B

Chapter Text

The Tarot Club...

A shiver ran through the audience. Everyone felt as if they had witnessed something very important, although they didn't quite understand it. 

Audrey's family stared at her in disbelief. Each and every one of the Halls had been instilled with noble etiquette from a young age; if anyone saw the prestigious and poised Earl of East Chester gaping like a fish, they wouldn't have believed their eyes. But the shock had simply become too much. Hearing that name, which they'd been too scared to even speak aloud, made the situation seem infinitely more real. The Tarot Club.

A secretive organization that had left several corpses in its wake!

Audrey? Their Audrey? The most dazzling gem of Backlund, innocent and sweet, involved in a group like that? It was nonsensical. So why did she fit in so perfectly here?

"I'm afraid that's all we have time to explain." The senior Spectator smiled and gestured towards the timer, still ticking down. "The viewing will start soon. Please forgive our discourtesy."

Speechless, the Halls could only watch as the group sat down in silence. They were all exchanging glances, backs straighter and eyes brighter than before - this group of fugitives, double agents, and High Sequence Beyonders - and there was their daughter, their sister, among them. As natural as she was around her own family. As if she'd always been there.

Miss Justice suppressed a wince, sensing her family's distress - but still, she couldn't find it in herself to regret her actions. Not when everyone's gazes were on them, filled with shock and fear and awe; not when mystery hung thick in the air like the fantasy she'd always been chasing; and especially not when the Tarot Club's hearts were all bursting with pride.

This was what it meant to be a power emerging from the shadows!

"Miss Justice, are you really okay with this?" Fors whispered into her friend's ear.

Audrey nodded, eyes glinting wickedly. "What's important is that we made an impressive public debut." 

Of course, I plan to properly explain everything to my family later... she added on silently. Still, the opportunity was simply too perfect! Just like a novel! I guess I'm still pretty immature, after all. I'll have to take things slowly and reassure them from now on...

While most of the audience had quickly calmed down, being experienced Beyonders, Melissa and Benson felt more lost than ever. Despite not fully understanding the situation, or perhaps because of their lack of understanding, they felt a chill run down their spines. Tarot Club? Miss Audrey and Kle - Zhou Mingrui's old coworker, and even Zhou Mingrui himself - part of a secret organization? Just what kind of person was masquerading as our brother?!

0:10

"Tarot Club, eh? Quite the flair for drama. I like it." Roselle laughed, breaking the Morettis and the Halls out of their trance. "So? Are you guys sitting or what?"

There was no time to think. The timer was still counting.

"S-Sister-" Alfred had begun speaking without realizing it. The calm and collected military veteran was now totally lost. Even a battlefield might have been easier to navigate than this; at least they were familiar.

Miss Justice looked at him apologetically. She put a finger to her lips.

...Ah... 

What else could they do? The two families sat down. They felt as if the truth had become more distant than ever before.

Audrey... Caitlyn Hall felt tears rise to her eyes.

Klein... Melissa and Benson stared at the screen solemnly.

...What happened to you?

0:05

"Seems like everyone's having fun." Will Auceptin's thumb had once again entered his mouth.

"Yes, they're all very lively." Azik closed his eyes. "Except for you."

"Hmph. Infants get sleepy, you know." Will puffed out his cheeks. His gaze momentarily drifted towards Roselle. Well... nothing is for certain yet. We'll see.

0:01

The Morettis braced themselves. The Halls were still unable to look away from Audrey, barely paying attention to the screen until it began to glow once more.

Against their will, the viewing resumed.

0:00

Returning to his chair again, he heard the faraway cathedral's bells chime again. It continued seven times before Zhou Mingrui slowly stood up. He went up front to the cupboard and took out his clothes...

Thankfully, this was a slower start. The audience had time to decompress as Zhou Mingrui picked out clothes, allowing them to get their thoughts in order.

Alfred Hall grit his teeth. He dug his nails into his palms as he studied the screen intensely, unwilling to miss a single detail. I have no idea what's going on, but if this viewing can tell me anything, then-!

Surprisingly, Danitz was having similar thoughts, although his train of thought had stopped at: I have no idea what's going on!

