Klein's first morning in Backlund began with a pale fog, a sky with low visibility, a cold and damp atmosphere, cheap tea for a penny a liter, and two slices of toast with inferior butter.
He spent the entire morning busy, first going to the Backlund Post headquarters in Cherwood Borough and spending £30 to subscribe to a month's worth of advertising.
Starting Tuesday, loyal readers of the Backlund Post will see a small notice in the fold of pages seven and eight:
" Sherlock Moriarty, a private Detective skilled in all kinds of matters, charges reasonable fees, strictly adheres to confidentiality principles, and resides at 15 Minsk Street, Cherwood Borough."
Klein didn't choose major newspapers like the " Tussock Times " or the " Backlund Daily," which cover the entire Kingdom of Loen, because his business would be limited to the city of Backlund for the time being, and he didn't want to become too well-known.
Therefore, the Backlund Post, which was quite popular locally and had reasonable advertising rates, became his first choice.
After leaving the headquarters of the Backlund Post, Klein, map in hand, purchased various plant powders and silver flakes from different herbal shops, flower shops, jewelry stores, and accessory shops, preparing for the ceremony. As long as Spirituality items are not involved, most occult materials can be purchased in ordinary shops, though not in such a concentrated manner; it takes visiting many shops to gather them all.
As a result, Klein spent another 5 pounds, and the huge fortune of 200 pounds that he had withdrawn fell below 100 pounds, leaving him with only 92 pounds.
"Spending money is like water flowing away..." Klein found a small restaurant nearby and ordered an 8-pence steak with black pepper sauce, 2.5 pence mashed potatoes with pork sausage, 1 pence coffee, and 1 pence vegetables. Since the total exceeded 1 Soli, he added another 1 pence and got a super value bread with butter.
At 1 p. m., he returned to 15 Minsk Street. Without taking a break, he spent time preparing " Holy Night Powder " using powders of herbs such as Deep Sleep Flower, Dragon's Blood Grass, Deep Red Sandalwood, and Peppermint. This powder was used to create the Wall of Spirituality.
He could only make do with this until he could buy a genuine ceremonial silver dagger.
Klein guessed that he would have to advance to Sequence 7 to get rid of this limitation.
"Phew, Miss ' Justice,' Mr. ' The Hanged Man,' and Classmate ' The Sun ' haven't asked for leave yet, so today's gathering will proceed as scheduled... I wonder what kind of surprise Mr. ' The Hanged Man ' will bring me, and how many pages of Roselle's Diary he'll provide..." Klein leaned back on his bed in the bedroom, his mind wandering to various things.
For him, being a private Detective was a profession that combined earning money with action, allowing him to meet people from all walks of life, gradually uncover the Beyonder circle in Backlund, and eventually find clues about the Secret Order.
Of course, if he's lucky enough, he might even be able to find out directly from certain Beyonder circles what Sequence 7 " The Clown " corresponds to, and buy the corresponding Potion recipe and main ingredients.
As for Ince Zangwill's whereabouts, Klein will not actively seek him out for the time being, and may even need to avoid him slightly. However, if he happens to discover this enemy without exposing himself, he would not mind doing a good deed by anonymously sending a letter to the Church of the Evernight Goddess.
"A private Detective's income can barely sustain a middle-class lifestyle. To have enough money to buy Potion recipes and extraordinary materials, one option is to consult with Miss ' Justice,' and the other is to make some investments, using the remaining 100 pounds in my anonymous account... Hmm, I can't touch the 92 pounds I have on me for now; I might not have any money coming in for a long time..." Thinking of this, Klein suddenly sat up, went downstairs, and began reading the various newspapers he had bought earlier.
These newspapers often carry news items, such as someone inventing something and seeking investment, or someone hoping to partner with others to start a business.
Klein relied on his knowledge of Earth and his understanding of this era to carefully screen projects, but unfortunately, the guys he encountered today were not very reliable.
At 2:45 p. m., he returned to his bedroom, locked the door, drew the curtains, and created Wall of Spirituality using " Holy Night Powder ".
Taking four steps backward, he arrived above the Gray Fog. Klein sat upright in the Fool's high-backed chair, extending his Spirituality to touch the deep red star symbolizing the " The Sun " in response to the prayer.
This is one of the few things that hasn't changed in my life, which has been completely transformed... he suddenly sighed.
In an area City of Silver, inside a half-collapsed, dark gray tower.
The nine patrol members sat around a roaring fire, chatting about their experiences over the past few days.
Several other team members remained on the perimeter, on guard against a possible attack that might suddenly erupt from the darkness.
Countless Beyonder from City of Silver have taught them a lesson learned in blood:
Never let your guard down; Monster lurking in the darkness may be right behind you!
On nights with very low lightning frequency, it is essential to keep the flames burning and the light shining. Once darkness descends completely, it is not impossible for everyone to disappear. No one can say for sure what terrifying things might happen in pure darkness, because the reality has repeatedly exceeded the limits of their imagination.
