Chapter 70: “2-049” Arrives

Chapter Seventy
“2-049” Arrives

Clip-clop. Clip-clop. Clip-clop.

Hooves struck the road; wheels rolled forward.

Klein, who had activated spirit vision and turned around to look, failed to see the gentle, sweet-looking young lady as he had wished. All that filled his eyes was the brown body of the carriage moving away.

At that moment, all the passengers waiting at that stop had already boarded the public carriage. Its door shut tight as it gradually receded into the distance.

Inside the carriage, twenty or thirty humans sat too close to one another. Their auras overlapped and masked each other, appearing to Klein as a riot of colors, dazzling and crowded to the point that distinguishing anything was genuinely difficult.

He shook his head soundlessly, raised his hand, and tapped the space between his brows, closing his spirit vision.

For him, what had happened just now was a simple, plain impulse: since he had encountered someone, if he could help, he would help. But if he had already missed the chance, and the situation was not especially clear, there was no need to keep brooding over it and delay his own affairs.

Bathed in crimson moonlight, he strolled along Daffodil Street, which was still fairly lively at this hour, and returned home. There he saw Melissa sitting at the dining table, bent over the exercises assigned by her school beneath the bright glow of the gas lamp.

She lightly bit the end of her fountain pen, brows slightly drawn together, lost in hard thought.

“Where is Benson?” Klein asked casually.

“Ah…”

Melissa raised her head. After several seconds of blankness, she answered, “He said he walked through several districts today and sweated all over. He wanted to take a good bath and relax.”

“All right.”

Klein laughed softly. Only then did he suddenly notice that Melissa was wearing a dress he had never seen before.

Its overall color was a creamy white. It had fashionable leg-of-mutton sleeves, and the neckline and the edges of the front were trimmed with thin gauze ruffles. Aside from that, there was no overly complicated design. It was light and suitable for daily wear, perfectly setting off the youthfulness of a girl of sixteen or seventeen.

“A new dress?” Klein asked with a smile.

This was an expenditure he and Benson had insisted upon earlier.

Melissa gave an “mm.”

“I just picked it up from Mrs. Rochelle. Since I would have to wash it later anyway, I thought I might as well try it on first.”

Klein listened in some confusion.

“Mrs. Rochelle?”

Isn’t she our former neighbor?

Melissa nodded and seriously explained, “Mrs. Rochelle is actually a seamstress. She has simply been unlucky and has had to make a living mending and sewing for others at home. Her circumstances are, mm, a little difficult. I know her skill is good, her prices are cheaper than buying from a ladies’ hat and dress shop, and the fit is better too. So I ordered the dress from her. It cost only nine soli and five pence, and it took only a few days. The same style of dress at Harold Department Store costs a whole pound and a half!”

So thrifty and good at managing a household… Sister, I know at least half your reason is sympathy for Mrs. Rochelle…

Klein did not criticize Melissa’s decision. Instead, he smiled and said, “When did you ever visit Harold Department Store?”

It was in the Howes Street area, near the Divination Club, and belonged to places that only the middle class or above could really afford.

“…”

Melissa was at a loss for words for a while. Only after a long time did she say, “Selena and Elizabeth insisted that I go with them. Actually, mm, I actually prefer gears. I prefer places with steam and machinery. Mm.”

“It is perfectly fine for girls to occasionally visit a department store.”

Klein smiled, soothing his sister.

After chatting idly for a few more sentences, he, eager to wash away the mixed smells from the bar, quickly went up to the second floor.

Just as he was about to return to his bedroom to collect clean clothes, he suddenly heard movement from the washroom near the small balcony.

A few seconds later, Benson opened the door and emerged, wiping his hairline—which seemed to be retreating day by day.

Seeing Klein, he smiled and asked, “How was it? Did you compliment Melissa’s new dress?”

“I seem to have forgotten. I only asked where it was made…” Klein thought for a moment before answering.

Benson immediately shook his head with a chuckle.

“What an unqualified elder brother. When Melissa first received that dress, she could barely put it down. After she finally finished cooking and washing the dishes, she could hardly wait to put it on. She still has not taken it off even now.”

“…Didn’t she say she wanted to wait until after bathing before changing out of it? Then wash and starch it while she was at it…”

Klein instinctively refuted him using Melissa’s own explanation.

“Tsk,” Benson said with a sigh. “It has been rather hot these past few days, and she was busy in the kitchen for quite a while. Wouldn’t doing homework after bathing be much more comfortable than doing it now?”

That is true…

Klein immediately understood. He and his elder brother Benson looked at each other and smiled.

So that is what you are like, Melissa… What is wrong with a girl loving beauty? There is no need to find excuses to cover it up.

The corner of his mouth lifted. Lightly shaking his head, he entered his own bedroom.

Later, while bathing, Klein faintly heard knocking from downstairs. His heart immediately filled with doubt.

Didn’t the worker who collects coins from the gas meter come only once every two weeks?

Could it be Mrs. Shod from next door? No, that lady is said to strictly follow middle-class etiquette. She would not visit at an inappropriate time.

Puzzled, Klein dried himself, put on his old but comfortable shirt and trousers, and quickly ran downstairs.

