SWNOVELXO Chapter 21: 21
Chapter 102 The Factory Owner's PromiseTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3014 words Update time: 2025-06-04 18:00:00
Half a minute later, at the round table in the box.
The Agnar gang led by Io sat upright with their backs straight and their hands on their knees.
Caroline, who was sitting opposite them, took a look at the few people and saw that their eyes were subconsciously fixed on the table, not daring to look around.
She chuckled, tapped the edge of the table with her fingers a few times, and spoke softly:
"You guys look nervous?"
Io quickly raised his eyes to look at Caroline, and shook his head resolutely:
"No, no, no, we are not nervous, not at all."
"Really?"
"Really, really."
While nodding, Io poked a younger brother sitting next to him with his elbow.
"Are you not nervous?"
He stared at his younger brother. The younger brother was stunned for a moment, then immediately nodded and said:
"Yeah, one, not nervous at all!"
Seeing this, others quickly echoed it, but their tone did not seem as credible as their words.
Why does it feel like I'm having a meal with the dean of studies? Do I look like a dean of studies?
Caroline curled her lips and reached out to pick up a menu at hand.
"The food in this restaurant is pretty good, and the price is pretty affordable, although it's definitely not as cheap as those small restaurants in the dock area... Do you want to try it?"
Io glanced at the menu with beautiful patterns in Caroline's hand, and the amount of funds of the gang that he had counted yesterday quickly flashed through his mind.
Finally, he forced a smile and said with an awkward smile:
"We're not hungry…"
"Yes, yes. We are not hungry at all."
Several younger brothers nodded repeatedly, even though they hadn't even had breakfast when they were gathered by Io today.
"Since you're not hungry, let's get down to business."
Caroline shifted her eyes away from the hungry swallowing movements of the people opposite her, threw the menu aside, folded her arms across her chest, and leaned back in her chair.
She was imitating the posture of Mr. Fool in the Tarot Club, which made it easy for her to establish the aura of a superior.
"You told me before that you would go back and discuss the details of the commission with the gang members. I'm very curious about what kind of result you finally came up with after a day of discussion."
"There are results. My brothers all think that Miss Xilia is a very reliable bounty hunter and believe that you can definitely help us."
Io rubbed his hands on his thighs a few times, adjusted his mood, and regained the natural feeling when he had just communicated with Caroline the day before.
"Well, as a gang, it's naturally a good thing to have good communication efficiency."
Caroline nodded in praise.
"So, what do you want me to do for you?"
"Well, Miss Xiliya, do you know the factory owners in Tingen? To be more precise, they should be the owners of the Tingen factory area."
Caroline quickly reviewed the information about the wealthy people in Tingen that she had investigated in order to find Lanevus, among which were the names of several factory owners.
"Yes, I have certainly investigated this information."
"That's great!"
Io snapped his fingers happily, but then he immediately realized that this was very rude, so he quickly hid his hands under the table again and said:
"Well, actually, there is a factory owner named Frensen in the South District. He owns two ceramic factories and a fleet of cargo ships. Every quarter, he sends people to organize a fleet to transport the ceramics produced in the factory to the seaside port by water, and then transports it to the South Continent by large ships for sale."
"Near his factory and the dock area, many residents were his workers, and many of them relied on the jobs he provided to make a living."
"But just recently, someone complained to us that Frensen has owed many workers at least two months' salary, and even some of the fleet's sailors have not received their wages on time."
Listening to Io's story, Caroline asked in a somewhat strange tone:
"Complaining to you? Aren't you a gang...er, a small civilian group? How come you have union-related business?"
Io scratched his head, raised an awkward but still very sincere smile and said:
"It can't really be considered a complaint. To be more precise, it's our neighbors and fellow drinkers at the bar who are complaining to us."
"We have been in the dock area for so many years, and we have the current status thanks to the support of many people. Otherwise, we would have been absorbed by other gangs long ago."
Caroline nodded in understanding and said with a smile:
"I can't believe you have quite a popular base?"
"What is mass base?"
"It's the support of the masses for you, and some deeper recognition."
Io nodded as if he understood. He had never heard of this new word before, but he felt that it should be considered a compliment.
"Boss, is she praising you?"
"Wood" Wood came closer and asked in a low voice.
"That definitely counts."
Io patted his chest confidently, and then he heard Caroline continue to speak:
"So, you want me to help you collect your wages? I remember there should be a workers' rights protection association in Tingen. Have you contacted the union?"
"I did look for it, but…"
Seeing Io's hesitation, Caroline narrowed her eyes slightly, and many historical experiences had already come to her mind.
Then she heard Io narrate:
"You may not know this, but Frensen actually has another identity."
"His uncle is a very famous local congressman named John Maynard."
"Because of Councilman Maynard, our complaints to the government through the union ultimately made no progress, and even resulted in several workers being fired by Frenson."
Then, as if afraid that Caroline might misunderstand him, Io added:
"Congressman Maynard has been a member of the Tingen New Party for many years. Together with Sir Deville, he has promoted the promulgation of many policies that can improve the lives of workers. I think he himself may not know this."
"And the reason given by Frensen for withholding wages is also very reasonable. A batch of his ceramics was looted by pirates in the Sonia Sea. It is said that the pirates were the sea emperor Nast, who was also known as the 'King of the Five Seas.'"
"It was precisely because of the pirate incident that Frensen ran into financial difficulties. A few days ago, he made a promise to the workers, declaring that he would resolve the financial issues as soon as possible..."
Io was leaning forward, telling what he knew, when he was suddenly interrupted by Caroline.
"Not only does the reason make no sense, but the promise is like kidding."
Io looked up and saw Caroline looking at him with indifference.
She said in a cold tone with a hint of mockery:
"Encountering pirates is not a reason for him to withhold wages. Since he chose to go to the southern continent to sell ceramics, he should be prepared for accidents and losses, especially uncontrollable factors such as pirates. He should protect his own interests through other means, rather than withholding wages."
