Chapter 5 : Tarot Club (1)
So, Xin Jian left the gray fog. Having memorized the surroundings with Leonard's help the previous day, she took the map that she copied with Mr. Fool's help and headed to the Harvest church. It's Sunday morning and it's still Xin Jian's viewpoint :
I have to remember not to expose the Earth goddess' identity as Lilith. What's more, if I can pull up Lilith it will be easier for Emly to come. Same for Leonard…
So, I arrived at the Harvest church and pushed the door open.
I suppose that this giant is father Utravsky…
Wait, let's take out a pen and paper.
I approached the giant that was praying devoutly and waited.
If he doesn't see that I'm there after more than 10 minutes I'll have to interrupt his prayers…
Wait, if I can't call the Mother Earth goddess "Lilith" then how do I call her ? Lily ? Mom ? Omebella ? Nah, the latter is ugly… Dracula ? (Since she's a vampire…) Daisy ? (As in Chica Vampiro… I think ?)
Stop ! Let's stop all blasphemous behavior now !
But, it's not like Mr. Fool can't save me…
It was then that I realized that the giant Bishop had already opened his eyes and turned his head to me.
Great, you're very suitable for horror movies, I'm traumatized for life now…
Ahem.
*beaming face.jpg*
(*Cale's scamming smile.jpg*)
« Hello~. Since you are the Earth mother's blessed, I came in the name of a great existence to make an alliance with Her. He is called the Fool, I wonder if She is interested… ? »
It's too bad that I can't speak to Her myself, I had already prepared a great rhetoric…
Normally, She should have a prophecy that The Fool "can" intervene in the apocalypse, right ?
I handed a piece of paper.
« If She agrees, here is the honorific name of that great being. She can send in Emlyn to investigate or She can directly integrate the Tarot Club. She can also contact me to discuss this matter… Can I have Her honorific name ? It would also be good if She doesn't interfere while we spread this honorific name… »
That's how I left the Harvest church. I wonder how many people there will be tomorrow ?
Then, I asked the goddess of sleepy flowers to join (to have fun, no, to preserve Her humanity), and made an oracle come to Leonard.
Pallez to Leonard : The people of the church are sacrificing you to test the stance of that unknown existence…
Leonard : Hey ! Wasn't I the protagonist ?
Pallez : …
(Hold on, Pallez ! Parasites need great acting skills/tolerance to survive ! The dumber the host is, the easier it is for you to stay !)
Wow, that'd be funny if Pallez scares Leonard a lot before tomorrow… Should I have given Amon's honorific name ?
« You know, Pallez, you can join too. »
Pallez : *scoffs.jpg*
Me : *sad.jpg*
Me : *puppy eyes.jpg*
Well, there are only 22 seats anyway…
I should make a list for the future.
So !
Major arcana cards : magician, high priestess, empress, emperor, hierophant, lovers, chariot, strength, hermit, wheel of fortune, justice, hanged man, death, temperance, devil, tower, star, moon, sun, judgement, fool, world.
*cards on the table.jpg*
There are :
The Magician - Fors
The Empress - (it's a secret)
The Emperor - Roselle
The Lovers - Pallez
The Hermit - Cattleya
The Wheel of fortune - Will
The Justice - Audrey
The Hanged man - Alger
The Death - Azik
The Temperance - Sharon
The Devil - Xin Jian
The Tower - Edwina
The Star - Leonard
The Moon - Emlyn
The Sun - Derrick
The Judgment - Xio
The Fool - regressor Zhou Mingrui
The World - newly transmigrated Zhou Mingrui aka Klein
The High priestess - Amanises
The Strength - Bernadette
The Chariot - Lilith
The Hierophant - Melissa
Danitz -> (maid) believer
Anderson -> blessed
I should submit this list to The Fool…
For Xio and Fors, I will make them read the honorific name myself.
The Empress and The Hierophant will wait since I don't want Melissa to be exposed to the Beyonder world yet. The Emperor will be purified by Mr. Fool and naturally join tomorrow.
Cattleya ? No means of contacting. Maybe through Bernadette through Roselle…
Will ? Location unknown.
Azik ? I will "ask" Him before tomorrow.
Sharon and Edwina ? No means of contacting…
Derrick ? Just wait. He will come soon.
That's how Monday afternoon arrived and we were pulled above the gray fog (I was invisible).
I wonder how much more people did I bring in one day ?
So, I was pulled in advance before the Tarot club.
« Mr. Fool, since a god is supposed to have a lot of divinity, can I lead the Tarot club the next times ? »
Mr. Fool nodded.
