High Priestess: Don't Talk Nonsense, I Don't Have It

The fact that someone could cobble together an organization so shortly after the barriers had been lifted proved that the people in this group had what it took.

Or perhaps Formation 505 had existed long before the barriers even vanished.

That would explain why they had begun causing trouble everywhere the moment the barriers were gone.

Regardless, the members of Tarot Villa were now thoroughly interested in this organization.

Especially after Lan Qingyou spoke up.

The Tower: "Speaking of which, I obtained this 【Jormungandr's Blood】 from someone they were in contact with. Plus, the people they're dealing with can evolve into a race called Lesser Demons. I refuse to believe there's no connection here."

The Moon: "Hmm!?"

The Star: "Heehee, looks like a windfall of epic proportions has finally come my way."

Righteousness: "I'm freaking coming!"

High Priestess: "Not laughing. I'm in a dungeon and can't go."

Magician: "You can come out anytime, right?"

High Priestess: "We're about to pull the boss. How can I leave?"

The Emperor: "Wait! There shouldn't be any signal inside a dungeon, right? How are you seeing these messages?"

High Priestess: "...Don't worry about the details."

The Sun: "You can receive messages and there's a boss... Tsk, tsk. This leads me to suspect something."

High Priestess: "Suspect what? Don't talk nonsense, I don't have it."

The Emperor: "How suspicious."

Hierophant: "It's likely the same situation The Tower encountered last time."

With one sentence, the Hierophant completely exposed what the High Priestess was hiding.

Having a boss wasn't the scary part; the fact that she could receive messages while fighting a boss meant she was somewhere on the Kalim continent, not inside a dungeon.

Furthermore, it was very likely a place containing ancient bloodlines.

This made everyone quite envious.

Justice: "Blood? @The Tower @High Priestess, name your price."

Someone had caught the scent and arrived immediately.

High Priestess: "Keep dreaming."

The Tower: "I refuse."

The two women gave him no opening whatsoever, their rejections absolute.

Was he joking? Blood was already scarce; why on earth would they share it with the Supreme Council?

Lan Qingyou, for one, didn't need to. Thanks to her previous trade, she currently had no shortage of materials, gold coins, or other necessities.

Since she was well-off, there was no reason to trade.

As for the High Priestess, she had over ten thousand subordinates under her, so she wasn't lacking in resources either.

Thus, neither was willing to part with their items.

In truth, it wasn't just them. No one knew if anyone else in the group had spare blood; everyone was keeping their cards close to their chests.

To be honest, Lan Qingyou felt a twinge of regret when it came to the matter of the blood.

She regretted the deal she had made back then.

Though it had seemed like a gain at the time—and in many ways, it was—the reality was different in the long run.

In the long term, the population of the Witch race had significantly dwindled because of her decision.

She had miscalculated.

Considering the world consciousness had mentioned a 'Race Era,' it was clear that new races would eventually rise to replace the 'Blue Star people.' Yet, she had handed those materials over.

Back then, she had thought she didn't need clansmen or the hassle of managing them.

But while everyone else was strengthening their own races, if she, as the Clan Leader, did nothing, the Witch race would surely suffer as a minority in the future.

Then again, without the Supreme Council's material support, her Five Dragon Reincarnation magic circle would never have been completed.

So, it was hard to say whether she had truly lost or gained in the end.

Because of this, now that she had more blood, she had no intention of selling it. It was better to use it all to increase the number of witches.

The Tower: "@Empress, I'm heading over now. Is the teleportation circle at your place?"

Empress: "It is. Just search for Empress's Farm on the teleportation device and you'll find it."

The Tower: "Got it."

The Moon: "In that case, I'll go too. @Justice, are you interested? If so, you could try gathering intel on Formation 505."

Gathering intel...

Seeing Shang Chuan's message, Chu Yuan immediately understood what he meant.

It was now known that Formation 505 likely possessed ancient bloodlines. If he could investigate Formation 505 thoroughly and then leak that intel to the people at the Villa, he could reap the spoils without lifting a finger. He wouldn't even have to share the profits with the Supreme Council.

Of course, the prerequisite for not sharing with the Supreme Council was sharing with the people in the Villa.

But with someone as principled as Lan Qingyou involved, he certainly wouldn't lose out.

Thus, after rubbing his chin, Chu Yuan summoned his secretary.

...

Having obtained the exact coordinates, Lan Qingyou waved goodbye to Susie and teleported to the Space-Time Corridor.

"Phew... She's finally gone."

"That was terrifying."

"Fear my ass. She's just a witch, what's there to be afraid of?"

"Then why were you covering your mouth just now?"

"Exactly. Not breathing is already extreme enough, but you freaking covered your mouth too!"

"I... I just ate garlic and was afraid of the smell bothering you guys!"

"Sure, sure. Afraid of bothering 'us.'"

"Yeah, I wonder who you were really afraid of bothering. So hard to guess."

"To be honest, I still don't know what I was so afraid of just now."

"Me too. It just felt... bizarre."

"Do you think it's a matter of life dimension? Maybe evolved witches exert this kind of lower-dimensional suppression on us?"

"That hypothesis isn't impossible."

"Hard to say, hard to say."

"Let's get back to work. If we save up enough money, maybe the Supreme Council will sell evolution potions later."

"True."

Since the Adventurers' Guild also handled currency circulation, anyone who had conducted a trade there now had at least a few silver or gold coins in their possession.

Though everyone had been a bit uncomfortable at first, they now felt that currency was much easier to carry than raw materials.

This was especially true now that identification cards allowed for stacking; they didn't even need wallets anymore.

Susie glanced at the crowd, which had become lively again after Lan Qingyou's departure, and then returned to her office on the second floor.

Golden Support Susie: "I've decided to resign."

As soon as she sat down, Susie found the Adventurers' Guild channel on her magic desk and sent out the message.

"Eh! You're resigning just like that?"

"No way, a witch like you is actually resigning?"

"Is the Guild Master treating you poorly, or is the work environment bad?"

"I don't get it. You get a stipend of at least three thousand silver coins a month. You might as well stick with it."

Upon seeing that Susie—a witch, a rarity even within the Adventurers' Guild—was resigning, the regional heads popped up one by one.

Regional Branch President.

This position not only provided a monthly stipend, but because the guild was in its early stages, there wasn't even much work to do.

It was the definition of a cushy job with little work and high pay.

Naturally, these branch presidents couldn't understand why Susie would choose to quit...