Баталгаа

Back home at 15 Minsk Street, Klein was in no hurry to head above the gray fog to perform a divination. Instead, he acted as though nothing had happened.

In the process, he heard an illusory prayer and vaguely recognized it as a woman’s voice.

After experiencing the ravaging murmurs of the True Creator, my ability in this aspect has apparently improved a little... Klein turned the newspaper while engrossed in thought and settled himself on the reclining chair in a motionless half-slumped state.

He waited until the clock nearly struck ten, before putting down what he was doing and went to the bathroom on the second floor to clean himself up.

Entering the bedroom and pulling the curtains shut, Klein went above the gray fog. He saw that the crimson star symbolizing Justice was constantly expanding and contracting, and it was also echoing with prayers.

Klein spread out his spirituality and made contact. Dressed in a white silk nightgown, Miss Justice appeared in front of him.

Her figure was still blurry, as if she was in bed.

After reciting his honorable name, Audrey cut to the chase.

"Ambassador Bakerland is a Sequence 6 Conspiracist of the Hunter pathway. He’s suspected to have a Sequence 5 assistant...

"After I obtained detailed information, I got someone to inquire Mr. A. He has agreed to accept the assassination mission, but the conditions are 10,000 gold pounds or any of the potion formulas of Unshadowed, Cataclysmic Interrer, Prophet, and Manipulator. They do not need to be complete. A portion of the formula would suffice.

"I chose the former and paid an advance of 2000 pounds. Honorable Mr. Fool, was my decision correct?"

10,000 gold pounds... The corner of Klein’s lips twitched as he forced himself to focus on the matter.

The Sequence 5 assistant should be that Seer pathway infiltrator?

The first thing that should be done is to overestimate the enemy...

Would Mr. A have the ability to do it? Would he neglect the job after taking the money...

Cataclysmic Interrer, Prophet, Manipulator, and Unshadowed are likely Sequence 4’s. That is the threshold of a High-Sequence Beyonder...

It is very likely that Mr. A is one of the 22 Oracles of the Aurora Order. To be stationed in the City of Cities, Backlund, means that he’s second only to the five Saints of the Aurora Order’s upper echelons. He must be the cream of the crop among the Oracles...

The Aurora Order wields the Secrets Suppliant pathway which is the direct route to the True Creator. As an Oracle, he has a high probability of being a Beyonder of this Sequence chain. Based on Backlund’s position, it can be inferred that he’s at Sequencers 5, Shepherd. Of course, he could also be a Rose Bishop that’s one Sequence lower, but that would mean that he’s more outstanding in other aspects, such as his intelligence...

I have to remind Miss Justice that she shouldn’t have too many interactions with Mr. A. The Beyonders of the Secrets Suppliant Sequence are either already lunatics exhibiting abnormalities or lunatics who have hidden their insanity well, almost without exception... Sequence 8 Listeners in this Sequence pathway often hear the voice of the True Creator...

Yes, only a lunatic would be bold enough to accept the mission of assassinating an Intis ambassador and have the courage to complete it...

I have here a portion of the Unshadowed potion formula, as well as the corresponding ritual needed for the advancement. This can save Miss Justice 10,000 gold pounds...

Why would Mr. A only need the formulas of Unshadowed, Cataclysmic Interrer, Prophet, and Manipulator? Are these paths that can be swapped at High Sequences of the Secrets Suppliant pathway? That’s a bit too much. That makes it five in total...

Unshadowed is from the Eternal Blazing Sun. Cataclysmic Interrer sounds like it’s from the Lord of Storms or maybe the Evernight Goddess... I previously determined that the Eternal Blazing Sun, Lord of Storms, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom have pathways that are relatively similar; therefore, They view each other with animosity. From the looks of it, Cataclysmic Interrer belongs to the Lord of Storms and is Sequence 4 of the Sailor Sequence. Prophet is likely from the God of Knowledge and Wisdom...

Then which pathway does Manipulator belong to?

It’ll be interesting if they can all be exchanged with the Sequence corresponding to the True Creator...

Yes... I cannot give the Unshadowed formula to Mr. A. Not even a portion. The Aurora Order members are all lunatics who are always looking for opportunities to take revenge on the world to the detriment of public safety. Items of strategic importance must not be traded with them... This isn’t just a question of the bottom line, it also involves my own safety. Once the time is ripe, those lunatics from the Aurora Order might very well sacrifice the entire city...

Let Miss Justice spend the 10,000 pounds then. Part of it includes the payment she would like to give to my adorer. The rest can be made up to her with the knowledge I already know... Klein reached out and pinched his cheek.

He didn’t reply to Justice immediately. Instead, he conjured a pen and paper, ready to make a divination.

Kline had no idea who Maric’s friend was. He could only tell from the pronoun "she" that the person was a woman. Failure was inevitable if he wanted to directly divine the reliability of the person in question.

However, Klein could make an indirect divination regarding his own safety, which would have a much higher success rate.

As for whether he would suffer an interference or how accurate the outcome would be, he wasn’t worried at all thanks to the gray fog’s shielding.

