At a roadside near Blackthorn Security Company.
A spot of paved road was pried to a shatter. Collapsed to form a little hole where the soil was reveal in the open.
On the seemingly infertile soil—a sprout with dark tipped leaves was swaying gently in the wind.
...
Klein took the chance Dunn gave to learn tailing techniques and monitoring skills. However, it just had to be with Leonard.
The tension between made the atmosphere grim. However, Leonard still kept a professional facade. He guided him into the basics.
"Until you know the target's routine, you can't tail your target recklessly. Plus, monitoring alone makes it difficult to take note of everything. Unless you don't eat, drink, sleep, and go home," Leonard had said. Hence, Klein followed his suggestion and found one of the triad bosses in the Hound Pub and spent five pounds to get his underlings to monitor Madam Sharon and record her daily routine.
Luckily, this can be reimbursed... On the afternoon, Klein received the investigation report from the triad boss.
Calling it an investigation report was an obvious insult to professional detectives. Not one of the triad boss's underlings was literate. They relied on drawings and symbols, which was then interpreted and organized by their semi-literate boss who had attended Sunday School for a year. Klein got a headache just from reading it and took quite a while to finish reading the report.
According to the surveillance, Madam Sharon seldom leaves her place recently. There aren't many guests who visit either... Soon enough, he decisively thought of sneaking and search.
Two days ago, he had received Mr. Azik's reply. There was only one sentence on the letter.
"I obtained the Creeping Hunger and recalled something."
Klein had finally confirmed that it was Mr. Azik who killed Qilangos and that this amnesiac teacher of his who had a long life was a High-Sequence Beyonder. However, he didn't dare ask him what he had recalled with the aid of the Creeping Hunger. Azik obviously didn't want to talk about it. If he was willing to share, he would've described it directly in the letter.
In Klein's reply, he only reminded Mr. Azik that the Creeping Hunger yearned for the flesh, blood, and soul of living humans. He had to find a safe sealing method.
In addition, Justice and The Hanged Man had yet to pray to him, but Klein wasn't worried. He understood that both members were afraid of being monitored, so they didn't recite his name recklessly.
...
Basking under the brilliant skies and vibrant meadow.
Selina, dressed in a white sun-dress, was curled up, head resting against her arms as her sobs echoed with the gales.
Hic... Hic...
Her figure was sculpted, akin to a Goddess in the ancient scriptures. Yet it was unheard of to see that a Goddess was in deep emotions.
"No... This... Klein's being controlled by his emotions..." Selina consoled herself. She wiped the tears from her face and gazed at the distant valleys, courts of flowers and mountains.
"I have to do something..."
She fell silent, letting herself be drown in her thoughts. Subsequently, she made the surrounding sprout Night Flowers to soothe her aching nerves.
"The Lanevus case!" she exclaimed.
The Lanevus case was the last time Klein remarked of encountering a coincidence. It was from the conveniences that the Lanevu's swindling case had connections with the Eugen case, causing the latter to lose control.
They're conspiring for a sinister ritual, long before the events occurred.
"What is that ritual? Sigh, If only I had someone I can ask question to. Ah! Falacy!"
Falacy was a pet of a deceased Nighthawk. Who was a Sequence 7 Nightmare, same as her Captain. This could mean that his owner was a Captain of a Nighthawk Squad who has access to a considerable entries from the Church.
Not only that, the cat claimed he's older. By the tone of his voice, Selina could dictate he's about sixty years old.
"Seniors are wiser than youngsters!" Selina found a footing in her casted emotions.
However, merely having a person to be asked wasn't enough. She had to find the issue, or grasp the underlying concept of the ritual, its intent and nature.
"Perhaps this can be done by checking the people Lanevus had acquainted in the past. Madam Megose, in Klein's story, had suffered greater despair because of him.
"Then! I will use Leonard's seed to visit her!" Selina recovered to a better mood.
"Hehe, this ambivalent poet hadn't made a choice in what to turn for the seed I gave him. Hence, I will leveraged this."
...
Gas street lamps illuminated the straight Osna Street at night while the crimson moon hung high above.
Klein, who had sneaked out with the Clown's balance and agility, got inside Madam Sharon's house quietly.
In a spacious area with a cloakroom that was ajar, there was a thick carpet, a blanket made with goose feathers, a makeup table strewn with skin care products and cosmetics, a dazzling array of jewelry, thin clothing and socks thrown over the rocking chair, and multiple decorative items adorned with gold silk. All of these entered Klein's field of vision.
What attracted Klein's attention the most was an unfinished oil painting. On the painting was the naked figure of Madam Sharon herself—her brown hair like a waterfall, her eyes like an innocent deer's, pure and limpid. But her curved eyebrows, sharp nose, and tender lips accentuated her form as a mature female. The two qualities fused together despite the contradiction, releasing an alarming temptation.
Klein only gave a cursory glance at the area under the neck for a moment. He wasn't trying to be gentlemanly. After all, he had already seen the porno, so why would he have scruples over a picture?
