Wednesday morning, Cherwood Borough, across from Coim Company.
Klein sat on a wooden bench outside the Jowood Department Store, holding a paper bag containing the most famous Xin's Desi Pies in the neighborhood in one hand and a cup of sweet iced tea in the other.
Beside him, a homeless man was curled up sleeping on the other side of a bench, but he was woken up and chased away by the mall's security personnel after about ten minutes.
Klein wore lightly prescribed gold-rimmed glasses and a half-high silk top hat, looking much like most of the gentlemen passing by.
He leisurely gazed at the Coim Company across the street, raised his right hand, and took a big bite of Xin's Desi Pies, savoring the rich, juicy flavor and lingering taste.
The reason why this pie from Desi Bay stands out among the many pies in the South is that it is generous with oil and fatty meat, but it is chopped very finely, with a mixture of lean and fatty meat, so it is not greasy.
The rich, meaty juices seeped into the outer crust, neutralizing the dryness and compensating for its shortcomings, allowing the wheat flavor to emerge in distinct layers. Meanwhile, the small pieces of chopped apple added a slightly sour and sweet taste that stimulated the appetite and neutralized the oiliness.
It's alright... Although Backlund has bad weather and serious pollution, it's far superior to Tingen in other aspects. You can find different cuisines from different places and styles, and you can see all kinds of operas and plays as long as you're not afraid to spend money... Even if you don't necessarily eat or watch them, at least you have the right to choose. That's the advantage of a metropolis... Klein picked up his sweet iced tea and took a comfortable sip.
His gaze never left the gate of Coim Company. For that £10, he had been sitting there since 8 a. m., buying his breakfast on the way.
Of course, for most private Detective, earning £10 for a single case is an enviable job, which is equivalent to about three weeks' salary for a normal middle-class person!
According to information provided by Mary Gale, her husband is currently the first manager of Coim Company and Luke Summer. However, their shares in Coim Company originated from Mary's father and were inherited by her.
One of the immediate reasons she suspected her husband of having a mistress was that a colleague at the company told her that Doragu Gale would leave alone on Wednesday and Friday mornings and not return until the afternoon. In addition, he would leave work early two days a week, and Mary had never seen her husband step into the house before seven o'clock.
After having breakfast, Klein waited for more than an hour before finally seeing his target leave the Coim Company.
He wore a black top hat, a double-breasted wool coat, and a standard bow tie. He was slightly overweight, with light blond sideburns, slightly brown eyes, and a somewhat long face.
Doragu Gale... Klein silently repeated the target's name, then stood up abruptly, picked up his cane and the heavy portable camera, and walked towards the other side.
Doragu did not send his coachman to pick him up. Instead, he stood by the roadside, looking around for a horse-drawn carriage to rent.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Klein crossed the road, came to his side, and pretended to be careless, bumping into him.
"Sorry, I was looking for directions," Klein said, bowing his head in apology.
Doragu frowned immediately, but remained silent, waving his hand to indicate that it was nothing.
Klein quickly bowed and paid his respects before heading towards the street corner.
The reason he bumped into Dorag just now wasn't to Stealing his belongings so he could easily track him using the " Dowsing Rod Method "—that would be too easy to be discovered and detected.
In the instant of the collision, Klein did only one thing: using the " Clown's" agility, he quietly slipped a spare button from his double-breasted tuxedo into one of the target's decorative pockets.
He turned the corner, stopped, and looked back, just in time to see Doragu board a taxi.
Klein didn't rush to follow, patiently waiting a few minutes before leisurely boarding another carriage and saying to the driver:
"Follow my instructions and go to the end of this street first."
"Okay." The driver didn't ask why.
Inside the carriage, Klein, leaning on his cane, began to Divination.
However, his Divination did not point to Doragu Gale, but instead became "The whereabouts of the spare button on my garment!"
The " Dowsing Rod Method " The Original and most practically used for finding lost items, and only " Seer " could use it to find people. This time, Klein restored it to its original form.
The most convenient and easiest items to find are those that belong to your own category!
As they drove, Klein kept having the driver adjust the direction until they finally arrived at a house on the street in the Hillston Borough. When he had circled around earlier, he noticed that this house had a garden and lawn at the back, unlike ordinary residences.
His Dowsing Rod Method told him that Doragu Gale was inside the house.
After paying the fare of 2 Soli, Klein walked toward the doorway with the marble statue and saw two men in black and white checkered uniforms who seemed to be imitating police officers.
"I don't know you. Where is your membership certificate?" One of the men, with brownish-yellow skin and Southern Continent ancestry, reached out and stopped Klein.
"Membership certificate?" Klein asked, hiding his heavy camera behind his back and frowning slightly.