These were all the savings Benson had at the moment. It even included the living expenses for the next three days. Two of them were five-soli notes and the remaining were one-soli notes…

This is the family's savings... Including living expenses...? Everyone finally understood how precarious the Moretti family's situation was.

Danitz's jaw dropped. Dogshit, that's not even enough for a single night at the Red Theater!

Will Auceptin tugged on Azik's sleeve and whispered, "How much ice cream could that buy?"

The Death Consul considered this question seriously before whispering back. "More than a young boy like you should be eating."

Will pouted.

Melissa and Benson, however, only exchanged tired glances. Although they'd been given a short reprieve, the viewing had immediately gone on to dredge up memories of the past. The sympathetic glances they were getting didn't help much, either. The siblings held their tongues and continued to face forward, hoping for the scene to change quickly. 

Zhou Mingrui spread a note and caught a whiff of the faint unique ink.

This was the smell of money.

Perhaps a result of Klein's memory fragments or his constant desire for money, Zhou Mingrui felt like he had instantly fallen in love with these notes.

"…" Isn't that a little far? everyone thought.

Melissa, Benson, and Audrey twitched slightly, but tried to refocus themselves. Klein's memory fragments? They really did influence him? Well, uh, I'm not so sure about the love part...

Look, their designs are so beautiful. It makes the stern and old-fashioned George III and his two mustaches appear especially adorable…

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roselle scowled, touching his own mustache self-consciously.

…Sir, please restrain yourself, that's the man who will attempt to become a god in a few years… Audrey watched with mixed feelings.

Adorable?! That?! Emlyn, the doll fanatic, seethed in silent anger. He wanted to march into the screen and teach Zhou Mingrui what "adorable" truly meant!

Look, the watermark that can be seen when the note is placed against sunlight is so alluring. The exquisite design for the anti-counterfeit label makes it completely different from those fake fancy schlocks!

"A-Alluring?" Fors muttered. To love money this much, he must be Gehrman Sparrow after all! Nobody else could be so deranged!

Danitz also felt a shocking familiarity, which was enough to make him shudder. If I didn't know any better, I might have believed those thoughts belonged to t-that madman... No! Even thinking that might get me killed! Comparing that cold-blooded monster to such a wimpy guy, he'd shoot me on the spot!

Wouldn't it be great if my Blessed could stop embarrassing himself? Amanises coughed into 'Her' hand. 

Zhou Mingrui admired it for nearly a minute before pulling out two one-soli notes. He then rolled up the remaining notes and stuffed them back into the cushion's concealed layer…

Zhou Mingrui stood by the door and was unsure when he had already begun to frown.

Klein's suicide was fraught with peculiarities. Would he encounter any 'accidents' if he were to leave just like that?

"Caution is a good thing, but I'm not sure anything he can do will help." Leonard sighed.

After some deep thought, Zhou Mingrui returned to his desk and pulled open the drawer. He then took out the shimmering brass revolver.

This was the only defensive weapon he could think of, and it was the only weapon with sufficient power!

The majority of people in the theater, who could brush off bullet wounds easily, stared at the screen with flat expressions.

Although he had never practiced shooting, just pulling such a revolver out would definitely daunt anyone!

"Any normal person," Xio said. "A gun might work against a Sequence 8 or 9, but against an existence strong enough to transplant souls, it's worse than useless."

"He doesn't seem to be aware of that danger." Emlyn sighed, looking down and pinching his nose as if Zhou Mingrui's incompetence was painful to him. "Really, what an amateur…"

Brave words for someone who managed to get himself locked up in the basements of two different churches, Leonard thought.

He caressed the revolver's cold metal before stuffing his revolver into the pocket where his notes were. He clasped the money in his palm as his fingers pressed onto the gun's handle. It was perfectly concealed.

"He used the notes to hide the bulge of the gun?" Alger's brow furrowed. "Rudimentary, but it would avoid closer inspection. What does he plan to do after he spends the money?"

"You think he's thought that far ahead?" Roselle said dryly.

