Upon hearing Mr. The Hangman's question, "Sun" Deric responded with some embarrassment: "No, I've been continuously assigned patrol duties lately and have never found time to investigate." Aljer didn't find this surprising, but was puzzled by another matter: "Why haven't you sought help from friends you know well? You could keep their true purpose confidential and break the entire matter into a series of small, unobtrusive tasks, assigning each of them to gather intelligence on different aspects—this way, nothing would be exposed, and none of them would be put at risk." After a moment of silence, "Sun" Deric said: "I have no friends." Before his parents passed away, Derek had a certain number of friends both in general education classes and on the combat training grounds—after all, there weren't many peers his age in Silver City, and they often encountered each other, even becoming teammates. But following that incident, Derek went through a long period of withdrawal, burdened by the secret of the Tarot Circle, and gradually drifted apart from his friends, growing increasingly distant and detached. The last time someone had visited his home was when Dac Reginald, infected by the "True Maker," came over. "The Hanged Man" Aljer was momentarily stumped by the response of "The Sun," pausing to gather his thoughts before speaking again: "You're not doing well. You cannot save Silver City on your own—you must gather a group of people, friends who can step in and support you at crucial moments." "But that will make them suspect you," "The Sun" hesitated, saying. Alder said seriously: "Being suspected is always better than being killed. Silver City stands at a critical crossroads—it's up to you to decide what course to take. Such things cannot avoid sacrifice; there will surely be many sacrifices. Do you wish those sacrifices to be entirely meaningless, or meaningful and valuable?" He said no more, letting "Sun" Deric wrestle with the weight of these words, his inner turmoil deepening. The "Hanged Man" always finds persuasive reasons... Klein sighed, turning to "World" Germaine Sparrow and asking, "Can you now treat more serious mental illnesses?" His understanding of the "Psychiatrist" was limited to "Mania" and "Dragon's Might"; he was only vaguely aware of "calming" and "psychological suggestion" mentioned occasionally by "Justice" Miss Audrey, so he could not be certain of the extent of her capabilities in treating mental conditions. "Justice" Audrey was instantly energized and eagerly replied, "Certainly, no problem. 'World,' do you have any friends who need treatment?" I'm just short of cases! she thought, feeling excited. At that moment, "Moon" Emlyn raised his right hand to his mouth and nose, as if he already knew the answer. Kline sighed silently, prompting a low, raspy laugh from "World." "No, it's me who needs treatment." Suddenly, the entire magnificent palace fell into extreme silence. "The Hangman" Aljere, "The Hermit" Gardeleia, and "The Magician" Folth knew "World" was a wildly adventurous man, but never expected him to be suffering from a serious mental illness—on the verge of complete madness! Is that the price of power? Folth shivered, growing ever more afraid of Germain Sparo. While a mad adventurer could still communicate and make sense, a truly mad person simply couldn't. Has the "Heart's Lament Candle" fully treated his mental illness? It's already severe to this extent? The "Moon," Emlyn, who had anticipated this, now feels as though the "World" might be on the verge of losing its mind. "The Sun," Deric, didn't dwell on the details—he simply cared about the "World" gentleman. He had originally intended to mention that Silver City had "psychologists" who could provide treatment, but then realized that would reveal too many issues, so he closed his mouth firmly and instead turned his hopeful gaze toward "Justice" Miss Audrey. "Justice" Audrey was surprised, bewildered, and puzzled, carefully stating: "Mr. World, based on my observations, you do not appear to have any significant mental illness. If you simply experience some anxiety and stress, these can currently be managed through self-regulation and proper relaxation—direct treatment is not necessary." Mr. Gorman Sparrow, the "World," added with a low chuckle: "You haven't noticed that your previous mental illness has already been resolved." "I've only made an appointment for now. If similar signs appear in the future, I hope to receive timely treatment." Ah, that makes sense. Audrey nodded with relief. Suddenly, she found herself rather sympathetic toward the "World" gentleman. Though he appeared as a cold, efficient harvester who could dispatch several Sequence 5 characters each week—belonging to the deep, quiet "Ace" and admired by the powerful, imposing extraordinary one—she sensed that at his core, he was much more like an ordinary person, under immense pressure, gradually eroded by negative emotions, inching steadily toward a deepening suffering. After a moment's thought, Audrey said sincerely: "If you're within my area of activity, there's no problem." After her coming-of-age ceremony, she already possessed a certain degree of autonomy, allowing her to spend her parents' family castle vacation while staying in the capital city of East Chester, Stonehold. However, this freedom remained constrained—she could not simply