HPxLOTM: A Wizard's Path to Divinity

Edward raised his hand. "Miss Death, I'll take your commission."

"Okay, thank you!"

Priscilla then realised something and asked, "Ah, may I ask…what do you need in return, Mr…Mr. Tower?"

Edward smiled. "What do you have?"

She instinctively reached into her pocket, then remembered—this wasn't the real world. She said, "I…only have the 200 pounds I earned last time."

Fors immediately turned her head—That's my money!

Edward nodded. "Then 200 pounds it is."

"Deal~"

Alger frowned slightly. It seems Mr. Tower and Miss Death know each other in real life? And not just casually, either. Otherwise, how could he accept a commission involving angel-level evil spirits for just 200 pounds?

Come to think of it, he and Mr. Tower had also formed a profit-based relationship and met in real life. Their relationship should've grown stronger with time—but then came this mess.

Damn it!

With a darkened expression, Alger said, "Mr. Tower, regarding the Sealed Artifact you purchased…I've found out who robbed me."

Fors perked up, instantly shifting into gossip mode. She remembered that during the last Tarot meeting, The Hanged Man and Mr. Tower had made a massive transaction worth 7,800 pounds.

Now it seemed something had gone wrong?

Edward asked, "Who was it?"

"A member of the Secret Order."

The Secret Order?

Klein couldn't help but be surprised. Wasn't that the organisation founded by Zaratul, who had close ties to the Emperor? They probably possessed most of the formulas on the Seer pathway. He had even sent The Hanged Man to investigate them.

"That Sealed Artifact apparently originally belonged to the Secret Order. It was stolen by a traitor and, after changing hands multiple times, ended up with the person I was dealing with."

"And on the day of the transaction, members of the Secret Order tracked it down and showed up—hence the conflict. The dealer was killed, and both the money and the artifact were taken."

Fors couldn't help blurting out, "They took everything?!"

She quickly covered her mouth. Oh my god! That was 7,800 pounds! How many lifetimes would I have to write for to earn that kind of money?

"Later, with the help of Admiral of Ailment, we caught up to the Secret Order's ship and engaged in combat. But the artifact had already been taken away—back to Intis."

Alger looked at Edward. "Mr. Tower, Admiral of Ailment helped me because she owed you a favour. Before she left, she said she wanted to meet you."

Edward froze, then recalled that he had deliberately avoided giving Tracy any contact information—to prevent her from using her messenger to lock onto his location and then have her mother cause him trouble.

He hadn't expected her to reach out through The Hanged Man instead.

He wasn't sure what she wanted—was she planning to scam him, or did she really have intel to deliver?

"Alright, I understand. But please tell her—if she has something to say, she can do it through you." He paused. "After the meeting ends, I'll give you the method to summon my messenger."

"Understood."

Alger said with a bitter tone, "I'll repay the 7,500 pounds as soon as I can, but…I'm afraid that artifact is gone for good."

"No worries. As the saying goes: if I gain it, I'm fortunate; if I lose it, it's fate. In the world of mysticism, nothing can ever be forced."

Edward smiled. "I'm just curious—why would the Secret Order pursue a mid-tier artifact so relentlessly?"

The World said in a sinister voice, "Probably because they don't want others to divine the Seer pathway's formulas."

Ah, makes sense.

No wonder the "Three Scoundrel Families" are so infamous—they really do have an obsessive sense of copyright.

Especially Amon, who outright devoured everyone on the Marauder pathway. That's why the entire path has barely any mid-sequence Beyonders left.

Seeing that Mr. Tower wasn't blaming him too harshly, Alger sighed in relief. It wasn't that he feared Mr. Tower—it was just that they had a collaboration for reselling and storing mystical items.

Although not many items had sold recently—due to high prices—it was only because his Sequence was too low. Once he advanced and met more high-level Beyonders, the business was bound to take off!

Seeing The Hanged Man fall silent, Audrey spoke up. "I'd like to issue a commission." Everyone turned to look at her.

"Those of you currently in Backlund have probably heard about the incident at the Hall family's villa last night. My commission is related to that."

Everyone nodded—except Priscilla, who looked confused. "What incident? I didn't hear anything."

Klein, speaking through The World, asked, "Miss Justice, I read in the newspapers that it was an accident. Are you suggesting otherwise?"

Audrey shook her head. "I don't intend to investigate the incident itself. Rather…it was a maid who first discovered the situation and screamed, alerting the others. That was the reason things didn't end worse. But afterwards, that maid disappeared. My commission is to find her."

As someone who had been present at the scene, Fors had helped move everyone to safe rooms and maintained order downstairs. She had no idea a maid had gone missing.

But what shocked her more was that Justice's commission practically confirmed her suspicion from the last meeting—she really was Audrey Hall!

Which meant…was Edward also here?

Obviously!

Wasn't that three-part prayer to Mr. Fool taught to her by Edward?

She quickly scanned the men present: The Hanged Man, The Sun, The World, and The Tower. The Sun could be ruled out, The Hanged Man was at sea, so Edward had to be either The World or The Tower.

Wait—last time when she mentioned wanting a Sequence 7 formula, they had said The Tower had it. And wasn't Edward on the same pathway as her?

So the terrifying terrorist…cultist…was Edward?

My god!

