Chapter 34: The Cause and Course of Events

Chapter Thirty-Four
The Cause and Course of Events

The figure in the mirror became clear, but the woman in the black court dress was no longer there. It was as though she had never appeared.

Klein quietly activated spirit vision, but still found nothing.

I did not hire a female ghost as my bodyguard, did I? This is even stranger than a female ghost… At least spirit vision can see ghosts…

Thoughtfully, Klein touched Azik’s copper whistle in his pocket. He felt only its usual coolness and coldness, with no additional change.

Not affected by the copper whistle… It seems she is not of the undead type… But that cannot be confirmed. Back when the copper whistle was buried with me, the dead people around me did not show any abnormality either… Was that because everyone buried in the graveyard had undergone rites of requiem by priests and bishops?

When exactly does it take effect, and when does it not?

Once the ambassador’s matter is over—if I am still alive—I will go to a graveyard and run some experiments, trying to determine its range and limitations. I cannot keep carrying something that feels like a time bomb…

Klein washed his face, then turned and left the washroom.

He had only just picked up the newspaper in the living room, preparing to read in the sitting room or bedroom, when he suddenly heard the doorbell ring.

Amid the dinging and clanging, Klein’s mind abruptly tightened. Highly alert, he put on his coat containing various materials and walked toward the door.

He clearly remembered that danger would descend within the next few days.

Standing behind the door and waiting for a moment, Klein naturally saw the scene outside in his mind.

The crimson moon appeared and vanished in the sky. Elegant gas lamps on both sides of the street illuminated the damp road. A boy in an old coat stood there, his bright-red eyes deep and carrying a trace of confusion.

Ian Wright? Why has he appeared? Is this not the scene I saw in my dream divination? Is this the omen of danger arriving?

Klein pulled open the door and warily retreated two steps.

“Detective Moriarty.”

Ian removed his brown round-topped hat, bowed slightly, and said, “I am here to apologize. I am very sorry for involving you in such a dangerous incident.”

Klein furrowed his brows slightly.

“The thing you should do most is go to the police station.”

Ian looked around and lowered his head slightly.

“I just came out of MI9.”

Ah? So that is the name of the military’s special department?

Klein stepped aside and pointed toward the living room.

“Perhaps we can talk.”

At the very least, I need to know what kind of matter dragged me into such a passive situation…

He sighed inwardly.

Ian did not stand on ceremony. He followed Klein into the living room and sat in the same place as last time.

He was about to speak when Klein suddenly added, “If what you intend to say will place me in even greater danger, then you need not say it.”

“It will not. Everything is nearly over,” Ian said, with calmness that did not match his age.

Klein breathed out in relief and asked in puzzlement, “Then what exactly happened?”

Before his voice had even fallen, he abruptly saw a figure appear on the glass of the oriel window across the living room: black court dress, pale-golden hair tied up, blue eyes, exquisite features, and a pale face. It was precisely the woman who had greeted Klein from the wash mirror earlier.

The woman seemed to have found an illusory high-backed chair. She sat down, propped her left hand beneath her right elbow, rested her right hand against her cheek, and took on a blankly listening posture.

…

For a moment, Klein actually did not know how he ought to react.

At that moment, Ian, after several seconds of silence, said in a low voice, “In truth, Detective Zeriel was a spy of the Feysac Empire. He adopted several street children and taught them techniques for gathering intelligence. I was one of them.”

So that is how it is… I was swept into a major espionage case…

Klein suddenly understood.

Ian looked at the coffee table and continued, “We had the advantage of age. People often did not pay attention to us, so we could gather a great deal of useful intelligence. Two weeks ago, I accidentally discovered a clue to the Helmosuin manuscript.”

“Helmosuin?”

Klein felt that the surname sounded somewhat familiar.

Ian lifted his head, looked at him, and explained, “Turani von Helmosuin, the greatest scientist, mathematician, and mechanic after Emperor Roselle—the father of the second-generation Difference Engine.”

So it was him!

Klein immediately remembered the relevant introduction.

This man was not only a great scientist, but also a mad scientist. He believed that humanity had essential flaws and could only obtain the ultimate truth through machines. He loved eating sugar and seemed to treat it as his source of energy. While researching the third-generation Difference Engine, he mysteriously disappeared. He was an important figure that many countries were working hard to find.

