Chapter 8 : Another Tarot Club (1)

Since I teach Klein in the evening, Leonard assists me then go to work only in the afternoon. This time, there wasn't any classes so he went to church earlier than usual. (Just to say that our dear poet isn't unemployed !)

Now, let's think about how Klein could act effectively…

For the Seer potion, he should mainly do divination.

I'll let him digest the clown potion alone.

As a magician, he needs to make (prepared) performances… Street magic ?

Seriously, why can't he just join a circus ?

To act as a Faceless… For now, let's just let him change his appearance and choose a persona while he acts to digest the other potions.

He can also act in advance…

Does a puppet show with DOLLS instead of humans work ? I'll have to let him try.

For the sequence 4 potion… I should let him decide how to scare people but I feel that if I talk about it to him I'll end being the victim… and I don't like being scared. Let's put it aside.

To digest the sequence 3 potion, Scholar of Yore, I just need to tell him a lot of knowledge about kings of angels. (Mr. Fool : Why do I feel like I'll be used as a wiki again ?)

To act as a Miracle Invoker, he should grant wishes, but I remember that he had to realize them manually with sealed artifacts' help at the beginning ?

To act as an attendant of mysteries… Did he ever act as an attendant of mysteries ? I don't remember…

I previously talked to Klein about how to efficiently act and we agreed that I will follow him (stalk him) and watch him (Xin Jian : watch him FIXEDLY) while he does street magic and proposes to do divination at a low cost… The emotionless wishing machine episode should come only after he does the ritual of Miracle Invoker.

In fact, since he has already slept for more than 300 years, he should be able to summon historical projections but he has to unlock the sequence four potion first to gain divinity before it's possible. In short, he's really stuck at sequence 6 before he listens to mermaids singing.

Mr. Fool, can't you create a recording from your memories and let Klein listen to it above the gray fog ? No, Klein should experience hardships too to win against Tianzun…

Well, all that was to say that after Klein went to act outside, a new legend was created. A legend about the famous new Seer, Magician, etc, etc, called Merlin Hermes ! Your naming skills, Klein !

That's how Merlin Hermes was born earlier than expected !

(Klein didn't understand why I looked at him strangely when he told me that name.)

Our Klein is growing up, I'm so moved.

*Imaginary tear*

Lastly, I discovered that watching (fixedly) Klein act for an entire day (my legs hurt too) was boring (because he doesn't have any costumers) so I left. (What about the legend of Merlin Hermes ?!) I will let him act alone from now on.

I also have to think of a way to make money, but I don't want to work…

Thursday :

So, when is the Tarot club coming ?

Well, for now, I have something else to do.

« Arrodes, where does Fors Wall live ? »

Arrodes showed the way then asked a question (which didn't cause my social death thanks to my partial authority over the gray fog, but Klein is still his favorite).

Let's go…

Seriously, I don't even get to have one day of rest !

I just want to lie down in bed !

I arrived where Fors Wall and Xio live.

Now, I just have to wait in front of their house until Fors come out.

This is not suspicious at all.

Beyonders' spiritual intuition has absolutely no chance of warning them of my presence right away.

Hmm…

It is also possible that Miss salted fish doesn't go out all day.

Hmm…

Then why did I come then ?

Seriously…

I facepalmed.

*Mr. Fool pulling out the historical projection of 008 to reasonably make Fors go out*

Bruh, why is she really going out ? Isn't it a COINCIDENCE ?!

*coincidence ptsd.jpg*

*shrugs shoulders and just brushes it aside*

Now, let's go see Fors.

At least I didn't forget to dress up like a charlatan.

Meanwhile, Fors was going out to buy something when a girl dressed as a charlat- magician came out of a dark alley.

« Miss, it must be fate that I meet you here~. Would you like a divination ? It is free for you since you're pretty. I hope that you recommend me after that~. »

The fact that it is free is to make it easier to accept and the last sentence is to give a reasonable reason as to why it is free (to be recommended -> so more business -> so more profit).

But I don't think she will refuse anyway since I believe in Miss Salted Fish's curiosity !

