"Very well."
Silas thought it over and agreed. "Five hundred pounds per page recorded. And I want priority rental rights, meaning that if my time conflicts with anyone else's, I get priority."
Expending a bit of spiritual power for a demonstration was nothing to him at all.
In truth, he could have simply asked Mr. Fool instead. Behind the grey mist, Klein wore an expression of poverty and regret. The various abilities released by the "Sea God's Scepter" were of semi-divine caliber, which happened to perfectly suit the Magician, Fors's, request.
It was just a pity that as the Fool, he needed to maintain his dignity and could not personally step in to compete with the other members over profit; that would look far too unseemly.
"This request can certainly be accommodated. Thank you very much, Mr. Temperance."
Fors said happily. At this moment, she was endlessly grateful to be part of this high-level circle known as the Tarot Club. Where else, in the real world, could she possibly find a semigod willing to continuously use their abilities just to help her keep records?
Never mind spending only five hundred pounds; even double that would be worth it!
A stir passed through the gathering, as everyone seemed to have already envisioned the wonderful prospects of this item. After all, everyone knew just how powerful Temperance was. The worth of the "Lenormand Grimoire" had climbed even higher the moment Silas agreed to the arrangement.
But no matter how pleased everyone was, the gathering still had to continue.
"Open discussion."
Seeing that no one had further intention to trade, Klein spoke up lightly.
"I'll go first."
The Hanged Man, Alger, said. "The biggest event this week was the Blood Reverend's fleet attacking Bayam."
The tone in which he spoke was entirely that of an outside observer analyzing the matter, as though he himself hadn't even been on the island when it happened, and had no acquaintance whatsoever with Temperance or the World.
Everyone else remained silent, turning their eyes toward Silas in unison, waiting for the man at the center of the incident to share some inside information.
Silas considered it for a moment.
"Nothing much to say. Just killed another semigod loyal to the royal family."
He specifically added a remark directed at Justice, Audrey, "According to what that fellow confessed, the Loen royal family's collaborators also include the Psychology Alchemists."
The Psychology Alchemists?
The organization I joined?
Justice, Audrey's expression tightened.
At the last Tarot Club gathering, Mr. Temperance had mentioned that he'd been attacked by high-ranking members of the Psychology Alchemists. And now, she also learned that behind the tragic Great Smog incident, this same organization's shadow might likewise be lurking.
Audrey's feelings were extremely complicated.
To this day, she still couldn't grasp the full picture of the organization she belonged to; the only one who contacted her was a woman who served, in name, as her tutor. All she knew was that this organization specialized in spreading its influence quietly among the upper nobility, gradually extending its reach. Looking at things now, did it perhaps also intend to secretly reshape the power structure at the top of Loen?
"Also, Miss Justice."
Silas glanced at her. "Remember to be careful of Hewin Lambis."
"That royal advisor?"
Justice, Audrey, had indeed met the man he mentioned.
"That's merely his position on the surface. His true identity is a member of the Psychology Alchemists's council, responsible for liaising with the royal family."
"..."
Audrey found it hard to believe. That man appeared gentlemanly and kind, universally regarded within noble circles as a genuinely good person. She never imagined he could actually be a high-ranking member of the Psychology Alchemists, quietly committing such cruel deeds all along.
Politics, royalty, organizations: each one filthier than the last, each one more hypocritical than the last.
Those East District residents who had died, Cons
Almost as if by pure instinct born of her own Pathway, Audrey quickly composed herself.
"Mr. Temperance, thank you for the warning. If there's anything you need from me, please don't hesitate to ask."
She took a deep breath, her expression shifting from the innocent lightness of a young girl to something rather more serious, and spoke.
Silas looked at her a moment longer.
"I will."
He said.
The atmosphere around the bronze long table fell quiet for a while, until Justice, Audrey, spoke again.
"I heard something, from the Southern Continent."
She pressed her hands against her skirt and glanced around at everyone.
"Regarding what, exactly?"
The Hanged Man, Alger, asked.
"Regarding the Rose School of Thought."
Justice, Audrey, said. "According to the information I have, they've been unusually active across the Southern Continent these past few days, holding bloody sacrificial rites one after another in various places, and clashing with numerous factions."
Her source was her own brother, Colonel Alfred Hall, who had joined the Loen military. He currently served in the army stationed on the Southern Continent, and had related certain matters in letters written to his sister.
Of course, Colonel Alfred, being a man of professional integrity, had not revealed any specific inside details. But Justice, Audrey, drawing on the psychic abilities granted by her own Pathway, had managed to infer the corresponding information from her brother's descriptions.
The Rose School of Thought.
Upon hearing that name, Silas instinctively grew wary.
After all, he had only just clashed with this organization, having encountered, within that illusory realm, the "Desire Mother Tree" they worshipped, along with the "Divine Abomination," Suah.
"I have similar information on my end."
The Hermit, Cattelya, cut in. "Out on the Sonia Sea, the 'Admiral of Blood' and his fleet have also been active with alarming frequency. Since last Thursday, numerous merchant vessels and passenger ships have been attacked by them and subjected to brutal treatment."
The power behind the Admiral of Blood was none other than the Rose School of Thought.
"What exactly are they trying to do?"
The Hanged Man, Alger, couldn't help but ask.
Last Thursday. That happened to be the day right after I saw the "Desire Mother Tree" in that illusion. Silas had a guess forming in his mind. Setting aside the possibility of flattering himself, perhaps, the Rose School of Thought's abnormal behavior was because of him.
"Can someone tell me about the intelligence on this organization?"
He said, raising his voice.
"The Rose School of Thought was originally an orthodox faith on the Southern Continent, but it was later corrupted by an Evil God."
The Hanged Man, Alger, gave him a concise summary.
It matched roughly what Sharron of the "Temperance faction" had told him before.
Silas compared what he'd just said against what that "refugee" who had fled to the Northern Continent had told him, then asked directly, "How much do you know about the 'Divine Abomination' Suah?"
"All I know is that Suah is the leader of the Rose School of Thought."
The Hanged Man, Alger, answered.
"Suah is a child of the Mother Tree."
The Hermit, Cattelya, cut in. As a pirate general, she possessed more hidden knowledge. "It's very likely a Sequence 1 Angel of the 'Prisoner' Pathway. It rarely manifests in reality; supposedly this is because, being born of an Evil God, its own spirituality is unstable and difficult to sustain."
"The very concept of a 'Divine Abomination' inherently carries connotations of chaos, distortion, and abhorrence."
A child of an Evil God, its state unstable?
Silas cast his mind back for a moment. He seemed to recall that within that illusion, he had indeed seen, beneath the Mother Tree, a shapeless, monstrous mass curled up like an infant.
If that had indeed been the "Divine Abomination" Suah, then it did match the Hermit's description.