Chapter 131: Charity Banquet

Chapter 131: Charity Banquet

“Your butler may be researching black magic;

“Your personal valet secretly believes in Death;

“Among your neighbors hides someone with supernatural powers;

“The neighborhood where you live may contain certain secrets that cause people to have strange dreams…

“You should be able to understand what certain words mean, so we will not explain too much. May the Goddess bless you.”

…

Klein looked at the letter in his hand, momentarily unsure whether he should cry or laugh.

A few seconds later, he could not help mocking himself inwardly:

Judging only from the contents of this letter, I really am miserable…

And what it describes does not seem wrong…

Shaking his head with a smile, Klein held the letter in one hand and abruptly flicked it to the side.

Crimson flames immediately rose, devouring the paper.

No matter what, Miss Xio and Miss Magician are still quite kind. The only problem is that I already know everything they are reminding me about—and I understand the reasons behind them better than they do…

As Klein muttered inwardly, he rummaged out the mushrooms he had previously hidden.

There were four kinds in total. The first consisted of dried mushrooms capable of reacting with water and fish; there were three of them. The second was a new variety with golden-yellow caps, emitting the fragrance of flour. The third had a white base dotted with black spots. Overall, it was fluffy and swollen, as though liquid flowed inside, and it carried a rich scent of milk. The fourth had strange gill-like organs growing on either side, and its surface was covered in fine yet soft scales.

Klein swept a glance over the mushrooms, took out a gold coin, flicked it upward, and caught it steadily again.

After confirming the result, he removed the ordinary glove he had put on earlier. With bare skin, he directly picked up the three new types of mushrooms, trying to verify some circumstances Frank Lee had not mentioned.

The touch felt normal, and the mushrooms showed no change. Klein immediately breathed out in relief, no longer worrying that their danger level exceeded the forbidden line.

Earlier, he had been rather afraid that the moment these mushrooms came into contact with anything containing flesh and blood, they would immediately spread roots, devour, grow, and scatter spores.

“Perhaps it is because the current gas wall lamps are fairly bright. Or perhaps after being harvested, these mushrooms lost most of their activity and require special conditions to revive—such as the environment inside a living being’s stomach pouch…”

Upholding an empirical spirit, Klein pulled closed the heavy curtains of the master bedroom and extinguished all the gas wall lamps.

Then, once again, he picked up the new varieties of mushrooms barehanded, confirming that they showed no abnormality and did not suck his flesh and blood.

After completing this, Klein relit the wall lamps and set up a ritual, sacrificing the mushrooms above the gray fog.

Sitting in the Fool’s seat, he did not rush to summon Creeping Hunger. First, he made the small metal bottle containing his own blood fly onto the bronze long table.

Immediately afterward, he poured one drop of blood onto the tabletop and pushed the three new types of mushrooms toward it.

In just a second, the parts of the mushrooms near the blood suddenly softened, writhing as they wrapped around it. Dense needle-like filaments grew from the contact surface.

“…”

The corners of Klein’s mouth twitched slightly at the sight. He directly called upon a small amount of power from the mysterious space above the gray fog and suppressed all the mushrooms, then made the drop of blood fly back into the metal bottle before closing its lid.

He now roughly understood these mushrooms’ characteristics and no longer wasted time. With a wave of his hand, he made Creeping Hunger fly over from the pile of miscellaneous objects.

Holding the thin human-skin glove, Klein placed it on the tabletop and removed the restraints on the mushrooms.

Then he saw Creeping Hunger use its five fingers as support, forcefully standing up and quickly retreating backward like a hand playing the piano.

So you do know fear?

Klein revealed a benevolent smile. With one motion, he pressed down on the human-skin glove, “gifting” it a little power from the mysterious space above the gray fog along the way.

Then he used his other hand to grab a mushroom and bring it close to Creeping Hunger.

The human-skin glove struggled with all its strength but could not break free. It even began to tremble visibly.

Klein stopped the hand holding the mushroom and laughed softly.

“Will you still praise the True Creator at any moment?”

Creeping Hunger continued to struggle, offering no response.

After thinking for a moment, Klein made a concession.

“I allow you to praise Him once per day—morning or evening.”

Creeping Hunger’s struggles weakened, but they did not stop.

Tsk…

Outwardly calm, Klein continued negotiating.

“Then three times a day, according to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, you must warn me in advance.”

After struggling twice more, Creeping Hunger suddenly flattened itself on the tabletop and no longer made any movements.

After another round of communication, Klein smoothly reached an agreement with Creeping Hunger on this matter. However, the requirement that it eat a living person every day belonged to the item’s instinct. It could not be weakened much through communication alone. He would still have to wait for Azik to provide an effective sealing method. For now, all Klein could do was allow Creeping Hunger to be carried even when it had not eaten, though the “food” had to be made up within twenty-four hours.

