1, 2, 3, 4, 5... I think there were twelve pairs of wings... According to the canon descriptions of the various Churches, that's an angel of the highest rank... Fors tried to recall what she had seen in her reverie. She was both shocked and not that shocked, as if what she had encountered was a shocking event that she had previously taken for granted but had simply never encountered before.
It isn't surprising that Mr. Fool has the services of an angel. From the fact that Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man occasionally use the word "Him" to refer to him, one can imagine so. The fact that he's able to isolate the effects of the moon's ravings allows me to infer... However, my request was only to interfere with Mr. Lawrence's divination; yet, "He" actually made an Angel protect me. Isn't this too extravagant? Or is this a routine act for "Him"?
Uh, one more problem. Why are the feathers on the angel's wings black? Does this signify degeneracy or Death? What is the true identity of Mr. Fool? Which great being is "He"? Death who was rumored to have died in the Pale Era? "He" wishes to be reborn through the Tarot Gatherings? Fors suddenly took a deep breath, completely unconcerned that the gentleman named Lawrence would find anything wrong with her through his divination.
On the realization that she had already joined the Tarot Club, she smiled wryly and whispered silently, I can only do as Emperor Roselle said, "Take things one step at a time..."
After gathering her thoughts, Fors humbly thanked Mr. Fool once more. Following the normal process of a ritual, she extinguished the three candles' flame and began to clear the altar which was filled with all kinds of items.
...
Above the gray fog, Klein temporarily put the matter of the Abraham family at the back of his mind.
According to his original plan, he conjured a pen and paper and wrote the following divination statement: "Daisy's current situation."
Putting the fountain pen away, Klein stacked Daisy's vocabulary book and the piece of paper with the divination statement on it and held them in his left hand.
Then, leaning back in his chair, he entered a state of Cogitation, reciting the words "Daisy's current situation" over and over again.
After seven times, Klein fell asleep, his eyes black with a hint of red before grayness surfaced in them.
One scene after another began to flash. Some were contiguous, some had gaps, and some were completely incoherent.
Klein saw Liv's youngest daughter, a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl who persisted despite being repeatedly scalded. She was dragged into a remote alley by a man wearing a heavy jacket and a grayish-black cap after he covered her mouth with a handkerchief from behind.
Another man, who was dressed the same, took her legs, and they lifted her as they quickly walked away.
Their destination was the carriage parked outside the alley.
The whole incident was over in less than two minutes, and by the time Daisy's sister, Freja, returned to search for Daisy, the carriage was already gone.
...
Within the carriage, a sharp, ice-cold dagger was held to the muddleheaded Daisy's face, and lewd threats rang in her ears.
...
The carriage drove into the luxurious villa.
...
Daisy was in a small, dark room, and from time to time, the sound of women's cries, screams, and curses echoed outside.
...
Daisy woke up and cried out for help, but the door was opened, and she was kicked away. The pain made it impossible for her to get up.
She wept as she constantly cried for "Mother" and "Freja."
...
Klein opened his eyes and realized that the paper he held in his left hand had already been crumpled by his tight grip.
He had established that Capim was the mastermind behind the many disappearances of young ladies and that he was the boss of a criminal organization.
The problem, however, was that the case shouldn't and couldn't involve powerful Beyonder forces. At most, there would be a few money-hungry Beyonders at Sequence 7, 8, or 9 that were helping out. It wouldn't have made Klein's spiritual intuition give him warnings of intense danger the moment he approached the villa.
Is Capim himself a Sequence 6 or even Sequence 5 Beyonder? However, it's not difficult for a Beyonder of this level to earn money. There's no need to do such dirty and complicated matters. He just has to find all the gangs and collect protection fees via a protection racket... It would be easy, and it wouldn't dirty his hands... Could there be some hidden plot behind Capim's human trafficking? As he pondered, Klein used the power of the gray fog to restore Daisy's vocabulary book to its original state.
After a few seconds of silence, he took out another piece of goatskin and wrote a new divination statement: "Saving Daisy is a dangerous matter."
After reading it carefully twice, Klein removed the spirit pendulum from his left wrist, letting the topaz pendant fall and hang above the surface of the paper, almost to the point of touching the statement.
After taking a few seconds to compose himself, he closed his eyes and began to recite the divination statement he had just written.
When he finished reciting it, Klein opened his eyes and looked at the pendulum in his left hand.
The topaz pendant was rotating clockwise at a fairly fast frequency and with a rather high amplitude!
This meant that saving Daisy was a rather dangerous act!
However, it isn't one of total despair. There's still a possibility, a significant chance of success, as long as I can seize it...
Klein deciphered the revelation from the spirit pendulum.
He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and said with a self-deprecating smile, Wasn't I looking for an opportunity to perform?
This is it!
