Time passed steadily, and Tingen sent off the tail end of summer. It was mid-August, and the temperature had stabilized at 26 ° C.
Splash!
Klein suddenly stood up from the bathtub and took a step forward, causing water droplets to splatter.
He stood there naked and looked down at his abdomen. With a little effort, he could clearly see the contours of his muscles.
This was the result of his persistent training. Other than that, he looked a lot more energetic.
And today, his martial arts teacher, Gawain, had begun teaching him basic boxing footwork and force exertion techniques.
Pa! Pa! Pa! Klein's bare feet stepped on the bathroom floor, sliding forward, retreating, and dodging to the right, accompanied by punching and blocking.
Phew. He stopped and exhaled happily. He grabbed the towel beside him and wiped himself.
In the two weeks after coming into contact with the asylum's doctor, Daxter Guderian, Klein seemed to have escaped from the cycle of coincidences and Beyonder incidents. His life became stable. He received his salary step by step, delved into mysticism, practiced shooting and combat, and developed new dishes. He accumulated decent tableware and decorations with his brother, Baansen, and sister, Melissa. He consulted Captain Dunn, his teammate, Leonard, and company about past Beyonder cases, and helped people at the club with divination. He strictly followed the rules he had concluded.
This made his mind feel at ease. If it wasn't for the fact that he missed Earth in the dead of night, the fact that he had yet to figure out the red chimney, and the fact that the Misfortune Cloth Puppet's images would occasionally appear in his dreams, he would have gotten used to his current life.
During this period, Tarot summoned Klein three times, but he didn't receive any new Rosell's diary. But according to Justice, she had gotten to know two new Beyonders and was in the process of coming into contact with them. Once they entered the corresponding circles, they should be able to trade for more Rosell's diary.
The Hanging Man also indicated that he had returned to land and was handling some matters. He would immediately start searching whenever he was free.
In addition, Justice felt that the two Beyonders she had just met were worthy targets for her to develop. For example, each of them had a good cover for their identities, and each of them had different sources of resources. Each of them had their own perseverance and characteristics, and they weren't the kind of people who would easily betray secrets. The only problem was that they were only Sequence 9. They weren't suitable for a high-end and strict secret organization like the Tarot Club.
A high-end organization? I think it's more like a pyramid scheme … Back then, The Fool Klein only wanted to cover his face and sigh. He couldn't find the words to respond to Miss Justice's self-satisfaction. He could only agree to let her observe the two Beyonders further.
Of course, Justice wasn't the naive and romantic girl from the beginning. She cautiously didn't mention the names and characteristics of the two Beyonders, afraid that The Hanging Man would find out about her.
Miss Justice said that she could clearly feel the signs of the potion digesting. Perhaps in another three to four weeks, she would be able to complete her role as a Spectator … I have to bring the Telepathist formula forward … After wiping himself clean, Klein placed the towel to the side. As he put on his clothes, he thought about what had happened on Tarot the day before yesterday.
In the past twenty days, he had only met Dr. Daxter Guderian once. With the thought that more haste makes waste, he had only chatted with him about his condition and asked about some unimportant matters from the Psychological Alchemy.
And the speed at which Justice digested the potion made him have no choice but to think about how to get the Sequence 8 Telepathist formula from Daxter.
After buttoning up his shirt one by one, Klein picked up another dry towel and used it to wrap his head to absorb the moisture from his short hair.
Compared to Justice, the speed at which he digested the Seer potion was faster. Up until this week, he didn't hear anything he shouldn't hear or see anything he shouldn't see during his Cogitation or Spirit Vision.
Flipping the towel, Klein dried his hair and looked towards the door, muttering to himself, The Seer rules that I summarized are indeed effective.
My summary of the Seer principles is indeed effective. Next week … I should be able to completely digest the potion next week … I still have no idea where to get the Hornacis gray goat horn and the human-faced rose from the Clown formula … Perhaps I can learn from Madam Daly and submit a special application … But that will definitely attract the attention of the upper echelons … All I want to do now is to develop wretchedly … The believers of the Aurora Order in the police department have also been found, but I still don't know who Mr. Z is …
Henry said that I can complete the Red Chimney commission before the end of this week … My private stash has recovered to a little more than seven pounds, so I don't have to worry about how to pay the balance …
I can't find any problems with the information on the houses and tenants he gave me previously, and I don't have the time to check them one by one …
Maybe I can check which house with the red chimney has recently had a change of tenants?
Yes, that's a good idea.
…
After meditating for twenty to thirty seconds, he put on his grayish-black trousers, put on his bow tie, and secured his holster. He threw his knight training uniform into the laundry basket, opened the door, and walked out of the bathroom. He had just finished his Wednesday afternoon combat training, so he was still at Gawain's house.
"Hello, Mr. Moretti." Gawain's maidservant happened to pass by and quickly bowed.
Klein nodded slightly and pointed to the messy and wet bathroom.
"Please clean it up."
