The visitor was a man in a dark-green postman uniform. He smiled obsequiously at Klein.
"Are you Mr. Sherlock Moriarty?"
"Yes." Klein vaguely guessed the purpose of the other party's visit.
The visitor immediately raised his right hand and handed over a palm-sized object that was wrapped in layers of black gauze.
"Your package. Please sign for it."
Klein deliberately expressed his doubts.
"Shouldn't you give me a list and let me pick it up at the corresponding post office?"
The postal system of the Kingdom of Rouen was a perfect copy of Intis. Even its flaws were copied. Any mail that couldn't be directly stuffed into the mail box, no matter what it was, would only be given a "pick-up slip," leaving the recipient to busy themselves.
"… Haha, because it's more valuable, I have to deliver it to you personally," the postman said after a moment of surprise.
It seems you're not professional enough to be a real postman … Klein didn't ask any further questions. He took the package, pen, and list and signed for it.
He closed the door and returned to the living room. He wasn't in a hurry to open the package. Instead, he took out a gold coin and threw it into the air like a juggler.
Pa!
Klein caught the gold coin and looked down to see if it was a portrait or a number.
The number pointing up indicates a negative. There's no hidden danger … Klein nodded slightly, put away the gold coin, touched the paper figurine in his pocket, and carefully opened the package.
After the layers of black gauze were removed, the things inside were clearly revealed to him. They were a pale gold pocket watch with elegant patterns, a handkerchief stained with dark red blood, seven or eight short brown curly hairs tied together, and a stack of notes.
Talim's personal belongings, hair, flesh, and daily records are all here … Prince Edessak is very efficient. It's not even night yet … Klein looked at the items spread out on the coffee table and suddenly felt that there were many eyes watching him.
An ancient Angel Family with more than two thousand years of heritage definitely has an unimaginable foundation. If I get involved in the royal family's internal strife, I can be crushed into powder at any time … Perhaps I'm already being monitored … I have to appear mediocre and useless enough to ensure my own safety … Klein had already thought of what to do. He calmly checked his pocket watch, handkerchief, and hair.
During this process, his spiritual intuition didn't give him any warning or stop him from divining.
With some confidence, Klein took out a piece of paper in the living room, picked up a fountain pen, and wrote a divination statement:
"The real cause of Talim Dumont's death."
He acted magnanimously, as if he didn't feel like he was being monitored.
Picking up the curly hair and handkerchief, Klein silently recited a divination statement as he leaned back against the back of the sofa. His eyes turned deep as he entered Cogitation.
After seven times, he arrived in the World of Dreams and saw the familiar hall of the Quelaag Club.
Following that, he once again saw Talim Dumont clench his heart as he collapsed with a twisted expression.
"This revelation shows that Talim did indeed die of a sudden heart disease …" Klein opened his eyes and whispered to himself.
He frowned, revealing a puzzled, puzzled, and contemplative expression.
He repeated using different divination statements several times and obtained the same result.
He got up and paced back and forth several times.
He clenched his fist and hit himself in the head, as if angry that he wasn't good enough to help his friend track down the murderer.
Finally, he sat down dejectedly and didn't move for a long time. In the dim room, he looked like the silhouette of a stone statue.
It's about time. I can't use too much force … If no one was monitoring me, I would've been fighting with the air just now … Klein shook his head in a self-deprecating manner, got up, and walked to the kitchen.
After dinner, he seemed to perk up again as he carefully read the contents of the stack of notes, including what Talim had done and who he had met on the day of his death and the days before it.
Home, Red Rose Manor, the Quelaag Club, Viscount Conrad's mansion … There's nothing out of the ordinary … Klein picked up a sharpened pencil and drew several circles, marking the places he would visit and the targets he wanted to inquire about in the next few days.
After doing all of this, he let out a long sigh, packed his things without much confidence, washed up, and went to bed.
In the middle of the night, when the crimson moon was covered by layers of clouds, Klein suddenly opened his eyes and woke up.
He got out of bed, slowly opened the door, and entered the bathroom next door. He used a Paper Figurine Substitute to hide his true body.
Taking four steps counterclockwise, he arrived above the gray fog and sat in the seat belonging to The Fool.
His eyes had already become clear, no longer filled with decadence, depression, and pessimism.
Following that, Klein took out the projection of a blood-stained handkerchief from the hidden pocket of his pajamas that had been modified from old clothes.
When he was packing his things, he had used the Beyonder powers of a Magician to secretly pull out the handkerchief and hide it on his body!
Taking a deep breath, Klein conjured a pen and paper and wrote down the divination statement that was no different from the beginning:
"The true cause of Talim Dumont's death."
