Chapter 195: A Bold Hypothesis

Chapter 195: A Bold Hypothesis

Dorian drew the curtains, plunging the office into dimness, then sat down.

He held the crystal ball in his left hand, placed his right palm above it without quite touching the surface, and stroked back and forth while constantly whispering under his breath, almost as if murmuring to himself.

Gradually, the specks of brilliance within the crystal ball grew brighter and clearer, as though the night sky had cast its reflection inside.

One by one, the stars commonly used to determine the direction of fate and the trajectory of a person’s life appeared, forming a three-dimensional astrolabe. Mixed among them were numerous spirit world revelations that resembled symbolic signs.

Dorian Gray finally stopped moving and lowered his head to examine it.

“She wasn’t lying… The course of events was indeed like this… She also seems able to bring a certain change to the Abraham family—a positive change…” The light inside the crystal ball gradually faded. Dorian stood, a decision already forming in his heart.

At lunchtime, inside the Four-winged Bird Restaurant.

Before Fors lay a fish that had been cut into sections, deep-fried, and sprinkled with rosemary. Its skin was crisp and fragrant, its flesh delicate and delicious, and it had no fine bones. It was quite excellent. The only problem was that the chef’s sense of aesthetics was extremely strange. He had actually kept the two bulging fish eyes intact, then relied on the plating to make them look upward at the same time, as though they were expressing their unwillingness to die.

…

Fors knocked over the fish head, cut off the tail, and used it to cover the eye that was facing upward.

At that moment, Dorian Gray, while moving his knife and fork, said as if casually, “Anlisa was very fond of mysticism and had a certain degree of research in that field. When you finally sorted out her belongings, did you see any related books, notes, or items?”

“There were some notes and books,” Fors answered frankly. “Because of them, I became a mysticism enthusiast. Unfortunately, some of the contents are completely incomprehensible to me.”

For example, Spirit World Observations. Not only is it absurd, it’s illogical and incoherent. Even if I force myself to read it and regularly calm my irritation, it’s still hard to remember the contents afterward, much less understand them… Fors added silently.

Dorian nodded slightly and gave a hearty laugh.

“Then you may ask me for advice. I, too, am a mysticism enthusiast, and one who is relatively well-versed in the field.”

“Really? That’s wonderful!” Fors cooperated.

Seeing that she truly was interested, Dorian immediately guided the topic toward mysticism. At times, he mentioned the spirit world; at others, he spoke about his own experience with meditation. He had prepared for this long in advance. When entering the restaurant, he had deliberately chosen a remote, quiet seat and was not worried that the surrounding customers would overhear their conversation.

At the end of lunch, Dorian took the initiative to suggest,

“I had never known how to express my gratitude. Now I finally need not worry about that. Heh, although Lawrence paid you, I believe that was not enough to match your kindness, goodwill, and trustworthiness.

“Miss Wall, if you have any questions in the field of mysticism, you may write to me. Consider it my insignificant thanks.”

“That is exactly what I hoped to receive,” Fors said without refusing.

From the exchange just now, she could clearly tell that Dorian Gray possessed solid, extensive, and systematic knowledge of mysticism. As expected of a member of the ancient Abraham family.

This area was also one of Fors’s shortcomings. Although she had grasped quite a bit of common knowledge about the Beyonder world, it had all come from a few books and notes that were not especially deep, as well as scattered remarks and experiences picked up at various gatherings and from various incidents. It was not comprehensive, not systematic, and full of gaps.

Hearing her response, Dorian raised his glass and smiled.

“I hope that one day, we may also possess mysterious and extraordinary powers.”

…

Backlund, North Borough. Saint Samuel Cathedral.

A team wearing black trench coats and red gloves entered the underground area. Their leader was a man in his forties, his features gentle in outline, the hair at his temples long and dark.

He wore an exaggerated standard top hat and carried a black straight cane inlaid with gold. Quietly, he followed the Nighthawk leading the way and entered a rather spacious room.

Inside the room were rows of bookshelves filled with many case files. A woman in a black robe, with blue eye shadow and rouge on her cheeks, sat leisurely in a high-backed chair without rising to greet them. There was a strange, bewitching beauty to her. She was none other than the former Spirit Medium, Daly.

“Soest, the files you need are over there.” Daly pointed with her chin toward the table near the door.

The middle-aged man addressed as Soest smiled.

“Daly, why were you assigned to guard this place? You should be responsible for more important matters.”

“No. This was my own idea. I needed to settle down for a while and read more files,” Daly said with a low laugh. “It’s for the sake of moving forward better. Human beings are fragile creatures. They need a certain period of easing themselves along. No one can always remain at the peak and enjoy stimulation and pleasure without pause.”

“…Your style truly hasn’t changed. What a pity you never give me a chance.” Soest immediately laughed.

Daly shook her head seriously.

