“Well, well? Didn’t you say there was only one? Brother Vinny, I underestimated you. You actually brought two. In this tiny stretch of time, the number of people doubled? Not bad, not bad.” The moment Ferdi saw the boy and girl behind Vinny, he immediately praised him.

“Do you even need to say that?” Vinny folded his arms. “Who do you think I am? Something this minor was nothing.”

While the two of them were bantering, Margaret looked stunned behind him. “Didn’t Upperclassman Vinny say your club was overflowing with new members this year?”

“Ah, right, right. That’s exactly how it is. You must be that student Margaret Brother Vinny mentioned, right?” Ferdi came forward and greeted her warmly, not caring at all about Mason’s wary expression.

“Yes. May I ask who you are, upperclassman?” Margaret asked in confusion.

“Pleasure to meet you. My name is Ferdi. I’m the president of this club. As for my family, well, compared with your background, it isn’t worth mentioning. Just call me Upperclassman Ferdi.” Ferdi spoke with broad, careless cheer.

“Ah, you don’t know this, Margaret. Brother Vinny didn’t lie to you. Last night, our club was packed wall to wall. There were so many people they nearly flattened the threshold!” Ferdi went on with Vinny’s story, his face utterly serious.

Mason, listening from behind, felt the corner of his mouth twitch.

What kind of bragging is this? Flattened the threshold? If this club were really that popular, it wouldn’t have been stuck choosing such a remote place.

“So that’s how it is?” Margaret looked surprised. “In that case, I’m already reporting in very late? The other students already joined long ago?”

“No, no, don’t worry. You’re not late. Your timing is perfect.” Ferdi laughed.

“So, among those present, are there any other students from our year?” Before Margaret could say anything else, Mason spoke from behind her, his face full of disbelief.

Letting Her Eminence the Saintess join this baffling club that looked bizarre at first glance—this fake really didn’t have good intentions, did he?

“Ah, I won’t hide it from you. Everyone present here is already a backbone member of the club. As for new members, aside from you two, we don’t have any for now.” Ferdi waved a hand.

“Huh??”

Those words shocked Mason and Margaret at the same time.

“Then what did you mean by wall to wall?”

“It was wall to wall yesterday. They did nearly trample the threshold flat. Hey, hey, you there, don’t turn around and look at the threshold. If the threshold got trampled flat, of course we replaced it. Why would we keep a broken threshold? It would look terrible if new members saw it. They might think our club was some loose, sloppy organization that couldn’t even get a Student Council budget.” Ferdi called out to Mason, who had turned back to look.

“So, upperclassman, since the number of applicants was wall to wall, why isn’t there a single new member?” Mason asked strangely.

“Young junior, you look like a smart man. What’s your name?” Ferdi asked unhurriedly.

“Me? My name is Mason. I’m from a Church monastic family—”

“Ah, enough, enough. Junior Mason, right? Don’t talk about your family background. No one here can compare to your backgrounds anyway.” Before Mason could finish, Ferdi cut him off with a laugh.

“I—”

Mason choked at once. He had clearly only wanted to introduce himself, but the way Ferdi said it made it sound as if he were showing off his family background.

But he couldn’t ask about it either. After all, the other party had not actually said that. If Mason asked, wouldn’t that completely confirm it?

As expected. This club really did have a problem, right??

And after noticing Margaret, the card players present were inevitably struck by her beauty. Down below, they whispered to one another, murmuring constantly.

“We come from all corners of the world, different regions, even different countries. But that doesn’t matter. I believe that the bond called card-player soul will cross cultural barriers and unite us as one, hand in hand, heart linked to heart!” Ferdi once again delivered his grand declaration.

“Huh?” Mason was completely stunned.

No, what was this? What was any of this? What exactly was this person talking about??

No, were these people normal? Why couldn’t he understand the language they were speaking??

“All right, all right. Since you’re here, settle in. Since you’ve joined us, we’re family now. We’re all buddies. Don’t stand in the doorway. Come in and talk. If other people saw this, they might think our card-player-soul club was physically punishing new members.” Ferdi beckoned.

“Upperclassman Ferdi, those words are truly profound.” Mason froze, but Margaret beside him, after a slight daze, looked very much in agreement. “I also believe that regardless of race or nation, everyone living together in harmony is the best outcome.”

