"His emotions are very agitated, excited, worried, with both ecstasy and a hint of vigilance..." Klein quietly activated his Spirit Vision, judging the other party's mental state through the young man's aura. Standing across from him at the mottled bronze long table, Snow quickly came to his senses and spoke with the humble tone he had learned from the Aurora Order:
"Praise to You, great and benevolent existence, Snow von Penredax pays his respects to You."
'Snow? That's the suspect from this morning!' Klein finally remembered where he had heard the surname Penredax before, but he controlled his surprise well and spoke in a leisurely and relaxed tone:
"You don't need to be so formal. You may address me as, the Fool."
However, as soon as the words left his mouth, Klein suddenly noticed that the young man's expression became even more humble. He bowed deeply, lowering his head as well.
'Why would he react like this? Although his tone was humble before, it was just the kind of polite respect a weak person shows to a strong one, but now he's completely positioning himself as a subordinate... Could it be that the title 'Fool' has some special meaning?' Klein momentarily forgot his real intention for summoning the other party, but he quickly suppressed his confusion.
Rather than the issue of the title, the safety of Tingen was indeed more important now!
He carefully considered his tone, then spoke with a somewhat playful inflection:
"Relax a bit. I'm somewhat interested in your previous prayer. Tell me about it."
"Please forgive my impertinence for speaking so carelessly during my prayer..." Snow placed one hand on his chest and bowed, then raised his head and said:
"Honorable Mr. Fool, I come from a secretive and ancient family. Although the family has declined, it has left behind many precious books and secrets. In the process of pursuing my ancestors' glory, I accidentally encountered the Aurora Order. To save my life, I had no choice but to join this organization.
They forced me to drink the Secrets Suppliant potion—those madmen completely don't care about members' loyalty, because anyone who wants to digest the Secrets Suppliant potion has no choice but to pray to mysterious existences. But as You surely know, the True Creator has already fallen into madness, and once one prays to Him, one's spirit will inevitably be twisted.
Although I relied on an Beyonder item passed down through my family to fake the appearance of devout prayer, according to the Aurora Order's custom, if one fails to digest the Secrets Suppliant potion within two months, they will be considered disloyal to the True Creator and executed. Therefore, I hope to be able to pray to You in secret to digest the Secrets Suppliant potion."
'The Aurora Order? That organization that only appeared in the last one or two hundred years, worshipping the True Creator?
That's right! Hanass Vincent's incantation also indeed pointed to the True Creator, but... the True Creator has already fallen into madness? This Snow... or rather, the Penredax family he comes from, seems to know many secrets!
He risked using his family's inherited ritual to pray to a hidden existence, so it was to act as a Secrets Suppliant to digest the potion?
Also, that Beyonder item he mentioned, could it be the white horse I saw before?' Klein thought silently, then asked in a casual tone as if discussing street gossip:
"You mentioned earlier something about an evil god's descent?"
"Yes, honorable Mr. Fool." Snow nodded, speaking with a tone of respect mixed with a trace of worry:
"The members of the Aurora Order are all a bunch of madmen. They are constantly planning the True Creator's descent. I was sent to Tingen City half a month ago, and not long after, I learned of their plan to make the evil god descend from the mouth of a Secrets Suppliant.
I killed the two Secrets Suppliants who were the main organizers of the plan through sneak attacks, and reported it using the excuse that 'they attracted the attention of official Beyonders,' but according to what those two said, they had already planted a seed in Tingen. Even if I killed them, it would only delay things temporarily. If that seed cannot be found, when it erupts, the entire city... even the entire Kingdom of Loen will be completely destroyed."
'This!' After hearing Snow's words, Klein felt his hair stand on end, but at the same time, he began thinking about countermeasures.
Report Snow to the Church?
This thought was dismissed as soon as it appeared. Setting aside the fact that he had no reason to report someone the Captain had already judged to be without suspicion, even if they arrested him, they would only know that Tingen was facing a crisis.
On the contrary, if he continued to lurk in the Aurora Order, he might be able to gather more intelligence.
Moreover, the other party seemed to know many secrets. If he could get him to join the Tarot Club, he should be able to extract quite a bit of information.
Most importantly, this person had strong principles.
But how should he phrase it?
Directly ask him to investigate related intelligence?
Would that not match the Fool's image?
Or directly say he allows his request?
But what excuse should he use?
Or directly invite him to join the Tarot Club?
Seeing Mr. Fool at the head of the long table casually stroking the edge of the bronze table in a relaxed posture, Snow knew this gentleman must be struggling with how to organize his words. Just as he was considering whether to give Mr. Fool a way out, Mr. Fool suddenly chuckled softly:
"I am a Fool who likes equivalent exchange. If you want to obtain something, you must pay a corresponding price. What, then, can you offer?"
"My everything! My soul! My flesh and blood! As long as You desire it, all can be dedicated to You!" Snow's answer came almost without hesitation, but Mr. Fool chuckled and shook his head:
"I have no interest in mortal flesh and souls."
At this point, Klein glanced at the emotions sliding toward despair and said leisurely:
"But I can give you an opportunity!"
"You can use everything you can obtain to get what you want from me, from others similar to you. Note, it must be of equivalent value..."
"By the way, I'm also very interested in your intelligence about the evil god's descent. As compensation, I allow you to pray to me to digest your potion. Additionally, the gathering time is every Monday at 3 PM. Remember to ensure you're in a private environment. Of course, before that, you need to choose your codename."
Mr. Fool hinted that Snow could continue to exchange benefits using intelligence about the evil god's descent while taking out a deck of tarot cards and spreading them on the bronze long table:
"The gathering members have decided to use tarot card names as their respective codenames. However, Justice and The Hanged Man already have owners and cannot be chosen..."
"The Devil." Snow calmly gazed at Mr. Fool and, with almost no hesitation, announced this codename he had decided by rolling a twenty-sided die before coming:
"I am currently just a prisoner bound by chains, but I hope that one day I can become the reversed position and break free from my bonds."
"Remember your choice, and do not succumb to temptation."
PS: The Devil card represents temptation. In the upright position, it represents being bound, fallen, subjugated, and being a prisoner of desire, while in the reversed position, it represents breaking free from bonds, removing troubles, resisting temptation, and bidding farewell to the past. Incidentally, the original plan was to have the protagonist choose The Lovers card, as it would be very interesting to have Audrey call him "Mr. Lovers" at every meeting, but in the end, I chose The Devil, which better fits the character. Moreover, other pathways, even if they haven't joined the Tarot Club, have corresponding Tarot Club associates, but only the Abyss pathway—I'm afraid not a single person from that pathway would be able to join the Tarot Club, right?
(End of Chapter)