“Clearly, you do not understand me. My current preferences have become even more unusual. If you can turn yourself into a rotting corpse, or expose white bones beneath your skin, then I will definitely be filled with interest in you.”

She then turned to look at one of the Red Gloves standing behind Soest. “Leonard, why did you choose to join his team? This fellow is arrogant, conceited, and cowardly. He keeps fantasizing that the lady he likes will take the initiative to lie in bed and wait for him. Frankly speaking, perhaps that is a characteristic of Nightmares?”

When she said “Nightmares,” Daly paused noticeably.

Leonard answered helplessly, “Madam Daly, this was His Excellency Cesimir’s arrangement.”

“I see… I can tell that you very much agree with my assessment of Soest,” Daly concluded in a slightly hoarse voice.

…For a moment, Leonard did not know how to explain.

Fortunately, Soest the Spirit Warlock did not care about Daly’s remarks. He walked straight to the table piled with files, picked one up, and began flipping through it. Leonard and the others quickly gathered around him, imitating their deacon.

Amid the prolonged rustling of papers, Soest casually asked, “Has anything new happened in Backlund recently? Anything you think is worth attention?”

Daly’s eyes moved slightly. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Several Beyonders who work with us have passed along news. Recently, quite a few people have been searching for an organization that believes in ‘the Fool,’ and they have provided the corresponding honorific name…”

After describing the Fool’s honorific name in Loenese, she gave a soft laugh.

“I seem to be witnessing the birth of a brand-new cult. Of course, it may also be the incarnation of some old friend.

“Soest, what do you think?”

Soest considered it seriously for a moment.

“Nothing. I’ve never heard of such an organization.”

Just then, Leonard raised his head from the file and said thoughtfully,

“Could this be related to the two cases involving tarot rituals that we’re investigating?

“The Fool is the beginning of tarot cards. It is the most important trump card!”

Daly froze for a second, then nodded thoughtfully.

“That is a rather interesting idea…”

“But there is no evidence whatsoever. It is purely a guess and cannot even be considered deduction,” Soest said, not quite agreeing.

A faint smile appeared on Leonard’s face.

“Emperor Roselle once said: bold hypothesis, careful verification.”

…

Hillston Borough, the Krag Club.

After leaving Harvest Church, Klein had come directly here. The moment he entered the hall, he saw the equestrian teacher Talim Dumont sitting in a quiet corner, seemingly lost in thought.

Seeing that lunch would still take a while, Klein walked over and greeted him with a smile.

“Good noon, Talim. You seem to have run into another difficult problem?”

Talim suddenly snapped awake and hurriedly shook his head.

“No. No, I haven’t.”

You look as if you’ve done something guilty… Klein muttered, sat down, and changed the subject with a smile.

“What a pity Allen and Mike aren’t here. Otherwise, we could have had another pleasant afternoon.”

Talim smiled along with him.

“They’re both very busy and don’t have much free time.”

Before Klein could speak, Talim looked left and right, then said, “Sherlock, a certain great person heard me mention your accomplishments and became very interested in you. He would like to meet you. Are you willing?

“Frankly, this makes me quite envious. This is a very rare opportunity.”

Wait. What accomplishments could I have? Helping Mrs. Mary catch her husband cheating? Accompanying Reporter Mike to brothels? Even after going to the East Borough several times, I didn’t do anything remarkable… At most, you know that I made some contribution in the serial murder case and helped Dr. Allen resolve his nightmare problem through consultation… Klein was bewildered by what he heard.

After two seconds, he suddenly understood why.

It must be that when the great person asked Talim whether he knew any excellent detectives, Talim could only think of me. So he proactively added impressive-sounding descriptions, like the true mastermind behind the solving of the serial murder case, or the sharp, decisive, and highly capable great detective in the case where Mrs. Mary’s ex-husband and his mistress transferred Coim Company’s assets… This is mutual business flattery… Klein sighed inwardly.

After weighing it for a moment, he said, “Talim, I’m sorry. As a detective, I have my own principles. One of them is to avoid getting involved in matters related to important people as much as possible. What might be no more than a sneeze-like bit of friction on the upper stage could very well bring me disaster beyond my ability to bear.

“I will not put labels on myself, so I will not meet that great person.”

This was, in fact, a precaution Klein had already decided on before becoming a detective.

Once he became entangled with high society, it would be easy for others to dig to the bottom of his identity. Before becoming a Faceless, he had no desire to bear that kind of risk.

“…You are very rational,” Talim said after some thought. “That great person anticipated such a reaction. He believes a detective like this is more worthy of trust, so he hopes you will accept a commission—one that will not involve high society.”

“What commission?” Klein asked.

Talim gave a heh of laughter.

“It’s the Capim case that you and Mike discussed last time. That great person is very interested in the organization that uses tarot cards as its symbol. He says there are more cases like this than just the one. He hopes you can find corresponding clues.”