"As for that promise, do you really believe he will keep it?"
"Since he has dared to delay paying wages, I can judge that in the next month, he will frantically lay off employees to achieve his so-called 'funding adjustment' purpose."
Io was startled by Caroline's sudden sharpness, which was completely different from her easy-going and friendly attitude just now.
Io opened his mouth and swallowed nervously.
Then, he said helplessly:
"We were skeptical, of course, but most of the workers believed him."
"So, we wanted to find someone to help us investigate and see if Frensen has the ability to fulfill his promise."
"We hired a private detective, but as soon as they heard that the target was Senator Maynard's nephew, they rejected our commission. That's why I thought of seeking help from a powerful bounty hunter."
"I think I understand."
Caroline said, supporting her hands on the table and resting her chin on the back of her hands.
"You want me to help you investigate the specific operations of Frensen and his factories."
"Yes, as long as we can get evidence that Frensen is no longer able to keep the factory running, we may be able to call the workers to strike and attract the attention of the city government."
Io sat up straight and looked at Caroline with a sharp gaze.
The box was inexplicably shrouded in silence. The younger brothers had remained silent since just now, and now they didn't dare to speak rashly.
Caroline stared at him across the round table for a while, then smiled and said:
"I'm quite surprised that this is your purpose."
"Well, I can take this commission, but at the same time, I also need you to help me do something as compensation for hiring me."
"Really?!"
Io exclaimed in surprise.
Then, he came to his senses and asked in confusion:
"What do you want us to do?"
"Don't worry, it will definitely be easier than investigating Frensen."
Caroline winked slyly and pointed at Io and the others.
"Aren't you a famous new gang in the dock area? You must be very familiar with the situation in the dock area?"
"Please help me keep an eye out for some petty thefts in the dock area and the South District, especially those who have been the focus of the police station, have committed crimes many times, and have refused to change their ways despite repeated warnings."
Keeping Caroline's words in mind, Io nodded and said:
"That's not difficult... But why do you want us to keep an eye on those guys?"
"Because I'm a bounty hunter."
Caroline smiled and explained frankly.
"As a bounty hunter, how can you leave so many prey and do nothing?"Chapter 103 Divination (Celebrating the signing of the contract)Title of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 4616 words Update time: 2025-06-04 20:49:10
Caroline readily agreed to the commission from the Agnar Gang, which was quite unexpected for Io.
In his expectation, they might haggle with Caroline for a while and negotiate many links before reaching the final stage of the commission, but Caroline simply discarded such unnecessary details.
She naturally has her own ideas. One of her goals is to use the Agnar Gang's base in the dock area to collect information about petty thieves to help her play the role of "hunter".
But more importantly, she is really willing to help those workers who have been owed wages to get some justice.
At the same time, Caroline also liked Io's character. He was able to maintain such a sense of justice in the chaotic dock area, which was a different kind of untainted.
After finishing the discussion of the commission, Caroline did not stay any longer. After saying goodbye to Io and the others, she left the box.
After Caroline left, the Agner gang members who had been sitting still for a long time finally relaxed. They turned their heads to look at the door, and quickly gathered around Io, shouting in excitement and joy:
"Boss! It really worked!"
Io, who had been nervous for a while, now completely relaxed. Surrounded by his younger brothers, he exclaimed happily:
"Let me tell you, Miss Xilia is very easy to get along with."
"Yes, Miss Xilia is not only beautiful and sweet, but also has a very good personality. To be honest, if I hadn't seen such a face, I would have thought that the person we were negotiating with was actually a grown man. That's too straightforward!"
"Shut up, Walter! You are not allowed to praise others like that!"
The younger brothers of Agna's gang started laughing and joking, and the whole box became extremely lively.
Io was thinking about how to help Caroline search for those thieves and pickpockets according to Caroline's instructions, when he heard "Wood" Wood say in his ear:
"So Boss, are we going to eat here today...?"
All the younger brothers looked at Io at the same time, and he subconsciously looked at the menu that Caroline had thrown on the table.
Facing the expectant eyes of his younger brothers, the pitiful numbers in the gang's account book emerged in Io's mind again.
His expression suddenly became stiff.
...
Caroline left Old Weir's Restaurant and walked northeast along Zouteland Street towards the Golden Sycamore District.
Her daily schedule was very regular. After monitoring Lanevus every day, she would go to the library to continue studying books on the occult. Taking time out today to meet with Io Bronson was actually an unexpected trip.
She was not in a hurry to investigate the financial situation of Councillor Maynard's nephew, the factory owner Frenson. After all, her main task was to help Ovis Wein catch Lanevus, and Io's commission was just a side job.
Moreover, Caroline didn't believe that the financial situation of a factory owner with a background like Frensen could be so easily explored.
Everything had to be considered slowly and carefully, especially since her investigation results might determine the outbreak of a workers' movement in Tingen, so she had to be even more cautious.
She walked slowly out of Zouteland Street and came to the nearby Hall Street.
In the afternoon, probably because of the increasingly warm weather, there were not many pedestrians on the street, and no one wanted to face the increasingly scorching sun for a long time.
Although Caroline's physical fitness has improved extraordinary after becoming a "Hunter", she still cannot be immune to the heat.
Perhaps, once she becomes a Sequence 7 "arsonist", she will no longer be troubled by the summer heat.
Only now, Caroline also had to consider the unpleasantness that the sun brought her.
"It seems I need to bring a parasol and gloves when I go out next time..."
She wiped the sweat from her forehead, looked for the carriage on the roadside, and kept thinking about the times when she hid in roadside shops to enjoy the air conditioning in the summer.
She scanned the closed shops on the roadside one by one, and inadvertently saw the conspicuous sign hanging on the second floor.
