Lord of Mysteries

Chapter 101 An Unexpected Clue

Halls neighborhood, fortune-telling club.

Klein adjusted his half-high silk hat and walked up the stairs step by step toward the door.

He was no longer dressed in his usual formal attire, but instead wore a white shirt with a light vest, and a knee-length black trench coat over it, which added a touch of sharp and capable air to his whole being.

This combat-ready outfit cost him only 1 pound, including hand-stitched pockets on the inside, making it so cheap it brought tears to his eyes compared to a tailcoat.

Klein touched the revolver in his armpit holster and the small metal vials in the inner pocket, then took out the portrait and entered the fortune-telling club.

Unsurprisingly, he saw Angelica, the beautiful lady in charge of reception.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Moretti. I thought you would come in a few days." Angelica was taken aback at first, then put on a bright smile.

Klein took off his hat and sighed softly:

"Good afternoon, Miss Angelica. I had a dream at noon about Mr. Haynes Vancent and some things related to him. You know, as a fortune teller, one can never ignore any dream, as it may be a divine revelation."

Blinded by the charlatan-like words, Angelica nodded thoughtfully and asked curiously:

What did you dream about?

"I dreamt that Haynes Vancent was arguing with this person." Klein handed over the neatly folded papers in his hand.

While Angelica was engrossed in unfolding the portrait, he pinched the bridge of his nose and observed her emotional expression.

"This person..." Angelica stared at the portrait, which looked like a photograph, lost in thought.

In Klein's eyes, her emotional aura was "thinking blue," which was a normal reaction.

"This person..." Angelica murmured again, slowly raising her head, "I've seen him before."

Klein's spirits lifted, and he immediately countered with a question:

"When?"

"I can't remember the exact date, but it must have been about a month ago. I saw him see Mr. Vincent to the door, and they were talking in hushed tones. I remember him very well because of his thick, unruly eyebrows and Mr. Vincent's rare smile," Angelica recalled as she described. "Yes, he had grey-blue eyes, and like most men his age, he didn't have much hair left."

"Have you seen him before or after that?" Klein asked gently.

Angelica shook her head:

"No, definitely not. I don't even know his name. To be honest, if it weren't for you, I would suspect that the person who showed me this portrait was the police officer investigating Mr. Vincent's death. Ha, I wouldn't be surprised if you got some kind of revelation. You are a true diviner."

"I'm sorry, I'm just a policeman..." Klein silently muttered, then sighed and said:

"A true diviner understands his own insignificance and the greatness of destiny. We can only ever see a blurry corner, and we can only ever receive revelations rather than answers. We must always reflect, maintain reverence, and interpret with caution. We cannot regard ourselves as wise men who have mastered destiny."

After summarizing his experiences and insights over the past period, Klein suddenly found that his spiritual vision had become clearer, and he could even vaguely discern certain details of Angelica's aura color.

In that instant, he was like a nearsighted person putting on glasses with the correct prescription.

This… my “Diviner” potion is starting to show obvious signs of digestion? Klein stood there, stunned, unable to believe it for a moment.

"I never imagined that a fortune teller like you could maintain such a fear of fate. It's truly admirable," Angelica said sincerely.

She had seen far too many people at the club who, having just learned a few divination methods, claimed they wanted to uncover the truth and change their destiny.

Klein withdrew his gaze and chuckled softly:

"The more you know, the more you realize your own insignificance."

While speaking, he examined his own state and past experiences, and roughly grasped that the essence of the "role-playing method" is to "perform actions that conform to the name of the potion, understand the hidden rules, and strictly demand of oneself in this way."

Only in this way can one adjust the state of body, mind, and spirit, get close to the residual spirit within the potion, and gradually digest it.

Others' recognition of one's identity as a "diviner" is only a superficial factor. The reason it makes one feel spiritually lighter is because this feedback reinforces one's confirmation of certain divination practices, and these practices together constitute the "diviner's code" that allows the potion to be digested.

"Helping others interpret revelations and guiding them in a positive direction, but always maintaining reverence for fate, without becoming arrogant, conceited, or blindly believing in the interpretation itself... This is the rule I have summarized so far, and it is also the essence of the 'role' I will play next. If it continues to be effective, I will be able to completely digest the potion in less than half a year, maybe two or three months, or maybe two or three weeks."

"...The signs just now were very obvious. No wonder that mysterious Mr. Zarathustra said that when a potion is completely digested, the extraordinary person can clearly feel it. Without being taught by others, it is either yes or no... Just like now, although my spiritual vision has improved a bit, I am very clear that this is just a point in the digestion process, not the end."

Thinking of this, Klein couldn't help but thank the clown in the tuxedo again; he had taught him a lesson with his life!

Without him, I might have needed to spend several more months at the divination club to summarize the "diviner's code" through a series of good and bad cases and begin to strictly "play the role".

"Mr. Moretti, sometimes I even feel that you are a philosopher," Angelica sighed upon hearing Klein's reply.

