Klein shared a similar thought with Miss Magician, wondering if Mr. Hermit wanted to publish his research in mysticism outside the Beyonder circle.
There had indeed been Beyonders who left behind writings on the extraordinary and mysticism. The 'Book of Secrets' in Klein's possession was supposedly the work of a demigod...
However, that book had not been publicly published and was likely a unique copy, with at most a few handwritten duplicates.
Fors cleared her throat, masking her wandering thoughts, "May I ask what kind of book you wish to publish? Hmm, I do know a few publishers, but you need a good story or decent writing to get them interested."
"It's a research-type book." Odis answered, then added, "A study of herbs."
Fors nodded: 'So that's how it is. I do recall Mr. Hermit discussing herbal knowledge before, and he seemed quite professional...'
"Books of that kind are reference works, so they should be relatively easy to get to the printing stage," she said based on her own experience, "But the print run would likely be very small, generally under 5000 copies, possibly even just 1000."
"If I mail the manuscript to a publisher, can I publish it without revealing my identity?" Odis asked.
"Theoretically, yes," Fors answered, "But the chances of publication that way are slim. If the author isn't well-known, it's nearly impossible. I'd recommend having a writer recommend it to the publisher. That would increase the chances."
Odis thought to himself: 'Lelouch does have some notoriety, but it's not the good kind. Publishers might refuse to publish such a book to avoid offending nobles. But if he asked Fors to help recommend it, it would bring her considerable trouble. The Mandated Punishers might very well follow that lead to her, setting off an undesirable chain of events...'
Then Odis recalled that through his intelligence network, he could contact several writers: 'But that would expose the connection between Mr. Gale and Lelouch, or between Leader and Lelouch... an outcome I'd like to avoid.'
At that moment, Fors added, "Besides a writer's recommendation, you could also seek recommendations from well-known journalists."
Odis nodded. He didn't have any journalists he trusted enough either.
That concluded this transaction. After the private conversation ended, the trading segment of this Tarot Club gathering came to a close.
Moving to the free exchange segment, Audrey spoke first, "Yesterday, a fire broke out on King's Avenue!"
"I heard about that too," Fors chimed in, "Apparently, a noble secretly built a fighting arena on King's Avenue, and it was burned down last night."
She had seen the news in this morning's newspaper.
She continued, "According to the reports, it wasn't just an arena. That noble also imprisoned and abused some young women there, and used the fighters to form a gang that did many shady things for the nobility, like killing workers who organized strikes, murdering mistresses who tried to blackmail nobles, and eliminating women who reported being violated by nobles to the police. The arena operator also used his noble connections to get those gang members acquitted multiple times."
Fors concluded, "A man like that deserves to be burned alive."
At this point, news of Bishop's death had not yet been published, so Fors assumed he was still alive. After reading the Daily Observer report, she had also written a letter to Parliament suggesting the abolition of the nobility's legal immunity.
It wasn't only the King and Queen who enjoyed this right; in the Loen Kingdom, nobles above the rank of Baron generally had legal immunity. Unless the King, Parliament, or the Church wanted a particular noble dead, they could legally evade legal punishment for any crime.
Few people knew about this, as it wasn't exactly a point of pride, and judicial authorities weren't going to publicize it. Fors herself had only learned of it while researching legal books and magazines for a previous writing project...
The two female members of the Tarot Club were furious about the arena incident, but the other members seemed less interested.
Little Sun in the Forsaken Land of the Gods wasn't particularly concerned with this topic, while Klein and The Hanged Man had long seen the true faces of the nobility through their own experiences, so they weren't surprised that nobles could do such things.
"Good thing there was that fire, otherwise people wouldn't have known the arena existed." The World said in a muffled voice.
He had intended to make a brief comment and move on to another topic, but Audrey immediately interjected, "No, it wasn't because of the fire that people learned the truth. It was a brave Beyonder who killed the noble who ran the arena and several of his subordinates, then set the arena on fire!"
"That noble is already dead?" Fors was taken aback, "The newspaper reports weren't complete?"
"Yes, someone suppressed the news!" Audrey said gravely, "According to that brave Beyonder, Lelouch, he sent the relevant evidence to all the major newspapers and the police. But only the Daily Observer reported on it. Someone must have blocked the other newspapers from reporting and obstructed the police investigation."
