Chapter 48: Hinas Vincent (First update, requesting recommendation votes)

Chapter 48: Hinas Vincent (First update, requesting recommendation votes)

North District of Tingen City, No. 13 Hulse Street, the Divination Club located on the second floor.

Klein saw that beautiful lady in charge of reception once again.

Her brownish-yellow hair was still pinned up, making her appear mature and elegant; judging solely by her appearance, it was difficult to determine her exact age.

"Hello, Mr. Glacis is not in today. Would you like to switch to another diviner?" the beautiful lady said with a smile.

Hearing this, Klein, who had just finished putting his silk top hat back on, was momentarily startled

"You remember me?"

That was five days ago!

The brown-haired lady pursed her lips and smiled

"You were the first guest to seek a divination from Mr. Glacis, and you remain the only one to this day. It is difficult for me not to be left with a deep impression."

*An impression of someone who seeks small gains only to suffer great losses, perhaps?* Klein mocked himself inwardly, then asked thoughtfully

"When was the last time Mr. Glacis came to the club?"

The brown-haired lady glanced at him and answered as if in thought

"To be honest, we cannot grasp the patterns of when members visit. They have free will and various affairs. Um, I remember that after that day, after performing a divination for you, Mr. Glacis has likely not returned to the club since."

*Good luck to him, may the Goddess protect him...* Klein prayed silently. He didn't ask further and instead smiled

"I am not here for a divination this time. I want to join the club."

"Really? It is our honor." The brown-haired lady showed a look of pleasant surprise at the right moment. "To become a member for the first first time, please pay an annual fee of 5 pounds, and 1 pound per year thereafter. I assume I don't need to re-introduce the details?"

Klein pulled a newly received 5-pound banknote from his inner pocket, watching the portrait of Henry Augustus I move away from him.

After carefully checking the anti-counterfeiting watermark, the brown-haired lady solemnly put away the banknote, took out a form, and handed it to Klein

"Please fill in your detailed information, and I will issue a receipt for you."

*Is there an invoice? With the header being Blackthorn Security Company...* Klein was amused by his own thoughts. He picked up the dip pen on the table and, using the blue-black ink, finished filling in his name, age, street of residence, company name, and other information.

However, he deliberately left his date of birth blank. For a "Diviner," this was a spiritual number related to one's own mysteries.

After issuing the receipt and registering the membership details, the brown-haired lady extended her right hand

"Welcome to the Tingen City Divination Club. I am Angelica Barehart, your diligent servant. This is your membership cufflink; it bears our unique inscription, which serves as proof of your membership."

"Hello, Ms. Angelica." Klein gave her hand a light squeeze and accepted the dark gold cufflink.

He noticed that the unique inscription used a root of a word in Hermes, which was the word for "Diviner."

Angelica withdrew her hand and thought for a few seconds before saying

"I wonder what kind of divination techniques you specialize in, or rather, what divination methods you wish to learn at the club? We will consider inviting corresponding renowned diviners to teach, and we will also introduce you to members with similar specialties so that you may enjoy exchanging ideas."

"I know a little bit of every divination technique; there is no need for special consideration," Klein replied with a bit of polish, and then inquired, "Can I perform divinations for others right now? I am not a novice who has just started learning."

He had come to play the role of a "Diviner," not to learn divination methods that ordinary people could access.

Angelica maintained a polite smile

"You are free to help people with divinations in the club at any time. However, before your proficiency is confirmed, we will not speak highly of you when customers inquire. What is your desired fee for a divination?"

"Two pence, then." Klein intended to win through pricing while he lacked fame.

"We will take a fee of one-quarter of a penny, based on the standard of one-eighth of the total price..." Angelica first went through various regulations before writing Klein's information into the "Diviner" catalog used for customer selection.

Having finished all this, she smiled and pointed toward the meeting room at the end of the corridor

"Mr. Hinas Vincent is currently lecturing on horoscope divination. You may find a seat quietly to listen in, and you may also raise your hand to ask difficult questions."

"Alright." Klein walked toward the meeting room with considerable interest, wanting to hear how Hinas Vincent's teaching differed from Old Neil's.

At that moment, Angelica caught up to him and lowered her voice

"Mr. Moretti, would you like coffee or tea? We provide free Sibe Red Tea, Southwell Coffee, and Desi Coffee."

Having read the newspapers frequently lately, Klein knew that these coffees and teas were of mediocre to low quality, but he also understood they were certainly better than the inferior varieties at home. Thus, after thinking for a moment, he said

"A cup of Southwell coffee, three spoons of sugar, no milk."

The most famous products of Southwell County in the Loen Kingdom were beer and red wine, which many important figures quite enjoyed, while coffee was relatively less famous.

"Very well, I will have it brought to you shortly." Angelica pointed toward the meeting room.

Klein walked slowly to the half-open door and heard a lecture delivered with a thick Ahova County accent

"Horoscope divination is also considered a quite complex type among all divination techniques..."

*That is only relative to ordinary people...* Klein silently added a sentence for him. He saw that five or six long tables in the meeting room were arranged in a semi-circle, surrounding a middle-aged man in a black classical robe, Hinas Vincent.

