The World nodded, expressing his gratitude to Miss Justice, while also telling everyone that he was currently on the same ship as Mr. Hanged Man.
Alger's eyes narrowed slightly as countless thoughts flashed through his mind before settling on one conclusion, this was a threat, a means of self-preservation employed by Mr. World.
By telling the Tarot Club members this, it meant he could no longer simply abandon him.
Fors immediately became interested, her eyes lighting up as she silently noted to herself that members of the Tarot Club had already begun meeting in the real world and were actively plotting major events!
Audrey, meanwhile, looked at the two of them with envy. She also wanted to meet fellow Tarot Club members in reality, but unfortunately had never had such an opportunity.
The World had never imagined they would overthink things so much. He had only wanted to inform everyone of his current situation so they would no longer worry about him.
Seated at the head of the table, Mr. Fool said nothing, continuing with the Tarot Gathering's usual weekly proceedings.
Only as the exchange was about to end did the World slowly speak.
"I once encountered the Angel of Fate, Ouroboros, on the sea. He should have arrived in Backlund by now."
Klein still felt it necessary to warn the Tarot Club members, lest they accidentally expose themselves or offend the Angel of Fate. Thus, he conveyed the message through the World's mouth.
Mr. World actually encountered an angel! And not just any angel, but the Angel of Fate, one of the Eight Kings of Angels under the Ancient Sun God!
Audrey and Fors both gasped. They were in Backlund, making them the ones most likely to run into the Angel of Fate.
As for Mr. Moon, who rarely thought much before acting, he paid little attention to the matter. A figure of that level would never have any dealings with him anyway.
Alger's pupils contracted. He had been wondering why the World still looked so sickly. So it was because he had experienced such an incident!
What amazed him even more was that someone who had met the Angel of Fate was still alive. Was it because of Mr. Fool's protection?
He secretly glanced at Mr. Fool, only to see Him wearing a calm expression, clearly unconcerned about the Angel of Fate.
The most excited of them all was Little Sun.
"He must know something about the Creator!"
Naturally, Klein had no intention of telling them the details. He only had the World say a few more words before falling completely silent.
"That will be all."
Mr. Fool ended the gathering. After sending everyone away, He did not linger and returned to the real world.
Pushing open the door, Klein walked out just as Alger emerged from his own room. The two exchanged a knowing glance before casually chatting about the latest hot topics at sea.
For example, how the Church of Storms had suddenly become aggressive, launching large-scale campaigns to eliminate the pirates who had followed the Uncrowned King during the recent chaos.
At the same time, rumors spread that the Lord of Storms Himself had descended upon Bansy Harbor, wiping out the Uncrowned King in a single strike. Bansy Harbor had been caught in the battle's aftermath and erased completely.
Klein listened quietly, neither confirming nor denying the rumors.
He had been there himself. In his opinion, the Lord of Storms' descent had mainly been aimed at Bansy Harbor.
As for the Uncrowned King, he might not actually have died. At that time, space had twisted, and combined with the influence of the illusory ancient city, Klein himself had been transported far away from Bansy Harbor.
If even he had survived, then the Uncrowned King probably had as well.
After spending five days aboard the Blue Avenger and recovering his health, Klein bid farewell to Alger at a harbor and embarked upon a journey that truly belonged to him.
...
Puning Port.
Thanks to the Church of Storms' powerful offensive, Hastur had cooperated with them over this period, helping wipe out several pirate crews. As a result, the coastline of Southville County enjoyed a rare period of peace and tranquility.
During this time, using his assistance in suppressing pirates as justification, combined with public support, he successfully took control of the remaining five ports from Duke Southville.
Only now could Hastur truly be said to hold full authority over Southville County's coastal defenses.
It was at this time that Audrey's second brother, Alfred, visited once again, declaring that he had made up his mind to stay in Southville County and establish his own achievements.
Earl Hall had also written to Hastur, asking him to take good care of Alfred.
For the sake of those one hundred thousand pounds, Hastur assigned Alfred to oversee the internal administration of one of the ports.
If Alfred truly proved capable, Hastur would not mind giving him more opportunities.
Surpassing his eldest brother in noble rank would probably be difficult, but becoming a Baron or Viscount in the future should pose no problem.
Alfred was not the only person Hastur had arranged. He had placed his own people in all the key positions across the eight ports.
Who was loyal and worthy of responsibility could hardly escape the investigations of the Yellow Robe Monks organization. As long as Hastur was willing, arranging their entire lives posed no difficulty.
