"Ghost Empire?" Justice Audrey and Magician Fors were both unfamiliar with the term. Having lived in Backlund for so long, they knew little about the rumors circulating on the sea.
However, The Hanged Man Alger knew exactly what "Ghost Empire" implied. He immediately sat up straight and asked in a serious tone, "Is this information reliable?"
Judgment Xio shook her head. "I'm not sure... but Baron Larry does seem to possess certain secrets…
"Of course, he could also be bait deliberately thrown out by the military."
Xio actually leaned more toward the latter. After all, she knew that it was Ebner who had obtained the Ghost Empire's ticket, and there was no guarantee that the deepest part of the Daniel Maze would contain anything else related to the Ghost Empire.
The Hanged Man Alger pondered for a moment before cautiously bringing up another seemingly unrelated matter. "I heard that Prince Montbatten has sought the protection of the Church of Storms…"
"His Highness is one of the four people who might know this secret," Judgment confirmed with a nod before adding, "The other two are Seafarer Card and Reaper Mellen."
So that's how it is… No wonder a prince of Loen would seek refuge with the church in Bayam. Even if he's a devout believer, he should have gone to MI9 first…
Could it be that MI9 is incapable of protecting him? Or has the military been infiltrated to the point that he no longer trusts them?
Just as The Hanged Man found himself lost in speculation again, Temperance suddenly spoke. "The secrets of the Daniel Maze?"
She had previously heard Xio mention these names while assisting her with the "mirror world" puzzle above the gray fog, so she naturally made the connection.
In truth, Sharon was also quite curious about the hidden vault left behind by her teacher's younger brother.
"That's right. After Mr. Tower and I removed the 'barrier,' we had to leave the maze through the 'door' of the mirror world. The ones who remained behind were precisely the four individuals I just mentioned…"
Xio gave a brief summary of the Daniel Maze, describing the grand hall at its deepest level. She left out only the parts related to the lion Leon, the Justiciar card, and the Ghost Empire's ticket.
This was something she had discussed with Ebner in advance…
As for the deeper layers of divine machinations and the centuries-long scheming among various transmigrators, Xio herself knew nothing about it, and Ebner had no intention of revealing it yet.
After all, the Tarot Club wasn't ready to handle matters of that scale… Besides, if he didn't mention the existence of transmigrators, many details wouldn't make logical sense. So, Ebner simply decided to keep it to himself for now. He would only report it to Mr. Fool once he fully understood why the Pure White Eye had been repeatedly sending transmigrators into this world and confirmed there were no further dangers involved.
"Thank you for your explanation," Temperance Sharon said with a slight nod.
However, a rare ripple passed through her deep blue eyes—though with the gray fog concealing her, no one noticed it.
Daniel Maze? So something that major happened in the Southern Continent! No wonder members of the Rose School have been going insane lately… They must have suffered heavy losses there! The Hanged Man suddenly felt enlightened, realizing that this answered some of his recent doubts.
Meanwhile, Justice and Magician listened with fascination, yearning to have been part of such an adventure.
The difference between them, however, was that Justice truly wanted to experience it firsthand, while Magician preferred to lie at home and watch a "live broadcast"—just like the "sea battle broadcast" Xio had once described watching in Ebner's bedroom.
Once this topic concluded, The Hanged Man saw that no one else was speaking, so he cleared his throat and shared some news:
"A horrifying demon sacrifice occurred on Sunia Island, wiping out an entire town that housed captured pirates.
"The perpetrator was a high-ranking demon named Yaldabaoth… To stop him, Senior Deacon Nyango Izimay Panin of the Church of the God of Combat sacrificed his life…"
"This is terrifying! Mr. Hanged Man, did the demon's sacrifice succeed?" Magician Fors exclaimed with a look of concern, though her curiosity was unmistakable.
"No, because Lord Panin's sacrifice delayed the ritual, allowing reinforcements from the Church of the God of Combat to arrive in time and disrupt it… However, the demon named Yaldabaoth managed to escape…
"For this, the Church has placed a bounty of 3 million gold horns on him!"
Hah, at least Lord Panin died with some dignity. The Church of the God of Combat didn't dig up past accounts against him…
Then again, of course they wouldn't. They couldn't exactly admit that the sacrifice failed due to the Rose School's interference. Instead, they could only credit Panin for stalling long enough.
