At first light, Klein arrived at the harbor in a hired carriage, wearing a heavy trench coat and a half-top hat and carrying a suitcase.
He got out some distance from the docks, casually took out a coin for a divination, then strode toward the place where he was supposed to board.
Unlike the city streets, which had only just begun to wake, the docks were already bustling. Freighters waiting to load and unload, busy dockworkers, and passengers lining up to board made enough noise to drown out Klein's footsteps.
He took out the ticket he had bought the day before, let a crewman check it, and joined the back of the line as directed.
Once aboard this steam-powered passenger ship, he would be away from Blue Mountain Island, where Bayam stood, in a matter of hours. He would leave behind the troops and Mandated Punishers on high alert, as well as the Admiral of Blood and the Rose School, who wanted to deal with him...
After checking in another passenger, the crewman who had inspected Klein's ticket glanced back. The man in the trench coat and hat was no longer in line!
The crewman looked around. Plenty of Loen men on the noisy docks were dressed that way, but none of them was him.
Strange. Why would someone buy a ticket and then not board?
"Warnings from several sources all point to the same people: the Admiral of Blood, Senior, and the Rose School behind him...
"And Orange Light Hilarion of the Seven Lights of the Spirit World pointed to the real mastermind: the Mother Tree of Desire, who once tried to corrupt us..."
In the living room of the Azure Wind's luxury suite, Klein watched Orange Light leave, all trace of sleep gone. His eyes stayed fixed