Chapter 38: Amateur

Chapter 38: Amateur

Hearing Klein's question, the beautiful lady with her brownish-yellow hair elegantly pinned up showed no sign of impatience, maintaining a polite smile as she spoke

"Our members are free to perform divinations for others in the club and set their own prices; we only take a very small percentage as a fee. If you wish to have a divination, you can look through this catalog. It contains introductions and prices for members willing to perform divinations."

"However, since it is Monday afternoon, most of our members are at work and busy. There are fewer than five here at the moment..."

As she spoke, she invited Klein to sit on a sofa by the window in the reception hall, then opened the catalog opposite him, pointing out the members currently in the club

"Hinas Vincent, a famous diviner in Tingen and a resident mentor of the club. He is skilled in various methods of divination and charges 4 Solus per session."

*So expensive... that could buy Benson, Melissa, and me two sumptuous dinners...* Klein thought to himself with a silent click of his tongue, offering no reply.

Seeing this, the lady with the brownish-yellow bun continued flipping through the pages, introducing them one by one

"...And finally, Gracis, a member who just joined the club this year. He has mastered Tarot divination and charges 2 pence per session."

"Sir, which one would you like to choose?"

Klein answered without any hesitation

"Mr. Gracis."

"..." The beautiful lady in charge of reception fell silent for two seconds before saying, "Sir, I must warn you in advance that Mr. Gracis can only be considered a beginner."

"I understand. I will take responsibility for my decision," Klein nodded with a smile.

"...Then please follow me." The lady rose and led Klein through the large door adjacent to the reception hall.

There was a corridor of moderate length, ending in an open meeting room filled with abundant sunlight. It contained tables and chairs, with newspapers, magazines, and playing cards scattered about, accompanied by the faint aroma of coffee drifting from within.

When they were still two rooms away from the meeting room, the lady signaled for Klein to stop, quickened her pace to the end of the hall, and called out in a soft voice

"Mr. Gracis, someone is here for a divination."

"Me?" A voice filled with surprise and confusion immediately rang out, accompanied by the sound of a chair being moved.

"Yes. Which divination room would you like to use?" the lady replied tonelessly.

"The Citrine Room. I like citrine." Gracis appeared at the doorway of the meeting room, looking curiously at Klein, who was waiting not far away.

He was a man in his thirties with a darker complexion, dark green pupils, and soft, pale yellow hair. He wore a white shirt and a black vest, with a monocle hanging from his chest, possessing a rather decent temperament.

The lady in charge said nothing more and opened the "Citrine" room adjacent to the meeting room.

The curtains inside were tightly drawn, and the light was dim, as if this was the only way to receive revelations from the gods and spirits to obtain accurate divination results.

"Hello, I am Gracis. I completely did not expect you to choose me for your divination." Gracis bowed in a gentlemanly manner, stepped quickly into the room, and sat behind the long table. "To be honest, I am merely attempting to perform divinations for others and do not yet have much experience. For the time being, I am not a good diviner. You still have the chance to change your mind."

After returning the gesture, Klein followed him inside and closed the door behind him.

Using the light filtering through the curtains, he said with a smile

"You are a very honest gentleman, but I am someone who is very persistent regarding my own choices."

"Please, sit." Gracis pointed to the seat opposite him and mused for a few seconds. "Divination is just my hobby. Heh, throughout a person's life, one often receives guidance from the gods, yet ordinary people cannot accurately interpret the Lord's will. That is the meaning of divination's existence, and it is the reason I joined this club. In this regard, I do not yet have enough confidence in myself. Let us treat the upcoming divination as an exchange—a free exchange. How does that sound? I will bear the club fee myself; it is only a quarter of a penny."

Klein did not say yes, nor did he shake his head. Instead, he smiled and said

"I can see that you have a quite good and respectable job."

As he spoke, he leaned forward slightly, clenched his right hand into a fist, and tapped it against his forehead twice.

"But that won't improve my accuracy in divination," Gracis replied humorously. He pondered for a moment and asked, "A headache? Do you want to divine something regarding your health?"

"A little bit. I hope to divine the whereabouts of an object." Klein had long prepared his excuse, and his body slowly leaned back.

In his eyes, Gracis's spiritual aura was clearly visible; the orange-red of his lungs was dim and thin, affecting the brightness of the rest of his body.

*This isn't a sign of fatigue...* Klein nodded imperceptibly.

"Searching for a lost item?" Gracis thought for a few seconds. "Then let us first perform a simple determination."

He pushed the neatly stacked Tarot cards on the black tabletop toward Klein

"Calm yourself. Recall that object in your mind and silently repeat the question: 'Can it still be found?' At the same time, shuffle and cut the cards."

