From his personal perspective, he did not want to become too deeply involved with the organization known as the Yellow-Robed Monks.
But now that they had already sent someone to make contact with him, if he were to refuse, they would still lurk in the shadows. For him, that was not the best option.
It would be better to force them onto the stage, to expose them completely to the light.
"Perhaps this is their overt scheme," he thought.
After some consideration, Hastur felt that this was precisely the goal the Yellow-Robed Monks wanted to achieve.
"Sequence 5, Winner… Does their organization have a Sequence 1? Or do they only have a Sequence 2?"
Hastur did not remain in the Hall of Stars for long. He soon left, washed his hands, and walked out of the washroom.
He planned to hire that man, Caius, but before doing so, he wanted to have a conversation with him, preferably under Will's watchful eye.
Otherwise, who knew what kind of accident might occur.
Hastur said to the three people he had previously taken a liking to, "All three of you are equally outstanding. I need some time to determine who is the best choice. Tomorrow, I will bring my final decision."
Leaving behind a deposit of 100 pounds, Hastur departed from the Talent and Employment Association.
He also wanted to see whether the Yellow-Robed Monks would come looking for him overnight.
....
Monday afternoon, the Tarot Club.
Klein sat upright at the head of the long bronze table.
His gaze fell upon the light point representing Fors, and he felt a wave of headache coming on. In the end, he still summoned her to attend the meeting above the gray fog.
During this period of time, this unknown lady had often prayed to him in the dead of night, especially around two or three in the morning, a time best suited for deep sleep.
Every time she prayed, she changed her appearance. Her clothing became more and more shabby, her complexion more and more pale, and the words of her prayers more and more pitiful.
The further it went, the harder it became for Klein to listen.
Judging from the miserable circumstances she described and her surrounding living environment, Klein felt that the fact she had managed to survive until today, and even pray to him, was nothing short of a great miracle.
For safety's sake, he also made a judgment through divination.
The result showed that this poor and helpless lady's joining would not be detrimental to him, nor would it have any negative impact on the Tarot Club.
Based on this, and in order to warn her not to pray to him so casually, especially not at such ghostly hours!
Recently, being woken up frequently in the middle of the night had nearly caused him to lose focus and feel drowsy during his daytime work.
If this continued any longer, his health would definitely start having problems as well.
To resolve this matter, he deliberately summoned the lady above the gray fog for a discussion, subtly guiding her to choose more appropriate times for prayer in the future.
In the end, the lady chose a Magician card as her new identity within the Tarot Club.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hanged Man."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Sun."
"Good afternoon..."
Audrey habitually greeted the members of the Tarot Club, but suddenly widened her eyes and looked toward the new member seated on the same side as her.
The Tarot Club had actually gained a new member!
And she hadn't known about it at all!
Was she also chosen by Mr. Fool?
Audrey had far too many questions in her heart, but she restrained these emotions well and still greeted her with a smile. "Good afternoon, new Tarot Club partner."
She used the word partner, a relatively intimate term, because she noticed that the newcomer was very restrained, very wary, and very uneasy.
As one of the earliest members of the Tarot Club, she felt it was her responsibility to help the new member adapt to the Tarot Club as quickly as possible.
Alger and Derrick also turned their attention to the newly appeared member.
Derrick was simple-minded. After just one glance, he withdrew his gaze. If he could draw Mr. Fool's attention and help through prayer, then others should be able to do so as well.
The light of hope should fall equally upon every inch of land.
On the surface, Alger remained calm, maintaining his usual cold and solemn expression. In reality, he had already taken in the reactions of the new member and Miss Justice at the first moment.
Little Sun was too simple to recommend anyone into the Tarot Club, and Miss Justice had once mentioned introducing new members.
But judging from the situation now, Miss Justice herself seemed puzzled by the appearance of the new member. This proved that the newcomer had not joined the Tarot Club through Miss Justice's recommendation.
This point was crucial.
Although he felt some dissatisfaction with Mr. Fool suddenly bringing in a newcomer, since the person was not from Miss Justice's side, it was still acceptable.
Fors was also quietly observing everyone else. Although Mr. Fool had told her that there were three other members in the Tarot Club,
She had already prepared herself mentally, yet when she truly saw them, she still felt nervous.
She had also sensed the gazes of the three people just now.
The girl who had spoken up first to greet her seemed to have a very good personality, giving off a bright and polite impression. She felt somewhat like Miss Audrey, someone of noble birth, always maintaining just the right amount of elegance.
