Klein picked up his silk top hat. "Sorry, something's come up and I need to head back. Maybe next time."
"Hmm, this customer seems... very generous."
Klein smiled.
"As you know, I don't care all that much about money. Otherwise, I wouldn't have set my prices so low. Please apologize to him for me."
Angelica took out a banknote. "He gave me a one-pound... tip." She stressed the words "one pound."
"Ahem."
Klein quietly put his hat back down, a warm smile on his face.
"Which room would the customer prefer?"
Chapter 17: Edward's First Tease of Klein
"He's already here."
The person who entered the divination room was a boy wearing a gray trench coat, a white shirt, and a black silk top hat. Although he was about the same height as Klein, his face still held a trace of boyishness, yet his eyes seemed inexplicably mature.
Edward took off his hat and bowed. "Hello, Mr. Moretti. I'm a traveler from Backlund. I've heard a great deal about you."
Klein joked:
"I had no idea my fame had spread all the way to Backlund! Miss Angelica, could you please bring this..."
"Edward."
"Right, please bring Mr. Edward a cup of Fairmer Coffee." Klein gestured for Edward to sit. "It's a fine coffee from the Paz Valley. Bitter and invigorating. I'm not sure whether you'll like it."
"Anything is fine."
"To be honest, I know another Edward at the Divination Club, though he's a diviner himself."
Klein tapped his left teeth twice and saw that Edward's overall aura was a very pure white. This meant he was exceptionally healthy and hadn't come into contact with anything sinister.
"What sort of divination would you like, Mr. Edward? Career? Romance?"
Edward held his chin and thought for a moment.
"Career, I suppose. It will directly determine the direction of my future development, after all."
"Then which method would you prefer? Astrolabe, crystal, or tarot? I'm reasonably skilled in all three."
Edward pointed to the Yellow Crystal Pendant inside Klein's left cuff. "That one."
Klein had no objection. "Then what you wish to divine is..."
"Here's what happened. A little while ago, I happened to save an injured, Dark Lord. After he recovered, he said that, to repay me for saving his life, he could guide me into the mystical world and help me become a Beyonder."
Edward's opening words made Klein tense all over. "And you believed him?"
"Well, I had no choice. He really did possess abilities I couldn't understand. May I continue?"
"Please do."
"Then he told me that different types of Beyonders have different abilities, just as professions like cooks and blacksmiths each have their own skills. But he said I could only choose one, and that I would never be able to change it."
"These are the choices he gave me: Hunter, Lawyer, Warrior, Mystery Pryer, and Apprentice."
Edward laid the slips bearing the different pathways on the table one by one, only to discover he had pulled out an extra sheet-the Secrets Suppliant Formula Mr. A had given him. "Uh, not this one."
Although Edward put it away quickly, Klein still caught sight of its contents.
"Secrets Suppliant?"
He immediately grew wary. According to the Church of Evernight's records, this was the exclusive pathway of the Aurora Order, a suspected cult. Most people on this pathway were lunatics!
Should I inform the captain?
"Did that man say you needed to join any organization or institution, or perform some sort of ritual?" Klein asked, suppressing the impulse.
"No. He just urged me to decide as soon as possible. He doesn't want to owe anyone a favor. Mr. Moretti, I honestly wish he'd only given me one option. Then I wouldn't have to choose. But he gave me six at once and kept stressing how important the choice was. I've been agonizing over it for three days and nights."
As he spoke, Edward took out a ten-pound note and placed it on the table. "This is the fee for the divination. If it's not enough, I can add more."
Klein's mouth suddenly went dry. He picked up his coffee and took a small sip. "So you need me to divine which one you should choose?"
"Exactly."
Klein rubbed the space between his brows and hesitated for quite a while before finally sighing. "Mr. Edward, I really do want to help you. But when performing divination, I need to phrase the statement as simply and clearly as possible. I also can't use a question to ask about an unknown outcome. In your case, for example, if I tried to divine 'Which... profession suits Mr. Edward?' I wouldn't get any result at all."
Edward picked up one of the slips and smiled.
"That's easy, then. Just take one slip at a time and use an affirmative statement for the divination. For example, 'Apprentice suits Edward.'"
Klein froze. "Oh, you can do that?"
"Can't you?"
"Uh, that would be a new approach. It feels like exploiting a bug. Ahem, I mean finding a loophole. I can give it a try."
Holding the silver chain in his left hand, Klein lowered the Yellow Crystal straight over the slip marked "Hunter," leaving it just short of touching the paper.
Then he half closed his eyes and silently repeated, It is right for Mr. Edward to choose the Hunter Pathway. It is right for Mr. Edward to choose the Hunter Pathway. It is right for Mr. Edward to choose the Hunter Pathway...
Edward watched the Yellow Crystal with interest. Then he saw it begin to spin counterclockwise, slowly at first, then faster and faster, until all that remained was a blur.
