Chapter 43

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Leonard nodded at Klein, a smile lighting his green eyes. “Then what do you need from them?”

He knew from past experience that divination required a conduit, especially when the person being divined was not present.

Klein thought for a moment before saying to Klee, “I need some of Elliott's recent clothes that haven’t been washed yet. It would be even better if you have any accessories he used to wear.”

He tried to ask for ordinary items as conduits—nothing that would arouse suspicion among ordinary people.

But even so, Klee looked puzzled. “Why?”

Regardless, he added, “I have a picture of Young Master Elliott on me.”

Why? Because we are divining his location...

Klein wasn’t sure how to answer. If he answered truthfully, putting aside for the moment that it violated the confidentiality clause, Butler Klee would likely storm out immediately, ripping apart the contract while cursing, “Bunch of cheats! If that worked, I might as well go to the most famous spirit medium in Awashire!”

Leonard Mitchell snickered nearby. “Mr. Klee, my partner—um, colleague—keeps a unique pet. Its sense of smell is sharper than that of a hound. That’s why we need clothes that little Elliott wore and items he always kept on him to aid us in finding him. And, as you know, we also need that picture to know what little Elliott looks like.”

Klee accepted the reason with a slow nod. “Will you wait here, or would you like to go with me to Mr. Vickroy’s residence in the city?”

“Lets go together. It saves time,” Klein replied simply.

Not only was he eager to test his abilities as a Beyonder, but he also had a simple desire to save the child.

“All right, the carriage is outside.” As Klee spoke, he took out a black-and-white photograph from his pocket and handed it to Leonard.

It was a picture of Elliott Vickroy by himself; a boy of about ten, with slightly long hair that nearly covered his eyes. Aside from the obvious freckles, his features were unremarkable.

Leonard glanced at it and passed it to Klein.

Klein studied the photograph carefully before stashing it in his pocket. Then he took his walking stick, put on his hat, and followed the two out of Blackthorn Security Company to board the carriage downstairs.

The carriage’s interior was spacious and lined with thick carpet. A small table stood in the middle, holding various objects.

Since Klee was present, Klein and Leonard did not exchange words. They quietly absorbed the experience of steadily traversing the pooling roads in a carriage surrounded by a gentle drizzle.

“The carriage driver is quite good,” Leonard eventually broke the silence, offering praise with a smile.

“Ah, yes,” Klein replied half-heartedly.

Klee forced a smile. “He is honored to receive your compliments. We're almost there...”

Fearing that any discussion might alert the kidnappers, the carriage did not stop outside the Vickroy residence; instead, it halted on the side of a nearby street.

Butler Klee opened his umbrella and departed alone. As they waited, Leonard resumed talking to Klein. “I didn’t mean anything by my deduction last time. I was just trying to tell you that the notebook will definitely reappear—perhaps soon.”

“That sure isn’t a happy deduction.” Klein jutted his chin toward the front of the carriage, signaling that they shouldn’t discuss sensitive topics with outsiders around.

Leonard whistled and turned his head to look out the window. A raindrop streaked across the glass, leaving behind a hazy mark that turned the world outside into a blur.

After a while, Klee returned with a bag of items. Since he had hurried, the hems of his trousers were completely soiled, and his shirtfront was wet.

“These are the clothes Young Master Elliott wore yesterday. This is the protective Storm Amulet he used to wear.”

Taking the bag, Klein glanced inside. It contained a miniature set of gentleman’s formal attire—a small shirt, waistcoat, bow tie, and so on. The Storm Amulet was cast from bronze, carved with symbols representing gales and sea waves, though none of these triggered Klein’s spiritual perception.

“I’ll recount in detail the events leading up to Young Master Elliott’s kidnapping. Hopefully, it will help you narrow it down...” Klee sat down and described the nightmarish experience of that morning, hoping that the painstakingly hired helpers would prove useful.

Klein and Leonard showed little interest in the details of the process. They cared only about the number of kidnappers, whether there was anything unusual about them, and if they were armed.“Three,” “normal,"and“armed with firearms..."were the answers they needed. After obtaining the desired information, they bade Klee goodbye and hired a two-wheeled light carriage nearby.

Unlike coaches, carriages for hire came in four-wheel or two-wheel variants, with fares charged either by time or distance. For distance, the rate was four pence per kilometer within the city and eight pence per kilometer outside. If charged by time, the carriage cost two soli per hour, with the price remaining the same even if it was under an hour, plus additional charges of six pence per quarter hour after the first hour. In inclement weather or urgent situations that demanded extraordinary speed, the fare could be even higher.

Klein had heard from Mr. Azik that in the capital, Backlund, carriage drivers were notorious for quoting outrageous prices. To him, hiring a carriage felt like lavish spending. However, he needn’t worry at the moment since Leonard had already tossed two one-soli notes directly to the driver.

