In that instant, Klein was stunned—a reaction so brief that only the sharpest members of the Tarot Club could detect it. But detect it they did. The Hanged Man, ever the one to fill in blanks with speculation, and the curious Miss Justice, both began wildly imagining what on earth he had just read.
Klein quickly manifested Audrey's earlier diary pages again and flipped to the final line:
"...it actually mentioned the name of the 'Primordial Demoness'...She is called Cheek."
These two "Cheeks"...could they be the same person?
He swiftly finished reading the remaining content, waves surging in his heart.
It's very likely they're the same!
That transmigrator senior…who exactly were they?
They casually mentioned beating up Cheek...Just how high a Sequence would someone have to be to even think of doing that?!
Wait a second! According to the diary, Cheek was still seeking the 'Demoness of Unaging' potion formula at that time—although Klein didn't know which Sequence that corresponded to, it definitely meant she hadn't reached godhood yet. Combined with the mention of the Solomon Empire…Did that senior transmigrator actually arrive in the Fourth Epoch?
And the Emperor once said in his diary that "this senior is still alive."
That means…during the Emperor's time, this person was at least a demigod. Perhaps even a King of Angels!
So where are they now?
If they're still alive, where did they go? And why haven't they left any sign of their transmigrator identity behind?
As Mr. Fool sank into deep thought, the rest of the Tarot Club quietly accompanied him in silence.
After a long moment, Klein leaned back with a smile.
"Lady Strength, the diary pages you manifested just now spoke of the author encountering a woman named Cheek."
He deliberately used the vague term author.
Bernadette raised her brows with a deliberately surprised look. "Cheek?"
The Hanged Man asked curiously, "Lady Strength, is there something special about this 'Cheek'?"
Bernadette glanced toward Mr. Fool, and His tone took on a faintly amused edge:
"Cheek is the true name of the Primordial Demoness."
As he said this, Klein inwardly broke into a cold sweat.
Thank you, Miss Justice. If not for your diary pages, I'd have been completely caught off guard.
The Primordial Demoness?!
Several members who were unfamiliar with the name were utterly stunned.
Of course it's from the Emperor's diary...even just two random pages end up involving an evil god!
They couldn't help but wonder what exactly had happened between the Emperor and this terrifying entity.
However, since Mr. Fool didn't seem interested in explaining further—and the Lady Strength had no intention of pressing—everyone had no choice but to suppress their curiosity.
Only Audrey was secretly plotting.
I wonder if Edward's already seen these diary pages from Queen Mystic…I must ask him later!
Klein casually picked up the Sea God Sceptre and said calmly, "Miss Justice, as for this sceptre, I'll let Mr. Tower explain it. It's something he entrusted to me."
Whoosh!
Every gaze instantly turned to Edward.
"This bone-white sceptre," Edward said, "is what I call the Sea God Sceptre. It's a Sealed Artifact formed from the Beyonder characteristic of a Sequence 3 in the Sailor pathway. Using it grants access to many extraordinary powers of that pathway—storm summoning, lightning, torrential rains, control over sea creatures, and more."
Fors swallowed hard.
A single Sealed Artifact…with powers at Sequence 3? That's terrifying.
Alger, on the other hand, stared intensely at it. A thought suddenly occurred to him.
"May I ask something, Mr. Tower? Why do you call it the Sea God Sceptre? As far as I know, the Sea God is a deity worshipped by the natives of the Rorsted Archipelago."
There was more he didn't say aloud: the Church of Storms had spent years trying to track down and eradicate this so-called Sea God.
Edward answered frankly, "Because the Sequence 3 Beyonder characteristic came from the Sea God worshipped by the Rorsted natives."
Alger froze. "What?"
Mr. Fool spoke flatly, "The Sea God you refer to has already been slain by Mr. Tower. The one currently worshipped by the Rorsted Archipelago is, in fact, Mr. Tower himself—wielding the Sea God Sceptre."
Alger: "???"
Everyone else: "..."
Seriously? Does Mr. Tower have to do something outrageous every other week?
Last week, he had a face-to-face encounter with the True Creator in the Forsaken Land of the Gods. This week, he went and straight-up killed a god?
Granted, this Sea God might've "only" been Sequence 3…
Wait a minute! How can a Sequence 3 be considered "only"?!
Even Bernadette was visibly shaken.
She knew that Edward could, with Mr. Fool's "help," access powers usually reserved for demigods—but he himself was not one. Yet somehow, in just a week, he had managed to slay a Sequence 3 entity?
Could it be…Mr. Fool lent him a hand?
Both Alger and Bernadette simultaneously arrived at that conclusion.
Klein, of course, noticed all of this. He found it amusing.
Finally! It's not just me acting like a dumbfounded background character in a 'wish-fulfilment' power fantasy—staggered and shocked by Edward's every move.
But just then, he noticed one exception.
