Sirius stood in silence under the gaze of the rest of the Tarot Club members.
Even Loki was a little surprised by the words that had come out of Sirius's mouth.
So he made Mr. World speak-
"Although I am glad that I can share the greatness of our Lord and Saviour Mr. Error. I am confused about what brought about this sudden change in you Mr. Star."
Sirius turned to look at Mr. World and then spoke after a soft nod.
"I have recently understood my great ignorance about the matters regarding the Tarot club. My disrespect to the gathering alone should've been enough for Mr. Error to smite me down-"
"-But given his magnanimous heart and kind feelings towards us all as he bears with our frankly childish behaviour I knew I had to redeem myself."
While everyone was either surprised or laughing internally, Loki was frowning.
'His Body of Heart and Mind…'
'It's well protected…'
'Much better than his usual mental defensive rune work.'
'Is he trying to cook up something, or is he genuinely sorrowful about his actions?'
'He shouldn't be of the crafty sort…but I don't know him well enough to be a judge of his actions…'
'But I think I can lay a trap for him to see how he reacts…'
So with his mind made up, Loki made Mr. World speak up again.
"I understand your eagerness Mr. Star. And I have just the right mission for you if you'd like to prove your eagerness to Mr. Error. Perhaps you might even become his blessed in the future if you do well?"
Everyone was surprised by Mr. World's words.
Especially Mr. Devil who gained a crafty look in his eyes.
'To become one's blessed so easily?'
'I should inform the Lo- master about this…'
Sirius looked excited too, as if the very thing he'd desired had happened. Yet, when he opened his mouth, he appeared elegant and refined, or at least tried to if not for his casual words.
"So like…erm…what would the mission be?"
Mr. World looked around at everyone for a few seconds before speaking in a humorous tone.
"How would you like an assassination mission? There has been someone who has repeatedly attacked the blessed of Mr. Error. They have been relentless and have even attacked me a couple of times. And even though they failed each time with none of their plans succeeding, it would be a perfect test for you to show your ability."
Hermione and Dominic froze when they heard the word, assassination.
Even Sirius looked a little uncertain while Snape, Crouch and Fleur all looked at Mr. World with an inquisitive gaze.
Each one of them was either surprised by the ruthlessness of the first mission that Sirius was being given, or curious about what Sirius's response would be.
And so they all waited with bated breaths for Sirius's next words.
But not being one to shy away from a challenge, Sirius spoke calmly-
"Who would the target of this revenge be Mr. World?"
Loki wasted no more time and quickly addressed Sirius's question.
"The Aurora Order. As long as you can identify and kill at least a Sequence 5 Sheperd of the Secrets Supplicant pathway, the mission will be considered cleared. As a bonus, I could ask you to kill the current holder of the Beyonder Gatherings in Knockturn Alley, Mr. X."
'I mean…sweeping a potential enemy under the rug isn't really wrong is it?'
While everyone had expected Sirius to remain silent and even contemplate about his answer, they were surprised when Sirius responded almost immediately.
"I can do that! Would that mean that I can earn the grace of Mr. Error?" Sirius asked, speaking to Mr. World but looking at Mr. Error.
Mr. Error remained silent and it was Mr. World who responded.
"While I can't speak for Mr. Error's thoughts or stance, and can't confirm anything before the result of your mission, I can tell you this much, Mr. Error strictly adheres to the principle of equivalent exchange. If you help us, his blessed, he will make sure to treat you well."
Sirius's eyes sparkled.
"What do you think about it Mr. Star?" Mr. World finally asked with intrigue. There was a slight edge to his voice that made it seem sharp like a knife as Sirius felt the words cut into his mind and coerce an answer out of it without being able to do much against it.
With Mr. World's answer feeling satisfactory, Sirius nodded, "Alright. I'll do it."
Dominic was a little confused about how he would proceed.
'Should I inform Miss Laura about this?'
'But…wouldn't Mr. Error be angry if I do?'
'But this would ruin the balance of power in Knockturn Alley!'
Snape looked at Sirius judgingly while Fleur smiled as an idea struck her.
"Mr. World, could I have a mission like it too? I would like to contribute to Mr. Error too."
Everyone grew surprised since Miss Empress had never spoken since the start of the Tarot Club. Even when they all greeted Mr. Error at the start of the club, Miss Empress only ever nodded her head.
And so everyone was surprised, not just by her words or the eagerness with which she said them, but by the tone of her voice itself.
It had suddenly left everyone feeling a primal form of desire as soon as they heard Fleur's voice.
It was rather startling since they hadn't prepared against it, but it also revealed her identity to those who knew her.
Especially Hermione and Snape whose eyes instantly widened.
'Fleur!?'
'No way!'
Mr. World however was much calmer and spoke softly-
"Why don't we make this a competition, as long as either one of you performs the task you'll be rewarded appropriately by myself."
"Not by Mr. Error?" Fleur asked while looking at Mr. Error.
So Loki wrapped his hand around the edge of the table and spoke softly.
"Alright."
The acknowledgement caused a tangible joy in both Fleur and Sirius, but they managed to keep it well hidden.
With that, Sirius sat back down and relaxed into his seat after sparing Fleur a simple glance and disregarding her since she seemed very dainty and feminine, completely different from what he'd imagine a warrior to be like.
'Unless she's from the Assassin pathway…but is she from there really? Probably not.'
With the matter settled, Hermione was the one to ask a question next.
"Mr. World, if I might ask, what price would I have to pay to learn more about the inconsistencies in the acting methods of the various epochs?"
Everyone was slightly confused by the question but Loki understood it well.
"Are you referring to the reason why potions from different sequences have different names in different epochs?"
Hermione nodded.
Mr. World seemed to think about it for a few seconds before he spoke-
"You're too weak right now to offer me any direct help and I doubt you can afford very much. Instead, I would like to ask you if you would like to agree to help me out in the future if time needs it?"
Having nothing to lose with the bargain, Hermione quickly nodded but then remembered about the assassination mission which Sirius had just accepted and spoke up quickly.
"By Mr. Error as witness, I agree to help you out as long as the work doesn't go beyond my morals."
"I see…that should be good enough." Mr. World declared causing everyone in the gathering to fall silent. "Would you like me to tell everyone about this, or do you want to be the only person that hears this?"
Everyone looked at Hermione and it was clear that they were all trying to mentally pressure her into speaking in front of everyone.
Hermione was quick to pick up on this and fell into a little bit of a conundrum regarding the matter but soon forced out an accepting nod after saying, "You can share it with everyone."
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