He seems to have Balam blood... a university lecturer... it is indeed Mr. Azik, not someone with the same name... Based on the information provided by Old Kohler, Klein has basically confirmed that the wanted person is Azik, who is suspected to be a descendant of the Death Reaper.
"Then the question arises: who, or rather which organization, is looking for Mr. Azik?"
" The Spirituality Religion, whose ultimate goal is to resurrect Death? Ince Zangwill, who prefers to be the mastermind behind everything?"
"Unlike the latter, Ince Zangwill possesses the Sealed Artifact 0-08, which allows a target to act according to its own description, achieving its desired goal through a series of coincidences. He has absolutely no need to rely on gang members and bounty Hunter to find Mr. Azik..."
"Wait, what if this was all part of the arrangement by the Sealed Artifact 0-08? Ince Zangwill discovered that Mr. Azik was targeting him, but he wasn't confident of winning in battle, so he used 0-08 to create a conflict between Mr. Azik and a certain force, hoping to eliminate the enemy indirectly, and this bounty was issued by that force... It's very possible!"
"However, we cannot rule out the possibility that the Spirituality Religion, driven by Mr. Azik's desire for revenge, may have had some contact with them, but major disagreements arose between the two sides regarding matters such as resurrecting Death, ultimately leading to a break..."
Klein instantly thought of two possibilities and their corresponding reasons.
He picked up his coffee, took a sip, and then said to Old Kohler:
"Could you find out who posted this bounty and the exact price? If it's suitable, I might keep an eye out for it."
"No problem." Old Kohler didn't think there was anything wrong with Klein's request.
In a sense, there is no essential difference between private Detective and bounty Hunter. The only difference lies in their methods of expression. The former will do even trivial things like catching someone cheating, finding a cat, or walking someone's dog, and they prefer reasoning to violence.
After Old Kohler finished recounting his other observations, Klein, following the Nighthawks's tutorial, briefly taught him some techniques for extracting information and emergency response plans for specific scenarios.
"I should go to the docks now. Thank you, Detective Moriarty, you've given me back my wonderful life!" Old Kohler picked up the worn-out soft hat from the table and sincerely thanked him.
In his view, the Detective not only provided him with a well-paid job, but also taught him many useful things. Even if the other party no longer needed informants in the future, these skills would be enough for him to barely survive in the East Borough, especially as he got older and less able to do heavy work.
A good life? In my opinion, what you have now is the most basic life a person can have... After watching Old Kohler leave the cheap coffee shop, Klein sat there in a daze.
This was the first time he had heard his friend's name from someone else since arriving in Backlund, and also the first time he might have had a chance to track down Ince Zangwill!
For the past three months, especially after killing Lanarvus, Klein's main goal had been to digest the Potion and improve himself.
He knew very well that there was an insurmountable gap between himself and Ince Zangwill, who was likely already a High-Sequence powerhouse. Revenge could not be rushed, especially since the Sealed Artifact 0-08, which was terrifying just to think about, made him not even have the idea of approaching or investigating it.
Scenes from the Blackthorn Security Company in Tingen City flashed back into Klein's mind, the gleaming leather shoes as vivid as if they were right before his eyes.
Klein tilted his head back, slowly exhaled, grabbed his scarf and hat, and walked out of the cheap coffee shop.
Outside a somewhat dilapidated house in the Hillston Borough.
Klein stepped down from the carriage, adjusted his hat, and headed straight for the gate.
This is Isengard Stanton's home.
The great Detective wrote to Klein a few days ago, inviting him to come over and discuss a murder case.
Klein, preoccupied with financing his bicycle project, politely declined the offer, saying he was too busy Isengard Stanton paid no heed, stating that the case had reached a dead end and there would be no breakthrough in the short term. He added that he was eagerly awaiting Sherlock Moriarty 'Detective visit and anticipated a Wisdom- provoking exchange.
Klein had no choice but to Divination to find an auspicious date for visiting the other party, choosing the one closest to the negotiations, which was this afternoon, and then replied to the other party to finalize the matter.
Jingle bells, jingle bells.
Klein rang the doorbell twice, then stepped back to wait.
After a dozen seconds, the door creaked open, Isengard 'Detective assistant smiled:
"Good afternoon, Detective Moriarty. Mr. Stanton is waiting for you in the living room. Would you like coffee or tea?"
The assistant was slender, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and appeared both refined and professional.
Klein looked up at him and said:
"Black tea, please, with less lemon slices."
"No problem." The assistant led Klein into the living room and pointed to the doorway to the sitting room. "I'm sorry, our servants are all temporary; they're off today. You'll have to go through by yourself."