“Charge by the time,” Leonard instructed, then closed the carriage door.

“Where would you like to go?” the driver asked, delighted yet puzzled as he held the two notes.

“Wait a moment.” Leonard cast his gaze at Klein.

Klein nodded slightly, then took out Elliott’s clothes. He spread them out on the carriage’s floor and wound the Storm Amulet around the head of his walking stick. Holding the black cane vertically, Klein stood it on top of Elliott’s clothes.

He gathered a sphere of light in his mind until his thoughts rapidly stilled. His brown eyes darkened as he entered a half-trance. He felt his body’s spirit growing lighter, untethered, and caught glimpses of the omnipresent plane of spirits. Silently, he recited in his mind,Elliott’s location.

After repeating it seven times, he released his grip on the cane—but it did not fall. Despite the carriage’s movements, the cane remained standing in front of him.

Minute, shapeless stirrings swirled around him. Klein felt as if unseen pairs of eyes were coldly watching him. Over the past few days, he had occasionally sensed this feeling when in a trance or using his spirit vision.

Despite the mild eeriness, he fixed his deep, dark eyes on the cane and recited once more in his heart:

Elliott’s location.

When he finished, the cane fell to the ground, pointing straight ahead.

“Straight,” Klein said in a low voice and picked up his cane. His tone carried an almost ethereal quality, as if his words could penetrate into an unknown world.

This was one of the divination methods he’d learned: rod dowsing. The tool of choice must be wooden, metallic, or a combination of both.

Normally, this would require two genuine dowsing rods, held like a straight steel wire with a right-angle bend. He would hold onto the shorter side and rotate it to ascertain the correct direction. But as a Seer, Klein had learned through practice to search for people using this method. He could also use his walking stick in place of dowsing rods—the direction in which the cane fell would indicate the location of the item he sought.

As for the Antigonus family’s notebook, Klein had no memory or impression of it whatsoever, so there was no way for him to find it.

“Go straight,” Leonard instructed the carriage driver loudly. “We will tell you when to turn.”

The driver didn’t understand why they were doing this, but the money in his pocket and the willingness of his passengers to pay kept him silent. He simply followed the strange instructions.

The carriage proceeded slowly, passing one street after another. As they traveled, Klein used rod dowsing several times to correct their course.

Finally, after the carriage circled a building once, Klein determined that Elliott was inside. It had been only thirty minutes since they’d bid Klee farewell.

After sending off the carriage driver, Klein no longer used Elliott’s clothes. Instead, he placed the cane—with the Storm Amulet wrapped around its head—directly on the ground. His eyes turned dark once again as the raindrops around him began to spin.

The cane tipped diagonally forward. Klein pointed at the door to a staircase and said, “There.”

“At times, I really envy Old Neil. Similarly, I envy you now,” Leonard lamented with a smile.

Klein shot him a glance and replied evenly, “This isn’t difficult. If you’re willing to learn, you’ll be able to master it. I’m sure you have very high spiritual perception.”

Leonard nodded and chuckled, “That’s not a good thing.” He quickened his pace and walked into the building as the storm finally neared its end.

Afraid of drenching his formal suit, Klein practically jogged behind him.

The building had only three stories and was structured like an apartment building in China, where each flight of stairs in the building led to its own set of apartments, two to a floor. Klein repeated his rod dowsing on the first and second floors, but the cane remained completely still and erect.

Quieting their footsteps, they arrived at the third floor. Klein once again set his cane upright on the floor.

Whoosh!

A gentle breeze swept through the stairwell as his irises changed colors—so dark they seemed capable of pulling in one’s very soul.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sobs seemed to echo all around them.

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Klein relinquished his grip, and the cane, with the Storm Amulet entwined around it, magically stood erect. He silently recitedElliott's locationagain, then watched his black cane drop silently to the ground, pointing to the door on the right.

“They should be in there.” As Klein picked up his cane, he tapped twice on his brow. Various colors deepened as he gazed through the door at the auras inside.

“One, two, three, four... Three kidnappers and one hostage. The numbers match... One of their auras is short, so it’s probably Elliott... Mr. Klee said that they have two hunting rifles and a revolver...,” Klein whispered.

Leonard chuckled and said, “Let me sing them a song. Why be a kidnapper? Why not be a civilized person?” He put down the bag with Elliott’s clothes and took two steps forward. His expression suddenly turned serene and melancholic.

A deep, magnetic voice gradually spread through the air:

“Oh, the threat of horror, the hope of crimson!

One thing at least is certain—this Life flies;

One thing is certain and the rest is Lies;

The Flower that once has bloomed forever dies..."