The one directly opposite her, who glanced only once before withdrawing his gaze, was tall and burly, clearly not someone to mess with.
As for the other one, he seemed rather gloomy, with a somewhat frightening look in his eyes. He was likewise not easy to get along with, perfectly matching her image of a cultist.
"This is our new member, Miss Magician."
Klein spoke up to introduce the newly arrived Magician.
Fors, whose name was called, stood up and gave a slight bow.
"Miss Magician, welcome to joining our Tarot Club. You may call me Miss Justice."
Audrey had always been the embodiment of politeness and elegance within the Tarot Club.
Fors deliberately stared at her for a while. The more she looked, the more she felt that this girl who called herself Miss Justice resembled the Miss Audrey she knew.
Especially her appearance and the way she spoke, it was really remarkably similar to Miss Audrey.
But someone as kind as Miss Audrey, how could she possibly join such an evil organization? Well, it must be because she knew too few people, which made her subconsciously compare Miss Audrey with this Miss Justice.
After that, Alger and Derrick also expressed their welcome.
Once the greetings were over, it was time for Klein to read Roselle's diary.
This time, there was only a single page of Roselle's diary submitted by Mr. Hanged Man.
Miss Justice, who had always been known for her generosity, hadn't turned in a single page of Roselle's diary recently.
It seemed that her ability to produce so many critical diary pages back then really might have been influenced by 008.
But at that time, could 008, so far away in Tingen, really have affected Miss Justice in Backlund?
Was there something hidden here that he didn't yet know?
After the Tingen incident, Klein had spent a great deal of time thinking through and deducing the various details of the matter, arriving at quite a few interesting conclusions.
He didn't say anything directly. Instead, he pressed the Roselle diary he had finished reading onto the tabletop, signaling that they were free to converse.
Audrey brought up the latest situation in Backlund.
After that person who called himself a Follower of the Stars appeared, the entirety of Backlund seemed to have become much cleaner all at once.
The number of murder cases had clearly declined, and public security had basically returned to the state it was in before the appearance of the believer of the Stars.
Regarding this matter, Klein could say with certainty that he understood the inside story better than anyone present.
If someone really asked him about it, he wouldn't panic in the slightest. Someone who shared the same thoughts was also Fors.
After thinking for a moment, she deliberately lowered her voice and said, "That so-called Follower of the Stars who appeared recently in Backlund is fake. He hasn't received the protection of the Stars at all. This is a trap."
The moment she said this, everyone's gaze turned toward her.
Klein was the most curious.
The fact that Leonard had impersonated a Follower of the Stars was known only to those who had participated in the operation that night and the upper echelons of the Church. Where had this Miss Magician learned of it?
Moreover, hadn't she been bedridden, gravely ill and on the verge of death? How could she still be so keenly aware of what was happening outside?
Audrey, on the other hand, felt a sudden tension in her heart. Judging from Miss Magician's tone, she seemed to be living in Backlund as well.
She hoped that Miss Magician didn't know her. Otherwise, her real-world identity might be exposed.
Although it wouldn't really matter if her real identity were discovered, she still felt it was better to maintain a bit of mystery, and then, relying on her own judgment, uncover the real identities of the other Tarot Club members first.
Alger chuckled and said, "Daring to impersonate a Follower of the Stars, looks like that person's good luck is about to run out. No one can casually deceive an existence of such a high level."
After Mr. Fool's reminder last time, he already held deep reverence for the Sovereign of the Stars.
Especially since he had spent many years sailing the seas. When instruments malfunctioned, it was often by relying on the guidance of the stars in the sky that he could break out of storm zones and return to a proper course.
Not just him, anyone who made a living from the sea knew that the Stars were not an existence to be lightly blasphemed.
Fors was quite satisfied with his reverence. The corners of her mouth subconsciously wanted to rise, but she quickly suppressed it and didn't make any further comments on the matter.
Next, Alger brought up the latest developments at sea, most of which were related to the Southern Continent.
As the situation in the Southern Continent grew tense, some bold pirates had landed there, planning to seize the opportunity to plunder a bit of wealth.
Fors' assessment of this was that Mr. Hanged Man must be a thoroughly wicked pirate, which was why he knew these matters so clearly.
And the Mr. Fool who provided shelter for such a pirate was naturally not a kind or benevolent mysterious existence.