Alger briefly and concisely introduced the Oracles of the Aurora Order, and Snow added at this point, "The Oracle that has arrived in Tingen is Mr. A, a Sequence 5 Beyonder. As for the child of the evil god, it is a child gestated by a qualified woman for the evil god through a wicked and distorted ritual. It highly likely possesses divinity and is a natural Mythical Creature. Once born, it will likely be a demigod."
"A demigod?!" Audrey's beautiful eyes widened. She was only a Sequence 9 who had just obtained Beyonder powers--how was she already hearing news about Sequence 5s and demigods? The rank of the Tarot Club was truly high!
But more importantly, what sequence was Mr. Devil, who could obtain such information?
"Correct. In fact, the most terrifying thing about a child of an evil god is that it could become a vessel for the evil god's descent. That is why the official Beyonders in Tingen are risking the danger of losing control to search for its whereabouts." Snow spoke with an underlying hint, though Mr. Fool clearly didn't pick up on the suggestion in his words.
Listening to Snow, Mr. Hanged Man felt a bit uneasy. Compared to his somewhat common knowledge, the information provided by Mr. Devil was clearly more precise and secretive. This gave him a strong sense of crisis.
The power and uniqueness of Mr. Fool were already confirmed. Even if He was not a deity, He was surely a high-level entity like the Hidden Sage.
With such a powerhouse presiding, the expansion of the Tarot Club was almost inevitable. To maintain a foothold with his mere Sequence 7 status, he had to have his own positioning.
Miss Justice came from a major Loen noble family, with vast funds and connections. He only needed to provide Beyonder knowledge to stand his ground.
But now, this 'Devil' appeared to have richer Beyonder knowledge and information channels than him, and likely had an entire major family behind him.
This began to affect his role as the "Information Provider."
To continue maintaining his status in the Tarot Club, he had to develop a new "persona." With this in mind, he spoke after a moment of thought, "If that's the case, I think I can roughly guess what happened in Backlund."
Yes, since he couldn't be the eyes or the purse, he would try to be the "brain." Straining his mind, he spoke to Justice and Devil, who were already paying attention, "The Aurora Order consists of mad zealots. Even setting aside the Mythical Creature status of the child, and considering only its position as the offspring of the Fallen Creator, the members of the Aurora Order would protect it at any cost. As a Sequence 5, Mr. A would naturally be unrivaled in a small place like Tingen. However, once the elite Beyonder squads from the three major Churches arrive, he highly likely wouldn't be able to protect that 'child'. In this situation, as the person in charge of the Aurora Order in Backlund, how do you think he would act?"
"Find a way to stall the elite squads... you mean..." Audrey's brain, enhanced by the potion, reacted instantly. Alger nodded and continued:
"Undoubtedly, the Aurora Order members in Backlund are likely creating Beyonder incidents frantically. Their targets are likely the noble class, as only then can they force those nobles to pressure the three major Churches to use the elite squads originally intended for Tingen to protect their own safety instead."
'As expected of the Hanged Man [The Political Commissar]!' Snow thought about the Aurora Order's style and found that it indeed fit Mr. A's way of doing things. However, after this operation, the strength of the Aurora Order in Backlund would likely suffer a massive loss.
Of course, this had little to do with him. After considering the potential impact, Snow roughly guessed Ince's new script.
Audrey almost refuted him on the spot, but after cooling down with the power of the 'Spectator', she had to admit that the kingdom's nobles were indeed capable of such a thing.
Seeing the atmosphere turn heavy, Klein waved his hand to end the Tarot gathering. As his consciousness returned to his body, he frowned slightly, 'If it's truly as Mr. Hanged Man says, Backlund probably won't be able to send reinforcements for a long time. If only I had kept some of that lady's hair back then! With the power of the grey fog to block interference, I surely could have found her!'
...
Unaware that Mr. Fool seemed to have developed a fetish for collecting others' hair, Snow had already sat up. After handing a dried fish to Lily, who was helping him watch the door, he began to consider his next move.
He had originally intended to return to Backlund soon, but after hearing the news from Miss Justice, he abandoned that idea.
While he didn't know how much of Mr. A's behavior was influenced by Ince Zangwill, there truly wasn't much left for him to interfere with.
After a brief thought, Snow's gaze turned back to Lily, who was munching on the dried fish. As if understanding his look, Lily held the fish and began munching three times faster than before, as if saying--wait until I'm done before we do anything.
...
'It seems it's time to move again!' Peering at the official Beyonders passing by on the street from the edge of the bed, Trissy bit her lip and began packing her bags.
Though she called it packing, she hadn't really had much to pack lately given her frequent moves. Important things were in her crate; she only needed to stuff some clothes and bedding into a suitcase before set out on her journey for a new residence once more.
By reverse-applying the makeup techniques granted by the potion, her harmonious and beautiful face quickly became ordinary and plain. This makeup technique--which did not involve any Beyonder power--could effectively bypass most detections, allowing her to leave right under the noses of the official Beyonders.
"With such a beautiful face, it's a bit of a pity to paint it like that."
"!" The sudden appearance of the voice made Trissy transition into a combat stance. If she hadn't been wary of the nearby official Beyonders, she would have used her Beyonder abilities instinctively.
"Can you please not always appear so silently?" Trissy looked at the black cat before her, a trace of lingering fear on her face. Despite having moved several times, how did this fellow find her again? "I've told you many times: don't be superstitious about your anti-divination abilities." Snow, possessing Lily, grinned, revealing a somewhat terrifying smile. Under the high-level status of 'A White Horse is Not a Horse', he could easily bypass a Witch's anti-divination to lock onto Trissy's location. As for the source of the lock, it was quite interesting--a clump of hair Trissy had given him back then.
"Forget it. What is it this time? Who do I kill?" Trissy twitched her mouth, ultimately deciding not to dwell on the issue. Snow, however, wore a saddened expression, "Don't make it sound like I only come to you for killing. I'm quite a lover of peace!"
"Right. You, who love peace, have known me for twenty days and have asked me to kill three people. That's an average of one a week..."
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]
---
T/N: The Political Commissar (Dao Zhengwei - 倒政委)
A popular Chinese fans-nickname for Alger Wilson (The Hanged Man). "Dao" (倒) refers to Hanged Man (倒吊人), and "Zhengwei" (政委) means Political Commissar. It refers to his role as a strategist and authority figure in the Tarot Club who often explains situations and sets the "ideological" tone, much like a commissar in a military unit.