Klein nodded slightly and stepped outside the living room on the first floor.
As he raised his hand to knock on the door, he suddenly felt something was amiss:
My visit to Mr. Stanton was arranged several days in advance; how could it be that all the temporary servants were on leave?
Klein narrowed his eyes and reached in to pull out a copper penny.
Just then, the living room door opened after being knocked on, revealing a small crack.
In an instant, it seemed as if some seal was broken, and a strong smell of blood wafted out, reaching Klein's nostrils.
In his line of sight, the armchair in the living room lay overturned on the floor, stained with dark red blood, and a book lay beside it, cover up.
With just that one glance, Klein felt as if he were witnessing a murder scene.
The title of that book then came into his view:
Devil Legends of the Sivellaus Region
The Devil... Just as Klein was about to make a move, a sudden gust of wind swept through the living room, and he yanked the door shut and quickly pulled himself back.
Clang!
Klein got a clear view of the entire interior of the living room:
The charcoal in the fireplace had long since burned out, and no longer showed any red glow.
Coffee tables, sofas, chairs, cabinets, and other items were overturned or broken, seemingly bearing witness to a fierce battle;
There was a lot of blood on the carpet and walls, along with numerous scorch marks, but no body could be found at the scene, not even any limbs.
Has something happened to Detective Stanton? Klein took a step back, intending to get away from here first.
Almost simultaneously, he felt himself being targeted by someone.
Someone, hidden somewhere, was coldly and indifferently watching him!
If he makes Error in his response, he will immediately face Fatal Attack!
What makes this auspicious time to visit Isengard Stanton? Had I misinterpreted the revelation? Klein dared not act rashly.
But he wasn't too nervous or flustered. Having experienced many battles and "performances," he knew that the most important thing at this moment was to remain calm.
Tap, tap, tap, Isengard Stanton's assistant came over carrying a tray.
A tin teapot and two white porcelain cups were placed on the tray.
The assistant froze in place when he saw the scene in the living room.
He looked at Klein, his expression suddenly filled with fear, and said, word by word:
"You killed Mr. Stanton..."
With each word he uttered, a piece of flesh would fall off his face, leaving it covered in blood.
As soon as he finished speaking, he was torn to pieces, becoming a mangled corpse, just as he had always been, always in this state, only now he had been stitched back together.
Clang! Crash! The tin kettle and the white porcelain cup fell to the ground at the same time, rolling and splashing, while the black tea quickly soaked the surrounding area.
Klein didn't move, just watched it all unfold, because he felt he was still being watched.
The creature that orchestrated all of this seemed to be waiting for him to make a move before pouncing on him from behind and biting off his neck.
After an unknown amount of time, in the silent and eerie standoff, Klein saw the door to the Isengard Stanton's house open, and a group of police officers in black and white checkered uniforms rushed in.
They discovered the disgusting and horrific dismembered body on the ground, immediately drew their revolvers, and pointed them at Klein at the living room door.
Faced with the dark muzzles of guns, Klein relaxed.
That silent gaze, which felt like a gun to the back of his head, vanished in that instant!
Klein raised his hands and smiled helplessly:
"I won't say anything until I see my Lawyer."
Backlund Police Department, Cherwood Precinct.
Klein, handcuffed to the water pipe, saw Lawyer Jurgen again.
"I will accompany you during the interrogation." Jurgen's expression remained unchanged, as if Detective Moriarty was meant to be there.
Klein sighed and said:
"This is truly a tragedy. At a time like this, I should be thinking about what to eat for dinner, not chatting with a stern-faced police officer."
His greatest relief today was that, due to the Aurora Order's investigation and the attention of High-Sequence experts from the Rose School of Thought, he hadn't brought any extraordinary items with him. His only possession, a revolver, was easily concealed from the body search through a "magical" performance.
Once inside the interrogation room, before the officer could even ask him any questions, he recounted in detail how he had received a letter from Isengard Stanton and had come to discuss a case at the officer's request.
"We'll come to your house later with Lawyer Jurgen to retrieve these letters; hopefully they're still there." The officer in charge of the interrogation then asked, "How did you meet Detective Isengard Stanton?"
Klein answered without hesitation:
"Because of that previous serial murder case..."
He paused for a moment at this point.
He remembered something: he had always suspected that the Devil Dog had an owner, and he had once sneered at the scene where the Devil Dog was killed.
By the way, the book Stanton was reading before his Detective was " The Devil Legends of the Sivellaus Region "... Could it be that the owner of the Devil Dog, after a period of dormancy, launched a revenge attack? And Stanton was the Detective in the police Record who provided the main clues or ideas and received the reward! Klein quickly made a guess.