We're Conspirators, Buddy

After Klein said that, even he found it a little absurd.

But if it was true, it meant Old Neil was in danger, and might even lose control at any moment.

This was not something he, a mere Sequence 9, could influence. But if he went straight to the captain, he risked exposing the source of the information.

The Tarot Club could not be exposed.

What else could he say? "Captain, I divined that Old Neil might have been corrupted by an evil god."

Klein sat in his chair, the fork in his hand having been put down at some point.

He looked at the half-eaten workday meal on the table and suddenly lost his appetite.

Of course, he could pretend he knew nothing. At worst, he could take fewer lessons from Old Neil, have less contact with him, and keep his distance.

After all, he himself might be schemed to death someday. Under the circumstances, it was only normal to look out for himself.

But he couldn't do it.

The gray-haired old man, who spoke with a smile and even asked "Do you want sugar?" when making coffee, had taught him how to claim expenses reasonably the first time they met, and never tired of repeating the important points during lessons.

A good person shouldn't meet an end like that.

He stood up.

No matter what, he ought to do something, at least. He couldn't just sit there.

"Old Neil is a Nighthawk."

Leon's voice drifted over from beside him, unhurried.

Klein paused and turned to look at him.

Leon was putting the last piece of beef into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed it, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and only then continued at a leisurely pace.

"He's worked here for so many years. If there were a problem with him, it would have been discovered long ago. Without solid evidence, there's very little you can do."

"But we can't just do nothing." Klein kept his voice very low, but there was a hint of urgency in his tone.

"I didn't say we should do nothing." Leon set his napkin on the table and leaned back in his chair.

"Why don't I tell them? The Archbishop's name should be enough to make them take what I say seriously."

He paused and looked at Klein.

"But the consequences would be taken just as seriously. If there's a problem with Old Neil, what will the Holy Cathedral do next?"

Klein was taken aback.

He hadn't considered that question. Or rather, he hadn't wanted to.

"They'll investigate," Leon said. "When it comes to evil gods, I imagine that even if there's only the slightest involvement, the measures they take won't be a mere formality."

"Although I only just joined the Nighthawks, the answer isn't hard to guess."

Klein fell silent.

He had heard Dunn talk about how the Nighthawks dealt with Beyonders who had lost control. Those who had been corrupted and eroded beyond saving had only one fate in the end: elimination.

Would Old Neil become like that?

"If he's lucky, Old Neil hasn't fallen too deep, and he might be able to keep his life. But I doubt he could ever hope to leave the Holy Cathedral again."

Leon's voice grew deeper, like a Devil's whisper, about to tempt a kindhearted person.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Klein sat back down, his voice somewhat muffled.

Leon glanced at him but didn't answer. He picked up his cane and spun it once in his palm before suddenly speaking:

"Have you considered that Old Neil might know those eyes exist?"

Klein raised his head.

"He's the oldest Nighthawk in Tingen City." Leon repeated the words.

"Would an experienced Mystery Pryer not know what was following him? You don't think he made up that 'manifestation of ritualistic magic' on the spot, do you?"

Klein opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but felt that Leon had a point.

"He knows." Leon rapped his cane on the floor. "And he knows how to deal with it."

"It's even highly likely that he sought it out himself."

"It's just that he probably didn't expect the eyes behind him to be more complicated than he thought."

Klein fell silent. He felt that Leon was right. Willingly turning to an evil god singled out by the orthodox churches was completely different from being corrupted by accident.

He took a halfpenny coin from his pocket and held it between his thumb and middle finger.

Taking a deep breath, Klein considered his words, then quickly settled on a "divination statement" he didn't want to confront.

"Something is wrong with Old Neil's current condition."

"Something is wrong with Old Neil's current condition."

After he silently recited it, invisible rules entwined themselves around him. Leon noticed that Klein's eyes gradually turned completely black.

Clink!

He flicked his thumb, sending the brass-colored penny flying into the air, tumbling and spinning.

Slap! The coin fell, landing squarely in Klein's open palm.

This time, unusually, Klein did not look at the result of the divination. Instead, he clenched the coin and put it back in his pocket.

He already knew the answer in his heart.

Just as Klein's heart sank, Leon's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Perhaps we can solve this problem ourselves. After all, you don't want the Holy Cathedral to deal with Old Neil either, do you?"

He turned and watched the man sitting by the window with a smile slowly rise, walk over to him, and put an arm around his shoulders.

"We're conspirators, buddy."

The next day, Klein walked into the Blackthorn Security Company with Leon, his feelings deeply conflicted.

He turned to look at Leon's eyes, which remained as calm as ever, and an inexplicable feeling welled up in him.

It was like stealing fruit from a neighbor with a playmate when he was a child, nerve-racking and exciting.

They planned to visit Old Neil after getting off work with him that afternoon.

Klein said he had been to Old Neil's home before, and that the old man was very welcoming to his colleagues, so their visit wouldn't attract attention.

During their time at work and studying, they could keep a close eye on Old Neil.

But the moment they stepped into the company, they received some unexpected news.

"Old Neil is sick. How about we visit him at noon?" Rozanne glanced around and said, "Old Neil said you two can study on your own for the day."

"Old Neil is sick?" Leon asked in surprise.

Rozanne nodded vigorously.

"Yes. He sent someone to ask the captain for leave."

The two conspirators exchanged a glance. Klein nodded slightly and said:

"Then we'll visit him at noon. Sigh, come to think of it, Old Neil has it rough. His wife died young, and who knows what city his children are busy in? Now that he's sick, he can only lie at home, lonely and helpless."

And he might even be entangled with a corrupted evil god. Of course, Klein only said that to himself.

It reminded him of his first visit to Old Neil's home.

Hearing Klein's lament, Rozanne's eyes widened, and she asked in astonishment:

"When was Old Neil ever married?"

What? Rozanne's question stunned Klein and Leon for a moment. The latter looked at Klein in bewilderment.

You gave me false information?

No, I didn't!

Rozanne found the two of them making faces at each other a little odd. "Do your eyes hurt?"

"No." Klein hurriedly recalled, "When I went to Old Neil's house before, just a week ago, I saw a piano in the living room. He told me his late wife loved music..."

As he spoke, Klein was startled, and some inexplicably unpleasant thoughts came to mind.

Rozanne furrowed her pretty brows and said uncertainly:

"Maybe I remembered wrong... No, Mrs. Orianna and the others and I often visited Old Neil in the first half of the year. There wasn't a piano in the living room then. I clearly remember asking him why he had stayed single all this time, and he said he hadn't met the lady he wanted to marry..."

"And I remember that Old Neil can't play any instruments..."

Again?... Leon's mouth twitched, and he let out a deep breath.