Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader

Seated in the high-backed chair, The Fool Klein nodded in response to the greetings from Miss Justice and the other members. Taking advantage of the peculiar properties of the gray fog, he activated his spiritual vision to observe any changes in the members.

Mr. Hanged Man's astral body had undergone some significant changes beneath the ethereal surface. He likely succeeded in advancing after purchasing the Wind Blessed characteristic from Miss Judgment last week.

Mr. Tower remained the same—joyful and seemingly expectant... Is he planning to ask something during the meeting? That's rare; usually, others inquire of him.

The Sun kept glancing toward The Hanged Man and Tower, his emotions tinged with confusion and concern. Well, given his recent experience of exposing the Shepherd Elder's team's issues through his "performance" and clearing himself of suspicion, it's normal for the boy to feel uneasy and want advice from the old-timers.

The World? Let's skip him—he's currently in standby mode.

Miss Temperance, as always, resembled a "dummy" even more than The World... speaking of which, she hadn't arranged any meetings recently. She seemed to be occupied with something after receiving some news.

Miss Judgment was dressed in a new outfit—a typical style for female adventurers or pirates. Since she was currently at sea, it made sense.

Though her face was obscured by gray fog, without it, her delicate yet not fully mature features would make the look a bit incongruous...

Miss Magician seemed a bit absent-minded again. Who knows what she's thinking?

Miss Justice appeared to be in an excellent mood. At the moment, she seemed to be observing Sharron...

Thinking of this, Klein was about to introduce Miss Temperance to the group when Miss Justice returned to herself. Following the order of joining, she began greeting each member of the Tarot Club in turn.

Well, now everyone knows Sharron, so there's no need for me to introduce her. Miss Justice clearly did this on purpose—how considerate. Klein blinked in realization and secretly praised her, but knowing Sharron's reserved nature, he still made a formal introduction:

"This is our new member, Miss Temperance."

Upon hearing this, the Tarot members, except for Tower, The World, and Judgment, cautiously observed the new addition after exchanging greetings with Miss Justice.

A woman dressed in a well-made but outdated black Gothic gown—either a deliberate misdirection or part of a role she was playing.

In certain novels, Gothic style often symbolizes horror and mystery. This aesthetic was set by Emperor Roselle when he designed such attire and used it extensively in his novels.

Her chosen codename, "Temperance"... Could she be part of the nearly extinct Temperance Faction of the Rose School? Perhaps she needed this "horror" element for her acting?

The Fool has extended his influence to the Southern Continent? Well, it makes sense—even the Forsaken Land of the Gods couldn't block his gaze. It's only natural for him to set up arrangements there too.

Compared to the usually brutal and insane Indulgence Faction, the Temperance Faction does seem like a better choice.

Various thoughts flickered through Alger's mind as he pondered how to "test" Temperance.

Mr. Hanged Man's body language suggests he has some guesses about Miss Temperance's origins. How intriguing... Miss Justice's gaze swept over him subtly before shifting to Tower and The Sun.

Unfortunately, neither revealed much. Tower and The Sun gave no useful information, while The World's emotional state was entirely blank.

Meanwhile, Sharron followed Miss Justice's greeting order, silently observing the members and, like her "teacher," mentally assigned nicknames for them: "The Nosy Young Lady," "The Absent-Minded Sailor," "The Sherlock Imitator," and so on.

As for how Sharron knew her teacher liked giving nicknames, it wasn't from Renette's behavior but from a book detailing her teacher's past, which she and Sherlock obtained as a reward during their journey through the Dream Labyrinth Tower.

In fact, some information about her teacher's brother, Daniel, also came from there.

However, she didn't fully agree with the nickname her teacher gave her in the book: The Quiet Thinker Sharron.

After getting a basic understanding of the members, Sharron politely stood, lifted her skirt slightly, and curtsied in response, remaining silent.

Miss Justice, seeing nothing more of value to observe, turned toward the head of the bronze table:

"Mr. Fool, I collected a page from Roselle's diary."

It was an unexpected find. Last Wednesday, after hearing that the rogue Black Emperor had once again thwarted an Aurora Order plot, she organized another gathering of noble youths, inviting Cons Leerson, who had recently resumed his post. She subtly guided Kristin, Slylint, Emma, and Aimusia to ask him about the details.

During a previous gathering, Audrey had gifted Emma and Aimusia a few pages of Roselle's manuscript, thus avoiding Fors asking for them.

This time, Emma and Aimusia brought along a page from their collection as a return gift.

