~3217 words
"I hope you will forgive me for my lack of formal attire." Kiyotaka started the conversation as Edessak sat opposite to him.
The young, spirited man smiled warmly. "Don't worry too much about it. I would rather you dress in whatever makes you feel more comfortable." He spoke with the practiced ease and fluence of a man who was taught in all sorts of communication from a young age.
"Thank you."
Unlike the gentlemanly attire of Edessak Augustus who was wearing an extravagant suit with a bow tie, Kiyotaka was still dressed in the same white shirt and black sweater with his grey overcoat neatly placed in a corner by one of the maids.
"Well, Mr. Holmes, as you might have guessed, I have summoned you here for a very simple and straight-forward reason." Edessak spoke with his usual smile. "I want to acquire the steam powered engine car that you and Mr. Leppard have made. I am really intrigued by it. I can see the vision— This will most likely be one of the most innovative creations of our generation."
"Thank you for your kind words."
Kiyotaka did not put on airs by bowing down his head or calling him "my lord" or "my liege" or "my prince." However, he made sure not to sound pretentious either.
"So, state your price. I need the very first model, before it will be made available to the open market."
Kiyotaka tapped his finger on his knee. There were many things to consider before he gave an answer.
"Before you answer, do keep in mind that if you agree to sell the first piece to me, I will also ease the process of opening a formal company. William told me that Mr. Leppard is having a hard time securing a site and permit for establishing a legal entity." Then, he smiled, as if suddenly coming up with another thought. "Please, do not think that I will be hindering your path if you refuse to do so, but if you do accept my proposal, a lot of things will be streamlined for you."
Kiyotaka hummed to himself.
'He does not seem to have much influence. With the intel provided by Leppard, it seems like he is merely a prince in name, but doesn't have much political influence.
However, in a sense, a neglected prince is a unique variable. On one hand, his lack of direct political oversight makes him an excellent, low-risk shelter in the short term. Our immediate bureaucratic headaches can be resolved quite easily with his intervention.
However, looking into the deeper layers of this kingdom's power structure, this might turn its back on me. Ideally, in a royal family that fundamentally controls a kingdom as stratified as Loen, a prince is never ignored without a good reason.
Either he has been deemed entirely incompetent by his father, or worse—he is being intentionally isolated to serve a purpose that he himself is oblivious to.
This could mean one of many things... If the Augustus family is preparing for major political shifts, a marginalized prince is the perfect piece to be sacrificed, blamed, or used as a lightning rod for structurally formed scandals.'
It was at this moment when something clicked in Kiyotaka's mind. His mind went back to the Rituals required for a Duke of Entropy to become Prince of Abolition and then, eventually, a Black Emperor.
'It makes sense now... The Augustus family controls Lawyer and Arbiter Pathways. And all of the changes that are going on in the kingdom, the Grain Act and the other ever changing little variables that have a lot of far-reaching implications... It means the emperor is preparing for his advancement...'
The thought hit him like a freight train. He was comfortable since he had the idea that the seat of a Black Emperor was empty, however, it seemed like it wouldn't stay the same forever.
'Extrapolating from that, it means it is possible to switch from Lawyer Pathway to Arbiter Pathway at Sequence 4. Hmm... This is troublesome.'
"Holmes?" Prince Edessak's voice brought him out of his reverie.
Picking up the glass beside him, Kiyotaka calmly took a sip from it and held it in his hands. Edessak kept his smile up, but waited eagerly for a response.
"We would be honored." He placed the glass to the side.
'This is an opportunity I cannot miss. Helping the company is merely a byproduct.'
Edessak's smile widened even more. "Perfect." He clasped his hands and looked back. "William, give a cheque to Mr. Holmes for the amount he requires for it."
"As you command, my lord." William Sikes was about to leave but stopped after hearing Kiyotaka speak up.
"Actually, that wouldn't be necessary." Kiyotaka cleared his throat. "Discussing a price for the standard model would be doing a disservice to Your Highness," He spoke eloquently. "The first prototype is merely a baseline.
