Chapter 103: Never Perform Unprepared

Chapter One Hundred Three
Never Perform Unprepared

He really dares to name a price…

Hearing the vampire’s demand, Klein felt both annoyed and amused.

He glanced at Bishop Utravsky ahead of him, thought for a moment, and asked, “Father, may I borrow your candle? The one from last time. I’ve forgotten what it was called.”

Before Bishop Utravsky could answer, the vampire inside the basement blurted out in astonishment, “What are you trying to do? What are you trying to do?”

At that moment, Bishop Utravsky spoke gently.

“It is called the Nightmare Candle. What do you need it for?”

Father, how cooperative of you. You even know to ask about its purpose…

The corners of Klein’s mouth lifted as he said, “I plan to use it to directly enter the deepest part of our friend’s mind and ask him there.

“You know I have a few special talents in that area. I’m quite good at similar things…”

Before he could finish, the vampire in the basement shouted loudly, “Bastard! Give up that idea!

“Doing that to a noble Sanguine will bring down curses on you!

“Hey, hey—hey! I’ll speak! I’ll speak! I’ll tell you the source of the Master Key!”

Klein chuckled at once.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Hmph! A filthy old man’s friend really isn’t a good person either! As a Sanguine, I merely went to the hospital to secretly take bottled blood and drink it. I was already showing tremendous restraint. Why should I be locked up here and forced every day to listen to that rambling fly-like Life Bible?” the vampire inside the basement complained angrily.

To be honest, if you are truly as you described yourself, and if you had met me, I would at most have warned you a little. Unfortunately, when you got lost and wandered into this church, what stood before you was a priest who once killed without blinking and loved battle, but who now devoutly repents and is fanatical in his faith. That can only mean your luck was rather poor… Still, Bishop Utravsky’s illness has already been healed. He probably won’t truly hurt you. At most, he’ll imprison you by his side…

Klein silently answered the complaint with a few remarks of his own.

After several seconds of silence, the vampire in the basement said, “More than a month ago, I went to the South Borough hospital to secretly take blood bottles and drink them. In the end, I ran into a thief.

“He had originally wanted to enter the hospital’s financial office. Who knew he would get lost and open the door to the blood storage room instead? I caught him on the spot.

“The thing he used was that Master Key. He told me he had found it earlier while sneaking into a certain house to steal. What he obtained along with it was a diamond-set pocket watch. Mm, in a basement.

“At first, he thought the key corresponded to a particular room or a safe. He tried them one by one, only to discover that it could open all of them. To a thief, that was simply an unimaginable surprise. After that, he succeeded again and again, until I caught him and confiscated the key.

“Damn it. I never thought at the time that the key would make people get lost!”

That fits very well with what I saw through divination… But is this Master Key cursed? Its previous owner was imprisoned after getting lost, and the owner before that was caught red-handed because he got lost as well… Perhaps I really should throw it above the gray fog and retrieve it only when needed. But that would be far more troublesome, and might delay matters…

Klein controlled the changes in his expression and asked unhurriedly, “Did the thief say where he stole it?”

The vampire in the basement muttered, “You are questioning my intelligence. How could I not ask about that?

“He said it was at 48 Riverbend Avenue, in the South Borough of the Bridge. I had originally planned to investigate it when I had free time, but then… damn it!

“All right. I’ve finished answering. Stop bothering me.”

Klein did not immediately leave. Instead, he slowly took out a half-penny copper coin and softly recited:

“He is lying.”

…

After seven repetitions, Klein’s eyes darkened. He flicked the coin upward with a clang, watched it tumble and spin, then let it fall into his palm.

This time, the portrait faced upward, indicating affirmation.

In other words, the vampire was lying!

The thief’s description matches the images I saw in divination in many places, mutually corroborating them. It should not be false… The vampire must have lied about the specific address!

Klein looked toward Bishop Utravsky and chuckled.

“He lied.

“Let me think. Why would he lie?

“Venting anger on and taking revenge against someone like me, who does not have much to do with this, would be very unwise, and it would do him no good in his situation.

“So I believe he is actually using this method to ask for help. That address very likely belongs to one of his companions. Father, do you not plan to take a look?”

The basement instantly fell completely silent. Several seconds passed before the vampire burst into laughter.

“I simply did not want to tell you so easily. You threatened me just now, so I lied to get revenge. Is that not normal?”

I heard the feeling of someone forcing himself to stay calm…

Klein smiled.

“Then what is the real answer? If you lie again, I do not mind delivering this address to the three Churches and claiming it is connected to the recent serial murder case.”

“…Humans truly are vicious…” the vampire sighed through gritted teeth. “32 Wildey Street, South Borough of the Bridge.”

Klein tossed the coin once more and received the answer that the other party was no longer lying.

Looks like the vampire does not have the ability to interfere with divination… Mm. I will confirm it above the gray fog later…

Klein pressed a hand to his chest and bowed toward the heavy stone door of the basement.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Hmph.”

