Chapter 40: Thoughts at Night

Chapter Forty
Thoughts at Night

That is truly… quite stylish!

Facing Miss Bodyguard’s answer, the corners of Klein’s mouth curved upward into an obvious smile.

Mm. To be able to briefly contend with Rosago, the Marionettist, and even form a stalemate with him to some degree, she is most likely a Sequence 5 powerhouse as well. I wonder which Sequence she belongs to, what her potion’s name is. Her state is quite unusual… Without her, I would not even have had the chance to use Words of Filth…

Klein casually picked up the newspaper beside him, pretending to read while thinking.

Very soon, however, he shifted his focus back to whether he still had any loopholes. For example, the contaminated Beyonder characteristic Rosago had left behind possessed intense spiritual radiance. Blocking it with only an iron cigarette case might not be enough; under the probing of spirit vision, it could be directly exposed.

Klein quietly activated spirit vision and lowered his gaze toward his pocket. He saw that inside the iron cigarette case, faint traces of color seeped through, but they were not obvious. They were extremely thin.

They mingled with the colors of his own aura, becoming difficult to distinguish, difficult to notice.

“Not bad. At minimum, it would take a high-Sequence powerhouse to see it through two layers of interference… No wonder herb powders, essential oils, hydrosols, and similar materials must all be stored in small metal bottles instead of wooden containers. Some of them contain spirituality, and with a high enough level of spirit vision, one can see aura colors through wooden boards…”

Klein suddenly understood certain cautions within the mysticism field.

In the past, he had acted according to procedure without thinking of why. Now, he understood the true meaning behind the rules.

After repeatedly confirming there were no issues, Klein set down the newspaper and walked to the second floor.

Originally, he had intended to undress and bathe, thoroughly relaxing for a while. But when he thought that Miss Bodyguard might appear anywhere in his home, he suddenly felt somewhat uncomfortable. He simply washed his face, brushed his teeth, and soaked his feet in hot water.

Returning to the bedroom, taking off his coat and hiding away various items, Klein collapsed onto the bed. Because he was too exhausted and had forced himself to hold on for quite a while, his mind remained rather taut instead, and he could not fall asleep quickly.

Lying with eyes open and gazing at the crimson moonlight on the ceiling, Klein did not try to use meditation to sink into deep slumber. Instead, he let his thoughts roam aimlessly, like riding a horse without holding the reins.

As he thought, because he had encountered far too many coincidences in Tingen, and afterward understood that they had a deep connection with Sealed Artifact 0-08, he quickly noticed one problem:

“The second case I encountered after arriving in Backlund allowed me to obtain the potion formulas for the next three Sequences. Is that not too coincidental?”

“Although it matches the revelation I obtained from divination—‘the hope of becoming stronger lies in Backlund’—this was too fast and too simple, was it not?”

“By simple, I do not mean in terms of difficulty, but in terms of how many twists and turns the matter involved. This incident was difficult and dangerous, but it was not complicated. It seemed simple.”

“According to my expectations, I should have gradually caught the tail of this ancient organization through the information on the Secret Order collected by Miss Justice, Mr. Hanged Man, Miss Xio, and her companion. After many twists and turns, I would finally have obtained the formulas. That would have taken at least three months. Who could have known it would succeed in less than three weeks…”

“Could it be that someone has arranged everything clearly for me again?”

“Mm… Reviewing it from the beginning, the Secret Order’s certain connection to the Intis Republic is no coincidence. Emperor Roselle’s diary confirms that from the side.”

“The abilities of Diviner and Faceless are very suitable for intelligence organizations. For a mid-Sequence Beyonder of that pathway to become the assistant of Bakerland, an intelligence chief, is reasonable and normal. There is no coincidence there.”

“The ambassador sending someone to retaliate against me should have included the intention of diverting attention. Having Rosago, who had the easiest time succeeding and the easiest time escaping, come here was an effective choice to lower risk, and not surprising.”

“After the detectives Ian knew refused to take the task of tracking Zeriel, it was quite normal for him to search the newspapers for a new detective. There were not many new detectives advertising at the time. There might even have been only one—me. Mm. In the Backlund Post, I was the only one…”

“As I summarized earlier, the issue was that Meursault was too reckless, and that I, worried that daily disguise would be difficult and attract attention instead, did not conceal my appearance. Both points could indeed have been influenced—especially the former—but both are consistent with their corresponding personalities, mental states, origins, and backgrounds.”

“Moreover, that is not the main point. It cannot explain why the second case I encountered involved a mid-Sequence Beyonder of the Diviner pathway.”

“Fated? It does not feel right.”

“Thinking back further, the first and second cases I was involved in after transmigrating were both also related to the Diviner pathway. Of course, that can be explained as arrangements by 0-08.”

“Right. The Antigonus family notebook also contaminated Misfortune Puppet and displayed before me that complicated vertical-eye symbol involving the Antigonus family treasure. The reason I thought of then was that after the Antigonus family’s bloodline had gone extinct, it treated me—a living Diviner who had come into contact with it—as a target for inheritance.”

