Looks like "Emperor" is probably a novice Beyonder too, but clearly not your average wild one. Maybe he's from some secretive organization—that's why Mr. Fool brought him into the Tarot Club? And Emperor teacher knows about Angels, so his Sequence must be pretty high…
The Hanged Man, Alger, mulled over these thoughts. After a few seconds, he spoke carefully, "In some Beyonder incidents tied to the Aurora Order, there have been traces of devotees praying to an entity in the domain of fate… That might be the Angel of Fate you mentioned, who follows the True Creator."
Though Alger didn't know of Ouroboros, the latter's divine name wasn't exactly a well-kept secret among True Creator devotees. As an official Beyonder, Alger had naturally come across it.
After all, the Church of the Lord of Storms was one of the most aggressive in targeting the True Creator's followers.
"Mr. Emperor, which pathway is Fate?" Justice Audrey asked, her curiosity piqued.
"From what I know, the Sequence 9 of the Fate pathway is Monster. It's a pathway that makes you luckier…" Evah openly shared a rough overview of the Fate pathway, sticking mostly to mid- and low-Sequence details.
"Thank you, Mr. Emperor. What kind of compensation would you like?" Audrey, thoroughly engrossed, inquired.
While the Tarot Club did share some intel for free, valuable knowledge like this typically came with a price tag.
Of course, buyers usually requested private discussions to avoid others freeloading off the info, but Audrey, being wealthy, didn't sweat the small stuff.
"I've been a bit short on cash lately, so some gold pounds would be great," Evah said frankly. He was indeed strapped for funds.
"No problem. How much do you want?" Audrey replied, signaling that anything solvable with money was no big deal.
"Five hundred pounds?" Evah ventured, then added, "If you think it's not worth it, I can share more knowledge. Any pathway you're curious about?"
"How much do you know about the Spectator pathway, Mr. Emperor?" Audrey's interest flared up. She was dying to learn more about her own pathway.
"The Spectator pathway, also called the Dragon pathway, which you already know, has Sequence 6 Hypnotist and Sequence 5 Dreamwalker as its follow-ups. I'm not too clear on the demigod level, but I know Sequence 4 is called Manipulator…"
Evah calmly outlined the Spectator pathway's later Sequences, avoiding specific abilities and giving only general descriptions of their traits.
"I'm very satisfied. Thank you, Mr. Emperor. I'm happy to pay an extra five hundred gold pounds for this knowledge," Audrey said, delighted even with the broad strokes, and offered to up the payment.
And so, another mutually satisfying deal was struck.
Alger, who'd been listening quietly, finally spoke up after their transaction. "I have a request I'd like to entrust to you all."
"What kind of request?" Audrey asked, turning to him with curiosity.
"Let's hear it," Evah said, feigning interest, though he already knew exactly what Alger was about to propose.
"I've received word that the notorious pirate, Admiral of Hurricanes Qilangos, has secretly slipped into Backlund…" Alger explained his issue, asking the Tarot Club to help investigate Qilangos's whereabouts.
Mindful of the danger, Alger conscientiously stressed that they should only track Qilangos's location, not confront him.
After all, barring Mr. Fool, the current Tarot Club members were, frankly, small fry—none of them stood a chance against Admiral of Hurricanes Qilangos.
"Admiral of Hurricanes Qilangos…" Evah put on a thoughtful look, then muttered as if to himself, "Could that be what my divination pointed to?"
The divination he referenced was, of course, the one he'd done for Xio days earlier.
Evah needed a plausible reason for Lucifer to get involved in this matter without it seeming out of place, and that prior divination was the perfect excuse.
"What divination?" Audrey, catching his murmur, asked with interest.
She knew Mr. Jack was a Seer.
"Well, a while back, I did a divination for a friend. It showed she'd face life-threatening danger within the next two months, tied to the sea and money," Evah explained simply, keeping Xio's identity vague. There was no harm in sharing this much.
"So, Mr. Emperor, you think the danger your friend faces might be connected to Admiral of Hurricanes Qilangos?" Audrey pieced it together quickly.
Alger, after a moment's thought, added, "Qilangos is extremely dangerous. If your friend might cross paths with him, a life-threatening situation wouldn't be surprising. You should warn her to be cautious lately. Even if the divination doesn't directly point to this, staying careful during this time won't hurt."
Though a seasoned schemer, Alger had some conscience. Plus, after the recent trades, he'd seen Emperor's value and didn't mind earning some goodwill with a few words.
"I understand. I'll warn her," Evah nodded, his expression tinged with worry.
This was, of course, to set up Jack Jones writing to Lucifer about the matter—a move perfectly in character for Jack.
Alger then detailed Qilangos's pathway and abilities, emphasizing his mystical item, "Creeping Hunger."
Audrey and Evah both agreed to take on the task, promising to investigate Qilangos's whereabouts.
After this, the group shared a bit more intel, and the Tarot Club meeting wrapped up successfully.
...
"Well, then, it's time I head back to Backlund. The Qilangos affair should be enough to fully digest my Actor potion. Before that, I need to prepare the supplementary materials for the Mask-maker potion," Evah said, stretching lazily as he planned his next steps.
He then recalled his earlier appearance as Lucifer in front of Klein and Old Neil, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Wonder if the Church of Evernight has come to any conclusions about Lucifer's existence these past few days…"
(End of Chapter)