West Vilas County is located in the western part of the Kingdom of Loen, facing the Republic of Intis across the Hornacis Mountain Range. In Backlund, there is a street named after it, located on the edge of the Queens Borough, where the headquarters of the Capital Police Department is located.
Many people choose to settle on this street for peace of mind, and Macht Pound was one of them.
Inside the street-facing house number 29, the Baron, wearing a cotton nightgown, stood in the warm living room by the closed window, gazing at the Sivellaus Yard diagonally opposite.
He was only in his early forties, but his temples were already gray, his eyes were puffy, his wrinkles were obvious, and he seemed to be emanating the smell of alcohol at all times.
Behind Macht, torn women's underwear lay scattered on the floor, and across from it stood a fireplace with flames burning.
The Baron raised his glass, downed the rest of the liquid in one gulp, and then slowly walked toward the door, intending to go back to his bedroom to sleep.
Because there were no pipes attached to the fireplace to transfer heat, he felt the bone-chilling cold of late autumn as soon as he left the living room.
"Damn it!" Macht Pound muttered under his breath, staggering to the bedroom door and turning the handle.
The bedroom was dimly lit, with only a faint Red Light filtering in.
Just as Macht was about to close the door and lay down on the bed, his gaze suddenly froze.
A figure sat quietly on the chair next to the curtains!
The figure was dressed in gray-blue clothes and trousers, and wore a dark baseball cap, completely hidden in the shadows.
Noticing Baronet Pound, the figure slowly raised his head and looked over.
His face was covered in red, yellow, and white paint, making him look like the most ridiculous Clown!
Just as Macht was about to shout and turn to run away, he saw a revolver pointed at him and heard two low, hoarse words:
I advise you not to do anything unwise.
"If you cooperate well, I won't hurt you or take your belongings, if you still have any."
Macht Pound's expression shifted a few times, then he obediently closed the bedroom door, half-raised his hands, and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"What... what do you want me to do?" He hiccuped, his body trembling slightly as he reminded him, " The Sivellaus Yard is right across from us!"
"I know, but I think I'm closer to you than the Sivellaus Yard," Klein, disguised as Clown, altered his voice and tone, adding a warning, "And my purpose is simply to ask you some questions."
Before coming to West Balam Street, he Divination whether his journey would be dangerous in that mysterious space above the Gray Fog, and received a very safe answer.
"A problem?" Macht's lips moved slightly, then he gave a bitter laugh. "Here we go again... Am I destined to never escape this nightmare?"
"Many people have asked about this?" Klein followed up.
"No, it wasn't just asking! After my uncle, the respected Viscount, passed away, so much happened around me. The kind old butler resigned without reason and disappeared. The servants and maids changed one after another without warning, becoming unfamiliar and cold. They were searching for something, yes, searching for something. I was not even 10 years old at the time, and I could only watch. I dared not tell anyone. I was afraid I would never wake up again!" Macht replied, quite distraught.
What are they looking for? Are they searching for that underground structure, or the Pound Family's treasure, such as Beyonder Characteristic and magical artifacts buried near that Evil Spirit? The royal family and the church shouldn't be unaware of this; the higher-ups must know about the conservation of Beyonder Characteristic! Since the Pound Family has fallen, shouldn't similar items have been reclaimed? Unless, the Viscount spent a great deal of money to purchase additional Beyonder Characteristic and magical artifacts of the same Sequence, thereby concealing the matter of the underground structure... Klein listened calmly, generating many speculations.
He appeared relaxed, but was actually ready to act at any moment, asking:
How long did this kind of life last?
"I don't know, I don't know. All the faces around me were unfamiliar. How could I be sure the rest weren't accomplices? Heh, I pretended I didn't notice anything, lived in fear for years, and then, under their influence, I drank heavily, womanized, gambled, smoked marijuana, and did all sorts of things that made me feel like a complete waste!" Macht Pound laughed somewhat nervously. "They finally relaxed and stopped watching me. After I even sold that house, they... whoosh, they left. I don't know where they went. No, they're definitely still secretly monitoring me, preventing me from calling the police. Yes, preventing me from calling the police!"
This guy has a mental illness... I don't know if he's telling the truth or not. His emotional changes are very logical, but what if he just feels guilty towards the Viscount and has conjured up this drama to justify his Depravity, and then keeps Psychological Suggestion himself to believe it completely... As a qualified keyboard warrior who knows a little about everything, Klein has seen similar cases in his past life.