Mr. Hanged Man felt his body stiffen. E-Emperor Roselle addressed me! That man whose diary was collected by Mr. Fool, and who must possess incredible knowledge! No, calm down, you met under the watch of an ancient god every week for three years...!

Feeling secure, he who knew a little of everything suddenly had a worry.

Would I end up misfiring?

Roselle snickered before being silenced by a raised eyebrow from Bernadette.

Being deluged with such a thought, Zhou Mingrui quickly thought of a solution. He drew the revolver and released the cylinder. He then aligned the empty chamber which was a result of the 'suicide' along the gun's hammer before closing it.

This way, even if there was a misfire, he would discharge an 'empty round!'

Several people nodded in approval of Zhou Mingrui's preparedness. Even if it would take him longer to be able to use the gun to defend himself, considering that bullets were useless against his enemy anyway, it was best to avoid any unnecessary accidents.

H-He's already becoming so comfortable with guns? Leonard and Fors shivered, feeling as if they were witnessing the birth of a certain crazy adventurer.

... Although it was almost July, it was still considered the middle of summer. However, Tingen was situated north of the Loen Kingdom, so it had unique climate characteristics. The highest annual temperature was not even 30°C on Earth, with even cooler mornings. However, the streets were awash with filthy water and strewn junk. From Klein's memories, this was not a rare sight in low-income communities, even if there were sewers. After all, there were just too many people and people needed to survive.

Right. Miss Justice sighed. Even before the war, even outside big cities like Backlund, things have always been like this.

Derrick took in this information intently. Overpopulation? The City of Silver had the opposite problem. We even had to impose forced marriage at adulthood to overcome this. The outside world is a very different place and has its own issues...

"Come and try our delicious roasted fish!"

"Hot and fresh oyster soup. Drink a bowl in the morning and feel invigorated all day!"

"Fresh fish from the port for just five pence apiece!"

"Muffins and eel soup make the perfect combination!"

"Conch! Conch! Conch!"

"Vegetables freshly plucked from the farms outside the city. Cheap and fresh!"

Little Sun stared at the city in awe. Even after a year in the outside world, the chaos and expansiveness of it all could still catch him offguard. So this is Tingen City… The people dress differently and have foreign accents, but the scenery is a little familiar. He smiled. I hope I'll be able to visit this place some day.

Roselle also watched with interest. The marketplace setting was unexpectedly nostalgic. This is the world two hundred years after I died, huh?  I guess people do the same things no matter how much time passes.

Of course, to Leonard, Benson, and Melissa, the sight in front of them held a different weight. They closed their eyes in reminiscence. Tingen held some of their best memories - those had been simpler times, before grief, before war. Before they'd learned how much it was possible to lose and still keep on living.

The scene in their memories was gone now.

The mobile hawkers who sold vegetables, fruits, and hot food shouted along the streets as they beckoned the rushing pedestrians. Some of them would stop and carefully compare before purchasing. Others would impatiently wave their hands as they had yet to find work for the day…

As Leonard and the Morettis took in the familiarity with greedy eyes, Miss Justice naturally took note. It's expected for Melissa and Benson to feel attached to this place, but Mr. Star, too? He must have served as a Nighthawk here for quite some time. Then, the grief in his expression...?

There was bound to be thieves in populated areas. Furthermore, this street had no lack of poor citizens who were working part time after losing their previous jobs. There were also starving children that were exploited by adults to do their bidding.

Xio frowned, remembering her time in East Borough. She had helped people whenever she could, but her own finances had never been in the best shape. To think I used to be an East Borough informant for MI9, when now I'm sitting at the other side of the desk with a cushy colonel job... Time really does change things. Still, I shouldn't become alienated from my past experiences.

He proceeded forward until he reached a point where the crowdedness around him restored to normal. He straightened his back and raised his head to look down the street.

There was a vagrant accordionist busking. The melody was sometimes pleasant, sometimes fervent.

Beside him were several children in ragged clothes with sallow complexions due to malnutrition.

They listened to the music and moved to the beat, dancing self-made choreographies. Their faces were filled with joy as though they were a prince or an angel.

"Life is difficult, but happiness can be found anywhere." Azik's smile held a tinge of sadness. Although, ironically, the life of an angel rarely holds much joy...

