In the eyes of believers of the Stars such as Bernadette and Nast, the identity of a Blessed of the Stars still carried considerable weight.
After all, this was currently the one and only Blessed of the Stars.
"Does the Stars have any new instructions?" Nast was the one who asked.
"Haven't you always wanted to establish a kingdom?" Hastur answered Nast's question, but his gaze turned toward Bernadette beside him.
Bernadette said frankly, "I want to establish a pirate kingdom."
"You?" Nast was taken aback.
"To found a nation in the name of the Gustav family, and in the name of Bernadette, the eldest daughter of Emperor Roselle."
Nast remained silent for quite a while before saying, "This is a decision significant enough to change the entire balance of power across the seas."
Hastur did not participate any further in the discussion. Establishing a pirate kingdom was a problem for Bernadette and Nast to worry about.
As for him, he currently had only one problem: completing the acting for Sequence 4, the Lost One, as soon as possible.
In the afternoon, with the Tarot Gathering about to begin, Fors had locked herself in her room early, claiming that she needed a good rest.
Audrey, who had been taking care of Susie, also handed the task of looking after Susie over to Hastur. Faced with Hastur's thoughtful gaze, Audrey pressed her lips together tightly and offered no explanation.
After closing the door, she took a deep breath, lay down on the bed, and waited for Mr. Fool's summons.
Actually, she could have used going to the bathroom as an excuse to buy herself enough time to attend the Tarot Gathering.
But what if today's Tarot Gathering ran especially long? Staying in the bathroom for such a long time would be far too embarrassing in front of Mr. Hastur.
Above the gray fog, Klein started the Tarot Gathering right on time.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hanged Man…"
As usual, Audrey began greeting everyone, her slightly surprised gaze landing on the newly arrived member.
It was a woman who seemed to radiate an air of intellect and wisdom.
"Miss Hermit. From now on, she will also regularly attend the Tarot Gathering." Mr. Fool, seated at the head of the table, gave only a brief introduction.
Cattleya looked around at everyone, stood up, gave a slight bow in greeting, and then sat back down.
Her seat was next to Fors'. Her silence carried a faintly sharp and imposing air that made Fors feel somewhat pressured.
Other than Mr. Fool, the Tarot Gathering now happened to consist of three men and three women. Fors wondered whether Mr. Fool had deliberately selected the members that way.
Many thoughts flashed through Fors' mind, but outwardly, she maintained a stern expression and appeared calm and composed.
When Mr. Fool began reading Roselle's diary, Cattleya nearly lost control of her expression.
Judging from how everyone else regarded this as perfectly normal, this Mr. Fool definitely understood the special script left behind by Emperor Roselle. This was a script that even Bernadette had never managed to learn!
As expected, Mr. Fool and the Tarot Gathering indeed held many secrets. Fortunately, she had already infiltrated the gathering.
At the thought that she could do something for Bernadette , she could not help but feel delighted.
After Mr. Fool finished reading Roselle's diary and the gathering entered the free discussion segment, Alger naturally brought up the matter concerning the island containing Roselle's final mausoleum.
This time, Mr. Fool Klein was not flustered in the slightest. Wearing a smile and maintaining a detached demeanor, he watched the Tarot Club members discuss the incident involving Roselle.
"On that night, there seemed to have been a divine descent, but the higher-ups of the Church of Storms have been avoiding discussing the matter." Alger shared the information he had obtained.
Regarding this matter, Audrey and Fors had far more authority to speak than Alger. They had been pursued the entire way. If a mysterious existence had not appeared and opened a spatial gateway that allowed the Hope to escape that dangerous stretch of sea, they would have long since been smashed into meat paste by those tentacles.
Alger had not been aboard the Church of Storms' ship at the time. He had been keeping watch farther out, and the moment he realized something was wrong, he quickly sailed away.
Everything he knew had been information he later obtained by questioning members of the Church of Storms.
From just Alger's few simple statements, Cattleya roughly guessed his identity in the real world: an undercover agent planted among the pirates by the Church of Storms.
Gods were involved again.
Emlyn and Derrick had the same thought at almost the exact same moment. Their current strength was clearly still very weak, yet almost every major event they encountered was related to gods.
For instance, upon hearing that the Lord of Storms had descended that night, neither of them felt much of a stir in their hearts.
"The Lord of Storms did indeed descend that night, but the existence who ultimately turned the tide and resolved the disaster was the Stars. The Stars shone brightly and purified the corruption of the sea."
Fors calmly gave a simple account of what had happened that night.
This was such a good opportunity to spread the reputation of the Stars. How could she possibly let the Lord of Storms steal all the credit?
