Earl Hall collected the chips on the table with a pleasant smile, saying casually, "Admiral, I heard the military recently phased out a batch of old-style weapons?"
Before responding, Admiral Amyrius glanced at 'Klein.'
"Oh? Is Earl Hall interested?"
"Well, everyone here must understand the current situation better than I do. I want to stockpile some weapons and food, just in case."
Young MP Macht toyed with his chips and chuckled. "Isn't Earl Hall overthinking? No matter how this war goes, it surely won't affect Backlund."
Earl Hall replied, "In fact, this war began with Backlund being bombed. If it can happen once, it can happen again. I don't want to wake one day to find a group of Feysac soldiers rushing out of nowhere, while people like us can only become lambs waiting for slaughter."
"As for food, you gentlemen may not pay attention to this sort of news, so perhaps you don't feel it yet. But in my view, Backlund may face a food shortage in at most two weeks."
"Oh?"
Admiral Amyrius fixed his gaze on "Klein." "Deputy Director Qonas, what is your view on this matter?"
"Me?"
Klein froze for a moment before remembering the identity of the marionette he was controlling. MI9 was the royal family's hunting dog—something akin to Loen's equivalent of ANBU. Naturally, its intelligence capabilities were the best.
He replied unhurriedly, "Apologies, I know nothing."
—On one hand, he truly knew nothing. Since the Great Smog incident, Qonas had never again received orders from George III. On the other hand, this attitude perfectly matched the aloofness expected of Qonas' identity.
"Shall we continue?"
Earl Hall laughed. "Of course."
The dealer immediately stepped forward to shuffle the deck, preparing the next round.
But at that moment, Klein suddenly heard a noisy murmur at his ear—someone was praying to him.
He stood up at once. "Pardon me, I need to visit the washroom."
As soon as the marionette Qonas entered the washroom, Klein withdrew his consciousness. His true body was currently in a restaurant not far from the club.
After asking the server for the washroom's location, Klein walked in. Once he confirmed it was safe, he took four steps counterclockwise into the fog above the grey mist. The deep crimson orb representing Mr. Moon flickered continuously.
"Huh? Why is Mr. Moon looking for me?"
Klein felt curious. Could it be that the supplies he impulsively promised at the last Tarot gathering had taken too long to arrive—and this was a reminder to pay his debts?
As his spirituality spread outward, Emlyn's figure materialised in the depths of the grey mist. He bowed humbly and said, "Honourable Mr. Fool, may I trouble You to relay a message to Mr. World? Regarding the Bizarro Bane he wanted, I learned yesterday that us, Sanguines, happen to have preserved the corpse of one. Does Mr. World still need it?"
The Sanguines have a Bizarro Bane?!
Klein was overjoyed. But then he immediately recalled that the Formula for Bizarro Sorcerer required not only the creature's main eye but also its blood. Did the Sanguine's specimen still retain any?
"I understand."
He thought for a moment, then poured spirituality into Emlyn's crimson star, allowing the "World" persona of his marionette to manifest above the grey mist.
"You two can talk directly."
After speaking, Klein switched to the World alt account.
"Mr. Moon, does the Bizarro Bane you clan possess still have its blood?"
Emlyn nodded. "Yes. The person who stored it seemed to understand its value. He preserved the main eye, the blood, and the remaining corpse separately to better maintain its spirituality after death."
Excellent!
"What do you require, Mr. Moon?"
Emlyn answered solemnly, "Supplies."
He paused briefly before continuing:
"To my knowledge, Beyonder materials above Sequence 4 are priceless and not sold on the market. In that case, the transaction cannot proceed. After consulting the elders, we estimate the main eye of a Trick-Performing Evil Spirit to be worth between 30,000 and 40,000 pounds. Therefore, my request is that Mr. World provide me with 30,000 pounds worth of supplies—or the primary material corresponding to a Sanguine Earl."
Klein's heart instantly sank.
He had saved up a fair bit recently…but 30,000 pounds was still an astronomical sum. And even gathering 30,000 pounds' worth of supplies was no simple task in the current wartime Backlund.
Emlyn added, "I know such a quantity of supplies cannot be prepared in a short time. Mr. World may take the item first and slowly repay me afterwards."
Klein was surprised. "Is…that alright?"
"I haven't forgotten Mr. World's generous assistance during the previous Tarot gathering."
"This…" Klein felt a little ashamed. "But I've only managed to acquire less than a thousand pounds' worth of goods so far. With the war in Backlund, supplies are becoming scarcer by the day."
Emlyn said seriously, "We'll do it step by step. This kind of matter cannot be rushed. I'll head back to handle things. I'll deliver the item to you shortly through Mr. Fool."
Klein no longer refused. "Thank you, Mr. Moon."
"You're welcome."
Emlyn let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Good. The task entrusted by the Ancestor has been completed perfectly.