"Divination Club"
Oh? It's this place again.
Caroline remembered the club she had passed by a few days ago when she went out to buy items needed for the ceremony. At this time, the windows on the second floor of the club were still closed, but the curtains were not drawn, so she could still vaguely see what was going on inside.
Keeping the windows closed in the middle of summer is either a way to escape the heat or the people inside are trying to simulate a sauna.
Caroline thought about it and slowly approached the Divination Club.
In fact, she has always been curious about divination. When she was on Earth, she often followed online tutorials to do some tarot divination and even bought a deck of tarot cards for this purpose.
However, in the end, even she couldn't remember where she threw the tarot cards.
After coming to this world and knowing about the extraordinary existence, she has never tried divination once.
Except that when I bought ice cream before, the chubby kid let me draw a tarot card.
At that time, the child said that she would meet a good friend worthy of entrusting her life to in the near future, but she still doesn't feel that anyone meets this condition.
Audrey Hall? But I had met her before I drew that tarot card.
Hugh Dilcher? She has her own heavy past to deal with...
It can't be Ovis Wein, right? I feel like he's the one who should be entrusted with my money...
As for Old Neil... well, that's even more impossible. No matter how you look at it, he will definitely be the type to walk in front of me...
Caroline was thinking wildly, and when she came to her senses, she had already walked up the stairs leading to the second floor and arrived at the Divination Club.
The decoration inside the club is very classical and has a unique sense of elegance. The air is filled with the scent of herbs and essential oils. More importantly, the room is unexpectedly cool.
Standing in front of the beautiful lady at the front desk, Caroline saw her smiling at her:
"Hello Miss, do you want to have your fortune told? Or do you want to join our club?"
"Well, I want to try divination. I wonder if there is a fortune teller here who is more effective."
Caroline answered the brown-haired lady's questions while looking around the club.
"Oh, then I have to recommend you the most effective fortune teller here, Mr. Klein Moretti."
The brown-haired lady's eyes lit up, and Caroline inexplicably felt a sense of pride from her.
"Although he has only joined our club a short time ago, he has already performed many very effective divinations."
"Do you know about the Clover incident? One of the survivors, Mr. Joyce Meyer, discovered that the real culprit of the tragedy was someone else through Mr. Moretti's divination."
As soon as Caroline heard about the incident on the Clover, her vigilance was immediately raised.
That was a case involving a Beyonder, and how could it be directly predicted?
Besides, Klein Moretti... why does this name sound familiar...
"Is it really that magical?"
While thinking, Caroline said with a surprised expression.
"Of course. You may not know that many of our members and customers here say the same about Mr. Moretti."
The brown-haired lady said proudly.
"He is a true fortune teller!"
Fortune teller... "Fortune teller"!
Caroline's brain suddenly buzzed, and she remembered where she had seen this name before.
The previous "report" about the truth behind Workman's death mentioned that a member of Tingen's "Nighthawks" team was named Klein Moretti!
And he is a "fortune teller"!
I didn't expect that there would be a Beyonder performing in the Divination Club...
Caroline sighed, but when she thought of Mr. Moretti's identity, she felt relieved.
He is a member of the official extraordinary team, so there will be no problem playing the role anywhere.
It's like instead of worrying whether the roadside pancake vendor is a fugitive, you might as well guess whether he might be a plainclothes policeman.
Old Neil's colleague, if this is the case, it shouldn't be a big problem to get in touch with him. And I really want to see how magical divination is.
Capturing Lanevus and investigating the factory owner Frensen were all things that could be used for divination.
"May I ask if Mr. Moretti is in the club today?"
Caroline asked politely.
"Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Moretti didn't come today. He usually comes more often on Monday afternoons."
"That's a real pity."
Caroline said regretfully, looking at the roster of what should have been club members in front of the brown-haired lady.
Out of curiosity and since she was already here, and considering it was early, she continued to ask:
"May I ask which fortune teller is here now? I'd really like to try fortune telling."
"Because today is a working day, most of our members have jobs, so there are only three of them in the club at the moment..."
As she spoke, the brown-haired lady opened the directory.
"If you are interested in Mr. Moretti, I can recommend Mr. Glacis to you. He has performed divinations with Mr. Moretti many times. You can learn more about Mr. Moretti from him."
Caroline looked at the picture on the roster and didn't make a hasty decision.
"Well, how much should I charge?"
"Mr. Glacis charges two pence for each reading."
"Very good, that's him."
...
In the Citrine Room inside the Divination Club, Caroline sat seriously in front of Mr. Glacis, who was wearing a black vest and white shirt.
"Angelica is really willing to give me the opportunity to practice. You know, I'm just a beginner in divination. Even I don't have much confidence in my divination."
While tidying up the things on the table, Glacis spoke to Caroline in a humorous way.
"It's okay. This is my first time trying divination as well. Newbie and newbie, this seems to be a good match."
Caroline responded with a smile.
After observing Gracis's appearance for a while, Caroline roughly judged that he should have a good job and a decent social status.
After carefully choosing her words, Caroline took the initiative to start a conversation, saying that she didn't want the atmosphere to be too quiet.
"I heard from Ms. Angelica that you have had several fortune-telling sessions with Mr. Moretti?"
"Ah, yes, that's right. Mr. Moretti is a real fortune teller, and he's very friendly and generous. You know, a fortune teller like him only charges 8 pence!"
That's four Glacis...
Caroline was somehow making an equation in her mind.
After tidying up the table, Glacis placed a stack of tarot cards between the two of them and said with a smile:
"Since you are also interested in Mr. Moretti, why don't we use him as the object of divination this time? Try to divine what Mr. Moretti is doing now and what kind of situation he is facing."
"Can divination be performed even for people who are not present?"
Caroline asked in surprise.
