"He said the news was obtained from a contact person within the Ahova County Police Department, but I also cannot confirm its authenticity. Is it possible he's covering up something?"
At No. 6 Narcissus Street shrouded in night, Angel, wearing a light nightgown after bathing, sat upright at the desk in the study, holding a fountain pen and muttering to herself. The notebook in front of her had already written down quite a few sentences.
"Sequence 9 Seer, but skilled in the use of divination techniques. Old Neil, who also knows divination, evaluates him quite highly."
"Hiding certain secrets on his body. The sealed artifact '2-049' that can restrict movement seems to have no effect on him, or the effect can be lifted by himself?"
"Familiar with the 'Acting Method' and digested the Sequence 9 potion completely in a short period, planning to advance to Sequence 8 in the near future."
"Knows that I have already advanced to Sequence 8. Source of information unknown, perhaps divination?"
"Has some kind of information channel, able to obtain kingdom high-level intelligence that hasn't been made public yet."
The last line was what she had just added.
Looking at these "suspicions" about her neighbor, teammate, and good friend, Angel's expression showed some hesitation, but soon her expression became calm.
She put her hands together, pressed them against her forehead, with her elbows resting on the table, closed her eyes and recited in a low voice:
"The Fool who doesn't belong to this era, You are the mysterious ruler above the gray fog, You are the yellow and black king who holds dominion over good luck."
"I pray for Your gaze, I pray for Your listening..."
This was a simplified version of ritual magic, requiring no advance preparation of four kinds of local staple foods, no complex altar setup with essential oils and sandalwood candles, only needing to completely recite the prayer pointing to "The Fool."
After successfully establishing contact with The Fool using complete ritual magic, several members of the Tarot Club had all received this simplified version of the ritual from The Fool, making it convenient to request leave when unable to attend meetings.
"Respected Mr. Fool, I have found a 'suitable candidate' who might be appropriate to join the Tarot Club. His name is Klein Moretti..."
Angel briefly informed The Fool through prayer about Klein becoming a 'Seer,' joining the Nighthawks, possessing exceptional divination talent, and being about to advance to the next sequence.
"...Please decide whether he can join."
Worried that Mr. Fool hadn't "answered" in time, she repeated it once more before slowly opening her eyes.
That's right, Mr. Fool must be a very busy person. How could he have time to respond to prayers at any time? I remember last time when using complete ritual magic to pray, He responded the next day.
Thinking of this, she loosened her clasped hands and was about to stand up from the chair.
Suddenly, a mist generated out of thin air surrounded Angel. Her vision blurred, and in the gray mist appeared an ancient high-backed chair, on which sat that mysterious existence whose appearance the Tarot Club members could never see clearly.
It was Mr. Fool, He had responded to the prayer!
Angel felt joy in her heart, sensing The Fool's gaze lingering on her, then heard the familiar deep voice:
"I will conduct an examination. Before that, don't let him know about the existence of the Tarot Club."
Before she could respond, the gray mist and the hazy image within it quickly disappeared without a trace, just as they had appeared.
——————
"Good morning, Angel. Oh, Klein is here too, good morning to you as well."
The next morning, Angel and Klein arrived at the second floor of Blackthorn Security Company, and were immediately greeted by Miss Rozanne's energetic greeting.
"Good morning, Rozanne. Is the Captain in his office?"
After receiving an affirmative answer, the two exchanged glances and walked toward Dunn's office one after another.
This left Rozanne with a surprised expression, her gossip soul burning fiercely. Her expression changed, seeming to want to follow and eavesdrop, but constrained by confidentiality rules, she finally sat down on the sofa with a dejected face.
...
"Captain, I feel I have completely mastered the 'Seer' potion. I want... want to submit a 'Special Application' now."
Klein displayed an excited expression as soon as he entered, but mixed with a trace of solemnity and hesitation.
Dunn Smith was sitting behind his desk, holding a pen and thinking about something. Hearing Klein's words, he looked up, raised his eyebrows, didn't answer him, but glanced toward Angel beside him.
"What about you?"
"I..." Angel really wanted to put on Klein's complex expression of excitement mixed with hesitation, but after brewing for a while, she gave up. "...I'm the same."
"How do you determine that, hmm, you have completely mastered the potion? Is it more skilled use of extraordinary abilities, or do you just think you've reached this stage?"
Dunn frowned, as if questioning the two of them, and also as if questioning himself.
Angel glanced sideways at Klein, saw him nod, and then answered: "Captain, when I felt I had completely mastered the potion, I had a special feeling, like something in my mind shattered and merged into my body. At that instant, I knew I had completely mastered the potion."
This was what they had agreed upon beforehand, and also part of the plan to reveal the Acting Method to Dunn.
"Special feeling..."
Dunn indeed fell into contemplation, seeming to have some realization.
But isn't he already Sequence 7? He should have experience with complete potion digestion... Could it be that his previous two advancements were conducted when the potion wasn't completely digested? That would be too dangerous...
Angel secretly speculated.
"Indeed..." Dunn's brow relaxed, and he looked up at the two of them. "Perhaps you have indeed mastered the potion, but isn't submitting an application at this time somewhat too early?"
Is he suggesting we continue consolidating the potion, or does he think it will attract attention from within the Church?
She was about to speak when Klein had already taken the lead:
"I originally planned to submit the application next year, but in the two months since I joined the Nighthawks, I've encountered too many things, too many coincidences. An ordinary kidnapping case led to encountering the Antigonus notebook, and then through it, we found Riel Bieber; investigating related suspects at the library, I directly encountered the target, encountered that Aurora Order member, and divined subsequent clues from him..."
Klein eloquently recounted all the events that had occurred in less than two months since joining the Nighthawks, all the "coincidences." Some events Angel hadn't even heard of, it seemed this colleague's "exciting life" was no less than hers.
"Old Neil said that the major extraordinary events that occurred in these two months exceeded those of previous years. I don't know the reason, but I feel very uneasy and want to make the greatest effort to improve myself..."
"...Moreover, I also want to protect my family and protect my current friends."
The last sentence moved Dunn somewhat. He pressed his lips together, his gaze lingering on Klein for a moment, then wandering between the two of them.
After several minutes of silence, he slowly nodded and said in a low voice:
"Go ahead. After writing it, show it to me first. It's best to pass it in one go, have the examiner bring the 'Clown' potion formula and materials, and proceed with the advancement directly."
Angel could hear Klein beside her obviously breathe a sigh of relief and answer with a smile in his voice: "Alright."
Dunn shifted his gaze to Angel:
"You too, but I can't guarantee the Church has the 'Instigator' potion formula. Perhaps you'll have to find another way. Hmm, according to convention, they should provide some financial support."
"I'm mentally prepared for this."
Angel answered seriously.
Rather, she hoped for such a situation to arise.
After bidding farewell to Dunn, who continued contemplating, and leaving the office, the two stood in the hallway, their eyes meeting with unstoppable joy.
Persuading the Captain to agree was the most difficult step they had anticipated, but unexpectedly, it passed so easily.
"I'll go next door to draft it right away. Hmm... I need to have the Captain review it first, and the telegram must be sent by the Captain too... Oh right, I need to type out the final draft with a typewriter."
Klein put away his smile and spoke seriously, but somewhat incoherently, his mood far from as calm as it appeared.
"No problem, you go first. I can refer to your text later," Angel smiled slyly. "By the way, so the Sequence 8 of Seer is called 'Clown'?"
Klein's excited expression froze.