But he still couldn't help feeling curious: Why is the Ancestor treating Mr. World so well? These materials are worth tens of thousands of pounds—isn't this basically giving them away for free? Even I, the Sanguine's "Saviour," don't get treatment like this!
A few minutes later, Klein received the Bizarro Bane's main eye and blood, which Emlyn had offered as a sacrifice. After confirming their authenticity, he suppressed his excitement and murmured, "Now the only thing left is the Spirit World Plunderer."
Just as he exited the grey mist and returned to the washroom, Klein saw a massive skeleton drill down from the ceiling, a letter clutched in its bony hand.
"Mr. Azik has returned?"
The skeletal messenger nodded and handed the letter over.
Its contents were simple—Azik was safe and had returned to his Backlund residence. Klein could find him anytime if needed.
Klein took out a fountain pen and wrote a short reply on the back of the letter, also asking Azik about the Spirit World Plunderer.
"Help me send this back to Mr. Azik."
The skeletal messenger accepted the letter, collapsed with a thunderous crash, and vanished.
Klein washed his hands and stepped out of the washroom while reconnecting his consciousness to Qonas. A strange amusement rose in him.
I already had to enter the washroom every time I went above the grey mist…now I'm doing it twice as often.
He pressed the flush handle, washed his hands again, and "Klein" calmly walked back to the poker table. The others hadn't waited—they had already started a new round. This time everyone had terrible luck; when the hole cards were revealed, not even a pair appeared. Yet the winner was still Earl Hall—with a single king.
Klein said to the group, "My apologies, gentlemen. I must take my leave. We'll continue next time."
"All right, see you then."
He quickly left the club, circled around to rejoin his true body, and then made his way to Mr. Azik's residence.
———
More than ten minutes later—
Just as Klein approached Azik's residence, he spotted the familiar figure from afar. He hurried forward. "Mr. Azik, you've returned?"
Azik was smiling warmly as he listened to Priscilla recount her "heroic deeds" of the past few weeks, like an elderly grandfather doting on his grandchild.
Hearing Klein's voice, he lifted his head. "Mm. It seems you've made further progress in my absence."
"I advanced to Sequence 5 not long ago."
Klein never hid things from his former professor, who always treated him kindly.
"Hello~!" Priscilla waved enthusiastically at Klein.
Azik said, "As for the Spirit World Plunderer you asked about earlier—I am fairly familiar with it. It's a rare and cunning creature, very skilled at disguise, and not easy to find. You may pray to the 'Red Light,' Aiur Moria. She is friendly to humans and willing to answer such questions."
"If you obtain information on it, I should be able to assist you."
The moment he said this, another voice chimed in from the side, "No need to ask some 'Red Light' or 'Blue Light.' I'm very familiar with Spirit World Plunderers—they're mostly active in the core region of Calderón City."
Klein turned at the sound and was startled. "You…you're Edward's messenger?"
"I am."
Phoenix nodded and landed atop Priscilla's head, then asked in puzzlement, "Do you know where Edward went? I can't seem to find him."
"You're not with Edward?"
Ever since Edward's disappearance, his messenger had been missing too, so everyone assumed the messenger was alongside him.
"No."
Phoenix said, "That day, a giant hand almost slapped me to death. Fortunately, Azik appeared in time. But I still fell into extreme weakness. Azik's presence feels comfortable to me, so I've been following him."
"And then…huh?"
Its black pupils flickered. "Strange. I clearly remember what happened afterwards, but whenever I try to speak about it, I instantly forget."
"Do you know what's going on, Mr. Azik?"
Azik replied calmly, "There are matters She does not wish others to know. If that is the case, then we cannot tell others."
"Why?"
"That is secrecy."
Phoenix nodded solemnly, as if suddenly enlightened. "Alright then. Anyway, I've been with Azik all this time, visiting several isolated places. We only returned today."
It then muttered to itself, "I thought that as soon as I came out, I could finally eat that stone…I risked my life helping him protect his little daughter."
Secrecy?
Klein felt puzzled—at this moment, he still did not know the authorities the Evernight Goddess wielded.
Azik spoke. "Since we now know where the Spirit World Plunderer is, let's depart."
Klein froze. "Ah? Actually…I'm not in that much of a hurry."
"This has nothing to do with you. It's because a series of events may occur at any moment, and I fear I won't have time to help you. Of course, if you feel you can handle it yourself, that is also fine."
"This…"
With a Sequence 4 marionette, plus Creeping Hunger and the Sea God Sceptre, Klein felt fairly confident he could handle a Spirit World Plunderer. But since an angel was offering help, there was no reason to refuse.
"Alright! Then let's head out now."
Priscilla immediately exclaimed in excitement, "I want to go too!"
Azik did not object. He looked at Phoenix. "We'll trouble you to guide us."
"Let's go!"
With a flap of its wings, Phoenix tore open a rift and flew into the Spirit World. Azik grabbed Klein and Priscilla and followed closely behind.
Man, child, and bird traversed swiftly through the Spirit World, heading straight toward the deepest region—Calderón City.
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.