Come to think of it, back when Vincent had been pulled up to join the gathering, Bernadette had described feeling a faint tugging sensation at that moment — only for it to be cut off almost immediately. It was the same reason she couldn't enter the Nation of Disorder on her own: her soul was, in a sense, locked inside the body.
Vincent, on the other hand, could freely enter the Nation of Disorder even when he wasn't the one in control. His soul wasn't caged the way Bernadette's was — which was precisely why, when Klein had pulled someone in, Vincent had come along for the ride.
By now, the other members had also noticed the figure standing behind "The Lovers." They froze for a moment, then immediately looked toward Mr. Fool.
Mr. Fool, for his part, was just as lost. Who on earth is that uninvited guest? And how did he get into the space above the Gray Fog? Klein's mind raced. Is he some high-sequence powerhouse who cracked the Gray Fog and barged in to steal something?
What do I do now? Cut off the connection and throw him out? What if it doesn't work?
Thankfully, just as Klein's nerves were starting to fray and he was on the verge of being utterly at a loss, Vincent spoke up:
"Praise be to Mr. Fool! Your might truly surpasses all imagination — this time, you've pulled both me and Miss Lovers into your divine kingdom at once."
Bernadette: No wonder he looked so familiar.
"Ah?"
That's Mr. Lovers?
Audrey was genuinely surprised. She quickly did the mental arithmetic — according to the rotation schedule, this week should have been Miss Lovers' turn to attend. She'd assumed they took turns, but apparently Mr. Fool had pulled them both in at the same time!
"Praise be to Mr. Fool!"
Alger, The Hanged Man, caught on at the same moment and bowed his head at once. "Praise be to Mr. Fool!" — Just last week this wasn't possible. Does this mean Mr. Fool's power has recovered even further?
The Sun, Derrick, was more bewildered than anything, but dutifully followed along, bowing his head. "Praise be to Mr. Fool."
"..."
Faced with everyone's praise, Klein felt briefly dazed: Did I actually do that? — No! I'm completely in the dark here, aren't I?!
But in a situation like this, the only thing he could do was offer a faintly cryptic smile and say nothing.
"Mr. Lovers, please take the seat beside Miss Lovers."
Truthfully, Klein's original seating arrangement for the Tarot Club had been men on one side, women on the other. The "Lovers" situation — where one person kept switching between male and female — had already thrown that logic into chaos. Now that both were present simultaneously, the seating arrangement was well and truly a mess.
But it didn't matter. No one was going to question Mr. Fool's arrangements.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
The moment Vincent settled into his seat, Audrey greeted everyone in her usual bright, breezy tone, and the others responded in turn.
Noticing that The Sun clearly still hadn't quite caught up with the situation, Audrey helpfully explained, "Mr. Sun, Mr. Lovers and Miss Lovers are in a rather unusual situation. They share a single body because of a curse cast by a high-sequence powerhouse — two souls, one vessel."
Derrick's eyes went wide. He'd never heard of anything like that before.
Audrey then turned to Mr. Fool. "Mr. Fool, I found another page of the diary this week."
"Very good."
Vincent and Bernadette exchanged a glance. In the end, it was Bernadette who spoke. "Mr. Fool, I also have a page of the diary."
They had already done all the probing they were going to do. Short of outright revealing to Mr. Fool that Vincent was a transmigrator, they were unlikely to squeeze any more information out of him. So the diary Bernadette had materialised contained nothing of consequence — a few mundane entries from daily life, carefully avoiding anything that might incriminate her father's more unsavoury deeds.
Klein raised an eyebrow but held his tongue. Should I point out that now that there are two of them, they ought to provide two pages? — No. That would lower Mr. Fool's prestige. Besides, providing a diary page had never been mandatory.
Alger said with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, Mr. Fool. I still don't have a diary page this week."
"It's quite all right."
Klein waved it off with an air of complete indifference. He was far more eager to unfold the two pages in front of him and read them quickly. Miss Justice's page described Roselle witnessing the awesome power of a demigod-level being, while Miss Lovers' page was about Emperor Roselle's experiences inventing small gadgets and trinkets.
Nothing about the Lord of Chaos from last time. Not a single follow-up.
A thick wave of disappointment crashed over Klein. Over the past week, he'd nearly talked himself into just speaking that name aloud — the true name of the Lord of Chaos — more than once. Each time, he'd reined himself in at the last second, telling himself to wait just a few more days, that the diary might have the answers.
And he'd waited. And here he was, with nothing.
After a long moment, he smoothed the turbulence in his chest and said in a flat tone, "Miss Lovers, regarding your diary page this week — do you have anything you'd like to ask?"
Bernadette thought for a moment. "I'd like to know — why did Emperor Roselle write a diary at all?"
Her question left Audrey and Alger a little puzzled. You write a diary because you write a diary. What's there to wonder about?
Klein dispelled the diary pages from his hand and replied, "At first, it was simply a way for him to express his feelings. Over time it became a habit."
Audrey blinked in surprise. "So he invented an entirely new written language just to have a way to express his feelings? Emperor Roselle was truly... something."
Klein gave an inward eye-roll. "Heh."
He raised one hand. "You may all begin."
Audrey was the quickest off the mark, immediately asking The Sun about the Telepathist potion formula. Once she had his confirmation, the two of them completed the exchange through Mr. Fool's "blessed follower" as an intermediary.
Audrey gained the Telepathist formula; Klein gained a "small fortune" of several hundred pounds — the second windfall he'd received since transmigrating. The first had come from that mysterious high-sequence lady.
The money lifted his mood considerably.
After that, The Sun raised a request to acquire the follow-up formulas of the Lightseeker pathway, Audrey made inquiries about purchasing certain ingredients, and The Hanged Man likewise put forward a request to acquire the Wind-Blessed formula.
Audrey, who had been quietly observing everyone, noticed something: the two "Lovers" seemed to remain entirely outside all of these transactions from start to finish. They hadn't tried to buy anything, and they hadn't offered anything for sale.
Come to think of it, looking back on all the previous gatherings, Mr. (or Miss) Lovers had never participated in any exchange at all. It was as though they simply had no needs whatsoever.
Could it be, Audrey wondered, that Mr. (or Miss) Lovers already has every formula and ingredient needed for their advancement prepared and waiting — just digesting, ready to break through the moment the time comes?
Goodness!
That was utterly enviable.
At least one of them must come from one of those legendary Beyonder families! And yet even someone from a bloodline like that keeps trying to decipher Emperor Roselle's diary — which can only mean the diary is hiding secrets that even they haven't been able to get their hands on. And Mr. Fool can actually read it. He truly is incredible.
With that train of thought still running, Audrey asked, "Miss Lovers, if you don't mind — may I ask why you're so interested in Emperor Roselle's diary? I'm only asking out of personal curiosity. If it's inconvenient, please just ignore me."
Perfect.
Klein was genuinely pleased. You never let me down, Miss Justice.
Bernadette looked over at her and said quietly, "My family has a certain connection to Emperor Roselle. We've been searching for clues related to him for many years."
"Oh, I see."
Audrey was still curious, but she knew that pressing further would be prying into personal matters, and she forced herself to stop.
Then, to her surprise, Bernadette continued on her own: "Because my elders have always believed that Emperor Roselle is still alive — merely confined somewhere by certain circumstances."
"?!?!"
Klein, Alger, and Audrey all stared: The Emperor is still... alive?
How is that even possible?
To be continued…
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