There was naturally no way Fors could have learned about the divine war on her own. It was Bernadette who had told her and Xio about the God of Combat's fall.
At the time, the Leon Kingdom had declared all-out war on the Feysac Empire, which had truly frightened both her and Xio.
During one of their meetings, Xio had mustered up the courage to ask why the Leon Kingdom had declared war on the Feysac Empire.
And then, she and Xio heard an answer that made their scalps tingle.
The God of Combat had fallen. The Evernight Goddess had won.
Those few simple words shocked Fors and Xio so badly that they had to support each other to keep from collapsing onto the ground.
For the past two days, neither of them had been able to sleep peacefully. Whenever they thought about the God of Combat's fall, they would involuntarily wake from their dreams.
The feeling of carrying such an enormous secret was simply too exhausting.
That was why, during today's Tarot Gathering, when she saw Miss Justice and The Hanged Man worrying over this matter, she couldn't resist speaking up.
After revealing the news, Fors finally felt much lighter, as though the clouds hanging over her had parted to reveal the sun.
As for the undisguised shock in everyone else's eyes and the turmoil raging through their minds… That had nothing to do with her.
She had merely been generous enough to share a piece of information.
Yes, that was all.
With that thought, Fors unconsciously straightened her back and tried her best to put on an unfathomable air. Her expression remained calm, as though what she had just revealed was nothing more than some ordinary piece of common knowledge.
After recovering from her shock, Audrey was the first to speak.
"Miss Magician, is what you just said true?"
"It's true. I heard it from an important figure."
Fors deliberately lowered her voice as she answered. Her gaze remained as calm and tranquil as the sea as she met Miss Justice's eyes without the slightest ripple of emotion.
"This information is extremely important. I'm willing to pay you handsomely for it. How does 1,000 pounds sound?"
Having recovered her composure, Audrey began preparing to smash people with money again.
Fors' breathing instantly quickened, and she nearly broke character.
However, she managed to suppress her excitement and nodded expressionlessly.
For information as earth-shattering as the fall of the God of Combat, selling it for 1,000 pounds was, strictly speaking, far too cheap.
"As long as the information is genuine, I'm willing to pay 500 pounds for it," Alger said, enduring the pain in his heart.
Was paying 500 pounds to learn that the God of Combat had fallen a loss?
Of course not.
It was an incredible bargain.
But 500 pounds was by no means a small sum to him!
If Miss Justice hadn't taken the initiative to offer 1,000 pounds for the information, there was absolutely no way he would have followed up with such a high payment of 500 pounds.
There was no helping it. In the world of adults, sometimes you had no choice but to slap your own face swollen just to look impressive.
After all, he had been the one to raise the request first.
If only he had managed to suppress his urge to ask earlier…
Considering Miss Justice's wealth and how seriously she took this matter, she definitely would have offered a bounty first.
Then he could have saved himself an extra 500 pounds while still getting the information for free…
What a loss. An absolutely devastating loss!
With a complicated expression, Alger secretly glanced at Little Sun and that vampire.
Those two didn't have to pay a single penny, yet they could obtain the information all the same.
"If I want to know the specific details of what happened, what price would I need to pay?"
Audrey ultimately failed to suppress her desire to investigate the matter further.
In any case, her finances were currently quite healthy. As long as the expense was below 10,000 pounds, she could accept it without batting an eye.
Of course, if Mr. Fool was willing to explain everything for free, she would much rather listen to him.
This wasn't a matter of money.
Something spoken by Mr. Fool and something spoken by Miss Magician simply weren't on the same level when it came to credibility.
Thinking that way seemed a little unfair to Miss Magician… Audrey hurriedly cast aside the unpleasant thought.
Seeing yet another enormous pile of gold pounds enthusiastically waving at her, Fors' eyes practically began glowing golden.
She lightly coughed and cleared her throat, suppressing the excitement in her heart before carefully asking,
"Will this be a private transaction?"
"No need."
Audrey was quite generous about sharing the information.
After organizing her thoughts, Fors slowly said,
"The God of Combat fell four days ago, on the night when those twilight-colored masses of light descended from the sky. If you weren't asleep at the time, all you needed to do was look up to see the abnormalities beneath the starry sky that night.
"I didn't, and didn't dare, to inquire too deeply into the specifics of the divine war. I only know that the divine war erupted on the Southern Continent and involved the Evernight Goddess as well as other deities."
"The final result was that the God of Combat fell, and the Evernight Goddess won."
Fors didn't elaborate any further. That was everything she knew.
Back then, she and Xio had been so shocked by the news of the God of Combat's fall that they hadn't dared ask too many questions about the specifics of the divine war.
There was only one thing she hadn't revealed. The Stars had also participated in the divine war that night.
Judging from Lord Sage's tone, the Stars had played a major role in that battle. As for exactly what role that had been, she had no idea.
Lord Sage also seemed unwilling to let them learn too many details about the divine war.
It was a form of protection.
The Evernight Goddess won? Audrey's emotions became complicated.