Ebner silently mocked the situation but refrained from commenting. While he had learned some inside information about the Sunia Island Silent Town Sacrifice from Miss Closfia, he didn't know the full details and wasn't sure where to begin…
Besides, knowing too much about this matter wouldn't benefit the Tarot Club members—it could even bring them unnecessary danger.
"How much is 3 million gold horns in gold pounds?" Magician timidly raised her hand and asked.
"One gold pound is roughly worth 5.5 gold horns," Judgment Xio whispered back, sneaking a glance at her best friend. She suddenly realized that Fors seemed to have gained a little weight…
So it really is a lack of exercise? Once I get back to Backlund… Xio made a mental note and immediately started planning various "ways" to help Fors work out.
"Ugh… That's about 540,000 gold pounds? That's a fortune!" Fors did the mental math and gasped in astonishment.
Alger had brought up this topic hoping to see if Tower or World knew any insider details. Now that they remained silent, he felt a bit disappointed. However, he quickly adjusted his mindset and continued sharing other information.
Time passed swiftly, and after Little Sun finished recounting his experiences from the past week, Fool Klein glanced around the table and said, "We'll stop here."
"As You will." Justice, The Hanged Man, Tower, Judgment, and the others immediately stood up, bowed, and then vanished.
Klein, however, didn't leave right away. He conjured a piece of parchment and a round-bellied fountain pen, then wrote down a divination statement:
"The source of my sense of familiarity with the girl carrying an orange cat outside the steam locomotive station."
Holding the paper, he recited the sentence silently and leaned back.
After the seventh repetition, his eyes darkened as he used meditation to enter a dream state and communicate with his spirituality.
In the hazy, distorted world, Klein saw a familiar bedroom—the one in Tower's home in Backlund.
Inside, a girl in a black robe stood beside another woman with a striking figure, seemingly engaged in conversation.
The dream quickly faded, and Klein woke up, instantly realizing the girl's identity.
"So it was Miss Jane… Could that orange cat actually be the 'Three Light' mentioned in Roselle's diary?
"I brushed past them yesterday without even realizing… I wonder if they're still in Backlund…
"But why did Roselle name a cat 'Three Light'? Is this some obscure joke?"
...
Backlund, a rented apartment in Cherwood Borough.
Returning to reality, Fors pinched the extra bit of flesh on her stomach and muttered in distress, "I can't go to that café for desserts today… If I do, my clothes really won't fit anymore…
"But that chef's cooking is so good… and the food is cheap…
"Ugh… Why doesn't Trickmaster have an ability like 'Fat Redistribution'?"
...
Bayam, Fragrant Manor.
Ebner had just withdrawn the "Wall of Spirituality" from his bedroom when he received news of a visitor.
After hearing Elaine's description, he immediately understood who it was—Judy and Cullen had come. He personally went to the living room to welcome them.
Or rather, the three of them.
Because Judy had brought along the plant lady who looked almost identical to her, as if they were twin sisters.
After some polite greetings, Judy got straight to the point. "We're here to deliver a token of gratitude… to thank you for rescuing us earlier… Well, since our captain couldn't come personally, he asked us to bring his share of the gift as well."
"Huh? Didn't you already give me one?" Ebner asked in surprise.
He was referring to the semi-divine Tudor Emblem. Back then, the other party had tacitly allowed him to take that valuable sealed artifact.
"That was your rightful 'spoils of war'—or rather, a reward for your efforts in the exploration. It doesn't count as a gift from us," Cullen shook his head and said.
With that, he handed over a card to Ebner and explained, "This is a gold membership card for the Trier Golf Club. Holding this allows you to enjoy top-tier services at the club for a lifetime."
Trier Golf Club? Ebner recalled that this was the most prestigious club in Intis—several leagues above Cragg Club. It had branches in major cities worldwide… More importantly, it wasn't something one could join just by having money.
As he mentally reviewed the benefits of this gold card, Judy patted the somewhat nervous plant lady beside her and grinned.
"My gift… is her!"
"What?" Ebner was momentarily stunned and almost dropped the gold card in his hand.
(End of Chapter)