"In my circle, 'philosopher' is an insult." Klein's mood improved.

After saying this, he bowed, put on his hat, and took his leave.

Although Angelica didn't know the name or identity of the man in the portrait, Klein wasn't discouraged at all; this gain was enough for him to proceed with his next plan.

…………

36 Zotland Street, inside Blackthorn Security.

Dunn looked intently at the portrait in his hand with his deep gray eyes and said:

"You want to find this person through a screening process?"

"Yes." Klein had already prepared his words. "Captain, didn't I say before that I was going to go to the divination club to observe the members' reactions to the sudden death of Haynes Vancent? I didn't find anything yesterday, but today I unexpectedly learned that the person in the portrait had appeared with Haynes Vancent and was secretly talking about something. I just checked the team's investigation records and found no record of anyone similar."

His description is flawless; even if Dunn Smith were to take the portrait to a fortune-telling club now, he would get confirmation from Angelica.

Dunn looked away from the portrait and smiled, saying:

"It seems that the funds were not wasted."

"...Captain, aren't you supposed to have a bad memory? How come you're suddenly thinking about the budget now?" Klein maintained his smile and remained silent.

"Did you draw this?" Dunn asked casually.

"Yes, I drew it using ritual magic," Klein replied with absolute truth.

Of course, telling the truth and telling the whole truth are two different things.

Dunn nodded slightly and said:

"Have Old Neil make a few more copies. I'll have Cohen and Luo Yao investigate later and ask the police for assistance. If this lead proves useful, you'll have done another great service."

"The goddess is protecting us." Klein tapped his chest four times, his attitude unusually devout.

For him, it was enough that Dunn and his team could find out the name and identity of the man in the portrait; he could divine his whereabouts above the gray fog!

…………

After leaving Blackthorn Security Company, Klein, who was on his day off, did not go home immediately. Instead, he took a public carriage to the dock area and arrived at the entrance of "Dragon Bar".

He had considered it. Although the "Diviner" lacked direct means of defeating enemies and did not have spells that could be cast quickly, battles were divided into many types, and not all of them were skirmishes. Given enough time to prepare, the "Diviner" could also use ritual magic to deal with enemies, just like he had solved the magic mirror divination incident at Selena's house.

This means that "fortune tellers" should ideally carry some herbs, essential oils, and small candles with them, so that they don't run out of materials when they need them and are left to die. After all, not everyone is like Selena, who keeps a bunch of mystical items at home that she can use.

As for the ones he had applied for, Klein had used them up almost entirely from practicing so frequently; the remaining ones were stored in the small pockets inside his clothes.

He touched the banknotes in his pocket, pushed open the heavy door of "Dragon Bar," and stepped inside.

It was afternoon, and the bar wasn't very crowded. There were no dog-catching-mouse contests or boxing matches, making it quite quiet and not very lively.

Klein glanced at the two tables of customers drinking and playing cards, then prepared to walk toward the billiards room that led to the underground trading market.

Just then, he saw a burly old man wearing a worn-out naval officer's coat come out.

"Are you the friend Old Neil brought last time?" The old man with messy brown hair and a strong smell of alcohol looked Klein up and down and said with a smile.

Klein vaguely guessed the other party's identity, removed his hat and bowed:

"Yes, I don't know how to address you?"

"Old Neil should have mentioned me to you. I'm Swain, the owner here." The blue-eyed old man had thick, muscular arms and a very officer-like demeanor.

Former captain of the "Substitute Punishers" squad in Tingen...and supposedly a former member of the Royal Navy...Klein responded politely:

"Yes."

"If you're ever short of money, you can come to me," Swain said with a smile, preparing to walk towards the bar.

Just then, Klein had a sudden thought and quickly called out:

"Wait a minute, Mr. Swain, I have something I'd like to ask you."

Swain stopped, turned halfway around, and said with a smile:

"You and your boss are just like each other."

No, I don't have memory problems... Klein's lips twitched, and he directly pulled out the portrait, saying:

Have you seen this gentleman before?

He suddenly realized that Selena must have been led into this underground trading market by Hynas Vancent, which also made Elizabeth aware of the Dragon Bar. So, could the gentleman in the portrait who has some connection with Hynas Vancent have also been here?

Swain looked at it carefully and answered confidently:

"I remember him. He came to me and asked if I had any documents or items related to the main peak of Hornachis."

Documents and artifacts related to the main peak of Hornachis? Klein paused for a moment, then suddenly thought of something else:

When he borrowed journals and magazines related to the main peak of Mount Hornachis from the Deville Library, the librarian casually mentioned that someone had just returned them, so he remembered it clearly and did not need to check the cards to confirm their existence.

Could it be that the gentleman in the portrait was the one I borrowed from those periodicals and magazines before?

Who was this gentleman who witnessed the Antigonus Notes transaction?

(End of this chapter)