Mystery: Survival from the Secret Doll

Chapter 373, Section 372: Klein's Many Misfortunes
Things involving Quaternary ruins were not something they should be involved in at their age. After handing over the matter of the underground ruins to Miskatonic's person in charge in Rune, Don and Klein ended the case ahead of schedule and returned directly to the detective agency.

Klein was somewhat distracted on the way back in the carriage.

He was thinking about the statues he had seen in the underground ruins that symbolized the six gods, which, according to Ms. Archerley, were indeed images of the gods themselves from the Quaternary period.

As for why there were six instead of seven... naturally it's because the god of craftsmen didn't exist at that time.

"Ruins from the Tudor Empire of the Fourth Age, rooms with statues of gods, an empty throne..."

It has a creepy, eerie feel to it no matter how you look at it.

Tang, however, took it in stride: "I'm not very clear about the history of this period either... Even in the library, these should be top secret materials, right?"
"Ah, thankfully, we don't need to deal with these kinds of troubles. Ah, if every day could be this peaceful, all we'd have to do is look for Lanius and do some quests..."

Back at the detective agency, Tang curled up in a rocking chair, swaying back and forth, looking quite relaxed.

It was a rare moment of relaxation.

"Do you investigators usually have a lot of tasks?"

Klein wasn't a professionally trained investigator, so he didn't know much about these things.

Although his position, thanks to a "mistake," is now attached to Miskatonic, Klein's thinking is still more or less confined to the Night Watch system.

Night Watchers rarely draw personnel from other regions, and there aren't many cases involving the supernatural in this area. Klein's biggest concern and consideration with the Night Watchers is how to learn.

"It's not that much."

Tang said leisurely, "We are not quite the same as the Night Watchers. Miskatonic has branch schools in various regions, but there are not many investigators in the branch schools. Our responsibilities are not limited to investigating extraordinary individuals and extraordinary events, but also involve exploring the unknown and recording anomalies."

"Because the branch school is often short-staffed, we people are always running around... Oh, right, there's a special mode of transportation at school, it looks like a steam train, we call it the Spirit World Express..."

"Through the manipulation of higher-ranking individuals through the apprenticeship path, that vehicle can travel through the spirit world without being attacked by spirit creatures. If the mission location is too far away, it will also have to take the spirit world express to jump over there."

Spirit Express...

Klein's lips twitched slightly, but he still maintained his composure.

Could it be that there's a Platform 9¾ or something inside the Miskatonic?

“It’s quite convenient.” Klein said somewhat reluctantly, “A means of transportation to travel through the spirit world… Come to think of it, I’ve never even seen what the spirit world looks like.”

"There is no distinction between up, down, left, and right. The colors are rich and layered. Hmm, it is said that some people get dizzy from this kind of transportation."

"As for the missions... some missions are simple, just dealing with cult murders or dangerous rituals attempted by ordinary people. The more troublesome ones involve fighting against secret organizations that worship evil gods or exploring uncommon areas."

“Those extraordinary individuals from the secret organizations… Tingen City has a rule of silence, which even cultists have to abide by when they come in, but they don’t have that concern outside… Look, that underground ruin, if we discover it, then we have the right to bypass the Church of the True God and conduct an investigation…”

"Overall, I have very few tasks now, and the pace of life I enjoy now is the retirement life I envision."

Klein was speechless, and said somewhat jokingly, "You're so young and you're already thinking about retiring."

Tang: "Sometimes I don't even want to go to this lousy class for a day. After all, who is born to be a workaholic?"

Klein choked, thinking of his somewhat miserable office life before he transmigrated.

Okay, stop talking, it's all tears if I keep going.

"Okay, you have a point."

If it weren't for what happened in Tingen, Klein thought he would probably be among the Night Watchers, figuring out how to get back to his hometown while lazing around like a couch potato.

After a while of rambling, the detective agency remained calm and peaceful all day.

That evening, Klein left the detective agency a little early, intending to visit a secret gathering in Backlund.

"Perhaps we can find some information about Lanius."

While outwardly acting as a detective, Klein also thought of the weekly deposits into the anonymous account at Backlund Bank.

Regarding their working capital, and the money they earned as detectives...

"Isn't money meant to be used? Generally speaking, as long as the reason is reasonable, even if the activity fund is insufficient, we can apply for additional reimbursement... If you think there are any amazing items here that you need, it's fine to buy them."

Tang said it indifferently at the time.

"Once you reach a high position, there are many things that money can't solve. For example, the Sequence 4 potion recipe, the corresponding main and auxiliary materials, the Diviners Club no longer provides the corresponding purchase qualifications, and only accepts the form of barter. Hmm, it's similar in Miskatonic. You need to apply and make certain contributions, but in general, it will be easier to obtain than from secret organizations and those wild extraordinary individuals."

"So, while the money is still available, spend as much as you can."

"So, it really is good to have a big tree to lean on..." Klein sighed silently.

Especially since this big tree was planted by your relative.

After leaving the detective agency, Klein went straight to the Brave Ones Bar.

However, this time he was not going to meet the members of the Temperance faction of the Rose School who were here.

Following the instructions of bar owner Caspass, Klein entered the hidden gathering place. Caspass left, and Klein adjusted his mask to make sure it covered his face perfectly.

Although Klein had subtly altered his facial features beforehand using a sealing artifact, only those who were truly familiar with him could detect him.

However, as a fortune teller, one should still maintain a certain level of vigilance.

In the dimly lit room, illuminated by a flickering, dimly lit candle, Klein found a spot and sat down quietly.

The gathering was fairly well-attended, as it was registered with Miskatonic and was considered a semi-official occult gathering; even official extraordinary individuals would generally not investigate it.

