The reason Edward forged the diary pages wasn't because he wanted to gain "contributions" for nothing, but simply to inform Klein of the Miracle Invoker's advancement ritual ahead of time.
If they succeeded in testing whether the suitcase could truly be used to offer sacrifices and leave the Forsaken Land of the Gods, then the issue of how to deal with Little Sun and the affairs of the City of Silver would be laid bare.
Last time, Edward had indeed only given Little Sun a suitcase that could carry one person. But most of the Tarot Club members already knew he was capable of crafting suitcases with much greater space.
The Tarot Club had always followed the principle of equivalent exchange. If Derrick gritted his teeth and confessed to the Chief, then brought out some Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts in exchange—should Edward accept or not?
Rather than struggle with that dilemma himself, he might as well let Klein, the one directly impacted, make the hard decisions.
After all, now that Klein knew the future advancement ritual for Sequence 2 required bringing people out of the Forsaken Land, it was up to him to decide whether or not to take that risk and start the ritual early.
At that moment, Klein was also pondering the same issue.
He truly hadn't expected that something which originally would've benefited Derrick and the City of Silver immensely had now suddenly entangled his own advancement path.
He knew about the need to "act" in advance, but could an advancement ritual also be completed ahead of schedule? That was a blind spot in his knowledge.
He instinctively tapped his fingers on the bronze table.
Forget it. I'll wait until I confirm that the sacrifice method actually works for leaving the Forsaken Land. Then I'll worry about the rest.
With that, Klein turned his attention to the three diary pages submitted by The Hanged Man Alger.
"March 15th.
As expected, I am the protagonist. Just from a few archaeological clues and some folklore rumours, I found a ghost ship from the Solomon Empire near the edge of the Fog Sea. The ancient Black King.
On board was a treasure map pointing toward a nameless island…"
"March 19th.
After much contemplation and weighing the risks, I've decided to embark on a voyage. Edwards and Grimm are willing to follow me into the mist-filled seas on this adventure.
Let's go! Roselle. Columbus. Magellan. Gustav—the Great Navigator sets sail to prove his theories!"
Klein raised an eyebrow.
This emperor sure was bold in his youth—rushing into a sea expedition with just a possibly fake treasure map that could be hiding unknown dangers.
Then again, even in his old age, he wasn't just bold—he was borderline insane.
Based on previous diary entries, Klein could more or less confirm that during this voyage, Roselle had gotten lost and ended up on a primitive island beyond any known safe sea route. That island had numerous extraordinary creatures.
And as noted in another diary seen during a prior Tarot Meeting, Roselle had gotten lost again later and returned to the same island.
To end up on the same island twice after getting lost at sea? That was no coincidence—it screamed of something seriously wrong.
But back then, the emperor didn't seem to realise it. In fact, he was rather proud of himself.
"April 18th.
In those ancient tomes aboard the Black King, I discovered a reference to the 'Western Continent!'"
"April 20th.
All signs indicate we're nearing land—and not just an island, but actual landmass!
Could getting lost have benefits after all? Am I about to discover the fabled Western Continent?"
"April 21st.
I saw the Abyss."
The Abyss?!
Roselle saw the Abyss?
As in the Abyss from a mysticism perspective?!
Klein's pupils contracted. He quickly flipped the page.
Only to find…the third page was filled with gibberish:
"Ah ri hu hunger please person mansion inside…"
Clearly, this was just some later imitation—a forgery composed by piecing together nonsense phrases from Roselle's writing symbols.
Damn it!
The last diary ended on "That transmigrator senior is still alive," and now it ends on "I saw the Abyss." Must it always stop at the most critical point?!
Of course!
Cliffhanger devils punish all who chase updates equally!
The worst part? The author of the "story" I'm chasing has been dead for over a century—I can't even send him hate mail!
Klein exhaled slowly to calm himself, then let the diary pages vanish from his hand. Leaning back slightly, he smiled faintly and said:
"You may continue."
Audrey was the first to raise her hand and express her request, "I'm looking to purchase a young adolescent Mind Dragon's pituitary gland, or spinal fluid and blood from a Blackhunting Giant Lizard, and also the fruit and sap of the Illusory Chime Tree."
Although Edward had already asked Bernedette to help her find some of these materials, Audrey still mentioned them all—considering Susie would need the same materials for her own advancement.
Edward glanced at her but didn't speak. This time, although he had obtained the Beyonder characteristic of the Spectator Pathway's Sequence 4 Manipulator from Hvin Rambis, without divine power to crush it, that thing could only be used by Audrey when she advanced to demigod.
If I return to the Harry Potter world next time and the Goddess asks me to procure materials again, I'll ask her to lend a hand then.
Just as Audrey finished speaking, Alger responded, "To my knowledge, the Mind Dragons are nearly extinct—very difficult to find. As for the Blackhunting Giant Lizard, I can ask around while at sea, but I can't promise anything. As for the fruit of the Illusory Chime Tree…"
His mind instinctively flashed to that mysterious primaeval island. He vaguely recalled seeing Illusory Chime Trees there—but his current strength still wasn't enough to explore that place.
"I'll ask around too."
