Huh? Klein was momentarily bewildered, thinking he had been distracted and misheard.
"What? Uh... sorry for the trouble, could you say that again?"
Christina did not pay much attention to Mr. Seer's confusion. She glanced at Angelica by the reception desk and lowered her voice.
"I mean Lanevus's child."
She pointed at the young woman in the wide-brimmed hat beside her.
This was Lanevus's child?
Wasn't she growing a little too fast?
Wasn't that a bit hasty?
Christina noticed something was off with Klein's expression and explained,
"This is my niece, Megose. Her mother is my eldest sister."
Klein immediately understood.
Christina continued,
"I'm deeply sorry and regretful. Back then, I thought Lanevus was an outstanding, exceptional young man, so I introduced Megose to him when he was still unmarried and watched them become lovers."
Behind her, Megose pressed her lips together and touched her lower abdomen.
"Megose's parents had also been very satisfied with Lanevus. They planned to invest all their savings in the steel company after the engagement. Fortunately, Lanevus ran away before that could happen, so their family did not suffer a devastating loss. Unfortunately, my sister and brother-in-law had to explain to relatives and friends why the engagement ceremony had been canceled, and they had to worry about the child in Megose's womb."
"We all believe in the God of Steam and Machinery, not the Lord of Storms. We don't believe lovers must remain chaste before marriage. We do not blame Megose; we even sympathize with her. But whether to keep the child truly is a difficult matter, especially when he has a father like that..."
"Wait, isn't that wrong?" Morien's voice suddenly rang out in everyone's minds. "Although saying you 'don't blame' her sounds nice, you have no right to blame her in the first place, do you?"
"No matter what, she should be blaming you. After all, you were the one who introduced the man to her."
At some point, Morien had put down his newspaper. He looked at Christina strangely, his mouth unmoving, yet he was speaking Loenese he had learned from the Hidden Sage.
I'd found this strange even when reading the original story.
She was the one who introduced the man, and Megose was clearly the "victim."
Why could Christina say something like, "I didn't blame her"?
Uh... that did seem to make sense.
Klein instinctively looked toward Megose, who stood quietly nearby, and discovered that she was a remarkably beautiful young woman.
Then, the next second, Klein immediately realized that the voice had appeared directly in his mind. Morien had not opened his mouth.
This was definitely a Beyonder!
Klein suddenly recalled descriptions of a supernatural race in the Nighthawks' documents. He had also seen a few photographs.
Compared to humans and other humanoids, this race had shallower eye sockets, lower nose bridges, flatter brow ridges, and flatter foreheads.
This was the appearance of the Elves, and also the appearance of Easterners.
In the descriptions and photographs, the Elves' facial features were extremely close to those of Easterners.
That thought was like a bucket of cold water poured over Klein, instantly cooling his excitement.
Yes, this world also had people with Eastern facial features...
Klein let out an almost imperceptible sigh.
In the few seconds Klein spent thinking, Christina had already spoken angrily.
"I didn't know he was a liar at the time! And didn't I refrain from blaming Megose?"
"So?" Morien spread his hands in confusion. "Isn't this still your problem? Even if you meant well but caused harm, does that mean no harm was done? You were clearly the one who made a mistake, so why are you acting as if you are generously forgiving her? That's so strange."
"Oh, right. In order to get your money back, you even tore open her wound before strangers, out in public."
"I remember Emperor Roselle saying, 'Family shame should not be aired in public,' didn't he?"
"Do you really see her as a person?"
Morien looked puzzled, but his voice was sincere.
Klein noticed that everyone present was looking at Morien, yet no one questioned the fact that he was "speaking without opening his mouth."
Was this another Beyonder Ability?
Upon hearing Morien's words, Christina immediately became flustered and angry.
She pointed at Morien's nose and was just about to speak when Klein suddenly squeezed between them.
With a professional smile on his face, he answered the question Christina had asked earlier.
"If the child has already been born, I can indeed use him to divine Lanevus's approximate whereabouts. But unfortunately, that would require waiting several months. Hmm... perhaps that was what the result of your previous divination meant: endure, wait, persevere, stop being greedy, and then welcome a turning point and see the light."
Oh, dear...
Please say less...
Klein kept smiling, but sweat seeped from his temples.
Making voices appear directly in other people's minds...
Even the captain had to pull people into dreams before he could do something like that...
And there was also that ability where something clearly abnormal was right before everyone's eyes, yet ordinary people could not notice it at all.
Klein felt sweat trickling down his back.
Based on Morien's current display, Klein thought he was very likely a Mid-Sequence powerhouse at Sequence 7, or even Sequence 6.
And he seemed to be an unaffiliated Beyonder.
Klein had never believed all unaffiliated Beyonders were dangerous people, but he knew very well that arguing with a Mid-Sequence Beyonder who was completely unconstrained would not end well.
And deep down, Klein also felt that the masked man was actually right...
Christina took a deep breath, stopped looking at Morien, and turned to Klein instead.
When looking at Klein, Christina's tone improved slightly as well.
"Several months..."
"No, after all this time, even if we find Lanevus, we won't get the money back..."
She turned toward the blond, blue-eyed Megose, and her voice involuntarily grew heavier.
"Do you have anything Lanevus carried on him?"
Megose replied softly and gently,
"No."
After thinking for a moment, she added,
"Does the ring he gave me count?"
"It won't."
Klein shook his head.
"It has to be something he carried for a long time."
After saying that, he began frantically signaling Angelica, the receptionist, with his eyes.
Angelica immediately understood and walked over to Morien.
She knew nothing about Beyonders, but it was never good when club members and guests started arguing.
"Mr. Morien, there are quite a few divination instruments in the divination room. If..."
"No need." Morien smiled and waved his hand. "I'll just sit here for a while."
With that, Morien picked up his newspaper again and spread it across his lap.
Angelica hesitated for a moment before retreating.
After all, both sides had paid, so it was difficult for her to say much.