Chapter 247: The Whole Story

The figure in the mirror was clear, but it was as though the woman in

the black regal dress had never appeared.

Klein secretly activated his Spirit Vision, but didn't find anything.

*Did I just hire a female ghost as my bodyguard? She's even stranger

than a female ghost... At the very least, one can see ghosts with Spirit

Vision...* Klein thoughtfully touched Azik's copper whistle in

his pocket, feeling nothing but its cold chill. Like before, it didn't

have any additional changes.

*She's unaffected by the copper whistle... Seems like she isn't an

undead creature... However, I can't be sure. Back then, the copper

whistle was buried with me, but the corpses surrounding me didn't act

abnormally... Was it because those buried in the cemetery have

experienced a send off by the priests and bishops? When does it work and

when doesn't it... When this business with the ambassador is over, and

if I'm still alive, I'll go to the cemetery and try to figure out the

scope of its effect and its limits. I can't always carry a time bomb

like this...* Klein washed his face and walked out of the

bathroom.

Just as he picked up the newspaper in the living room and was going to

read it in the living room or bedroom, he heard the doorbell ring.

Klein's mind tensed up when he heard the tinkling sounds. He put on his

coat, with all kinds of materials in it, and walked towards the door

gingerly.

He clearly knew that danger was approaching in the next few days!

After standing behind the door and waiting for a moment, the scene

outside naturally surfaced in Klein's mind.

The crimson moon was faintly discernible in the sky. The elegant gas

lamps on both sides of the street lit up the wet road. A boy wearing an

old coat stood there. His bright red eyes were deep and adrift.

*Ian Wright? Why did he appear? Isn't this what I saw in my dream

divination? Is this the prelude to danger?* Klein opened the

door and took two cautious steps back.

"Detective Moriarty," Ian took off his brown top hat, bowed, and said in

a low voice, "I came to apologize. I'm sorry to have involved you in

such a dangerous matter."

Klein creased his eyebrows and probed, "What you should've done is head

to the police station."

Ian looked around and bowed his head.

"I just came out from MI9."

Ah? Is that the name of the military's special department?

Klein stepped aside, pointed at the living room and said, "Maybe we can

have a chat."

I have to at least know what placed me in this situation... He

sighed inwardly.

Ian didn't stand on ceremony as he followed Klein into the living room

and sat in the same spot as he did the last time.

He was just about to open his mouth when Klein suddenly added, "If what

you plan on saying will put me in greater danger, then there's no need

to tell me about it."

"No, everything will soon be over." Ian had a calmness that was beyond

his age.

Klein was relieved and asked out of curiosity, "So, what exactly

happened?"

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw a figure emerge from the

panes of the oriel window across the room: a black regal dress, long

hair tied in a bun, blue eyes, delicate features, and a pale face. It

was the woman who had previously greeted Klein in the mirror.

This woman seemed to find an illusory high back chair and sat down. Her

left palm supported her right elbow while her right hand supported her

face, pretending to listen attentively while appearing expressionless.

For a moment, Klein was left at a loss.

Ian, who had been silent for a few seconds, said softly, "In fact,

Detective Zreal is a spy for the Feysac Empire. He adopted several

vagrant children and taught them how to gather intelligence. I am one of

them."

*So that's how it is... I was involved in a huge spy

conspiracy...* Klein suddenly felt enlightened.

Ian looked at the coffee table and continued, "We have the advantage of

age, and are often ignored by others, allowing us to gather a lot of

useful information. Two weeks ago, I stumbled upon clues regarding

Helmosuin's manuscript."

"Helmosuin?" Klein found the name familiar.

Ian looked up at him and explained, "Turani von Helmosuin, the greatest

scientist after Emperor Roselle, a mathematician, a mechanist, and the

father of the second generation difference engine."

So it's him! Klein suddenly remembered the relevant

information.

He wasn't only a great scientist, but also a crazy scientist. He

believed that the inherent flaw in the existence of humans could only be

fixed through machines. He loved eating sugar as if it was his own

energy source. He mysteriously disappeared while researching a third

generation difference engine, and was an important figure that every

country was trying to find.

"His manuscript? Does the manuscript involve third generation difference

engines?" Klein asked probingly.

