"Wait, stop messing around. I have something to take care of." Fors raised her upper body and reached out to stop Xio's antics.
Seeing the solemn look on Fors' face, Xio also stopped fooling around. She released her arms from around Fors' waist and whispered, "Did something big happen?"
"You could say that."
Fors couldn't exactly tell Xio that she was acting as an undercover agent in the Tarot Club. After tidying up her disheveled clothes a little, she got up and returned to her room.
"Sigh, the Stars seem especially fond of Fors." Xio sighed. Then, imitating Fors' earlier posture, she comfortably lay back on the sofa, closed her eyes, and contemplated how she and Fors would spend the next few days.
For the next few days, Lady Sage would be occupied with an important matter and wouldn't be able to divert her attention elsewhere, so she and Fors could only rely on themselves for protection.
The most likely enemies were the group who had caused Fors to become deeply contaminated last time.
They might take advantage of this opportunity to attack her and Fors.
"If only I could advance a little faster..." Xio thought for a moment before letting out another heavy sigh.
Inside her room, Fors, now alone, finally began reviewing the scene Mr. Fool had just transmitted to her.
It showed a man whose exact appearance couldn't be made out. It might have been Mr. World. He was praying to Mr. Fool, saying that he also wanted to deal with George III and that he wished to cooperate with the Queen Mystic, Bernadette.
The Queen Mystic, Bernadette?
Fors felt somewhat dumbfounded. She had seen an introduction to this legendary figure in Xio's bounty compendium. Her combined bounties from various countries alone exceeded one million gold pounds.
She was one of Xio's favorite fantasy targets. Xio had always dreamed of somehow cashing in on her and earning enough gold pounds to last her an entire lifetime.
Mr. Fool's believer wanted to find the Queen Mystic, Bernadette, but why had Mr. Fool shown this scene to her?
She didn't know the Queen Mystic, Bernadette. Someone like that was even a pirate leader. She had absolutely nothing to do with her.
Wait. With Mr. Fool's wisdom, He wouldn't do something like this for no reason.
Could Lady Sage actually be the Queen Mystic, Bernadette?
Fors herself was startled by this speculation, but after thinking about it carefully, there were only a handful of female Beyonders she knew. Among them, the only one who could be considered a major figure was Lady Sage, who had suddenly arrived in Backlund.
Yes, that was the only possibility. At this point, Fors became certain of Lady Sage's true identity.
If Xio found out that the walking pile of gold pounds she constantly dreamed about was actually Lady Sage, what kind of expression would she make?
Fors quickly suppressed that thought and turned her attention back to the matter at hand. From the looks of it, Mr. Fool had also tacitly approved of dealing with George III?
The Fool and the Stars joining forces!
Fors' eyes lit up. She was both a believer of the Stars and a member of the Tarot Club. If she helped bring this cooperation about, wouldn't she be able to obtain benefits from both sides?
And besides, what an incredible sense of accomplishment this would bring!
After thinking seriously for a while, Fors prayed to Mr. Fool and expressed her thoughts.
She simply said that she would do her best to help Mr. Fool's believer facilitate this matter.
Above the gray fog, Klein sat at the head of the long bronze table. Only after hearing Miss Magician's response did he truly confirm that she was indeed the mysterious lady at tonight's Beyonder gathering.
He had already been thinking about cooperating with Bernadette. Combined with his suspicions toward Miss Magician tonight, he decided to use this method to confirm Miss Magician's identity.
Sure enough, the important figure she knew was the Queen Mystic, Bernadette.
About half an hour later, Klein once again received a prayer from Fors.
"The Queen Mystic, Bernadette, has agreed to cooperate. She'll be waiting at Backlund Bridge tomorrow night."
Klein once again took control of his body and gave a response. "Thank you, Miss Magician, for helping facilitate this deal. I'm willing to provide a certain amount of compensation. We can discuss the specifics at the Tarot Gathering."
Fors was very satisfied with this response. When she had just gone to Lady Sage to verify the matter and report the news, Lady Sage had already given her a reward: one of the Beyonder ingredients required for her advancement to Sequence 6, Scribe.
"The cooperation between the Stars and the Fool was completed just like that?"
Alone in her room, Fors blinked. She felt that everything tonight had gone far too smoothly. There had hardly been any need for her, the intermediary, to exert much effort.
"Perhaps the Stars and the Fool really do know each other. This must be the tacit understanding between Them."
Fors stayed in her room for a while longer before opening the door and heading out to show off a little to Xio, who had taken over her sofa.
Especially the fact that Lady Sage was actually the Queen Mystic, Bernadette.
