After replying, 'The Star' Leonard fully realized the hidden information in Klein's request: did he mean that the old man had once seen something like the Blasphemy Slate?
Not giving Leonard time to think, 'The World' Gehrman Sparrow looked around and brought up another matter:
"The Church of the Goddess of Night obtained intelligence from Major General and Deputy Director Qonas Kilgor of MI9, confirming that King George III of Loen is hiding a secret... He secretly sent people to excavate the ruins of the Blood Emperor, colluding with the Witch Sect and the Psychological Alchemical Society..."
Klein, controlling his puppet, described what he had previously told Ms. Justice in more detail, and at the end, he specifically added a couple of points:
"The three major churches don't seem to have found enough evidence. With Hewn Lambis's disappearance, the matter has seemingly died down... There is reason to suspect that there might be a traitor among the high-ranking members of the three churches."
...Such a major event happened in Backlund this week? Klein even seemed to have obtained the information from the church... How come I don't know anything about it? As he listened, 'The Star' Leonard looked at 'The World' Gehrman Sparrow with a slightly strange expression, and for a moment, he was dazed, wondering who was the 'Red Glove' of the Church of the Goddess of Night, and who was the key trainee close to the upper echelons.
Looking back, he vaguely grasped something, but couldn't truly catch that inspiration to form a thought.
'The Hierophant' Xio, who had planned to share Viscount Stratford's experiences and testimony at this Tarot Club meeting to seek help, was shocked to find that Mr. The World's investigation largely overlapped with her own objectives.
If she had known this, she should have asked Mr. The World for help when she was following Viscount Stratford to the warehouse in the dock area. That might have allowed her to bypass some restrictions and get more clues... Xio looked around, chose her words, and prepared to speak.
At this moment, 'The Hanged Man' Alger, despite his shock, recalled the few Tarot Club meetings three or four months ago, before 'The Star' and 'The Hierophant' had joined. At that time, 'The World' Gehrman Sparrow had already asked the members of the Tarot Club to keep an eye out for information on Qonas Kilgor and to identify Hewn Lambis as the mastermind behind Calon's suicide.
Indeed, the simple suicide of Calon wouldn't have made 'The World' invest so much effort. The things he investigated and the people he focused on were very likely related to secrets that could affect the world's situation... Moreover, there might be a traitor among the high-ranking members of the three churches? Which cardinal or senior deacon could it be? Alger sensed the undercurrents and also smelled an opportunity.
Normally, as a member of the Church of the Lord of Storms who was not highly regarded, and a Beyonder who had been playing the role of a pirate for a long time, his best outcome would be to earn merit and become a Sequence 5 'Ocean Singer', return to the church, and become a deputy to the high-ranking members of the 'Punishers'. It was almost impossible for him to hold a sacred relic and become a demigod.
Only with changes in the situation and frequent incidents could he, backed by the Tarot Club, demonstrate enough ability, make great contributions, and be considered a candidate for grooming.
Similarly, 'The Hermit' Cattleya seemed to be able to see the clouds gathering over Backlund and the wind building up, vaguely understanding why the Queen had been staying there for so long in the past six months. 'The Moon' Emlyn, on the other hand, frowned, once again feeling that Backlund was no longer a suitable place for the vampires to live.
He could only hope that this would not disrupt the operation to hunt down important members of the Rose School... And also, hopefully, it wouldn't make him and the Pater work as hard as they did during the Great Smog last year... Emlyn recalled the past and frowned even deeper.
His peripheral vision caught 'The Sun' beside him. He noticed that the young man, though sitting upright, had a rather blank look in his eyes, and couldn't help but give a mental laugh.
"I'll keep an eye out for any traces of Hewn Lambis." 'Justice' Audrey broke the brief silence and spoke up.
'The Hierophant' Xio also looked at 'The World' Gehrman Sparrow and said:
"I am investigating a matter that also involves the King's secret. If you need me to cooperate in any way, please don't hesitate."
With that, she briefly mentioned the issue related to the Sherman Monitor.
"Good." Klein, knowing it was Witch Triss, made the puppet 'The World' nod and said with a hoarse laugh, "Whether it's keeping an eye on Hewn Lambis's whereabouts or investigating the King's secret, you must pay attention to whether there are too many coincidences around you. If there are, please inform me immediately."
He didn't mention the Twilight Hermit Order and Adam directly, fearing that Miss Justice and the others would start thinking too much uncontrollably in private, inevitably becoming overly nervous, thereby revealing problems and attracting attention.
"Too many coincidences..." 'The Magician' Fors and the other Tarot Club members repeated the phrase to themselves, each making their own guesses.
After about ten seconds of silence, 'The Sun' Derrick spoke:
"After another period of adjustment and preparation, I will follow the exploration team to the Afternoon Town camp. This time, we will likely attempt to enter the Giant King's Court."
For 'Justice' Audrey and the others, this was not too abrupt. They had long known that after 'The Sun' advanced to Sequence 5, the City of Silver would most likely launch a similar operation.
Therefore, at this moment, they were not surprised or shocked. Instead, they felt a sense of finally having waited for it, as if ancient myths were about to slowly unfold before their eyes and be truly presented.
'The Hanged Man' Alger thought for a moment and offered a subtle reminder:
"At that time, follow the arrangement of your Chief, and try to pray more to Mr. Fool. If you encounter difficulties, you can apply for a small-scale discussion like 'The Moon' does."
"Good, Mr. The Hanged Man." 'The Sun' Derrick didn't find it difficult; this was what he usually did or wanted to do.
After finishing this matter, 'The Hanged Man' Alger turned to the head of the long bronze table and bowed piously:
"Honored Mr. Fool, there is already an answer to the matter you previously asked me to investigate."
Amid the puzzled and curious looks of the other members, he continued:
"There were five colonels of the Feynapotter Empire who participated in the 1338 Battle of Konoto. Two of them died in that battle, one retired afterwards due to age and died of alcoholism two years ago, one was promoted to brigadier general and transferred to the Royal Naval Academy as deputy dean, and one has become a major general and is currently the commander of the Second Division of the Feynapotter Conquest Fleet."