Snap!
Klein grabbed the crystal, his expression shocked. Such an intense reaction! Would Mr. Edward lose control the moment he swallowed the Hunter potion?!
"Mr. Moretti, what does that mean?" Edward asked anyway.
"Hunter doesn't suit you."
Klein lowered the Yellow Crystal over the "Lawyer" slip next. It is right for Mr. Edward to choose the Lawyer Pathway. It is right for Mr. Edward to choose the Lawyer Pathway...
After seven repetitions, the Yellow Crystal once again spun rapidly counterclockwise.
"This one won't work either."
Next, he tried Warrior, Mystery Pryer, and Apprentice in turn, but the results were all identical. "Not this one. Not this one either. This one's no good as well."
The smile gradually vanished from Edward's face, and he couldn't help doubting himself. Am I naturally unsuited to becoming a Beyonder? Or do all the pathways I picked just happen to be wrong for me?
Klein, on the other hand, calmed down. Having experienced numerous supernatural incidents, he instinctively felt that something was wrong. He gently rubbed his temples. Someone interfered with the divination results? Was it the person who gave Mr. Edward the formulas? Then what is he trying to achieve?
He suddenly looked at Edward and asked, "Could you let me try the sheet you put away earlier as well?"
"This one?"
Edward took out the Secrets Suppliant Formula. "This one definitely won't suit me. I heard everyone on this pathway is cra-"
The Yellow Crystal suspended above the Secrets Suppliant Formula actually began spinning clockwise!
"Something's wrong!"
Edward understood as well. Someone was clearly interfering with the divination results. The culprit was obvious: if it wasn't Mr. A, it was at least someone connected to him. He even suspected that inexplicably pulling out the Secrets Suppliant Formula earlier hadn't been a coincidence.
But how did the other party know I would use divination to choose a pathway?
Klein gave a faint smile. "I understand where the problem lies now. Please wait a moment. I need to visit the washroom first."
Was he finally going to perform divination in his "divine kingdom"?
Edward had come to him this time specifically because of Sefirah Castle. If Klein never went there, Edward would launch an offensive with pounds, using concerns over accuracy as an excuse to have him repeat the divination until he went to Sefirah Castle. Now he had saved himself some money.
Still, Edward put on a kindly expression and said, "Mr. Moretti, I've heard you often need to visit the washroom during divinations. Is something wrong with your health? As it happens, I know an old... doctor who specializes in men's private ailments."
Klein stumbled, then forced a few words out through gritted teeth. "No need. I'm perfectly healthy!"
Edward couldn't help laughing. Coming to Lord of the Mysteries to tease Klein the kitty really was fun.
Meanwhile, Klein entered the washroom and shut the door. Within a Wall of Spirituality, he took four steps counterclockwise and entered Above the Gray Fog.
Inside the silent, ancient, enormous palace, he held the Yellow Crystal Pendant and wrote a divination statement on a sheet of parchment he had manifested: Performing divination for Mr. Edward is harmful to me.
Then he set down the pen, unwound the pendulum from his wrist, and held it steadily in his left hand, suspending the Yellow Crystal Pendant just above the parchment.
Performing divination for Mr. Edward is harmful to me. Performing divination for Mr. Edward is harmful to me. Performing divination for Mr. Edward is harmful to me...
After he silently repeated it seven times, the Yellow Crystal began spinning counterclockwise.
Klein was mildly surprised. Not only is it harmless, it actually benefits me? Uh, that makes sense... he did give me pounds, after all.
Reassured, he wrote again:
It is right for Mr. Edward to choose the Hunter Pathway.
After seven silent repetitions, his eyes grew deeper, but the pendulum in his hand didn't move at all.
Did the divination fail? No, this should mean that choosing Hunter is neither right nor wrong for Mr. Edward. Yes, that makes more sense.
He wrote on the parchment again: It is right for Mr. Edward to choose the Lawyer Pathway.
The pendulum made small counterclockwise circles, indicating that the Lawyer Pathway didn't suit him very well.
Next came the Seer Pathway, and once again, the pendulum remained still.
For the Apprentice Pathway, the pendulum turned clockwise in small circles, indicating that Edward was reasonably compatible with it.
"Finally, let me take a look at Secrets Suppliant."
Klein suspended the Yellow Crystal Pendant above the parchment bearing the words "Secrets Suppliant."
The next second, the pendulum spun counterclockwise at tremendous speed-even faster than it had when he divined the other pathways outside!
"Just as I thought!"
Chapter 18: Klein Must Take Responsibility for This
Inside the Red Agate Room.
Edward finished a cup of coffee and finally saw Klein return.
"Sorry, something I ate yesterday upset my stomach. Sorry for the wait."
Klein sat back down, his face brimming with a confident smile. "However, I performed the divination again in the washroom just now. If you trust me..."
Before you continue