go wherever she wished, even within Stonehold, as there were still several areas she was barred from entering, unless she joined a charitable organization under the Night Goddess's Church in the future. "Good," said Kline, the shepherd of "The Traveler," who exhaled a relieved breath and let "The World" respond. "Then when the time comes, you'll determine the location and prepare the means to remain anonymous." "Justice" Odile" nodded, already mentally visualizing a scene: she and "The World" gentleman, each seated in separate booths within different venues, conversing and receiving treatment across a shared wall or wooden partition. In this situation, Mr. World couldn't be certain whether the wall on the other side was actually me—to him, all that mattered was effective treatment... That is, if I couldn't free myself, I'd just have to have Suzy crouch there! Mr. World would surely find it hard to believe that the very person treating him might be a dog! Well, Suzy didn't know anything about Tarot cards, and unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn't be able to help manage Mr. World... As Audrey thought about it, a playful sense of delight unexpectedly surged through her, and she managed only barely to keep a slight upward curve from her lips. "Germain Spalero had already eliminated so many Sequence Fives—having a crate of dynamite was merely a minor matter." "Include the 'Finger-Cutter,' too," said Kline, maneuvering the dummy "World." "How much?" Gardelis responded indifferently: "Consider it a complimentary addition with your purchase of the 'Finger-Cutter.'" A crate of dynamite wasn't expensive at sea—indeed, it was relatively affordable. I like this approach... thought Kline, and nodded to the "World." Then he added: "Regarding that mural you saw earlier—try not to recall it at all in reality, let alone attempt to paint it." "Justice" Odile and the other members instinctively glanced toward the head of the bronze long table, only to find that the "Fool" had not contradicted the suggestion—his expression was firm, and they felt compelled to take it seriously. This, in turn, caused "Trickster" Gardelisa to temporarily set aside her letter to "Mystic Queen" Bernadette, seeking her counsel on this matter, and instead decided to wait until they met in person to assess whether there was a Then, the free exchange period gradually drew to a close, and silence returned, settling once more over the gray mist. Back on the "Future,"嘉德丽雅 stood by the window of the captain's cabin, clearly hesitating for a moment. Finally, she took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, pushed her glasses gently, and stepped out of the cabin, making her way toward Frank Lee's room. The chief mate had recently been voted by all crew members to be relocated to the lower decks, so that his experimental outputs wouldn't suddenly spread throughout the ship. Frank Lee was quite satisfied with this arrangement—the new quarters were noticeably more spacious and met the requirement for a dark environment. Ding, ding, ding—Gardeleia reached the lower level and tapped gently on the door. "Wait!" Frank Lee called out loudly, seemingly engaged in some activity inside. After nearly a minute, he opened the wooden door, sleeves rolled up, and asked with some curiosity, "Captain, is there something I can assist with?" "Gardelia didn't answer directly. Using her own 'night vision' ability, she glanced inside the dark chamber and saw a large, deep-blue fish with wide-open eyes lying on the table, its scales now bursting with clusters of green shoots—some already mature, forming ears of wheat. 'Success?' Gardelia asked, holding back her urge to step back. Frank nodded with delight, then shook his head again: 'Not yet, but we've made significant progress! I've hybridized wheat, mushrooms, and a little bit of 'Rose Bishop' cells to produce the first-stage product. I've placed them inside the fish's body, and even without any light, they're now drawing nourishment from its flesh and growing into maturity." "The current issue is that the target is the monster's corpse—after extracting their flesh and blood, how can we prevent the toxins and madness from accumulating in the final food? And then there's reproduction—there simply won't be enough 'Rose Bishops' willing to serve as material. Therefore, we must enable them to absorb flesh and blood and divide themselves autonomously." Hearing Frank Lee's explanation, Gauthier, the "Star Above," quietly adjusted her glasses and said: "Will such food, once consumed by humans, absorb flesh and blood and reproduce itself?" Frank Lee suddenly fell into deep thought, and only after a few seconds replied: "Theoretically not, since no one would eat them raw. Hmm—I need to verify their activity under high-temperature conditions. No, they still don't possess the ability to divide themselves autonomously. Whether they remain active or not is actually less important." Watching Frank Lee's disarray, Gauthier found herself once again caught between conflicting considerations. After a while, she finally spoke slowly: "I have access to the exceptional traits of a 'Druid.' Do you need that?" "Oh! Of course!" Frank was suddenly excited, "My abilities have often severely limited my thoughts!" Hmm... I'm a bit regretting this now... A thought suddenly popped into Gardeleia's mind.