Klein had intended to ask if, before those unfortunate events began to occur, Allen or his family had brought home anything unusual, such as a slightly dirty doll.
But as the words were about to come out, he suddenly felt that it was too direct and could easily reveal that he was quite knowledgeable about the mysterious world. Although this could be explained by the great Detective's extensive knowledge, there was no need to take that risk.
So he changed to a more roundabout approach, asking Doctor. Allen if his family had also suffered misfortune.
Upon hearing his question, Allen Kreis thought carefully for a moment and replied:
"No, aside from the Steam train accident that happened with me, most of the time they were neither particularly lucky nor unlucky, just like before. The rest of the time they were a mix of both, not particularly unlucky."
That's not right... If it's an item like the Misfortune Cloth Doll that needs to be sealed, it will definitely affect people within a certain range... Could it be that Allen dripped his blood on it, thus establishing a solid connection between the two? In Klein's Spirit Vision, Allen's aura and emotional color matched his physical and mental state respectively, with nothing unusual about it.
He asked carefully:
Are there any other people at the hospital where you work who are just as unlucky as you?
"No, so I think I must have been cursed by someone." Allen tugged at his bow tie, looking quite anxious and uneasy.
Under Talym's curious gaze, Klein thought for a moment and said:
Before those misfortunes, did you encounter anything strange, such as cutting yourself? In folklore, blood is a powerful medium through which curses can be cast.
"After I suspected it was a curse, I confirmed it. I haven't bled in the last three months," Allen replied solemnly, his hand on his knife and fork.
This is a bit strange... We can't do complex Divination in front of them... Klein asked again:
"And what about other slightly strange things?"
" Allen, think about it carefully again. There's no such thing as a problem without a reason. Have you offended anyone recently? Or become an obstacle for someone else?" Talym chimed in with concern.
Allen lowered his gaze to the food on his plate, lost in deep thought. Klein, not idle either, finished the food before it got cold and tasted bad.
After he began to enjoy dessert, Allen finally raised his head and said:
"I'm not a very sociable person, and I don't get along well with my colleagues, but it's hard to believe they would go to such lengths to curse me."
"Hmm... Now that you've reminded me, I do recall something that might be related to the occult."
"What is it?" Klein and Talym both perked up at the same time.
"Before this string of bad luck, I was in charge of a patient, a child under ten years old. He was very pitiful; due to some problems, he needed to have his left leg amputated," Allen said, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses. "I had only recently become a father, and I was always filled with sympathy for the child's misfortune. Every time I made my rounds, I would chat with him for a few minutes, encouraging and comforting him."
After a pause, Allen spoke more fluently:
"I remember it was the day before his surgery. I went to his ward again, and he was indeed quite anxious, playing with tarot cards. These were items he brought with him when he was admitted to the hospital, and he wouldn't even let his family take them away."
To help him relax, I played a tarot Divination with him.
"At that time, I turned over a card, and it was the reversed ' Wheel of Fortune '."
The child looked at me, smiled innocently, and said:
" Doctor, your luck is about to turn bad."
" Doctor, your luck is about to turn bad..." Talym gasped. "Why do I feel a chill run down my spine from this scene and these words...? That child later died on the operating table?"
Allen shook his head and said:
"The surgery was very successful, and he was discharged from the hospital shortly afterward. He even expressed his gratitude to me."
"So, I never doubted it, but now, looking back, I realize that this was the only time in the last two months that I've come into contact with anything related to the occult. Regardless of whether it's useful or not, tarot cards are ultimately for Divination."
A brass-colored coin had appeared in Klein's hand sometime during the day, and it was jumping and tumbling between his fingers, seemingly symbolizing the analytical process of the "famous Detective ".
The coin bounced up and fell back down, landing in his palm. Klein glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, then ended his "thinking" and said:
"What's that child's name? Where does he live?"
Allen answered without hesitation:
"His name is Will Auceptin, but I don't remember where he lives."
" Detective, what's your suggestion?"
Do you know any experts in the field of occultism?
Klein took a sip of black tea and smiled under the expectant gazes of Allen and Talym:
"My suggestion is to go to the church of the deity you worship, describe your recent misfortunes to the bishop, and ask him if there is a solution. Allen, I remember you are, uh, a follower of the Evernight Goddess, right?"
He almost blurted out "goddess," but luckily he remembered in time that his current identity was that of Detective worshipped the God of Steam and Machinery.
