Returning to his chair again, he heard the faraway cathedral's bells chime again. It continued seven times before Klein slowly stood up. He went up front to the cupboard and took out his clothes.
A black vest with a matching suit, trousers that clung tightly to his legs, a halved top hat and his faint scholarly air made Klein seem smart.
He suddenly muttered softly as he shook his head with a wry smile, "Let's uncover the mysteries now shall we?"
With his outfit done, he walked to the side of the bed and lifted a square cushion. He reached his hand into an inconspicuous hole beneath and rummaged around before finding an intermediate layer.
When he retracted his right hand, there was a roll of notes in his palm. There were about eight notes with faded dark green colors.
These were all the savings Benson had at the moment. It even included the living expenses for the next three days. Two of them were five-soli notes and the remaining were one-soli notes.
In the Loen Kingdom's currency system, soli was ranked second. It originated from ancient silver coins. One soli was equivalent to twelve copper pence. They had denominations of one and five soli.
At the top of the currency system was the gold pound. They were also paper based but were guaranteed by gold and pegged directly. A gold pound was equivalent to twenty soli. They had denominations of one, five, and ten gold pounds.
Klein spread a note and caught a whiff of the faint unique ink.
This was the smell of money.
"I had no need for money anymore because I've already surpassed the need for it.. But I did keep some.." Klein sighed as he folded the two notes he had taken out neatly and placed them into the left pocket.
With all of this done, he placed a key into his right pocket and brought a dark brownish paper bag along with him and quickly walked toward the door.
Klein quickly went down the stairs and left the apartment before taking in the brilliance and warmth of the sun.
Although it was almost July, it was still considered the middle of summer. However, Tingen was situated north of the Loen Kingdom, so it had unique climate characteristics. The highest annual temperature was not even 30°C on Earth, with even cooler mornings. However, the streets were awash with filthy water and strewn junk. From Klein's memories, this was not a rare sight in low-income communities, even if there were sewers. After all, there were just too many people and people needed to survive.
"Come and try our delicious roasted fish!"
"Hot and fresh oyster soup. Drink a bowl in the morning and feel invigorated all day!"
"Fresh fish from the port for just five pence apiece!"
"Muffins and eel soup make the perfect combination!"
"Conch! Conch! Conch!"
"Vegetables freshly plucked from the farms outside the city. Cheap and fresh!"
Klein took in a whiff of the air that mixed both noxious and fragrant aromas.
He pressed down on his hat with his right hand while passing through the busy street all while having a relaxed demeanor.
He proceeded forward until he reached a point where the crowdedness around him restored to normal. He straightened his back and raised his head to look down the street.
There was a vagrant accordionist busking. The melody was sometimes pleasant, sometimes fervent.
Beside him were several children in ragged clothes with sallow complexions due to malnutrition.
They listened to the music and moved to the beat, dancing self-made choreographies. Their faces were filled with joy as though they were a prince or an angel.
A deadpan woman passed by; her skirt was dirty and her skin was dull.
Her gaze appeared dull and sluggish. Only when she looked at the bunch of children did a faint glow flash. It was as though she had seen herself from three decades ago.
Klein overtook her and turned into another street before stopping at Smyrin Bakery.
The owner of the bakery was a seventy-plus year old granny named Wendy Smyrin. Her hair was completely grayish-white and she always wore a genial smile. Klein tried recalling his memories. She had been here selling bread and pastries.
Oh, the Tingen biscuits and lemon cakes she bakes are very delicious… Very much.
Klein gulped a mouthful of saliva and smiled.
"Mrs. Smyrin, eight pounds of rye bread."
"Oh. Dear Klein, where's Benson? Is he not back?" Wendy asked smilingly.
"In a few more days," answered Zhou Mingrui vaguely.
...
"Would you like to try a divination?"
Klein subconsciously turned his head and saw a woman wearing a crystal monocle, a pointed hat and a long black dress standing in front of a short tent.
Her face was smeared with red and yellow paint and her eyes were a profound grayish-blue.
Klein instinctively tensed up as he stared at the woman standing in front of him. He was about to enter a battle stance when he remembered that there was no way He could have been in Tignen City.
He composed himself quickly, embarrassment evident in his face before asking the obvious question.
Klein nodded at the pointy hat woman with the painted face and said, "If the… well… price is reasonable, I'll give it a try."
The woman immediately said with a laugh, "Sir, you are the first one here today, so it's on the house."