"Alright." Klein actually did not remember the appearance of that ancient notebook, so he could only expand the question he needed to repeat: *Can the Antigonus family notebook still be found?*

Through repetition, he skillfully completed the shuffling and cutting.

Gracis pinched the top card and pushed it horizontally in front of Klein

"Rotate it clockwise to a vertical position, then flip it over. If it is reversed—meaning the pattern on the card is upside down to you—it means the item cannot be recovered. If it is upright, we will proceed with the subsequent divination to find its specific location."

Following the instructions, Klein rotated the horizontal card into a vertical position.

He pinched the edge of the Tarot card and flipped it over.

It was a reversed card, with the pattern upside down.

"I am sorry." Gracis sighed.

Klein did not respond, as his entire attention was focused on the Tarot card before him.

The pattern on this reversed card was "The Fool," wearing magnificent clothes and a dazzling headpiece!

*The Fool again? It can't be that coincidental...* According to "The Hanged Man" and Old Neil, divination is the result of communication between spirituality and the Spirit World, and the higher-level "Self." Tarot cards are merely tools to facilitate the interpretation of "symbolic revelations." Theoretically, it shouldn't matter what is used to divine an object; it shouldn't affect the result... Klein frowned slightly and considered for a moment before asking

"Can I divine whether that object has already been obtained by someone else?"

"Absolutely. Use the same method as before and do it again." Gracis nodded with great interest.

Klein reshuffled, cut the cards, and meditated on the question.

Drawing the card, placing it horizontally, and rotating it clockwise to vertical—he completed the preparations with a serious expression.

Taking a breath, Klein reached out and flipped the Tarot card.

*Please, don't let it be "The Fool" again...*

Amidst his prayerful state of mind, he suddenly relaxed, because the card revealed "The Star"—reversed!

"It seems the item has not been picked up by anyone else yet," Gracis interpreted with a smile.

Klein nodded, raised his right hand, tapped his brow twice as if in thought, and then took two pence with a dark brass luster from his trouser pocket and pushed them toward Gracis.

"Did I not say it was free?" Gracis frowned.

Klein smiled and stood up

"This is out of respect for the divination."

"Very well, thank you for your generosity." Gracis stood up and reached out his hand.

After shaking hands, Klein took two steps back, turned around, walked toward the door, and turned the handle.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned back and said

"Mr. Gracis, I suggest you see a doctor as soon as possible, primarily regarding your lungs."

"Why?" Gracis asked back in astonishment.

*Is he unhappy with the result and cursing me?*

Klein thought for a moment and said

"It is a symptom visible from your complexion. You... well, the space between your eyebrows is dark."

"Dark between the eyebrows..." This was the first time Gracis had heard such a description.

Klein did not explain further. He smiled and walked out of the room, closing the wooden door behind him.

"Is he an unlicensed doctor or a country apothecary?" Gracis shook his head amusedly and picked up the silver divination mirror.

He looked closely and found that the space between his eyebrows was indeed dark.

However, this was a matter of the environment; under the dim light filtering through the curtains, not only were his eyebrows dark, but his entire face was dark!

"A joke that isn't very funny," Gracis muttered.

Feeling uneasy, he performed a divination on his own health and confirmed there were no issues.

***

Upon leaving the divination club, Klein had added a new plan for his future.

That was to save money as quickly as possible to pay the annual fee and become a member of the club, thereby beginning to play the role of a so-called "Diviner."

The reason he didn't go solo for now was due to a lack of resources and channels, and it was impossible for him to stand on the street as a vendor; after all, he was a decent man who cared about his reputation.

After a few minutes, he caught a public carriage and arrived at the not-too-distant Zouteland Street for 2 pence.

Pushing open the doors of the "Blackthorn Security Company," he did not see the familiar brown-haired girl, but instead found Leonard Mitchell, with his poet-like temperament, black hair, and green eyes, sitting behind the reception desk.

"Good afternoon. Where is Roselle?" Klein asked after tipping his hat in greeting.

Leonard smiled and pointed to the partition door

"She is on duty in the armory tonight."

Before Klein could ask anything else, Leonard spoke as if contemplating a problem

"Klein, there is something that has been bothering me."

"What is it?" Klein looked bewildered.

Leonard stood up and said with a relaxed smile

"Why did Welch and Naya commit suicide on the spot, while you returned home?"

"It should be that the unknown existence wanted me to take the Antigonus family notebook away and hide it," Klein offered the widely accepted speculation.

Leonard paced a few steps, then suddenly turned to look directly into Klein's eyes

"If letting you all commit suicide was meant to silence you and erase the clues, then why not just have you destroy that notebook on the spot?"