« You just need to tell me when you wish to stop being invisible and "officially" join the Tarot club. »
I lowered my gaze.
It's strange, I thought I had many things to say. Did I forget them ?
I added :
« Also, at the end of your "first" life, didn't you give some commissions before falling asleep ? There will be gods at the Tarot club now, I could be your "trumpet" and give them next time ? »
Mr. Fool simply said :
« Do as you want. »
I raised my head.
« Then, please keep The World here alone at the end. It wouldn't matter if we will let him use the gray fog, right ? »
Mr. Fool looked at me for a few seconds then nodded.
Of course I know that The World will definitely be suspicious if we give him this authority, but The Fool is really agreeing to everything !!!!!
Now that I think about it, yesterday, Amanises even gave me a way to contact Her… I didn't think much about it at that time but, why would She favor a random stranger ? Even if I was composed of a bit of her power, there must be another reason…
While I was spaced out, a crimson light shone.
I looked at the people appearing one by one.
As expected, Pallez didn't come (that coward !), He must be waiting to see what will happen to Leonard first. Leonard came because of the goddess' oracle… Mr. Azik is there~. As I thought, I need to make Roselle say the Fool's honorific name myself to make Him come, or else Mr. Fool can't locate Him and clean the corruption…
Wow, Amanises is there~.
Lilith must have given an oracle to Emlyn but he is not here yet, he should come next time.
In the end, Audrey, no, Miss Justice stood up and bowed to the others.
« Good afternoon~. I am Miss Justice. »
The Hanged Man followed suit but the others stayed silent.
The two looked at each other. They were surprised to see that there were 4 new people.
The Fool threw a glance in my direction (Amanises did too… Nah, it must be my imagination, I am invisible… *not convinced.jpg*) and introduced the other members.
I know that The World should be looking at the aura of the members right now, he must be shocked. Hehe~.
(Author : The girl didn't realize that her aura could betray her presence.)
A bit more fog condensed in front of me.
« Good afternoon. Here are Miss Justice, Mr. Hanged Man, Mr. Death… »
His gaze passed by me.
Please stop looking at me ! They could really guess that I'm here at this rate…
« …Mr. Star, … »
That guy is still so relaxed…
Did you know that the goddess you believe in is only a few meters away from you ? Tsk tsk.
« …Mr. World and … »
Yeah. You just hesitated on the Miss or Mrs., right ? Even the Fool has to be respectful to gods or are you just influenced by your first life and you quite like this fellow transmigrator ? Hehe~. I guess I am too accustomed to mocking The Fool. I sighed. Why did you choose to not remember me…
« …The High Priestess. »
In the end you didn't choose, you coward ! Just settle on "Miss" High Priestess ! After all, Amanises still "looks" pretty young… I'm so blasphemous…
The goddess greeted back.
Oh my~, Amanises' voice is still as beautiful as always~! Sigh.
With me 8/22 of the seats are taken and at least one person should come next time.
Miss Justice spoke up first :
« Mr. Hanged Man, did you receive the box of Ghost Shark blood ? »
« Thank you very much. It perfectly met my expectations. I never expected you to send it to me so quickly. The Ghost Shark blood is not the typical Beyonder creature. » said Alger frankly
Audrey smiled humbly and said :
« I'm very happy to see this outcome. »
Well, your family's vault is so…
Alger looked deeply at The Fool who was enveloped in fog before turning his head back with a smile.
« According to our agreement, I will tell you the formula to the potion, Spectator. »
« Let me prepare myself. Alright, begin. »
Audrey inhaled as she focused her full attention on Alger's words.
The others just looked at them.
I somehow feel that even The Fool is interested with the new developments that could happen with these new members in the Tarot club. (Xin Jian can feel Mr. Fool's feelings when she is above the gray fog. The Fool is indeed interested in the future developments.)
« Low-Sequence potions are very easy to concoct. Just follow the order that I provide you. Do remember that there can be smaller quantities of the ingredients but not more. It would cause major problems. You should have heard about news of Beyonders losing control. I believe there's no need for me to repeat it ? »
I still thought that Mr. Hanged Man's cautiousness would increase with the presence of new members. Should I bring in the True Creator ? *serious look.jpg*
*The Fool has a bad feeling.jpg*
(Everyone should feel fortunate that Xin Jian has already associated someone for each of the 22 seats because there were also Adam, Amon and Medici in the waiting list…)
-> Xin Jian's presence increases human nature.
