Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 164 Taste
In the bright office in the afternoon, Claire returned to her desk after her lunch break and sorted through the pile of documents on her desk. These were all current affairs reports shared by various teams. She used the movements at hand to quietly adjust her state of mind, waiting for today's Tarot Club meeting to begin.

There are many events that have been paid attention to by Red Gloves:

"...There are cultists eyeing membership in the Kingdom's Atmospheric Pollution Investigation Committee. Baron Kadel has been imprisoned, and his wife's whereabouts are unknown. She has been confirmed to be a Beyonder and suspected to be a member of the Gnosis Society."

"...There are signs of an increase in the amount of artisan-made goods entering the underground black market. Through communication with the Mechanical Heart, we learned that there are suspected wild 'artisans' lurking in Backlund."

"...No wild 'Sleepless' Beyonders were found this week, and no one bought the materials placed on the various underground black markets."

One of them was written by Daly:
"The eleventh victim of the serial murder case was rescued by a wild Beyonder. Unfortunately, the traces at the scene were destroyed, and the identities of the two combatants cannot be confirmed. However, we can confirm that one of them had an extremely ferocious fighting style, and is suspected to be a 'criminal' path, possibly a member of the Blood Worship Cult. The other's fighting style is clever and agile, and is suspected to be a 'diviner' path, possibly a member of the Secret Order."

Is there any progress in the serial murder case?

Daly had never reported to Claire individually. If she hadn't read the weekly internal briefing, Claire would have almost overlooked the latest developments in the case.

The "Fortune Teller" path Extraordinary... Claire had some contact with them during her time in Tingen. In Tingen, besides Klein Moretti in the team, some cases also involved the Secret Order.

But since arriving in Backlund, Claire had yet to meet any Beyonders of the Fortuneteller Path.

Claire thought back to the Beyonders she had come into contact with in Backlund. Most of them were from the church's "Sleepless Ones" and "Corpse Collectors."

According to the law of "high-sequence characteristics attracting low-sequence characteristics", Claire believed that the most active Beyonders around her should be mainly "Generalists".

But reality is not like this.

"Is it because of the influence of the Goddess's Heart that I am more like a 'Sleepless One' rather than a 'Comprehensive One' or a 'Peeper of Secrets'?"

"But since I came to Backlund, I've come into contact with Beyonders from many other paths, but not with those from the 'Generalist' and 'Mystery Peepers' paths. It's as if some force has deliberately isolated us."

Claire speculated that the reason for this kind of influence wasn't just because of the "Heart of the Goddess" in her body. Perhaps the Goddess of Night had personally arranged something else.

"What would happen if I took the initiative to walk into the Steam Church?" Claire wondered, but her own spirituality reminded her that this seemed like a suicidal act.

In the quiet atmosphere, Claire was thinking about various things. The warm sunlight through the window hit her delicate face, casting a soft shadow.

Suddenly, a rapid knock on the door broke the silence.

It's Daly.

"What's wrong?" Glancing at the clock on the wall that pointed to 2:38, Claire looked at Daly, who looked hurried, and wondered in her heart if there was any new progress in the serial murder case?

But the news Daly brought was beyond Claire's expectations: "Captain Galadilla! Beth Lyonness has been found!"

The northwest suburbs is the area under the charge of the Night Watchmen. The Night Watchmen were the first to track down the explosion, but after confirming that it was related to Beth Lyonness, the Church of Storms soon intervened.

Claire was a little distracted as she listened to Daly's detailed account, because she realized that the Fool had already arrived in the Gray Mist World.

Claire turned her gaze towards the gray fog world, but what made her frown was that her vision of the gray fog had become much blurrier this time, and the gray fog world's resistance to her had increased!
Claire recalled having this feeling before—was the Fool's power awakening further? Or was Klein's Sequence improving?
Claire saw that the Fool had already mastered the "World" vest and sat in his seat. She also saw that the Fool was communicating with the "Sun" to prepare for the gathering.

But these scenes seemed blurry and indistinct, as if viewed through foggy glass.

"Captain Galadilla, Ty Poslan has always been very low-key. Why would he act like Beth Lyonness, and even stage such a metaphorical scene? Should we report our intelligence on Ty Poslan to Her Excellency Cecima?"