"That's my job. The laundry will be handled by the laundry lady. She'll be here at six," the maidservant replied with her head lowered.
The laundry lady didn't provide food and lodging, and they were paid very little. Therefore, they wouldn't be employed by just one family. Usually, they would take on the laundry of several nearby residents. They would either rush to do the laundry every day and immediately go to another house after doing it, or they would collect all the laundry at home and deal with it together before sending it back. Only by doing so could they barely survive.
Klein didn't say anything else. He went to the living room and bade farewell to his master, who was sitting in a rocking chair.
He saw Gawain, who had white hair at his temples, nodding listlessly. His legs were covered with a light brown blanket, and he was holding a copy of the Awwa Evening Post in his hand.
Klein knew that the man in front of him, who was bathing in the setting sun, was actually in his early fifties, but he looked so lethargic that he looked like he was in his eighties or nineties.
During their usual combat training, Gawain also maintained his silence. He only spoke when it was time to give pointers. He didn't say much or engage in idle chatter. As for Klein, he was exhausted every day and lacked the desire to initiate a conversation. Therefore, their relationship was still cold to this day.
From Teacher Gawain's demonstration, his strength is rather astounding. His footsteps are also sufficiently agile. It probably wouldn't be a problem for him to take on three of me … He has a salary from the police station, and he even bought a piece of land in a village on the outskirts of Tingen. He can collect a fixed rent … He employs a chef, a maidservant, and a laundry lady … In the foodie countries on Earth, a man in his fifties or sixties with such wealth would have long traveled the World …
Klein retracted his gaze from Gawain and shook his head to himself. Then, he went to the clothes rack and took off his half top hat and black windbreaker.
Dressed neatly, he picked up his cane and walked out of the house. He walked along the stone path with weeds growing on both sides and approached the main door.
Just then, he saw a two-wheeled carriage parked outside the iron fence, and a familiar man was standing inside.
"Leonard?" Klein muttered to himself as he looked at his Nighthawk teammate, whose hair was disheveled.
Leonard was wearing a white shirt, black trousers, and buttonless leather boots. He was twirling his hat in his hand. When he saw Klein come out, he smiled and said,
"Are you surprised?"
There's only shock, no joy … Klein ignored the other party's indecency and stared into the fake poet's green eyes.
"What is it?"
Leonard put on his hat and said,
"Captain wants you to cooperate with me and Frye. We'll talk more on the way."
"Alright." Klein followed him into the carriage.
When the scenery on both sides passed by, Leonard picked up the briefcase beside him and threw it in the opposite direction.
Klein caught it steadily, took out the document, and carefully read it.
"August 11th, 11 pm, West Borough Workhouse. The bankrupt Sauls attempted to set it on fire, creating a tragedy. However, he ended up burning himself to death …"
"August 11th, 10 pm, Dock worker Zid jumped into the Tussock River, ending his poor life …"
"August 11th, 8 pm, Iron Cross Street's Lower Street, matchbox maker Mrs. Lauweis died of a sudden illness …"
…
When he saw the first two incidents, Klein was puzzled. He felt that such deaths were too common. Not only did they not attract the attention of the Nighthawks, but even the police department had to avoid wasting manpower.
But as he continued reading, he gradually frowned.
After flipping two pages, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Leonard.
"Isn't this a little too much?"
When the number of normal deaths reached a horrifying level, it was hard to call it normal.
Leonard nodded in a rare serious manner.
"The number of deaths in the past two weeks is five times the normal number."
"The Tingen Police Headquarters discovered this problem when they were compiling the data. They quickly handed the matter over to us, the Mandated Punishers, and the Machinery Hivemind."
"Although these deaths were initially verified to be normal, the Captain believes that we have to investigate again, and this might require the help of divination or ritualistic magic."
Klein was enlightened.
"I understand."
Leonard snapped his fingers and said, "Me, you, and Frye will form a team.
"Me, you, and Frye will form a team. He'll be waiting for us at Iron Cross Street's Lower Street. Seeka, Royale, and Old Neil will form a team to investigate the corresponding incident in North Borough. Captain will stay in the security company to deal with any accidents."
"Okay." Klein nodded solemnly. He suddenly thought of something and quickly asked, "Can I go home first and leave a note?"
He had to tell his siblings that he had something on tonight and wouldn't be having dinner at home.
Leonard laughed.
"No problem. It's on the way."
Only then did Klein calm down. He flipped through the death incidents again, trying to find a connection between the different ways of death, the different names, and the different times.
As he read, he suddenly had a thought.
This is my first group mission after becoming a Nighthawk?
PS: Regarding a plot from yesterday, without spoiling it, if I had to force Klein not to activate his Spirit Vision so that he would miss the observation, I would have used a gentler and less uncomfortable method. For example, activating his Spirit Vision but not discovering anything, or it's just a minor mental problem. That way, I would have enough reasons to explain later.
Then, why did I emphasize not being able to make it in time and forgetting? Why?
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