Of course, she wasn't the only one shocked—Klein was also stunned. Justice had just casually outed herself, which completely defied Klein's principle of cautious secrecy. But thinking it over, he could understand. If Benson or Melissa were in danger, he would've done the same.

Wait…so Justice, who has an unusually close relationship with Edward, is actually the daughter of a Loen banking tycoon? Holy crap—no wonder that guy throws money around like it's nothing! He's got himself a rich lady!

Once again, Klein felt his soul split with envy.

Audrey then stated her commission reward: "For concrete information about the maid, 500 pounds. For finding her—5,000 pounds."

"!!!"

Klein and Fors raised their hands at the same time.

"I'll take this commission."

They had the same idea: whether they could find the maid or not was a matter for later.

Priscilla reacted a beat late and also raised her hand.

"Even though I still don't know what's going on…I want to help too!"

Audrey nodded.

"From now on, you may go to the Hall family estate whenever you like. I'll have everyone cooperate with your investigation."

"Alright."

At this point, Audrey looked toward The Fool.

"My apologies, Mr. Fool. We've taken up quite a lot of everyone's time just now."

Klein gave a faint smile.

"It's fine. This is precisely what the Tarot Club was created for."

"Thank you, Mr. Fool."

Audrey continued, "Respected Mr. Fool, I've acquired three new pages of Roselle's diary this week."

These three pages had been collected for her by Hibbert. They recorded some of Roselle's early experiences and thoughts upon "transmigrating" to this world—not particularly informative, but still valuable.

Klein took the manifested diary pages into his hands and smiled slightly.

"Very good. What would you like in return?"

Now that he had mastered Paper Angel, Klein spoke with more confidence than before—so long as Justice didn't ask for money or materials.

That…he truly couldn't provide.

"I… I'd like to know more about the Secret Order."

The last time she'd heard of this organisation was through the Hanged Man. He'd mentioned it had connections to the Intis Republic, but its exact nature remained a mystery.

Now that she knew the sealing artifact Edward wanted had been snatched by them, Audrey hoped to gain more insight into the group.

"Certainly."

Klein secretly let out a breath of relief. Thankfully, he had learned quite a bit about the Secret Order from the Emperor's diary recently—otherwise, this would have been very awkward.

"Do you mind if everyone listens in?" He deliberately made his tone sound more profound. "Since Mr. Hanged Man has already encountered them, it's likely the rest of you may cross paths with them in the future. It would be wise to prepare."

Everyone replied, "Thank you, Mr. Fool."

"Of course."

"Agreed."

The Fool began to speak, "The Secret Order was founded by Zaratul and is believed to have emerged during the Fourth Epoch…"

He proceeded to relay everything he had read in the Emperor's diary regarding the Secret Order. Once he finished, the members expressed their gratitude again.

"Mr. Fool, I also have a few pages of the diary."

Edward manifested the fresh diary pages he had read earlier that day from Bernadette.

As before, Audrey puffed out her cheeks.

This Edward! He doesn't even share the diary with me first anymore! Hmph, I must've spoiled him too much lately!

Klein smiled slightly.

"Shall I continue accumulating them as usual?"

"Yes!"

Edward wore an apologetic expression.

"After all, I trouble you every two days now."

Hearing this, Klein actually felt a little guilty. One of the two Cards of Blasphemy had been retrieved thanks to Edward, and the other had been sacrificed by him. He hadn't asked for a single cent—only requested to examine them occasionally. No matter how you looked at it, Klein was the one profiting.

No…I really need to find a way to repay him. Otherwise, this'll just get more awkward over time!

Despite that thought, he maintained his usual calm and mysterious demeanour on the surface. With a slight nod, he turned his gaze to the diary in his hands:

"May 20th.

Last night was clearly my little angel's birthday. I don't know why…but I woke up this morning in Lady Orsaya's bed. Damn it! I must have drunk too much again last night."

…Damn! Emperor Roselle really was…

Klein struggled to find the right word.

He kept reading.

"June 1st.

Children's Day…"

Seeing those three words, Klein blanked out for a moment. Some distant memories flickered across his mind. It seemed that the Emperor, like himself, would often reminisce about his homeland.

If he were still alive…if I could meet him…maybe we two wanderers from another world could offer each other a little comfort, a little companionship…

But alas…

Klein pressed down the flicker of sorrow in his heart and continued reading:

"In the afternoon, I attended that nameless gathering again. This time, it wasn't like the previous ones where I felt like a total noob. Thanks to that transmigrator predecessor's diary, I was able to prepare in advance with plenty of mystical knowledge."

Uh…

Klein's expression grew strange.

This operation…seemed a little…familiar?

So I used the Emperor's diary to act cool, and he used the previous transmigrator's diary to act cool…Is this some kind of…tradition now?

If only the Emperor had a cheat like the Grey Fog. Then I really would be retracing the exact same path he once walked.

"June 2nd. Zaratul came looking for me again…"

"June 6th…"

Klein read all the way to the final page:

"June 25th.

That senior transmigrator…is still alive!!!"

His pupils shrank instantly. He made the exact same expression Edward had earlier—then turned the page…only to find it was one of Audrey's pages.

What the f—? What about the next part?

The senior transmigrator is still alive…then what?!

Did the Emperor meet him?!

Did they talk?!

What happened afterwards?!

Klein took several deep breaths to calm the frustration in his chest. In the end, he clenched his jaw and cursed furiously—

"This DAMN cliffhanger!!!"

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