However, Emma's page lacked the "year," "month," and "day" taught by Mr. Fool, along with corresponding numbers. It was likely a forgery. Therefore, Audrey only noted down Aimusia's page.

The Fool, Klein, who had always been keen on obtaining new pages of Roselle's diary, immediately perked up. Maintaining a facade of calm, he said, "Very well. What do you wish to exchange for it?"

Justice Audrey took a moment to organize her thoughts before speaking in a tone filled with a hint of pride, "Mr. Fool, I passed the preliminary assessment of the Psychological Alchemy Association and will be joining soon. However, before I can formally join, there will surely be an extraordinary-level test. I hope you can provide protection at the appropriate time...

"This diary page can be counted as a contribution. After I join, I will scour their collection for ten more pages of Roselle's diary and offer them to you."

Miss, are you bragging about finally becoming an undercover agent? Klein couldn't help but complain inwardly. Why does this Tarot Club feel increasingly strange? One moment, we're teaching the naïve Sun how to deceive his nurturing Silver City, and the next, we're infiltrating organizations to plunder resources...

On the surface, Klein merely nodded calmly. "Agreed."

At this point, Judgment Xio also looked toward the figure at the head of the table and spoke, "Mr. Fool, I have three pages of Roselle's diary this time. I still owe four."

The three pages in Xio's possession were obtained through trades with colleagues in Backlund. In total, she had four pages, having submitted three last week. Initially, she planned to offer just one this week, but Ebner had given her the last two pages he had, provided by Mr. Salinger.

As for the four pages in Xio's hands, Ebner had already examined them under the guise of curiosity. There wasn't much useful information, except for the origin of the Golden Serpent Sword. The third page she provided to Klein last week mentioned someone Roselle referred to as "he," which intrigued Ebner.

Ebner had a hunch that Roselle's "he" might be referring to the Calamity Seal. After all, the lion Leon had said only the Calamity Seal could understand Roselle's odd humor... a fitting match for "the only one who gets these jokes" mentioned in that diary entry.

Ebner speculated that the possible time traveler Daniel had left Roselle with information before his death. Perhaps Daniel informed the emperor about a method to separate pollution through the Baron Conva Experiment and shared other information.

Maybe what Daniel left behind was precisely the Calamity Seal. That was the thought Ebner had after reading the diary page a few days ago.

Of course, when Mr. Fool reads the diary later, I can take the opportunity to "recall" the fragmented memories Daniel left in the maze.

As he contemplated, Miss Temperance also conjured a piece of parchment with practiced ease and respectfully said, "A page of the diary, contributed on behalf of The World."

This page of the diary was one reason for her recent busyness.

Upon hearing this, all members except Xio and Ebner cast their gazes back and forth between Temperance and The World, concluding that Temperance must have been recommended by The World.

After all, attending her first meeting with such familiarity with the Tarot Club and even contributing on The World's behalf clearly indicated a close relationship between them.

The Hanged Man Alger felt an even greater sense of urgency.

In his understanding, Tower had introduced Judgment, and Justice had recommended Magician. Now, The World had brought in Temperance...

Of all the senior members, only I have not contributed to expanding the organization. Would this displease Mr. Fool?

With that thought, Alger racked his brain for a suitable candidate... but unfortunately, no one he knew met the "requirements."

"Very well," Klein simply responded to the two ladies and then "transferred" the five pages of the diary to his side. Still, a strange pang of guilt lingered in his heart. After all, he'd asked The Fool for help without actually paying any price...

Fortunately, that feeling came and went quickly. After all, The Fool had indeed removed Sharron's pollution, so receiving compensation was only fair.

With that in mind, Klein picked up the page Sharron had contributed and, appearing casual but reading with great seriousness, began to peruse it:

"October 29th. Liu Bo once again advised me to abandon my plans to land on the moon, but I didn't agree...

"How can I know if what he told me is true without seeing it for myself? How can I be sure about this world's truth?

"Besides, Mr. Door said the moon is the key to everything.

"Even Liu Bo himself once said that Mr. Door's words are sometimes trustworthy and sometimes not... But my intuition tells me that regarding the moon, Mr. Door didn't lie.

"In the end, Liu Bo and I parted on bad terms, just like decades ago with his vampire duke descendant, Cullen...

"Still, I'm the same as my younger self—I must go! With proper preparations, the danger won't be too great.

"The moon's taboo might be a lie from the gods, and Liu Bo clearly has some other plan with that treacherous dragon.

"Perhaps I should take the Calamity Seal with me to the moon and expose him face to face?

"October 30th. The Calamity Seal is missing."