"The Stars…" Alger fell silent, while Cattleya looked curiously at Fors. In her eyes, Miss Magician was only a Sequence 7. How could she know information concerning the Lord of Storms and the Stars?
What Beyonder organization stood behind her?
"Where did you obtain this information?" Cattleya asked tentatively.
"The information came from that Queen Mystic. There can be no mistake." Fors skillfully shifted the responsibility onto Bernadette. After all, they were all believers of the Stars anyway.
From that Queen Mystic?
Cattleya's pupils widened, and her entire body stiffened. At this moment, panic surged through her heart.
Even she had not received any information from Bernadette. How did this Miss Magician know about it?
What was her relationship with Bernadette?
Was she Bernadette's representative here with Mr. Fool? Then what did that make her?
Between the two of them, who was truly Bernadette's most trusted confidante?
Infiltrating the gathering, spying for information, none of those things were as important as this question right now.
The look she gave Fors became increasingly complicated, to the point that she did not even have the attention to clearly hear Mr. Fool's concluding statement.
"Corruption comes from the cosmos."
Now it was Fors' turn to panic. The way this Miss Hermit was looking at her made it seem as though she wanted to see through her completely, inside and out.
Could she have recognized her real-world identity? Fors carefully recalled everything she had said today, checking whether she had made any mistakes.
Audrey, meanwhile, watched Fors and Miss Hermit with great interest. Their inner thoughts were truly fascinating.
After the Tarot Gathering ended, inside the captain's cabin of the Future, Cattleya was restless. She lightly bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth before finally deciding to write a letter informing Bernadette that the Fool knew how to decipher Emperor Roselle's special script.
No matter who truly occupied Bernadette's heart, there would always be only one person in her own heart: Bernadette.
…
Several days later, the Full Moon Massacre on Roselle's island finally caused a tremendous sensation across the entire sea.
At least several dozen famous pirate crews had been completely erased after that night.
Among those fortunate enough to escape alive, most carried corruption from the Mother Goddess of Depravity. Death would soon be their inevitable fate.
Just as Bernadette intended to seize this opportunity to establish a pirate kingdom, new rumors began to spread.
Some survivors who had escaped the Full Moon Massacre claimed that the Queen Mystic had joined forces with the Church of Storms to deliberately set a trap and personally orchestrate the horrifying Full Moon Massacre!
Then someone secretly exposed the Queen Mystic's true identity.
Bernadette Gustav, eldest daughter of Roselle Gustav!
With all these revelations piled together, the entire sea descended into an uproar.
None of this commotion had much to do with Hastur and the others. They merely rested for two days at a port before embarking on their journey back to Puning Harbor.
As for affairs on the sea, Bernadette and Nast would naturally handle them. If Bernadette lacked the ability to establish a pirate kingdom, then Nast could do it instead.
To the Stars, it did not matter who became the Black Emperor. What mattered was that the new Black Emperor had to be a believer of the Stars.
Aboard the Hope, Xio leaned against the railing listlessly, staring blankly into the distance.
Fors, meanwhile, had dragged over a reclining chair. Enjoying the cool sea breeze, she occasionally flipped through the book in her hands while sipping a fresh fruit drink purchased at the port.
The sickly Susie had finally recovered her usual liveliness. She was currently lying not far from Fors, wearing the glasses Hastur had given her as she read a book. Beside her sat a small bowl containing the same fresh fruit drink Fors was having.
Audrey, who was chatting with Hastur, was also not in particularly high spirits. She still wanted to visit other interesting places and experience different kinds of adventures.
Once they returned to Puning Harbor this time, she would probably have to return to Backlund.
"Have you ever heard the story about the people inside and outside the city?"
"No. Is it a famous folk tale?"
Audrey became a little interested. Seeing through her thoughts, Hastur slightly adapted the story of Fortress Besieged and explained its central idea: the people inside the city wanted to get out, while the people outside wanted to get in.
"What an excellent and profoundly wise story." Audrey acknowledged the brilliance of the story. Her eyes gleamed as she said, "If I were to judge them, I'd say neither kind of person is wrong. They simply yearn for a world they have never experienced."
"Mr. Hastur, have you ever yearned for a different kind of life?" Audrey tossed the question back at him.Hastur chuckled. "Go ahead. Which legendary treasure do you want to search for this time?"
The faintly helpless yet indulgent tone made Audrey's cheeks redden slightly. She very much wanted to stick out her tongue smugly, and her mood immediately became light and cheerful again.
"I want to search for the real Fountain of Youth!"