"Come out."
Silas spoke to the soul within his body that he couldn't respond to.
He was quite certain that this soul wasn't some demigod-level powerhouse's soul, but a remnant of Ma'am M's spirit.
However, just like the results of his previous summons, that soul had no reaction at all.
The surrounding flesh and blood wrapped tightly around it, but unlike the other souls, it wasn't being tormented. Instead, it seemed to be protecting it.
Heh, lurking inside my body, you're still not willing to just disappear?
Silas sneered, attempting to use the Shepherd's ability, extending his will over, preparing to lash and drive that soul.
As long as you're in my body, you have to listen to me. Come out honestly and confess everything you know!
"Knock knock knock!"
Just as Silas's will was about to touch that soul, urgent knocking suddenly came from downstairs, interrupting his action.
Who has such bad timing!
Silas's body froze, then he irritably paused his action. He turned and stood up, opened the door, then walked down the stairs to the first floor.
There, his sister had already walked to the entrance hall. She seemed to be preparing dinner and was still holding a spoon in her hand.
She instinctively looked at the front door, gripping the spoon with the intensity of a dagger.
"Who is it?"
Silas raised his voice to ask. Because he'd been interrupted, his tone was somewhat unfriendly.
But very quickly, the voice from behind the door made him freeze.
"Silas, it's me!"
Through the door, Klein's voice rang out, sounding somewhat urgent.
"Klein?"
Silas was startled.
He walked to the door and opened it. Sure enough, his former colleague was standing at the entrance.
"What happened? Why are you in such a hurry to find me?"
He asked.
Although Klein knew his home address, they usually contacted each other by letter when something came up.
For him to come directly to the door now meant there might be something very urgent he needed to tell him immediately.
"I found Lanevus's whereabouts."
Sure enough, Klein's answer didn't disappoint him.
"You really found him?"
Silas said in surprise. "How did you discover it?"
"Uh, it's because of a case I've been investigating recently..."
Klein answered, his mind involuntarily recalling what had just happened.
***
Several hours earlier, 15 Minsk Street.
"Finally had a peaceful day."
After getting up in the morning, finishing his ablutions in the washroom, and eating breakfast of coffee, bread, and fried meat, Klein leaned back against the sofa and muttered to himself contentedly.
On Little Sun's end, using the "angel" Klein had created for protection, the test concerning him had been passed, and afterward there should only be a lower degree of surveillance maintained.
The "All-Black Eye" had also been successfully retrieved.
Although he'd been locked onto by the True Creator because of it, since he had no believers at all, Mr. A and the others' search would come to nothing.
Fors had made her report in time, and his calm attitude toward the True Creator's pursuit also made the Tarot Club members more reverent.
Besides that, he had accomplished something major last night.
Namely, he had successfully infiltrated the Roselle Memorial Exhibition and obtained that "Blasphemy Card" disguised as a bookmark.
The card face depicted an emperor figure resembling Roselle, and the card's name was naturally, "Black Emperor."
Through preliminary research, he discovered that this Blasphemy Card completely recorded all the potion formulas and rituals of the Black Emperor pathway, from Sequence 9 "Lawyer" to Sequence 0 "Black Emperor," all crystal clear.
Additionally, the card's inherent high status could enhance his soul strength. When he embraced this card, his aura looked like that of a true emperor.
This way, he, Mr. Fool, had successfully mastered a pathway, and could feel more at ease acting as the leader of the secret organization, the Tarot Club.
"Who would have thought the opening incantation for the 'Blasphemy Card' would actually be the name of Emperor Roselle's daughter..."
Recalling the experience of opening the card above the gray fog, Klein muttered to himself.
"Although the Emperor had improper relationships with numerous women and even tasted a Witch's flavor, his feelings for his own children were still very deep."
Thinking of what Silas had said, that his daughter who had become a big shot in the Beyonder world also missed her father very much, and before leaving Backlund, she had to spend time in the exhibition hall... The emotional bond between them could be said to be extremely deep.
She probably received a huge shock when the Emperor was assassinated in his later years...
Klein thought.
"Ding-a-ling-a-ling..."
Just as he was considering how to spend the day, whether to go to the circus to watch real magicians perform or just lie around and rest, his doorbell was suddenly pulled, the pleasant sound echoing on the first floor.
A commission?
But my advertisement has already been taken down...
Klein, wearing a casual shirt and loose pants, came to the door and grasped the handle.
At the same time, an image of the visitor naturally surfaced in his mind:
This was a tall, thin man wearing refined gold-rimmed glasses with a cold expression. Alan Kress, a friend he knew from the club.
The Magician's spiritual intuition allowed him to foresee certain things to a degree.
Why is Alan here? Didn't Detective Stanton help him find his colleague?
Klein thought to himself and pulled open the door.
"Alan? Why are you here?"
He disguised himself a bit, first glancing at the other person before recognizing him, then asked in confusion.
"Good morning, Sherlock. Sorry, I wasn't sure if you'd be at the club today, so I came directly to your house to visit.
It's a bit abrupt, please forgive me." Alan's cold face showed some worry, but he still spoke very politely.
"You said before that you were very busy and didn't have time to accept commissions. What about now?"
"What? Your colleague still hasn't been found?"
Klein asked.
"Mm..."
Alan's face showed a hesitant expression.
"Please come in first."
Only then did Klein realize he'd been keeping his guest at the door the whole time. He quickly moved aside.
"Sit down and explain slowly... Would you like something to drink?"
"No need to trouble yourself."
Alan walked in, shaking his head. "Business is more important."
He entered the living room and sat down, beginning to explain the situation to Klein.
It turned out that although Klein had introduced Alan to Isengard and several other detectives, these people had been very busy recently.
Winter had arrived in Bakerland, and people's living expenses now included an extra item for heating.
Especially in the slums, the burden brought by these expenses could only be obtained through other means, and various crimes increased accordingly.
Isengard hadn't been able to receive Alan personally and had only arranged one of his assistants for Alan.
But the latter's abilities weren't quite sufficient. After searching for two or three days, he still hadn't discovered any valuable clues.
"Thomas's family has already given up hope, but I still want to do a bit more for him."
Alan said earnestly. "So I came to find you. If you have spare time, I hope you can accept my commission."
"Mm, if you insist, I can accept it."
Klein thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
"That's wonderful!"
Alan relaxed.
"You seem very concerned about this colleague."
Klein took a sip of coffee and said with a smile.
"Yes, Thomas is the most responsible obstetrician I've ever seen. Without him, I would feel regret and unease for the expectant mothers of Bakerland."
Alan answered seriously.
Hearing this, the smile on Klein's face became stiff.
"Obstetrician?"
He repeated with difficulty, suddenly having a bad premonition in his heart.