Chapter 101: An Unexpected Clue

Chapter One Hundred One
An Unexpected Clue

Howes Street area. The Divination Club.

Klein pressed the half-top silk hat on his head and climbed the stairs step by step toward the door.

This time, he was not wearing his usual formal suit. Instead, he wore a white shirt and pale waistcoat beneath a thin black windbreaker that reached his knees, adding a few hints of competence and sharpness to his bearing.

This set of clothing, convenient for combat, had cost him only one pound, and that included the manual fee for sewing small pockets into the inner side. Compared with a tailcoat and formal suit, it was so cheap it nearly made one weep.

Touching the revolver in the holster beneath his arm and the metal vials in the inner pockets, Klein took out the portrait and entered the Divination Club.

Unsurprisingly, he saw the pretty lady in charge of reception, Angelica.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Moretti. I thought you would only return after a few more days.”

Angelica first froze, then drew a brilliant smile.

Klein removed his hat and sighed softly.

“Good afternoon, Miss Angelica. At noon, I had a dream. I dreamed of Mr. Hynas Vincent, and of certain matters related to him. You know, as a diviner, one must never neglect any dream. It may very well be revelation from the gods.”

Deceived by words full of a charlatan’s air, Angelica nodded thoughtfully and asked curiously, “What did you dream?”

“I dreamed that Hynas Vincent was arguing with this person.”

Klein handed over the folded sheet of paper.

Taking advantage of Angelica lowering her head to unfold the portrait, he pinched his brow and observed the colors of her emotions.

“This person…”

Angelica looked at the portrait, which was almost like a photograph, and sank into thought.

In Klein’s eyes, her emotional aura showed a “thoughtful blue,” belonging to a normal reaction.

“This person…”

Angelica murmured again, then slowly lifted her head.

“I have seen him.”

Klein’s spirits lifted at once, and he immediately asked, “When?”

“I cannot remember the exact date. It should have been about a month ago. At that time, I saw him send Mr. Vincent to the door and speak quietly with him. Because of his thick, messy eyebrows, and because Mr. Vincent had a rare smile on his face, my impression is very deep,” Angelica said while recalling. “Yes. He had a pair of gray-blue eyes. His hair was the same as most gentlemen of his age—not much of it left.”

“After that, or before that, did you ever see him again?” Klein asked gently.

Angelica shook her head.

“No. Definitely not. I do not even know his name. To be honest, if not for you, I would have suspected the person taking out this portrait was a police officer investigating Mr. Vincent’s death. Heh. No revelation you receive would surprise me. You are a true diviner.”

I am very sorry, but I am exactly a police officer…

Klein silently retorted, then sighed.

“A true diviner understands his own insignificance and the greatness of fate. We can forever see only a blurry corner. We can only ever obtain revelation, not answers. We must always reflect upon ourselves, maintain reverence, interpret cautiously, and never regard ourselves as sages who command destiny.”

After using that summary to express what he had learned during this period, Klein suddenly discovered that his spirit vision had become somewhat clearer. In a vague way, he could even distinguish certain details within the colors of Angelica’s aura.

At that moment, he felt like a near-sighted person finally putting on glasses with the proper prescription.

This… Has my Seer potion begun showing obvious signs of digestion?

Klein froze there, unable to believe it for a moment.

“I did not expect that even a diviner like you could continue maintaining fear toward fate. It truly makes one admire you,” Angelica said sincerely.

She had seen far too many people at the club who, after learning a few divination methods, immediately claimed they would peer into truth and change destiny.

Klein withdrew his gaze and said with a low laugh, “The more one knows, the more one understands one’s own smallness.”

While speaking, he reviewed his own state and past experiences, roughly grasping the essence of the acting method: to perform actions in accordance with the potion’s name, to comprehend the hidden principles within those actions, and to strictly require oneself to follow them.

Only in this way could one adjust body, mind, and spirit to approach the residual spirit within the potion and gradually digest it.

Other people’s recognition of his identity as a “diviner” was only a superficial factor. The reason it made his spirituality feel lighter was because such feedback strengthened his own confirmation of certain divination behaviors, and those behaviors together formed the “Seer’s code” that could digest the potion.

“Help others interpret revelation and guide them in a better direction, yet always maintain reverence for fate. Do not swell with pride. Do not become arrogant. Do not blindly trust one’s own interpretations… This is the principle I have currently summarized, and also the core of my future acting. If it continues proving effective, then it may not take half a year. Perhaps two or three months, or even two or three weeks, will be enough for me to fully digest the potion.

“…The sign just now was extremely obvious. No wonder that mysterious Mr. Zaratul said that when a potion is thoroughly digested, the Beyonder himself will clearly sense it, with no need for anyone to teach him. It is yes or no, and there is no ambiguity… Just like now. Although my spirit vision has improved slightly, I know very clearly that this is only a digestion node, not the endpoint.”

Thinking this, Klein could not help thanking the tailcoat clown again. The other party had used his life to teach him.

Without him, Klein might have needed to spend several more months at the Divination Club, only gradually summarizing the “Seer’s code” through case after case, good and bad, before beginning strict “acting.”