Miss Empress—Lilith—was…
nodding off.
Tch. How very irreverent toward a god.
Edward, seeing this, quickly tried to explain, "Ahem…Mr. Fool was a bit too generous with that statement. I actually caught the Sea God in the middle of a battle, heavily wounded, and…finished him off. It was pure luck. Nothing more."
That excuse again?
Alger silently grumbled.
When you took down the Admiral of Blood and that demigod, you used the same line. And now it's the Sea God? Why do things like this always happen to you?!
Inwardly grumbling, Alger hadn't expected Little Sun to voice exactly what he was thinking out loud:
"Last time, when Mr. Tower hunted down that demigod from the Apprentice Pathway, he said the same thing."
Edward gave a helpless smile. "It's true. If you don't believe me, ask Lady Strength—she was there. In fact, that demigod was killed by her."
All eyes instantly turned toward Bernadette.
She paused for a few seconds before calmly saying, "Yes. Botis was killed by me."
Her candidness caught everyone off guard. Yet she didn't elaborate, leaving the others even more curious, privately speculating about her strength and identity.
Someone who can casually admit to killing a demi-god…Could she be a demigod herself?
Klein waved his hand and dispelled the diaries. "Go ahead, continue."
The Hanged Man turned to Derrick. "Mr. Sun, has the issue with your corrupted team members been resolved?"
"It has! Thank you for your advice last time, Mr. Hanged Man. But…I'm still under suspicion."
Edward asked, "Then are you locked up at the bottom of the tower?"
Derrick shook his head. "No, I'm under house arrest. I'm being watched and not allowed to leave."
Alger followed up, "Did the higher-ups in the City of Silver identify that Worm of Time?"
"They seem to have recognised it. City of Silver has been under martial law these past few days."
"Then you must be careful. If needed, pray to Mr. Fool and ask any of us for help."
Derrick quickly expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Mr. Hanged Man. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, Mr. Fool."
Throughout all of this, the usually quiet Mr. World, who had shown little reaction to any topic, now lowered his voice and asked, "Everyone, about the commission I posted during the last Tarot meeting—has anyone found any leads?"
At once, everyone turned their attention to him. But glancing around, it was clear: no one had anything to say.
Klein wasn't surprised. For someone like Ince Zangwill, who could traverse the spirit world at will, tracking his movements was exceedingly difficult.
Just as he was about to shift the topic, Miss Death—Priscilla—looked up and said, "I had some of my people investigate for you last week."
"That man made contact with the Aurora Order in another country about a month ago, trying to collaborate with them—but he was rejected."
Klein, controlling the World, asked, "And then?"
Priscilla shrugged in a rather casual, almost playful way. "Then he disappeared~ I'm having the head of that country's division try to reach him again."
"I'll let you know the moment there's news!"
"Much appreciated, Miss Death."
Priscilla giggled. "You're welcome, you're welcome~"
Edward suddenly asked, "Miss Death, may I ask which country you're referring to?"
"Feysac!"
Feysac?
Edward felt like he'd grasped something—but it was just beyond his reach. He could only nod. "Understood. Thank you."
World then swept his gaze across the table and continued, "I have another commission this week."
The Hanged Man joked, "Don't tell me it's another mission to hunt down a demigod?"
"It's not…or rather, I'm not sure."
Klein had intended to deny it, but he recalled the demi-god witch who appeared later—so he wasn't entirely certain.
"Not sure?" Fors whispered.
"So…it is related to a demi-god?" she said. "Mr. World, you're becoming more and more like Mr. Tower. These days it's always demigods…even angels!"
Klein cleared his throat. "Ahem…I want to ask you two something first."
He looked toward Alger and Edward in turn. "Do you know of any pirate captains out at sea who walk the Witch Pathway?"
Alger looked surprised. "A pirate captain of the Witch Pathway? The first one that comes to mind would be the newly appointed Pirate Admiral, Ailment Maiden, Tracy."
"Mr. World, is your commission related to her?"
That witch from last night…was actually a Pirate Admiral?
Still, he added cautiously, "I can't say for sure."
"Did you see the pirate flag on her ship?"
"Yes."
As he spoke, Klein manifested the skull-emblazoned pirate flag he had seen.
Alger immediately confirmed it. "No doubt about it! That's the Black Death's flag. The witch you're talking about is that Pirate Admiral."
He turned to Edward with a grin. "Then this task should naturally fall to Mr. Tower, since his relationship with that witch seems…not so ordinary."
Edward stared, dumbfounded.
What do you mean, not so ordinary?
All I did was take something she wanted, then use it to threaten and manipulate her!
Why does it sound like I share the Emperor's tastes?!
Slander! This is blatant slander!
"What's so not ordinary about it?"
A cool voice cut in—it was the mysterious Lady Strength. She looked straight at Alger and asked again, "What kind of relationship does Mr. Tower have with that witch pirate?"
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.