couldn't give him the impression that I was captivated. A basic survival principle: never appear too eager to see anything in front of a shady merchant, especially one who might be a Demigod.
Hobert was silent for a moment, observing my changes. I could feel his sharp, red gaze scanning every inch of my expression and body language, searching for any openings, any inconsistencies. My heart pounded, hoping my mask of indifference was convincing enough.
Finally, the corners of his thin lips curled up again, but this time, his smile was different—flatter, more... amused, as if he had just watched an interesting show.
"Very wise, Mr. Lynch," he said, his voice returning to the amiable tone of a merchant, though still with a hint of coldness. He casually picked up the Wheel of Fortune card and returned it to the disheveled pile. "Indeed, the tastes of young nobles are often... more worldly. They want something to show off, not something to ponder."
He looked away from me, and for the first time since the conversation began, the tension in the room seemed to ease slightly. I almost breathed a sigh of relief, but held it in. This wasn't the time to let my guard down.