Daly's voice brought Claire back to reality. Claire rubbed her temple and responded:

"We've just established initial trust and a relatively stable relationship with Tai Poslan. This will help us gain a deeper understanding of the Witch Cult and may even allow us to incite Tai Poslan to launch a crackdown on the Witch Cult... So, for now, don't do anything that might irritate her. Regarding any concerns, we'll try to ask her directly the next time we communicate with her."

Daly agreed with this idea, but was deeply moved by the attention this matter received. "This matter has only been going on for half a day, and it has already attracted the attention of many people in Backlund. Public opinion has already portrayed the person who secretly executed Beth Lyonness as a hidden hero."

Daly sneered as she spoke, "It seems there are quite a few important figures in Backland who want Beth Lyonness dead."

Beth Lyonesse was originally the white glove and political broker of the conservatives. The conservative nobles involved wished that Beth, who was suspected of being a spy, would die completely.

According to the information provided by Tessa, Beth Lyonness was suspected of colluding with members of the royal family to engage in human trafficking. If this is true, then the royal family must also want to kill Beth who suddenly went crazy and murdered the Intis ambassador!

Claire knew more about the inside story than Daly. She knew that this matter stemmed from Audrey's request for self-protection, so she said calmly:

"Public opinion is so quick to make a conclusion. This is simply the Kingdom's attempt to divert attention from Beth herself by over-exaggerating her mysterious and bizarre heroic deeds, thereby covering up the various evil deeds she has been involved in. I will report the doubts about the Beth incident to Lord Cecima when the time is right."

"However, this matter may also involve Alicia, the head of the Nightwatchers. Therefore, all actions must be taken with caution, and safety is the top priority."

Daly nodded.

At this time, in the gray fog world, in the magnificent giant palace, the members of the Tarot Club took their seats one by one.

Miss Justice's voice first echoed through the palace: "Good afternoon, Mr. Fool. Good afternoon, everyone."

The voice of "justice" this time is also somewhat distorted.

Claire knew that this was her problem; her connection with the Gray Mist World had been weakened as the Fool's power grew.

To resolve this situation, my sequence must be improved... Claire thought to herself.

Daly then mentioned her deep involvement in the serial killings: "There's been a change in the circumstances surrounding the serial killings. Unfortunately, the surviving woman passed out without seeing either side of the fighting. According to her recollection, the only thing we can confirm is that she saw a large black dog before she passed out. It's unknown which side brought this black dog."

"Black dog?" Claire murmured. The voice of "justice" was coming from the gray fog world, which reminded her of the extraordinary golden retriever, Susie.

So Claire said, "Is it possible that the murderer is this giant black dog?"

"A crime committed by an extraordinary creature?" Daly was stunned. As she recalled the details of the case, her expression gradually changed from gloomy to thoughtful. Suddenly, she said, "I have some ideas that need to be confirmed. Captain Galadilla, I'm going to go find Mr. Hassan and the others to investigate."

With that, Dai Li hurried away.

Claire breathed a sigh of relief; being divided between the two had put a great deal of pressure on her. After Daly left, Claire's gaze became dull, her focus fixed on the gathering above the gray fog.

In the slightly blurred vision, the "Hanged Man" has already materialized the Russell diary that he had promised before.

Claire quickly looked over:
"On January 14, I discovered a problem. If unconscious high-sequence items are not sealed, they will unconsciously attract low-sequence people from the same path to the vicinity, resulting in intersections. The higher the original sequence, the more likely this will happen."

"However, this does not appear to be the case all the time, but intermittently."

The font on the diary also became blurred, and the rough handwriting of "The Hanged Man" made it difficult for Claire to recognize it.

"Fortunately, it's still visible... The sequence must be improved quickly. The subsequent appraisal meetings must be arranged more frequently!" Claire looked at the diary and made plans for the near future in her heart.

As for the content of this diary, it further proves the "gathering phenomenon" mentioned by Tessa before, and is more in-depth.

"Polymerization is intermittent..."

Claire continued to read the diary and saw a short entry that seemed like a thank you note:
"January 16th, the witch tastes really good."

After reading this sentence, Claire thought that her blurred vision and sloppy handwriting had caused her to be dizzy, but after checking again and again, Claire found that she had not misunderstood the meaning of the sentence.

Senior Russell... really has a wide range of knowledge...

Through some diaries and records in the history of the secular world, Claire vaguely grasped that this senior seemed to be participating in the activities of this world with a playful mentality.

