A little past two on Monday afternoon, Odis arrived at the backyard of the herbal shop as usual to 'take an afternoon nap'...
To avoid drawing attention during the Tarot Club gatherings, he had been pretending to take afternoon naps every day, and now he had genuinely developed the habit. To that end, he had to fight to stay awake until three o'clock while lying in his lounge chair.
At three o'clock sharp, Odis's vision was enveloped by gray fog. The next second, he had already appeared in the Giant Palace, seated at one side of the mottled ancient bronze long table.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool." The greeting from Audrey echoed in the hall, giving Odis the strange sensation of hearing the school bell ring.
As usual, Audrey greeted everyone while observing the other members: 'Little Sun no longer seems anxious. It appears his problem has been resolved...'
Once the greeting segment ended, no one had offered a sacrifice of Emperor Roselle's diary this week, so they skipped Mr. Fool's reading session.
Derrick spoke first, "Thank you all for your help. My suspicion has been preliminarily cleared..."
He then briefly recounted how Darc had come to see him, how he had made the other completely lose control, pretended to cough, and handed over the Worm of Time. Finally, with Mr. Fool's help, he had passed the examination administered by the Psyche Analyst, and was essentially cleared of all suspicion by Chief Colin. {T/N: Psyche Analyst is basically the old name for Sequence 7 Psychiatrist of the Visionary Pathway...}
When Audrey heard that the appetizing mushroom the young man named Darc had brought out actually turned into a bloodstained scalp with short black hair, she felt a bit nauseous.
Fors, however, thought to herself: 'Little Sun's storytelling skills are terrible. If I were writing this, the part about the bloodstained scalp would absolutely be the climax of the story.'
After Derrick finished speaking, he thanked everyone again.
Alger asked, "Is that Shepherd elder currently under investigation?"
"Yes," Derrick replied. He was already accustomed to Mr. Hanged Man making such accurate deductions, "Later, I heard that after Darc's incident, Elder Lovia was imprisoned at the bottom of the spire." He smiled and added, "I believe the Council's investigation will definitely bring the truth to light, remove Lovia from her position as elder, and define the 'True Creator' as an evil god."
Alger, however, was not so optimistic. He asked, "Has Elder Lovia shown any signs of losing control?"
"I've heard there are no signs at all," Derrick said, "But that's highly abnormal because all the other members of the exploration team lost control, yet she alone did not. The Council of Six should recognize that, just like the former exploration team captain who was Parasitized by Amon, Elder Lovia is very dangerous."
Alger hummed in acknowledgment, saying, "She is indeed very dangerous, but from your chief's perspective, such danger can be exploited. If I'm not mistaken, this Shepherd elder will likely be released at an opportune moment."
Not only Derrick, but Audrey also failed to understand why that would be the case, "Mr. Hanged Man, now that little Sun's suspicion has been cleared, doesn't that prove that the Shepherd elder is highly problematic? Why would she still be released?"
Alger smiled confidently, "In the eyes of the City of Silver's chief, there are indeed problems with the Shepherd elder, but those problems might also contain opportunities to help the City of Silver escape its predicament." He said seriously, "Opportunities don't come knocking on their own. Most of the time, you have to create them yourself. Since the Shepherd elder is suspected of having connections with the True Creator, why not try to use those connections to help the City of Silver break free?"
Derrick clenched his fists, "But... but that's an evil god!"
"The City of Silver has been trapped in darkness for over two thousand years," Alger countered, "For your chief not to have immediately turned to the True Creator already shows great restraint and wisdom."
The hall fell silent...
Audrey and the other members understood Mr. Hanged Man's meaning. After enduring darkness for more than two millennia, the City of Silver would grasp at any chance to escape such a fate, even if it came from an evil god.
Derrick lowered his head, lost in thought.
Alger continued, "You shouldn't worry too much. Your chief is handling this matter with great discretion. He fully understands how dangerous an evil god can be. So even if he uses the power of an evil god, he will be very cautious and avoid bringing danger to the City of Silver. I believe that after more than two thousand years of groping in the dark, your Council has enough wisdom to solve the current problems and seize opportunities when appropriate."
Derrick's mood improved slightly, "Then... then what should I do?"
Alger spread his hands, "Just do what you're supposed to do. In other words, act normal and avoid arousing suspicion."
Odis, who had remained silent until now, added, "Don't speak ill of Elder Lovia, don't point out problems with her Beyonder Pathway, and especially don't openly question the True Creator."
Alger nodded, "Yes, that's a crucial point."
Derrick was about to ask why, but before he could voice the question, he decided to think it through himself.
After a few seconds, he suddenly looked up, "I understand. Even if I spoke up, no one would believe me. Instead, it would make the chief suspicious of me again."