Glacis shook his head and said:
"According to my ability, it's actually impossible. Moreover, the object of divination often has to be related to the people or objects at the scene. Among us, only Mr. Moretti and I have a certain connection."
"But after all, this is a divination between novices, so we might as well have some interesting attempts. Well, I can only charge a quarter of a penny for this divination, which means that you can have the remaining three divination attempts from me for a penny."
Very good, now one Mr. Moretti is equal to thirty-two Mr. Glacis...
Caroline complained calmly, with a friendly smile on her face:
"That does sound interesting."
The two hit it off immediately and then began divination.
Glacis shuffled and cut the tarot cards, spread out the deck and placed it on the table.
After doing all this, he made an inviting gesture to Caroline.
"We need to draw three cards. How about you reveal the first card?"
Caroline nodded happily, emptied her mind and body, and reached for the deck of cards based on her first instinct.
She pulled a card from the center of the deck and turned it over without hesitation.
The Fool in upright position.
Caroline's pupils shrank slightly, and before she could ask any questions, Gracis on the opposite side began to draw the next card.
The Tower in the Right Position
"hiss..."
The moment Caroline saw the cards, she heard Gracis take a dejected breath.
"I hope Mr. Moretti won't blame me for my bad luck when he finds out."
He shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"Isn't it fate that has already decided what tarot card we will draw?"
Caroline whispered soothingly.
"That's right in theory..."
But when I see that I have drawn a card with bad symbolic meaning, I still feel a little regretful.
"Well, why don't you draw the last card?"
"Can."
Caroline nodded, stretched out her hand, and hovered over the deck of cards for a moment.
After hearing what Gracis said, she was a little worried that she might draw a bad card.
"Death" or "Devil"...
Shaking her head, Caroline put aside all these distracting thoughts and focused her attention on the card at the head.
She reached over there, pulled out the card, and turned it over on the table.
The card is... the upright "Chariot"!
"Oh, it seems that you are still lucky, Miss!"
Glacis smiled awkwardly and immediately began to concentrate on interpreting the cards.
"Well, 'The Fool' represents randomness and uncertainty. This should mean that Mr. Moretti is now in an environment full of possibilities. He should be working, or doing something that requires careful consideration of actions, such as cooking."
"The 'Tower' indicates that Mr. Moretti may encounter some unexpected situations, which may lead to serious changes and setbacks, but setbacks are also God's revelation and a symbol of hope for the future."
"Just like the last picture of the 'Chariot' shows, Mr. Moretti will control the situation through hard work and achieve the final success with a clear goal. However, this requires a strong action force. If you are not careful, you may fall into the uncertainty of the 'Fool' and the changes of the 'Tower'."
While organizing his words, Gracis described everything he could see.
After saying this, he took a deep breath and smiled, not sure if he was apologizing to Klein or Caroline:
"If Mr. Moretti really encounters something in the future, I hope he won't predict what we predicted for him today."
Gracis' words floated in Caroline's ears, but she didn't listen to much and just responded simply.
Her eyes have been focused on The Fool and The Chariot since she drew the last tarot card.Chapter 104: Fateful Encounter (Good Luck in the College Entrance Examination)Title of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3059 words Update time: 2025-06-05 13:00:00
One is a "fool" wearing strange clothes and walking with light steps.
One shows a man riding a black and white sphinx, sitting firmly in the center of the "chariot".
The two tarot cards, each representing a different meaning, were infinitely enlarged in front of Caroline's eyes, as if they were going to occupy her entire field of vision.
In her eyes, these two tarot cards have other meanings different from the classic interpretations...
Caroline's eyes were dazed, and she took off the telescope that was pointed at the Lanevus Steel Company.
Friday, July 13, 12:23 p.m.
It was yesterday that Caroline drew those two cards in the divination club, but she still hasn't recovered from the surprise she felt at that time.
Why did she pick out those two cards? Why not other Tarot cards, but these two cards with unique meanings?
"The Fool" and "The Chariot", the Fool and the Fire, this combination has appeared in front of Caroline more than once. Even if her reaction is slow and her inspiration is weak, it is difficult to ignore the problem.
She could understand why she drew the "Chariot" card. After all, her code name in that mysterious Tarot meeting was "Chariot". This could be explained by the connection of fate, but why was there also a "Fool" card?
Is it because her connection with Mr. Fool has become so strong?
But they were clearly fortune-telling about Klein Moretti's situation...
Could it be that this fortune teller from the Night Watcher has also been favored by Mr. Fool?
He also joined the Tarot Club? But there are only three members in the Tarot Club at present, and the only male "Hanged Man" should be in the ocean, not in the inland city of Tingen.
Or is it that Klein Moretti is the newest member and will not show up until the next Tarot Club...
This mysterious divination result made Caroline sleep poorly that night, and she almost lost her focus many times while monitoring Lanevus this morning.
Looking at Lanevus, who was leisurely in the steel company's office in the distance, Caroline even felt a little envious of the life of this swindler.
This guy really does nothing on weekdays. He reads books and drinks tea in the company, and the whole morning passes by. Then he goes out for lunch at noon, and in the afternoon he either returns to the company or goes to other places to discuss his fake iron ore project with others.
Can criminals get away with it like this these days? Caroline couldn't help but ask.
However, Lanevus's good days will not last long. The only reason he can stay in the company safely now is because Ovis wants to catch him alive.
Shaking her head, Caroline took out her pocket watch to check the time, then picked up the telescope to observe Lanevus's movements.
After discovering that the latter was about to leave the company, most likely to go out for dinner, Caroline also left the rooftop where she was being monitored, and prepared to have a meal to calm herself down.
...
Klein had not had an easy time these past two days.
Yesterday, the Sealed Artifact 2-049 requested by Captain Dunn Smith arrived in Tingen. The Sealed Artifact, which had the terrifying ability to transform people into puppets, successfully helped them find Riel Bieber, who had been missing for many days.