The vampire inside the basement answered in a tone full of irritation.

Just as Klein turned and prepared to leave, the vampire suddenly shouted loudly again, “Remember! My name is Emlyn White! Remember it! My name is Emlyn White!”

What do I need to remember your name for? I do not plan to save you. I have no preparations, no home-field advantage, and I cannot defeat Father Utravsky. Besides, he has that mystical item that can transfuse stored blood back into himself… Mm, could this vampire’s companions offer a bounty to find him, and he hopes I will sell that information?

Klein paused for a moment, then left Harvest Church without saying anything.

After casually finding a secluded, empty spot, he loosened the spirit pendulum hidden inside his left cuff and divined whether he should go explore 32 Wildey Street right now.

The answer he received was that there was some danger, but not too much.

Some danger… Where is the danger? What kind of danger could it be?

Klein seriously analyzed the matter and suspected that the Apprentice who had lost control and died might have, due to powerful resentment, transformed into a ghost-type monster—and one that was comparatively strong.

But that is not quite right. The thief clearly encountered nothing, took the Master Key, and came out. Could the danger lie in some other hidden part of the house?

After carefully thinking it over, Klein decided it would be best to make full preparations before going there, lest he encounter an enemy that his current Beyonder abilities found difficult to deal with and be unable to find a solution.

At the very least, at least wait until I buy bullets that can purify resentful spirits and shadows…

He nodded slightly.

With that chain of thought, combined with his experience fighting Bishop Utravsky, the Dawn Paladin, Klein suddenly felt that he could vaguely summarize the first rule of acting as a Magician:

Do not perform without preparation!

That way, there is a high probability the trick will be exposed…

Klein silently added another line.

…

Tuesday morning, after preparing butter and toasting two slices of bread, Klein did not rush to eat. Instead, he opened the door and took today’s newspapers from the mailbox.

Eh, there is a letter…

He drew out the letter caught among the newspapers and glanced at the envelope while returning to the dining room.

“From Stuart… Looks like he has already completed the preliminary investigation.”

Klein nodded slightly, tore open the envelope, shook out the paper, and sat down at the dining table while reading.

Stuart claimed that the two suspects showed no abnormalities. One guarded a grocery store with his wife and children, living in a dead, lifeless way. The other was busy with all sorts of temporary jobs, rushing about exhausted in order to make a living. Neither was irritable. Neither displayed any urge to fight, nor did either lock himself alone inside a room.

At the end of the letter, Stuart lamented the terrible state of the East Borough and swore that he would save enough money to avoid ending up there when old.

“Thank you for your help. If other clues appear later, I will share them with you.”

Seeing that the other party had failed to discover useful traces, Klein wrote only a simple reply and did not let him become further involved in the case, lest he be noticed by the Demon as a source of danger and be killed in advance to eliminate hidden trouble.

After putting away the paper and pen, Klein picked up a slice of toast into which the butter had already seeped. With black tea and newspapers, he leisurely passed his breakfast time.

One thing he regretted during this process was that there was still no sign of the Beyonder gathering hosted by old Mr. Eye of Wisdom.

“Sigh. The existence of that Demon has seriously affected the lives of Backlund’s Beyonders. I hope Mr. Isengard Stanton can notice my hint and gain something from it. Mm, he should be an officially ‘certified’ Beyonder…”

Klein set down the newspaper, picked up his napkin, wiped his mouth, and tidied up in preparation to go out.

His plan for the day had been arranged since last week:

visit the Kingdom Museum and attend the Roselle Memorial Exhibition!

…

Queen’s Borough, inside Earl Hall’s luxurious villa.

Audrey wore a light-colored long dress boldly decorated with lace and had draped a snow-white fur over herself. She waited as her personal maid Annie helped her put on a soft hat set with pearls, from which hung a fine thin veil.

Beside her, Susie crouched with a satin ribbon tied into a bow around her neck.

“My beautiful little princess, where are you planning to go?”

Earl Hall descended the stairs, stroking his two handsome little mustaches as he asked.

With bright eyes, Audrey answered, “Father, I plan to visit the Roselle Memorial Exhibition.”

To take a look at the original diaries of Emperor Roselle and find a chance to obtain some for Mr. Fool…

She silently added that line inside her heart.

Earl Hall pondered briefly.

“Why go today? There will be many people, and the scene will be chaotic.

“Mm. I will have someone coordinate with the Church of Steam. After the official exhibition ends, they can specially open it for half a day for you and your friends. That way, you can view it quietly and without disturbance.

“If there is anything you wish to admire closely and carefully, you can directly discuss it with them.”

That way, it seems even better. I can directly flip through the diaries in this exhibition…

Audrey lifted the hem of her dress and gave a curtsy.

“Thank you, handsome Earl Hall~”