Who knows ? Maybe if I brought in Tianzun, He would let Mr. Fool alone… (this is a baseless conclusion) After all, The Fool told me to do as I want and he can still restart…
*The Fool's bad feeling is intensifying !*
(Ahem. Let's go back to the conversation.)
Audrey nodded gently and said :
« I understand completely. »
No, you don't.
Others looked at them strangely.
*"Are you really bringing a pure and naive girl/ordinary person in the Beyonder world ?" look.jpg*
No, I should say ".gif" or else it's too repetitive…
Alger thought for a moment before saying :
« Having smaller quantities does not mean it should deviate by too much… If you do not have an assistant, I suggest you spend some time familiarizing yourself with chemistry experiment. »
« I have a family tutor for such matters. » answered Audrey without feeling the burden
After Alger mentioned the furthest extent of the deviation, he recited the potion formula of sequence 9 Spectator.
Er, maybe The Fool should have told you that you can have a private exchange… I should say it next time… You could also write it down…
Then Alger spoke about cogitation.
Hey, that's boring if others don't speak… Are you ghosts ? You. Are. Not. Invisible ! (Unlike me.) So please speak.
Then I mumbled :
« Acting method… »
The Fool heard it (and blocked the sound) but Amanises was faster and explained the acting method before Him (hey ! You shouldn't even hear me !).
Also, does The Fool still need to collect Roselle's diary ? It shouldn't be the case…
« To digest the potion faster, there is a method called the "acting method". You must act like the name of the potion. »
The two turned to the High Priestess.
The Hanged Man mumbled the words "digest" and "acting" before saying :
« Miss High Priestess, this information is as valuable as my life, I wonder what you might want in exchange ? »
Then, your life.
No, just convert to the goddess of sleepy flowers, we still need you alive (maybe ?)…
I look forward to what she will ask in exchange…
Amanises shook her head and said :
« I only said what "someone" wanted you to know. Also, it should already be common knowledge to the others… But remember that you are only acting and to not disclose at will or the official Beyonders will make you swear an oath to not reveal it to others. »
Someone… So she really knew I was there ! Tch.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Azik, no, Mr. Death was the first (among the new members) to bring up a commission :
« I would like to know what is the reason why I lose my memories every 60 years and find myself in a coffin… and what you know about the god of death and Ince Zangwill. I will pay in exchange. » (He said something more detailed about his situation but in short it means that.)
Amanises chuckled.
Even Her laugh is pretty ! I can die in peace now… (That's a joke.)
She said :
« I have information on Ince Zangwill and the god of death but… for your situation, I think that the angel who introduced you to this gathering should know the truth. » (She is speaking about Xin Jian.)
I can feel her smiling through the fog.
Ah, I just thought about something. I AM an angel… the angel of bullshit !*proud.jpg* I am sure that no one can surpass me in this aspect ! (No I am not so sure anymore… There really are some strange people on this planet.)
While my thoughts went farther and farther away, Azik raised a brow and nodded.
« Do you want a private exchange ? » asked the goddess
Azik said yes (then they married and lived happily ever after… sorry that's the wrong story) and inquired about what the goddess wanted in exchange (a marriage, please get married and adopt Klein).
The goddess answered :
« Don't worry, you will pay in time. »
Like "all gifts of fate are marked with prices" or "you'll let me have the death's uniqueness anyway" ?
So the goddess and Azik had a private exchange and not much happened while we waited.
Ugh, I don't want Mr. Azik to become colder because he recovers his memories…
Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man don't have anymore commissions… Mr. Star unexpectedly did not say anything and Mr. World is observing the situation… It will soon be the end, right ? Sigh… After the gathering, I still have so much things to do… I should make a list. I like making lists, it's useful.
At the end of the private exchange, Miss Justice was curious and asked Mr. Death :
« Mr. Death, do you know an angel ? »
The Hanged Man turned his head and Mr. World leaned forward.
No, they're speaking about me and I am not an angel.
The High Priestess chuckled and answered in Mr. Azik's stead :
« It's one of The Fool's angels and she is very brave and lovely. »
I repeat : I am not an angel, I'm not even a Beyonder. Or is it that I'm so cute that the goddess mistook me for an angel ? No, it shouldn't. After all, Pallez isn't cute, Azik isn't cute, Medici isn't cute, Amon isn't cute, Arianna… Wait, it is indeed a possibility… (Translation : Arianna is cute and Will should be cute too so maybe the goddess really mistook me for an angel because of my cuteness.)
She added :
« Her presence alone helps to strengthen human nature. »
Can I ? Wait, why didn't I know that I could do that ? Is it because my facial expressions are so obvious and diversified that you can't help but feel something too ? (Answer : somehow. For the metaphor, it's like when a gloomy person encounters a cheerful person in novels.)
