บท 23: Honorific name
Leonard's smile gradually vanished as a look of doubt appeared in his green eyes .
He whispered something with a displeased tone .
Down the stairs, Klein followed the gas lamp-illuminated corridor to the armory and archives .
The iron door was open and the brown-haired Rozanne was standing in front of the table . She was chatting with a top hat-wearing middle-aged man with a thick black beard .
"Good afternoon, no . Good evening . It's always night here . Klein, I heard from Old Neil that you have become a Beyonder? It's called Seer?" Rozanne turned her head and deluged him with her questions .
She did not hide her curiosity and concern .
Klein nodded with a smile .
"Good afternoon, Miss Rozanne . It's indeed always night here, but it makes one feel a sense of serenity . The description you gave wasn't accurate enough . It should be said that the Sequence potion I consumed has the name Seer . "
"You still chose to become a Beyonder after all . . . " Rozanne said with a sigh as she fell into a deep thought .
Klein looked at the middle-aged man beside her and asked politely, "You are?"
Rozanne puckered her lips and said, "Bredt . Our colleague . He wishes to change slots with me to free up the night after tomorrow . He plans on going to the theater in the North District with his wife to watch The Prideful One . It's to celebrate their fifteenth-year wedding anniversary . He's truly a romantic gentleman . "
Bredt smiled as he extended his hand and said, "With Miss Rozanne around, there's nothing that requires repeating . Hello, Klein . I never expected you to become a Beyonder so quickly . As for me, heh, I might never have the courage . "
"Perhaps it's as the saying goes, the ignorant knows no fear," Klein said in a self-deprecating manner as he extended his hand to shake Bredt's .
"Me not having courage is not something bad," said Bredt with a shake of his head . "A Beyonder once told me before his death to never probe the strange and dangerous matters . The less you know, the longer you live . "
At that moment, Rozanne interjected, "Klein, there's no need to mind it . I heard from Old Neil that as a Seer, you are used as support . It's relatively safe as long as you do not attempt to communicate with unknown existences . Why are you dressed in such clothes? It's so unbecoming of a gentleman! What are you here for?"
"I'm here to draw my thirty bullets . " Klein did not reply to Rozanne's first question .
He believed that the lady would quickly forget the matter .
"Alright . " Rozanne pointed at the table and said, "Bredt, it's all yours . You should know where the keys and bullets are . Oh, Old Neil really is petty . He did not even leave his hand ground coffee behind . He promised me that I could drink my fill today . . . "
She prattled on as Klein received the bullets .
When he was going upstairs he meet with Old Neil. They shared some conversations. And then Klein said,"My potion's abilities are related to divination . Practicing by myself will not do . I need to make contact with lots of people and divine for them to quickly grasp it . I plan on joining the Divination Club after having some spare cash—the one on Howes Street in North Borough—to become a real Seer . "
"Your idea is very similar to Daly's . She has always clamored to be a real Spirit Medium . " Old Neil shook his head and laughed . "But why must you wait till you have spare cash? You can apply to Dunn and get him to approve of the expenses!"
"Organizations like a Divination Club might also have cultists or members of evil organizations in them . As a civilian staff member of the Nighthawks and a standard Beyonder, your membership makes it easy for us to monitor them . It's part of the job! We would regularly monitor these places, but as we lack manpower, we can't keep watch on them for long . Now, it can be handled to you . "
"You wish to use your own money to do this?" Old Neil smiled as he added when he saw Klein's face .
Klein immediately shook his head as he answered firmly, "I plan on reporting it to Captain!"
When Klein opened the door to the civilian staff office, the three desks inside were empty . Only the typewriter sat there silently .
"Akerson Company's Model 1346 typewriter . . . " Klein, who had seen similar objects in his mentor's office and Welch's place, muttered . He felt that the complicated mechanisms inside were filled with the beauty of machinery .
He walked to the desk with the typewriter .
Tap! Tap! Tap!
The rhythmic tapping on the typewriter sounded like a melody composed from the heavy marriage of metal and industry . Under this melody, Klein quickly typed the expenditure application .
Dunn was waiting for lunch to be delivered . When he saw Klein hand him the document, the corners of his mouth curved up .
"Did Old Neil teach you this?"
"Yes . " Klein did not hesitate to betray Old Neil .
Dunn picked up his dark red fountain pen and signed it .
"I happen to be applying for funding for the months of July, August, and September from the Church and the police department . I'll add yours in . When it's approved, get the money from Mrs . Orianna .
"Alright," Klein answered simply and vigorously .
His tone and eyes were obviously filled with joy .
Before bidding Dunn farewell, he asked casually, "Shouldn't the budget for July, August, and September be applied for by June?"
Why are you applying for July's budget only in July?
Dunn fell silent for a few seconds before sipping his coffee .
"We encountered three cases in June . I was so busy that I forgot about it . "
As expected of Captain and his poor memory . . . Klein knew he had asked a question he should not have asked . He gave a chuckle before leaving immediately .