When she saw Xio's little mouth fall open wide enough to swallow an egg, just as she had imagined, Fors' mood improved tremendously.
...
Klein had finally sought cooperation with Bernadette.
Fortunately, the timing was just right.
Hastur naturally learned of the news immediately as well. Regarding his first cooperation with Mr. Fool, he wondered whether he should enter the spirit world and give Mr. Fool a fright, no, a surprise.
"It's about time I showed Mr. Fool a few of my cards. That should also help with any potential cooperation in the future."
"Maybe I can even use this opportunity to bring Mr. Fool into the Hall of Stars."
"It's just that his identity would be rather troublesome..."
If Mr. Fool went to the Hall of Stars in his identity as the Lord of Mysteries and appeared before the Son of Chaos, the Mother Tree of Desire, the Supernova Dominator, and the High-Dimensional Overseer, it would undoubtedly cause an enormous uproar.
It still wasn't time to completely lay all the cards on the table.
Hmm, they could also communicate privately, avoiding the days when the gathering of the Stars took place.
Hastur imagined himself sitting in the Hall of Stars while Klein sat atop Sefirah Castle, the two of them chatting across the distance while mutually bluffing each other. The image was rather amusing.
The Stars and the Fool, two paper tigers.
They only appeared inflated and lifelike because they knew how to fill themselves with air, making them seem real. But with just a light poke, once the paper tore and the air leaked out, all that would remain was a sheet of paper with a tiger drawn on it.
...
The following night, Klein disguised himself with a new appearance and arrived at Backlund Bridge.
After waiting for a short while, pea vines sprouted from the ground and carried him upward into the clouds.
Before him, Bernadette wore an Intis-style white women's blouse and sat quietly beside a vine table.
Her chestnut-colored hair naturally cascaded down, giving her something of the air of a professional woman from Earth, and one who occupied a high-ranking position at that.
She perfectly fit the image of the domineering female CEO commonly seen in countless urban novels.
It seemed Emperor Roselle had indeed exerted a considerable influence on Bernadette's upbringing.
"Your disguise is quite good. There's also a strong aura of fate around you. It's the aura of a Snake of Mercury. The one from the Life School of Thought, I presume."
Bernadette's calm gaze seemed capable of seeing through everything, easily exposing the layers of disguise surrounding Klein.
Klein merely smiled without answering. He had indeed asked Will for a little help. After all, the person he was meeting was the Queen Mystic, Bernadette.
Although they shared the same objective, a certain degree of vigilance was still necessary.
Come to think of it, someone like Emperor Roselle actually managed to have such an elegant and noble daughter. It really proved the saying that good bamboo shoots could grow from rotten bamboo.
Klein kept those thoughts buried deep in his heart to prevent Bernadette from noticing them.
"I came only to cooperate in dealing with George III." Klein once again stated his position.
"Did the Fool send you?"
"He, like the Stars, has tacitly approved of our respective actions."
"George III really is unpopular." Bernadette seemed to chuckle mockingly.
Klein had originally wanted to say, "Emperor Roselle once said: Those who follow the righteous path receive much aid, while those who stray from it receive little."
But then he remembered that the person before him was Roselle's daughter. If she insisted that Roselle had never said such a thing, it would become rather awkward.
Worse, it would only increase the risk of exposing himself.
So he could only change his wording. "When George III chose his allies, his enemies were determined as a consequence."
Bernadette glanced at Klein and said, "We've already made considerable preparations for dealing with George III, and we've pinpointed the four mausoleums he constructed in Backlund."
Bernadette paused at this point, wanting to see how many mausoleums the Tarot Club organization represented by Klein intended to take responsibility for.
"Since this is an equal partnership, each side will be responsible for two mausoleums," Klein said calmly.
Taking responsibility for two mausoleums was already the maximum he could currently manage.
Miss Messenger could handle one, while he could deal with the other under Mr. Azik's protection and assistance. That was just right.
If there were one more, he and Mr. Azik would have no choice but to split up. That would undoubtedly place Klein himself in a dangerous situation.
But attempting to stop George III from becoming a god was inherently an extremely risky undertaking.
Since he had decided to stop him, he wouldn't shrink back out of fear just because of the difficulties involved.
Bernadette gave Klein a meaningful look, effectively accepting his proposal.
Next, Bernadette drew in the air, showing Klein the locations of the two mausoleums. At the same time, she gave Klein the method and blood required to break the seals on their entrances.
Huh, the patterns and markings required by this method are the same as the ones Will told me about.
Klein couldn't help muttering inwardly.