This gentleman had obvious dark circles under his eyes, and his brown hair was thick and stiff, standing up stubbornly one by one, as if he were playing the role of a hedgehog.

Aside from that, there were no obvious characteristics to him while he lectured on horoscope divination.

Seeing Klein enter, Hinas Vincent nodded slightly. He did not interrupt the lesson but merely slowed his speaking pace slightly.

With one hand in his pocket and the other holding his cane, Klein found an edge seat and leaned back comfortably. Looking around under the still brilliant afternoon sunlight, he saw six members present: four men and two women.

Some were focused on taking notes, some were whispering to each other, and some returned a bitter smile to Klein.

After setting down his cane, Klein adjusted his semi-tall silk top hat and tapped his brow twice with his folded fingers.

His gaze turned toward Hinas, and he saw the other man's aura—the different colors, brightness, and thickness.

"Dark red, a bit anxious emotionally... the other parts are very healthy, it's just that *there* is a bit of a problem, I wonder what the situation is..." Klein muttered to himself while leisurely listening to the lecture.

At this moment, he curled his right hand into a fist to cover his mouth to prevent laughter from leaking out, because he suddenly felt like an unlicensed traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.

Regarding the ability of Spirit Vision, he was quite satisfied now. Although he could only use it to judge general situations and could not distinguish specific details, it was sufficient to obtain a lot of useful information.

Scanning the room once more, he tapped his brow twice again, as if contemplating Hinas's words just now.

Horoscope divination is a type of astrology, but ordinary people can also attempt to interpret it. For example, the most basic "Birth Chart" is based on the positions of the Sun, Moon, Blue Star, and Red Star at the time of the inquirer's birth. One marks their symbolic signs in the correct places on the horoscope according to their positions in the sky, adds the corresponding conditions of various constellations, and finally uses this to interpret the person's fate.

This required the diviner to know how to reverse-calculate the status of planets and constellations, which was quite complex. Of course, some people published reference books for consultation, while others simplified it directly, using only constellations for the vaguest interpretations.

Klein listened quietly, neither interrupting nor asking questions. From time to time, he rubbed the citrine pendant in his cuff, and from time to time, he took a sip of the Southwell coffee Angelica had sent in.

After a long while, Hinas rubbed his brow and said

"You may all need to try drawing your own horoscopes. If you have any questions, you can come find me; I am in the White Crystal Room."

Watching him leave, a young man in a white shirt and black vest stood up with a smile and walked over to Klein

"Hello, I am Edward Steve."

"Hello, Klein Moretti." Klein stood up to return the greeting.

"Horoscopes are truly too complex. Every time I hear about them, I can't help but want to start a dream," Edward Steve said self-deprecatingly.

Klein smiled and said

"That is because Mr. Vincent cannot help but teach us everything he knows, much like serving us a massive feast of Intis all at once. It is quite difficult to digest."

"If it were me, I could finish a whole Intis feast; they always use very large plates to serve just a tiny bit of food." Edward chuckled and sat down, asking curiously, "You are a new member, right? I haven't seen you in the past two years."

"I just joined the club today," Klein answered candidly.

"What are you good at? I am best at Tarot and Card divination," Edward asked casually.

"I know a little bit of everything, and I only know a little bit of each." Klein applied his previous self-description here.

He wasn't being humble; it was because, in the field of divination, there truly was too much mysterious knowledge that had not yet been mastered.

Just as the other members were about to come over to discuss horoscope divination, Angelica walked into the meeting room

"Mr. Steve, someone is looking for you for a divination."

"Alright." Edward Steve stood up with a smile.

"It seems you are an excellent diviner," Klein said, looking at him.

"No, it's just because my price is the most suitable." Edward laughed softly. "When ordinary people come for a divination, they will absolutely not directly choose the most expensive ones. And unless they've been kicked in the head by a donkey, they certainly won't trust the cheapest ones. Those with prices in the middle are the easiest to get opportunities."

*I am the one you described as having been kicked in the head by a donkey...* Watching the man leave, Klein suddenly shook his head with a bitter smile

*It seems my price positioning has a problem...*

He stood up, took his cane, walked out of the meeting room, and found Angelica again

"I wish to change my divination price. Um, 8 pence."

Angelica gave him a deep look and said

"We will satisfy your request, but we will also inform customers that you have just joined our club."

"No problem." Klein nodded, unconcerned.

Sometimes, mystery was also an important element for a "Diviner" to attract customers.

After updating the information, Klein turned back toward the meeting room.

At that moment, he saw Hinas Vincent coming out of the White Crystal Room, holding a silver-plated mirror in his hand.

This renowned diviner said to the five members—three men and two women—in the meeting room

"I have recently mastered a new divination technique, Mirror Divination. Do you wish to learn it?"

*Mirror Divination? That doesn't sound like a safe divination method at all...* Dressed in black formal attire, Klein stopped outside the meeting room and frowned.

PS: 4/7, First update, requesting recommendation votes~

(End of Chapter)