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On the Future, which was gradually moving towards the passenger ship where Lin Ruo and others were located, in a certain sea area of Sonia.
Cattleya sat quietly in the captain's cabin, a delicate pocket watch beside her. The hour and minute hands of the watch ticked towards 3 o'clock.
Cattleya glanced at the pocket watch out of the corner of her eye, took a slight breath, making final adjustments, waiting for the summons from Mr. Fool.
"Tick-Tucker—"
Three o'clock finally arrived. Cattleya only saw the crimson light in front of her surge like a tide, engulfing her.
Before she could react, the next second Cattleya found herself back in the ancient palace above the Gray Fog, sitting on her bronze armchair. Unlike last time, this time, many people were already seated around the long bronze table.
"These are representatives from other forces, I wonder if Gehrman is here…" Cattleya thought, her gaze quickly sweeping over the other members of the Tarot Club, when she heard a cheerful greeting:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~"
Justice Audrey, as always, stood up and bowed like a class representative. With a glance from the corner of her eye, she noticed the new face at the Tarot Club, and her eyes immediately lit up.
The Tarot Club has a new member? And a lady, I wonder what her codename will be.
Justice Audrey noticed that after the others consciously stood up and greeted Mr. Fool, they naturally also noticed the newcomer's presence. At this moment, Cattleya was the most dazzling presence in the room.
—It is worth mentioning that, although she was a newcomer and had not gone through the process at all, Cattleya's reaction when bowing was no less than that of an old-timer. From standing up to bowing, she maintained a high degree of consistency with the other members of the Tarot Club, forming a stark contrast with Star and Moon, who had been half a beat slower.
Lin Ruo, who was also paying attention to her, couldn't help but sigh in his heart, "Cattleya truly lives up to her reputation as the Future secretary of the Tarot Club, one of its intelligence pillars. She's already pulled ahead of the three fools, Sun, Moon, and Star, in the details!"
And after everyone had finished bowing and sat down, Mr. Fool, at the head of the table, introduced her calmly, just as he did every time a new member joined:
"This is Hermit." He paused, then looked at the other members of the Tarot Club, "You each introduce yourselves."
"Hello, Hermit, I am Chariot." Unlike previous times when Justice Audrey always started the introductions, this time it was the smiling Lin Ruo who spoke first. His tone was as gentle as ever, but as soon as he spoke, it instantly gave Cattleya a creepy feeling.
This wasn't because Cattleya heard any dangerous meaning in Lin Ruo's tone, but because this familiar tone made Cattleya's DNA react. She almost immediately recognized who the person opposite her was. At the same time, all sorts of mushrooms that would make one's scalp tingle flashed through her mind, and for a moment, she almost couldn't help but shiver.
"How could His Highness Lin Ruo be here? Didn't they say that the Tarot Club only has representatives from various forces?"
"Could it be that His Highness Lin Ruo has truly decided to follow Mr. Fool?"
While Cattleya wanted to curse in her heart, she maintained the stiff smile on her face and didn't forget to respond to Lin Ruo's greeting: "Hello, Chariot." Her hand, placed under the long bronze table, instinctively tightened.
Cattleya's reaction wasn't entirely due to the mushrooms; she also realized something suddenly: if Lin Ruo was also a member of the Tarot Club, wouldn't that mean she would be meeting under his watchful eye every time from now on—he was a figure of her proper grandfather's generation! What kind of human suffering was this?
Cattleya only felt a bitter taste in her mouth, and for a moment, she even wondered if she should tell the Queen about this.
"Eh? Hermit is so strange. She seems very afraid of Chariot… No, more accurately, it should be awe. Does she know Chariot?"
Justice Audrey observed curiously, guessing in her heart, while also introducing herself with a smile: "Hello, Hermit, I am Justice."
"Hello, Miss Justice." Cattleya looked at Justice Audrey almost as if granted a great pardon. At this moment, she didn't dare to glance around, focusing solely on observing the person in front of her.
Her passive skill, Eyes of Mystery Prying, activated at this moment. Although Cattleya still couldn't see through the gray mist, she could already barely make out the details of the other person's clothing.
Then Cattleya suddenly fell silent.
Because she saw that the young Miss Justice in front of her, from the jeweled hair ornament on her head to the emerald earrings dangling from her ears, from the necklace around her neck where every single pearl was pale pink, each one valuable on its own, and the entire string could be described as priceless, to the seemingly ordinary yet subtly luxurious, off-white dress that clearly came from a famous designer—every single detail shimmered with the light of money.
Cattleya couldn't help but close her eyes, feeling dazzled.
"Is this the 'money ability' that Her Majesty mentioned?"
Cattleya couldn't help but think in her heart, simultaneously labeling Miss Justice as "suspected daughter of a great noble."
And after Lin Ruo and Justice Audrey, the others naturally began to introduce themselves.
Cattleya looked at them one by one, observing them while judging the identities of each member of the Tarot Club.
The Hanged Man, adult male, about thirty, with seaweed-like blue hair, wearing… uh, a Church of the Lord of Storms priest's robe?
"Could this be the Church of the Lord of Storms's representative at the Tarot Club? Are Mr. Fool and Lord of Storms also allies…?" Cattleya suppressed her faint surprise and continued to observe the others:
Sun, a young male, seemingly underage, with a somewhat strange clothing style, but very convenient for combat, possibly a Warrior pathway… Which force does this represent?
World, indeterminate age, well-disguised, but with a non-living feel, could it be a Zombie, a vengeful spirit, or some other pathway I don't know…
Moon, also seemingly young, black hair, red eyes, and wearing an Church of the Earth Mother priest's robe… It seems to be a vampire representing the Church of the Earth Mother.
Magician, a young female, should be a Loenese. She doesn't seem to have a strong presence, but such people require more attention.
Star, a young male, somewhat lazy, seemingly unaccustomed to such a formal sitting posture. His clothes are a black trench coat, and he's wearing Red Gloves… Could this configuration be a Red Gloves from the Church of the Evernight Goddess?
"Right, Her Majesty did say that His Highness Lin Ruo is indeed an ally of the Evernight Goddess. In that case, it makes sense that Mr. Fool and the Evernight Goddess are also allies…" As she finished observing the last person, Cattleya's heart remained unsettled for a long time.
After all, based on the observations so far, the Tarot Club members present involved at least three True Deities and two Angels, not including the few Tarot Club members whose allegiance Cattleya hadn't been able to determine.
"It seems His Highness Lin Ruo was right; Mr. Fool is indeed a very worthwhile investment…" While shocked, Cattleya couldn't help but feel relieved.
No matter what, she and the Queen were now considered to have initially pledged allegiance to The Fool, so they naturally hoped that he would have as many allies as possible.
And just then, Cattleya heard Lin Ruo's gentle voice from diagonally opposite her:
"Hermit, your eyes seem to be different from ordinary people's."
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