Chapter 125: Experienced Klein

Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Five
Experienced Klein

Hearing Audrey give an affirmative answer, Madam Norma immediately laughed.

“What an honest child.”

“I happen to know some very knowledgeable experts in mysticism. Would you be interested in chatting with them?”

“That would be wonderful. It is exactly what I hoped for. Praise the Goddess.”

Audrey deliberately revealed surprise as she drew the crimson moon upon her chest.

With a smile in her eyes, Madam Norma gently nodded.

“What do you think about having afternoon tea together tomorrow?”

“No problem.”

Audrey’s excited eyes carried a few traces of innocence.

After bidding farewell to Madam Norma and walking back toward the drawing room, her smile slowly settled, and her bearing became quiet, composed, and leisurely.

Her body language, the colors of her emotions, and the tiny changes in the external reflections of her Mind Body all show that she bears no malice, but is rather nervous… It seems Madam Norma may truly be a member of the Psychology Alchemists… Mm. She had been observing my expressions and movements just now, but she could not adjust or conceal her own emotions. Perhaps, like Susie, she is also a Spectator. Unfortunately, she does not know that the one before her is a Telepathist…

Audrey thought with both anxiety and pride. Unable to resist, she let her feet alternately step forward, gracefully walking along a straight line.

…

Inside Isengard Stanton’s house in Hillston Borough.

Klein’s lips moved a few times, but in the end, he did not ask Stuart who the client was, or what the client looked like.

He decided to avoid involving himself in Emlyn White’s affairs as much as possible.

Although, from his own account, he was a law-abiding vampire, that was limited entirely to his own description. There were still too many blanks in his earlier life, and Klein could not confirm whether he truly had never harmed an innocent.

In that case, he lacked the motivation to go find Father Utravsky and rescue the other party. That priest was a Dawn Paladin who was very good at combat, aided by mystical items, and no longer weakened.

Moreover, doing so would very easily expose his real identity in front of both Father Utravsky and Emlyn White.

I hope he earns that very fight-capable priest’s approval as soon as possible and completes his “sentence,” leaving “prison”…

Klein silently tapped four points clockwise on his chest for Emlyn White.

Once the bounty had been divided, the detectives successively said their farewells. Klein even received the highest treatment: the great detective Isengard personally seeing him to the door.

Holding his pipe, Isengard coughed twice and said, “There are still a few points of suspicion in the serial murder case that have not yet been cleared up. Perhaps behind the culprit, there is an even more vicious fellow hidden. You must be careful recently. Do not loudly proclaim that you played an important role in this case.”

Looks like the official Beyonders also suspect that demonic giant hound had an owner…

Klein solemnly responded, “I understand. I have similar guesses myself.”

“Mr. Stanton, you should also be careful. You were the one who convened the gathering, and you are the main collaborator with the police.”

Isengard put the pipe into his mouth, then took it out again.

“Sherlock—I will call you Sherlock. You can rest assured. Although I am no longer young, I remain an outstanding fighter, an excellent marksman, and I possess vigilance that has already become instinct.”

And there is a high probability that you are a Beyonder of no low Sequence. I simply do not know which pathway you belong to…

After thinking, Klein said, “Mr. Stanton, you do not seem to be a native of Backlund? Your accent is closer to Sivellaus County.”

“Yes, just as yours resembles the eastern coast of the Midsea,” Isengard admitted frankly.

The two detectives immediately exchanged a smile, both acknowledging each other’s quiet ability to observe things.

Before dusk, Klein returned to 15 Minsk Street.

Mm. I now have 1,224 pounds in banknotes, plus five gold coins and a small amount of change. Compared to when I first arrived in Backlund, I am already rather well-off. But the Beyonder materials for Sequence 6 cost at least 1,500 pounds each. Sometimes, because they are rare and seldom appear, the price might even double. And the Beyonders able to obtain such items will not have too low a Sequence. They cannot possibly misjudge the value and sell at a low price. In other words, there is no chance of picking up a bargain…

Although the lady with an Artisan behind her is extremely eager for the potion formulas of the Black Emperor pathway, I still have to consider the pace of her advancement. When she is still only Sequence 9, it is nearly impossible for her to spend a large sum of money in advance to buy a Sequence 6 formula, unless her family owns a mine or runs a bank… Mm. I also cannot keep shearing the same sheep forever…

Amid scattered thoughts, Klein did not hurry to prepare dinner. He returned to his bedroom, drew the curtains shut, and entered above the gray fog.

He had just formed an idea and needed to verify it.

Taking the seat belonging to The Fool, he reached out and picked up the ancient brass-colored Master Key.

According to the notebook he had obtained last night from the Abraham descendant, Klein guessed that the other party had lost control on the spot because he had chosen to advance during the full moon.

Therefore, the Master Key’s curse-like ability to make people get lost in unfortunate places likely originated not only from the remnant Beyonder characteristic that carried resentment and unwillingness, but also had a significant chance of having been contaminated by Mr. Door’s illusory ravings.

“Then, during the full moon, what will happen to it?”

Klein muttered once.

He manifested paper and pen and wrote down the divination statement he had long prepared:

“Its state during the full moon.”

One hand holding the paper and the other holding the Master Key, Klein leaned back against his chair and laughed at himself.