For someone of your stature, we would much rather craft a customized, premier piece tailored specifically to your tastes. As for the cheque... you can consider this as a gift of our highest appreciation."
He then met Edessak's gaze without blinking. "We would be honored to handle all manufacturing costs ourselves. In return, we only ask for your... guidance in navigating the city's administrative hurdles."
Something worked inside Edessak's mind and without arguing, he nodded his head. "I can work with that. Thank you, Mr. Holmes!" He blurted, the practiced decorum slipping away from his tone for a moment before suddenly realizing it.
He coughed and cleared his throat as well. "Perfect. When can I expect the car to arrive?"
"The modification and customization will take 10 days maximum." Kiyotaka stared at the clock and saw that the time of the weekly Tarot Club was approaching dangerously close.
Prince Edessak, despite the Loenese euphemism demanding him to reject the gift at least once, accepted the gift. Soon after, Prince Edessak excused himself and bid Kiyotaka farewell. And while Kiyotaka had his own questions regarding the prostitute that was now living with the Prince of Loen Kingdom, he decided to push the thought to the back of his head.
It was not long after that William Sikes was escorting Kiyotaka to the carriage.
The carriage left Rose Manor in the same smooth manner as it had arrived there. As per Kiyotaka's request, he was dropped at a hotel near the Church of Evernight Goddess.
Daly had spoken of it the previous night, that the Church wanted to have a private conversation with him. She had also advised him not to act oblivious to a lot of things, such as him being a Beyonder, amidst other things. However, Kiyotaka knew better.
He was quite sure at this point that the upper echelons were quite lenient to him when it came to tolerating his shenanigans. Even the sudden murder of Rafter Pound was dismissed as an unfortunate mugging by some gang members.
Of course, after that advice, talking was the least of activity between the two. He was unsure why she'd pounce on him, but he was not going to complain about it either, in lieu of him searching for habits that would help him retain his humanity. While it was just a theory he had come up with, it was better safe than sorry.
As the carriage came to a halt, Kiyotaka paid a tip of a few pence to the carriage driver and then went inside the hotel. Once inside, he rented a 1 bedroom apartment for a night. It was a simple apartment with a double bed, a few kitchen amenities and toiletries.
It was not really a rich-man's residence, but it was the kind of apartment that only people in the upper middle class could afford.
Just as he settled down on the couch and was about to pour himself a glass of water, he saw the boundless fog appear before his eyes. Sitting on the high-back chair of The Fool, Klein looked down at him with the malevolence of a deity.
"The meeting is about to start. Do you wish to come first, or in the end?"
"First."
"Alright."
The sight of the towering stone pillars that supported a high dome and the mottled and ancient long table that appeared to have been placed there since hundreds, if not more than a thousand years ago entered Kiyotaka's eyes, as the shimmering column of crimson dissipated from his sides.
Kiyotaka was still sitting at the foot of the table, but the usual fog of mystery that surrounded both him and Klein was unpresent around him.
When he saw at the head of the table, he saw that Klein did not look in a particularly good mood. He was staring at Kiyotaka as if he had done something horribly wrong but kept to himself.
"We need to talk after the meeting." Klein spoke simply.
"Sure."
Not wasting any time, Klein touched the crimson stars corresponding to Miss Justice—Audrey Hall, Hanged Man—Alger Wilson, Little Sun—Derrick Berg and Miss Magician—Fors Wall.
Their figures were reflected one after another on their corresponding seats in a column of crimson light. The crimson light dissipated from everyone— Everyone except The World who just magically appeared on the seat right beside Mr. Fool.
Habitually, Audrey Hall stood up from her seat and bowed to the two most distinguished people in the thick gray fog.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~"
"Good afternoon, Mr. Emperor...?"
The person in the thick fog looked quite different. The demeanor of the man sitting in the place of Mr. Emperor had blonde hair that was long enough to hide his ears and had a pair of really pale blue eyes. He looked taller than an average Loenese citizen and was sitting with his arms crossed.
What struck Audrey more was the choice of clothes. While not uncommon, it was rare to see people dressed like this, at least in Backlund. It was a simple but elegant combination.
