After rubbing his forehead, Klein was just about to split another Worm of Spirit when he suddenly saw Reinette in her dark, complicated-looking dress walk out of the void and stand beside the desk.
In the mouth of one of Miss Messenger's heads was a neatly folded letter.
"Who's it from?" Klein asked in passing.
Reinette Tinekerr's remaining three heads replied, "The..." "Mushroom..." "King's..." "Superior..."
Mushroom King? Klein was stunned for a full two seconds before realizing that it could be Frank Lee.
And Frank Lee's superior was Admiral of Stars, Cattleya.
"The ‘Mushroom King' is Frank Lee?" Klein asked in confirmation as he reached out to take the letter.
With the four blonde, red-eyed heads' hair being held, they were made to bob up and down as though they were nodding.
Miss Messenger even gives others nicknames... That's not right. Frank doesn't just specialize in mushrooms. His "domains" include cows, malt, fish, Rose Bishops... It's because Frank has had a breakthrough in his mushroom experiments, so Miss Messenger saw a boat-full of mushrooms? Klein couldn't help but draw a breath as he hurriedly unfolded the letter.
He was worried that the letter was Ma'am Hermit's plea for help.
Of course, he wasn't too anxious because, at the most critical juncture, an experienced pirate like Admiral of Stars would definitely choose to pray to Mr. Fool.
This letter did come from the Future's captain, Cattleya. On it were neatly written words:
"... The Queen has already confirmed the time and place. Wednesday, 11 p.m. Same place.
"...I've no idea what you said to Frank Lee, but I can tell that he has been very excited recently. He has done many experiments with the Artisan. He said that he would be able to produce another phase of results in three-to six-months time. He also made it clear that if he were to obtain the Druid potion, he could save on making many intermediary objects and directly produce the final outcome. All I can say is that I wish you the best.
"...I hope that everything will come to an end before the Artisan completely breaks down. He has already begun regretting his faith in the Primordial Moon..."
Should I be happy that the securing of the City of Silver's food supply has progressed, or should I be worried about accidents? Klein rubbed his temples and decided to put the matter aside. After all, Ma'am Hermit, who was almost about to become a demigod, was watching Frank. If some unexpected development really happened, she would definitely seek help.
Phew... Having finally confirmed his meeting with Queen Mystic, he heaved a sigh of relief and flicked his wrist, burning the letter in scarlet red flames.
After watching Miss Messenger leave, he continued splitting a Worm of Spirit when he suddenly frowned. He felt that the desk and the letter's ashes in the trash can were abnormally off-putting.
Subconsciously, Klein got some tissue and wiped the desk before covering the trash can.
After doing all of this, he looked at his dirtied hands and stood up. He headed for the washroom and turned on the tap.
As he washed his hands, he caught sight of the toilet beside him through the corner of his eye. He frowned bit by bit again.
"Today's cleaning wasn't done well enough..." Klein softly muttered and suddenly sensed something wrong with him.
Amidst his thoughts, his spiritual intuition quickly explained why he was feeling this way.
This was a side effect of using Death Knell!
As he had already become a demigod, allowing him to have a qualitative change in his Spirit Body and attain godhood; the corresponding negative effects had been reduced by more than 90%. The terrifying weakness of germaphobia ended up becoming a trait of cleanliness OCD.
Likewise, the period of weakness dropped from six hours to one hour. And the thirst that Death Knell gave him was no longer as obvious.
"Thankfully..." Klein heaved a sigh of relief as he skillfully pulled out the toilet brush from the side.
Eleven in the evening, above the gray fog, due to Emlyn White's request, all the members who had involved themselves in the punishment operation- Justice, The Star, Judgment, The Magician, and The Hanged Man
-appeared inside the ancient magnificent palace.
"These are all the spoils of war." Emlyn threw 3,000 pounds that he had just sacrificed in the middle of the table and explained, "One of the mystical items was Oath of Rose. It's a paired ring, allowing the wearers to be able to share their senses and thoughts with one another within a normal-sized city regardless of the distance. It's very valuable, but only one of the rings was acquired. It would spell danger for anyone who takes it. Therefore, I handed it over to the Sanguine upper echelons and received 3,000 pounds in return."
He originally thought of keeping the 3,000 pounds as his spoils of war, but he decided that it was better to sacrifice it and make it be one of the options.
After a pause, Emlyn introduced the other items, listing their uses and negative side effects. He had even added more to the description-knowledge stemmed from his penchant for Sanguine history and some shared by Ernes Boyar under Father Utravsky's watch.
He is doing it with the intent of flaunting... Otherwise, with Mr. Moon's character, he wouldn't say so much... Oh, the reason for him being relaxed is due to Mr. Fool's absence... Audrey watched as a bystander without saying which item she wanted.