“Now that I think about it, that reason is extremely childish. What if I had been a devout believer of the Evernight Goddess? However, at the time I merely made a guess and did not affirm it.”

“The Antigonus family treasure clearly involves the Diviner pathway.”

“Thinking deeper, why did I transmigrate here? Why did I happen to possess Klein’s body, and not some other person’s…? At the time, Klein had just performed black divination, had been controlled by the Antigonus family notebook into committing suicide, and that notebook clearly involved the Diviner pathway.”

“In addition, the first Roselle diary page I saw contained the content of him regretting not choosing Apprentice, Marauder, and Seer. That is quite a coincidence.”

“From beginning to end, setting aside the parts involving 0-08, these matters all seem rather scattered. They do not feel like conscious arrangements, but more like a kind of passive attraction—mutual attraction, intermittent attraction.”

“I attract matters and objects related to the Diviner pathway, while also being attracted to them?”

“Thinking about it is rather eerie. Could this attraction even indirectly influence fate, to the point that even Mr. Azik cannot see it?”

“Do I possess some strange trait?”

“Does this trait allow me to resurrect in a limited fashion?”

Upon thinking this, Klein immediately felt the urge to go above the gray fog and divine for confirmation.

But he quickly rejected that idea, not only because Miss Bodyguard might be watching from a mirror, but also because he believed his greatest trait was the possession of that mysterious space above the gray fog.

Thus, using it to divine itself would clearly not produce an answer.

At least for now, there are no obvious traces of manipulation. If it is purely attraction, then it is still acceptable… Besides, I have already chosen my Beyonder pathway. Before Sequence 4, I cannot change it again, so for now, I will take things step by step… Mm. First, remain firm in not going to the Hornacis mountain range to seek the Antigonus family treasure… Heh heh. I have a premonition that in the future, I will say “that smells great”…

Klein silently mocked himself. He felt the fatigue that had been eased return bit by bit, making his eyelids uncontrollably close.

Before falling asleep, his final thought was:

Participate in more Beyonder gatherings; through Miss Justice, Mr. Hanged Man, and Student Sun, collect the Beyonder materials corresponding to Magician. If any Faceless materials appear, do not reject them either. In addition, obtain as much as possible a mystical item whose negative effects are not severe. Before digestion is complete and strength improves, I need more means of self-protection… Apart from that, invest, accept commissions, save money, and search for Lanevus. Use him as the beginning of revenge—and also as practice…

This was Klein’s plan for the days to come.

At seven in the morning, he woke naturally. Outside, the sky remained gloomy and foggy.

Klein rose and walked toward the door. As he passed the full-length mirror, he saw Miss Bodyguard suddenly appear.

She wore that unchanging small black soft hat. Her face was pale as ever, and her voice pierced through the glass, drifting and illusory as it entered Klein’s ears.

“Last night, people from MI9 came.”

Uh… Should I say that the police were late as expected, or thank them for being late?

Klein smiled and asked, “They did not discover anything, did they?”

He was extremely confident in the answer. If MI9 had truly found something, there was no way he could have slept until waking naturally.

“No.”

Miss Bodyguard’s figure faded and vanished inside the mirror.

Her ability is truly impressive… Even spirit vision cannot detect her… Perhaps Rosago’s leftover Beyonder characteristic can? It might allow me to see those hidden threads and locate Miss Bodyguard…

Klein’s heart stirred. He returned to the bedside and took the iron cigarette case from under his pillow.

He had only just taken it into his hand, before he could open it, when an icy chill suddenly attacked the back of his neck. Every hair on his body stood up, and he shuddered all over.

Pa!

His hand loosened, and the iron cigarette case fell to the floor.

That was Miss Bodyguard’s warning…

Klein gave two dry laughs, pretended nothing had happened, and stuffed the iron cigarette case into his trouser pocket.

After washing up and dressing, he went to the first floor and retrieved the newspapers he had subscribed to from the mailbox outside.

Unfolding the Tussock Times, Klein saw the striking headline:

“Intis Ambassador Bakerland Assassinated; Terrorist Organization Aurora Order Claims Responsibility!”

The results came out so quickly? And the Aurora Order clearly only accepted the commission, so why claim responsibility? Mm… Terrorist organizations also need to build prestige and shape their image. Only that way can they attract enough fresh blood. It complements secret proselytizing… Mr. A is quite impressive. He should be a Shepherd…

Standing in the entrance hall, Klein read the news in detail.

According to the report, evidence of the Aurora Order’s attack on Ambassador Bakerland had been found at the scene. During the follow-up investigation, a letter deliberately left behind by the Aurora Order had also been found—a letter claiming responsibility.

At the end of the report, the journalist gave a rough introduction to the Aurora Order, listing some of the illegal incidents they had carried out, instantly making them more famous than the vast majority of secret organizations.

No matter what, this matter is completely over…

Klein exhaled and turned his head toward the window. Thin fog drifted outside, and sparse rain fell.

“At a moment like this, should there not be brilliant sunlight and clear weather to match the mood?” Klein said, laughing at himself.

And next, he had to go out and catch someone in the act of adultery.