As long as nothing goes wrong and no cultists try to recruit people here, this semi-public, semi-formal occult gathering will undoubtedly be a popular event for many wild extraordinary individuals who cannot find potion ingredients or recipes.

Of course, protecting privacy is still quite important in this place.

Those unaffiliated extraordinary individuals who haven't joined any official organization and don't want any connection to Miskatonic simply want to live ordinary lives and avoid getting involved in anything dangerous. If their real-world identities were revealed, trouble might come knocking.

While waiting for the party to begin, Klein secretly observed the other people in the living room.

He didn't notice anything unusual, nor did he realize that one of the people sitting behind him had silently taken out a small, exquisite makeup mirror from his pocket.

“Ms. Triss, the person you mentioned has indeed appeared here.”

The young man's voice didn't escape, failing to attract the attention of others, including Klein.

"Hmm." Triss Chick's figure appeared in the vanity mirror. She looked at the people at the party with a smile, secretly observing everything here, as well as that person.

"Why has the trajectory of this life changed so drastically compared to the previous one?"

Triss was thinking about this.

After returning to this point in time, arriving in Backlund, and staying there for some time, Triss Chick, with her demigod-level power, actually figured out many things.

The witch in charge of Backlund was not Panadia, the "Desperate Nightingale," a member of the witch cult she knew, but an ageless witch, yet not Katarina...

A secret organization called Miskatonic has emerged in this world, and the former great detective Sherlock Moriarty has a close connection with the ageless witch she doesn't know...

Hidden in the dark side of Backlund are countless Mysterious Puppets, and an evil spirit claiming to be the Red Angel has suddenly approached them, seeking cooperation...

The Great Smog of Backlund, the deification ceremony of George III...

Triss had experience; she found several mausoleums that George III was secretly building, but due to her limited power, she did not go in and tamper with them.

"What happened to the Witch Cult? Will Edsack... become another victim?"

In the world hidden behind the mirror, Triss observes Sherlock Moriarty, trying to uncover some secrets from this detective she knows somewhat.

She had a feeling that she could get a clue from Sherlock Moriarty.

The last time they openly followed him wasn't just to test Sherlock Moriarty's current state, but also to lure out those things...

Whose secret dolls are those things...?

"Zarathustra? Or something else..."

Triss looked through the mirror at the people in the living room, but didn't notice anyone's unusual reaction, nor did she feel anything unusual about anyone.

Whether there are any secret partners involved or not, nobody knows.

It's unclear when her perception of those monster puppets will be triggered.

Everything seemed very passive.

-

The host of the gathering is codenamed "The Eye of Wisdom," and possesses the ability to determine whether a potion formula is correct. Klein learned through Miskatonic's intelligence network that the true identity of "The Eye of Wisdom" is actually Isengard Stanton, a relatively well-known detective on Backlund's side.

You don't actually get much information at the gathering, as the vast majority of the extraordinary individuals here don't even have a Sequence 7.

What Klein found interesting, however, was that an extraordinary being called "Black Serpent" died in the sewers.

This touched his spirituality, and he sensed something unusual.

"Is this matter somehow related to the Aurora Club?"

Klein's eyes flickered slightly. He wasn't sure about this, but his spiritual intuition told him that this matter was related to what he was investigating.

"Yes, we can investigate that sewer later. If it really was something the Aurora Society did, we might be able to follow the trail and find Lanius's whereabouts."

The gathering ended quickly, and the "Eye of Wisdom" arranged for people to leave one by one. When Klein left, there were only a few people left in the living room.

As “the Eye of Wisdom” Isengard Stanton gestured for Klein to leave, he spoke to him in an almost whispered voice:
"Be careful, there are eyes following you."

Upon hearing this, Klein's eyes, hidden beneath his mask, flickered slightly. Using the Joker's supernatural powers, he quickly controlled his expression, revealing no flaw, and followed Isengard Stanton's servant, the "Eye of Wisdom," out of the living room.

As he walked through the passageway, Klein quickly wiped his face with his clothes as he took them off. The fleshy buds on his face began to writhe, like a face-changing act in Peking Opera. By the time he emerged from the passageway and entered the streets ruled by the night, he had changed his appearance. Not only his face, but even his height and build had changed.

Faceless Men are among the most suitable Extraordinary individuals to thrive in metropolises, possessing unparalleled camouflage abilities.

"Why do I feel like I've been having so many misfortunes lately..."

Klein was inwardly groaning. Not long ago, he had been targeted by a Sequence 4 Despair Witch. Why was he being targeted again at this gathering?
But that doesn't make sense. He's been very quiet, barely saying a word. Why would anyone be targeting someone who looks so ordinary?

There were quite a few pedestrians on the street. Klein pretended to be nonchalant and mingled among them. The streetlights emitted a soft glow, which made Klein feel a little at ease.

He silently used the mirrors in the shops around him to observe his surroundings, but did not see anything strange.

Looks like they've shaken them off?
With that thought in mind, Klein walked across an alleyway.

His spiritual intuition was suddenly triggered at that moment. A pair of hands suddenly appeared in the shadows at the alley entrance, grabbed Klein's shoulders, and tried to drag him into the shadows.

Klein reacted quickly, grabbing the arm of the man who had attacked him and pulling him out of the shadows.

Under the glow of the red moon, Klein could see that it was a somewhat disheveled young man. While he was being restrained, he pinned him to the ground and looked down at the guy.

"Who are you? Who sent you to spy on me?"

"I am a member of the resistance."

The young man grinned and whispered quickly to Klein, "I have something I want to tell you."

"You'll definitely be interested!"

(End of this chapter)