Alger glanced at the spoils of war and said to Emlyn, "Have you met the Sanguine upper echelons? Has the hunting of the key members of the Rose School of Thought been confirmed?"
"Pretty much. I've also established contact with a member from the temperance faction. However, he wishes to carry out the operation after September." Emlyn didn't hide the truth, believing that Mr. Hanged Man could provide useful pointers.
Indeed, Alger nodded and asked, "It has to be after September?
"This means that they are waiting for something that will drastically change the situation..."
Klein, who was waiting for the mini-gathering to end somewhere else in the ancient palace, suspected that it had something to do with Miss Sharron's advancement when he heard that.
According to Miss Sharron, she should've been able to attempt the demigod ritual in July... Don't tell me that this ritual will last at least a month? If that's the case, it's quite different from the other pathways... Klein had a theory he wasn't too sure about.
"Possibly." Emlyn thought for a while before agreeing with Mr. Hanged Man's words.
Following that, he surveyed the area and said with a smile, "You can begin choosing."
Audrey had Mr. World's promised Fate Siphon charm, and Leonard had obtained the corresponding rewards from Old Man Pallez. They appeared rather calm with the spoils of war "offered" by the Sanguine Viscount. None of them rushed to speak as they politely waited for the others to go first.
In addition, they had either experienced an angel-level battle in person or witnessed the horror brought about by Amon's avatars. Furthermore, they had confirmed that the Tarot Club contained potent forces, and they were suffering from some level of mental fatigue.
Xio looked to her right before looking forward. Seeing everyone being so modest, she broke the silence.
"I was involved in a very simple part of this and didn't take much of a risk. Furthermore, Mr. Moon has already paid 60 pounds in advance. I'll just take the cash in the wallet."
As she spoke, she took the handcrafted wallet, took out the cash, and counted it.
"335 pounds."
Emlyn surveyed the area and nodded when no one objected.
"Okay."
As for the handcrafted wallet, Xio threw it in the middle of the table and returned it to Mr. Moon to handle it himself.
With Xio taking the lead, Fors said, "I only lent out Leymano's Travels and didn't take on any risks. I'll take that Moon Paper Figurine..."
Compared to the mystical items, such expendable Beyonder items were relatively lower in value.
However, to The Magician herself, she wouldn't have selected a mystical item even if she was qualified. This was because she could hire the corresponding member to Record it if she needed a particular power of the mystical item. As for Moon Paper Figurine, an expendable item that could take a fatal blow and Psychic Piercing once, it couldn't be Recorded. It was definitely the first choice for someone who feared for her life.
After saying that, she waited for a moment. Only when no one objected did she take the Moon Paper Figurine.
Emlyn then cast his gaze at Miss Justice. Leonard extended his hand and said with a smile, "Ladies first."
Audrey didn't decline the offer as she swept her gaze across the items on the table. She pointed at the diamond brooch and said with a smile, "I'll take this."
She had heard Mr. Moon mention that its name was Alcohol Nemesis. It kept the wearer brimming with energy with lucidity in their thoughts, giving them resistance to influences on the Body of Heart and Mind.
Thankfully, I had first used Bribe-Charm to be safe, and with Ernes still being in a half-conscious state after waking up from the dream, I wouldn't have been able to Hypnotize him... This item is also useful to me. At the very least, it will give me another layer of protection when facing the higher-level members of the Psychology Alchemists... I don't have to worry about the negative effects if I don't always wear it... Audrey thought thankfully as she retracted her gaze from the diamond brooch in satisfaction.
After the selection, Emlyn didn't give Leonard the chance to speak as he directly said, "This Moon Sash is yours."
From his point of view, the Moon Sash was worth more than 5,000 pounds, something more valuable than the 3,000 pounds in cash.
Actually, I was leaning towards taking the 3,000 pounds... I have to buy the Word of the Sea, and the price is still 10,000 pounds after Klein gave a discount... After spending that, I'll only have 650 pounds in savings... Leonard ultimately didn't reject it as he nodded.
"Okay."
Emlyn finished distributing the spoils of war and picked up the remaining 3,000 pounds in cash. He then split a stack and pushed it to the side.
"Mr. Hanged Man, this is your payment. 1,000 pounds."
"You should call it the consultation fee." Without Mr. Fool present, Fors was also a lot more relaxed.
Alger didn't stand on ceremony as he nodded, reaching out to take the stack of cash.
"The compensation for the carriage driver will also be borne by me." Emlyn surveyed the area in a rather good mood.
11 p.m. on Wednesday, at the south entrance of the Backlund Bridge.
A figure quickly phased into existence in the night sky, with one hand on his hat and the other hand by his buttons.
He had black hair, brown eyes, and sharp facial features. This strongest adventurer with the cold expression was none other than Gehrman Sparrow.
