Based on Klein's experience watching so many episodes of Detective movies Detective anime, people who cover their faces with scarves and conceal their physical features with coats are likely suspicious and probably hiding a secret, especially since it's not winter yet and the temperature in the Raging Sea is far from cold.
However, this has nothing to do with me. Even if a locked-room murder occurs, the captain should be the one with the headache... I'll go up to the Gray Fog later to do some Divination and see if this journey will go smoothly... Klein thought to himself, not caring much but not being careless at all.
He immediately looked away and gazed at the Desi fish that the waiter had brought over.
After dinner, he returned to his cabin and performed a Divination above the Gray Fog, concluding that his environment would not change much and everything would proceed smoothly.
This allowed Klein to fall asleep easily without the aid of Cogitation and sleep soundly until dawn.
The ship's horn sounded, and the passenger ship slowly turned and left the Harman harbor.
When the dock was still faintly visible, Klein saw a figure suddenly appear there.
The figure wore a white shirt and a dark blue coat, with a high-bridged nose, deep-set eyes, light blue pupils, and slightly wavy brown hair. His features were sharp, and his chin was slightly raised, giving off an air of looking down on everyone.
His gaze swept across the area and quickly locked onto the passenger ship that Klein was on.
Just then, the sky suddenly darkened, as if it had become a gate leading to a dark and illusory place.
A deafening hurricane surged from the seabed, carrying with it a vast expanse of azure light that shot upwards. Deep lightning, like cracks in the void, appeared and disappeared repeatedly as it healed itself.
This blocked the entire view between the passenger ship and the dock, making them seem like they were in different worlds.
The Raging Sea has once again demonstrated its terror.
The passenger ship had no way to avoid or resist the storm, and could only continue sailing along the safer waterway where the Storm was less intense.
What a coincidence... This can't be a coincidence... Klein, standing behind the cabin window, first sighed to himself, then concluded that the sudden anomaly in the Raging Sea had unnatural elements at play.
While it's common for the weather in the Raging Sea to be unpredictable, the fact that it changed at a particular point still raises suspicions.
"Was that gentleman on the dock tracking a suspicious passenger who boarded the ship last night? And when the passenger realized his whereabouts had been exposed, he simply altered the celestial phenomena to force the passenger ship away?" Klein thought about what had happened before and had some vague guesses.
If that's the case, it means that the suspicious traveler who covered his face with a scarf is likely a Demigod or is carrying a "Level 1" Sealed Artifact!
It should be understood that with Klein's current strength and resources, he would not be able to trigger such a celestial phenomenon without using the " Sea God Scepter ".
Of course, he might have another option: to throw out the Azik Copper Whistle and see if he could make the entire Raging Sea go berserk.
"Honestly, I just wanted to travel to the Southern Continent like a normal rich man, but I keep getting chased by Demigod along the way... Sigh, I've been under too much pressure that doesn't belong to my Sequence..." Klein chuckled self-deprecatingly, ultimately choosing to believe the Divination he had done last night.
Amid the Storm, the passenger ship swayed and rocked along the relatively calm gaps in the Apocalypse scene. Most of the passengers remained calm, seemingly quite accustomed to the situation. Only a few, who were navigating the Raging Sea for the first time, trembled and clung tightly to whatever they could find.
Time passed slowly, the gale and lightning gradually subsided, and the sky gradually brightened.
At that moment, Klein, who was on the deck, was suddenly struck by Spirit Intuition and subconsciously turned his head to look at the location of Harman Port.
Above the undulating deep blue sea, below the scattered white clouds, a blazing white flame flew rapidly from afar.
The flames grew larger and clearer, eventually revealing their complete form: a gigantic flaming spear!
The flaming spear pierced the sky and landed on the front of the passenger ship's deck, but it didn't ignite anything. It burned through half a plank and scattered, Reorganization into a human figure.
The figure had a high nose, deep-set eyes, and Blue Eyes; it was the same man who had suddenly appeared at the dock earlier!
He appeared to be middle-aged. He slowly looked around, walked among the passengers with wide eyes and half-open mouths, and entered his cabin.
Dawn Dantès, equally stunned, silently breathed a sigh of relief, confirming that the other party really wasn't there to see him.
His entrance just now was incredibly cool, befitting Demigod... The only problem now is, hopefully those two won't fight. Even if a conflict is unavoidable, try to get them to the other side of the sea, otherwise, this ship will be doomed... I can " Teleportation " away myself, it's still relatively smooth, but with so many passengers, how many can I save... Klein habitually drew a Crimson Moon on his chest, praying for the goddess's protection.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, he saw a figure fly out of the cabin and crash heavily onto the deck. It was the same suspicious passenger who had covered his face with a scarf earlier.