“His manuscript? A manuscript involving the third-generation Difference Engine?” Klein probed.

The Difference Engine was a mechanical device used for calculation. It could effectively increase the efficiency of scientific research and various engineering projects. In Klein’s eyes, it was an alternative computer of the steam age—although at present, it possessed only computational ability.

Ian shook his head.

“I am not sure. I did not actually see it. Perhaps there were some related ideas in it.

He paused, then once again spoke of the course of events.

“I reported this matter to Detective Zeriel. He was very happy and told me to follow that clue and continue investigating, while he immediately reported it to his superior.

“I spent some time and finally confirmed the manuscript’s whereabouts. But I was afraid of danger and did not steal it directly. I decided to return to Detective Zeriel first. After that, what happened was what I already told you. Detective Zeriel’s home had been infiltrated. Many of the small mechanisms had not been restored. He also did not respond to my agreed method of contact. And people from the Zmanger gang tried to capture me…

“Through your help, I confirmed Detective Zeriel’s death and took a false tooth from his corpse. Mm, after we parted.

“Detective Zeriel had told me before that the inner side of that false tooth was engraved with an emergency method to contact his superior—a method even he himself did not know. It was to be removed only if an accident happened.”

Klein nodded gently.

“So you sent a telegram?”

A rare expression of astonishment flashed across Ian’s face.

“Did MI9 tell you?”

“No. A friend of mine happened to see you on White Rum Street,” Klein casually fabricated a reason.

“Mm.”

Ian nodded dejectedly.

“Through the telegram, I contacted Detective Zeriel’s superior in Backlund and used a cipher to arrange the time, place, and method of meeting. But very soon, I was found by the Zmanger gang. No, more accurately, by Intis intelligence personnel. That was what MI9 told me.

“Fortunately, MI9 arrived in time. Both sides fell into a chaotic fight, and I took the chance to escape.

“But when I met Detective Zeriel’s superior this afternoon, I once again encountered an ambush by Intis intelligence personnel. Unfortunately, they captured me. I—I was afraid of dying, so I told them everything I knew. Yet they did not keep their promise. They still wanted to kill me. At that moment, MI9 finally found us.”

Only now do you resemble a boy of fifteen or sixteen…

Klein had just started sighing inwardly when he suddenly thought of a problem from what Ian had said.

Previously, when he had discovered that Zeriel’s corpse still had what seemed to be a very important item on it, and that Ian had successfully taken it away, he had merely assumed that the opposing Beyonder’s level was not high and their strength insufficient. Their spirit channeling had not been effective, allowing many useful details to be missed.

But after confirming that the ambassador’s subordinate included a mid-Sequence Beyonder of the Diviner pathway, the matter became extremely strange. Under powerful spirit channeling, it was impossible for the false tooth not to be discovered.

And for the corpse to be thrown in such a remote and hard-to-find place did not look like a preset trap.

Combined with Ian’s description just now, the answer was already obvious.

Klein nodded once.

“Have you considered that there is a traitor beside Zeriel’s superior—a traitor who turned to the Intis intelligence agency?

“That is the reason Zeriel was exposed and killed after obtaining clues to the manuscript. It is also the reason both of your meetings were ambushed.”

Precisely because Ambassador Intis’s side had grasped the situation regarding Zeriel’s superior, they had paid little attention to the emergency contact method engraved inside the false tooth.

Zeriel’s report to his superior directly led to his accident.

Ian listened in a daze. Only after a long time did he clench his fist in regret and struggle to remain calm as he said, “I did not think of that. You truly are an outstanding detective…”

He quietly exhaled, then went on.

“I also told MI9 the manuscript’s whereabouts and everything else. They casually mentioned your experience. Heh. They actually did not suspect I was lying, and they did not even send anyone to watch me. They all went to fight over the manuscript. But under that sort of pressure, no one can lie.”

At that point, Ian stood and bowed deeply.

“Please allow me to apologize once more.

“I am sorry for involving you in this matter. In truth, you had no need to hide anything for me.”

Having understood the causes and consequences, Klein smiled.

“No. In this matter, I mainly ended up in my present situation because of my own mistakes.”

As he listened to Ian, he had also been reviewing the entire matter based on Ian’s description and his own reflections over the past few days. He confirmed that he had made two mistakes.