After reciting it seven times in a calm and peaceful manner, he took the paper and handkerchief, leaned back in his chair, and fell asleep in the silent and empty ancient palace.
In the gray, fragmented, and illusory World, Klein saw a completely different scene from before.
What appeared in front of him was a palm-sized puppet that had been casually carved. It had eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
There were a few drops of dark red blood on the puppet's body, dyeing it with a demonic color.
A palm stretched out. The skin was fair, delicate, smooth, and well-proportioned. The fingers were slender and beautiful, and the flesh was even.
The most eye-catching thing was the unique ring inlaid with a sapphire on the little finger of the palm.
Pa!
The index finger of the palm was surrounded by illusory black flames as it tapped on the puppet's heart.
Without a sound, the scene shattered, and Klein woke up from his dream.
His initial judgment wasn't wrong. Talim had indeed died from the curse!
But the problem was, why wasn't there a full picture of the moment he received the curse? The mysterious space above the gray fog can eliminate interference … Klein was momentarily puzzled.
Normally speaking, the revelation he received was too abstract and easy to misinterpret. It was a problem of his own divination skills being limited. It was a problem of the difficulty of the matter he wanted to divine. It had nothing to do with the gray fog, so it was understandable. However, he had clearly seen the scene before and after the curse, but it was limited to a very small portion. It didn't provide a relatively effective revelation, which was rather puzzling.
Was there … a similar situation in the past? Klein dug for a reason from his own experience.
Suddenly, he sat up straight and recalled a similar experience.
In Tingen, when he divined the true reason behind a few coincidences, a similar situation had occurred!
He clearly saw the house with the red chimney, but he couldn't touch Ince Zangwill and Sealed Artifact 0-08 inside the house!
Th-this is an object or person at the level of a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact resisting the power of the gray fog? Klein suddenly narrowed his eyes.
No, not necessarily. There are still many possibilities. I have to confirm it again! He tried his best to calm himself down.
As for how to confirm it, it wasn't difficult for the experienced him. The method was very simple, and that was to do the same divination again.
If the revelation he received didn't change, it meant that the matter wasn't that terrifying. If the divination was no longer successful, it meant that the target or something around the target could resist the gray fog to a certain extent, just like 0-08!
Taking a deep breath, Klein calmly repeated the divination from before.
"The true cause of Talim Dumont's death."
…
He leaned back in his chair and recited in a low voice, his eyes gradually darkening.
In the dream, all he saw was a hazy, shattered gray fog. There were no more puppets or fingers.
Whoosh!
Klein straightened his back, his expression abnormally solemn.
What exactly is Talim involved in? He muttered to himself with a frown.
He no longer had any doubts about what to do next. It was to be passive and perfunctory. He would first fool Prince Edessak for a while, then tell him that he really couldn't find out the truth.
Phew, this World is really terrifying. If I'm not careful, I'll come into contact with something extremely terrifying … Klein sighed inwardly and didn't dare to stay any longer. He quickly returned to the bathroom in reality.
…
Tuesday morning, nine o 'clock in the morning, Crown Cemetery.
Dressed in a black shirt, a black vest, and a black tweed coat, Klein held the flowers he had bought for twelve soli and stood at the edge of the crowd. He watched with a solemn expression as Talim Dumont's coffin was carried over and buried into the ground bit by bit.
During this process, Talim's mother's eyes were red and swollen. She wanted to speak a few times, but she was sobbing uncontrollably. His father's hair was white and he looked haggard. Just standing there made him look like he was trembling.
As the scene reflected in his eyes, Klein tilted his head slightly and closed his eyes.
After the funeral attendees left one after another, he walked over, bent down, and placed the plain white flowers in his hand on top of his kind.
I'm sorry … he silently said in his heart.
He stood up straight and retreated to the side. Just as he was about to leave, Klein saw Reporter Mike and Surgeon Allen approach him.
"What a pity. I never expected Talim to … to actually … sigh …" Mike's expression was pained and he couldn't finish his sentence.
Allen, who was always cold and indifferent, took off his glasses, wiped the corners of his eyes, and sighed softly.
"He's a passionate guy. He shouldn't have ended up like this."
"That's right. He had hopes of getting rid of the bad reputation left behind by his grandfather," Klein echoed.
At that moment, he saw a female figure wearing a thick black dress and a veil covering her face walk towards Talim's grave. She was also holding a bouquet of white flowers in her hand.
Klein indifferently looked away, leaving only the light in his eyes to stare in that direction.
The woman bent down to release the flowers, revealing her left palm wearing a black gauze glove.
On the pinky of her left palm, a blue gem faintly appeared.
Klein's scalp went numb.
His entire body was numb.
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