But in the process, they were first stalked and attacked by members of the secret society, and then they were attacked by Riel Bieber, who was awakened prematurely and lost control and turned into a monster.
Although the Nighthawks did not suffer any casualties in the end, this operation almost drained Klein's energy.
The case of Riel Bieber is considered over, but the follow-up and conclusion work is still ongoing.
Dunn Smith had to report the details of the mission to the temple and hand in the Antigonus family's notebook; the battle scene with Riel Bibb still needed to be cleaned up; and the body of the secret order member who was killed by Klein with a little trick was still lying in the Blackthorn Security Company.
However, Klein did not need to worry about these things. What he needed to pay more attention to was the information gained from this operation.
The name of the subsequent path of "Fortune Teller". The Secret Society has all the information about the potions in this path, as well as the word that the Secret Society clown said when he saw him "resurrecting from the dead"...
Honachis Mountains... He had heard this name many times, but he still knew very little about this mountain range.
Some days ago, Klein sent a letter to his mentor regarding the issues in the Honachis Mountains, and he successfully received a reply yesterday.
With this letter and the letter of introduction inside, Klein went to the Deville Library in the Golden Sycamore District this morning to look up information.
He had just left there not long ago and was riding in a public carriage towards the Divination Club.
The information he found in the library was not too much, but it was enough to give Klein a few clues.
First, there once was an ancient kingdom in the Hornachis Mountains, and their beliefs were extremely similar to those of the Goddess of Night.
Second, the Holy Emblem of Night believed in by this country is not the same as the Holy Emblem of the current Church of the Goddess of Night.
This seems very strange, just like the uncanny valley effect, a belief similar to the familiar orthodox God, but with a little difference, this can be called the "uncanny valley" in mysticism.
Klein felt that there must be something wrong. Anyway, he was not so curious as to take the initiative to go to the obviously problematic Honachis Mountains to find out what was going on.
The public carriage slowly stopped at Halls Street. Klein held the edge of his black half-top hat and leisurely got off the carriage and walked to the Divination Club across the street.
As soon as he arrived at the second floor where the club was located, Klein heard Angelica, who was greeting him at the door, say to him cheerfully:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Moretti, your business has been booming lately!"
Huh? Am I already that famous?
Klein was quite surprised, and then he heard Angelica say:
"Yesterday it was a lady named Caroline who wanted to see you for divination, and today it was that gentleman."
Following Angelica's guidance, Klein immediately noticed Bogda who stood up hurriedly beside the sofa.
But what he cared more about was what Angelica said, about the person who came to him for divination yesterday.
"Someone came to me for divination yesterday?"
"Yes. Miss Caroline heard about your deeds and wanted to try divination for the first time. But you were not here yesterday, so she asked Mr. Glacis to do the divination."
Angelica said with a smile.
"I heard from Mr. Glacis that they divined your whereabouts yesterday, and he asked me to apologize to you. I heard that the result of the divination was not very good. But look, it seems that nothing has happened to our fortune teller."
No, actually something happened yesterday...
Klein thought with some embarrassment, it seems that Gracis's divination skills have finally improved a little.
He smiled lightly and asked nonchalantly:
"As a person involved, I am very curious about what kind of divination results Mr. Glacis got for me."
Angelica looked up to the upper left, recalled and said:
"It seems to be the three cards of 'The Fool', 'The Tower', and 'The Chariot'. Mr. Glacis said that he drew 'The Tower', and the other two cards were drawn by that lady."
The Fool and the Chariot...?
Klein's expression changed slightly. As a fortune teller, he keenly sensed the information in it.
The divination related to him, after the appearance of the "Fool", the "Chariot" appeared...
Klein's thoughts changed rapidly, but before he could analyze it in depth, he saw the gentleman who came to him for divination had already walked over.
He habitually opened his spiritual vision and scanned the other person's body.
At first glance, he saw signs of a serious illness in Bogda.
...
Caroline made a life mistake.
She shouldn't try new food when she's not in a particularly good mood.
She walked out of a South Continent-style restaurant, her mouth full of the taste of spices, and she felt her mood becoming increasingly uglier.
Her original plan was to digest her lunch a bit and then go to the library to continue studying mysticism.
But now, she felt that she should deal with the taste of spices in her mouth first.
"Come to think of it, I haven't bought any fruit in Tingen yet... Well, bell peppers count as vegetables."
In fact, it's not just Tingen. She hasn't eaten much fruit since she came to this world.
"Maybe buying some fruit will make me feel happier..."
Thinking of this, Caroline started walking towards the fruit market.
...
After showing Bogda a way to treat his liver disease, Klein watched him walk away in a hurry.
When everything around him quieted down, he stood up and closed the door of the Citrine Room, creating a closed space for himself.
He still remembered the divination results that Angelica told him. For the fortune teller, any detail in life could be a revelation of fate.
Especially the tarot divination results of the two people, "The Fool" and "The Chariot", which were simply dancing on Klein's nerves.
He took out all the tarot cards prepared by the club from the Citrine Room and placed them on the table.
Among them must be the deck of tarot cards that Gracis used for divination yesterday. Since he couldn't be sure which deck it was, he might as well take out all of them.
Next, it would depend on Klein's own skills and inspiration as a "fortune teller".
He sat down calmly in the chair, facing the tarot cards spread out on the table, and thought for a few seconds.
Then, he took out a pen and paper from the inside pocket of his clothes, placed them on the table, and quickly wrote down the "divination statement".
After doing all this, Klein took out the pendulum, stretched out his hand, and let the pendulum hang vertically on the paper.
Entering a shallow state of meditation, Klein whispered the question he had written down:
"Miss Chariot has been here before..."Chapter 105 Your Name (Good luck with the college entrance examination)Title of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3305 words Update time: 2025-06-05 18:00:00
Klein felt the pendulum slowly pulling at his fingers. He moved his eyes horizontally and saw the pendulum pointing vertically downwards and rotating in a clockwise direction.