Something stirred faintly in Amanises' chest. 'She' had been a true god for many thousands of years now; 'She' could only see such human sights from the astral world. 'She' still tried to protect 'Her' remaining humanity, of course, but it just wasn't the same - and the past few decades had been so busy with preparations for the apocalypse... 

It's been a very long time, 'She' thought, since I've seen something as unremarkable as this.

A deadpan woman passed by; her skirt was dirty and her skin was dull.

Her gaze appeared dull and sluggish. Only when she looked at the bunch of children did a faint glow flash. It was as though she had seen herself from three decades ago.

The smiles dropped off the audience's faces. This was the likely future awaiting those children.

Zhou Mingrui overtook her and turned into another street before stopping at Smyrin Bakery.

The owner of the bakery was a seventy-plus year old granny named Wendy Smyrin. Her hair was completely grayish-white and she always wore a genial smile. From the beginning of Klein's memories, she had been here selling bread and pastries.

Oh, the Tingen biscuits and lemon cakes she bakes are very delicious…

So the original Klein liked sweets as well? Leonard chuckled to himself weakly.

A sweet tooth? Mr. World?! Fors perked up, smiling shakily. H-Ha! See if I'm scared of you now, Gehrman Sparrow! I know all your embarrassing secrets! She was just beginning to regain confidence in herself when suddenly, a voice whispered in her ear-

"Guess?"

Fors barely suppressed her scream. She turned to glare at Xio, who was innocently facing ahead as if nothing had happened. 

"Tingen biscuits... lemon cakes..." Oblivious to the rest of the world, Derrick repeated the names of these unfamiliar foods as if committing them to memory. I think I might have heard someone in Bayam mention lemon cake before, but I've never tried it. I've definitely never had a Tingen biscuit, either. They even sound delicious!

Seeing Little Sun's attentive expression, Alger tapped Fors' shoulder - causing her to jump again - and muttered something to her.

"To make sure he's not distracted in discussions trying to remember everything, of course," Alger added seriously.

Mr. Hanged Man is so unsubtle... Miss Magician's face twitched, but she obeyed his request. "Little Sun," she called, then took out a small notebook and pen - things she always kept on her as an author - and handed them to the boy. "Why don't you make a list of everything you want to eat? That way you won't forget."

"A list? Yes, that's a good idea." Immediately taking off the pen cap and beginning to write, Derrick broke into a smile. "Thank you, Miss Magician!'

B-Bright! Fors fought the urge to cover her eyes.

Alger, watching this interaction, felt his lips curl up. He felt an inexplicable urge to buy a lemon cake and give it to Little Sun. Even though there are no bakeries at sea... I mean, even though this would be of no benefit to me!

Unfortunately, Alfred Hall was also watching. Magician... Sun... Fool... They really are tarot cards. My sister must have a code name as well... The idea felt too strange to even think about. How could Audrey have become involved with these people?

Zhou Mingrui gulped a mouthful of saliva and smiled.

"Mrs. Smyrin, eight pounds of rye bread."

"Oh. Dear Klein, where's Benson? Is he not back?" Wendy asked smilingly.

"In a few more days," answered Zhou Mingrui vaguely.

As Wendy took the rye bread, she sighed. "He sure is a hardworking lad. He will have a good wife."

Benson smiled bitterly. He had found a good wife - a wonderful woman who he loved dearly - and Klein would never know.

Melissa squeezed his hand a little tighter, and he sent her a grateful smile.

Upon saying this, the corners of her lips curled up as she said playfully, "All is good now. You have already graduated. You are a history graduate of our Khoy University~ Oh, you will soon be able to earn money. You should not be staying in the apartment you are currently living in. At the very least, you should have a bathroom you can call your own."

"Having your own bathroom is a basic human right," Fors said seriously. Xio and Audrey nodded their solemn agreement.

"Mrs. Smyrin, you seem to be a young and energetic woman today." All Zhou Mingrui could do was respond with a dry smile.

If Klein were to successfully pass his interview and become a lecturer at Tingen University, it was true that his family would immediately be pushed up to a higher socioeconomic status!