Instinctively, Klein almost replied with—Free things cost the most! Fortunately, he managed to compose himself just in time, nodding to the woman with the crystal monocle in front of him.
Zhou Mingrui followed behind the woman whose face was painted red and yellow, stooping low to enter the low tent.
The tent's interior was extremely dark, illuminated only by several beams of light that managed to seep inside. A table covered with paper cards could be made out faintly in the low illumination.
The woman with the sharp pointy hat was not affected by this at all. Her long black dress glided as though it was moving over water while she went around to the table. She sat on the opposite side and lighted a candle.
The dim yellow light flickered, causing the inside of the tent to appear bright and dark at the same time. It instantly added a much more mysterious feel to the atmosphere.
Klein sat down quietly, his gaze sweeping over the tarot cards on the table where he discovered familiar cards like "The Magician," "The Justice," "The Hanged Man," and "The Sun," etc.
This brought back nostalgia to the transmigrator. Although he technically could also be called a regressor.
The Tarot Club... Klein thought to himself, paying attention to the woman standing in front of him.
He was curious if he would still get the same card again. He also knew from his memories that the divination would be interrupted.
I'm very curious as to what the other cards will represent.
The fortune-teller clasped the cards with both her hands and carefully looked at cards for a while. Then, she suddenly opened her mouth and said, "I'm sorry, I forgot to ask, but what would you like to ask about?"
"Past, present, and future." Klein answered with no hesitation. His gaze focused on the woman.
The fortune teller noticed his gaze as she chuckled.
This was a type of divination as part of tarot card interpretation—three cards when opened sequentially symbolized one's past, present, and future.
The fortune-teller nodded first, then curled her lips to reveal a smile and said, "Then please reshuffle the deck. You can only truly get the cards you want if you know what you would like to ask about."
The fortune-teller reached out her fingers and picked a card from the top of the deck. Then she placed it on the left side of Klein. Her voice was going lower and lower as she spoke, "This card symbolizes your past."
"This card symbolize your present." The fortune-teller placed the second card right in front of Klein.
Then, she picked the third card and put it on the right side of Klein.
"This card symbolizes the future."
"Alright, which card would you like to see first?" The fortune-teller raised her head up after completing her placement of the cards and gazed deeply at Klein with her grayish-blue eyes.
"I'll have a look at the 'present' first," Klein replied with no hesitation evident, only determination and curiosity.
The fortune-teller nodded slowly and flipped over the tarot card that was directly in front of Klein.
A colorfully dressed character was depicted on this card, wearing ragged headgear with a stick over his shoulder. There was a bindle hanging on the end of the stick and a puppy was following behind him. It was numbered "0."
"The Fool," the fortune-teller lightly read out the name of the card with her grayish-blue eyes affixed on Klein.
Klein nodded. He has already predicted this outcome because from the moment he was released from the caccoon and was transmigrated here, his destiny has already been set in motion. The rivers of fate will remain unchanged.
Just as the fortune-teller was about to say something, the cloth curtains of the tent was suddenly lifted open. The ray of sunlight that shone in was so blinding that it caused the back-facing Zhou Mingrui to instinctively narrow his eyes.
"Why are you impersonating me again! It's my job to handle the divination for people!" a woman's voice growled angrily. "Return to your post quickly! You must remember that you're just an animal trainer!"
The woman who was seating in front of him immediately stood up and said disgruntledly, "Don't mind this, it's just that I like doing this. But I have to say, my divination and interpretation can be really accurate sometimes. I'm serious…"
She spoke and lifted up her dress to go around from the side of the table before quickly trotting away from the tent.
"Sir, would you like me to interpret your cards for you?" the real fortune-teller looked at Klein and asked with a smile.
Klein was actually rather curious as to what the other cards would portray, but he didn't have the necessary funds to actually pay for the divination. After all, he was in a very tight financial situation.
Oh how he missed his life of luxury..
He shook his head before leaving the tent. The new woman sitting across from him was evidently disappointed but nevertheless let it go.
He spent seven pence at the 'Lettuce and Meat' market for a pound of not-so-great mutton. Then, he also bought some tender broad beans, cabbage, onions, potatoes, and other items. Together with the bread that he bought earlier, he spent a total of 25 copper pennies, which converted to two soli and one pence.
"There is really not enough to go around for spending. Poor Benson…" Not only had Klein spent the two notes that he had brought with him, but it was also necessary for him top it up with the one penny he had in his pocket.