The duo left together and went their separate ways at Zouteland Street . One took a public carriage home while the other walked into the Shooting Club .
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Klein repeated the process—gripping the gun, raising his arms, shooting, releasing the cylinder, ejecting the empty shells, and stuffing in rounds—again and again . He became familiar with the process and built it into his muscle memory .
Of course, he had a few breaks in between to review and correct the process .
After finishing his practice, Klein used the grounds to do various exercises like push-ups . He worked hard to train his body to improve his physique .
Once everything was over, he sat in an untracked carriage home . Only then he realized it was nearing seven and the sky was already dark .
Just as Klein was planning to head to the market or streets to buy the ingredients for dinner, the door opened . Melissa had returned with her stationery-filled bag .
Apart from that, she carried quite a lot of groceries .
" . . . I thought you and Benson would be home rather late . This morning, I took out 1 soli from the place you hide the money . " Upon seeing her brother's questioning look, Melissa explained in her usual serious manner .
"Since you took the money, why didn't you take the public carriage to school?" Klein had been reminded of the matter from the morning .
Melissa said with a frown, "Why should I take a public carriage . It costs four pence to get to school . A return trip means eight pence . Counting Benson and you, we will be spending twenty-four pence on transportation daily . That's a whole soli! In a week, yes, without counting Sunday, that's still twelve pence . It's almost equal to our rent . "
Stop, stop, stop! Don't flaunt your mathematical prowess . . . Klein lowered his palm in an amused manner .
Melissa first stopped before adding, "It's pretty good walking to school . Our teacher said that everyone should exercise frequently . Besides, I can pick some damaged components on the way . "
Klein chuckled and said, "Then let's do the math again . The public carriage costs twelve soli . The rent is twelve soli and three pence . It's a total of one pound, four soli and three pence . Using Benson's salary is enough to pay for it and there will be quite a bit of change left . Yes, he has received last week's salary . . . As for me, I can still earn one pound ten soli every week . Even if we eat meat every day while counting expenses like gas, charcoal, wood, and condiments, we would still have some left if we are frugal with lunch . We can even subscribe to the morning papers for just one penny . "
"In two months, when I make up for the advanced payment, I can save money for both you and Benson . We can have new clothes . "
"But! But we have to think of the possible accidents . " Melissa stayed firm on her point .
Klein smiled at her and said, "Then, we can eat less meat . Don't you find spending fifty, no, a hundred minutes on the road a waste of time? You could use that time to read more and think over problems and improve your results .
"That way, Melissa, you will be graduate with excellent grades . You will be able to find a job with a pretty good salary . When that happens, what is there to worry about?"
" . . . "
He fully displayed his experience gained from debating with people on message boards and finally convinced Melissa . She agreed to take the public carriage to school .
"Phew, I've finally suckered her into doing it . No, how can I call it suckering . This is called convincing . . . " Klein lampooned before taking over the groceries that Melissa had bought . He said with a sigh, "Remember to buy beef or meat like mutton and chicken . . . Eat until you're full and enjoy yourself . Only then will you be equipped with a healthy body and a clever brain to match the demanding requirements needed for your studies . "
Melissa puckered her lips and after a few seconds of silence, said, "Alright . "
Next day Monday, klein take a day off because of tarot club meeting. He did some studie after Melissa leaves. He did his daily work at home then he take a nap before afternoon.
After walking up. He struggled to get up and walked to the clothing rack to take out his pocket watch from the pocket of the tuxedo's inner lining.
It was only slightly past noon . There was still a lot of time until the scheduled gathering at three in the afternoon.
Klein went into thought as he tapped his glabella twice . The scene before him changed once again as he saw that his body had restored to a bright luster
He tapped twice again and stopped his Spirit Vision . Relaxed, he went to the first floor and boiled a kettle of water . He placed some inferior-quality tea leaves and chewed on some rye bread dabbed in a little butter.
Klein heaved out a long sigh and recited the incantation that he had decided upon .
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era, you are the mysterious ruler above the gray fog; you are the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck . . . "
Klein heard some murmuring in his head. It can be used again.
At 2:57pm, he locked the bedroom's door, making the room turn abnormally dark. He walked four steps in a counter-clockwise manner in a squarish shape . He incanted in Chinese softly.
Only this time, he did not prepare any staple food. He didn't hear any shouting of Celestial Worthy. Soon, his body turned light as he floated up . He saw the grayish-white and blurry fog that emanated. He also noticed a change above the Fool's chair. There a ripple in fog.
"It worked perfectly. I can still use this honorific name." Klein thought.
Then, he saw dark red 'stars . ' Two of them had a minuscule connection with him with an abnormal sense of familiarity. They belong to justice and hanged man. Klein calmly walked to the Seat of Honor and made his body and face be immersed in thicker gray fog . He extended his right hand and tapped two familiar deep-red stars and created a miraculous connection.
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