Seeing her confusion, Klein smiled at her. "Mr. Emperor might no longer attend the meetings due to His own circumstances. Instead of Him, His blessed will take His place. You may call him Emperor as well."
Kiyotaka, putting on the eloquence, nodded in Audrey's direction. "Good afternoon."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Emperor. I am Justice."
"Good afternoon, I am Hanged Man."
"Good afterno—" The rest of the Tarot Club members began introducing themselves one-by-one and Kiyotaka greeted them all back, as respectfully as possible, in order to create a dichotomy between his two personas.
Audrey and Alger came to a conclusion as they heard the Emperor introduce himself.
'He is definitely Loenese. The accent feels like a mix of high-Loenese but has some Eastern influences to it.' Alger thought.
'Mr. Emperor's Blessed 'is quite hard to read. There is nothing about his body language that gives away too much. He sits confidently, in the same manner as the previous Mr. Emperor, but he doesn't put on any airs, which is understandable. He is a Blessed, but not a Deity himself.
His clothes look neat and properly ironed. His skin does not have any blemishes either and his hair looks silky and well-kept, which means he likes to take care of himself. The clothing style and hairstyle is not famous in Loen, but he is from Backlund, which means he takes care of himself for himself, not to impress others.
Miss Magician has been staring at the new Mr. Emperor quite a lot. Does she know in the real world?
Could it be possible that this Mr. Emperor is the same person who had come with Xio and Fors?
It's possible but there are too many distinctions. That person —Williams was his name — wore old and crumpled clothes, was malnourished and had quite the rotund belly, despite being over all thin. He also didn't smell nice...
I can't smell Mr. Emperor but with my overall observations, it is more likely than not that Mr. Emperor smells quite good too. Observing from the quality of his clothes, he looks well-off as well, but not overly rich. Perhaps in the upper-middle class.
Williams looked quite destitute — poor guy. But still, there are not many blonde men with such pale blue eyes in Backlund.
While all of this sounds good, there are some unsettling things about him too. Mr. Emperor's Blessed is sitting naturally in his chair, displaying neither excessive confidence nor caution. His body is relaxed and his movements are controlled.
That is what's unnatural— It's too controlled.'
Audrey's beautiful green eyes blinked in subtle understanding.
'Mr. Emperor's controlled demeanor is not in the sense of someone intentionally disguising themselves. Rather...
People naturally possess many unnecessary habits such as playing with fingers like Little Sun who does it when we talk about things in our world and are incomprehensible to someone from Forgotten Land of Gods, some shifted posture unconsciously like Miss Magician who would do it every time it there would be silence or Mr. Fool would say something profound, some moved their eyes while thinking and some looked at new members with disdain like Mr. Hanged Man.
However, Mr. Emperor's Blessed had close to none. It is almost as if every movement is executed only after conscious consideration.'
Audrey's expression became slightly strange.
That was... rather frightening.
On the other hand, Alger had thoughts of his own as he narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Mr. Emperor's Blessed.
Unlike Miss Justice, whose observations focused on emotions and behavioral details, Alger had always preferred to construct the bigger picture first before moving toward the details.
Since Mr. Emperor was absent, then naturally the more important matter was not this Blessed before them, but rather why an existence seated among the Tarot Club's upper echelons would choose not to attend.
The answer itself was obvious.
There could only be one possibility and that was that Mr. Emperor was occupied, as Mr. Fool had just said.
The question was with what.
His thoughts naturally drifted toward Mr. Fool.
The latter had once casually intervened in matters regarding the True Creator, or as Mr. Fool liked to address "Him", the Fallen Creator.
To an existence of such a level, what ordinary people considered "important" probably did not even warrant a glance. In that case...
Alger unconsciously straightened his posture a little.
'Could it be a conflict involving the Churches? No... that is impossible!'
The Seven Churches maintained a balance and had existed for centuries. Even if hidden conflicts existed, it was unlikely that an existence on Mr. Emperor's level would personally intervene.
'Then perhaps...'
