Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The more he thought about how a living person was playing cards with more than ten corpses in a dimly lit room into the night, the more his scalp tingled.
Klein suppressed his instinctive fear and looked at the pale face, the malicious brown eyes, and the man who was about twenty-eight years old that suffused madness. He pretended to be intimidated by the mans dominance and took a step back. During this time, Kaspars left the room and closed the door.
The man asked in a deep voice, Youre the one looking for a bodyguard?
... Yes. Klein gulped deliberately.
The mans strangeness made him feel fear, but it also brought him peace of mind.
The stronger the bodyguard, the safer he would be!
The pale-faced man in the black vest lifted his chin and asked, Why are you looking for a bodyguard? How much are you willing to pay for this?
Klein didnt answer straight away. He thought for nearly twenty seconds before saying, Ill tell you the details of the mission first. Give me a price after you assess it. If I can pay for it, or if I have an item of equivalent value, we would have ourselves a deal. Otherwise, I can only give up and look for someone else.
The fierce-looking man didnt say a word. Instead, he nodded as a gesture for Klein to recount his story.
Klein deliberately looked at the zombies, treating them as normal card players. Then, he gave the man an inquisitive look saying: Before I answer, do you want to kick these guys out of the room?
Theres no need for that, the pale-faced man said in a deep voice.
Klein hesitated for a moment, then honestly said, I offended a big shot who might have a country supporting him.
The room suddenly turned still and silent. The man, who had a hint of madness and malice in his eyes, froze on the spot as if he had turned into a plaster statue.
After nearly a minute, he slowly said, This mission is priceless.
Get out.
Ah? Klein didnt manage to react until the man turned and walked back to the card table. Only then did he realize that there was no deal.
You played cards with a bunch of living corpses in the room and presented yourself as a person of high standing and strength. Yet, you were scared off just like that? Youre clearly a little crazy... Klein didnt know whether to laugh or cry as he added, The big shot doesnt have that much freedom in Backlund.
The man in the black vest ignored him and sat down again. The zombies began to hand out cards, look at their cards, and throw out chips.
Klein exhaled and backed out of the room only to see Kaspars Kalinin. He had been waiting outside with his brandy nose and hideous wound.
We didnt come to an arrangement. Klein threw up his hands.
Kaspars didnt show a look of surprise as he pondered for a few seconds before saying, Did he request too high a price?
No, he finds the mission too difficult. Klein didnt hide the reason.
Kaspars frowned.
Maric is the scariest person I know. He isnt even afraid of bullets, and since he thinks the mission is difficult, I dont think I can help you get in touch with other powerful people.
What a pity. Klein sighed.
Kaspars clenched his right fist and struck his left chest.
May the Storm be with you.
Then Im dead... Klein said with a smile as he made the best out of it, Thank you.
You can try asking around for me. Ill pay you a fee. Yeah... Ill come again tomorrow night.
After receiving a positive answer, he left the Bravehearts Bar feeling slightly melancholic. He didnt even have the interest to play a game of billiards.
Was I being too honest? If I described the mission in a way that sounded simpler, Maric wouldve agreed... I just wonder how much money he would ask for... Sigh, its not my style to let someone else face the danger for me through deceit... As a Beyonder, if I constantly go against my hearts true thoughts and my own principles, then I probably wont be far from losing control... Feeling mixed emotions, Klein changed carriages and returned to Minsk Street.
After washing up, Klein didnt waste any charcoal. He directly went to the bedroom and pulled the curtain to isolate the room from the outside world.
On the way back, he carefully thought for a while and discovered that the possible danger wasnt something that couldnt be resolved.
To the unknown ambassador, his primary and fundamental purpose is to find Ian Wright. The reason he sent people to deal with me was because he wished to obtain clues to finding Ian from me. If direct interrogation doesnt work, killing me and channeling my spirit could be considered... If I let him know that I cant find Ian either, he wouldnt take the risk to deal with a hired detective when the militarys special department might be monitoring the situation.
Of course, my appearance and strength far exceeded his expectations, causing their operation to be exposed and causing them to suffer heavy setbacks. If I were the ambassador, I would definitely think about revenge and vent my anger, but it definitely wouldnt be now, not when the situation is so tense and turbulent... Yes, this is building on the premise that the ambassador has brains, and he isnt a good-for-nothing who got to his position through connections and only knows to act rashly... For him to be handling such an important matter, it must mean that hes still rather reliable...
In other words, the crux of the problem is Ian Wrights whereabouts!
Hmm... Theres still some latent danger. Would the ambassador reveal to the militarys special department that Meursault is a Beyonder after his failure? That would make them find my strength questionable, and use them to retaliate against me... This can be done easily with an offhand remark with no difficulty involved. I have to be on my guard...
Klein analyzed his situation and suddenly had the urge to kill the unknown ambassador.
However, just the thought of powerful Beyonders around him left him depressed.
I wonder if the messenger can accept my delegations without Mr. Aziks permission... Probably not... Should I pay close attention to this matter and find an opportunity to silence him? Since he sent someone to kill me, I wouldnt feel any psychological burden from killing him... Yes, I can consider setting a mission for the Tarot Club. Lets see if Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man have any solutions... Perhaps, a large sum of money can tempt that Mr. A or some other powerful Beyonders... Klein suddenly had an idea came to him as he thought of the Tarot Club.
With this idea in mind, he calmed down a lot. He found some paper and a pen and wrote the divination statement: Ian Wrights whereabouts.
After confirming that there were no hidden Beyonders in the room, Klein looked at the curtain that shielded him from prying eyes. He recalled Ians appearance and silently read out the divination sentence before leaning back into his chair.
He quickly entered a dream and saw a dark, small, run-down room in the dreamy world. There was a bunk bed and a floor mat that four people slept on.
Ian was curled up at the top of the bunk bed, sleeping soundly under an old satchel.
When the dream shattered, Klein opened his eyes and interpreted the revelation.
Living quarters like that only exist in the East Borough and the Backlund Bridge area, but its an abnormally huge place. Even if all the police in Backlund are deployed, they still wouldnt be able to find it...
Ian was very careful. He didnt leave anything with me. Otherwise, I wouldve been able to find him through dowsing rod divination...
After a few minutes of consideration, Klein picked up the pen and added a paragraph to each of the divination statements, making it an excuse:
I dont know Ian Wrights whereabouts. I havent seen him since we found Zreals body.
That piece of paper was left on the desk with a pen pressed against its edge.
After all was done, Klein got up and went back to his bed, making a quick, less obvious flick of the coin to make sure that no one was watching him.
After obtaining a negative answer, he quickly took four steps counterclockwise, chanted the incantation, and entered the world above the gray fog.
Within the ancient and towering palace, Klein couldnt be bothered to inspect the situation around him, and instead repeated the divination he had just done.
Seeing that the negative answer hadnt changed, he stopped feeling so nervous. Raising his head to the side, he realized that the core position of the newly added crimson star had been dyed with a sun-like gold.
Is this the source of the warmth I felt? Klein spread out his spirituality and gingerly touched it in response to the prayer.
A blurry scene quickly appeared in front of his eyes.
The petite lady he had tried to pull up above the gray fog was standing in front of an altar with a lady with slightly curled brown hair. A man wearing a white mask softly chanted the honorary name of the Eternal Blazing Sun, creating a warm and pure light.
Was she trying to get someone to do an exorcism? Klein almost laughed.
At that moment, he finally understood the reason behind the previous situation. It wasnt that someone had penetrated the gray fog and locked onto him. It was similar to Justice and company reciting his honorary name before making a prayer. And after the gray fog received the message, it automatically give him feedback. However, since it wasnt a prayer, the illusory, overlapping voices ended up becoming a warm current.
Notification. This is a notification, and not something that can cause harm or influence... Klein made a definite judgment.
At the same time, he was roughly certain of one thing. The way the mysterious space above the gray fog connected with Justice and the others wasnt absolutely abnormal or above the rules of this world. It still suffered particular restrictions that could cause effects of varying degrees by using specific methods.
Klein continued watching the scene before him and listened to the voice speaking. He was surprised to find that it lasted longer than ever before.
Before this, he wouldnt be able to take the initiative to spy on the corresponding target of the crimson stars, unless the other party had prayed for it, and only then would he be able to receive the corresponding scene.
In another situation, when he gave his feedback, he would be able to see the scene and hear synchronized voices at the same time. However, once the response ended, he would no longer be able to gain any additional information.
Now, it was like watching a long video whose footage was filled with mosaicked reality TV footage.
He saw the petite lady talking to a man in a golden mask in the study, heard her companions address her as Xio, and realized that she was looking for the Beyonder potion corresponding to the Sheriffs potion.
It wasnt until the two women returned home that Klein felt regretful that he failed to identify their address. The recording thus came to an end.
Watching the gradually dissipating gold colors, he nodded his head thoughtfully. He vaguely understood why such an anomaly had appeared.
In other words, the power of purification helped me maintain the corresponding passageway? Xios thirty pounds was worth it... I wonder when Ill be able to maintain it myself... Klein shook his head and smiled. He took out a pen and a paper to continue to divine Ian Wrights whereabouts.