The moment everyone heard those words, the room erupted into an uproar.
What shocked most of them was not that the Lady Strength intended to stop George III from ascending, but that her actions actually represented Mr. Fool's stance!
Leonard's mind trembled violently: Just who in the world is the Lady Strength? How could she dare claim she would stop a king who was on the verge of becoming a god?!
Mr. Fool disagreed with George III ascending as the Black Emperor?!
The Seven Gods had all acquiesced to it, yet Mister Fool opposed it?!
As expected, Mr. Fool was truly righteous and great!
How could someone like George III—despicable in character and treating human lives as nothing but weeds—ever be worthy of becoming a deity?
Fors's body trembled slightly. Having written so many novels, this was the first time she truly felt she might be witnessing the birth of a legendary tale—no, the birth of history itself!
Alger bowed deeply, awe surging within him.
Mr. Fool dared to veto something even the Seven Gods acknowledged. Doesn't that mean He doesn't place the Seven Gods in His eyes at all? Could Mr. Fool be far stronger than I've ever imagined?!
At that moment, Miss Death, Priscilla, suddenly raised her hand high and asked crisply:
"If we successfully stop George III's scheme, will the war end?"
The question was like a bucket of cold water, instantly dragging everyone out of their boundless fantasies and back into reality.
Silence fell. Even Leonard and Emlyn understood the answer was clearly no.
The war would not end—it would likely intensify instead.
Conversely, if George III truly succeeded in becoming a deity, the war might instead be quelled immediately.
Fors, Audrey, and even Klein found themselves sinking into confusion.
It was then that Lilith spoke leisurely, "This matter isn't that simple, you know."
She paused, deliberately drawing out the suspense.
"...Mr. Tower told me the true force pushing Feysac and Loen—and the entire Northern Continent—into war is actually someone else entirely. George III might simply be a pawn being used."
Leonard's eyes widened in shock. "Even someone about to ascend as a god like George III is being used? Then…what exactly is hidden behind all of this?" His pupils contracted; his voice trembled. "Is it a deity?!"
Lilith's lips curled into a mysterious smile.
"More or less~"
Everyone's gaze shifted back and forth between Lilith and Mr. Fool. A few people suddenly realised something—
Could this be the real reason Mr. Fool cast his opposing vote?
The true game being played was far deeper than George III—it unfolded on an entirely different level!
Klein silently complained in frustration: Don't start making things up! I'm just as confused and surprised as you all are!
Suppressing his thoughts, he controlled the "World" to ask, "Has Mr. Tower returned?"
Lilith shook her head lightly. "Nope~ Otherwise he would definitely have come to the Tarot Gathering. That's what he told me before. Just wait patiently."
Klein pondered for a moment, then asked again, "I'm very curious—where exactly is Mr. Tower, and what is he busy with that he can't even attend the Tarot Gathering?"
"Well, that…"
Before Lilith could finish, Priscilla raised her hand again.
"I know! I know!"
Her face shone with excitement.
"Ed—…Mr. Tower is preparing to advance to Sequence 1!"
"!!!"
The news exploded like a massive bomb, even more shocking than learning of George III's scheme or that there was a hidden conspiracy behind the war.
After all, George III's divine ascension or the gods' machinations felt far removed, like some distant legend.
Just like hearing that Elon Musk founded X Financial with hidden motives backed by mysterious capital—surprising, yes, but ultimately something you only listen to.
But if you suddenly learned your neighbour just won ten million…
That would feel like the sky itself collapsing!
No—this was even more outrageous than George III's plan to ascend.
After all, George III had spent over two centuries to reach this point.
Yet just a few weeks ago at the Tarot Gathering, Mr. Tower had still been Sequence 5. And now he was suddenly preparing to advance to Sequence 1?!
Wait—didn't that mean Mr. Tower's next step…would be aiming directly at Sequence 0, the level of a true deity?!
Klein felt his scalp go numb.
I've been pretending to be a god for so long, and I'm still ages away from becoming even a demigod—yet Edward is about to become Sequence 1?!
Holy crap!
When that time came, wouldn't Mr. Tower instantly see through the fact that he was not a god at all…that he was a fake, a counterfeit, a cheap knockoff?!
Would he get angry?
Would he drag Klein out of the grey fog and give him a thorough thrashing?!
The more he thought about it, the more Klein trembled uncontrollably.
Alger felt utterly deflated. Even though Mr. Tower had always been ahead (setting aside the Lady Strength and Miss Death, who came pre-packaged with their Sequences), Alger had still retained a sliver of hope he could one day catch up.
But now he finally accepted the bloody reality—he was just an ordinary person trying to compete with someone who had literal cheats activated. It was like trying to win a race by eating dirt.
Leonard and Xio, meanwhile, had only one question filling their minds:
Who exactly was Mr. Tower?
If it had been anyone else, Audrey—whose protagonist spirit always overflowed—would certainly have enthusiastically explained everything to them. But when it came to Edward…that would feel far too much like boasting.
"Mr Tower…is my lover…and he's preparing to advance to Sequence 1?"
How embarrassing.