The Evernight Goddess winning was naturally a good thing, but somehow, it gave her the strange illusion that the Evernight Goddess had been the mastermind behind the entire divine war.
The Evernight Goddess was the deity she worshiped, yet now it seemed as though she herself was beginning to entertain blasphemous thoughts.
Audrey hurriedly suppressed the strange feelings in her heart and promised to pay Miss Magician another 1,000 pounds.
That was already 2,500 pounds!
Klein silently calculated how much Miss Magician had earned tonight.
He could almost see one enticing gold pound after another sprouting wings and flying straight into Miss Magician's pockets while a satisfied, blissful smile appeared on her face.
If only he had known the details about this divine war, he could have had The World step forward and pocket this considerable fortune himself.
In other words… The gold pounds now sitting in Miss Magician's pockets had flown there from his own pockets…
"Mr. Fool, could you clear up our doubts?"
Just as Klein sank into contemplation, Miss Justice's voice reached him.
The others also turned their gazes toward him.
Having already pondered the matter for a while, Klein smiled and spoke in a tone that seemed to say, I'm doing this for your own good.
"Knowing too much will bring you no benefit. On the contrary, it might invite unnecessary trouble."
As he said this, Klein gave Miss Magician a meaningful look.
Fors immediately became a little nervous. As expected, she really shouldn't have tried to learn too much about matters involving divine wars.
But when she remembered that she had earned the enormous sum of 2,500 pounds today simply by selling information about the divine war, her mood instantly improved again.
Compared to some unknown danger, this enormous pile of money was far more lovable and important!
After giving Miss Magician another deep look, Klein slightly raised his voice.
"Everyone, the tide of the times has arrived."
He didn't actually know what else he was supposed to say, so he could only use profound-sounding words like these to conclude the matter.
As for what exactly this "tide of the times" was supposed to mean?
Well… Everything happening in society and throughout the world at every passing moment was part of the endlessly surging tide of the times!
After the free discussion ended, Klein controlled The World and began selling the Beyonder characteristics and Beyonder weapons he had obtained from hunting pirates during this period.
Perhaps the news of the God of Combat's fall had simply been too shocking, because The World's items proved rather difficult to sell.
Klein couldn't help but give Miss Magician another deep look.
Fors shuddered. Mr. Fool's meaningful gaze seemed to pass straight through her and settle upon the Stars standing behind her.
…
After the Tarot Gathering ended, Fors immediately went to find Xio.
Suppressing her excitement, she tried her best to come up with a tactful explanation before telling Xio that she had earned 2,500 pounds.
"What!? 2,500 pounds!? Fors, you didn't rob a bank, did you!?" Xio cried out in shock, her voice filled with excitement.
She simply couldn't believe that Fors had managed to earn the astronomical sum of 2,500 pounds just by selling information!
Ever since she had begun taking various bounty missions, all the money she had earned combined didn't even amount to 2,500 pounds.
"Shh! Keep your voice down! The walls have ears." Fors hurriedly covered Xio's mouth.
Only after Xio had mostly calmed down did she release her.
Then Fors glanced at the spot on her palm that had been dampened by Xio's saliva and deliberately wiped it several times on Xio's clothes with an expression of disgust.
Sure enough, Xio's attention was instantly diverted, and she began making a fuss about breaking off their friendship.
Once she had completely calmed down, Xio lowered her voice and asked,
"Fors… You didn't sell yourself, did you? And now you're deliberately making up some excuse to fool me?"
Before Fors could explain, Xio frowned again.
"But how did you manage to sell yourself for the ridiculously high price of 2,500 pounds? Is there some secret to your success?"
Black lines practically appeared across Fors' forehead.
She reached out, grabbed Xio by the ear, and explained how she had sold the information about the God of Combat's fall.
She merely replaced the Tarot Gathering in her explanation with a rather high-level Beyonder gathering.
"You've gone crazy for money!" Xio cried out.
"You even dared to sell information like that!? Aren't you afraid you'll earn the money but die before you get the chance to spend it?"
"Xio, that was 2,500 pounds."
"…" Xio fell completely silent.
After a long while, she murmured, "Emperor Roselle once said, 'Men die for wealth, just as birds die for food.' Those words really make far too much sense."
After savoring that thought, Xio suddenly widened her eyes.
"Then you're telling me about this because you're planning to give me a share of that enormous fortune?"
"Obviously. Otherwise, why would I bother explaining so much to you? Wouldn't keeping everything for myself be better?"
Fors rolled her eyes at Xio. As for Lord Sage, he simply had no interest in such a small amount of money.
Xio completely ignored Fors's eye roll. She tightly hugged Fors and planted a kiss on her smooth cheek, saying with immense satisfaction,
"Fors, you're the best!"
Fors once again wiped the saliva mark from her cheek with a disgusted expression.
"Xio, you really should pay more attention to your image."
Xio grinned, wrapped both arms around Fors' slender waist, and rose slightly onto her tiptoes.
Then she kissed Fors on the other cheek. With a delighted expression, she declared, "So good!"