Audrey nodded, "Thank you, Mr. Hanged Man."
"No need for thanks."
Alger gave a brief response before following up with his own request, "My request remains the same—I'm looking to purchase the formula for Wind-blessed, Sequence 6 of the Sailor Pathway. If any of you happen to have it…"
Edward said, "What a coincidence—I happened to get my hands on one just a couple of days ago."
It was one of the formulas he had learned while channelling Hvin Rambis. That demigod of the Psychology Alchemists, in addition to formulas from the Spectator pathway, also knew over a dozen others, albeit most of them were low-sequence ones—such as Seer, Mystery Pryer, Sailor, etc. The Wind-blessed formula was one of the rare few among them that belonged to the middle sequences.
Alger had only casually mentioned it, but upon hearing Edward's reply, his spirit lifted at once, pleasantly surprised. "Mr. Tower, what would you like in return?"
"I…I'd like a sum of money, or Siskun Demon Worm's Nest."
The Siskun Demon Worm's Nest was one of the auxiliary materials needed for the advancement ritual of a Sequence 4 Secrets Sorcerer. It also happened to be the final ingredient Edward lacked.
Alger froze, frowning slightly. "Siskun Demon Worm's Nest? I'm afraid I've never heard of that..."
"Siskun Demon Worms are a type of spirit world creature at the demigod level," Edward explained.
"Demigod level?" Alger immediately realised something. "Mr. Tower…you've advanced again?"
Edward nodded calmly. "That's right. I advanced to Sequence 5 a few days ago."
Aside from Audrey and Priscilla, everyone else present inhaled sharply.
Wait a minute—didn't he just advance to Sequence 6 two or three weeks ago? Isn't that pace a bit insane?
Klein's mouth twitched slightly. No wonder bringing them up to the Grey Fog this time drained more spirituality than before—so it was you, silently dragging us all into your hyper-grind fest!
Fors, on the other hand, felt like she was living in an alternate timeline. She still vividly remembered how she and Xio had escorted Edward to Mr. A's gathering to purchase formulas when he first started.
And now, barely any time has passed, and I'm still stuck at Sequence 8—while he's already Sequence 5?!
Even if he's being financially supported by the Hall family's young lady, with no shortage of funds for materials and formulas, what about the acting? The digestion?
Maybe…he didn't even fully digest it before advancing? After all, he seemed to have a good relationship with the True Creator. Could this be some kind of evil god's "blessing"?
Alger took a deep breath, suppressing his internal turmoil before replying seriously, "I'm sorry. I likely won't be able to help with the Nest of Siskun Demon Worm. But I'll still ask around. As for the money…"
I still owe you 7,500 pounds. If this keeps piling on, I'll owe you over ten thousand!
A debt that would suffocate almost anyone!
"I'll give you an answer before the next Tarot Meeting."
If worst comes to worst, I'll have to use that primaeval island to repay the debt!
"No problem," Edward replied with a smile. He materialised the Wind-blessed formula and handed it over. "Here, take the formula first."
"Thank you."
At this point, Alger had developed a bit of a "what's a few more fleas to a dog" mentality. I'm already this deep in debt, what's one more burden?
He quickly skimmed the page: the main ingredients included six crystalline feathers from a Blue Shadow Falcon, a pair of Dragon-Eyed Sea Condor eyeballs…
Blue Shadow Falcon?
There were definitely some on that island!
So I really am destined to go there after all…
After the transaction between Tower and The Hanged Man concluded, Fors raised her hand.
"Mr. Tower, I'd like to purchase the formula for Astrologer."
"No problem. Should we go with the price we discussed during the last Tarot Meeting?"
"Y-Yes…"
Ugh, now where am I going to get the money for the materials after this?
Edward, however, felt mildly puzzled.
By now, Fors should've met the Abraham family member who provided her with her original formula, right? Why was she still coming to the Tarot Club to purchase it?
Could it be that because of my presence…Miss Salted Fish didn't encounter Lawrence?
As for that elderly gentleman—who, in the original work, had connected Forss with the Abraham family—Edward's impression was neutral.
Though the man had lured him into taking care of Christine using a Sequence 7 formula as bait, there was no coercion involved. On the contrary, he was pre-paid with the Sequence 6 and Sequence 5 formulas.
It was more like a dying elder grabbing at the last straw, entrusting someone with the care of his younger kin before passing.
If it hadn't been for the Sunken Laurel showing up so frequently and triggering Edward's caution, he wouldn't have minded lending that old man a helping hand.
As for his death—regrettable, yes, but there was nothing Edward could do. Lawrence had simply reached the natural end of his life. Unless Edward could've helped him advance to demigod within a short time and gain the longevity boost, he would've died regardless.
Perhaps this time, the old man didn't encounter Fors at all and just…quietly passed away somewhere, completely unknown to the world.
If so, then Miss Salted Fish's future path to advancement is going to be a lot tougher…
In the original timeline, she was practically fast-tracked to demigodhood—and even to angelhood in the second book.
Then again, considering she was the Sloth Uniqueness come to life, maybe being pushed too high and burdened with responsibilities beyond her capability wasn't such a good thing after all.
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.