After bidding farewell to Kaspars, Snow began his tour of Backlund. His contact with an ordinary person like Kaspars, aside from the line to Miss Sharron, was primarily to provide a safety net for Klein.
Because he had let Trissy snatch the notebook and killed Sirius early, though he'd avoided Dunn's breakdown, he'd also caused Klein to miss out on the [Clown] potion formula. Although he'd mentioned having the formula under the pretext of investigating Lanevus, he was truly worried that Klein wouldn't find a suitable reason to take it from him.
He couldn't exactly let the dear Mr. Fool use his "Great Perfection" Seer strength to deal with Master Rosago, could he? Speaking of which, Master Rosago had contributed formulas from Sequence 7 to 5 in one go to Klein in the original work--one shouldn't add more burden to the man.
Therefore, the Beyonder gathering of the old gentleman, Eye of Wisdom, became the safety net project. Although according to his plan, he had a high probability of leaking the [Clown] formula to Mr. Fool in the next-to-next Tarot meeting, what if Justice and The Hanged Man didn't take the bait?
In any case, as long as Klein came to Backlund, the Bravehearts Bar was definitely one of the easiest Beyonder gatherings for him to find. Well, the other was Mr. A's gathering.
...
While Snow was worrying himself to death for Mr. Fool, Mr. Fool himself was having a headache. Although he had discovered some information regarding Mr. Azik, firstly, the news came from that unfamiliar female Beyonder and he worried it might be a trap; secondly... Mr. Azik had gone "seal fishing."
Though according to what Mr. Azik said before leaving, he should be ending his vacation in a few days, considering the current tense atmosphere in Tingen, whether he would enter the city at this time was still a question.
And there was another matter...
He had already finished digesting the [Seer] potion.
At this point, he regretted not exchanging for the [Clown] potion formula from Mr. Devil. Since the other party had left Tingen, he had completely lost the channel to obtain the next stage of the potion.
Although he knew the other party was in Backlund, he had no reason to go find him. Meanwhile, the chaotic situation in Tingen made him desperate to improve his strength.
Just the night before he and the Captain returned from the town of Lamud, a sensational blood sacrifice had occurred in Tingen. Although the Mandated Punishers discovered the problem in time, the ritual had already begun. Even though all the cultists were killed on the spot, those innocent people affected had, at best, lost several years of their lifespan.
'How can I get the [Clown] formula from Mr. Devil? Should I say "I have a blessed one"? No, no, that's too forced. As expected, I still need news that the other party is interested in! What is he interested in? Lanevus? Megane? If I knew where they were, I would have reported them long ago!'
In the midst of the summer cicadas' chirping, the days passed one by one. In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed since the eighth Tarot meeting, and the time was gradually approaching three in the afternoon.
...
"It's time." Looking at the wall clock, Snow took a deep breath. In the last Tarot meeting, he hadn't dared to speak for fear of being too forced. Today, no matter what, he had to hand over the [Clown] potion formula!
As he pondered, deep red light surged like a tide. Snow appeared once again above the gray fog, and to his left, there was once again a new male member.
'He's here!' Snow was inwardly relieved that "Little Sun" hadn't vanished due to his butterfly effect. He felt full of confidence for today's actions. However, he didn't speak first, because the first opening line of the Tarot meeting must be left to Miss Justice!
Regrettably, today Mr. Fool stole Miss Justice's opening line, speaking to everyone in a steady voice, "This is a new member, title: [The Sun]."
"This is Miss [Justice], this is Mr. [The Hanged Man], and this is Mr. [The Devil]."
Though he didn't hear Miss Justice's sweet and energetic greeting due to Mr. Fool's intervention, Snow had no intention of holding a grudge. He simply modified the diary content he had prepared slightly.
"Mr. Fool, I have collected two more pages of Emperor Roselle's diary." Miss Justice spoke with delight after a brief silence. But Snow was in no hurry to speak, because he was waiting--waiting for a very important piece of news.
'New diary pages?'
Klein felt a jolt of spirit at the words, temporarily ignoring the problem of how to fleece the potion formula from the Devil. He spoke with a light smile, "Very good, Miss [Justice]. What do you require?"
Miss Justice naturally proposed the formula for the [Telepath] potion, and "Little Sun" also spoke up at the appropriate time to participate.
But Snow remained silent throughout, because he was waiting for the Fool's answer.
He wanted to confirm whether Mr. Fool had "sought death" by peeking at the Eternal Blazing Sun's divine blood.
If he had, it would naturally be for the best. If not, Snow would have to take a risk and induce Klein to perform that suicidal act.
Fortunately, the Fool was still that same "reckless yet cautious" Fool. He easily produced the formula for the [Bard] potion and completed the triangular trade. In that moment of silence, Snow finally spoke, "Mr. Fool, I have also memorized a page of Emperor Roselle's diary."
'Memorized? It seems Mr. Devil's house really does have many "Roselle" diaries!' Seeing that Miss Justice had already manifested her pages, Klein immediately asked, "Then, what do you wish to obtain?"
"I hope to obtain a high-powered Beyonder item. Disposable items like demon-hunting bullets or charms are also acceptable, but the power must reach Sequence 7 or above.
"Although one page of diary isn't worth that price, I have a batch of diaries in my hands; I just need time to memorize them.
"In addition, I have a batch of potion formulas but no sales channel. I hope to use the channels of other members to sell them. I can pay thirty percent of the transaction amount as a reward, and I hope Mr. Fool can act as a notary."
"A batch..." Justice and The Hanged Man were both shocked by Mr. Devil's unit of measurement. At the same time, they were curious about which formulas Mr. Devil actually held. Mr. Fool was inwardly overjoyed, but he couldn't let it show too clearly. He simply nodded slightly:
"Accepted."
Then, with a comfortable mood, he began to read the Roselle diaries submitted by the two members.
Interchangeable high-sequence pathways, a mysterious and powerful ancient organization, and the mysterious cards corresponding to the divine pathways--these contents made Klein very satisfied. In order not to delay the members' time, he didn't think much further and picked up the diary page submitted by Mr. Devil--
'As expected, the handwriting is much more pleasant to look at... Pfft!'
It was only thanks to the barrier of the gray fog that Mr. Fool's dignity didn't completely collapse. As for what content could make Mr. Fool's expression management nearly fail, it was all due to the sentence written on the first line of this diary page--
"Yesterday that high-level Secret Order member tasted pretty good; Roselle who only sleeps with noble ladies is too weak!"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]
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A/N: Regarding the Original's guesswork: I believe the splitting and aggregation of the Primordial One was intentional. To classify and reorganize the chaotic Beyonder powers, the Primordial One might have fragmented his powers to "purify" the pathways upon re-aggregation, much like tearing a multicolored paper into scraps to sort the colors more precisely.
T/N: The Sun (太阳).
Added to the Tarot Club. This marks the beginning of the "Little Sun" (小太阳) era in the club.
T/N: Clown (小丑).
The Sequence 8 of the Seer pathway. Note that Snow is intentionally providing "troll" diary entries to maintain his persona while helping Klein.