Glancing at the "Judgment" card in his hands, Hsu paused slightly and said: "This aligns well with my expectations." The " Fool," gently veiled in gray mist, nodded calmly and stated: "In Beckett time, every Monday at three in the afternoon, gather here and come prepared. At the gatherings, you may exchange information, materials, recipes, and knowledge, or pay a certain cost to delegate tasks to other members." Hsu recalled, then added with a sense of clarity: "Yes, Mr. Fool." She had expected the meeting to conclude today, yet once again, a voice came from the head of the bronze table: "What did you do before that force began to erode you?" Indeed, they had been eroded... Hsu steadied himself and recounted in full the journey of his and Fols' exploration of the castle, emphasizing particularly the bronze gate known as the "Gate of Blackness," and the former castle guard who had been transformed into a vengeful spirit. Then she noticed the Knight of the Fool nodded slightly, and in a calm voice said, “Do not enter the castle again before Sequence 4. Return.” Hui rose immediately and, following the descriptions of various religious rituals, bowed respectfully, saying, “Your will is my will.” As soon as she finished speaking, a deep red surged before her eyes, and when it faded, she found herself back in the real world, leaning against a large tree. Subconsciously glancing at her forearm, she observed the black spots rapidly fading. Hui then lifted her head to look at Fols, who was anxiously watching her. Upon making eye contact, Fols first smiled with relief, then blushed slightly, opening her mouth, unsure of what to say. Hui exhaled slowly and pointed forward. “Let’s return to the town first.” “Yes!” Fols replied without hesitation. At that moment, atop the gray mist, Carel, the Fool, lightly tapped the weathered edge of the long table, pondering the fates of the two ladies—Magician and Judge—today. The things or powers sealed within the "Gate of Blackness" could even seep out and corrupt the guards and explorers beyond, their terrifying reach merely to contemplate—how dreadful! Moreover, this corruption stemmed from the spiritual realm, and to remedy it, Carel had only two options: either to have the affected individuals perform a full ceremonial rite, summoning the mysterious powers of the space above the gray mist and using the "Sun Brooch" to purify them, or to directly draw the spiritual essence here, leveraging the gray mist's "antiviral" effect. Given the circumstances, time had run out, so he chose the latter. What could it be? The most potent form of corruption belonged to the "Devil's Path"—connected to the Abyss? It's not impossible. According to the description of the small "Sun," during the mid-to-late second age, demons frequently left the Abyss and became active on the land, only retreating back into the depths and sealing them off after the ancient sun god emerged and consecutively caused the downfall of the old deities. Under this account, it's quite normal that the northern continent has underground ancient pathways leading to the Abyss. It makes sense to build castles and assign guards to oversee them. "Yet the issue is, after several thousand years, how can there still be sounds of impact? Do the demons intend to return to the land?" Klein made an initial conjecture. For now, he has no immediate plan to explore the abandoned castle to verify his hypothesis, as it appears unlikely to undergo significant changes in the near future—indeed, since the information about the castle comes from within the bloodline, he believes it would be reasonable to let "the Moon," Emelin, first conduct further research and gather a clearer understanding of the castle's history. Calmly focusing his thoughts, Kline removed the yellow crystal pendant and consulted whether the matter of the abandoned castle was urgent, receiving a negative response. He immediately returned to the present world, waiting for the local ruler, General Mezanes, to arrive with the deposit. Hagis replied in a noble Ruinese tone: "To be your friend is my honor." After a brief handshake with Dauin de Thalas, he glanced around and chuckled, "Is this your servant?" He was referring to the mixed-blood young man standing behind and to the side of the arms merchant, implying, "Is he trustworthy?" After all, Dauin de Thalas had not brought any servants when he visited the general's estate the day before. "Yes, his greatest strength is his ability to keep secrets," Dauin de Thalas smiled, pointing toward the leather sofa opposite the armchair. With two guards accompanying him, Hagis casually closed the door and sat down, smiling as he said, "I've heard an old Intis proverb—supposedly spoken by Emperor Rosel. 'Only the dead can keep secrets,' he said." Dauin de Thalas blinked in quiet amusement. "Emperor Rosel also once said something else: 'Even the dead can speak.'" "Indeed?" "I first heard of it." Higgs enjoyed the conversation with the northern continental gentleman, chatting at length before finally reaching for the leather chest beside him and opening it. At that moment, it seemed as though golden hues spilled forth from within the chest, brightening the entire room under the sunlight streaming through the windows. Higgs then looked at Daven Tantris and said, "Five thousand gold pounds, plus coins and bars valued at five thousand pounds. This is the deposit. The remaining thirty thousand pounds in banknotes and gold I will carry with me until the delivery of the military supplies is complete." Daven Tantris glanced at the stacks of banknotes, the coins, and the bars inside the chest, then