His pupils contracted slightly.
'The upper echelons of Demoness Sect? Moses Ascetic Order? The Psychology Alchemists? No... That is still not enough...'
A thought suddenly surfaced within Alger's mind, and that was that could some hidden event capable of influencing the direction of an entire epoch be taking place somewhere beyond the knowledge of ordinary Beyonders?
After all, from beginning till now, the Tarot Club had repeatedly become involved in matters far beyond Sequence levels that should have concerned them.
Ancient deities, hidden and forgotten history, the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
And now...
Mr. Emperor had personally sent a Blessed in his place. Alger's gaze drifted back toward the blond young man. Alger remained calm, but inwardly, he felt a trace of dissatisfaction.
Mr. World's position beside Mr. Fool was indeed special. Alger had once considered whether, through sufficient contributions and loyalty, he too might eventually become someone similarly relied upon.
Yet now another one has appeared. And unlike Mr. World, this person had not merely become an attendant of the mysterious deity but rather he represented Mr. Emperor directly. Although Alger knew his thoughts were somewhat irrational, a slight feeling of jealousy still emerged involuntarily.
After all, becoming the trusted representative of an existence seated in a mysterious space was not something any Beyonder could achieve.
Still...
Alger looked carefully toward him once more. The Blessed himself also felt somewhat unusual.
Usually when entering the gathering for the first time, regardless of status or identity, one would subconsciously reveal traces of unfamiliarity. Both himself and Miss Justice, and then Little Sun had looked around curiously during his first gathering, and Miss Magician had displayed visible caution.
Yet Mr. Emperor's Blessed displayed none of that. His posture was relaxed and his gaze lacked that instinctive curiosity people possessed when facing unknown things.
It was almost as though this place— No, as though gatherings above the gray fog themselves were already familiar to him. The thought appeared only briefly before Alger forcefully suppressed it.
Fors Wall—Miss Magician, who was sitting the closest to The Emperor, felt increasingly uncomfortable.
Not because of Mr. Emperor's Blessed but rather because she kept looking at him.
'Why does he feel so familiar...?'
At first she had dismissed the thought, after all, Backlund possessed millions of people. But the more she looked, the stranger the feeling became.
It was not appearance, or the clothes, or the build that made her feel this way but rather a feeling— An irritating sense of familiarity she could not place.
She frowned slightly and thought of Williams— The suspicious man who was Xio's informant at first, but over the course of the past one month or so, had become increasingly involved in their lives.
He became a well-paid Accountant, and somehow within a week made enough money to buy ingredients for becoming a Beyonder. Not only that, he managed to reach Sequence 8 in the matter of a month.
If she were to assume that The Emperor's Blessed was Williams Holmes, it made sense in her head. Now that she knew that the new Emperor is not a deity, she did not hold back on staring at him. And the more she stared, the more it felt like her theory was right.
However, at some point, she stopped staring at him. 'Unless it's properly confirmed, I should stop with these ridiculous claims, even if it feels feasible. After the last Full Moon, I have been thinking back to Mr. Fool and Williams too much. Maybe it's just a result of that... Yeah, I should drink and sleep some more.'
Little Sun—Derrick Berg, was pretty much unfazed and the only one without a flood of thoughts in his head. He just looked at the newcomer and smiled innocently at him before sitting straight.
However, from the corner of his eye, his eyes fell on something. However, it was not just him. Miss Justice, Miss Magician and Mr. Hanged Man all saw it at the same time— The Emperor's Blessed had something sitting on his side of the table.
On the tome-like thing, they saw four words written in resplendent starlight.
Sequence 0: Black Emperor!
It was a Card of Blasphemy!
The card that Kiyotaka had hidden from The Fool, he had placed it on the table, for everyone to see!
Klein looked at it and then up at him.
In an instant, Klein could understand the implication behind it!
*****
Author's Note: "Woah, this guy is publishing chapters on the daily! Perhaps he is back to his MT x COTE days grind!"
Yeah, I wish.
Anyways, hope you liked it and I will see you all... at some point in this lifetime.
Tschüß