"Come in."
Dunn Smith's deep and gentle voice came through.
Klein turned the handle and pushed open the door. He saw the captain enjoying his breakfast. On his right was the rich-smelling coffee, and in front of him were the white bread, toast, and bacon on the plate.
Dunn placed the remaining buttered toast in his mouth and silently pointed to the chair opposite the desk.
Klein didn't disturb the captain while he was eating. With a smile, he sat down and waited patiently.
Seeing that he wasn't in a hurry, Dunn relaxed his straight back, picked up the coffee, took a sip, and swallowed all the food in his mouth.
He pulled out a soft tissue and wiped his mouth, saying,
"What's the matter?"
Klein nodded seriously,
"I've met Dast Gudrian. That lunatic doctor and a member of the Psychological Alchemy Society."
While speaking, he glanced over his left eye and noticed that there was a spread-out magazine in front of the captain.
"He provided any information?" Dunn clasped his hands together, suddenly asking.
Klein briefly described, "He told me that before Hude Ogen went insane, someone visited him frequently. That person was named Lanurus."
"Lanurus..." Dunn raised his hand and rubbed his temple. "I seem to have heard of it somewhere..."
"That's the fraudster who stole at least 10,000 gold pounds." Klein reminded him.
Dunn thought seriously and shook his head, indicating that he had no impression.
Captain, you're not sensitive to money at all! Klein muttered under his breath, picking up the magazine related to Lanurus and summarizing the key points:
"This fraudster falsely claimed to have discovered and purchased a high-quality and abundant iron mine. He raised funds privately in Tingen City for development and stole over 10,000 gold pounds. A friend of mine who I met in the Divination Club suffered losses. Additionally, a girl was deceived into getting married to him and became pregnant with his child."
"He visited Hude Ogen before he went insane... " Dunn mused, "The extraordinary person of sequence 8, 'Fraudster' or 'Thief'... "
Captain, you have a really good memory for such things... Klein chuckled and said with a gentle nod,
"That's also my guess."
"Because the steel company set up by Lanurus is in the southern district, and the victims have various beliefs, so this matter didn't reach us. Even if the police department discovered some extraordinary traces, they would transfer it to the 'Punisher' team."
Dunn finally understood the whole situation. With his deep grey eyes, he looked at Klein and said,
"What do you want to do?"
Hehe, Captain, don't be so sharp... Klein replied seriously,
"I want to use the spiritual ritual and communicate with Hude Ogen to figure out what Lanurus wanted from him and whether this is the direct cause of his insanity."
Dunn nodded slightly,
"Even if you don't apply, after confirming that Hude Ogen is truly insane, I will also try something similar."
"However, Dahlia told me that there's a considerable risk to this kind of thing. Are you sure you can do it? Or, I can apply for assistance from the Beckland parish, and it shouldn't be a problem if there's a delay of a few days."
Klein's main motivation for becoming an extraordinary person was to study mysticism, find a way home, and have the opportunity to practice. With strong self-confidence, he naturally didn't want to give up:
"Captain, I have the knowledge in this area and have some confidence in it."
"Of course, I need 'Ammanda' pure dew, 'Spiritual Eye' potion, and 'Nightingale Potion' as assistance."
"Nightingale Potion..." Dunn chewed on the name and confirmed Klein's professionalism.
He remembered Dahlia said that this was a relatively rare but very useful potion in the spiritual realm.
After considering for a few seconds, Dunn Smith leaned back against the chair back and said,
"Then you write an application, go to the Charnis Gate to get the corresponding potions, uh..." "I don't know if there are any finished potions left. If not, we should collect the corresponding materials and prepare to mix and refine them ourselves."
"OK," Klein replied happily.
But he didn't get up at that moment. His bottom remained firmly seated on the chair.
When Dunn saw this, he raised his hand and rubbed his forehead, thinking carefully:
"Starting from this afternoon, it's my turn to monitor the insane asylum... We can't go directly to find Hude Ogen. No one knows if there are any members of the Psychological Alchemy Society among the doctors, nurses, laborers and patients in the insane asylum. No one knows if the Psychological Alchemy Society is also secretly monitoring Hude Ogen. Our actions must be very covert. We mustn't expose the fact that Dast Gudrian has become our informant." "... "We'll go at dawn, sneak in secretly."
"Well, I'll stay by your side to guard against any surprises."
That's perfect! If Hud Eugene is just pretending to be insane, but I perform the spirit communication ritual on him, wouldn't that be like entering a zoo and dancing in front of the tigers... Klein relaxed and said sincerely:
"Yes, Captain!"
He stood up and turned towards the door.
Just then, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the title of the magazine spread out in front of the captain:
"Domnismann tree sap in the rainforests of the Southern Continent has a significant effect in promoting hair growth." ... Klein looked pityingly away and walked out of the captain's office with Malen.
Suddenly, an amusing thought flashed through his mind:
In fact, the extraordinary ones didn't need to go through such trouble. If Old Neil were still around, he would probably suggest designing a ritual magic for hair growth, using it to pray to the goddess for assistance. As for whether the body hair would grow and turn into a curly baboon-like creature, that was another matter... And what would the goddess react to this? If it were me, I would definitely say: "MMP..."
This thought immediately tinted Klein's happiness with sadness, and the sadness was filled with a sense of humor.
He entered the civilian office and sat in front of the 1346 model mechanical typewriter, typing out the application.