As a Magician, I have to challenge something of a higher difficulty. Otherwise, I would be called a Trickmaster and not a Magician.
Completing the seemingly impossible, even if the outcome is nothing but an illusion, that's the image of a magician in my heart. As for whether it's one of the rules or not, I still need confirmation...
Klein tapped the edge of the ancient table and quickly made his decision.
To him, the most troubling thing about saving Daisy and dealing with Capim was that he didn't know anything about Capim. He didn't know how many other Beyonders were in the villa or the Sequences and pathways they had.
This made Klein unable to make specific preparations.
And for a Magician, the first rule was: "Never perform unprepared!"
Many seemingly impromptu performances actually involved significant preparations. For example, long periods of practice or thorough mastery of diverting attention away from the situation.
Should I get Miss Justice's help to learn more about Capim's background for my adorer? Klein seriously considered the options available to him.
However, he quickly rejected this idea.
No, I won't be able to receive detailed information. Although Capim is involved with many powerful figures and the wealthy, it's not something that can be publicized. Miss Justice will, at most, learn of the nobles, Members of Parliament, or civil servants which he is involved with, but she won't be able to determine how many Beyonders are in his villa, much less the traps or the layout...
Through the clues from these connections, Miss Justice might be able to figure out what I wish to know given a few weeks time, but that's too slow. Rescuing Daisy needs to be done as soon as possible. Any delays will result in a tragedy.
Klein's eyes swept across the surface of the long bronze table and onto the junk pile in the corner. His mind began to formulate an idea.
On the one hand, I can get Miss Magician and her friend, Miss Xio, to investigate Capim's background and determine which Beyonders he has ties with. The two ladies are very well connected in East Borough, several gangs, and a considerable number of Beyonder circles. On the other hand, I can take action by myself. I can obtain information from the servants or bodyguards that come out from Capim's villa via mediumship.
After finalizing his plan, Klein was in no hurry to get help from Miss Magician. He decided to try doing it by himself first so that he could find out more about the matter in a targeted manner.
In the blink of an eye, his figure disappeared from the towering palace above the gray fog.
...
After lunch, a man wearing a grayish-black cap and a thick cotton coat cautiously left from the back door of Capim's villa. He walked all the way to a crossroad and got into a rental carriage.
"East Borough." He touched the dark red birthmark on his face and instructed the carriage driver.
The carriage began to move, and the man looked out of the window with a bored expression, admiring the beautiful ladies and young ladies on the streets.
"If only we could kidnap them..." The man let his imagination run wild as he revealed a regretful expression.
When he was far from Iris Street, he suddenly shivered, and his eyes became slightly dazed.
He knocked on the wall and said to the carriage driver, "Stop, stop! I forgot something. Here will do."
The carriage driver didn't dare to reprimand the ferocious man. He didn't even mutter as he stopped the carriage by the side of the street and allowed him to alight.
After paying six pence for the ride, the man retraced the direction in which he came for dozens of meters before entering a cheap hotel.
Without the need for any proof of identity, he paid for a room.
After entering, he left the door ajar without locking it.
Then, the man sat on the edge of the bed with a deadpan expression. Suddenly, a transparent and illusory figure separated from his body!
It was none other than Klein who was dressed as a worker!
He had used the method of summoning himself to transform into a Spirit Body and had attached himself to this man's body, allowing him to walk to a convenient location for mediumship!
After knocking the man out, Klein's spirit form disappeared from the room. Not long after, the door was pushed open, and he walked into the room in his corporeal form.
Using a wall of spirituality to seal the place, Klein quickly set up a mediumship ritual, allowing the alluring scent of Amantha extract and Eye of the Spirit medicine to emanate in the surroundings.
After finishing his preparations and just as he was about to start the mediumship, he suddenly exclaimed and stopped his actions.
He discovered that the Spirit Body of the man who was unconscious on the bed had a mysterious, unknown restriction. If he forcefully did the mediumship, although there was a high probability of success, it would activate the seal and cause some Beyonder to notice this occurrence!
This would end up alerting the enemy!
Such a strange Beyonder power... Very cautious and very careful... What Capim is involved in isn't simple at all... Klein took a few steps forward, frowning slightly.
He glanced at the unconscious man and suddenly chuckled.
"Do you think you can stop me with just this?"
He quickly suspended the ritual, summoned himself again, and responded to himself.
A few seconds later, he flew out of the candle's flame in his Spirit Body form and floated in the room once more.
Without any hesitation, Klein, in his Spirit Body form, suddenly approached and possessed the unconscious man.
The man suddenly sat up and opened his eyes; his expression appeared lifeless.
He straightened his body, walked to the front of the altar, step by step, and then chanted in a low voice, "The Fool that doesn't belong to this era,
"You are the mysterious ruler above the gray fog;
"You are the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."
