After a moment of realization, Klein rubbed his temples, slowly calming himself down, and realized that this matter had little to do with him.
He had no motivation to get involved. Whether the Loen military found Turan von Hermosuin. He lacked a sense of belonging to the Kingdom of Loen. In the past, he had only hoped for social stability and that the people would not suffer unexpected harm. If possible, he was willing to promote change so that the poor could at least live like human beings.
"I never thought that coming to this world would make me more of an internationalist..." He chuckled to himself, then prepared to return to the real world, turn off the lights, and go to sleep, letting the waves rise and the Storm rage outside.
At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the largest item in the pile of clutter: a radio transceiver.
"Speaking of which faction controls Turan von Hermosuin, if it's someone from the ' Mystery Queen ' Bernadette's side, that's fine. She's someone who adheres to the motto 'Do as you please, but do not harm,' and wouldn't do anything excessive."
"If it's the Rose School of Thought represented by the ' Admiral of Blood,' then that's not good. Apart from the Temperance Faction that has been suppressed internally, their evil Aurora Order ' Chained God ' or the ' Mother Tree of Desire.' If they were to master the most advanced technology, it would probably bring disaster..." Klein stopped his action of enveloping himself in Spirituality and tapped the edge of the mottled long table with his fingers.
He quickly came up with an idea: to bring the radio receiver back to the real world, tune it to the appropriate frequency, and see if he could receive telegrams from Admiral of Blood " and his gang, then use the codebook he had to decipher them.
"A city-wide search is underway tonight. Things are at a rather delicate and crucial juncture. If they control Hermosuin, necessary telegram exchanges are very likely to occur... Given that the Governor's Mansion, the Loen military, and the Church of Storms haven't yet taken this technology seriously or even accepted it, this is a very safe method. Therefore, there's a considerable probability that the ' Admiral of Blood's ' group hasn't changed their frequency band and code after Old Quinn's death... In short, let's give it a try." After careful consideration, Klein didn't delay and returned to the real world, busily preparing for the ceremony to receive the bestowal.
After bringing the radio receiver into the room, he didn't use it immediately. Instead, he took out a ritual silver dagger and created Wall of Spirituality to seal off the room.
He's dispersing the odor, clearing away the "smell" of the Gray Fog!
For him, determining which faction controlled Hermosuin didn't actually require such trouble. He could simply use the aura of the Gray Fog to connect with the " Magic Mirror " Arrodes and get a valid answer. However, the problem was that this was too close to the last question and answer session, and the frequent appearance of the scent might be noticed by evil gods such as the " True Creator Primordial Demoness," which was very unsafe.
Therefore, Klein, being cautious, planned to rely on himself.
After seven or eight minutes, when he felt the "smell" had dissipated, he dispelled the Wall of Spirituality, operated the radio receiver, and began listening.
After an unknown amount of time, radio waves suddenly appeared on the corresponding frequency!
Klein suppressed his joy, carefully made Record, and then opened the codebook he had previously reconstructed using Divination methods to interpret it.
He quickly wrote a line of words on the sticky note:
32 Black Pepper Avenue, 7:00 AM tomorrow.
Sure enough, it was the " Admiral of Blood " who were controlling Hermosuin, and there might be powerful figures from the Rose School of Thought involved behind the scenes... Klein immediately made the judgment.
This was not determined based on the content of the telegram, but rather by simple inference from the very existence of the telegram.
If they had nothing to do with the " Admiral of Blood," it wouldn't be such a coincidence that they received or sent a telegram involving Bayam Street on such a night!
"Does this telegram mean we should meet at 32 Black Pepper Avenue before 7 a. m. tomorrow? Or are Hermosuin and ' Silver Coin Viper ' Orville currently hiding there, reporting their location to ' Admiral of Blood ' and giving him the corresponding time?" Klein thought for a moment, then immediately returned to the Gray Fog, combining the intelligence he had obtained, and wrote down Divination statement:
" Turan von Hermosuin's current location."
Holding the paper, leaning back in his chair, Klein repeatedly recited the contents in a muttering manner, while using Cogitation to Dream Divination.
In the gray, hazy world, he saw an underground hall with countless gas lamps.
Inside the hall, there was a huge and complex Robot, consisting of copper pillars, Manipulation, connecting arms, and countless tightly packed gears, occupying two-thirds of the space.
A thin, disheveled old man, wrapped in a thick coat, paced back and forth in front of the Robot, occasionally popping a candy into his mouth and crunching it loudly.
"No, it shouldn't be called the Difference Engine anymore. It's a lovely thing that can analyze problems and calculate answers on its own according to a set process. Yes, its name must be 'Analytical Engine'!" The old man kept muttering to himself, while Klein's perspective stretched upwards, leaving the underground hall and arriving at the building above.