(Xin Jian : I have faith !

Author : …

Author : Should I make it fail and let Fors go on her way ?

Mr. Fool (+ 008's historical projection) : It is reasonable that Xin Jian gains the upper hand against the author.)

So Fors accepted.

« Please draw 3 cards. » I said.

Why bother asking what she wants to divine while I already have a plan ?

She drew three cards then I invited her to turn the one on the left.

It was a wheel of fortune card.

« …You have been purchased by the ravings of Mr. Door at the full moon. »

(Author : You totally didn't not read that on the card.

Xin Jian : No, no, opening doors is related to fate…

Mr. Fool, writing : What Xin Jian is saying is reasonable.

Author : Isn't it because you're not convinced that you're writing that ? Wait, you're not even supposed to be able to pull out historical projections since you don't have any Beyonder characteristics !

Mr. Fool, still writing : As the main master of Sefirah Castle from the Fool pathway with a divine personality, it is reasonable for me to be able to pull out historical projections by leveraging the gray fog's power.

Author : …I have a headache. How did it come to this.

Mr. Fool : You shouldn't have made me favor Xin Jian in the first place.)

Ignoring Fors' stunned face, I continued turned the cards.

« You could also die at next full moon. But don't worry ! I have a solution ! Your fate can change today ! »

Fors looked at me with hopeful eyes :

« Really ? Can you tell me the solution ?? »

That'd be 5 pounds.

Ahem.

« Of course. »

I took out a paper and handed it to her.

She looked at it.

« At the full moon, if you feel that you can't handle it anymore, just say this honorific name. »

Hearing this, she raised her head but I had already disappeared.

(Behind the wall, right next to me, then I ran to the end of the dark alley as fast I could.)

(Arrodes that was watching everything : You're slow.

Xin Jian : *annoyed*)

Then I went home.

Next, I should review the list of things to do.

Oh, actually, there aren't much.

I have to :

- Some for some way to make money (the make money)

- Create the holy bible of The Fool (and make Him read it to make him embarrassed)

- And create worldwide chaos -> long term goal (No reason)

Let's write the Bible tomorrow.

To make money…

Well, I don't need to drink or eat (since I'm fog) and Leonard is paying the rent so let's put it aside.

Why did I even have the idea to make money ?

I don't remember.

« Leonard, didn't you say that money isn't important ? »

Leonard : No, I didn't.

« Then give me money. I need to buy paper.

- Why don't you ask the goddess ? retorted Leonard

- Oh, good idea !

- No, stop ! I will lend you money…

- No, GIVE. (I won't pay it back.) »

Is Leonard scared that I will commit blasphemy because of him ?

Hmm…

That's not the first time though… (that I commit blasphemy)

If blasphemy was a crime, then I'd be sentenced to death. *proud*

(Author : But blasphemy IS a crime…

Xin Jian : *shrugs shoulders*)

Well, that's still free money !

*Klein is slightly envious.jpg*

Leonard is looking at me like I am shameless.

« What ? » I said.

Leonard looked away and took out his wallet.

It's called "extorting".

That's how I spent the end of the week making the holy bible of the Fool while Klein was acting outside and Leonard was working. (<- yes, I really did a time skip)

—————— I am the dividing line~

Monday, July 9, 1349, before 3 pm :

I went above the gray fog in advance to talk to Mr. Fool.

Well, before that, I did a ceremony to sacrifice Arrodes (and the holy Bible) and brought him above the gray fog.

« Arrodes, I'm bringing you to see your master. I will need you to act as my assistant above the gray fog (just in case). But be careful, because any misconduct will make a stain on Mr. Fool's reputation ! »

I then heard Mr. Fool's thoughts :

"I'm pretty sure you brought him for that, though ?"

Ahem. Mr. Fool is so smart.

Wait, if I can usually hear Mr. Fool's thoughts when I am above the gray fog, I hope he can't hear my thoughts too…

That would be a problem.

I turned to Mr. Fool :

« Mr. Fool, can you kill the true creator ? »

Mr. Fool : Pfft-

« Why ? »

Hmm… That's a good question.