In his memory fragments, he had once fantasized about renting a bungalow in the suburbs. There would be five or six rooms, two bathrooms, a huge balcony upstairs, two rooms, a dining room, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and an underground storage room on the first floor.

"That's it? Not even a mansion or something?" Danitz said in shock. "Why are his fantasies such a drag?!"

"After living downtrodden in poverty your whole life, something like that might as well be a mansion," Melissa said quietly.

Dogshit! I was plenty poor growing up, and I never dreamed of anything this lame! Danitz wanted to say that, but seeing the girl's forlorn expression, he had the good sense to stay quiet.

... However, all of this was under the premise that he passed either the Tingen University or Backlund University interviews.

There were not many other opportunities. People without any connections were unable to get recommendations to become a public servant. And those who studied history were more limited in job opportunities. There was not much demand for private consultants from the aristocrats, banks, or industrial magnates.

Taking into account that the knowledge Klein grasped were fragmented and incomplete, Zhou Mingrui felt awkward and guilty towards Mrs. Smyrin's expectations of him.

The Morettis looked down. This situation wasn't exactly ideal for Zhou Mingrui, either; he must have also struggled. But... Benson and Melissa sighed with hollow hearts. Even though nothing was his fault, it's hard to feel sympathy.

"No, I have always been this young," answered Wendy humorously.

As she spoke, she packed the sixteen rye bread she had weighed into the brown paper bag that Zhou Mingrui had brought. She stretched out her right hand and said, "Nine pence."

… "Nine pence? Wasn't it eleven pence two days ago?" Zhou Mingrui asked subconsciously.

Subconsciously? Audrey leaned forward. It's confirmed beyond a doubt now. Zhou Mingrui's personality has been affected by Klein's. Luckily, although the original Klein's memories are fragmented, the combination of their wills seems to have gone smoothly. There are no present negative side effects.

Of course, Melissa and Benson were unable to think so clinically. It was strange to think that Zhou Mingrui carried pieces of their brother inside him - especially when he was undeniably a separate person from Klein. Should they be glad that even a part of Klein had survived? Disturbed? Indifferent? The Morettis had no idea how to react.

It cost 15 pence the month before the previous month.

"You have to thank the people who protested on the streets for the repeal of the Grain Act," said Wendy as she shrugged.

Zhou Mingrui nodded in vague acknowledgment. Klein's memories regarding this was incomplete. All he remembered was that the core tenet of the Grain Act was to protect the prices of domestic agriculture products. Once the prices rose to a certain level, grain imports from Southern nations like Feynapotter, Masin, and Lenburg were stopped.

Why would people protest the act?

…Huh. Roselle narrowed his eyes. If I didn't know better, I'd say that was a very nonsensical rule, denying all normality…

King George III, huh? I'll keep an eye on him.

Amanises remained still, but 'Her' thoughts were directed towards a certain zealot. I wonder what you'll think of this situation, Adam. Or was it all within your calculations?

Bernadette's hands closed into fists, and she took a deep breath to calm down. Not being able to stop the Great Smog of Backlund was still one of her greatest regrets. Had George III's plan been allowed to come to fruition...

It's not like you to dwell on the past, she reminded herself, fixing her mental state with Cogitation.

Sensing Bernadette's turmoil, Roselle sent his daughter a concerned look, frowning.

Meanwhile, the Morettis watched Zhou Mingrui walk down the bustling street in silence. Everything about the sight felt so familiar, and yet…

There was a municipal square at the intersection of Iron Cross Street and Daffodil Street. Many tents were erected there, and clowns dressed in odd and funny attires were distributing fliers.

"There's a circus performance tomorrow night?" Zhou Mingrui glanced at the fliers in the hands of others as he read their contents under his breath.

Melissa would definitely like it. However, how much is the entrance fee?

...and yet it wasn't the same.

Why? Melissa swallowed around the lump in her throat. If you don't want to stay with us, then why bother even thinking of us? Is it Klein's influence? That just makes accepting the truth more painful...

With that thought, Zhou Mingrui went closer.

