Above the boundless expanse of gray-white fog, within an ancient palace that seemed like the abode of gods...
Crimson lights surged upward on both sides of the bronze long table, solidifying into hazy figures.
"Justice" Audrey rose immediately, lightly lifting the hem of her skirt, and bowed toward the very top:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
Her mood wasn't exactly low, but so many things had happened recently that she couldn't let her ending notes rise playfully as they used to.
After the members had finished their salutations and taken their seats, Audrey swept her gaze across them, already habitually beginning her observations.
Almost instantly, she noticed that both the mental state and body language of "The Hermit" lady indicated she was worried about something.
Was it related to the "Mysterious Queen"? Or was it a different problem? Or perhaps a combination of both? "Justice" Audrey thought with a hint of surprise and curiosity about the possible reasons.
Through these repeated Tarot gatherings, she had long since sketched a "psychological portrait" of "The Hermit" lady, considering her a rather contradictory Beyonder: experienced, knowledgeable, composed, and competent, yet in some ways bold and rash, like a girl who hadn't yet come of age.
Combining this with the relationship she had displayed with the "Mysterious Queen," Audrey interpreted it as: although "The Hermit" lady had been through much, many times it was under the protection and arrangement of that Queen that she had smoothly resolved issues. Deep within her heart, a little girl still lived who craved care and protection.
And precisely because of this hidden state, Audrey boldly guessed that when "The Hermit" lady encountered someone who had been "abandoned" yet hadn't committed any serious wrongdoing, she would unconsciously pity them, sympathize with them, and help them.
At the same time, based on information such as being female, active on the seas, possessing strength at Sequence 5, owning quite a few mystical items, having rich experiences and knowledge, liking to wear thick-rimmed glasses, and having crossed paths with Gehrman Sparrow, Audrey believed that casually flipping through wanted posters and newspapers related to pirates would undoubtedly confirm "The Hermit" lady's identity. However, she hadn't gone out of her way to do this, only making a rough guess.
No, "The Hermit" lady should now be a Sequence 4 demigod; there couldn't be too many things that would worry her this much... It definitely wasn't because the war had broken out; a great pirate wouldn't be overly troubled by that... As her thoughts raced, limited by insufficient knowledge, "Justice" Audrey, aside from guessing toward the "Mysterious Queen," had no other line of reasoning.
And at this moment, what echoed in the mind of "The Hermit" Cattleya were two things:
"Why did the Queen suddenly send so many diary entries? If I hadn't become a 'Mysticologist' and mastered certain secret arts, I couldn't possibly have memorized them all in such a short time... What exactly has happened? Has the Queen fallen into some kind of trouble?
"That fellow Frank Lee, he actually wanted to skip the ritual and consume the potion directly to advance. Fortunately, I stopped him. However, the 'Druid' ritual poses no difficulty at all for him. Understanding the habits and physical structures of many common animals and three types of supernatural creatures is groundwork he, a crazy 'biologist' already engaged in crossbreeding plants and animals, had already completed. Next week—no, in these next two days—he can become a 'Druid.' What he needs to do is write down his accumulated knowledge and experiences as part of the ritual..."
As her thoughts churned, Cattleya suppressed her worry, turned toward the head of the bronze long table, lowered her head, and said respectfully:
"Great Mr. Fool, this time I have collected an entire tome of Emperor Roselle's diary."
An entire tome... Hearing "The Hermit" lady's words, all the members, including "The Hanged Man" Alger, visibly froze. This somewhat exceeded their understanding.
Previously, it had been submitted two or three pages at a time, or even just one or two pages. This time, it was an entire tome!
Had something happened? Even "The Sun" Derrick, who was the least concerned and most oblivious to such matters, sensed something was amiss.
They all knew that the "Mysterious Queen" Bernadette was Emperor Roselle's eldest daughter, so being able to provide an entire tome was normal. What wasn't normal was the act of giving an entire tome at once!
"The Hermit" Cattleya paid no attention to everyone's stares and continued:
"These diary entries are not continuous, but they all originate from the later years of Emperor Roselle."
"Very well." "The Fool" Klein gave a slight nod, signaling that "The Hermit" could begin materializing.
Page after page of slightly yellowed diary entries took shape in succession, quickly stacking into a bound volume.
After receiving it, Klein flipped through it casually without actually reading it, then set the diary down and looked toward "The Hermit," Cattleya:
"You may ask your questions.
"Including the ones saved from before, there are ten in total."
The reason he hadn't carefully read the diary was that this time there were simply too many—at least thirty pages. Reading through them all would make the Tarot Club members wait far too long, damaging "Mr. Fool's" image, so he planned to go through them slowly after the gathering ended.
Ten questions… "The Hermit" Cattleya felt a sudden headache coming on, because the "Mystical Queen" Bernadette had only asked her to raise two questions this time.
She considered for a moment and said:
"Respected 'Mr. Fool,' may I ask them in batches?"
"You may." Klein nodded with a smile.
This suited his thinking perfectly. Answering ten questions all at once would be quite difficult for "Mr. Fool" to manage.
"The Hermit" Cattleya secretly let out a sigh of relief and said: