A pale hand gripped a pen that moved on its own, writing line after line across the page:
"That enigmatic Klein… the Klein who should have died long ago… has somehow learned about Ince Zangwill and the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, 008."
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"Klein set out from home, preparing to take a carriage to the Blackthorn Security Company. He wanted to find the reliable Captain Dunn Smith to learn about related matters."
"For Ince Zangwill, such an accident was obviously very unfavorable. Yet, it seemed he had no way to prevent Klein from meeting Dunn Smith. Could it be that his sinister plan was about to be exposed?"
"Oh, poor Ince Zangwill. His brain was never that bright, and he seemed forever unable to come up with a solution to this problem."
At this point, the hand holding the pen stopped, pausing for several seconds before writing again:
"Klein successfully met Dunn Smith, whose memory was not very good. Facing Klein's questions, Dunn Smith only concealed the matter concerning Saint Selena's ashes. Because of his memory loss, he didn't reveal anything to Klein, something that was quite reasonable."
"Klein, who understood many things, only deepened his suspicions about the whole matter. Worried that it would attract the attention of the hidden Ince Zangwill, he didn't reveal all of his guesses."
"Klein decided to investigate Ince Zangwill on his own. Through divination, he dreamt of a dark red chimney, and by himself successfully located Ince Zangwill's hiding place."
"In the end, Klein, merely a Sequence 9 Seer not adept at frontal combat, faced the Sequence 5 Gatekeeper Ince Zangwill and was defeated, killed by Ince Zangwill!"
The writing hand paused again, the pale hand that held the pen finally withdrawing.
After a while, the pen, now untouched, wrote another passage in the notebook:
"Ince Zangwill developed killing intent toward the constantly unexpected Klein. He prepared to personally act to eliminate this trouble, lest Klein interfere with his plans. But could Ince Zangwill's simple and flawed plan really trap a Seer skilled at divining danger?"
...
...
My name is Henry. I am a detective. Not long ago, I received a very strange commission. The client was a young man wearing a mask and deliberately lowering his voice. He was very cautious, but his disguise was far too clumsy.
Of course, as a detective who survives by taking commissions, professional ethics prevent me from mocking my employer's poor disguise skills.
Giving the other party a certain sense of security is also a very important part of a deal.
That young employer commissioned me to help him. He wanted me to find the correct location from a drawing, with the only obvious and identifiable target being a red chimney.
In Tingen, there are many red chimneys, and many that roughly fit the location described on the drawing.
Carriages are expensive, so I could only search mostly on foot, which delayed me quite a bit.
I searched for several days, marking more than a dozen suspicious spots, but could not find the exact red chimney. It made me wonder if my luck was simply too poor.
Fortunately, today, my luck seemed to return.
I finally found the correct red chimney, with the surroundings matching the elements drawn on the map one by one.
I didn't choose to investigate further, after all, my commission was only to locate the red chimney.
Seven pounds. I should go find that not-so-generous young employer of mine to hand in the task and claim my rightful reward.
"You found the red chimney?" Klein received the news and came to the detective agency.
Henry took a drag of his cigarette and nodded:
"Yes. These past days I've been walking all around Tingen's streets and alleys, missing the target several times, but I finally found the place you wanted."
Seeing the commission completed, Klein had no choice but to pay the fee of seven pounds.
Expressionless, he pulled out seven one-pound notes from his pocket.
Although he felt seven pounds was a bit steep, he would not go back on an agreed transaction.
Leaving the detective agency, Klein now held a correct map to the red chimney.
This was the place he had divined, one that might hold great secrets. That was why he had spent so much money to commission the detective.
Now, the location was confirmed. He felt he should first scout the area nearby to see if there were any abnormalities.
Thinking it over, Klein hailed a carriage and set off.
Midway, Klein asked the driver to stop, paying him only half the fare.
He had originally planned to go investigate alone, but on second thought, acting alone was far too unsafe.
Besides, at the very least, shouldn't he perform a divination regarding the safety of the matter first?
Rushing headlong into such a suspicious place didn't align at all with his cautious way of handling things.
He felt it necessary to return home first, perform a divination, and then reconsider the matter.
Thinking again, he chose to walk back. Having just spent seven pounds, it was good to save some money now.
Back home, Klein closed the door, took off his coat, and removed a yellow crystal pendant from his sleeve.
He took paper and pen, writing on a blank sheet:
Investigating the area near the red chimney is safe!
Holding the pendulum with his left hand, he let the pendant hang vertically above the written divination statement, almost touching it.
Then, calming his mind, he entered meditation, closed his eyes, and repeated silently:
"Investigating the area near the red chimney is safe!"
Again and again, until he opened his eyes to see the yellow crystal pendant gently rotating clockwise.
This signified affirmation.
The divination result indicated that investigating the area near the red chimney was safe.
Klein put away the pendant, thought for a moment, and murmured: "This matter might involve Ince Zangwill. I should be more cautious."
He felt it necessary to perform a divination above the gray fog, where the results would not be so easily influenced by Beyonder interference.
He gathered his things, opened the door to the washroom, locked it, walked four steps backward, and arrived above the gray fog.
Amidst hazy gray mist, inside the towering, majestic palace.
Klein sat at the head of the long bronze table, before him the parchment he had just conjured.
He picked up a fountain pen and wrote the same divination statement:
Investigating the area near the red chimney is safe.
He held the pendulum, suspending the pendant vertically, and repeated the statement several times, letting his spirituality resonate with the power of the spirit world above all.
Feeling the silver chain lightly sway, he opened his eyes to observe the result.
The yellow crystal pendant was rotating counterclockwise, very slowly, as though hindered by a great force.
This result was completely opposite to the one divined in the real world.
This confirmed for him that if he truly went alone to investigate near the red chimney, he would certainly encounter great danger, perhaps even death!
'That was close. Luckily I did another divination above the gray fog.'
Klein lampooned feeling grateful for his cautiousness, and this further reinforced his determination to never take risks lightly when danger might be involved.
Who is interfering with my divination? That defector archbishop, Ince Zangwill?
Was he trying to interfere through divination, to lure me to the red chimney, and then kill me?
Klein pondered quietly, judging this the most likely explanation.
If his guess was correct, it meant the hidden Ince Zangwill was already watching him.
Since he couldn't lure him this time, he would surely think of another method.
This was bad. Klein could not always be on guard against Ince Zangwill's schemes. He had to tell everything to Captain Dunn and let him decide.
It would be best if they brought along several powerful Beyonders to completely search Tingen. If they could capture Ince Zangwill, even better.
But how could he explain all this? He couldn't exactly say he guessed Ince Zangwill was hiding in Tingen based on Roselle's diary and that he was plotting in secret.
"What if I let the captain discover the problems on his own?" Klein thought for a long time before deciding.
He would guide the captain to uncover Ince Zangwill's conspiracy, while also protecting himself from being targeted and killed.
"The red chimney can't just be left alone, right?"
"I can report to the captain that the red chimney might be related to the Antigonus family's diary. Since this thing has an unusual connection to me, it should be enough to draw the captain's attention."
"This should be the best way to resolve the matter."
He performed another divination.
The statement:
Telling the truth to the captain will put me in great danger.
The result came back affirmative.
He understood it well. If he were Ince Zangwill, he too would want to eliminate this variable constantly interfering with his plans.
"Very dangerous." Klein sighed, thought again, and decided to try another divination.
The statement:
Telling all my suspicions to Mr. Azik will grant me safe protection.
The pendulum swung clockwise, and with a wide arc.
This indicated that after telling Mr. Azik, he would not need to fear Ince Zangwill's threat for a short time.
With that, Klein had his plan.
He would first tell all his suspicions to Mr. Azik. Once safe, he could then guide the captain to uncover Ince Zangwill's conspiracy.
Inside the red chimney, at a desk before a window, the pen once again wrote in the notebook:
"Klein was unexpectedly cautious, giving Ince Zangwill no chance to strike."
"He seemed to suspect Ince Zangwill of setting a trap through some divination. To ensure his safety, he decided to tell Mr. Azik. This was a very wise choice, because Ince Zangwill greatly feared Mr. Azik and could only avoid him."
"Ah, poor Ince Zangwill. Having successfully drawn Mr. Azik's attention, he would once again have to run and hide his tracks."