Odis smiled, "You're improving," then added, "Another reason is that would be too conspicuous. In the future, Elder Lovia might go after those close to you because of it, which would be detrimental to you quietly building up your strength."
Derrick said earnestly, "I know what to do now. Thank you, Mr. Hanged Man, and you too, Mr. Hermit. Thank you both for your help."
Odis raised his hand slightly, indicating it was nothing, "I have new needs for this gathering."
With The Sun's problem resolved, the Tarot Club quickly returned to its trading segment.
The others listened attentively to The Hermit's request. Audrey, in particular, had many questions she wanted to ask Mr. Hermit, but he never seemed short of gold pounds.
She could only ask her questions and get the answers she wanted by trading mystical materials or things he needed.
Odis said, "I need the fruit of a Fleabane Tree."
He planned to try trading at the Tarot Club first. If he couldn't get the materials, he would propose a trade with the Queen Mystic.
When Audrey heard the mystical material Mr. Hermit needed, she nearly lost her composure as a Spectator Pathway Beyonder.
She cleared her throat to mask her excitement, then raised her hand slightly and asked, "How many do you need?"
Odis was momentarily taken aback before saying, "Two."
He was a bit puzzled: 'Does she actually have Fleabane Tree fruits? Where did she get them? The Psychology Alchemists, perhaps?'
"That's doable!" Audrey said with a smile, "Mr. Hermit, I have some Fleabane Tree fruits."
And not just two, she had at least four of them stored in her family's warehouse. When she had gone there to look for the main ingredient of the Spectator potion, she had browsed the extraordinary materials stored there, and fruits of the Fleabane Tree were among them.
Odis smiled and said, "You are indeed a resourceful young lady, miss Justice. Would you like to be paid in gold pounds, or maybe something else?"
"I'd like to ask you some questions!" Then Audrey said, somewhat embarrassed, "It's not really my resourcefulness, it's... it's family accumulation. Yes, family accumulation."
Alger was slightly taken aback, asking, "You were born into a Beyonder family?"
'Then why did you come to me to buy potion formulas?' he added inwardly.
"No, it's complicated..." Audrey hesitated for a moment before saying, "Alright, I saw this mystical material in my family's warehouse before."
'Her family's warehouse, she says...' Behind the gray fog, Klein felt as if a mouthful of blood had risen to his throat, nearly spitting it out.
Alger also marveled inwardly: 'Nobles really are wealthy...'
Fors, on the other hand, had begun fantasizing: 'If I had such a warehouse... hehe~'
Since the topic had come up, Audrey raised a question she had in her mind, "As far as I know, it seems most members of noble families aren't Beyonders, yet they still store extraordinary materials. Why is that?"
Klein thought to himself: 'Why are you asking us? It's not like we know what noble life is like.'
Odis answered, "I've heard that some nobles store Beyonder characteristics or extraordinary materials to preserve their wealth. Both Beyonder characteristics and extraordinary materials are relatively stable... well, I mean, Beyonder characteristics below Sequence 5. Their prices are more stable than gold, largely unaffected by currency devaluation, and they often carry a premium. They're a better wealth preservation product than gold."
Finally, he added jokingly, "Consider this a complimentary answer."
Fors sighed inwardly: 'Xio and I toil endlessly and can barely afford to buy potion formulas to complete our advancement, while nobles use them to preserve their wealth?'
Alger also suddenly felt as if he and miss Justice lived in two different worlds.
Hearing The Hermit's explanation, Audrey nodded slowly, "So that's how it is. Mr. Hermit, thank you for your answer." Then she asked, "Shall we begin the transaction now?"
Odis hummed in acknowledgment, "Ask away."
Audrey felt somewhat conflicted. Currently, she had two questions she wanted to ask... one about more intelligence on Amon, and another about mystical symbols.
After a moment's hesitation, she said, "I want to learn more about Amon!"
For Audrey, Amon was currently the only other High-Sequence Beyonder she could possibly access besides Mr. Fool. She was deeply interested in Amon's abilities.
"The value of that intelligence is higher than a main ingredient of the Sequence 7 tier," Odis said, "I can still only trade you part of the information."
"Alright!" Audrey was not disappointed, on the contrary, she was delighted, because this meant the intelligence she was about to trade for would be highly valuable.
Odis asked again, "Do you want to hear it privately, or should I share it openly?"
"Share it openly," Audrey answered with a smile, "Perhaps this intelligence might be helpful to the other members as well."
"Your virtue is admirable," Alger praised her on behalf of the other members.
~~~
{T/N: I'm attending the next chapter now. I should be done in about 4 hours, 5 at most...}