Derrick Berg remained reservedly silent, listening quietly as his companions recounted their encounter with the Monster they had faced—a humanoid Monster covered in eyes.
In their efforts to defeat the Monster, the patrol suffered five injuries, two of them serious.
Suddenly, Derrick's vision blurred, and he felt himself enveloped in a thick Gray Fog.
In the indescribable distance, deep within the Gray Fog, a blurry figure sat upright in an ancient high-backed chair, looking down at him.
"Preparing for the party."
The Fool's voice echoed in Derrick's ears, but none of his teammates around him noticed.
After withdrawing his gaze and observing the surroundings for about ten seconds, Derrick moved to the very edge of the fire, leaned against the broken wall, and turned sideways to the others, pretending to be asleep.
Since Elder Lovia discovered that even the members of the " Council of Six " could not detect the presence of Mr. " The Fool," he gradually came to believe that as long as he did not carelessly expose any problems, he could quietly go to the Tarot Gathering above the Gray Fog, even under the scrutiny of countless eyes.
Backlund, Queens Borough.
Audrey, feigning exhaustion, returned to her bedroom.
She suppressed her excitement, refrained from pacing back and forth, and sat quietly on the bed, awaiting Mr. The Fool's summons.
My father was busy communicating with other councilors about the bills he was about to submit, and the Beyonder Guardians were no longer following me around all the time. Thank God, my life has finally returned to normal! Two weeks have passed, and Mr. " The Hanged Man " must have prepared the pituitary gland of the adult Rainbow Salamander... I'm about to advance to Sequence 8! Audrey thought with sparkling eyes.
For her, this was more exciting and anticipated than receiving the £30,000 bounty and a large plantation worth at least £8,000!
Finally, she saw the familiar, illusory Red Light surge forth like a tide, engulfing her.
On an old-fashioned sailing ship.
Alger Wilson locked the door to the captain's cabin, sat behind the sextant and nautical notebook, and kept memorizing the contents written on the thick stack of papers in front of him.
After completing the investigation and receiving praise from higher-ups, he did not linger in the prosperity of Backlund. Instead, he voluntarily left the metropolis and returned to the sea, carrying with him a batch of secretly copied copies of Roselle's Diary.
"Once I've digested the ' Navigator ' Potion, I can advance normally. My contribution will be enough to get the recipe and materials... But this will expose that I know about the ' Acting Method,' which has both advantages and disadvantages..." Alger shook his head, suddenly lost in thought.
Just then, he felt the call of " The Fool," and the face of " Admiral Hurricane " Qilangos suddenly appeared in his mind, his flesh and blood rotting rapidly, pieces of his face falling off.
Alger instinctively lowered his head, letting the crimson tide engulf him.
Above the Gray Fog, inside a palace that resembled the dwelling of Giant.
With his Spirit Vision activated, Klein examined " Justice," " The Hanged Man," and " The Sun," confirming their current state.
Audrey was about to greet him cheerfully when she suddenly saw the " The Hanged Man " make a gesture and spoke first:
"Mr. The Fool, I have obtained a total of 19 pages of Roselle's Diary this time."
"Here, I must thank you for sending your Blessed to help me eliminate Qilangos; these diaries are the reward I should give you!"
Page 19? Not bad... Klein didn't say much about the Blessed, and smiled calmly:
This is the principle of equivalent exchange.
As expected of " The Fool "... A pirate general carrying a magical item is completely beneath His notice... It seems I don't need to mention the bounty... I wonder how many High-Sequence Blessed " The Fool " has... Audrey has unconsciously begun to refer to " The Fool " as "He".
Upon hearing the Fool's reply, Alger the Hanged Man humbly said:
"My current memory limit is six pages; please allow me to deliver it to you in several installments."
"No problem." Klein, shrouded in thick Gray Fog, nodded slightly.
" The Sun " Derrick watched as the Hanged Man's diary materialized page by page, and he was very curious about its contents.
Based on his previous experiences, he believed that the items that Mr. The Fool was interested in must contain many mysteries.
He glanced at Miss " Justice," and seeing that she didn't seem inclined to ask any questions, he cautiously remained silent.
Soon, the six-page diary was completed and reached Klein's hands.
Audrey and the others began to wait quietly, as they were used to such things.
Klein lowered his gaze and began reading the first page:
"On December 16th, we made contact again with that poor fellow trapped deep in the Storm, lost in the darkness."
Finally, there's a follow-up to one of the notes from earlier... Klein was delighted and became even more focused:
"He called himself Mr. 'The Door' and tried to teach me a complex and difficult ritual to help him return to the real world, promising to grant me three requests."
"Does he think I'm stupid? I've lived for over sixty years across two lifetimes, can't I see that this is the usual tactic of evil gods Devil?"
"But his descriptions of some of the history of the Quaternary period are truly interesting."
P. S.: Requesting recommendation votes and monthly tickets on Monday!