“The Fool?” The Beyonders who attended Mr. A’s gathering either ruminated over the phrase or conversed with their companions to discuss whether they had ever met anyone who had a similar faith.
“When did such a cult appear?” someone asked in a low voice.
At this point, Mr. A made the attendant beside him hold up a blackboard with a few lines of words written in the Loen language.
“The Fool that doesn’t belong to this era.
“The mysterious ruler above the gray fog.
“The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck.”
As the attendees examined the blackboard, Mr. A said in a hoarse and jarring voice, “Do not use Hermes to read what’s written here. Even more so for Jotun, Elvish, Dragonese, and ancient Hermes. You shouldn’t even write the corresponding descriptions; otherwise, there is a high probability that something terrible will happen.
“Help me find believers in The Fool. Of course, they might also be followers of the mysterious ruler above the gray fog or the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck. As long as there’s a clue, inform me immediately. The reward I’ll provide will be so handsome that it will far exceed your imagination!”
“This description… It sounds like an incredible existence. I’ve only seen similar descriptions in the ancient texts of the seven gods!” a gathering member exclaimed.
His companion shook his head and said, “The beings which many cults believe in have similar descriptions.”
“Is it really a cult?” The other gathering members were stunned when they heard their discussion.
“Likely. Typically, when we summon a creature from the spirit world, we might have three lines describing it, but one of the lines would be about ‘the blessed one of someone’ or ‘that who belongs to.’ It wouldn’t be in this format!” A gathering member who was well-versed in mysticism gave an explanation.
As they vehemently conversed, Fors was nearly dumbfounded.
She knew that Mr. A was a member of the Aurora Order because of a particular “terrorist organization” had announced its responsibility in the assassination of Intis Ambassador Bakerland.
After a brief moment of astonishment, Fors subconsciously began to examine herself, afraid that someone would discover that she was already a member of the Tarot Club and that, in some sense, she was an adorer of The Fool.
And then, as she recalled, she thought about the origin of the piece of paper.
At that moment, Viscount Glaint was looking at the blackboard and said to himself with interest, “This honorific name is very rare.
“But it sounds very impressive!”
Just as he finished his sentence, he looked to his side in puzzlement, asking Fors and Xio, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Nothing.” Xio and Fors rapidly shook their heads at the same time.
…
After dinner, in an elegantly decorated house.
Audrey brought the huge golden retriever, Susie, into the living room under the guidance of her psychology teacher, Escalante. She was attending the “academic” meeting that had been agreed upon last week.
Her maid and bodyguard stayed behind while she walked with Susie into a spacious activity room.
In the activity room, be it for the atmosphere or some other reason, the gas lamps were not lit. The room was lit by gold-plated candle lamps on the coffee table and cupboard.
Before Audrey could take a good look at her surroundings, she saw a gentleman in his thirties walking towards her. He wore a gray tailcoat.
“This is the owner of this place, Mr. Stephen Hampres, a furniture merchant.” the long-haired Escalante introduced him.
She was just about to tell him Audrey’s identity when Hampres chuckled and said, “Escalante, don’t say anything. Let me have a chance at guessing.”
He had a neatly trimmed mustache and charming dark brown eyes. He appeared very gentle and elegant, nothing like a furniture merchant but more like a university lecturer.
After seriously sizing up Audrey a few times, he smiled and said, “Escalante only mentioned that you were her student. Heh heh, I believe you’re a cultured noble lady, and you aren’t someone who only looks good. There’s no need for you to worry about a decline in the quality of your life…
“You’re a little excited, very curious, and a relatively simple but also full of love…
“Of course, the most obvious point is that you’re very beautiful, just like an angel!”
He made a final joke, pressed his hand to his chest, bowed, and said, “Welcome, the beautiful Miss Angel.”
“Did you know me before, Mr. Hampres?”
She didn’t let her shocked expression linger too long on her face, because such emotions were meant to be instantaneous and wouldn’t last too long.
If anyone were to be surprised for several seconds, then it meant that their performance was most likely an act.
Audrey didn’t notice this at first, but after watching others “act” all this time, she naturally came up with a lot of rules.
“No, I still don’t know you. This is just the basics of being a psychology enthusiast.” Hampres chuckled.
Before he could finish his sentence, Audrey had already completed her observations and made a corresponding judgment based on her surroundings.
At the same time, Audrey expressed her longing skillfully.
“I’d love to have your observational powers, Mr. Hampres.”
As she spoke, she maintained a faint smile while being introduced to the other seven or eight people in the activity room under Hampres’s and Escalante’s lead.
The lovers of both mysticism and psychology were either descendants of fallen aristocrats, associate professors at universities, or the children of the rich. For example, the father of a young man was the owner of Philip’s Department Store, the most famous department store in Backlund.
In the exchange that followed, Audrey basically only listened. The only time she spoke was by asking questions, fully expressing her curiosity and yearning.
In this “academic” discussion, Escalante and Hampres deliberately mentioned the Body of Heart and Mind, as well as the spirit world and the collective subconscious. They also shared some relatively unique points of view, allowing Audrey to gradually understand some of the questions she had accumulated all this time.
When the discussion ended and they were out of the house, Audrey glanced at Escalante beside her and asked, with a little naivety, “Ms. Escalante, when will I-I be as good in psychology as Mr. Hampres?”
Escalante curled the corners of her lips and slightly tilted her head as she looked at her.
“Very soon…”
…
At night, Klein, who was about to get into bed, once again appeared above the gray fog.
Despite being a little sleepy, he was jolted awake by the news Miss Magician had reported.
He quickly rejected the final theory. If the True Creator had indeed locked onto him, Mr. A would have long visited him on the pretext of collecting a copper penny for the gas meter. Perhaps, even a Saint might appear.
Soon, he discovered a possibility.
Having roughly understood the problem, Klein was left with another problem.