A few seconds of silence passed.
« It seems like there's nothing else ? » said Alger
« Perhaps we can have a casual chat. We can talk about things happening around us. Perhaps it is something very normal to you, but in the ears of others, it might be a very important clue. » said Audrey to Mr. Fool
« Sure. » Mr. Fool nodded lightly.
« Then, shall we begin with you, Mr. Hanged Man? » Audrey agreed in excitement.
Alger thought for a moment before saying : « The infamous pirate who calls himself Lieutenant General Deweyville has begun his voyage to explore the eastern end of the Sonia Sea again. »
I listened attentively.
After all, "German Sparrow" will go to sea to digest his faceless potion. Whatever me and Mr. Fool changed in the past, it always happened. So, if I mess up the storyline, it could be important.
« Oh ? The owner of the Black Tulip ? » returned Audrey with a question after some thought.
« Yes. » Alger replied with a nod.
I have a question. Why does Audrey know more than me about pirates ?
Next, Mr. Star spoke up :
« According to what I know, the Secret Order has lost an Antigonus family notebook. »
I choked.
Cough cough cough !
How did you end up saying that ?!
Great, now your colleague should have figured out who you are…
(While Xin Jian was choking, Mr. World turned to Mr. Star and thought :
"How did he know that ? Is a part of the Secret Order or an official Beyonder related to the case ? Wait, this gay vibe…")
« An Antigonus family notebook ? » Alger repeated before smiling with a shake of his head. « I'm really curious as to what reaction the Church of the Evernight Goddess will have if they learn of it. »
Klein and Leonard turned to Alger while I turned to Amanises (who was looking at Leonard).
And that girl is smiling… Look, Leonard, even your goddess is mocking you ! Pallez definitely missed your education !
Meanwhile, Pallez : Achoo ! Is someone speaking ill of me ?
I swear, if Pallez doesn't come to the Tarot club in the end, his seat will be given to Amon !
Why is The Fool looking at me ? Did I say my thoughts out loud ? No, then is the spiritual intuition of great old ones that good ?! Then it will make it harder for me to get revenge… (get revenge because Mr. Fool erased His memories of her)
At that moment, Leonard asked :
« What sort of special reaction would the Goddess's church have ? »
Alger smiled and said :
« The Antigonus family was destroyed by the Church of the Evernight Goddess. I'm not really sure if it happened at the end of the Fourth Epoch or the early stages of the present epoch. »
*Klein is shocked.jpg*
After hearing The Hanged Man's explanation, Audrey said with deep interest :
« I never imagined that such a thing would happen… Alright, my turn. Let me think of what I have to share. »
She cocked her head and held her head up with her hand before chuckling.
« Yesterday, my etiquette teacher taught me how to faint, how to faint elegantly without any faux paus. It's a practical skill used at social events to avoid awkward situations or nasty guys… »
Wow, that's amazing. I want to learn that too !
« Heh heh. I was just organizing my thoughts. What I really wanted to say is that ever since the failure of the battle on Balam's eastern shore, the king, premier, and gentlemen are under immense stress. They eagerly wish to change. »
Is it time for the reform proposition ?
Hmm… I remember that I was interested in it so I asked Mr. Fool to explain it since I didn't really understand it when it was said in the first few rounds… After that, I tried to memorize the reform proposition word for word since it could be useful…
While Audrey recalled the conversation between her father and elder brother about the situation, she put in her own words :
« They believe that the government's structure is too chaotic. Every election, if there is a change of the ruling party, there will be a change of personnel from top to bottom. It makes things a mess and lowers efficiency tremendously. Not only does it cause the battle loss, it also brings great inconvenience to the civilians. »
When the Hanged Man, Alger, heard that he interjected with a soft chuckle.
« They believe? Then their beliefs are a little slow. Perhaps they will only feel the itch a year after they get bitten by black mosquitoes. »
Ignoring the Hanged Man's mockery, Audrey expressed the core information of what she said :
« Unfortunately, they are temporarily unable to find a good solution to replace this system. »
And this is Mr. Fool's turn !
*silence.jpg*
Seriously ?!
Has it been so long that you also have memory problems or are you just too lazy to explain now that you have divinity ?!
I murmured : « This is a simple problem. »
The Fool blocked the sound for me and repeated it.
Seriously ! You should be glad that I memorized it ! It is not because you gave up that you should stop maintaining your status as a mysterious great being ! Weren't you scared of social death ?! How badly did you manage your humanity for the little time I haven't seen you ?