What a hassle… Thankfully, after fusing with Mr. A and the mushrooms, Creeping Hunger’s living characteristics have grown stronger. Otherwise, there would be no way to communicate with it this specifically…

Klein sighed for a while, then turned to performing divinations on the matters that had recently occurred. He obtained the conclusion that he himself was not in much danger, and preliminarily confirmed that the Caron suicide case involved the influence of Beyonder factors.

After finishing his work, he left the area above the gray fog and returned to the real world, continuing to wait for Mr. Azik’s reply.

…

On Saturday evening, Klein, dressed in formal attire, brought his personal valet Richardson by carriage to Saint Samuel Cathedral to attend the charity banquet held by the Evernight Church.

After passing through the main entrance, he was led by a pastor to a hall on one side.

Here, there was a shrine holding the sacred emblem representing the Evernight Goddess. Several small crystal chandeliers hung from above. In front of it stood slender candles and inverted metal lids filled with oil wax.

At this moment, they had all been lit, illuminating the hall until it was bright and spotless, naturally giving off a sacred flavor.

With one glance, Klein saw orderly rows of chairs and distinguished-looking guests.

The women’s attire was mainly divided into two categories. One type of dress, whether bright-colored or dark, revealed the arms on both sides. The other type used fresh colors and was rather conservative; even the collarbone was only faintly visible, or even covered.

As far as Klein knew, in the Loen Kingdom, this represented the difference between married and unmarried women. Widows and divorced women could choose either style, though the former would generally keep the color tone darker.

Apart from this, Klein also saw one shining necklace after another, exquisitely crafted earrings, and all kinds of precious accessories. Compared to the dances and banquets held by Councilman Macht and by himself, the guests here were clearly much grander.

Stepping into the hall, Klein greeted the bishops he knew, Councilman Macht, and others, exchanging pleasantries and idle talk.

Just then, a sound came from the entrance. After many guests cast their eyes there, they all revealed smiles and went over to welcome the arrivals.

Klein looked over as well. His eyes first brightened, then froze slightly.

At the hall entrance, the most eye-catching figure was a young lady with glossy blond hair falling smoothly down. Her eyes were emerald green, beautiful like gemstones, and like a sea hiding vortices, making it almost impossible for those who looked at them to shift their gaze away.

Her features were bright and beautiful, her bearing exceptional. Her appearance seemed flawless, making both men and women present find it difficult to notice what style of dress she wore or whose designs her accessories were. However, Klein did catch sight of her collarbone necklace: a smooth, flawless pearl was perfectly “set” at the hollow where her collarbones met, softening the lines of her neck and highlighting a sensation that was both pure and alluring.

Klein had seen her. He knew her!

She was Miss Justice of the Tarot Club!

Back then, through the “Magic Mirror Divination,” Klein had seen her appearance!

Abruptly, Klein moved his gaze away, not daring to look longer.

This was his instinctive reaction. The main reason was that he knew Miss Justice was a Beyonder of the Spectator pathway. If he attracted her attention, she could easily read his true thoughts and hidden secrets from changes in expression, body language, and aura.

As thoughts flashed, Klein forcefully turned his head back and once again looked toward Miss Justice’s face.

He had realized that the act of looking away just now was an even bigger and more obvious problem:

How could a gentleman known for appreciating women of different styles not look a few more times when he encountered such an exceptionally beautiful young lady?

At the same time, Audrey sensed an abnormality in one gentleman.

“His temples are already slightly graying. His looks and temperament are quite decent, giving him a sense of depth… This should be Mr. Dawn Dantes, the gentleman who donated more than ten thousand gold pounds and is trying to establish an educational assistance fund for the poor…

“His reaction just now was a little strange. He seemed to be concealing something…”

To Audrey, Dawn Dantes looking away was actually very normal. She had encountered far too many similar situations—certain men, after seeing her, would indeed subconsciously turn their heads and look elsewhere, as if afraid of being discovered by her, afraid of meeting her gaze, afraid of exposing the intoxication that had appeared in that instant.

Therefore, what was strange about Dawn Dantes was not that he had looked away, but that he had then turned his gaze back again. In addition, what Audrey found most problematic was that this gentleman showed more surprise than amazement.

“What is he surprised by? And what is he concealing?”

With such doubts and a faint smile, Audrey followed her parents and elder brother, greeting the people who surrounded them.

Seeing that Miss Justice no longer paid attention to him, Klein secretly breathed out in relief and instinctively thought:

“I must be careful later. I need to play the role of Dawn Dantes well and avoid having the Spectator notice any problem.

“Mm… Regardless of whether Miss Justice noticed anything, I need to prepare a good reason for my abnormal reaction just now…

“Miss Justice really is a young lady from a great noble family. I wonder what her full name is. I’ll ask Macht or Bishop Elektra later…”

While his thoughts纷纷 rose, Klein faintly frowned. He had the feeling that someone else was watching him. Following his spiritual intuition, he hurriedly swept a glance toward the door.

In the shadows beyond the doorway, a golden retriever sat there silently.