When Dunn Smith signed and stamped it, he took the application and went deep underground, along the corridor illuminated by the gas light, step by step towards the Charnis door.
It was only at this point that Klein thought of a question:
This would be his first time entering that mysterious door!
"I wonder what's behind the door... " He quickened his pace with hidden anticipation, approaching the pair of black iron doors that gave a sense of elevation.
First, he handed the application to Xigia Taron, who was on duty today, for registration. Klein got back a signed document and loudly knocked on the Charnis door, feeling the echo inside empty and distant.
After waiting for several seconds without hearing any footsteps, he saw the pair of double doors with seven dark holy emblems engraved on them slowly opening, creaking.
After the Charnis door opened to only allow one person to pass, it paused, and Klein, with the help of the gas lights on both sides of the corridor, saw the scene nearby.
Behind the door stood an elderly man with deep wrinkles and sparse hair. He was wearing a black classical robe and holding a lantern.
The dim yellowish light of the candle shone through the glass, casting an alternating light on the expressionless face of the old man, making his light blue eyes seem frozen in ice for thousands of years.
"Documents." He croaked out a single word.
Klein had seen this old man before, because at the end of the dusk, he and his companions would come out of the Charnis door, pass through the duty room, and turn towards the Church of Saint Selina.
They were the aged night watchmen, voluntary internal guards.
According to Klein's knowledge, there were five such guards.
"This is my application." He handed the document in his hand to the old man in front of him.
The internal guard with light blue eyes raised the lantern and carefully examined it, confirming it was correct before retreating to the side, allowing Klein to pass.
Klein walked slowly into the Charnis door, before he could take in the surroundings, he felt an indescribable coldness.
This was not the bitter cold of winter, but a chilling that made one's spirit tremble.
Looking up, Klein saw the candle stands on the walls and the silver candles engraved with patterns, all of which were burning with a dark blue color, without any wobbling.
Creak!
The guard closed the Charnis door, and the surroundings suddenly became extremely quiet.
In front of him was a wide corridor, paved with old stone slabs.
On both sides of the corridor were stone doors, marked with words like "Materials", "Wine", "Documents", etc.
At the end of the corridor, there was a downward staircase, extending into the darkness, as if leading to the abyss.
There should be different sealing points connected to different seals there, and it was said to be divided into several layers... He didn't know where Saint Selina's ashes were placed... Just as Klein adapted to the brightness behind the door, he suddenly felt an invisible thing brushing against his skin, one by one, cold and bone-chilling.
He shivered and couldn't help activating his spiritual vision.
Then, he saw around him, saw the entire Charnis door behind him, filled with thin black lines, gently swaying, sometimes clustering, sometimes extending, densely packed, without any gaps.
This... Is this the power of the seal behind the Charnis Gate? Klein gave a barely perceptible nod, focused his thoughts, and followed the guard into the "liquid room" behind a thick stone door.
Soon, he found "Amanda Pure Essence", "Spirit Eye" potion, and "Peaceful Potion" based on the initial letters.
The former two he had seen before, and the latter was his first encounter. He saw the translucent glass vials containing a dark blue liquid gently rippling within, and just seeing it made him feel as if he were back in his mother's arms.
There was also a label on the bottle, indicating the production date and the validity period of half a year.
Fortunately, it can be used... Klein put away the three small bottles of potions and, accompanied by the guard, left the Charnis Gate, getting rid of the cold feeling that reached deep into his soul and the strange experience of being swept by a series of black lines.
When the Charnis Gate closed, he couldn't help looking back at it and muttered to himself:
"Staying there for a long time, both the body and the soul will surely be affected, right?"
"Of course, the guard must volunteer..." ......
In the early hours of the morning, Klein locked the bedroom in a special way, pushed open the curved window, and jumped down below.
The height of the second floor posed no danger to him at all. He stood steadily without any swaying.
While the night watch team's carriage was already parked on the opposite side, waiting for him.
Without any unnecessary communication, Klein quickly arrived at the Tingen Psychiatric Hospital in the northern district. According to the instructions, he went around to the corner of the wall without lights and saw Dunn Smith waiting there.
"Let's go in," Dunn said with a gentle nod. "I've checked, there's no one around here."
"OK." Klein moved closer quickly.
Entering... As "The Clown", entering the insane asylum... This always reminded him of a famous saying: Just like coming home... He self-mocked a little.
Then, following Dunn, he followed the protrusions on the wall, skillfully and quickly slid into the insane asylum, moving agilely and maintaining excellent balance.
Dunn looked back and gave a gentle nod, showing his approval.
The two lowered their backs and passed through the grass and activity square in the shadows and secluded places, entering the three-story building of the insane asylum and arriving at Hude Eugen's room on the top floor.
Because Hude Eugen became aggressive after going insane, he was assigned to a single room, and the night watch team's monitoring during this period was not in vain. They had already duplicated a key.
Click!
With the slight sound of opening the door, Dunn entered first, and Klein's gaze passed over his figure and saw a person sitting on the bed.
Hude Eugen had a long and thin face, sunken eye sockets, and messy light yellow hair.
He was looking through the iron-railing window at the red moon outside with his gray-blue eyes.
Klein closed the door and smiled, casually asking:
"Why aren't you sleeping yet?"
Dunn was stunned for a moment, then remembered that he was now Sequence 8's "The Clown", so he kept silent and retreated to the corner of the wall.
Hude Eugen turned his head and looked at Klein, smiling foolishly:
"I'm waiting for my cake."