“Right? Margaret understands perfectly!”

“No, I—”

Before Mason could say anything, the card players welcomed him into the club.

Soon, the only sofa in the club was given to the two new members.

“Come, sit, sit. Don’t be a stranger. Our club doesn’t have as many flashy activities or funds as other clubs. But! Our club is a place that places great importance on feelings.”

“In other words, bonds!” Ferdi declared loudly.

“Ahem. President Ferdi’s meaning might be a little broad, so let me explain in more detail.” At this moment, Vinny gave a dry cough and stepped out.

He did not know what the Church was plotting, but no matter what they were plotting, Vinny only had to show his usual state inside the club.

In other words, it was time for that particular brand of torture.

“That’s right. Bonds and love. Those are the themes embodied by our club!” Vinny began spouting nonsense with a solemn face.

“Love?” Margaret’s beautiful eyes widened slightly, then she clasped her hands together. “Upperclassman Vinny, do you mean the card-player-soul club is a club that promotes love and justice?”

“Exactly. You understood that perfectly. That’s precisely it.” Vinny nodded.

Love??

Those words threw Mason into a stretch of silence. Then he swept his gaze over the members present and found that there did not seem to be a single woman among them.

An instant chill ran down his spine.

A club full of men, and they promoted the theme of love??

What the hell?!

This place couldn’t be...?

Mason suddenly had a terrifying thought. These people couldn’t all be, well, that, could they??

Mason’s expression grew stranger and stranger.

No. The situation seemed a little bad. He should hurry and take Her Eminence the Saintess away!

“Um, Lady Margaret, it’s getting a little late today. Why don’t we—”

“Wonderful!” However, Margaret had not noticed Mason’s reaction beside her at all. Her eyes were sparkling with lovely little stars. “Could you tell me what method everyone uses to promote the theme of love? I’m very interested.”

“Well...”

Vinny naturally could not answer that, because all of this was nonsense he had made up. Their club really did constantly keep “bonds” on its lips, but it had absolutely nothing to do with love.

“If that question could be answered out loud, it would be far too shallow.” Vinny continued making things up. “Something like this can only be grasped, not conveyed in words. Do you understand? You have to comprehend it yourselves. Atmosphere. Atmosphere, you know. Atmosphere has a very strong influence on people. I believe that once you’ve spent enough time in our club, you’ll definitely be able to understand what our atmosphere truly contains.”

“It’s just like how, in every person’s eyes, I am a different person. It’s the same principle. People are complex and multifaceted, and matters are the same.”

“Perhaps you saw me wrong yesterday, saw me wrong today, and will still see me wrong tomorrow. But I am still me. I have never been afraid of others seeing me wrong!” Vinny rambled away. But rambling was rambling; he still looked extremely confident, and spoke with righteous conviction.

Mason’s expression stiffened beside him. His ten fingers dug into his own thighs.

No, the more he looked at these people, the stranger they seemed.

What exactly was wrong with this shoddy counterfeit Facilis? Could there be something wrong with him mentally too??

Every level of this gave off an eerie feeling.

Mason became even more vigilant.

“Upperclassman Vinny, does that mean there is no need to care about other people’s gazes, and you only need to be yourself?? Mm-hm, that makes a lot of sense!” Margaret beside him, however, still looked deeply appreciative, leaving Mason completely at a loss.

“Very good. It seems you have already gained a preliminary understanding of what our card-player-soul club does. In that case, although our club is very popular and very free, and we don’t restrict members much, I still have to say a few words about the rules. After all, without rules, nothing can be accomplished.”

“First, if there’s anything to settle, settle it at the card table. Once a card game begins, you cannot quit halfway, and you are not allowed to leave with excuses such as ‘going to the bathroom’ or ‘I haven’t finished my homework’!”

“Second, as long as we still have one breath left, we are invincible! So even in the greatest disadvantage, you must search as hard as possible for a turning point. You are not allowed to quit the card game!” Vinny read out to the two of them.

“Third!”

However, as he read these rules, the card players nearby all showed different expressions.

The first two rules were fine. They really did exist. But what was with the other ones?