Just as he was about to ask a clown with a red and yellow painted face, a hoarse woman's voice sounded from beside him.

"Would you like to try a divination?"

Zhou Mingrui subconsciously turned his head and saw a woman wearing a pointed hat and a long black dress standing in front of a short tent.

Her face was smeared with red and yellow paint and her eyes were a profound grayish-blue.

"A clown." Leonard let out a disbelieving laugh. A clown of all things, when he hasn't even chosen his pathway... Is this fate? Or divine intervention?

Benson and Melissa's eyes glazed over. At that time, when they'd been shambling through a haze of grief, one such painted face had pierced through the fog. A golden flower, a ridiculous smile, so exaggerated it seemed painful. Both siblings blinked away the memory. Klein is gone now.

"No," Zhou Mingrui shook his head in response. He did not have the spare cash for divination.

The woman laughed and said, "My tarot divination is very accurate."

The Tarot Club narrowed their eyes in suspicion. While gathering materials for the luck enhancement ritual, Zhou Mingrui had just so happened to receive an offer for a divination? And a tarot divination, no less - the institution that they drew their code names from!

Could this be Mr. Fool's doing? they thought to themselves excitedly.

Meanwhile, Roselle began to acutely sense his oncoming doom.

"Tarot…" Zhou Mingrui was instantly dumbfounded.

Damn it! Roselle slumped in his seat, wanting to bury his head in his hands. This early?! Zhou Mingrui, you son of a bitch! Why are you so proactive?!

This pronunciation was almost identical to the tarot cards on Earth!

"Earth?" Caitlyn Hall didn't hide her surprise. "There are also tarot cards on Earth? Even though Emperor Roselle invented them?"

Several people sent the emperor in question suspicious looks. Bernadette raised an eyebrow at her father, who sunk even further into his seat. Unbeknownst to anyone, Amanises had a rather smug smile on 'Her' lips.

The Tarot Club stiffened in their seats. If Mr. Hanged Man's theory was correct, and Roselle really was a fellow transmigrator, even from the same world as Zhou Mingrui... No, that's impossible, they thought. He's the Son of Steam, of course he wouldn't be a plagiarist...

And tarot cards from Earth were a set of cards used for divination. They just had graphics that represented different omens.

Wait… He suddenly recalled the origins of tarot divination in this world.

It did not originate from the seven orthodox gods nor was it an ancient legacy. Instead, it was created by the Intis Republic's Consul of that era, Roselle Gustav, more than 170 years ago...

Bernadette's expression went blank. Father, what did you do? She resisted the urge to rub her temples.

Roselle also invented tarot divination. He also established the contemporary system of paper-based cards and their playstyles. There were many familiar styles that Zhou Mingrui was familiar with, such as Upgrade, Fighting the Landlord, Texas Poker, and Quint…

With every familiar "invention" that Zhou Mingrui listed, the faces of the Tarot Club grew darker and darker. Ah...

"That's Emperor Caesar for you! The best ruler Intis ever had!" Danitz grinned proudly, oblivious to both the club's suffering and the venomous glare that his beloved emperor was giving him.

Do you want to make things worse for me, punk?! Roselle complained. Damn Provokers!

Unfortunately, he was betrayed in his old age. In the year 1198 of the Fifth Epoch, he was assassinated by the combined forces of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, the former Intis royal family—the Sauron family, and other aristocrats. He eventually died in the White Maple Palace.

Bernadette controlled her expression carefully, but grief still flashed in her eyes.

This… To recall such general knowledge suddenly made him facepalm.

Could this be a transmigration senior?

Silence. Everyone's mouths fell open, and for a moment, they could do nothing but blink at the screen.

Roselle whistled innocently.

This, it appeared, was the final straw.

"You're a fraud?!" Emlyn pointed to Roselle in shock. "The great emperor who ushered in the Age of Steam is a fraud?!"

"Haha, well," the emperor began, "fraud is a bit of a strong word-"

"I can't believe this. Was everything fake? All those groundbreaking innovations we read about in textbooks?" Xio pressed her hands to her head.