The pendulum rotated very smoothly, neither fast nor slow, just like Klein's current mood. He had roughly guessed the result in advance.
The "Chariot" has been here before, and the person who was fortune-telling with Glacies in the Yellow Crystal Room yesterday was the real "Chariot".
Caroline...wait, why does this name sound familiar?
Klein put away his pendulum and tapped his forehead a few times with his left hand.
Soon, he remembered where he had heard the name before.
The lady who helped Melissa bargain...
So she was one of the witnesses in the Workman case?
The girl that Old Neil was talking about, is that also her?
Was it she who discovered the possibility that Rell Bibb was the real murderer of Workman, which eventually led the "Nighthawks" to discover the whereabouts of the Antigonus family notes?
At the same time, she is also another living earth traveler in this world.
Why did she come to Tingen, and why did she suddenly want to ask me for divination?
What is her purpose, has she discovered anything?
Is this dangerous? Should I be more careful?
All kinds of speculations and suspicions occupied Klein's mind along with the uneasiness that was rising in his heart. He quickly used meditation to stabilize his mind and not let the overly chaotic emotions interfere with his judgment.
Calm down. The first person that "Tank" came into contact with was Old Neil. As a senior with considerable qualifications among the "Nighthawks", the latter could be completely trusted.
Old Neil also told them about his findings. He did not hide the fact that "Chariot" was a half-hunter before, which means that he must have examined "Chariot" and preliminarily determined that she was trustworthy.
But why did the "Warrior" come to Tingen by chance? What was she doing here? Traveling? Didn't Old Neil say that she should have gone back last week? Why did she appear in the "Dragon Bar" the day before yesterday...
During her time in Tingen, she first led the Nighthawks to hunt down Riel Bibb, and then met the wanted "instigator" Triss... These were all things related to the "Nighthawks". This, this luck was really...
"It's just too coincidental..."
Although Klein still believed that "Tank" was not a bad guy, this series of events made him sense something strange.
"We must first confirm the situation of the Chariot and try to contact her in reality... Well, we can use the name of the Fool's subordinate or follower."
Observing this fellow time traveler was what Klein had originally intended to do, but the current situation forced him to move up the contact phase.
Where would the "Chariot" be now?
If one wanted to divine a person's whereabouts, it would be best to have the person's personal belongings. The next level would be relevant information such as the person's date of birth, but Klein did not have any of these things.
However, he does have a path that is closely related to "Chariot".
Klein stood up from his chair and walked to the door to lock the Citrine Room.
Then, he took four slow steps backwards and arrived above the gray fog accompanied by a spell.
Crazy mumbling and unbearable headaches came one after another, but to Klein, who had something on his mind, these situations seemed so bearable.
After opening his eyes, he sat on a high-back chair. Before his eyes was the endless grey fog and the magnificent temple that looked like the residence of the Giant King.
He looked at the ancient bronze table in front of him, at the chair where the "Chariot" of the Tarot Club sat, and then at the crimson star that represented the "Chariot".
Taking a deep breath, Klein expanded his spiritual power and carefully moved it toward the star and the chair.
There is no contact, no direct contact is needed, just allow your spirit to have sufficient connection with the "chariot".
Klein didn't know whether this move would work, but now it was the only thing he could find that was related to the "Chariot".
Then he closed his eyes and slowly leaned back.
He put himself into a meditative state, letting his mind, body and spirit run wild, repeating the question he wanted to ask:
The current location of "Tank" Caroline.
In this state, Klein fell asleep, allowing his astral body to roam the spirit world and gain inspiration from his dreams.
"Dream divination method"!
In the blurry and indistinguishable dream, Klein's consciousness drifted in the void in a daze.
Then, a fragmented picture slowly appeared in front of him, and he saw a young woman with beautiful long blond hair and a pretty face standing at many intersections. She stood there, hesitating, as if she was facing a difficult decision.
Then, the picture burst and changed like a bubble, becoming something else.
It was a rather crowded street, the ground was not very busy, there were people on both sides of the road, and there were all kinds of stalls on the ground...
This place, Klein is very familiar with it. It is the fruit trading market near Iron Cross Street!
Klein suddenly opened his eyes and came out of the dream.
The current location of the "Chariot" is the fruit market on Iron Cross Street? And she seems to be in a dilemma of choice?
He repeatedly interpreted the revelation he got from the dream, his eyes looking towards the crimson stars.
Against the backdrop of the distant void, the deep red star was so peaceful, and like the rolling gray fog below, it seemed like it would never change.
"Now that we have found the approximate location, let's go over and take a look."
"Tank" doesn't know what he looks like yet. As long as he is careful and cautious, even if they meet head-on, she won't recognize him, but he can recognize her.
After confirming this thought, Klein left the gray fog and returned to reality, returning to the quiet and peaceful Citrine Room.
After tidying up the mess of tarot cards on the table, Klein picked up his hat and cane, walked out of the Citrine Room, said goodbye to Angelica at the door, and then left the Divination Club.
Halls Street was some distance away from Iron Cross Street, and Klein only hoped that he could arrive before the "Chariot" left.
While riding on the public carriage, Klein kept thinking about what he should do next.
"Tank" is now a Sequence 9 "Hunter". According to the description of "The Hanged Man", the Beyonders of this path have very strong perception abilities. If he rashly tracks him, he will most likely be discovered.
Similarly, if you show that you care too much about her, it will make her feel that she is being watched to a certain extent.
Phew, fortunately, "Chariot" is not "Justice" and she is not "audience". If it were the latter, Klein would never go to watch it offline.
As Klein's thoughts flew, the public carriage drove through several intersections and finally stopped in the Iron Cross Street area that he was familiar with.