“I’m courting death again…”

“But this time, there should not be any great danger. Mr. Door is far from the real world, lost in the depths of darkness, and I also have the gray fog as a barrier.”

Under these circumstances, divining the degree of danger was not very different from directly divining the matter itself. Experienced Klein half closed his eyes, his pupils darkening as he repeatedly recited:

“Its state during the full moon.”

…

After seven repetitions, Klein sank into a dream.

Within that gray, fragmented, illusory world, he once again saw the basement where the Abraham descendant had died.

The flesh and blood there had long since dried. The diamond-set silver pocket watch and the ancient-looking Master Key had not yet been stolen; they still lay upon the floor.

Suddenly, a sharp, hollow, illusory voice echoed in Klein’s ears.

It was like a fine needle piercing into his head, extending bit by bit, stabbing and stirring bit by bit, as though it wanted to peel off his entire scalp intact.

That extreme pain jolted Klein awake. He sat up abruptly.

He saw blue veins on the back of his hand bulge one after another, only to quickly settle down again.

“Mm. Much easier than peeking at the Eternal Blazing Sun or eavesdropping on the True Creator’s roar…”

Klein changed from pressing his hand down to tapping the table, thinking leisurely.

Of course, if this had been outside, he believed he definitely would not have reacted only like this.

“If Miss Magician had always heard this sort of cry for help, she would have lost control long ago… It seems that because the Master Key produced a curse, that voice became much clearer. No, that is not quite right. Father Utravsky should have spent the night of the blood moon while carrying the Master Key, and he clearly was not affected…”

“Perhaps he had placed the Master Key in his bedroom at the time, while he himself was confessing in the outer hall. Mm, only by coming into contact with the Master Key can one hear the ‘cry for help’ during the full moon?”

“Hoo. Before I become a high-Sequence powerhouse, I would not dare listen to it in the real world… What I just heard seemed to be the ancient Hermes word for ‘requesting help.’”

Klein carefully recalled it several times and confirmed the result of his hearing.

Regarding that, he could only twitch the corners of his mouth, unsure whether he should laugh or cry.

“So this is a true, life-demanding cry for help!”

“What a pity. If only I could make those fellows from the Rose School of Thought hear Mr. Door’s cry for help on the night of the full moon. Those whose personalities have already become cold and twisted would surely explode one by one.”

After carefully thinking over whether there was some way to achieve this indirectly, Klein returned to the real world. Following the plan he had arranged, he ate dinner, changed clothes, and went out.

He changed transportation twice and arrived outside Bravehearts Bar. He merely went in, walked around once, ordered no alcohol, and left.

During that process, he discovered that Kaspars had returned.

After walking one street away, Klein specifically boarded a rental carriage and instructed the driver to head toward Cherwood Borough.

The horses had only just begun to move when an illusory figure outlined itself before his eyes. It was Miss Sharron, dressed in a black court dress.

“Are you prepared?” Sharron asked coldly.

The small black soft hat atop her head firmly pressed down her pale-gold hair. Matched with her pale face and delicate features, it gave her a doll-like beauty.

Klein answered frankly, “Not yet.”

“I am still waiting for one item.”

No ripple appeared in Sharron’s blue eyes as she said, “I have prepared mystical items.”

So that was why she accepted a three-day, one-thousand-pound bodyguard commission? She had taken a liking to an item back then, but did not have enough money?

With some dawning understanding, Klein smiled.

“There is no need to be anxious. The more thoroughly we prepare, the greater our certainty.”

And a mystical item of the Sun domain is something I can usually use too. It happens to make up for my weakness…

Klein added that line in his heart.

Seeing that Sharron no longer spoke, he took the initiative and said, “I came today because I want you and Maric to cooperate in an experiment.”

“What?” Sharron asked with her customary brevity.

Klein assumed an upright, grave, and trustworthy expression.

“Based on Maric’s description, I believe the manifestations of your curses are different. During the full moon, his pain becomes so intense that he cannot fight because he must resist those mad urges for slaughter and blood. Meanwhile, you, if unable to absorb human souls, enter a weakened state. Is that correct?”

Sharron listened quietly and lightly nodded.

“Yes.”

“I temporarily have no solution for your problem. But regarding Maric, I believe there remains a possibility of temporary suppression. For instance, he might take a corresponding drug that places him in a state without emotional fluctuations. That way, during that period, he would not suffer, and would be able to fully take part in battle.”

Klein explained his idea.

Sharron shook her head.

“No.”

“Those types of drugs no longer work on him.”

No longer? In other words, they once did?

Thoughtfully, Klein asked, “Why?”

“He injected too many before. Even switching to other varieties only worked the first three or four times. We can no longer find any new varieties…”

As Sharron spoke, she suddenly fell silent, as though something had occurred to her.

Hearing her words, Klein immediately smiled.

“I have a sedative here of a variety different from the others. It came from that Apothecary.”

Seeing that Sharron did not say this sedative would be ineffective, he interlaced his hands and continued, “I will first give you one vial and let Maric test it during the full moon. Tomorrow night is the full moon.”

“If it is effective, before the battle, let him drink two vials at once—or even three.”

As for whether resistance will eventually develop to this one as well, that is not something that needs to be considered right now…

Klein thought calmly.