I'm pretty sure there was a reason but I forgot what it was…

« No reason. But it's possible to corrupt him with Sefirah Castle, right ? Since the Hanged Man is not an adjacent pathway, Tianzun wouldn't resurrect in him either. So it should be possible to handle him by yourself even if you're weak, right ? And Amanises and Lilith could help too ! »

After all, the Sea of Chaos is a Sefirah and it corrupts people… There should be a way to obtain the same effect with Sefirah Castle, right ? I just don't know how to…

*Warning, warning ! The Fool's workload increased !*

« And if you can't find him, I can say his honorific name- »

« No ! I can find him. You don't need to do anything. » He stopped me.

Hey ! That's fine. If I say the True Creator's honorific name, I will just die.

The Fool seemed hesitant then added :

« Also, you should be careful of Amon… and Adam (since He is on Amon's side). »

Why ? I just want to pull them to the Tarot Club.

*innocent look.jpg*

« Yes, yes. But look, this is your holy Bible. I worked hard on it all week. I kindly force you to read it~. »

So I forced Him to read his holy Bible with a lot of cringey praises written on purpose until 3pm.

Then, Mr. Fool looked at his watch and breathed a sigh of relief.

Figures appeared above the gray fog.

This time, I won't be invisible.

I see that there are new members~.

My hard work paid off. I'm moved.

There's that vampire… What was his name again ? Something "-line"…

« Marilyn ! » I murmured.

It's "Marilyn".

(Mr. Fool : So Emlyn has been renamed Marilyn…)

What a strange name for a guy. It's like that scary blonde…

(Author : Huh ? Why is Marilyn Monroe scary ?

Xin Jian : It's because she has pale skin so dolls that are designed with her appearance seem scary. What's more, in the 21st century, her face appeared everywhere (mostly in English class and art class, even in French class !) just like a ghost ! There was even a painting of Marilyn on the school's wall ! No, her face was painted at least 8 times with different colors and the paintings were next to each other on the wall ! Marilyn Monroe is scary ! *traumatized noises*

Author : Looks like we didn't have the same education…

Mr. Fool, still sipping tea : How would you call Mr. Star then ?

Xin Jian (without hesitation) : Leonardo DiCaprio.

Mr. Fool : Pfft-

Xin Jian : What ? Everyone needs methods to memorize things, right ?

Author : …

Xin Jian : That's a joke~. I've lived with him and Klein for a while now and I observed him with Mr. Fool for a few centuries before that, of course I remember his name~.

Author : So ? You still didn't say Mr. Star's name.

Xin Jian : *looks away*)

Then there is… Lilith ?!

I looked back at "Marilyn" (Mr. Moon) then at Lilith.

Weren't you supposed to send Marilyn as a test to judge whether to come or not ? If you came, then why did you send him ?

Did you come incognito too ?

I looked at Amanises then shook my head.

Why are so many gods coming to the club incognito…

Good news, Will joined too.

After the greetings were over and everyone introduced themselves, their gazes went to my seat at the lower end of the long bronze table.

I stood up.

« Hello~. I will be Mr. Fool's representative for the next Tarot meetings. »

Mr Fool : Er… I am still there…

« I am Miss Devil. I should first introduce to you a few things. »

I first explained how to make their thoughts appear on paper (Author : It's chapter 35 if you don't understand what it refers to), then I explained the ceremony to sacrifice things…

« …If there is an emergency and you can't pronounce Mr. Fool's honorific name, then inject spirituality in the dots on the back of your hand. »

After that, I gave the commissions about the red priest uniqueness, the hidden sage, etc…

« I also wrote a Holy Bible about Mr. Fool, we will give one to each of you. »

All the gods present here (except Mr. Fool) : Pfft-

Mr. Moon : But I am only loyal to the ancestor of the sanguine !

Others : So this really developed into a cult.

Amanises asked :

« So you intend to make a religion ? »

I nodded.

« Yes. »

She had a playful look on her face (not visible through the fog).

« Then, what is the sacrament ? »

Huh.

I stealthily glanced at The Fool.

