After Mr. Melas left, Klein began browsing the materials the man had left behind. Although this might involve Mr. Devil, thinking of his savings,which were less than £100,of the cost of living in Backlund, and of that tempting £10 reward, Klein still chose to accept the commission.
If something truly were discovered, Klein would at most give the other party a warning. After all, a famous social butterfly in Backlund who hadn't been beaten to death by those noble gentlemen yet likely had rich experience in dealing with such matters.
With such thoughts, Klein's reading became even more meticulous. As word after word passed before his eyes, he discovered that Mr. Melas wasn't the kind of minor noble he had imagined.
More precisely, the man was a small merchant attempting to cross the threshold into the nobility.
Although it wasn't explicitly stated in the files, through his wife's information, Klein could almost see the image of a merchant wracking his brains to squeeze into high society.
His wife was the daughter of a baronet and had no other siblings. If everything went as expected, when his father-in-law passed away, his wife would logically inherit the title.
Don't look down on a baronetcy,which offered almost no actual income; it was the "stepping stone" to joining the noble circles of Loen. Based on the rumors Klein had heard back at university and the information he had recently gained from newspapers, he believed this gentleman surely had paid a substantial fortune for this marriage.
'Generally speaking, in this kind of trade between money and power, both sides shouldn't care about the other's private life...' Klein recalled some novels and movies he had seen in his "past life" and felt slightly strange.
He couldn't be blamed for being overly suspicious; the psychological shadow left on him by Ince Zangwill truly was quite large.
After a moment of thought, Klein walked four steps counter-clockwise and arrived above the gray fog. He manifested paper, a pen, and a pendulum, and began writing the divination statement, "There is danger in investigating Madam Melas... There is danger in investigating Madam Melas..."
After repeating it seven times, Klein slowly opened his eyes, only to see the pendulum in his hand slowly moving in a clockwise direction.
"There is danger, but it's not high... That's normal." Klein relaxed slightly and wrote a new divination statement:
"Madam Melas has not committed adultery... Madam Melas has not committed adultery..."
But this time, the pendulum remained motionless, meaning information was insufficient.
"As expected, one cannot take shortcuts." Klein shook his head, thought for a moment, and picked up the pen to write the third divination statement, "Investigating Madam Melas involves a Beyonder event... Investigating..."
It was still the pendulum method, repeated seven times. The pendulum began to rotate as he hummed his silent prayer.
"Clockwise? Involving Beyonder powers? But the previous feedback was that the danger wasn't high!" Klein looked at the clockwise-rotating pendulum, wondering if there was something wrong with it. But remembering that this was above the gray fog, he could only try his best to interpret what this result meant.
'Involving Beyonder powers, yet the danger is small. This should mean the Sequence of the involved Beyonder isn't high... No, not necessarily. I'm only a Sequence 8 myself; even if it involves a low-sequence Beyonder, the risk shouldn't be so little...
'Fine, perhaps it's because that Beyonder knows me, so they have no intention of harming me... Speaking of which, Mr. Devil's suspicion has grown even larger!'
Klein grumbled in his heart but forcibly suppressed that thought. In divination, the notion of "suspecting a neighbor of stealing an axe" was the most forbidden. Once a bias formed in the heart, all divination hints would become excuses to explain one's own assumptions.
Lightly patting his cheeks, Klein temporarily forgot about Mr. Devil and his morning wake-up service, re-examining the commission.
First, Mr. Melas was definitely hiding something. Otherwise, all he had to do was wait for his father-in-law to die; there was no need to cause unnecessary trouble by investigating an extramarital affair that was trivial compared to his interests and could even cause him to lose both power and wealth.
Second, to what extent did it involve Beyonder powers?
The pendulum's rotation wasn't particularly fast. Based on past experience, it should be one or two low-sequence Beyonders, or a Sealed Artifact/mystical item. Within that, there were many possibilities.
For example, a person who occasionally obtained a mystical item and used an ability like hypnosis to bewitch Madam Melas. This would undoubtedly involve Beyonder powers, but the danger wasn't actually any greater than a normal investigation into an affair.
'Divination truly can only serve as a reference...' Klein once again sighed at the limitations of divination and perked up to continue thinking.
Then, he summarized a new divination statement, "This commission is directed at me."
Perhaps because the divination involved himself, the pendulum quickly began to rotate. However, Klein still repeated it seven times before opening his eyes.
To his relief, this time, the pendulum didn't continue its clockwise rotation.
'It's not directed at me? Was finding me merely a coincidence? Coincidence...' Klein got a headache again at the word. He was truly a bit "hypersensitive" to coincidences lately. But after much thought, he still decided to investigate.
As the saying goes, "If you don't step in it, the pit will always be there." Even if this "coincidence" really was that kind of "coincidence," ignoring it would only invite even more "coincidences." It was better to go and see for himself, entering the script as a supporting character. That way, it would be easier for him to perform further divinations using the status of being above the gray fog.
Even if he couldn't find the true culprit behind the scenes, he could at least, like before, see a house or a hand or something.
Having made up his mind, Klein visualized the sensation of falling to return to reality and once again picked up the dossier Mr. Melas had left.
With suspicion in his heart, the content of this dossier also became questionable. First and foremost, it truly was too comprehensive.
If it were just to investigate an affair, an address, a photograph, habits, and a schedule would have been enough, perhaps with details like social circles.
But this archive included the wife's father's title, political leanings, financial status, and more,all clearly investigated. Looking at it this way, it actually resembled a commission for a political opponent digging up dirt on a rival's daughter. If the man hadn't failed to provide the lady's undergarments, Klein would have suspected the other party knew he was a Seer!
"Of course, it's also possible this dossier was originally collected by Mr. Melas when he was searching for a suitable 'stepping stone' into Backlund's high society, and this time he's just reusing it."
Klein consoled himself internally and put on some cheap clothes that he wouldn't mind getting dirty before getting ready to head out. Although he knew this matter might not be so simple, he still decided to take it seriously. After all, a £10 commission was enough to cover two and a half months of rent!
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]
---
A/N: "Stepping Stone" - A reference to the social mobility (or lack thereof) in the Loen Kingdom, where a title is essential for genuine status among the elite.
A/N: "Baronet" (从男爵) - The lowest rank of the peerage/nobility, often used as a entry point for wealthy commoners.
T/N: "Clockwise / Counter-clockwise" - In dowsing divination, clockwise represents an affirmative ("yes" or "success"), while counter-clockwise represents a negative.
T/N: "Suspecting a neighbor of stealing an axe" (疑邻盗斧) - A Chinese idiom referring to how one's own suspicions can bias their perception of reality.