looked back at Higgs with a smile and asked, "When do we depart?" Higgs closed the chest and handed it to Daven Tantris's servant, saying simply, "Tomorrow morning." He paused for a moment, then added, "Mr. Tantris, the general has a distinguished guest who would like to visit you." Dawn Tancrède remained expressionless, silent for a few seconds, then said, "When?" "Now," Higges stated with a tone that left no room for敷衍. "He's right below." Dawn Tancrède nodded slightly. "Please have him come up." Higges immediately exhaled in relief, gathering his guards and leaving the room, descending the stairs with steady steps. Not long after, Lukas arrived, dressed in a simple white robe with yellow copper thread embroidery, his silver hair neatly combed. As he approached Dawn Tancrède's door, he raised his hand to knock—only to hear a voice from within: "Please enter." This time, the words were spoken in ancient Fussac. Lukas made no change in expression and simply pushed the door open. Upon entering, he found the well-dressed, distinguished middle-aged gentleman from yesterday standing by the armchair, facing him sideways. On the armchair itself sat a young man—dark hair, brown eyes, slender and sharp-featured, with a cold, composed demeanor. Luka paused, then stepped forward and entered the room, closing the wooden door behind him. After settling himself comfortably into a sofa, the clear gray-green gaze clearly captured the figure of the young man across from him. "Germán Sparo?" Luka said, as if asking a question or simply addressing him by name. Germán Sparo smiled gently. "It's not polite to always use someone's full name." Luka nodded. "I'm sorry—I was out of place. I remember you've only been in the sequence for less than six months, maybe even just three months—yes, it was during the divine war ruins, I believe. I didn't expect… you've already become a half-divine being. That's what has made me feel a bit overwhelmed." Germán Sparo smiled slightly, offering no further explanation. After a brief silence, he spoke calmly and steadily. "Why have you come to see me?" Luka responded evenly. "I'm not sure." The atmosphere in the room suddenly became odd; Germán Sparo seemed to have forgotten that an elderly gentleman was still seated across from him and that he still needed to speak again. Luca made a barely perceptible movement of his chin, speaking to himself: "To tell you the truth, I once made an accidental prophecy—according to it, I would find myself in considerable trouble in the near future, and someone I've encountered here recently would help me navigate that difficulty. I'm not certain whether it's you, but driven by the desire not to risk missing anything, I've decided to come see you and get to know you better. My name is Luca Brust, and I serve as a priest of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, currently overseeing the church's affairs in Xibran." Germán Sparo nodded. "Indeed, I've already met you. I think I don't need to introduce myself anymore." "Of course." "Luca thought for a moment, then said, 'You must be a 'mystic wizard.' I've recently received intelligence indicating that the inner circle of Intis is experiencing changes.'" He didn't notice the surprise on Germain Spalro's face. The renowned adventurer, known across the Five Seas, paused briefly and said, "Chalatu has returned." Luca's pupils widened slightly, then settled again. Then he stood up, nodded politely, and said, "Since we've met, I should be off now." As he spoke, he walked toward the door, turned the handle, and left the room. Germain Spalro, seated in his armchair, watched his silhouette gradually fade behind the wooden door until it was completely gone, and then smiled softly. "Such a charlatan," he remarked. "Yes," said Daven Thon, who had taken a seat beside the armchair, lifted his tea cup, and took a sip. The man with silvering hair and deep blue eyes, and the lean, sharply defined face of Germaine Sparrow, exchanged a glance and smiled at the same time. On a Monday afternoon, Daven Tanet produced his gold-case pocket watch, opened it and glanced at the time, then addressed the man seated across from him: "我们将很快抵达目的地，我认为你们需要提前稍作休整。" "An excellent suggestion," Higges agreed warmly. Daven Tanet pointed toward the street ahead: "There's a hotel there—we'll rest for half a day and set out again in the morning." Higges didn't object, turned toward the street, and gave a few instructions to the driver. After checking in, Daven Tanet politely declined Higges's invitation for afternoon tea, citing a nap. Half an hour later, beneath the endless gray mist, Caine took his seat at the "Fool's" place. PS1: Actually, I was quite satisfied with the previous chapter—most of the psychological descriptions were eliminated, relying instead on early setup, character actions, and their choices to reveal personality and style. This approach avoided clichés and left room for reflection, allowing readers to gradually understand what kind of person Houx is. Yet, many readers seem to find it abrupt and too fast. Well, I’ll just keep explaining in future chapters. Here, I won’t analyze Houx’s inner thoughts—after all, every action, every decision, and every line of dialogue conveys something. The sense of suddenness, I believe, isn’t due to the plot itself but rather to the structure. As a long-form narrative, many of the setups and descriptions are spread too far apart. When they finally come together, perhaps more internal narration would have worked better than pure description, helping to balance the narrative weight and make the final consolidation feel more substantial.