This is a three-story villa with a garden and lawn. A house number hangs outside, which reads:
32 Black Pepper Avenue!
Sure enough, it was there... Klein opened his eyes and slowly exhaled.
Then, he began to struggle with how to handle the situation next.
"Such a great scientist is of no use to me; on the contrary, he's a source of trouble. I can't leave him in the Gray Fog forever, so there's no need to take him away personally... Hmm, should I hand the intelligence over to the Loen military or the Church of Storms? This would effectively prevent the Rose School of Thought from benefiting. However, there's a faction within the military that's likely connected to the mastermind behind the Great Smog of Backlund Incident. It wouldn't be good for Hermosuin to fall into their hands... And the Church of Storms is notoriously impulsive; a raid might send the great scientist to meet his god..." After careful consideration, Klein gradually came up with a bold idea.
That is to bring things into the open, making the existence and affiliation of Turan von Hermosuin no secret to the Loen military and the major churches. This would effectively ensure that the great scientist's abilities would benefit the Kingdom of Loen itself, rather than any particular faction!
"Balances are key..." Klein murmured with a smile, then gestured and summoned the " Sea God Scepter."
In the past, to make things public and bring them into the open, he could only carefully distribute "flyers" throughout the city. But now, he has a simpler and more effective way!
Klein selected a believer who was praying and then zoomed out to include the scene within a five-kilometer radius.
Then, with the help of the " Sea God Scepter," he controlled the surrounding winds!
After calming down slightly, Klein focused his mind on the image, changed his voice, and spoke in a low, hoarse tone:
" Hermosuin is at 32 Black Pepper Avenue!"
Ugh!
Within the city of Bayam, the wind suddenly intensified, whipping up in all directions, accompanied by a deep, resonant voice:
" Hermosuin is at 32 Black Pepper Avenue!"
" Hermosuin is at 32 Black Pepper Avenue!"
The sound quickly spread Bayam, like a city-wide broadcast.
" Silver Coin Viper " Orville, cloaked and disguised Hermosuin, was hiding in the crowded, slums, occasionally appearing to guide the personnel of Military Intelligence Section 9 and the Governor's Police Department.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through, carrying a voice into his ears:
" Hermosuin is at 32 Black Pepper Avenue!"
... What? The voice echoed, and Orville was stunned and shocked. He lost his footing and fell off the roof, nearly getting seriously injured.
Behind the Sea Waves Cathedral, in a small building near the Governor's Mansion, Jahn Kottman and Robert Davis heard the sound of the wind one after the other.
Their first reaction was to look up at the sky, and then they turned their gaze to the city where Black Pepper Avenue was located.
After broadcasting, Klein, in a good mood, tossed the " Sea God Scepter " into a pile of junk and returned to the real world.
He didn't rush to move the radio receiver above the Gray Fog, but left it there and continued to listen to the radio waves.
"In this way, even if the ' Rose School of Thought ' has powerful members lurking in Bayam, they won't dare to show up. Heh, and no matter who succeeds, they will eventually be 'handed over' to the state due to public opinion! It's a pity I don't like writing in my diary like the Emperor, otherwise I could write something like: 'I did another good deed today!'" Klein sighed silently for a few moments, took off his coat, went to bed, and ignored what would happen outside, since it was none of his business.
He didn't know how long he had slept, but he suddenly woke up, sat up, and then there was a knocking sound at the door.
Who could it be? Knocking at the door in the middle of the night... I am John Yord now... Klein put on " Creeping Hunger," took the " Death Knell " revolver from under his pillow, and went to the door.
The image of the visitor quickly flashed into his mind: a thin man with gray but messy hair, wearing a cotton-padded coat and a woolen overcoat, who was popping a brown candy into his mouth.
Turan von Hermosuin!
Holy crap! Why is he looking for me? I'm just an ordinary John Yord! And how did he escape the pursuit of Demigod? Klein's first instinct was to tell him he'd knocked on the wrong door, but he quickly held back and asked:
Who are you looking for?
Hermosuin smiled weakly:
I noticed you at the Seaweed Bar, but I didn't have a chance to talk to you then.
"Hehe, my life has come to an end, so I've been thinking about a lot of things lately."
"Please allow me to introduce myself. You can call me ' Orange Light ' Hilarion."
" Orange Light " Hilarion Klein was taken aback at first, then asked in confusion:
What do you want?
Hermosuin chuckled:
"I'm here to warn you, beware of the ' Mother Tree of Desire '!"
He paused and said:
"Alright, it's time for me to leave. I'm about to die and return to the Spirit World."
What enemies do you have here?
"Why do you ask that?" Klein asked, puzzled.
Hermosuin coughed and said:
"I can go to his doorstep and die quietly, and then you'll have achieved your revenge."
P. S.: Updated first, revised later.