"And the poetry and plays he wrote?" Leonard asked in a daze, looking like he wanted to tear his hair out. The poems I spent so long memorizing were all stolen...? 

This caused Fors, an experienced author, to bubble up with righteous anger. "You plagiarist! Does anything published under your name actually belong to you?!" she yelled. Do my years of late manuscripts and missed deadlines mean nothing to you? All the times Gehrman Sparrow could have killed me because I wasn't writing fast enough?! Well?!

Roselle's eyes darted around as he looked for an escape. He met his daughter's gaze with his best pleading look, but unfortunately, Queen Mystic only shrugged. Sorry, Father. You got yourself into this mess.

Fuck, what kind of unfilial daughter have I raised! The emperor didn't dare to look at Amanises; the last thing he wanted to see right now was 'Her' self-satisfied smirk. He could only make a desperate attempt to save himself! "H-hey, can we talk about transmigration?! Pretty surprising, right-"

"Wait... if Emperor Caesar came from a different world, and those inventions... existed on..." Danitz took a second to put the pieces together, but when he did, the proud citizen of Intis naturally burst out in shock. "What?! You?! You were a fake all along?!"

...You just figured that out? thought the crowd.

"Well, good talk, everyone! I'm glad we cleared things up!" Roselle chuckled nervously, "S-So if we're all ready to move on-"

"Dogshit, no way!" Danitz spat. "You were my idol growing up!"

"I've never met you in my life!'

"You son of a bitch!"

Reaching his limit, Roselle began to shout. "Oh, leave me alone! Any of you would have done the same in my shoes! And if you say otherwise, you're a big fat liar!"

"I don't recall Zhou Mingrui ever applying for any patents," the Evernight Goddess said coolly.

Roselle's responding smile was smug. "Only because I didn't leave anything for him to steal."

This bastard, why is he so proud of himself?! Everyone fumed.

I was right, but... why don't I feel happy at all... Alger stared ahead with a blank face, feeling slightly dizzy. Little Sun pat him on the back.

In the midst of this chaos, Will Auceptin sat, unusually silent. His whisper was swallowed by the clamor, unheard by anyone.

"Earth... huh."

Meanwhile, the yelling was continuing, and Danitz's hands had begun to catch fire in a worrying way. At this point, Audrey decided to step in and Placate the group. The commotion calmed to upset grumblings, causing Amanises to suppress a frown. Tch. I'd been waiting to see that happen for centuries.

"I can't believe this," Leonard muttered. "I'm burning my collection of Roselle's poetry when I get home."

"Please burn mine as well," Fors said somberly.

Audrey pursed her lips together as people began to settle. I don't like what Emperor Roselle did, but knowing what his future has in store, I'll cut him this much slack. Because you, too, must have wanted to return to that place...

"You saved my life! Thank you, my second honorary granddaughter!" Roselle turned to the senior Spectator with a tear-filled smile.

...What? Audrey's smile froze.

Finally, Bernadette took pity on her father. "As shocking as this is, we should move on. We can save further discussion for after the viewing."

The audience continued to grumble, sending dirty looks towards Roselle - who glared right back - but everyone turned back to the screen reluctantly. Melissa and Benson looked at each other, severely confused. That's not actually the former emperor of Intis, right? ...Right?

With this in mind, Zhou Mingrui was intrigued to see what tarot cards looked like. Therefore, he nodded at the pointy hat woman with the painted face and said, "If the… well… price is reasonable, I'll give it a try."

The woman immediately said with a laugh, "Sir, you are the first one here today, so it's on the house."

Roselle immediately latched onto this change of topic. "H-Hey, on the house? That's weird, right? Isn't that pretty weird?"

"Stop acting like nothing happened!" Danitz snapped. Don't think this is over, you son of a bitch! Once this viewing ends, I swear I'm gonna-

"We did agree to move on for now." Cattleya came to Queen Mystic's defense. "Still, this is a little strange. It seems like Zhou Mingrui is being targeted."

Everyone furrowed their brows; now it wasn't just the Tarot Club who was on alert. Being approached while preparing for the luck enhancement ritual was alarming enough, but a free divination out of nowhere?

This was undoubtedly suspicious!