"But my previous prayers to the goddess, attendance at Mass, and donations of money and goods have all been ineffective. I think we still need to find some skilled Divination." Allen disagreed with Detective Moriarty's suggestion.
Talym nodded in agreement from the side:
"Yes, the gods don't care whether you're lucky or unlucky. Good luck is a blessing, and bad luck is a test."
"My friend, your faith is rather undevoted. Watch out, the Lord of Storms might strike you with lightning..." Klein glanced at the two of them separately and chuckled.
This suggestion is based on very simple logic.
"If, and I mean if, there truly exists a useful and effective form of mysticism in this world, then the seven orthodox churches would undoubtedly be the most skilled in it; otherwise, they would have long been replaced by other forces that have mastered mysticism."
"If there's no such thing as true mysticism, then consulting Divination and witch doctors won't help at all; it's better to see if a higher-ranking bishop has any solutions."
After careful analysis, Allen finally nodded and said:
"That makes a lot of sense."
"Perhaps I need the bishop to convey my message for the goddess to protect me."
No, to be precise, it was only after the bishop relayed the message that the Nighthawks noticed the abnormality about you... Klein retorted inwardly.
He had no intention of helping Allen himself, because to solve Allen's luck problem, besides finding the root of everything, he would definitely have to arrange a certain ritual.
Putting aside whether Klein understands the true nature of the Luck Enhancement Ritual, even if he does, the ritual would expose his extraordinary powers to unfamiliar people, unnecessarily increasing his risks.
Since the Nighthawks can handle it, I don't need to do it myself... I just don't know if the problem comes from that boy or the tarot cards in his hand. If it's the latter, then it might be a perfect Sealed Artifact for me. What a pity... Klein quietly shook his head, suppressing the surge of Greed and other emotions in his heart.
At this moment, Allen had made his decision. Looking at Klein, he smirked and said:
"Thank you, Mr. Moriarty. Although you are not knowledgeable in mysticism, you have given the best advice based on rigorous logic."
"Yes, I don't understand the mysticism..." Klein smiled and said.
"Just call me Sherlock, Allen."
Hmm, ever since I stopped being Nighthawks, the composition of my occult knowledge has become increasingly strange. On one hand, I've mastered quite a few secrets about High-Sequence deities, but on the other hand, I only know relatively basic Ritualistic Magic. As for the more complex ones, I only know about sacrifice and bestowal rituals, and my spells have remained at three types for a long time... Klein sighed inwardly, feeling that he urgently needed a more comprehensive and in-depth book on occultism.
As for the knowledge that can separate the spiritual corruption of evil gods from Beyonder Characteristic, there are currently no clues at all.
After taking a short break at the club, Klein took a public carriage to the Leys Circus in the Cherwood Borough, near the Tussock River.
Today was neither a holiday nor a festival, so there weren't many customers at the circus, and the Clown responsible for entertaining and entertaining the audience seemed rather listless.
After passing through the " Divination hut" and the tents selling pies, pancakes, fruit pies, and alcoholic beverages, Klein walked along the edge of the circus grounds and found a small theater. A blackboard at the entrance read that there were four shows a day, each lasting one hour, on weekdays.
The first session in the afternoon was at 2 PM, and it had just started.
After buying his ticket, Klein entered the theater and heard cheers.
At this moment, an Beast Tamer is on the stage, holding a whip, ordering a black bear to perform an adorable act. Beside him lies a tiger with yellow and black stripes, and sitting a baboon with dark, curly fur.
Snap!
With a flick of the Beast Tamer's whip, the black bear clumsily somersaulted.
"Hey, this guy was about to slap you!" someone shouted from the very front of the row of seats, eliciting laughter from the few Spectator in the audience.
They thought this was a new way for circuses to entertain.
But Klein didn't think so, because he noticed that the Beast Tamer's emotional color leaned towards anger and annoyance.
He smiled, walked to the first row and sat down to enjoy the performance on stage, so as not to feel guilty about the ticket price.
Just then, the person who had spoken earlier shouted again:
"That tiger wants to bite your neck off, and that curly-haired baboon wants to drag you under its butt and use you as a cushion!"
Amidst the Spectator's laughter, the Beast Tamer's movements visibly stiffened for a moment.
This... Although those words sounded like they were meant to cause trouble, why did I hear a hint in them...? Klein turned his head to look at the speaker in the same row and found that he was a round-faced man in his thirties.
This tone, this manner... it feels familiar... Klein muttered silently.
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