In a small room tinted with warm topaz hues, Klein sat quietly at a table, positioned opposite a slightly older man named Glacis.
Glacis was one of the Divination Club's novice fortune-tellers, recommended to Klein by Angelica—the Divination Club's ever-attentive attendant. Though inexperienced, Glacis carried himself with the cautious confidence of someone still testing the waters of mysticism.
On the table between them lay two inverted tarot cards. One bore the image of "The Fool," while the other displayed "The Star."
'So… the Antigonus family's notebook can no longer be found. However, it has yet to fall into the hands of others…' Klein released a slow breath, a mixture of relief and lingering unease settling in his chest.
'Then again, Mr. Glacis is a "novice" for a reason…'
"Well, thank you." Klein calmly placed two pennies onto the table. "Your reading fee."
As he stood, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
'Joining this club would allow me to exercise my "acting" as a Seer? At least… if I have truly understood what acting means—'
Cough! Cough!
The sudden sound broke Klein's train of thought.
His gaze snapped back to Glacis, who had begun coughing harshly, his expression tightening as if something were lodged deep within his chest.
Klein discreetly raised a hand and tapped his glabella twice, activating his Spirit Vision.
The world subtly shifted.
"Mr. Glacis, I suggest you see a doctor. Have them check your lungs."
"Huh?" Glacis tilted his head, confusion plain across his face.
"Your… glabella seems dark."
Without waiting for a response, Klein turned and left the room, his footsteps fading down the corridor and leaving Glacis standing alone, lost in uneasy contemplation.
"Is he a doctor or a herbalist? If he's joking, his jokes aren't very likeable."
….
The following day passed without much excitement.
During his mysticism classes, Old Neil taught Klein about spirit dowsing and the interpretation of symbolic meanings, emphasizing the importance of intuition tempered by restraint.
Neil also advised him against joining the Divination Club using his own savings. Instead, he suggested that Klein apply to Dunn Smith to have the expenses approved. After all, a Divination Club was a likely gathering place for evil cultists—or for individuals recklessly dabbling in the darker aspects of divination.
A Nighthawk 'spy' stationed there would be ideal.
Nothing noteworthy occurred until Friday, when a lanky man arrived at Blackthorn Security Company with an urgent mission request.
….
Elliott, the only son of a prominent tobacco merchant—Vickroy—had been kidnapped earlier that day. The lanky man, named Klee, was Sir Vickroy's butler.
After Butler Klee signed a contract and handed over a photograph of young Elliott, Klein and Leonard accepted the mission. The remaining Nighthawks were all occupied elsewhere.
'I wonder how useful my Seer abilities will be…' Klein thought, anticipation mingling with a tight coil of anxiety in his chest.
Klee escorted them by carriage to Mr. Vickroy's residence. There, he provided a set of Elliott's most recently worn clothes, along with every detail he could recall about the kidnapping. Once finished, Butler Klee respectfully bade farewell to the two "mercenaries."
Inside a private carriage, Leonard and Klein sat facing each other.
Klein placed Elliott's clothes neatly on the floor and positioned his cane vertically above them, ensuring it hung straight.
He activated his Spirit Vision, opened his eyes, and silently uttered, "Elliott's location."
"Ooh… Dowsing Rod Seeking?" Leonard chuckled.
Klein loosened his grip.
The cane dropped—but halted just before striking the carriage floor, hovering unnaturally in midair.
Slowly, it angled itself forward, pointing straight ahead.
Leonard immediately took advantage of Klein's Dowsing Rod Seeking, issuing directions to the carriage driver until they arrived at an abandoned three-story building, its exterior worn and lifeless.
The guidance eventually led them to a single room on the third floor.
"They should be in there…" Klein murmured, retrieving his cane.
Activating Spirit Vision once more, Klein peered through the door and surrounding walls. "Three kidnappers and one hostage. The numbers match."
Leonard chuckled softly.
"I'll recite a little poem for them."
He stepped forward twice. His expression softened, becoming serene and melancholic.
"Oh, the threat of horror, the hope of crimson cries...!"
Leonard's deep, magnetic voice flowed gently as he recited the poem, each word carrying a hypnotic cadence. The sound resembled a lullaby, smooth and irresistible.
Klein's thoughts immediately dulled.
His eyelids grew unbearably heavy, his consciousness threatening to slip away as though sleep were claiming him while standing.
Leonard abruptly ceased his recitation and turned back with a relaxed smile. "I can hear them sleeping."
In the next instant, Leonard hurled a punch at the door's lock, shattering the wooden board around it.
The door burst open, Klein's revolver already raised in his hand.
Leonard swiftly bound the three kidnappers with nearby ropes before hoisting the unconscious Elliott onto his shoulders.
And just like that, the mission was complete.
Leonard reported the kidnappers to the nearby police, and soon after, Vickroy's carriage arrived to retrieve his son.
Klein and Leonard returned to Blackthorn Security Company with a reward of 200 pounds. Unfortunately, Klein would only receive 10 of those pounds.
….
After dinner, the Moretti siblings exchanged quiet good nights.
Klein slept deeply—until something familiar stirred him awake.
He rose uneasily and opened his door, stepping into the hallway in confusion. His feet carried him toward the unused bedroom.
He pushed open the mottled door.
Inside stood a gray desk.
Upon it rested a notebook, its cover made of hard paper.
An inexplicable sense of déjà vu washed over Klein as he approached and opened it.
The page he turned to bore an illustration—a figure dressed in magnificent attire and a splendid headdress.
The Fool.
Beneath the image was a single line written in Hermes:
"Everyone will die, including me."
Terror seized Klein's heart as he realized the corner of The Fool's mouth was curving upward.
Ffffffff!
Klein jolted upright.
Crimson moonlight filtered through the curtains.
He stood, his expression hardened with resolve.
'The flat by the kidnappers—the Antigonus family's notebook is there!'