Chapter 43: Searching for Someone

Chapter 43: Searching for a Person

Looking at Klein, Leonard nodded with a smile in his blue eyes

"Then what do you need them to provide?"

He had collaborated with Old Neil and others many times, so he naturally understood that divination required a medium, especially in the absence of the "protagonist."

Klein thought for a moment and looked toward the butler, Kelly, saying

"I need clothes that Elliot has worn recently that haven't been laundered yet. It would be even better if there were any accessories he used to carry on his person."

He tried his best to choose normal mediums, rather than things that would cause ordinary people to jump to wild conclusions.

But even so, the old butler, Kelly, looked puzzled

"Why?"

After asking, he added

"I have a photograph of little Master Elliot."

*Why? Because we want to find his whereabouts through divination...* For a moment, Klein didn't know how to answer.

If he spoke the truth, setting aside whether it would violate confidentiality clauses, the old butler Kelly would most likely turn and walk away, tear up the contract, and curse inwardly: "These scammers! If this could actually work, I'd rather go find the most famous medium in Aho County!"

Beside him, Leonard Mitchell chuckled and said

"Mr. Kelly, my companion—well, colleague—keeps a peculiar pet. Its sense of smell is sharper than a hound's, so we need the clothes little Master Elliot wore and items he used to carry to help us find him. You know, clues often only narrow things down to a general area."

"As for the photograph, we need that as well. He and I must know what little Elliot looks like."

The old butler Kelly accepted this explanation and nodded slowly

"Will you wait here, or come with me to Mr. Vicktor's residence in the city?"

"Let's go together, to save time," Klein answered concisely.

He wanted to test his own Beyonder abilities, but he also possessed the simple sentiment of wanting to save others.

"Alright, the carriage is downstairs." As the old butler spoke, he took a black-and-white photograph from his pocket and handed it to Leonard.

It was a solo portrait of Elliot Vicktor. He was about ten years old, with slightly long hair that almost covered his eyes, prominent freckles on his face, and a look that wasn't particularly distinctive.

Leonard took a glance and handed it to Klein.

Klein looked at it carefully, put the photo in his pocket, then took up his cane, put on his hat, and followed the two ahead of him out of the Blackthorn Security Company and into the carriage waiting downstairs.

The interior of this carriage was quite spacious, covered with thick carpets and featuring small tables for placing items.

Because of the presence of the old butler Kelly, neither Klein nor Leonard spoke, quietly feeling the carriage move steadily over the waterlogged road amidst the diminishing raindrops.

"A decent driver," Leonard remarked with a smile, breaking the silence after an unknown amount of time.

"Mm," Klein replied perfunctorily.

The old butler Kelly squeezed out a smile and said

"Your praise is his honor. We are almost there..."

Worried about being noticed by the kidnappers, the carriage did not approach the residence of the tobacco merchant Vicktor, but instead stopped by a nearby street.

The old butler Kelly went back alone under an umbrella. While waiting, Leonard spoke to Klein again as if to himself

"My previous speculation about the reason had no other purpose; I just wanted to tell you that the notebook will definitely appear again, perhaps very soon."

"That is truly not a pleasant deduction." Klein gestured with his chin toward the driver's position outside, indicating that they should not discuss sensitive topics while others were present.

Leonard whistled and turned to look out the window. He saw raindrops sliding down the glass, leaving hazy marks that made the outside world completely blurred.

After a while, Kelly returned carrying a bag. Because he had walked in such a hurry, his trouser legs were covered in mud and his front was damp.

"These are the clothes little Master Elliot wore yesterday, and this is his Storm Amulet that he used to wear."

Klein took them and had a look, finding a miniature set of gentleman's formal wear: a small shirt, a small vest, a small bowtie, and so on.

As for the Storm Amulet, it had a bronze base engraved with symbols representing gale winds and ocean waves, but it did not trigger Klein's inspiration.

"I will now recount the details of little Master Elliot's kidnapping to facilitate your locating the target..." The old butler sat down and repeated the nightmare experience from that morning, hoping that the helpers they had finally found could be of some use.

Klein and Leonard had no interest in the specific details; they only cared about how many kidnappers there were, whether they showed anything unusual, and whether they were carrying weapons.

"Three," "Normal," "Carrying guns"... After obtaining the desired information, they bid farewell to the old butler and hired a light two-wheeled carriage nearby.

Unlike public carriages, these hired ones could be four-wheeled or two-wheeled. They could be charged by the kilometer or by the hour. The former was 4 pence per kilometer within the city and 8 pence per kilometer in the suburbs; the latter was 2 shillings per hour. For trips under an hour, it was charged as a full hour; for trips over an hour, an additional 6 pence was added every 15 minutes, with any fraction of 15 minutes charged as a full 15 minutes. In case of bad weather or emergencies requiring increased speed, the price would rise.

Klein had heard Instructor Azik mention that in the capital, Backlund, hired carriage drivers were famous for their arbitrary pricing.

