366 The Hanged Mans Ambition (1/2)

After a thorough inspection, Klein confirmed that there was nothing odd about the White family and that the couple didn't even leave a single strand of hair behind, apparently to prevent anyone from tracking them down using divination.

He returned to the bedroom filled with dolls, took four steps counterclockwise, and went above the gray fog, intending to use divination to for a final confirmation.

However, before he got down to business, he conjured the female figurine who was nearly his height, and just like how he had done a divination for the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem in Tingen City, he picked up a dark red fountain pen and wrote a sentence on the yellowish-brown goatskin: ”Its origin.”

Putting down the pen and holding onto the piece of paper, Klein leaned back in his chair and began to mumble as he slowly adjusted his mental state into a Cogitation state.

After repeating this seven times, his eyes turned dark, and his eyelids drooped as he entered a deep slumber.

In the gray space, he saw the puppet craftsman working with extraordinary concentration. He saw the red-eyed ”girl” being placed in the room of dolls and Emlyn White fishing out his wallet with his eyes fixed on her.

Finally, the scene stopped inside the bedroom where Klein was presently located. The proud vampire, Emlyn White, with his hair combed back diagonally, looked handsome but slightly delicate. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the doll affectionately, along with all the other puppets of different sizes.

He truly is a fanatic of figurines… Klein opened his eyes and facepalmed.

Soon after, he waved his hand, causing the puppet that he conjured to vanish from the space above the gray fog.

When he was done, he picked up his fountain pen again and wrote another divination statement: ”Scenes of death in the last ten years in 48 Riverbay Avenue.”

According to the statements from the residents, the White family had been there for no more than ten years, so Klein was able to lock onto a specific area, and he believed that if the White family were just superficially good monsters who were actually making disappearance cases all the time in order to suck warm, delicious blood, then it was impossible to not have any happen at home.

In a period as long as ten years, there would always be a few accidents as long as they didn't stop!

After carefully checking the divination sentence, Klein recited it and entered Cogitation again, rapidly falling into a dream.

In the dusky world, his vision was sometimes pitch-black, sometimes dotted with snowflakes, and sometimes splintered. However, no scenes appeared.

This was the result of the divination: nothing!

No one had died in the last ten years at 48 Riverbay Avenue!

By taking into account all the factors involved, it's possible to make a preliminary conclusion that the White family was a law-abiding vampire family, other than a few instances of petty theft… As Klein looked at the long, mottled bronze table in front of him, he wrapped himself with his spirituality and plummeted into the gray fog.

Returning to the real world, he carefully removed the traces he had left behind and left 48 Riverbay Avenue.

Instead of making his final conclusion, he took a detour to the Riverbay Police Station, where he easily sneaked into the archives by mixing himself in among the thieves and drunkards, allowing them to serve as a foil for his disguise. There, he boldly lit the gas lamps inside.

Then, Klein pulled out the last ten years of missing persons records and paged through them.

From time to time, the police officers on duty would pass by the door, but their eyes didn't notice any light leaking out from the archives.

There's nothing suspicious at all… After an unknown period of time, the black-gloved Klein placed the docket back.

Then, he turned off the gas lamp, took off his hat in the darkness, pressed his hand to his chest, and bowed towards the lobby.

On his way back to Minsk Street, Klein took a shower, changed his clothes, sat down at his desk, and spread out the map of Backlund that he had first bought on the steam locomotive.

The first thing he did was find Rose Street, which was on the south side of the bridge where the Harvest Church was located. This was where Father Utravsky was the bishop of the cathedral and had Emlyn White imprisoned in his basement.

Soon after, Klein's gaze moved as he familiarized himself with the names and layout of the surrounding streets.

A performance can't be done too hastily or with an excessive thirst for success. One has to slowly immerse the audience into the act… Klein whispered, unfolding a piece of paper and lowering his pen.

”Dear Detective Stuart,

”I wonder if you've found Emlyn White? I've been keeping an eye out for you lately, and one of my informants told me today that he has seen this man on Tuteva Street in the area south of the Bridge. Of course, he simply said that the person he saw looked similar to the man in the portrait.”

…

Putting down the pen, Klein folded the letter neatly, stuffed it into an envelope, and affixed a black stamp worth one penny.

…

Above the vast, boundless Sonia Sea with undulating waves churning beneath it.

The Blue Avenger advanced forward steadily without any signs of shaking.

Alger Wilson sat in the Captain's cabin with a brass sextant in his hand, but his eyes were closed.

Without a sound, a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

I've finally digested it… Alger opened his eyes and raised his hands, causing the surroundings to glow with an azure light.