"I'm not sure if that was Mr. Lucifer, Jack. Do you have a photo or portrait of him or something?"
Hearing Evah's surprised and slightly aggrieved tone, Klein realized Jack likely hadn't seen Mr. Lucifer. After a moment's thought, he decided to confirm the identity of the mysterious man he'd met today.
"Based on your description, it does sound like my teacher… A photo, let me think." Evah put on a thoughtful expression before heading upstairs. When he returned, he held a picture frame in one hand and a box in the other, his face a mix of complex emotions.
"Klein, it seems my teacher really was here, but why didn't he see me before leaving? That's odd… Has he finally decided this account's a bust and wants to start a new one?" Evah said, his expression puzzled and a bit forlorn, like an abandoned puppy.
"Uh, maybe he was just busy. When I saw him, it seemed like he had somewhere to be…"
Klein quickly offered comfort, his eyes drifting to the photo in Evah's hand. The man in the picture was indeed the one who'd called himself Luciferiel today, leaving Klein with a swirl of complicated feelings.
"I don't think it's that extreme. If he wanted to start a new account, he'd have done it ages ago, not waited until now," Evah grumbled, quickly bouncing back to his usual energy. It was hard to tell if he was self-aware or just oblivious.
"Forget it, let's see what my teacher left me…" Evah said, opening the box he'd brought down with the photo, a prop he'd prepared long in advance.
Klein, curious, peered into the box. It contained several items: a letter, a Time Gem like the one Klein had seen before for summoning past figures, a deck of tarot cards, and a few spiritual materials set aside separately.
Drawing on his knowledge, Klein identified the spiritual materials—they appeared to be ingredients for crafting a Clown potion.
But what caught his attention most was the deck of tarot cards, which stood out among the other items.
"Why would my teacher leave a deck of tarot cards?" Evah said, perfectly timing his puzzled expression. He took out the deck, unwrapped it, and inspected it, finding it entirely ordinary except for the Fool card, one of the Major Arcana, which had a circle drawn on it, like some kind of mark.
Evah, fully in character, widened his eyes in shock. He looked at the card, then up at Klein, as if struck by a realization, his voice tinged with panic. "Klein, does this mean my teacher knows about Mr. Fool and the Tarot Club? Is this a warning for me?"
Klein couldn't hide his shock in that moment, though it didn't seem out of place. After a brief moment of stunned silence, he worked to calm himself while recalling everything about the Lucifer Zoroast he'd met today.
Even without this marked Fool card, the man had already left a deep impression on Klein in a short time—not just because of his bizarre personality but because he seemed to see through Old Neil's fate with a single glance.
"If he can truly read fates and is a transmigrator who knows about the Gray Fog, it's not impossible that he'd figure out I'm the Fool…" Klein speculated, his mood growing heavy.
He'd hoped Lucifer's appearance might bring some clarity, but it felt more like piling on complications.
That circled Fool card, no matter how you looked at it, screamed warning.
"On the bright side, while Mr. Lucifer's personality seems a bit… abrasive, he did save that Punisher and warned us about Mr. Old Neil's risk of losing control. Plus, he didn't come after me directly…"
Klein gave a wry smile, instinctively analyzing other possibilities in his mind.
Evah, of course, could guess what Klein was thinking—this was exactly the effect he'd aimed for.
Jack Jones could be a naive, clueless friend to Klein, but Lucifer Zoroast, as a "friendly Amon" figure, had to be a mysterious, all-knowing puppetmaster to serve Evah's broader plans.
As a fellow transmigrator who knew about the Sefirah Castle, the Three Families, and could see Klein's connection to the Gray Fog, "Lucifer" would naturally deduce who the so-called "Fool" was. Combined with the letters "Jack" had written to him, it made sense for Lucifer to want to warn Klein, the big con artist.
From Lucifer's perspective, wasn't Klein just a liar who'd been deceiving his student, using Jack to gather intel and leaving him scared witless? The fact that Lucifer hadn't given Klein a couple of thrashings was purely out of respect for Jack.
'Lucifer's biased, after all. His logic might tell him Klein's choices make sense, but emotionally, he's Team Jack, so Mr. Fool's just gonna have to take the hit…'
Evah mentally reviewed Lucifer's motivations, glancing at Klein, who was clearly deep in thought. After a moment, he deliberately opened the letter.
The action snapped Klein out of his reverie, his eyes falling on the letter. In black ink on white paper, a few lines stood out:
"Focus on digesting your potion, not chasing pipe dreams. I've prepared the materials for the Clown potion—advance quickly."
"Stop making sketchy friends. Don't you know your own brain's limits? Don't come crying to me when you get scammed."
"The Fool's not an issue. If you like that gathering, keep attending. Leave the rest to me."
Short, but packed with meaning. Klein fell silent after reading it.
If he'd held any sliver of hope that he was overthinking things, these lines crushed it. Lucifer definitely knew he was the Fool and was aware of the Tarot Club's existence.
The only silver lining was that, despite the veiled warning, Lucifer seemed to harbor no hostility toward him or the Tarot Club.
Klein dissected the emotions behind the words, his feelings a tangled mix of relief and unease.
Evah glanced at the letter, then at Klein. "Uh, Klein, my teacher seems to have a bit of a problem with you…"
No kidding. He probably thinks I've been stringing you along for fun… Klein thought, half-exasperated. He could roughly piece together why. While he hadn't meant to deceive Jack, the truth was he had lied to him—and not just about one thing.
If Lucifer knew everything, it was only natural for him, as Jack's teacher, to be upset.
(End of Chapter)