He thought for two seconds and said:
What questions did these people ask you?
"They asked me how the Viscount's two children died, and what unusual things the Viscount had done in those years. I was not even 10 years old at the time, I knew nothing!" Macht waved his arms and growled in a low voice, unable to contain himself.
"Calm down, please calm down." Klein pressed down with his left hand and turned to ask about other things, trying to confirm from multiple angles whether Baronet Pound.
Time flew by in the back-and-forth questioning, and Klein said in a hoarse voice:
You really do seem to know nothing.
"I'm sorry to have bothered you, I should take my leave now."
He stood up, bowed slightly, and gave a polite greeting, showing great manners.
Almost simultaneously, the panic and agitation on Macht Pound's face vanished instantly, and his light blue eyes became unusually deep, as if scrutinizing someone.
Seeing that the Clown -dressed intruder was about to stand up straight again, he immediately reverted to his previous behavior: grief, madness, bitterness, and neurosis.
Just then, a mysterious voice suddenly rang in his ears.
"Crimson!"
Klein infused the " Sleeping Charm " with Spirituality and threw it at Macht with his unarmed left hand.
Amidst the soft crackling of burning, a rich and intense tranquility spread, enveloping the Baron, causing his eyes to close involuntarily, and his body to slump onto the bed.
"I'm sorry, the question just now was only for comparison with what's to come. There are still procedures like ' Dream Divination ' and ' Spirit Channeling ' to follow." Klein patted the other person's pajamas, placed his hand on his chest, and bowed again.
Then, he used the " Dream Charm " to enter the other person's dream like Nightmare.
In a gray, fragmented world that Blink, Klein walks beside Macht with a clear mind and rationality, watching him encounter waiters and maids with blank, featureless faces that are strangely unsettling. He watches as he always turns his head and sees a silent, aged face watching him. He watches as Raft cowers in a corner, trembling, and as he is gradually enveloped by shadows.
This matched his earlier description perfectly... Klein tried to guide the conversation to figure out what was going on, but Baronet Pound seemed to have a very serious psychological trauma related to those events; the slightest provocation would cause him to scream and run wildly in his dreams.
This prevented Klein from obtaining any further information.
So he exited the dream, gave Macht Pound another " Sleeping Charm," and then took out materials such as " Amanda " hydrosol to prepare for the Spirit Channeling ritual.
After responding to himself, Klein's Spirituality pierced through the Storm of thoughts and saw the other's illusory figure, an illusory figure based on the Mental Body.
"Did the Viscount say anything to you before he died?" Klein asked after a moment's thought.
Macht Pound answered in a daze:
"He allowed me to maintain the family."
"Anything else?" Klein asked again, deliberately using a confident tone.
"Let me remember the glory of my ancestors," Macht replied blankly.
Klein nodded slightly, then asked:
What are those people looking for?
"I don't know," Macht, sticking to his previous answer.
Klein continued to ask questions, comparing them with what he had said before, and concluded that Baronet Pound and that what he had just said was true enough.
Having reached this point, he stopped there, penetrating the other person's mental Storm and allowing the spreading Spirituality to return to his own body.
Klein then methodically tidied up the scene and tossed the Azik Copper Whistle a few times, using its position to interfere with any subsequent Divination investigations.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Baron." Having done all this, Klein, smeared with Clown paint, bowed once more.
Then, he turned around, opened the window, leaped into the street, and disappeared into the vast night.
After a moment, Macht Pound suddenly opened his eyes.
Around those light blue eyes, there was a ring of ruptured capillaries!
He suddenly sat up and stared at the open bay window.
After taking a long detour through the East Borough, Klein washed off his disguise, changed into normal clothes, and returned to 15 Minsk Street in the Cherwood Borough as if nothing had happened.
He didn't rest there, nor did he think about what to do with the underground structure next. Instead, he went back into the Gray Fog.
At the head of the ancient long table, Klein slowly opened his palm, revealing a few strands of brown hair—hair from Macht Pound, hair he had collected before " Dream Divination."
There was one last procedure: Divination above the Gray Fog to confirm... Klein muttered to himself, conjuring paper and pen to write down what he had already considered:
" Macht Pound's Future."
I want to see what will happen to you in the future, to see if it matches the past! Klein leaned back in his chair and silently recited the Divination words.
Because that ancient building involved six orthodox deities, he was afraid that directly Divination about it would cause problems. So, he changed his approach and asked Macht Pound about the future!