Knock, knock.
In the evening, Klein, wearing an apron and already busy in the kitchen for twenty minutes, had just finished a pot of braised beef with potatoes when he heard a rhythmic knock at the door.
He set down the fork he'd been using to taste the beef, put the lid back on the pot, and leaned halfway out to look toward the door.
At this hour, it should be Benson and Melissa returning home. But they both had keys, so they could just unlock the door, no need to knock.
Did Benson rush out this morning and forget his key?
Klein thought for a few seconds, wiped his hands on the hem of his light blue apron, which had a bit of oil on it, and then walked out of the kitchen to the door.
To be safe, he first cautiously asked the visitor's identity.
"It's Crestet Cesimir. We worked together with you and Leonard in Tingen on the Ince Zangwill incident."
The man outside spoke in a familiar voice. Klein relaxed a little, opened the door slightly, and when he saw that only Crestet Cesimir was standing outside, only then did Klein fully open the door, smiling as he said, "Mr. Crestet Cesimir, what brings you to my home so suddenly?"
"Mr. Klein, we meet again," Crestet Cesimir replied. "I apologize for the unannounced visit."
"Please, come in. Would you like tea or coffee?" Klein stepped aside to let him in.
"Just a simple tea is fine. I travel often and don't have many preferences in that regard."
Crestet Cesimir entered the house and sat on the sofa. Seeing Klein still in his apron and catching the faint aroma of food from the kitchen, he chuckled lightly. "Looks like I came at just the right time."
"You flatter me. I got off work early today, so I decided to cook something at home. Just some ordinary dishes."
As he spoke, Klein brewed a cup of tea for both of them, then removed his apron and brought the cups over.
After chatting casually for a bit, Crestet Cesimir explained the purpose of his visit.
He wanted to invite Klein to go with him to Southville County to handle matters at Puning Port.
For this assignment, Archbishop Anthony had allowed him to choose a few assistants, and the first person he thought of was Klein.
"Why would you choose to invite me to Southville County?" Klein asked, confusion evident in his eyes. Since arriving in Backlund, he hadn't had much contact with Crestet Cesimir, and their personal relationship was fairly ordinary.
Crestet Cesimir glanced at him and explained, "Because this matter is connected to Ince Zangwill, and you've had prior contact with him."
He smiled slightly. "Of course, that's not the main reason. The real reason is that I think you possess a kind of good fortune, something I lack."
Klein chuckled. "That sounds a bit too abstract."
"No, not at all. When it comes to supernatural matters, some people are simply favored by luck. It often shows in how they can turn dangerous situations into safe ones. You already proved that during the 008 incident," Crestet Cesimir explained patiently.
Klein let out a small sigh of relief. For a moment, he had thought Crestet Cesimir might have noticed something unusual about him.
After thinking for a while, Klein asked, "Since this is official business, why not directly requisition me instead of visiting privately?"
Crestet Cesimir replied sincerely, "I wanted to give you a chance to choose freely. A formal requisition would be faster and more convenient, but you don't seem to want to leave Backlund, so I came in person."
Klein fell silent for a moment, then looked up curiously. "How do you know I don't want to leave Backlund?"
"From your daily life. You go home to spend time with your family after work every day, and you don't show much interest in going out or being in lively environments. Based on that, I made the inference."
Seeing Klein's expression turn a bit awkward, Crestet Cesimir added, "Don't misunderstand. I haven't been following you or hiring private investigators. I just heard quite a bit about you from your colleagues."
Klein's expression eased slightly, but he didn't immediately respond to the invitation. The room fell silent.
Click.
The sound of a key turning in the lock.
Before the door fully opened, Benson's slightly exaggerated voice could already be heard: "Klein, what delicious thing did you cook tonight? I could smell the stewed beef from the corridor!"
Benson walked in, first changing out of his dirt-stained shoes, then looked up and noticed the guest.
He froze for a moment and looked toward Klein.
"Benson, this is Mr. Crestet Cesimir. He helped me in Tingen before and is also my colleague. He's been working in Backlund."
Klein gave a brief introduction. Crestet Cesimir smiled kindly at Benson, then stood up and looked at Klein again.