At that moment, Mr. Fool—Klein—tapped the table lightly and said calmly, "All right, let's end this topic here for now."
Everyone could only swallow their shock and confusion.
Alger quickly regained his composure. He turned to Moon, Emlyn, and asked, "Mr. Moon, did you resolve the problem you mentioned during last week's Tarot Gathering?"
Emlyn blinked. "What problem?"
Fors followed up, "The one about wanting to gather and lead a group of people to resist the tyranny of the colonisers."
"Uh…"
Emlyn hesitated for a moment before saying, "The progress…seems…more or less…going smoothly?"
This answer matched exactly the tone The Star had used earlier when talking about wanting to acquire extraordinary items. Thus, everyone reached a unanimous conclusion almost instantly:
This must be another fool.
The truth was, Emlyn really wasn't sure. Throughout the entire process, he had essentially acted as a messenger. The ones actually doing the work were the rest of the Sanguine and the Temperance Faction of the Rose School of Thought.
Currently, the Temperance Faction was rallying under the banner of the Highlands Kingdom—promoting the ideas of suppressing landlords, opposing colonisers and tyranny. They had already gathered massive support across the Southern Continent and were surging with unstoppable momentum.
But as for the actual situation…Emlyn had absolutely no idea.
The World let out a low, gloomy chuckle.
"Hmm? I remember Mr. Moon mentioning last week that this was merely something you wondered about while reading a book—that you were just curious."
Emlyn fell silent.
If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!
Alger continued, "The war between Loen and Feysac should soon affect the Rorsted Archipelago. When that happens, your pressure should lessen quite a bit."
Emlyn thought silently: Danitz will definitely be thrilled…but it doesn't have much to do with me. No matter how fiercely the Northern Continent fights, they won't be pulling soldiers back from the Southern Continent anytime soon.
Just then, Audrey let out a soft, surprised "Hm?"
"So that means…didn't the wars on the Northern Continent and the Rorsted Archipelago begin around the same time? Could there be any connection between them?"
Klein recalled his time serving as governor in Bayam and said, "Not necessarily. The natives of the Rorsted Archipelago almost never stopped resisting in the first place. Hey, Loen's wealth over the years has everything to do with its endless exploitation of its colonies."
Xio couldn't help speaking for the first time, "But most people in Loen still live below the poverty line. People starve to death every day, and every winter, people freeze to death. And that's just what I saw in 'The Land of Hope,' Backlund. Other cities might be even worse."
Klein added, "So no matter how wealthy the nation is, all that wealth goes straight to the nobles at the top. As for the people at the bottom, their lives aren't much different from colonial slaves. They're all just consumables used to sustain the aristocracy."
"…"
Hearing this, Audrey felt panic rising in her chest. As the only noble present (Bernadette was now a pirate), she couldn't help feeling that every sentence was aimed directly at her.
But thinking more carefully…everything they said was true.
Her father was a great banker—but not just a banker. He invested in numerous businesses, many of which were connected to overseas colonies.
Her eldest brother, Hibbert, managed many of those companies.
Her second brother, Alfred, directly served as a military officer in the Southern Continent's colonies.
She and her mother appeared uninvolved, but the comfortable, extravagant life they lived was funded by the money her father earned.
Looking at it that way…the Hall family truly was "deeply sinful."
With that realisation, Audrey took a long breath and said earnestly, "Mr. Moon…I—I am willing to contribute some funding to support your cause."
Emlyn froze, his mouth falling open in shock.
"Ah?"
Why was she suddenly funding him?!
"Well, the thing is…"
"I currently have about 30,000 pounds in liquid cash. Of that, I need to reserve 10,000 for purchasing materials, so I can only fund you with 20,000 pounds. I will offer it to Mr. Fool after the gathering so He can pass it to you."
"But this is only the first batch. I'll find ways to gather more afterwards."
Everyone: "…"
Twenty thousand pounds—offered just like that.
And that was only the first batch.
If this were any other time, the penniless Mr. Fool would have drooled in envy, but Klein now more or less guessed what Miss Justice was thinking. While he admired her sincerity, he also sighed inwardly:
With just this amount of money, I'm afraid it will be little more than a drop in the bucket.
Emlyn, upon hearing the astonishing figure of twenty thousand pounds, felt overwhelming shock at first. But soon, he began thinking seriously. After a moment, he spoke in an unusually solemn tone, "Miss Justice, what we lack right now may not be money. We need food and weapons. If you truly wish to help, perhaps you can convert the money into supplies instead."
After a pause, he added:
"And…I apologise for not explaining clearly before. I am not helping the natives resist colonisers in the Rorsted Archipelago."
"I'm doing it in the Southern Continent."
The Southern Continent?
This news caught everyone completely off guard. Compared to the Rorsted Archipelago, the Southern Continent was far too distant. Most people only knew of the East and West Balam nations, worshippers of Death.
As for anything else, they knew almost nothing.
But for a Sanguine from the Northern Continent to travel thousands of miles to the Southern Continent to lead the oppressed masses in resisting colonial exploitation—
What kind of spirit was that?
This was simply…
The selfless greatness of a true protagonist!
———
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