Although the girl across from him had painted her face with all kinds of makeup, making her originally youthful features appear much more mature, Klein, who still remembered vividly that "live broadcast" sea battle, instantly recognized her true identity—the Lady Scythe, Jane Grant Miranda, with a bounty of 7,000 gold pounds.
At the same time, Jane, who had locked eyes with Klein, was even more shocked than he was. Her hands clenched involuntarily, her body tensed, and while her eyes fixed on him, she also used her peripheral vision to quickly scan the surroundings, looking for an escape route.
For more than a month now, she had been in Nauth, and whether by choice or not, she had grown far more aware of the various rumors at sea than when she was aboard the Future.
And the name Gehrman Sparrow had recently become the most famous one on the seas!
Even without deliberately prying, Jane had seen his photographs and heard stories about this adventurer from different channels—from the killing of "Steel" Mavit, to helping Vice Admiral of Ailment Tracy resist the pursuit of the Demoness Sect, to successfully hunting several pirates with bounties over 7,000 pounds. All of it revealed the madness lurking in his character.
He left the Rorsted Archipelago and came to the Gargas Islands? Why is he looking at me like that… As if he recognized who I am… Could it be that he wants to hunt me?!
But most of my weapons and extraordinary items aren't with me. To summon my undead to fetch them and undo their seals would take some time…
Calm down, Jane… He doesn't seem to have malicious intent… Or at least, he doesn't look like he's about to act immediately.
Suppressing the instinctive fear and unease rising in her heart, Jane watched Klein, who was about to walk past her seat, and said in a deep voice:
"Mr. Gehrman… don't come any closer!
"Otherwise, I can't guarantee that I won't do something extreme."
Looking at the girl before him, full of wariness and ready to strike at any moment, Klein finally remembered the "reputation" of this persona of his. Helplessly, he stopped in his tracks.
He gave a polite smile, but his tone remained flat as he said, "Don't be nervous, Miss Jane… I'm a friend of Detective Ebner Bryan."
"Ebner…" Hearing that name, Jane narrowed her eyes, staring at Klein for a long while as though confirming the truth of his words.
Klein, however, remained calm under her scrutiny, not rushing her. He even casually mentioned a few special words from Ebner's ritual for summoning the Demon Wolf messenger as proof.
Since she was a descendant of Liu Bo, Klein instinctively regarded her as a junior.
"This isn't the place to talk… Come with me!" Jane finally believed Gehrman. Tossing out a silver 1-sou coin as payment, she left the tavern first.
Seeing this, Klein glanced at the glass in his hand. Not wanting to waste it, he downed the Neibos in one gulp… and immediately felt his eyes redden. If not for his Clown ability to control his body, his features would have contorted painfully.
—Neibos was a Feysac specialty distilled from potatoes or grains. Famous for its high proof and fiery burn, it was far cheaper than Sonia Blood Wine and much more popular among ordinary Feysac men. It was even called the mistress of every Feysac man.
But Klein clearly couldn't handle this "mistress's" fiery embrace. Forcing down the discomfort in his stomach, he switched Creeping Hunger to the soul of the Zombie, enhancing his physique with its abilities, and only then felt somewhat better.
Putting the glass back on the bar, he kept his expression unchanged despite the bartender's thumbs-up, secretly vowing never to drink such terrifying liquor again.
Once he left the tavern, he saw that Miss Jane had already boarded a carriage. The door to the carriage was open, as if waiting for him to get in.
Klein hesitated for a moment, then loosened his sleeve and used his yellow crystal pendulum to divine the danger. After confirming there was none, he entered the carriage and sat across from Miss Jane.
By then, Jane had retrieved her extraordinary items from the undead under her control and no longer looked as frightened. She asked first:
"Mr. Gehrman, what do you want with me?"
"I wish to meet the 'Master Alchemist,'" Klein said directly without circling around.
"You want to see Mr. Krauss?" Jane relaxed a little at that, then asked, "Do you know the master's rules?"
"Yes." Klein nodded, then pointed at the suitcase he had brought into the carriage. "There's a box of wolffish canned goods inside…"
Before he finished, Jane jumped in fright. She hit her head on the roof of the carriage, then sat back down in pain, her voice carrying fear as she said:
"You… you brought wolffish canned goods into the carriage? What if the packaging breaks?!"
It sounded like Miss Jane feared wolffish canned goods even more than him! Klein secretly chuckled, but recalling the horrific stench of the can he had opened aboard the ship, he couldn't help but empathize. He said gravely:
"Don't worry, I've sealed them all with spirituality."
"That's good…" Jane cast a lingering glance at the suitcase, then took a deep breath and organized her words. "Since you're Ebner's friend, I won't charge an intermediary fee or go through other verification steps… I can take you to Master Krauss now… but you must sign a contract, swearing not to reveal his location."
"No problem. But I need to see the contract first." Klein wasn't resistant to signing, but he would never blindly trust her, even if she was Liu Bo's descendant.
"Of course." Jane nodded, taking out a piece of parchment carrying the effect of a Notary, and handed it over.
Klein carefully read it several times, then confirmed through divination that there were no traps, before finally signing his name.
Jane retrieved the signed contract and placed it into a hidden drawer in the carriage, one inscribed with complicated magical patterns.
Immediately after, the carriage began moving on its own, even without a driver. Klein keenly realized it had already carried them into the Spirit World!
"This carriage is the master's creation. It can perform short-range traversals through the Spirit World and take us directly to his workshop," Jane explained with a smile.
Klein gave a small nod, though inwardly he thought: Ebner mentioned that Miss Jane and Lady Cattleya the Hermit were both subordinates of the Queen of Mysteries… Which means this Master Krauss is very likely a member of Elements Dawn? That makes sense—how could a demigod-level Artisan not have a major organization backing him…
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the carriage exited the Spirit World and came to a stop. Jane's low voice sounded: "We've arrived. Prepare yourself—you mustn't be too shocked."
Shocked? Klein was puzzled at first. But the moment he got off the carriage and truly saw what lay before him, his eyes froze wide open… If not for his Clown's ability, he would have lost his composure.
Before him stood an inverted mountain, fixed in place by countless supports!
Master Krauss… he really recreated a Floating City?
(End of Chapter)