His attention had been grabbed by the pastels, palettes, and paintbrushes beside the painting, as well as a full-length silver-coated mirror.
Finally, he stopped before a safe in the corner of the room.
The steel safe was a meter tall; thick and heavy. It gave the impression that it was unusually sturdy, as if it could only be opened using explosives.
This sure is a characteristic of the Age of Steam. There must be complicated machinery within the safe... Klein tried to open the safe but failed miserably.
He left the safe for last. He took off his left glove and unwound the topaz dangling on his left wrist.
Grabbing the silver chain and allowing the pendulum to fall, Klein dispelled the excitement that the fragrance in the room gave him and entered a state of Cogitation.
His eyes turned dark as he chanted to himself, "There is a secret room or hidden partition in this room.
'There is a secret room or hidden partition in this room."
...
After reciting it seven times, Klein's eyes regained their normal color. He looked at the dangling topaz, which was turning counterclockwise.
It was a negative result.
Klein nodded slightly and left Madam Sharon's room. According to the process from before, he went through the study, the living room, the greenhouse, and other parts of the house, but he didn't find any clues of value.
He didn't use Dowsing Rod Seeking since he didn't exactly know what he was looking for.
Klein took out his silver pocket watch and gave it a look. He confirmed the time before returning to Madam Sharon's bedroom.
Carefully closing the wooden door, Klein took out the silver dagger used for rituals and released his spirituality, allowing it to fuse with the powers of nature and seal the room.
He was going to summon himself!
He was going to go through the safe using his spirit and check the things inside!
The process was simple since he was praying to himself. He didn't have to be too particular. Klein took out a candle infused with sandalwood and ignited it using his spirituality. That was going to be his altar.
"I!
"I summon in my name:
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era, the mysterious ruler above the gray fog; the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."
The incantation reverberated around Madam Sharon's bedroom. Klein's spirituality poured out from within him, gently fusing with the candle flame to become a gray, palm-sized veil of light.
He then took four steps counterclockwise, made his way through the mad ravings, and into the world above the gray fog.
He saw the Door of Summoning appear behind the seat of honor at the ancient long table. Klein was about to react when he froze.
I should perform a divination to see if I can discover any clues since I'm already here or if it's safe for wraiths inside...
...
Despite his many thoughts, Klein didn't want to delay it any further. After all, his physical body was still in the real world. Thus, he decided to confirm the past few divinations he did regarding the incident.
He picked up the pen and, without writing, he conjured a divination statement on the goatskin before him
"John Maynard's death was due to supernatural influences."
This was the divination he did when he went to Maynard's house to help the police. The answer he received last time was negative.
Grabbing the silver chain, he allowed the topaz pendulum to almost touch the statement on the goatskin. Klein half-closed his eyes and silently recited the divination statement, "John Maynard's death was due to supernatural influences.
"John Maynard's death was due to supernatural influences."
...
After repeating it seven times, he opened his eyes and looked at the pendulum. His pupils constricted suddenly.
The topaz pendulum was spinning clockwise!
Clockwise meant a positive result!
Maynard's death was really due to supernatural influences!
Klein stared at the pendulum that was slowing down, his heart churning in turmoil.
My divination back then was influenced, disrupted...
Madam Sharon is a Beyonder, a rather powerful Beyonder? Or is there someone backing her, having helped in planning Maynard's death?
Did they want to remove a powerful opponent to the seat of mayor, to remove a future House of Commons Member of Parliament from the New Party?
Many thoughts raced through his mind as Klein wrote a new divination statement: "Madam Sharon is a Beyonder."
He recited the statement seven times, still using the pendulum technique. Klein used the location he was at, as well as the information he knew regarding Madam Sharon, to complete the divination. He saw an answer.
The answer was the clockwise rotation of the topaz pendulum: the answer was yes!
Madam Sharon is a Beyonder... Klein's nerves tensed. He didn't delay any further, immediately answering his own prayer and pushing open the mysterious door.
After a moment of chaos and dizziness, he saw Madam Sharon's bedroom and himself.
Klein floated to the front of the heavy safe and extended his right hand. He carefully extended his hand into the safe.
Since Madam Sharon was a Beyonder, he had to be wary of traps in the safe.
Collecting himself, Klein felt for the corners of the safe to see if they hid anything.
Even though he couldn't pick up any papers in his current state, passing through objects was a different feeling from passing through the air. The feeling was also different when passing through objects of different densities.
In his search, Klein suddenly froze.
He found an empty space on the side of the safe facing the wall—a hidden compartment!
After confirming that there was no danger, Klein made his way inside. What entered his field of vision were ointments, fragrances, powdered herbs, and other objects. The centerpiece was a statue of a god that took the form of a skeleton.
The statue was about the size of a palm, and probably of a beautiful girl. It had long hair all the way to its heels, each strand of hair was thick and clear, like a venomous snake.
Situated at the tip of every strand of hair was an eye—some closed, others open.
Klein was shocked. He caught a whiff of an evil scent and hurried out of the hidden compartment.
He now understood why his divination for any secret rooms or partitions in the room had failed!