Taking Ian’s commission even after realizing the waters were somewhat deep had not been an issue. At the time, he merely felt that it involved a gang, and at most—at most—one or two Beyonders hiding in the shadows who could not expose themselves. Since divination lacked sufficient information, it had failed. This had been within the range of what he could resolve himself. Under normal circumstances, there would not have been too much trouble, and he might even have seized the chance to come into contact with Backlund’s Beyonder circles.

After finding Zeriel’s corpse and confirming that the waters were very deep, immediately and decisively withdrawing due to the sensitivity of his own identity and letting Ian handle the rest himself had been even less of a problem. It had been a rather cautious choice.

One of the mistakes Klein had made was that when Meursault came to his door, he had not decisively admitted defeat and spilled everything related to Ian. But at the time, he had only thought the other party was a gang member, or one of the Beyonders behind a gang. Who could have known that it would involve someone like the Intis ambassador? And what was even more unexpected was that Meursault had been so reckless. When the commission failed, he had not threatened or intimidated him, not followed any other procedure, but had instead directly come to kill him and channel his spirit, giving Klein no chance at all to change his mind. From that point onward, Klein’s situation had worsened.

Therefore, that was not too subjective or too serious a mistake.

The mistake that truly caused him to become so passive was the small one at the very beginning: when renting a house and accepting commissions in the name of Sherlock Moriarty, he had not disguised himself.

That resulted in this: after his Beyonder identity was exposed to the ambassador, he did not dare run away. Even after he acted frightened and panicked, making MI9 and the police department believe that it was natural for him to flee, he still did not dare run, because he feared that once the ambassador had no target for revenge, the man might casually mention him to the authorities. And based on Klein’s experience as a Nighthawk, most “law enforcers” carried hostility toward uncontrolled Beyonders. They would not ignore him just because his Sequence was low. They would inevitably launch an investigation.

At that time, his appearance would become clear and undeniable evidence. Because the matter involved a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact and resurrection from death, he would be hunted by high-Sequence powerhouses of the Church of the Goddess.

Something like this could not be entrusted to the hope that the other party might suddenly forget or fail to take it seriously. He had to prepare for the worst in advance. If he waited until the ambassador took action before responding, it would definitely be too late. Whether assassination, finding a bodyguard, or buying items, all of them required sufficient time.

Only if the ambassador died, and his assistant died along with him—or if attention shifted to investigating the ambassador’s cause of death—could Klein resolve this hidden danger. The assistant had no official identity and could not directly contact the authorities. For a trivial Sequence 9, at most Sequence 8, and someone whose whereabouts were unknown, that person would definitely not go to great trouble to report him.

Of course, the best result would be for the assistant to die as well. Then there would be no hidden danger at all.

Compared with seeking Mr. Azik’s help, being once again drawn into 0-08’s field of vision, or being hunted by high-Sequence powerhouses, assassinating the ambassador was the relatively simplest option… If it failed, then he could only bear one of those two outcomes.

Sigh. Everything, all of it, stems from that tiny negligence at the very beginning. I only thought that I had arrived in a metropolis with more than five million people, a metropolis where almost no one knew me, and I had avoided the Nighthawks. There was no need to disguise myself every day. That, instead, would easily make others notice something wrong. In the end, for such a small mistake, I now have to pay a price of more than ten thousand gold pounds, and it may not even resolve the issue…

It really is like a clown. Commit one mistake, trigger a chain reaction, then struggle with all one’s might, trying to maintain balance, using all of that to please the audience…

This is what it means to suffer from lack of experience. Across two lifetimes, this is the first time I have ever been a “fugitive.”

Once this matter is thoroughly resolved, exposing my Beyonder identity will not be so dangerous. They will only think I obtained a potion during the recent process of seeking a bodyguard, rather than suspecting the issue of my origins. Of course, from now on, I must get used to wearing glasses and growing facial hair, allowing people around me to gradually grow accustomed to my new image. In the future, when anyone mentions me, this will be the only appearance they can think of.

Having figured out the entire matter, Klein’s smile became more and more obvious, making Ian feel that something about him was strange.

“I should go. I need to disappear for a while. Otherwise, I will very likely be thrown into prison.”

Ian put on his hat and took his leave.

Klein did not stop him. He watched Ian vanish into the crimson moonlight, while the lady on the oriel window had disappeared at some unknown time.