“Mr. Moretti, sometimes I even feel you are a philosopher,” Angelica said with a sigh after hearing his answer.

“In my circle, philosopher is a word used to scold people,” Klein said, his mood becoming rather good.

After saying that, he gave a bow, put on his hat, and took his leave.

Although Angelica did not know the name and identity of the gentleman in the portrait, Klein was not at all dejected. This harvest was already enough for him to carry out the next step of his plan.

…

Number 36, Zouteland Street. Blackthorn Security Company.

Dunn’s gray eyes were deep as he looked at the portrait in his hand.

“You want to find this person through investigation?”

“Yes,” Klein said. He had long organized his explanation. “Captain, did I not say before that I would go to the Divination Club and observe the members’ reaction to Hynas Vincent’s sudden death? Yesterday I discovered nothing. But today I unexpectedly learned that the person in this portrait once appeared together with Hynas Vincent and secretly spoke with him. I just flipped through the team’s investigation records and discovered that no similar person was mentioned.”

There was not a single problem with his description. Even if Dunn Smith now took the portrait to the Divination Club, he would receive confirmation from Angelica.

Dunn moved his gaze away from the portrait and smiled.

“It seems that funding was not wasted.”

…Captain, is your memory not supposed to be poor? Why did you remember the funding at a time like this…

Klein maintained his smile and said nothing.

“You drew this?” Dunn asked casually.

“Mm. I drew it with the help of ritual magic,” Klein answered with words one hundred percent true.

Of course, speaking the truth and speaking the whole truth were two separate matters.

Dunn lightly nodded.

“Have Old Neil make several more copies. I will have Kenley and Royale begin investigating later, and also request the police department’s assistance. If this clue truly proves useful, you will have earned another contribution.”

“The Goddess watches over us.”

Klein tapped his chest four times, his attitude exceptionally devout.

For him, it would be enough if Dunn and the others could discover the name and identity of the gentleman in the portrait. Once that happened, he could divine the man’s whereabouts above the gray fog.

…

After leaving Blackthorn Security Company, Klein, who was on a rest day, did not return home immediately. Instead, he took a public carriage to the docks district and arrived outside the Dragon Bar.

He had considered things carefully. Although a Seer lacked direct means of defeating enemies and had no spells that could be cast quickly, combat was divided into many types. Not everything was an encounter battle. As long as he had sufficient time to prepare, a Seer could similarly use ritual magic against an enemy—just as he had solved the magic mirror divination incident at Selena’s home.

And that meant a Seer had best carry a few herbs, essential oils, small candles, and similar items at all times, lest he be unable to produce materials when he needed them and could only wait for death. After all, not everyone was like Selena, who happened to keep a pile of mysticism items in her own home, just enough to be used.

As for the materials he had applied for, Klein had practiced too frequently and nearly exhausted them. The little pockets on the inside of his clothes now held what remained.

Touching the banknotes in his pocket, he pushed open the heavy door of the Dragon Bar and stepped inside.

It was currently afternoon. There were not many customers in the bar. There was no dog-catching-rats competition, no boxing match, and the place seemed rather cold and quiet, lacking liveliness.

Klein glanced at the two tables of customers drinking and playing cards, preparing to walk toward the billiards room that led to the underground market.

Just then, he saw an old man with a burly build and a worn naval officer’s coat come out.

“You are the friend Old Neil brought here last time?”

The old man had messy brown hair, blue eyes, and the strong smell of alcohol about him. He examined Klein once, then spoke with a chuckle.

Klein vaguely guessed the other party’s identity and removed his hat in greeting.

“Yes. How should I address you?”

“Old Neil should have mentioned me to you. I am the owner here, Swain.”

The blue-eyed old man had thick arms and solid muscles, very much carrying the bearing of an officer.

The former captain of Tingen City’s Mandated Punishers team… It is said he once served in the Royal Navy as well…

Klein answered politely, “Yes.”

“If you are ever short on money for a while, you can come find me,” Swain said with a laugh, preparing to walk toward the bar counter.

At that moment, Klein’s heart stirred. He hurriedly called out, “Please wait, Mr. Swain. There is something I would like to ask you.”

Swain stopped and half-turned back, smiling broadly.

“You and you—mm, you and your leader are very alike.”

No, I do not have memory problems…

The corner of Klein’s mouth moved. He took out the portrait directly and said, “Have you ever seen this gentleman?”

A thought had suddenly occurred to him. Selena should have been brought into this underground market by Hynas Vincent, and Elizabeth knew about the Dragon Bar because of that. Then, could this gentleman, who had a certain relationship with Hynas Vincent, also have come here before?

Swain examined the portrait carefully and answered with certainty, “I remember him. He came to ask me whether there were any documents or items related to the main peak of the Hornacis.”

Documents or items related to the main peak of the Hornacis?

Klein froze for a moment. Then he suddenly connected this to another matter.

When he had borrowed journals and magazines related to the main peak of the Hornacis from Deweyville Library, the librarian had casually mentioned that someone had returned them not long before, and that was why he remembered them so clearly and did not need to flip through the cards again to confirm their existence.

Could the person who borrowed those journals and magazines before me be the gentleman in the portrait?

The man who witnessed the transaction involving the Antigonus notebook?