After Claire learned that the town of Omlight was a false memory, although she felt even less identified with this world, she still found it difficult to adopt this attitude of playing with life.

She couldn't treat this world that gave her a sense of reality as a game.

But...does being a witch taste good? Claire's mind suddenly flashed with Tessa's image, unconsciously drawing her gaze towards the "Queen."

I'm thinking about something... Claire dispelled the distracting thoughts in her mind and continued to read the end of the diary:
"On January 20th, I finished the second Blasphemy card."

"Let me think, let me think, where should I hide it?"

"Well, I plan to disguise it as a bookmark and put it in a very valuable book. If the recipient is not a destined person, it will be difficult for him to imagine that the most valuable thing in the valuable book is actually that inconspicuous bookmark!"

A blasphemous card containing the secrets of the gods?
In his previous diary, Russell mentioned that he hid the ultimate secrets of the twenty-two divine paths in twenty-two 'blasphemous cards' and scattered them to various places.

Claire felt a little disappointed. She couldn't pinpoint the whereabouts of this blasphemous card from these descriptions...

Then they entered a communication environment, and the usually silent "Sun" spoke first this time, thanking the "world" for the extraordinary weapon handed to him through sacrifice.

Claire noticed that when "The Sun" mentioned the word "extraordinary weapon", Tessa glanced slightly towards "The World".

After expressing his gratitude, "The Sun" promised that he would obtain the real roots and juice of the Mist Tree Man as soon as possible and complete the transaction with "The World" as a reward.

The gloomy "World" nodded in response and asked the Tarot Club members again for clues about the "Evil-Marked Black Panther Spinal Fluid" and the "Elf Spring Medullary Crystals".

The Hanged Man responded to this at the gathering: "There's going to be a grand pirate gathering on the Sonia Sea soon, with even the Pirate King in attendance... At such a grand gathering, there's a high chance that the not-so-rare Evil-Striped Black Panther spinal fluid and medullary crystals from the Elven Spring will appear."

After The Hanged Man finished speaking, Tessa suddenly interrupted, "I'd also like to purchase a portion of the Spirit Spring's medullary crystal."

The "Hanged Man" shifted his gaze from "The World" to the "Queen" next to him, his eyes revealing a sense of inquiry.

The "World" also looked at the "Queen" gloomily.

Tessa smiled and said, "I think I have the information you need."

The Hanged Man's eyes flickered. He had intended to learn more about Beth Lyonness from the Queen the other day. Trading a piece of extraordinary material worth over three hundred pounds for the secret he sought was a good deal...

Just as The Hanged Man was about to propose a private deal with The Queen, The World suddenly said, "I have an incomplete Sequence 4 potion formula here that you might be interested in. The potion is called... 'Darkless'! It's a Sequence 4 of the 'Singer' pathway! Although incomplete, this potion formula is worth at least ten thousand pounds! This is a crucial step in humanity's qualitative transformation!"

Sequence 4 is the watershed for attaining divinity and transforming from a human to a demigod, and its value is far beyond that of mid- and low-sequence items.

The Darkless One... Claire, who was listening in, knew that this was the potion formula that the Fool had obtained by peeping into the Eternal Sun. However, hearing the confident tone of "The World", it sounded as if the "Hanged Man" would need this potion formula.

Why was the Fool so sure that The Hanged Man would need this potion formula? Claire was puzzled.

The "Hanged Man" himself is a Beyonder of the "Sailor" Path of the Church of Storms.

"No Darkness" is Sequence 4 of the "Singer" path of the Church of the Blazing Sun.

unless……

Claire had a guess: could the Chanter and Sailor pathways be interchangeable at higher levels? That's why the Fool was certain the Hanged Man needed this potion formula.

The Hanged Man calmly replied, "I'm sorry, but I don't need it."

Without any hesitation.

The Fool seemed to be incredulous that The Hanged Man would refuse, causing The World to express its disbelief and surprise. “If it’s about the price, you can owe me a portion first. With Mr. Fool as a witness, I’m sure you’ll pay the full amount.”

"No, I really don't need it." The Hanged Man still shook his head.

Then, The Hanged Man formally submitted his request to the Fool for a private transaction with the Queen.

The fool sitting at the top seat calmly agreed.

This scene made Claire smile. She was curious about the extent of the psychological trauma the Fool was feeling at the moment.

(End of this chapter)