A difference engine was a mechanical device for computing. It could

effectively improve the efficiency of scientific research and various

projects. In Klein's opinion, it was an alternative computer in the Age

of Steam. Of course, it could only do computation at present.

Ian shook his head.

"I'm not sure. I didn't actually see it. Perhaps, it had some related

ideas."

He paused for a moment, then went on to recount what had happened.

"When I reported this to Detective Zreal, he was very happy and told me

to follow up on that lead while he immediately reported it to his

superior.

"It took me some time to determine where the manuscript was, but I was

afraid of the danger, so I didn't steal it directly. I decided to return

to Detective Zreal, and after that, it was as I told you. Detective

Zreal's house was infiltrated while many of the tiny traps were not

restored, and he didn't respond to my contact request. The Zmanger gang

tried to capture me...

"With your help, I confirmed the death of Detective Zreal. I took a fake

tooth from his corpse. Oh, that happened after we parted.

"Detective Zreal told me that, inscribed on the inside of the fake

tooth, there was a method to urgently contact his superior. It was a

method that even he didn't know of and was something he would only

remove if an accident occurred."

Klein nodded slightly and said, "So you sent a telegram?"

A rare look of surprise flashed across Ian's face as he asked, "Did the

people from MI9 tell you that?"

"No, a friend of mine happened to see you on Bacardi Street." Klein

casually made up an excuse.

"I see." Ian nodded in depression. "I got in touch with Detective

Zreal's superior in Backlund via telegram and arranged the time, place,

and manner of meeting, but soon enough, I was found by the Zmanger gang.

No, to be exact, it was an intelligence officer of the Intis Republic.

That was what the people from MI9 people told me.

"Fortunately, MI9 arrived in time, and both sides engaged in a chaotic

battle. I took this opportunity to escape.

"However, when I met with Detective Zreal's superior this afternoon, I

was once again ambushed by the Intis intelligence officers.

Unfortunately, I was caught by them, and I was very afraid of dying, so

I told them everything that I knew. However, they didn't keep their

promise and still wanted to kill me. At that moment, MI9 finally found

me."

*It is only during such times when you look like a fifteen or sixteen

year old teenager...* Just as Klein was reflecting over this, he

suddenly thought of a problem from what Ian had just said.

Back when he discovered that something important was left behind on

Zreal's corpse and that Ian had successfully taken it away, he had

written the matter off, thinking that the Beyonder was lacking in skill,

and that the Beyonder had missed out on something because the mediumship

provided little useful information.

However, after confirming that the ambassador had a Mid-Sequence

Beyonder of the Seer pathway, the situation became extremely peculiar.

With powerful mediumship, it was impossible for the fake tooth to not be

discovered.

Leaving the body in such a remote and hard to find place didn't seem

like a trap.

Combined with Ian's description, the answer was obvious.

Klein nodded and said, "Have you ever thought of the possibility that

Zreal's superior has traitors around him, a traitor who has defected to

the Intis intelligence services?

"That's also why Zreal was exposed and killed when he obtained the clue

to the manuscript, as well as why you were ambushed."

It was because the Intis ambassador had information about Zreal's

superior which was why he didn't pay much attention to the urgent

communication method inscribed on the inside of the tooth!

Zreal's report to his superior directly led to his demise!

Ian fell into a daze when he heard that. It took him quite a while

before he clenched his fists in anger, trying hard to compose himself as

he said, "I didn't think of that. You really are an excellent

detective..."

He quietly let out a breath of air and changed the topic.

"I have divulged the whereabouts of the manuscript to MI9 and everything

else. They also mentioned your predicament in passing. Heh, they didn't

suspect me of lying, nor did they send anyone to watch me. All of them

went to vie for the manuscript. However, with that kind of pressure, no

one can lie."

Having said that, Ian stood up and gave a deep bow.

"Please allow me to apologize again.

"Sorry to have involved you in this. Actually, you don't need to hide

anything for me."

Having understood the entire situation, Klein smiled and said, "No, the

main problem in this matter was because I made a mistake that made me

end up in my current situation."

As he was listening, he used Ian's description of the entire situation

and his reflections of the past few days and confirmed that he had made

two mistakes.