As for members of the Yellow Robe Monks who wished to leave the shadows and become minor officials, Hastur also had Caius make some arrangements.
There were only six such people. The remaining members preferred, as Madam Lisa had taught them, to remain hidden in darkness while following in the footsteps of the King in Yellow.
After finishing all these matters, Hastur decided to return to the ancient castle for a short stay while further planning the issue of grain cultivation.
His own lands required little attention now.
What truly needed planning were the farmlands in the villages and towns throughout his territory, ensuring they stored as much grain as possible.
The war on the Southern Continent was drawing to a close. The influence of the Seven Churches was steadily being driven out.
Behind this were not only the united forces of the Southern Continent, but also traces of secret organizations such as the Demoness Sect, the Aurora Order, the Spirit Order, and even the Twilight Hermit Order.
It looked more like a large-scale probe against the Seven Churches. Hastur estimated that the conflict would conclude in about two months.
By then, whether the Southern Continent would launch an invasion against the Kingdom of Loen would begin to reveal itself.
On his way back to the castle, Hastur deliberately stayed one night in the nearby town. Only after confirming that the previous incident had left no lingering effects did he continue back.
During this period, the entire castle had been completely renovated.
The two-hundred-year-old fortress had been infused with new vitality, appearing much younger than before.
Ariella, however, had grown very fond of the new home.
Whenever she had free time, she wandered through every corner on patrol. Her favorite pastime was hiding in the shadows and watching the maids, whose emotions had been influenced by the Provocation ability, argue with one another.
Inside a room, Hastur was reading a letter sent by Maric together with Sharron.
This was the first time Maric had communicated by letter, and the envelope was specifically addressed to Hastur.
Having already guessed the contents, Hastur naturally invited Sharron to open and read it with him.
As expected, most of the letter described how miserable life in Backlund had become, complaining about how many things he had to deal with every single day.
On the surface, it was merely a complaint about his difficult daily life. In reality, it was Maric grumbling that Sharron had left him alone in Backlund.
In the final two paragraphs, Maric earnestly asked Hastur how things were progressing between him and Sharron.
He also hinted that he wanted to secretly slip away to Southville County.
Putting on a serious face, Hastur criticized him.
"Maric really needs to restrain his desires. Under no circumstances can he be allowed to leave Backlund."
Sharron silently nodded in agreement.
"And this Maric, how could he ask about the progress of our relationship? He's really worrying over nothing."
Hastur deliberately frowned and kept a straight face.
Sharron simply looked at him quietly without saying a word.
"What do you think I should reply to him?"
Hastur tossed the question to her, knowing full well that she would never answer such an obvious attempt to tease her.
After watching him for a moment, Sharron walked directly to the window, once again playing the role of a silent, motionless puppet.
"Maric, Miss Sharron somehow happened to read the letter you wrote. She's very angry and asked me to warn you not to even think about leaving Backlund."
"Actually, I was the one who deliberately invited Miss Sharron to read your letter. I didn't expect you to have become much smarter than I imagined. You even knew not to openly oppose or complain about Miss Sharron's arrangements in your letter."
"It seems that this period of training has indeed made your brain much more useful..."
Hastur wrote his reply to Maric very casually, deliberately choosing the most irritating wording possible.
After all, Maric was far away in Backlund and had no chance of coming here to settle the score.
Besides, Hastur considered this a way of tempering Maric's character, teaching him to control the emotions that were constantly on the verge of losing control.
What painstaking effort.
...
May 25.
It had been nearly half a year since Hastur left Backlund and arrived in Southville County.
Last night, he had finally and completely digested the Baron of Corruption potion.
The feeling had been clear and unmistakable. Taking half a year to fully digest the Baron of Corruption potion was already much faster than the average Beyonder.
However, compared to Klein in the original story, it was still a little slower.
Throughout this period, Hastur had constantly been hearing news coming from the sea.
It was said that a new pirate hunter had recently risen to fame.
His name was Gehrman Sparrow.
The moment Hastur heard the news, he knew Klein had most likely advanced to Sequence 6, Faceless.
Only after successfully becoming a Faceless could Klein use the identity of Gehrman Sparrow to hunt so many pirates.
Fortunately, Hastur had already gathered all the ingredients for the Sequence 5 Mentor of Disorder.
Once he adjusted his condition, he could advance to Sequence 5, still remaining ahead of Klein.