'Lelouch?' Klein suddenly felt that the name sounded very familiar.
"What Sequence is this Lelouch?" Fors asked, "And how did he kill that noble?"
"Based on my observation, he was only Sequence 8..." Audrey replied.
"What? Sequence 8?" Alger also joined the conversation, "Didn't that noble have any Beyonder bodyguards by his side?"
"He did, but I believe Lelouch had made thorough preparations before taking action," Audrey explained, "He first disguised himself as a contestant in the fighting arena and attracted Bishop's attention, the manager who ran the arena, by winning two matches. But because Lelouch refused to join the 3N Party, that being the gang formed by Bishop using the arena fighters as stated by Miss Magician... Bishop then sent members of the 3N Party to assassinate Lelouch..."
After taking a short breath, she continued, "The assassination attempt resulted in Lelouch killing three of their members instead, with only one escaping, reportedly with some psychological issues. Lelouch likely used some mysterious method, because, even though the crime scene had been burned by fire, one of the members died of hypothermia!"
The corner of Odis's mouth curved upward slightly: 'Being praised feels quite nice.'
'A fire?' Klein recalled a news report from a few days ago.
He manipulated The World to ask, "Was that the fire on Riverbay Avenue?"
"Yes! That very fire!" Audrey replied quickly. She added, "That drew even more of Bishop's attention, so he arranged two very difficult Beyonder matches for Lelouch. Later I heard that before the second match, Bishop promised Lelouch that if he won both fights, he would personally preside over his initiation into the 3N Party. Lelouch won both matches, even killing a Beyonder who could command the undead in battle..."
"...Bishop was delighted, thinking he was about to gain another powerful subordinate. So after the second match ended, he went down into the arena himself. Lelouch seized the opportunity to kill Bishop and set a huge fire that burned everything down!"
Klein evaluated internally: 'This was a meticulously planned operation. Of course, Lelouch's personal abilities are also strong; otherwise, he couldn't have won those two Beyonder fights.'
The image of a lone hero took shape in his mind...
Fors seemed to realize something. She asked Audrey, "Were you there at the scene?"
"Yes, and I had met Lelouch before that," Audrey answered truthfully, "I was very interested in this Beyonder's words and actions, so I went to watch the match, only to witness such a huge surprise."
Hearing her say this, Fors recalled that during the last gathering, Miss Justice had asked the other members what would happen if someone refused an invitation from a Beyonder organization.
'Combined with her description just now, at the time she must have encountered Lelouch, who had refused the 3N Party's recruitment...' Fors concluded.
Alger frowned and asked, "Weren't there any Beyonders among the audience who tried to stop this?"
"There were! Some Beyonders tried to help Bishop, but their abilities were blocked by a barrier protecting the audience," Audrey explained, "Because that match allowed weapons and had no rules, there had to be a barrier to protect the audience. But what no one expected was that the barrier ended up protecting Lelouch."
"This was likely also within Lelouch's calculations." Alger chuckled, "From your description, it's easy to see that Lelouch is someone with exceptional planning capabilities. He got close to that noble and carried out the assassination step by step. To execute the plan well, he certainly would have thoroughly investigated the final assassination site and gathered relevant intelligence through various channels. If I were Lelouch, upon learning there was a barrier protecting the audience, I would have been delighted. Because that meant the assassination became much simpler..."
"...First, it's highly unlikely that there would be Beyonders of too high a Sequence among the audience. After all, a Sequence 5 wouldn't be interested in a fight between Sequence 8 and Sequence 7. And among the bodyguards, there wouldn't be a Sequence 5 either. The reason is simple: at Sequence 5, who would still work as a bodyguard? Probably only the King and a very few high-ranking nobles can afford Beyonders of that level as bodyguards. And with that barrier in place, one only needed to deal with the Beyonder bodyguards around that noble named Bishop."
The other members nodded in agreement.
Even Odis couldn't help but acknowledge internally: 'Great minds think alike.'
"Did Lelouch leave behind any stirring words at the time?" Fors asked
Audrey's mind immediately conjured the memorable line: "He said, 'Remember, I am Lelouch of the rebellion!'"
Behind the gray fog, Klein nearly slapped his thigh: 'I remember now! Th–this guy must be a transmigrator! Right?!'