Chapter 132: Seeing the “Monster” Again

Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Two
Seeing the “Monster” Again

After finding excuses to temporarily dismiss the maids, Audrey locked the bedroom door behind them, turned around, and looked toward Susie, the golden retriever that might no longer count as merely her pet.

“Did you hear—or, um, encounter anything?”

The large golden retriever sat there with remarkable steadiness. She gave an awooo, vibrating the air around her as she spoke.

“Yes. In the study, I heard the Earl and several members of parliament discussing matters. They said the King and the Prime Minister have reached a consensus and have abandoned, for the short term, the plan to retaliate against the Feysac Empire on East Balam’s coast. Where is East Balam’s coast?”

Seeing the speed at which Susie had mastered Loenese, Audrey’s feelings grew even more complicated. After several seconds of silence, she said, “I will give you a map tomorrow…”

“Okay~” Susie answered cheerfully. “The King and the Prime Minister believe that the most important matter right now is pushing forward the previous reform plan, using open examinations to determine government administrative personnel. They hope to have this passed by both the House of Lords and the House of Commons before October.”

“Truly?” Audrey asked back in surprise and delight.

This was the first matter she had attempted to covertly guide using her own abilities after becoming a Spectator. If it could become reality, it would fill her with a sense of accomplishment.

Susie answered with great honesty, “I cannot give you a definite answer. That is only what I heard. I cannot even understand deeply what they mean. After all, I am only a dog who has just begun learning.”

“…”

Audrey briefly froze. Then she broke into a radiant smile.

“Susie, you did wonderfully! This is your reward!”

She took out a bag from an ornately decorated cabinet, tore it open, and set it before Susie.

These were dog biscuits made by the Backlund Pet Care Company from flour, vegetables, meat, and water—a snack Susie dearly loved.

Susie, who had been sitting properly, twitched her nose. One paw lifted slightly, as though she were considering how to eat in a manner befitting her current identity.

After several seconds, she abandoned thought, followed instinct, lunged forward, snatched up the bag of dry food, and rushed toward the door.

She rose on her hind legs, opened the door with one paw, slipped out, hid in the shadows, and began huffing happily as she enjoyed her snack.

…

Sunday afternoon. After making up at home for the sleep he had missed while guarding Chanis Gate, Klein took a trackless public carriage and arrived once more at the Dragon Bar.

He had originally planned to use divination to locate “Monster” Ademisaul and investigate the reason behind the young man’s recent strangeness, but the Mandated Punisher’s sudden loss of control had interrupted him. He had no choice but to leave it for today.

Passing through the billiards room and entering the underground market, Klein did not need to search this time. He immediately saw Ademisaul curled in a corner, trembling all over.

The pale, sickly-looking young man, his black hair greasy and disordered, sensed Klein approaching and immediately covered his eyes. Pressing himself against the wall, he tried to shuffle toward the side door.

But Klein had already quickened his steps and caught up, blocking his path. At the same time, he quietly tapped the teeth on the left side of his mouth twice.

In his spirit vision, Ademisaul’s aura was quite unhealthy. Every color was somewhat dim. In other words, although the young man suffered from no major illness, his body was extremely weak.

At the same time, Klein discovered that the Monster’s emotional colors showed obvious fear and tension, and that the rational blue of thought was entirely absent.

The surface of his Astral Body had expanded out from the deepest part of his Ether Body. Its color was a perfectly unified transparent, colorless glow, as though made from pure light.

Is this what makes a natural Monster special?

Klein nodded almost imperceptibly. Staring at Ademisaul’s face, he asked directly, “What have you seen recently? What have you encountered? Why are you hiding in a corner, trembling, and saying everyone is dead, everyone is a corpse?”

At this moment, Ademisaul lowered his head and stared at the tips of his own shoes, as though he did not dare look directly at the person before him.

Dressed in grayish-blue trousers and a worn linen shirt, he trembled all over and answered in terror, “No. I did not see anything. Nothing, nothing. I only had a dream. The dream was full of blood. Corpses were everywhere. Hahaha, sob, sob, among the dead was me. Me too! I am going to die. I am going to die! I do not want to die. I do not want to die!”

He laughed and cried at the same time. His answer left Klein feeling as though even his own thoughts were being scrambled.

Rubbing his temples, Klein asked again in a deep voice, “Why are you afraid of me?”

Ademisaul froze for several seconds. Then he suddenly crouched down and cried out in extreme terror, “No!”

“No!”

…

One gaze after another turned toward them. Klein instantly became embarrassed.

I have not done anything to you… Why are you shouting as if I am doing something terrible?

He laughed dryly twice. Seeing that Ademisaul had curled into a trembling ball, begging for mercy and saying nothing else, he could only pull away and pretend he had merely been passing by.

Hm. Perhaps I should ask Mr. Azik about this, but he went north to the Feysac Empire on vacation the week before last and will not return until Thursday or Friday next week… Before that, I should report it to the Captain first…

Klein covered his mouth and yawned, then turned and left the underground market.

After receiving this week’s salary, his private savings had finally stopped bleeding and recovered to eight pounds and ten soli. But when it came to those extraordinary materials, he could still only look at them. Of course, if he did not fear outrageous interest, he could go to the owner, Swain, for a loan.