"I'll be leaving Backlund at 8 a.m. tomorrow. I hope you'll think it over carefully."
After Crestet Cesimir left, Benson frowned slightly. "Klein, are you going to leave Backlund?"
Klein shook his head. "I haven't decided yet whether I'll go on this trip. Mr. Crestet Cesimir is letting me choose."
"A business trip…" Benson hesitated, then looked toward the kitchen and smiled. "Let me try your cooking first."
"Braised beef with potatoes. I'm quite confident about this dish." Klein smiled and followed Benson into the kitchen.
About ten minutes later, Melissa returned from school and caught Klein and Benson in the kitchen, using "tasting" as an excuse to sneak several pieces of beef and potatoes.
That night, Klein lay on his bed alone.
He was thinking about what Crestet Cesimir had said earlier. Even someone like Crestet Cesimir, who didn't interact with him much, could tell that he preferred comfort and didn't want to leave Backlund to venture out.
Was it really that obvious?
He went to work at 8:30 every day, handled his duties, and could normally return home by six in the evening. Only in emergencies or sudden incidents did he need to work overtime.
He had one fixed day off each week, which he tried to arrange on Sundays so he could go out with Benson and Melissa, strolling around beautiful Backlund.
This relaxed and comfortable life was just like being a nine-to-five worker in his original world.
"Maybe I really should go out and see more." Klein had already made up his mind. After thinking for a while, he got up, went to the washroom, and walked four steps backward to ascend above the gray fog.
He wanted to use divination to see whether this trip to Southville County would go smoothly.
The final result of the divination was: the process would have some twists and turns, but the outcome would be good, and it would involve some major turning point in his life.
As for whether that turning point would be good or bad, the divination couldn't determine it precisely.
"Should I try to divine the whereabouts of 008?" Klein only thought about it for two seconds before giving up on that suicidal idea.
After all, no one knew whose hands 008 was in now. Recklessly probing it would carry great risk.
….
Early morning, 7:50 a.m., at the steam train station, Crestet Cesimir still managed to meet Klein.
There was no surprise on his face, because he knew Klein would come.
"Mr. Crestet Cesimir, I'll be relying on your care along the way."
"Mr. Klein, that's exactly what I wanted to say to you," Crestet Cesimir replied with a smile.
….
Out at sea, a modest ship had been sailing for over ten days.
On the bow deck, Leonard faced the ocean, enjoying the cool sea breeze while fishing.
Ever since leaving Puning Port, they had been traveling across the sea. Along the way, they encountered several groups of bold pirates, but unfortunately, none of them knew the current location of the Black Emperor.
With no other choice, they could only search while gathering information.
"Sigh, the fish in the sea really are dumb. They bite the hook so easily."
Leonard flicked his wrist and tossed a fish weighing nearly twenty pounds onto the deck, then casually glanced at a teammate who still hadn't caught anything.
Seeing the man's less-than-pleasant expression and the obvious bitter smile on his face, Leonard's mood improved considerably.
Tap, tap.
Footsteps sounded on the deck. Leonard put down his fishing rod and looked toward Ms. Ilya, who had just come out of the captain's cabin.
Ilya glanced at Leonard and the other teammate before slowly saying, "We've received word from the Church. The team members who stayed behind at Puning Port have run into trouble. They can no longer even send messages properly."
Trouble? Leonard's first reaction was relief, relief that he hadn't stayed behind at Puning Port. Only afterward did concern for his teammates arise.
He probed, "Ms. Ilya, do you think we were deliberately lured away from Puning Port?"
"Yes, it does feel like too much of a coincidence. And coincidence and chance are exactly the obstacles we need to overcome in this investigation."
Ilya shared the same feeling, especially after they had moved far away from Puning Port.
Another team member asked, "Then should we return to Puning Port now?"
"That's exactly why I came to find you."
Just as Ilya finished speaking, the silhouette of a ship appeared on the distant horizon.
As it drew closer, Leonard and the others could clearly see, it was the Black Emperor they had been searching for all along.
Leonard's expression turned extremely serious. "Could this also be a carefully arranged coincidence?"
Hearing this, Ilya's expression changed slightly, but her gaze remained calm and confident.
"Whether it is or not, we shouldn't give up this opportunity."