He looked around and found no strangers, so he asked aloud, “Was someone knocking just now?”

Benson, leisurely reading the newspaper, smiled.

“It was Bitch Mountbatten, one of the policemen in charge of Iron Cross Street. He asked whether we had encountered an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old boy with a round face today. Heh. He even gave us a portrait to identify. Unfortunately, neither Melissa nor I have seen him. Otherwise we might have received a reward. What about you, Klein?”

“No,” Klein answered, roughly understanding what was happening.

The Instigator Tris had successfully escaped from the Dragon Bar area of the docks district and fled to the vicinity of Iron Cross Street and Daffodil Street. That was why the police had come knocking door to door.

And for things to have reached this stage, it meant the operation to capture the Instigator was close to failure.

Klein did not think further about the matter. He had not begun combat training yet, and his shooting could only be considered newly started. At such a time, thinking about dealing with a born Assassin was practically joking with his own life.

That night, he slept poorly, constantly worrying that the Instigator might sneak into his home to hide and create another bloody case.

Fortunately, Daffodil Street remained peaceful the entire night. Morning sunlight drove away every shadow.

Relaxing at last, Klein changed into formal wear, put on his top hat, picked up his cane, and made his way to Zouteland Street, greeting Rozanne in the reception hall.

“Good morning, Klein.”

Rozanne responded cheerfully, then lowered her voice.

“I heard last night’s big operation failed?”

“The operation to capture Tris the Instigator?” Klein asked curiously.

“Mm-hmm!”

Rozanne nodded vigorously and glanced at the partition.

“It seems an informant from the Mandated Punishers spotted the Instigator in the docks district… Their original plan was to wait until other Beyonders and a special police action team had all arrived, then move together and settle it in one strike without disturbing ordinary people. Unfortunately, that Instigator was very sharp. He discovered the problem in time, broke out early, and successfully escaped.”

“At a time like that, they needed a Beyonder with tracking abilities. Someone like me,” Klein joked.

“At that time, they were not lacking trackers.”

Suddenly, Dunn Smith’s voice sounded.

Rozanne jerked her head around and saw the Captain wearing a black windbreaker, leaning lightly against the partition doorway. His deep gray eyes were fixed upon her.

She hurriedly raised both hands, covering her mouth, then shook her head repeatedly, indicating that she had said nothing.

Dunn shifted his gaze to Klein. After pondering for a moment, he said, “The Mandated Punishers, the Machinery Hivemind, and we Nighthawks—more than six Beyonders in total—tracked the wounded Tris to Lower Iron Cross Street and found his temporary residence. However, the trail ended there. Whether through extraordinary means or ordinary investigation, all traces ceased to function. It was as if he had suddenly evaporated and vanished completely.”

“Do you need me to help through divination?” Klein asked tentatively.

Dunn shook his head slightly.

“The Machinery Hivemind has a Mystery Pryer, a seasoned Beyonder not much worse than Old Neil. I even suspect he has already reached Sequence 8, though I do not know the corresponding potion name.”

“For the Gnosis Society to have survived until now, they must certainly have their own special qualities,” Klein said casually, offering the Captain a line of comfort.

Throughout the following morning, he continued as before: mysticism lessons, reading historical materials and documents, practicing certain techniques.

As lunchtime gradually approached, Klein became somewhat absent-minded.

A few more minutes passed before he simply began tidying away the materials, obeying the summons of his stomach.

Just then, Dunn Smith entered the civilian staff office. His voice was deep and mellow.

“Klein, come with me to Chanis Gate. Sealed Artifact 2-049 has been escorted here. The operation afterward may require your sense toward that notebook.”

“…All right.”

Klein stood and answered.

Thoughts began blooming one after another inside his heart: What would that Sealed Artifact look like? Would the operation be dangerous?

In that slightly tense silence, he followed Dunn down the stairs and into the underground corridor.

After they passed straight through the crossroads, Dunn suddenly stopped, turned his head slightly, and said gravely, “Follow me in this movement. Keep doing it the entire time. Absolutely do not stop. Remember, absolutely do not stop. This concerns your safety!”

As he spoke, Dunn bent his arm, then stretched it out. He stretched it out, then bent it again, repeating the cycle without pause.

Klein stared blankly at the Captain’s demonstration. Then inspiration flashed through him, and he said, “Because of the special nature of that Sealed Artifact?”

“Yes.”

Dunn nodded with unusual solemnity.

“This movement will let us discover immediately if something has gone wrong with you. As long as you are rescued in time, there will be no danger to your life.”

“Mm.”

Klein hesitated no longer and began doing the “arm-bending and arm-stretching exercise” with him.

“If that arm gets tired, switch to the other one,” Dunn reminded him.

Sealed Artifact 2-049 is truly strange… What meaning could this movement possibly have? It sounds extremely dangerous…

Thoughts flickering, Klein looked cautiously at the Captain and said, “All right.”

He had too many questions in his heart, but Chanis Gate was already in sight, so he could only forcibly suppress them.

Besides, given my confidentiality level, I probably cannot learn the details anyway. I can only do as instructed…

Klein exhaled and followed Captain Dunn to the duty room outside Chanis Gate.