At the Tarot Gathering, Audrey—who had been worried about Susie—hesitated a little before speaking to the others seated around the long bronze table.
"Honorable Mr. Fool, and my ever-helpful Mr. Devil and Mr. Hanged Man, I have a question I'd like to ask."
After a brief moment of consideration, she decided not to reveal the fact that she was keeping an Extraordinary dog.
"May I ask… do any of you know a creature called a Cat-Cake?"
"Cat-Cake?"
Both Alger and Klein suddenly felt several question marks sprouting above their heads.
Alger ran a hand through his seaweed-like blue hair.
"Could you describe what this 'Cat-Cake' looks like in more detail?"
"Of course," Audrey replied, recalling the image in her mind.
"It looks like a flower-shaped pastry on the outside. But on the front, there's an opening where you can see what appears to be the head and tail of a cat inside."
After thinking for a moment, Alger recalled a certain infamous figure—the first mate of the Future, Frank Lee.
"I'd guess this is probably an artificially created species. A Sequence 6 Biologist on the Planter pathway could easily make such a creature."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Hanged Man," Audrey said cheerfully.Then she smoothly changed the topic.
"Then… what can an Extraordinary pet actually do to help its owner? I mean, in simple terms, what kind of abilities or functions might it have?"
That was what she really wanted to ask.
[I have a friend…]
Sure enough, she had shared a potion with her pet.
Klein, whose treatment and market value were apparently even lower than that of Susie the dog, pinched the bridge of his nose helplessly.
"Let's take an example with a power you're familiar with," said Sairuis as he answered Audrey's question.
"Let's suppose your Beyonder pet is on the Spectator pathway. In that case, it could observe on your behalf. After all, people tend to be wary of other humans—but hardly anyone pays attention to the little animals by their feet."
Audrey found that reasoning quite logical, and resolved to train Susie properly so she could actually help with her work.
[See? Even if you study hard, you'll still end up working as a rich lady's dog.]
"Actually," Sairuis quipped over the group's internal chat, "if you don't even have an initial worth of 35 pounds, you wouldn't qualify to be a dog."
"Someone's triggered, I'm not saying who."
Audrey suddenly realized that "Mr. Devil" had used the Spectator pathway as a metaphor—and felt a bit embarrassed. She quickly steered the conversation elsewhere.
"Mr. Fool, I've found another page of Emperor Roselle's diary."
Sairuis also said he had obtained two new pages. Alger, having none, remained silent.
Klein received the manifested diary pages from the two of them.
After the previous Tarot Meeting, he had already divined their authenticity above the gray fog. These pages were indeed written by that senior transmigrator—the one who had first founded the organization known as the "Masked Fool" back in the Loen Kingdom.
Perhaps it was precisely because Mr. Devil was also a member of the Masked Fool that he had an easier time obtaining the writings of that mysterious forerunner.
Klein trusted his divinations above the gray fog completely. They would never be wrong.
This time, he decided to read the pages provided by Mr. Devil first—and sure enough, they were written by that same ancient "Masked Fool."
"March 31st – My dear corpses, I've returned. After leaving this planet for a while, I finally realized there's actually no such thing as the Aeon Of Trailblaze, nor any 'Akivili.' That fellow is actually the Aeon of Elation, named Aha.
"I've decided to forgive Aha for deceiving me—not because I can't beat him, of course—but because Aha and Akivili truly are a pair of pitiful, star-crossed lovers.Their love was so moving it spread throughout the cosmos and was blessed by all the Aeons. They even had a child, named Pom."
"But one day, Akivili became curious about the true nature of existence. He wanted to climb the so-called 'Tree of Existence.' This 'tree' isn't a literal one—it's an abstract concept. I can't really explain it clearly.
Anyway, Aha couldn't bear to see his husband risk his life and tried again and again to stop him. Desperate, Aha even destroyed their keepsake of love—the Astral Express, the very vehicle in which Akivili had proposed. But it was all in vain. Akivili disappeared in the end… and Aha went mad.Ah, what a tragic story—it honestly brings tears to my eyes."
"April 1st – I've decided to found an organization to commemorate Aha and Akivili's love. Hmm, today's April Fool's Day… so let's call it the Fool's Organization.Let me think… yes, perfect. I'll name it the Masked Fool."
So that's the origin of the Masked Fool!
Klein suddenly gained a new understanding of the group—and of the so-called Star Gods.
So even the gods fall in love… and their love had been blessed by all the other gods. How enviable.
"Just imagine," Klein mused to himself, "perhaps a Aeon symbolizing hardness and protection personally forged them a ring—representing eternal devotion to one another. The thought alone is touching."
[Surely the Amber King must have been their biggest supporter, even sealing their love with his own hammer.]
Klein casually flipped to the pages Audrey had presented—Roselle's diary.
"December 20th – A new year approaches, yet the feedback I've received recently has left me quite confused and troubled.""There's no petroleum in this world! None at all!"
[Oh no… the Eagle Nation can't rise.]
That made Klein frown in thought. Was there truly none, or just not yet discovered? He'd originally planned to make a fortune by investing in the future oil industry—but that plan had died before it even began.
Was this… the curse of the God of Poverty?
Klein kept reading, finding Roselle musing about inventing public toilets, sewers, and even human larva exterminators.
Finally, Roselle wrote that he planned to join an ancient, secret organization that quietly influenced the course of the world.
"You may begin your discussion," Klein said, setting the diary pages down.
(End of Chapter)