The man had now revealed half of his face; the front of his nose was red, and he had a thick mustache with saliva residue around his mouth.
His nearly triangular eyes were filled with fear as he braced his hands on the deck and kept moving his body backward.
"Who told you to bring that thing and dress like that?" The middle-aged man with the high nose and Blue Eyes from before walked out of the cabin and asked in a deep voice in Intis language.
The suspicious passenger shook his head frantically and said:
"No, I don't know. He was dressed like that too. He gave it to me, gave me 100 pounds, and told me to take this ship to the Southern Continent and then return on my own!"
The middle-aged man watched silently, his gaze sharp, as if he could see right through a person's soul.
This caused the suspicious traveler to break out in a cold sweat, his body to tremble violently, and he stammered as he began to explain again, but the content he described remained unchanged.
The man withdrew his gaze, and suddenly, blazing white flames erupted from his body.
Then, he transformed into a giant flaming spear and hurled it towards the area where Harman Port was located.
The flaming spear went further and further away, and before long only a sliver of fire remained.
Throughout the entire process, except for the very beginning, the Demigod never glanced at the surrounding passengers again, as if they didn't exist.
"A very simple but also very clever trick... have someone pretend to board the ship and leave, and use some method to Manipulation the celestial phenomena to create evidence that they are still on the ship, while actually staying in the port until the enemy catches up, and then find another way out..." Klein made his judgment with a sudden realization.
This made him wonder if the person being chased was once a " Conspirer," a " Magician," or some other Beyonder skilled in trickery.
As for the one from before, based on details such as his transformation into flames, his blazing white spear, his Pride and repulsive behavior, and his use of the Intis language, Klein believes he is most likely Demigod of the " Hunter " pathway, possibly a " Iron-Blooded Knight."
I don't know why they had a conflict... Klein shook his head and walked back to his cabin.
On deck, the passengers finally came to their senses and began to discuss in hushed tones the supernatural phenomena they had just witnessed.
A person can turn into flames, and a ball of flames can Reorganization a human!
Amidst the commotion, the passenger ship continued along the safe route, encountering no further incidents along the way, and arrived at another port in the evening.
As usual, Klein didn't disembark, lest he run into any more trouble.
He took out his gold-cased pocket watch, turned it on, and glanced at it to determine when to go to the restaurant.
"Wait another quarter of an hour..." Klein muttered to himself, raising his head to look out the window.
At this time, many passengers who were scheduled to disembark at the current port were carrying their suitcases and heading up the gangway to the pier.
Klein's gaze suddenly settled on a figure as he glanced around.
The figure wore a black soft hat, had dark gold sideburns, a high nose bridge, tightly pursed lips, and a sharply defined profile, like a classical sculpture, without a single wrinkle.
Without picking up his luggage, he quickly followed the crowd onto the pier and disappeared around the corner.
Klein just watched, his body motionless, as if he no longer belonged to himself.
He felt his blood growing colder and colder, and a name flashed through his mind:
Ince Zangwill!
The gas streetlights on the dock have been lit up one by one, the Star in the windows of the passenger ship.
Dawn Dantès ' first-class cabin was dark and silent.
Klein had already sat down, his face expressionless, a jumble of thoughts racing through his mind:
"This is the first time Ince Zangwill has been spotted since the Great Smog of Backlund Incident..."
"The Demigod's previous target was probably Ince Zangwill..."
"His scheme was more sophisticated than I thought. He had someone impersonate him and give them items, not to distract the pursuers, but to create a blind spot in their thinking, making them subconsciously rule out the ship as Error option..."
He's been here from the beginning...
"That coincidental celestial phenomenon must have been created by Ince Zangwill using '0-08'..."
Why is he being chased by an Intis ' Hunter ' Demigod...? What is he plotting...?
As his thoughts raced, Klein suddenly pulled out his Adventurer Harmonica, brought it to his lips, and blew on it.
Without a sound, Reinette Tinekerr, the messenger carrying four blonde, red-eyed heads, appeared before him.
Klein opened his mouth, then closed it again, took out paper and pen, and quickly wrote:
"Mr. Dawn Dantès discovered Ince Zangwill's whereabouts on Midseashire Island in the Raging Sea."
Klein folded the letter and handed it, along with a gold coin, to the messenger.
"Deliver it to P. O. Pinster Street, North Borough Backlund."
The four heads that Reinette Tinekerr was holding in her hands turned simultaneously, and all eight eyes looked at Klein.
She said nothing, and bit the letter and the gold coin.