Klein got off the carriage, adjusted his mindset, and walked towards the fruit market.
...
Caroline looked at what was in front of her with a serious face. She was now facing one of the major decisions in her life.
She raised her head and looked at the equally serious stall owner in front of her, and confirmed again:
"How much do you say these apples are per pound?"
"Sixteen pence a pound."
The stall owner said in a firm tone that left no room for negotiation.
"This is too expensive! Backlund's boutique fruit shop only sells it for 18 pence per pound! Does this apple of yours have a noble pedigree? Will it cause a person's blood sugar to spike after eating it?"
Caroline shouted incomprehensibly.
"Miss, you should check the season now. The apples available in Tingen now are all early-ripening apples, okay?"
"That's not why it costs 16p."
16 pence, 1 soli is 4 pence, that's one-tenth of the weekly salary of most workers!
The fruit market on Iron Cross Street is not a high-end place, and the customers here are not middle class. Caroline would not think that this apple should be priced at this price.
She was concentrating on arguing with the stall owner about the price and didn't notice that someone was slowly walking towards her in the distance.
Raising his hand to lower the brim of his hat a little, Klein maintained a steady and calm pace and slowly walked towards the pale golden figure.
Walking into the fruit market, he didn't have to look very hard to see the back of the figure that fit the image of a "tank".
Is she bargaining again? The last person who bargained with her is now in his grave...
Klein turned on his spiritual vision and observed Caroline's appearance attentively while gradually approaching her.
The fierce bargaining between the two became clearer as he got closer.
"16p a pound is definitely not reasonable, 12p is more or less acceptable to me."
"12 pence? It's an apple, not a Feynapotter tart!"
"You don't sell sour fruits here. If you do, I'll take them at twelve pence a pound."
"12p is not acceptable. I can only accept 15p."
"13 pence or nothing."
"Hey! Why are you so unreasonable, woman?"
"Sir, please don't make personal attacks. I am just speaking the truth."
This is too intense... Benson was always very calm when bargaining...
This bargaining method is just like... just like...
Just like an old friend...
"Boom!"
Caroline was just about to press on with her victory and had even prepared her words, but then she heard a sound of something colliding nearby.
She turned her head and saw a young man wearing a half-top hat and cheap formal suit, looking at her with astonishment.
The sound was caused by the young man's cane accidentally hitting a wooden box in front of the stall.
But the young man didn't seem to care about his cane problem at all. At this moment, he opened his mouth slightly, and his eyes were filled with incredible light, as if he had seen something incredible.
Looking at the young man who seemed to have lost his soul, Caroline looked at her body in confusion, but did not find anything wrong.
Then she asked:
"Sir, what's wrong?"
Klein quickly came to his senses, took a few steps forward, and approached Caroline.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing!"
Caroline was startled and was about to step away when she heard Klein speak in a voice that only the two of them could hear and in a language that only the two of them could understand:
"Are you Gu Yi?"
Caroline stopped walking away. She looked at Klein in extreme surprise and shock.
Her brain searched quickly, and there was only one name that came up.
"Old, Old Zhou?!"Chapter 106 Vest (Continue to cheer for the college entrance examination)Title of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3123 words Update time: 2025-06-06 13:00:00
"Lao Zhou... Zhou Mingrui? Are you Zhou Mingrui?"
Caroline murmured in a low voice, repeating the question over and over again, as if only the answer obtained after repeated asking would be the most credible.
She raised her hands, pressed Klein's shoulders, and shook him left and right, trying to find the shadow of the former office worker on this young, bookish face from different angles.
But the appearance was different, and yet, Caroline still saw the familiar sense of helplessness in Klein's eyes.
"It's me, can you please stop hanging me around in public?"
Klein smiled helplessly.
"Fuck, Lao Zhou, it's really you!"
Caroline screamed in surprise. At that moment, she forgot to control the volume and hugged Klein and jumped up and down.
"Hey, hey, calm down! Don't forget that you are a lady now. Don't act so excited in public."
Klein quickly held down his hat. Caroline's overly aggressive movements almost caused his hat to fall off his head.
"Oh yes, yes, I almost forgot, I was too excited."
Klein's call brought the excited Caroline back to reality. When she managed to calm down and turned to look around, she found that many people nearby were looking at her in surprise because of her unrestrained behavior.
Caroline quickly let go of Klein and coughed a few times.
She looked up at the fruit stall and saw that the stall owner, who had just been bargaining fiercely with her, was now holding a wooden stick in his hand. He looked at Klein beside him with some nervousness and confusion, and then looked at himself.
"You guys know this?"
The stall owner asked in confusion.
"Uh, yes, we know each other. He is my friend."
Caroline glanced at Klein awkwardly and quickly explained to the stall owner.
"Really? I thought someone would dare to act like a hooligan in broad daylight..."
There was a slight hint of regret in the stall owner's words, as if he was expecting an act of bravery to happen.
Caroline smiled stiffly and glanced at Klein several times. The excitement and excitement still did not disappear from her heart. She was just using reason to control her actions.
Klein was also somewhat excited, but his ability to control his emotions was much better than Caroline's. Looking at the eyes of the people around him, he quietly moved closer to Caroline and whispered:
"Shall we go somewhere else and talk slowly?"
"OK!"
Caroline nodded happily in response, and then said:
"Wait a minute, I'll buy an apple."
She looked again at the stall owner who had put down the wooden stick. The latter's attempt to help her out made a much better impression on her, so she decided to relax her bottom line a little.
"Fourteen pence a pound, sir. That's the most I can accept."
The stall owner glared and was about to say something.
But after thinking about it, he shook his head and shouted unhappily:
"14 pence is 14 pence!"
Caroline chuckled, handed the money she had prepared to the stall owner, and then took the bag of apples from him.
...
After leaving the fruit market, the two walked side by side on Iron Cross Street.