*When I discovered that Ian's matter ran deeper than it appeared, I

still accepted the request. That wasn't a problem since I only felt that

it involved gangs, and there would be, at most, one or two Beyonders who

wouldn't dare expose themselves. But the divination lacked enough

information and ended with a failure... This was within the limits of

what I could've resolved by myself, and typically speaking, there

wouldn't have been any trouble. I could even take the opportunity to

come into contact with Backlund's Beyonders.*

*After finding Zreal's corpse and confirming that the matter ran deep, I

should've considered the sensitivity of my identity and decisively

extricated myself from this case. I should've let Ian deal with the

subsequent matters himself. This wouldn't be problematic and would be a

rather careful choice.*

*One of the mistakes I made was that I didn't flinch or reveal anything

about Ian when Meursault came to me. I only thought that he was from a

gang, and that there were some Beyonders behind that gang. Who would've

guessed that it would involve a figure like the Intis ambassador; even

more so, I never expected Meursault to be so rash. After failing his

mission, he didn't threaten, intimidate me or proceed with other

options. Instead, he came straight to kill me so that mediumship could

be performed. He didn't even give me the chance to regret my decision.

As a result, my situation worsened.*

So, this isn't too subjective or too serious a mistake.

*The one mistake that really caused me to be in such a passive situation

was a tiny mistake I made from the very beginning. I had rented the

house and accepted the mission as Sherlock Moriarty without donning a

disguise!*

*This resulted in me not being able to flee after my identity as a

Beyonder was exposed to the ambassador. Even as I acted horrified and

frantic, making MI9 and the police department believe that my taking

flight would only be normal, I didn't dare flee. I was afraid that when

the ambassador failed to find a target for revenge, he would inform the

officials about me. And according to my experience as a Nighthawk, most

official enforcers like the Nighthawks, Machinery Hivemind, and Mandated

Punishers harbor animosity towards uncontrolled Beyonders. They

definitely wouldn't ignore me just because I'm a Low-Sequence Beyonder

and would begin an investigation.*

*In time, my looks will be clear evidence. I will then be pursued by

High-Sequence Beyonders from the Church of the Goddess because I

resurrected despite having been involved with a Grade 0 Sealed

Artifact.*

*There's no chance for such matters to be suddenly forgotten or thought

of as nothing by others. I had to plan for the worst case scenario in

advance, and if I only reacted when the ambassador took action, it would

definitely be too late. Whether it's an assassination, finding a

bodyguard, or buying items, all of them will require time.*

*Only if the ambassador and his assistant dies or attention is diverted

to the investigation of his death will I be able to resolve this latent

danger. His assistant doesn't have an official status, so he can't

interact with the officials. For a mere Sequence 9 or Sequence 8 at

best, someone whose whereabouts are unknown, there's no reason to go

through the effort to report me.*

*Of course, his death is the best outcome, then there won't be any

latent danger.*

*Compared to finding Mr. Azik for help or having attention placed on me

because of 0-08 again, as well as being pursued by High-Sequence

Beyonders, assassinating the ambassador is the relatively simpler

choice... Even it fails, I can only bear one of the two

outcomes...*

*Sigh, everything originated from a small oversight at the beginning. I

just imagined that in a metropolis with over 5 million people and few

people knowing me while I deliberately avoided the Nighthawks, there was

no need for me to don a disguise every day, since it would be easier for

others to notice something amiss. Yet, for such a small mistake, I would

have to pay over 10,000 gold pounds as the price without having any

guarantee of resolving it...*

*I'm really like a Clown, with one mistake triggering a chain reaction,

only to result in a desperate attempt to balance myself so as to please

the audience...*

*This is all because of my lack of experience. This is the first time in

my two lifetimes combined that I've ever been a fugitive.*

*Once this matter is completely resolved, exposing my identity as a

Beyonder would no longer be that dangerous. They would only think that I

obtained a potion while finding a bodyguard and not doubt my origins. Of

course, I'll have to get used to wearing glasses and a mustache in the

future so that the people around me will gradually get used to my new

image. In the future when they ask me about me, they will only think of

this new image.*

Having thought through the entire matter, Klein's laugh became more

pronounced, making Ian feel strange.

"It's time for me to leave. I'll need to disappear for a while;

otherwise, I might be thrown into jail." Ian put on his hat, bade

farewell, and left.

Klein didn't stop him, watching him disappear into the crimson

moonlight, while the woman by the oriel window had disappeared without

him realizing it.