The Queen's departure from Backlund had been several months ago.
At that time, Silas had been immersed in the self-deception that his sister was still alive.
Now that the Queen was returning, he had already learned too much and endured too much.
But no matter what, the Queen's return was indeed tremendous good news. It meant he had a high-sequence Beyonder standing on his side.
Especially with Backlund's recent strange atmosphere, as if something major was about to happen, the Queen's arrival gave him an enormous sense of security.
"It's definitely good news."
Silas thought to himself.
Besides reporting the Queen's return, the letter also set a time and place to meet, mentioning it was the new gathering location.
Sharron planned to sell a batch of Beyonder characteristics at that gathering and asked if Silas wanted to come along.
If he was going, they would meet at the "Bravehearts" bar on that day.
Silas considered it briefly and decided he would go to see the Queen.
Putting down the letter, the time was around one o'clock, still some time before the Tarot Club would begin.
If it were before, he would probably have used meditation to pass this time, but not now.
"Make sure you eat well, brother."
Cecilia's words from the dream echoed incredibly clearly in his ears.
Silas silently stood up and turned to enter the kitchen.
Charles had already arranged for people to deliver various ingredients, from fresh vegetables to baked bread, from canned fish to flour and rare rice.
All sorts of things, everything one could want.
Faced with such an abundance of ingredients, Silas was momentarily troubled, not knowing what to make.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to make something simple.
"Bubble, bubble..."
The thick broth mixed with green vegetables, egg ribbons, and dough drops, churned up and down as it boiled on the gas stove.
That's right, because the Tarot Club would be in two hours, he'd chosen something easy to make: dumpling soup.
Come to think of it, Klein wanted me to stay for dinner last time. Hmm, tomato beef brisket with rice. That guy knows how to eat too.
Smelling the gradually rising aroma from the pot, Silas's throat moved for the first time in ages.
Somehow, he thought of his former colleague and fellow transmigrator.
Yesterday he'd visited Klein's place but hadn't run into him. Instead, because of that, he'd accidentally picked up a Blasphemy Card...
Thinking about how that "Abyss" card now belonged to him and was safely stored at sea, Silas couldn't help but feel excited.
After all, it was a Blasphemy Card.
After all, it recorded in detail the pathway to becoming a god.
And even if he didn't sell the card, just the value of the potion formulas on it was already extremely precious.
Roselle, you bastard, you actually did something good for once!
"It should be about done cooking."
M's face appeared in the pot's reflection, reminding him.
"I know."
His train of thought interrupted, Silas said irritably.
He reached out to turn off the heat, ladled the soup into a bowl, and returned to the dining table in the living room.
"Meow~"
Luna, who had been scratching at the glass outside the kitchen trying to get in, finally got her chance.
She followed him over and jumped onto the table.
She carefully extended her front paw, but before even touching anything, she felt the heat and quickly retracted her paw.
"This isn't for you."
Silas used his arm to push her off the table.
Luna wasn't angry. Instead, she circled around and jumped onto his lap, poking her head up over the table.
She watched as Silas dipped a spoon into the bowl, stirred it slightly, blew away the steam on the spoon, and took a sip.
Then he seemed to freeze.
"Meow?"
Luna seemed a bit worried and reached out to pat Silas's arm, trying to rouse him.
"I'm fine."
Silas came back to himself and used his free hand to soothe the black cat.
It had been so long since he'd eaten warm, normal food.
He'd been using flesh and blood as a substitute, nearly forgetting what real humans were supposed to eat.
In that instant just now, he felt his humanity surge into his soul, diluting considerably the Shepherd's arrogant sense of viewing others as lambs.
"Very good. Your condition has become more stable."
M said approvingly.
Silas glanced at her but said nothing.
He quickly finished his lunch. After cleaning up and washing the dishes, it was already past two-thirty.
After resting for a bit, when it was a few minutes before three o'clock, he had M create the virtual personality and waited patiently.
***
At the same time, Jowood District, 15 Minsk Street.
"Holding the Tarot Club under someone's unknown surveillance, the pressure isn't small..."
Klein hid in the washroom, forcibly taking four steps backward in the cramped space to enter above the gray fog.
The commission Prince Edessak had given him was really difficult to handle.
He didn't want to investigate deeply. If he actually found something, that would be trouble.
Moreover, perhaps it was his imagination, but after he'd accepted the task and left the prince's manor, it seemed like invisible eyes had been watching him constantly.
That obvious scrutiny is reminding me not to actually "discover" anything, right?
Klein thought to himself.
So recently, he could only pretend to investigate, working hard while finding nothing, thereby satisfying everyone around him.
Even though he had actually discovered some very terrifying things.
"Heh, investigating outside made me Ma'am My meeting with Silas... No, I should say, fortunately I missed it..."
Klein didn't plan to contact Silas, because that would inevitably draw the attention of whatever existence was behind this to Silas, making his situation even more difficult.
He planned to keep up the pretense for a few more days, then act like he couldn't uncover the truth and report back to the prince.
Through this method, he could fade from the situation and exit safely.
Three o'clock in the afternoon had arrived.
Klein extended his spirituality, touching each of the crimson stars on either side of the bronze table.
"Whoosh..."
Crimson light surged and descended at each seat, outlining one blurry figure after another.
Klein quite liked this scene.
It gave him the feeling that the Tarot Club was gradually developing and growing under his hand.
"Emlyn consulted me about [The Fool] before. Perhaps after some more time passes, he'll come here too..."
He thought to himself.
"Good afternoon, honorable Mr. Fool."
All the figures had been fully outlined.
[Justice] Audrey stood up as always and greeted him. However, her voice today seemed somewhat suppressed, not as light and cheerful as usual.
Miss [Justice] seems a bit off...
Among those present, except for [The Sun] Derrick, everyone had more or less sensed something abnormal, but only Klein and Silas knew the reason.
Miss [Justice] Audrey's friend, Kons Lierson, had been caught up in the assassination attempt on Duke Negan and had unfortunately died.
Silas had experienced it firsthand, while Klein had received Audrey's report afterward.
This innocent and romantic noble young lady had witnessed such a setback for the first time in her life.
But even so, she still tried hard to maintain the previous tradition, greeting each person.
The others, not understanding what was going on, could only nod while finding her condition rather strange.