Caroline was eating an apple as she walked, and Klein was also holding a bright red apple in his hand.
"I was actually wondering before, since I traveled through time, would you also travel through time?"
Caroline was in a very good mood. Except for keeping an eye on the road, she basically never took her eyes off Klein.
"I've thought about that, too."
Klein smiled and nodded.
"It's just that because of the precedent of the Great Emperor, I can't be sure if you travel through time as well, will you travel to the same time as me."
"Really? I was worried about that before. If we both traveled through time, but there were hundreds or thousands of years between us, then we would be doomed!"
Caroline's eyes blurred for a moment. She was trying to imagine that situation happening, but after thinking about it for a while, she felt an extremely strong sense of regret and sadness.
But fortunately, this did not happen.
Abandoning this non-existent possibility, Caroline returned to her happy mood. Recalling the scene just now, she asked Klein curiously:
"Hey, how did you find me? I wasn't even sure there were other time travelers in this world, so how did you recognize me right away?"
"Actually, strictly speaking, you found me first."
Klein looked into Caroline's eyes and said:
"Didn't you go to the Divination Club yesterday?"
"I have been there…"
Caroline was stunned for a moment and paused in biting the apple.
"No way, you are Klein Moretti? The fortune teller of the Nighthawks team?"
"Right... huh? Wait a minute."
Klein originally had a smug smile on his face, but after hearing Caroline directly report his sequence path and Nighthawk identity, he suddenly lost his composure.
"How do you know I'm from the Nighthawk?"
Caroline took a bite of the apple and smiled mysteriously at Klein.
"Because I have a 'golden finger'."
"Not only do I know that you are the Nighthawk, I also know that you were looking for a notebook of the Antigonus family, and the person who took the notebook was named Riel Bibb."
Klein couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"What kind of 'golden finger' is this? How do you know even this kind of thing?"
"hey-hey..."
Caroline smirked and poked Crane's waist with her elbow.
"Don't play dumb, you must have had similar adventures, right?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, we both traveled through time because of the luck-changing ritual. I don't believe you haven't tried it again since you came here."
"As long as you try, you will most likely be noticed by the mysterious 'Fool'. But it's strange, I don't think I've seen you in front of Mr. 'Fool'. Have you not tried the luck-changing ritual yet? Or have you not been accepted by 'The Fool'?"
"Well..."
Klein's pace slowed down. Caroline clearly saw many emotions suddenly appear on his face, and the most obvious and prominent one was the embarrassment that could not be ignored.
Caroline looked at Klein in confusion. Because of the difference in pace, she took a few more steps forward, just enough to take in Klein's entire appearance.
Suddenly, Caroline had a great sense of déjà vu.
She stopped eating the apple and frowned tightly. She slowly raised her hand and used her palm to cover Klein's bitterly smiling face, leaving only the half-top hat and the black suit.
For a moment, the image in Caroline's mind overlapped with the current Klein.
"(*Chinese swear word)..."
"Old Zhou, you are not the Fool, are you?"
Klein raised his hands to cover his face as he wailed, and after a long while he managed to squeeze out a word from between his teeth:
"Yes..."
...
Half an hour later, in a cafe on Howers Street.
Caroline crossed her arms and looked coldly at Klein, who was sitting upright on the other side of the table with "embarrassment" written all over his face.
Her apple was placed on the table, and both of them had a cup of coffee in front of them, but no one drank it.
"So, when you saw me kowtow three times and nine times because I was in a hurry, you just sat there and watched me perform the kneeling performance?"
Caroline said in a cold tone.
Klein dodged his gaze to the side and replied in a low voice:
"Didn't I know your true identity at that time? When facing a fellow Earthling who is also a time traveler, I always have to make sure whether the other party is trustworthy enough..."
"Well, this is indeed necessary. What about the manifestations that come after that? The Tarot Club? The mysterious great being? The Fool who does not belong to this era?"
"Stop talking, stop talking..."
Klein held his head and surrendered to Caroline.
Caroline looked at Klein's surrendering posture and restrained herself for a while, but finally couldn't help laughing out loud.
"You are really good, Old Zhou. You use chicken feathers as a token of authority and use tiger skins as a banner. You play the role of a great being so vividly. I thought that 'Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun' was actually 'The Fool'."
"I had no choice... The first time I tried the luck-changing ritual, I was above the gray fog and accidentally summoned the Hanged Man and Justice. For disguise, I had to pretend to be a mysterious being."
"If I hadn't known that you were just a programmer before, I would have thought that your acting skills were worthy of an Oscar..."
Caroline teased, putting her hands down from holding a piece and taking a sip of her coffee.
Then she asked curiously:
"Why did you go directly above the gray fog when you tried the luck-changing ritual? When I tried it, I only saw gray fog and had a headache for a long time."
"Um... when did you try it?"
"The first day after the time travel should be around noon on June 28th."
"My time was about the same... Could it be that because I got to the top of the gray fog first, the people who came later couldn't come up on their own initiative?"
"Is this thing also based on first come first served...?"
Caroline shook her head in confusion and added a sugar cube to her coffee.
"Well, forget it. Anyway, we both have golden fingers, which is the best situation."
"Your golden finger is obviously more powerful than mine. It can pull people to the mysterious gray fog. Plus your disguise as the 'Fool', it's really useful!"
Klein took a sip of coffee and said in a disapproving tone:
"I haven't studied the gray fog thoroughly yet. To be honest, I still don't dare to rely on it too much."
"I feel that your golden finger is more magical. So, how did you get my information?"
Caroline's mouth curled up slightly, and she held her chin with one hand and said:
"How about I show you a little bit? And you can also show me your gray fog?"
"That can't be considered my gray fog."
Klein said this while nodding his head honestly:
"Look at yours?"
"Okay!"
Caroline drank the coffee in one gulp, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and then asked casually:
"Where are you going or where are I going?"