He slightly nodded and thought :

"Do as you want."

I froze.

No, Mr. Fool, I am not asking you what to choose as a sacrament, but what does the word "sacrament" mean ?!

Arrodes, you're my only hope now !

I took Arrodes.

It wrote in letters of blood.

"Desi pie and sweet iced tea."

I repeated :

« Yes, yes. Of course it is Desi pie and sweet iced tea ! »

So what is a sacrament ?

Why are you saying Klein favorite food ???

Arrodes wrote :

"By the principle of reciprocity, you have to answer one question. Do you have Borderline Personality Disorder ?"

I murmured :

« Yes ! »

So now let me continue the meeting !

« You can begin~. » I said.

I looked at the people present here.

There were :

The World, The Star, The Death, The High Priestess (Amanises), Justice, The Hanged Man, The Moon, The Wheel of Fortune (Will), me (Miss Devil), The Fool and The Chariot (Lilith). We are 11.

Audrey began :

« Thank you, Mr. Hanged Man. I became a Beyonder. »

Miss Justice observed the surprised expression of Mr. Hanged Man but she was disappointed to find that others didn't react.

Klein's thoughts : "Already ? This lady is very rich…"

…except Mr. World who was slightly envious.

Mr. Hanged Man calmed down and accepted Miss Justice's thanks.

Audrey put her palms together and placed them in front of her.

« Ladies and gentlemen, I have three questions to ask. If you think that the answers warrant a high price, tell me what you want, I will try my best to seek it. »

« No problem. » Alger answered succinctly.

Audrey thought for a few seconds and said : « The first question is, what does 'acting' really mean? I realize that the remnant psyche in the potion has minute effects on me; is that because I've been acting as a Spectator all this while ? »

Alger did not speak ; instead, he looked at The High Priestess, as though waiting for Her to give an answer.

I spoke up in her stead :

« Let me explain this with an analogy. Imagine the core powers of your potion as a tightly guarded castle. The remnants of the psyche that can cause a lash back resides within that castle. Our goal is to get rid of it and become the true master of the castle.

There are two ways we can do that. The first is to forcefully invade the castle. There is no guarantee that this will work, and you will most definitely injure yourself unless you can suppress it with absolute power. But of course, we are not equipped to do that.

The second way is to get the owner of the castle to extend an invitation. This invitation can allow us to slide through the scrutiny of the guards and infiltrate the castle. We can then easily finish off the enemies. But the problem lies in the fact that this invitation specifies the facial features and characteristics of the guest. Thus, we have to disguise ourselves and act as the guest, do you understand ? »

Alger immediately asked, as if he had anticipated this reply :

« Then the aforementioned invitation is the name of the potion's Sequence ? »

« That's right. » I answered with great affirmation.

Audrey froze for a moment, having the sudden feeling that she completely understood what 'acting' meant.

She immediately exited her Spectator state due to her excitement. She paused for a moment before saying :

« I think that this is a very valuable answer ; my heart is not at ease accepting it for nothing. Miss Devil, what do you need in exchange ? »

I shook my head and nearly refused when I remembered something :

« Then 10, no, 20 pounds please. »

Audrey nodded.

« I will give it to you with the method you spoke about earlier. »

I'm glad. I nearly said that common sense should be free and missed money.

« Then, I shall ask the second question : what is the name of the subsequent potion for Spectator ? Where can I find the clues ? »

Alger remained silent for a few seconds before saying :

« I'll answer the question for free because I led you on this pathway.

The subsequent Sequence for Spectator is Sequence 8 Telepathic. The ancient name of Sequence 7 is Psyche Analyst but is called Psychiatrist now. This is what I found out from a member of the Psychology Alchemists. I think they should have quite a number of potion formulas for this pathway. »

« Do you know the whereabouts of that particular Psychology Alchemists member ? » asked Audrey as her eyes beamed with joy.

Alger gave a rare laugh.

« I do. He's immersed in the seas around Sonia Island. I sank him with my own hands.

If you would like to look for the Psychology Alchemists, I have to apologize since I severed the clues. »