He just sighed and did not think further about it as he hurried back home.
With the staple food, he could now carry out the luck enhancement ritual!
...
After the second-floor tenants gradually left, Klein was still in no hurry to carry out the ritual. Instead, he translated the "Blessings Stem From The Immortal Lord of Heaven and Earth" and related phrases into the ancient Feysac language, as well as the Loen language.
After readying everything, he finally took out the four loaves of rye bread. He placed one in the corner where the coal stove was originally, one at the bottom inner side of the dress mirror, one at the top of the cupboard where two walls met, and one at the right side of the study table where miscellaneous items were kept.
With a deep breath, Klein came to the center of the room and spent a few minutes to calm himself. Then, he took a solemn step forward and went in a counter-clockwise direction in the shape of a square.
When he took the first step, he chanted in a low whisper, "Blessings Stem From The Immortal Lord of Heaven and Earth."
The second step, he sincerely chanted, "Blessings Stem From The Sky Lord of Heaven and Earth."
The third step, Zhou Mingrui breathed out a whisper. "Blessings Stem From The Exalted Thearch of Heaven and Earth."
At the fourth step, he spat out a foul breath and meditated in concentration. "Blessings Stem From The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth."
Klein took a step back before closing his eyes.
If this succeeds then that will only mean I still have my connection to Sefirah Castle.. I will then have the capabilities necessary for surviving..
immediately afterwards, Klein felt a strange motion clouding his mind as he ascended to a realm filled with grayish white fog all over the surroundings.
The unknown in front of him was tainted with the crimson light of hope.
It was at this time that he suddenly felt the surrounding air seem to stop, becoming thick and mysterious.
Immediately after, a low whisper could be heard beside his ears that sounded at times real, at times sharp, at times imaginary, at times alluring, at times maniacal, and at times crazy before disappearing, and silence filled the air.
Klein, with great difficulty saw the endless grayish white fog—vague, indifferent, and mysterious surrounding every single corner of the realm.
The fog was flowing like water and was dotted with a lot of crimson 'stars.' Some of them were enormous while others were tiny. There was a sense of them being hidden in the deep depths, while others floated over the surface of this water-like fog.
Klein shifted his gaze to the crimson stars in front of him. Pondering, he said, "When I touch this crimson star, I will inevitably summon Mrs. Justice, and Mr. Hanged Man. However, there is a slim possibility of me summoning a completely different person once I touch it.. I better not waste time and summon both of them or else I risk losing my precious believers!"
After making up his mind, Klein immediately touched the two crimson stars and it erupted into a bright light, blinding Klein and the surroundings.
…
In the Loen Kingdom's capital, Backlund. Inside a luxurious looking villa at the royal district.
Audrey Hall sat in front of a dresser. The markings on it were antiquated and there was a cracked bronze mirror on the surface.
"Mirror, mirror, awaken…
"In the name of the Hall family, I command you to awaken!"
…
She switched between many different sayings, but there was no reaction from the mirror at all.
After more than 10 minutes, she finally chose to give up and pouted her lips in grievance. She said in a soft murmur, "Father was indeed lying to me. He always tells me that this mirror was the treasure of the Roman Empire's Dark Emperor, and that it is an extraordinary item…"
Her voice trailed off. The bronze mirror which rested on the dresser suddenly glowed with a crimson light that shrouded her completely.
…
In the Sonia Sea, a three-masted sailboat that looked like an obvious relic was navigating through a storm.
Alger Wilson stood on deck, his body undulating with the currents at sea, maintaining his balance easily.
He wore a robe embroidered with lightning patterns, and in his hand was a quirky-shaped glass bottle. Bubbles billowed inside the bottle at times, frost turned into snow at times, and signs of gusting wind could be seen at times.
"We're still short on the Ghost Shark's blood…" Alger murmured.
Then at this moment, a crimson burst appeared in the space between the glass bottle and the surface of his palm. In an instant, it enveloped the surroundings as well.
…
In the fog of gray mist, Audrey Hall regained her sight. She started reckoning the situation in a state of horror and confusion when she noticed the blurry image of a man on the opposite side of her doing the same as well.
Immediately after, the both of them discovered another mystery person standing not far from them who was shrouded in a gray mist.
The 'mysterious person' was none other than Zhou Mingrui. He was similarly dumbfounded.
"Sir, where is this?"
Audrey and Alger were startled at first, falling silent in the process. Then, they immediately started speaking in unison.
"What are you planning on doing?"