After leaving the Dragon Bar, while waiting for a public carriage, Klein let his thoughts drift toward his next few matters.

“One more week, and the twelve pounds I initially advanced will be fully paid back. The money I bring home can finally reach three pounds per week. Melissa will not have any excuse to delay hiring a maid-of-all-work anymore… As for the other three pounds, I can hide it a little longer and save some private money…

“And I need to obtain the Telepathist formula from Daxter Guderian as soon as possible, or find corresponding clues. Then, using the reason of funding my subordinate, I can exchange it with Miss Justice for cash… This can be done through a bearer bank account. During the process, I can use divination to add a measure of interference. That should be very safe and will not expose my secret…”

…

After boarding the public carriage, Klein did not go directly to Blackthorn Security Company. He planned to spend two hours at the Divination Club first.

This was preparation for another round of laying groundwork regarding his “digestion” of the potion.

Besides, to Klein, he had now gained some reputation in the “profession” of divination. Old clients would sometimes visit again, and others introduced friends. If timing was convenient, he could even receive more than ten commissions in an afternoon.

In that way, even if he went only twice a week, he could still earn around half a pound. For the poor Mr. Fool, that was no small supplement.

“Sigh. What a pity I spoke too beautifully at the start and built up an image too perfect. I cannot casually change my divination fee now…”

Sitting inside the club’s meeting room, Klein drank Sibe black tea and thought helplessly.

With his current reputation, even if he charged four soli per session, there would still be no lack of clients.

However, as a diviner who respected fate, he could only continue maintaining the price of eight pence.

Although Klein had now completely digested the potion, he was unwilling to risk violating the Seer’s code he had summarized earlier. That included not using divination to obtain excessive profit. After all, he did not know whether doing so would lead to loss of control or other unpleasant consequences.

The Nighthawks’ internal materials contained no concept of “digestion,” so Klein could not judge from them whether some danger still existed even after completely digesting a potion. He could not act against the corresponding rules.

Just as he was thinking over these matters, the pretty receptionist Angelica entered. She walked to his side, bent down, and said quietly, “Mr. Moretti, someone is looking for you for a divination. The Red Agate Room.”

“All right.”

Before coming here, Klein had confirmed whether it was suitable for him to visit the club today and had received an affirmative answer.

He took up his half-top silk hat, left the meeting room, and saw the client waiting outside the door to the Red Agate Room.

The client was a girl around sixteen or seventeen. She wore a light-blue dress with ruffles, held a gauze hat of the same color in her hand, had naturally curled brown hair, a cute baby-fat face, and a pair of youthful, pretty pale-blue eyes.

“Elizabeth?”

Klein recognized her as his sister’s friend, Elizabeth, who studied at Ivos Public School.

He had once helped her choose an amulet, and with her help, he had resolved Selena’s magic mirror divination incident.

Elizabeth also looked pleasantly surprised.

“Mr. Moretti, it really is you? When I saw the name, I wondered whether it might be you.”

“After all, I am a mysticism enthusiast.”

Klein gave a helpless explanation, then added, “Do not tell Melissa. Mm, or Selena.”

My divination clearly said it was suitable to come to the club today, so why did I encounter Elizabeth?

He silently shook his head, turned around, and opened the door to the Red Agate Room.

At the same time, he lightly tapped the teeth on the left side of his mouth twice.

Walking slowly into the room, he sat down in the diviner’s position, then lifted his head and looked at Elizabeth.

With only one glance, his brows furrowed.

The young girl’s aura was stained with a gloomy green carrying a hint of pale black.

The sign of being entangled by a ghost or resentful spirit…

Klein calmly made that judgment and directly asked, “Have you been having nightmares often recently, with certain things repeating in those dreams?”

Elizabeth, who had just locked the door behind them and had not yet sat down, froze in shock. Only after a long while did she answer, “Yes… That is exactly why I came to you.”

Leaning back slightly, Klein asked, “What dream did you have? When did it begin?”

“It began during the last two days of my vacation in Lamud Town. Um, my family has a small manor there.”

Elizabeth counted as half a mysticism enthusiast herself, so she had already recalled the relevant details quite clearly.

“In the dream, I always meet a knight wearing black full-body armor. He carries a huge greatsword. His face is completely covered by the visor of his helmet. I can only see a pair of eyes flashing red. He keeps trying to get close to me. I get scared and run away, but each time the distance between us becomes shorter…”

After thinking for a moment, Klein asked, “In the two or three days before you began having similar dreams, did you come into contact with antiques, ancient ruins, burial items, or mausoleums?”

Elizabeth recalled for more than ten seconds and said, “I… I went to the mountain near Lamud Town during those days. There is an abandoned old castle there.”

This is the standard opening to a supernatural novel…

Klein grumbled inwardly, then pursued, “Did you leave anything behind in the old castle? Or did you take anything away from it?”

Elizabeth knit her lovely brows. After a while, she asked somewhat uncertainly, “At the time, I was scratched by thorns and bled… Does leaving blood count?”

Klein nodded solemnly and answered in a deep voice, “It counts.”