They had never heard of them.

“All right, there aren’t many rules. Just those few. Remember them.” After Vinny finished reading out the rules, he nodded.

“Oh, right. Brother Ferdi, this Brother Mason came here because of our reputation on the way over, so he hasn’t filled out an application form yet. Have this brother fill one in.”

“Sure. Brother Mason, let me ask you first. How much do you know about Deity Cards?” Ferdi asked.

“Huh? Deity Cards?” Mason felt as if he had heard the term somewhere before. Then he thought of something, and his expression became indescribable. “Don’t tell me your club is specifically for playing that kind of fringe card game?”

“Fringe card game?! How can you say that?!” Ferdi was furious when he heard this. His palm slammed heavily onto the table, making even the cups bounce high into the air.

Then he wore an expression of bitter grief. “I truly never imagined it. Even in this era, there are still people who believe that the thing we have pursued all our lives is nothing more than a castle in the air, a flower in a mirror, a moon in water, an amusement unfit for respectable society??”

“Uh, uh.” Mason also realized that he seemed to have said something inappropriate. For a moment, he did not know how to answer. “No, no.”

“All right. Don’t say anything else, Brother Mason. Since you came here because of our reputation, I won’t pursue the matter. However, brother, you need emergency tutoring!” Ferdi leaned in front of Mason, extremely serious.

“Emergency tutoring??”

“That’s right. Since you are already a member of my card-player-soul club, yet know nothing about Deity Cards, it is clear that you cannot remember the core and pursuit of this faith!” Ferdi looked as if he meant every word. “Come, my friends. Put down the work in your hands. We have to save a newcomer!”

“Ah, ahh?!”

Then Mason saw a crowd of card players gather around him, all talking at once, pointing and lecturing.

Each one had the expression and tone of “Brother, let me give you a piece of advice.”

“Don’t worry, brother. Very soon, I’ll let you experience the joy of playing cards!”

“Hey, hey, hey?! Wait, Lady Margaret??”

Mason was about to call out to Margaret, only to see that Margaret was no longer in her seat. At some point, she had moved over to a table at the side, where Vinny was saying something to her.

What was going on??

Mason almost could not believe his own eyes.

The true and false Saintesses were sitting at the same table, speaking harmoniously with one another. Was that reasonable??

Before entering the academy, he had listened to the instructions of his family elders. He absolutely had to protect Her Eminence Margaret.

As for whom they wanted him to guard against, that was obvious.

Who else could it be but the impostor currently in the limelight at Carillian Academy??

So what kind of medicine had this guy put in the soup??

If Vinny had targeted them openly or secretly after enrollment, then they would have understood it. But this way of doing things left them completely unable to understand him. It carried a strong sense of unclear meaning.

As for whether these god-tier weirdos had been found by Vinny to put on an act, or whether they were Vinny’s subordinates, Mason could not tell that either.

In fact, even before enrollment, they had analyzed that Vinny was the suspected vice president of some inconspicuous club. There was a certain possibility that this club was Vinny’s den, and that everyone inside was part of the faction he had gathered over the past year to support him.

As for why he was vice president rather than president, it was probably to conceal himself.

However.

Mason was not trying to excuse Vinny.

Seeing it today, it seemed... not quite like that??

This group of god-tier weirdos was too god-tier. The flavor was too strong. It did not look like acting at all.

If this really were a club established under a false banner, the people inside probably would not be very good at playing cards either. At most, they would understand the rules of these so-called Deity Cards.

After all, if they established this club, then surely they had to be plotting something, right? How could they possibly play cards every day?

But in the end.

It seemed like they really were playing cards every day.

Without playing cards every day, they absolutely could not have produced this kind of flavor.

Honestly, the Church’s view of Vinny was very divided. There existed a theory of Vinny’s divine-devilish duality.

One faction believed that Vinny truly was what the rumors said: an ignorant, incompetent spoiled noble son. Although he had achieved some results, those were only through opportunism, and there was even a possibility that he had taken an evil path.

The other faction believed that Vinny definitely had something to him, and might have been hiding his true ability all along. For example, the club Vinny had joined—some Church forces believed there was a certain probability that it was a campus force Vinny had personally operated.

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