After more than ten seconds of deliberation, Klein wrote: "It’s risky for me to hire Maric’s friend to be my bodyguard for three days."

Putting the pen away, he removed his spirit pendulum, focused his mind, and quickly performed the divination.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that the topaz pendant was rotating clockwise. However, the amplitude was very small and its speed was very slow.

There’s a certain risk, but it’s quite low... Reliable... Klein nodded slightly and changed to divine about Mr. A.

Similarly, he had no direct contact with Mr. A, and all he knew was based on descriptions and inference. It was difficult to find out whether or not he was capable enough, or willing to keep his promise. All he could do was make an indirect divination.

As an excellent "Seer," Klein quickly determined the direction, and that was to divine Ambassador Bakerland!

This ambassador had relatively more connections with him, and the information he had about him was even more detailed. Klein knew very well what the other party was involved in, and as a divination target, there were no problems.

After some thought, Klein wrote: "Bakerland Jean Madan will have his life threatened by Mr. A."

To prevent it from failing, he tried his best to make the words vague in this low-confidence divination and didn’t require a definite answer.

This time, Klein saw that the spirit pendulum was still rotating clockwise, but it had become faster and the amplitude had increased.

It means that Mr. A will attempt to complete the mission, and that there’s a good chance of success... Klein slowly exhaled and began to respond to Miss Justice’s prayer.

"Sure.

"There’s no problems with your decision.

"You absolutely must not show yourself when entrusting this mission.

"My adorer wishes for 1000 pounds for his activities. It will be done in the same way as before, and it would be best if it can be completed by tomorrow.

"This will be payment for the Light Suppliant formula. You do not need to seek out news regarding the Secret Order any further. However, if you obtain any relevant information, I will do a trade with you."

After learning that the infiltrator was a Beyonder in the Seer pathway, Klein’s need for information about the Secret Order became less urgent.

He had originally wanted to ask for more than 1000 pounds, but in consideration of how Miss Justice had to pay 10,000 pounds to assassinate the ambassador, it was likely that her finances would be stretched to the limit; therefore, he only asked for the minimum.

After doing all of this, Klein didn’t linger and immediately returned to the real world.

...

Audrey was holding a music score and humming a melody. The red moon was faintly discernible outside the window.

Suddenly, a thick gray fog appeared in front of her. A figure seated on an ancient chair looked down at her and spoke in a low voice.

Audrey let out a breath of relief after hearing Mr. Fool’s response. She was no longer as nervous as she was.

1000 pounds... My debt to Mr. Fool is close to being paid off... I feel so much more relaxed suddenly... Audrey rested the music score against her chest and thought with her dimples showing.

Although she only had 1000 pounds to spend for quite a considerable period of time in the coming days, being put in a tight financial situation, all she needed to do was grit her teeth, and squeezing out a thousand pounds wouldn’t be a problem.

I’ll borrow more from Glaint and drag it out with more installments... Audrey had quite a good education in finances; after all, her father was a powerful banker behind the scenes.

...

At noon on Thursday, Klein heard another illusory prayer. He then confirmed that Miss Justice had deposited the money into his anonymous account.

The bank reconciliation and liquidation done in Backlund could be completed on the same day, meaning that from Friday, Klein would be able to withdraw the cash from any Backlund Bank branch in the city.

After lunch, Klein once again saw Mary Gale. She led him outside the Quelaag Club, where the two members were waiting.

One was a well-known surgeon, Aaron Ceres, and the other was the aristocratic equestrian teacher, Talim Dumont.

After greeting each other, the lanky and somewhat aloof doctor wearing gold-rimmed glasses entered the club first, leaving the equestrian teacher, Talim, who had short brown curly hair to converse with Klein amidst smiles.

"If it wasn’t for Mary mentioning you, I wouldn’t have known that Backlund has had an additional outstanding detective join its ranks. If there’s anything I need to do in the future, I’ll look for you."

"Then, let me thank you in advance." Klein smiled in response.

According to Mary’s introduction on the carriage, he learned that Talim was originally of noble blood. His grandfather had a noble title of viscount, but it was a pity that his grandfather had squandered all his wealth. His father had nearly ten brothers and more than six sisters, and as nobles whose titles were determined by the amount of land they possessed, once the amount of land went beneath a particular standard, the hereditary nobility title would be reduced. However, that also depended on the king’s mood.

Talim was unlike the other children of nobility who could obtain a considerable sum of money when they reached adulthood. And due to his grandfather’s reputation, he had no means of entering the government as an employee, or to be a butler of another noble family. Therefore, he could only play to his advantages and became a equestrian teacher for many nobles. His income was quite sizable, with about four hundred pounds a year.

"Sigh, divorce really leads to poverty." It was unknown if Talim was hinting at Mary Gale’s situation or if he was reminded of his grandfather who seemed to be more of Intis ancestry.

Unable to engage in the conversation, Klein followed him into the Quelaag Club, where he saw a large, brightly lit hall.