The man with sallow skin immediately hardened his expression.
"This is the Cragg Club. Only our members and their accompanying guests are allowed entry, limited to one person per person."
Klein nodded.
"How can I join your club?"
"You can only join if you receive recommendations from two members." The brown-skinned man didn't rudely drive him away, but patiently answered the other person's questions.
He couldn't guarantee that the other party wouldn't turn around and join the club.
"Okay." Klein's lips twitched slightly as he decided to activate Plan B.
He found a hotel near the Cragg Club and booked a short stay for four hours.
Then, he locked the door, drew the curtains, and stepped above the Gray Fog, whereupon a yellowish-brown parchment and a round-bellied fountain pen materialized before him.
Taking a breath, Klein wrote down the exact same Divination statement as before:
"Where is the spare button for this shirt?"
This time, it's not the " Dowsing Rod Method," but the " Dream Divination Method "!
The reason for not conducting the operation outside was that Klein felt the so-called Cragg Club looked quite high-end and suspected that there might be some powerful Beyonder inside. In order not to waste time, he decided to go straight to the point.
In the hazy dream world, Klein first saw Dorag's black wool coat, hanging on a coat rack, with a round table on a carpet in front of it.
The image zoomed out, and a tumbling man and woman came into Klein's view Doragu Gale, and the woman had radiant blonde hair and was quite young, probably in her early twenties.
Her pained expression, with her brows furrowed, was quite alluring... Why do I always have to see this kind of scene... Klein covered his eyes and woke up.
It's pretty much confirmed that Doragu has a mistress... but how do I get concrete evidence...? By responding to a prayer? But that's only something I can get through physical means, just a sketch, not a camera... I can't exactly draw a picture by hand, can I? Looks like today won't work. I'll follow that woman later, find out her address and name. I refuse to believe they always meet at the Cragg Club... Detective Klein quickly came up with his next plan.
Just as he was about to leave this mysterious space above the Gray Fog, he suddenly thought of something else.
That is, should I also do Divination to confirm whether the iron-black nematode that infiltrated my room is being Manipulation by Beyonder using the " Seer " pathway?
He hadn't done this before because he felt the relevant information was too scarce, making it difficult to fabricate a result out of thin air, and the Divination would definitely fail, even above the Gray Fog. In addition, he had been busy with important matters the previous times he came in, and had no time to pay attention to other issues, so he hadn't bothered with it. But now, he was idle anyway, and doing Divination wouldn't kill him.
As for the question of whether contacting Azik was risky, he had Divination long ago, and the answer was yes, it was risky, and not insignificant, and should only be considered as a last resort.
After writing down the corresponding Divination phrases, Klein unfastened the silver chain from his cuff, letting the citrine pendant dangle from the paper.
"The iron-black nematode that infiltrated my room was Manipulation Beyonder of the ' Seer ' pathway."
After silently repeating it seven times, Klein opened his eyes and saw the pendulum spinning clockwise, fast and with a large amplitude.
Definitely... the answer is definitely yes!
Shouldn't it have failed? Klein hadn't expected such an answer; based on his Seer's instincts, this Divination was likely to fail.
Why? He frowned, thought for a long time, and decided to change the method of Divination and the target of the Divination.
He wanted to directly Divination the Manipulator using " Dream Divination Method "!
This time, Klein saw nothing in his dream and was unable to receive any corresponding revelation from the Beyonder " Seer."
"That's more like it..." he murmured, turning back to look at the previous Divination, lost in thought.
The Divination failed because the conditions were lacking, just like the one later... Could it be that this mysterious space filled in the necessary conditions on its own? Does it contain something about the " Seer's " path? Klein suddenly had a flash of inspiration and a bold idea!
Perhaps this mysterious space above the Gray Fog is related to the " Seer " path!
Hmm... Klein tapped the edge of the ancient long table, thinking it over but unable to find any other proof, so he could only put the matter aside for the time being and prepare to return to the real world.
"Regardless, at least one thing is confirmed: there is Mid-Sequence Beyonder with the ' Seer ' pathway by the ambassador's side, and whether he is a member of the Secret Order is not the point... This may be my chance to obtain Sequence 7, or even Sequence 6 Potion recipe!" Klein spread his Spirituality, enveloped himself, and fell into the Gray Fog.
Meanwhile, in the study of the Viscount Glaint's household.
Audrey told her master to guard the door outside, then looked at Hugh and Fors, pondered for a few seconds, and said:
"I have a task that I need your help with."
"What mission?" Hugh's eyes lit up, as if he could smell the ink on banknotes.
Audrey gave a polite smile:
"The assassination of Intis's ambassador to the kingdom, Bakerland Jean Madan."
P. S.: I will update earlier, around midnight.