To him, this was quite a luxurious indulgence, but he didn't need to worry about it for now because Leonard directly tossed the driver two 1-shilling banknotes.

"Charge by the hour," Leonard commanded before closing the carriage door.

"Where are you going?" the driver asked, both delighted and bewildered, holding the two banknotes.

"Wait a moment." Leonard turned his gaze toward Klein.

Klein nodded slightly, took out Elliot's clothes, spread them out on the carriage floor, and then wrapped the Storm Amulet around the head of his cane.

He gripped the silver-inlaid black cane and thrust it vertically onto Elliot's clothes.

As the "light ball" condensed in his mind, Klein's mood became rapidly tranquil. The brown of his eyes deepened accordingly as he entered a state of semi-meditation.

He felt his body's "Spirit" showing signs of becoming light and floating, and he could vaguely see the omnipresent "Spirit World." He silently repeated in his heart: "Elliot's location."

After seven repetitions, his hand left the black cane, yet the cane did not fall; it remained standing upright, even as the carriage swayed slightly!

Fine, invisible movements echoed around him. Klein felt as if he were being watched by pairs of indifferent eyes.

During this period, he had occasionally experienced similar sensations during meditation or in his Spirit Vision state.

Carrying this slight sense of hair-raising dread, he gazed at the cane with deep black eyes and once again silently repeated in his heart

"Elliot's location."

Just as he finished the silent repetition, the silver-inlaid, wooden, black cane fell, pointing straight ahead.

"Go straight," Klein said in a low voice, gripping the cane.

His voice was slightly ethereal, as if it could penetrate into an unknown world.

This was one of the divination abilities he had mastered, called "Dowsing for Objects." The tool had to be wood, metal, or a combination of both.

Normally, this required two actual dowsing rods—shaped like a piece of wire bent at a right angle—where one would hold the shorter side and rotate it to determine direction. But as a "Divination," Klein had discovered through practice that he could use this method to find people directly, and could use a cane as a substitute for dowsing rods; the direction it fell was the direction of the object being sought.

As for the Annotations of the Antigonus family, because Klein had absolutely no memory of their appearance, he could not search for them.

"Go straight," Leonard commanded the driver loudly. "We'll tell you when to turn."

The driver had no idea why they were doing this, but the banknotes in his inner pocket and the other party's decisive manner of paying prevented him from speaking up, choosing instead to comply.

The carriage drove slowly, passing through one street after another.

Along the way, Klein used "Dowsing for Objects" several times to correct their direction.

After the carriage circled a building once, he finally confirmed that Elliot was inside. At this point, only thirty minutes had passed since they bid farewell to the old butler Kelly.

After dismissing the driver, Klein did not use Elliot's clothes again; he simply thrust the cane wrapped with the Storm Amulet onto the ground.

His eyes deepened once more, and the sparse raindrops around him suddenly began to swirl in place.

The cane fell toward the diagonal front. Klein pointed to a stairwell and said

"There."

"Sometimes, I really envy Old Neil. Similarly, I envy you right now," Leonard sighed with a smile, watching the scene.

Klein glanced at him and replied flatly

"This isn't difficult. If you are willing, you will surely learn... Your inspiration must be very high, right?"

Leonard nodded and chuckled

"That is not a good thing."

He quickened his pace and walked into the stairwell amidst the tail end of the rain.

Fearing his formal wear would be ruined, Klein followed almost at a run.

The building was only three stories tall, similar to an apartment block on Earth. At each entrance on every floor, there were only two rooms. Klein used "Dowsing for Objects" once each on the first and second floors, and the cane remained steady and unmoving, pointing straight up.

The two lightened their footsteps and reached the third floor. Klein once again stood the silver-inlaid black cane upright on the ground.

*Whoosh!*

A gust of wind blew through the stairs, and the color of his eyes changed, becoming so deep black that they seemed capable of absorbing souls.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*

Invisible sounds of weeping seemed to echo around them.

Klein released his grip, and the cane wrapped with the Storm Amulet stood miraculously upright.

Repeating "Elliot's location" once more, he watched his black cane fall, pointing silently toward the room on the right.

"He should be in there," Klein said, picking up the cane while lightly tapping his brow twice.

As various "colors" deepened, he looked toward the door on the right and directly saw the various "auras" inside.

"One, two, three, four... three kidnappers plus one hostage, the numbers match... One of the auras is small, that should be Elliot... Mr. Kelly said they have two shotguns and one revolver..." Klein whispered.

Leonard chuckled and said

"Let me chant a poem for them."

"Why be kidnappers? Can't you just be pleasant, civilized people?"

He set down the bag containing Elliot's clothes, took two steps forward, and his expression instantly became serene and sorrowful.

A magnetic, low voice slowly drifted out

"Ah, the threat of fear, the crimson hope! At least one thing is true: this life flies fast. One thing is true, all else is a lie, After the flower blooms once, it bids the world farewell..."

(End of Chapter)