Klein invited the newcomer into the house, and seeing Irin, who was no longer in the living room, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Officer Fascin, what are you here for?"
Officer Fascin, dressed in a black and white checkered uniform, took off his hat and said with a serious expression:
"Of course, it's about the matter you were involved in before; the higher-ups want me to tell you to be careful of strangers."
"Understood."
Klein nodded solemnly.
"Secondly, there are some arrangements. I'll explain them to you, and you can make your own decision…"
"Mm."
Fascin leaned forward slightly, his gaze unconsciously sweeping around the room.
"You should be very clear that the people involved in this matter are very troublesome, so the higher-ups have given you three choices."
"The first is to stay at the Holy Wind Cathedral for two days. I know you are a believer of the God of Steam and Machinery, but the Holy Wind Cathedral is closer and safer…"
"Mm."
Just as Klein waited for the other party to state the second option, he suddenly felt his vision blur, and his thoughts began to slow down, feeling as if everything around him became unreal.
This, this feeling is, 2-049! He instantly recalled the Sealed Artifact he encountered in Tingen.
This is a Mid-Sequence ability of the Seer Pathway. Damn it, I actually let the wolf into the house.
"As long as you give me time, this is one of the most difficult abilities to deal with below High-Sequence."
The 'Officer Fascin' in front of him had long since changed his face; he had become a black-haired, blue-eyed gentleman with a handsome face and faint stubble.
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Rosago."
"Thump!"
A sound of someone falling seemed to come from the next room.
But only a moment later, countless threads burst out from the room, assailing Rosago, attempting to envelop him.
Rosago did not deliberately dodge but snapped his fingers.
"Snap!"
A stream of flame rapidly spread, burning those threads to ashes.
"Demoness… I didn't expect you to be associating with them."
"Is she your bodyguard or your mistress?" Rosago quipped, but he didn't expect Klein, who was under his control, to answer his question.
Damn it, my bodyguard, couldn't have already been… No, that's not right… He's already controlled me, but he hasn't killed me, which can only mean his focus isn't on me at all… Klein tried hard to broaden his thoughts.
Rosago's focus at this moment was on the Demoness Irin; from the moment he entered the house, he discovered the Demoness hiding in the compartment and immediately manipulated her Spirit Body Threads.
It was clear that compared to the Demoness bodyguard, Klein's threat level in his eyes was much lower.
Miss Bodyguard should still not be… controlled… I must save myself. Klein struggled to turn his palm and with difficulty, snapped his fingers.
"Snap"
In an instant, Klein vanished from Rosago's sight.
Rosago's flame stream had just ignited some of the surrounding furniture, and Klein used this to perform a "Flame Jump," teleporting to the corner of the living room.
But his thoughts were still in a sluggish state, which meant he had not escaped the other party's control range.
Without hesitation, he snapped his fingers.
With a "Snap!" an air bullet shot towards Rosago's head.
But unfortunately, Klein, in his sluggish state, did not have enough accuracy, and the bullet missed.
"Magician?" Rosago showed a surprised expression.
"This doesn't match my divination results."
"You must have just advanced not long ago, right?" Rosago looked down at Klein, who could barely stand steady. "How lucky, I almost got ambushed by you."
"Goodbye." Just as Rosago was about to return an air bullet, more threads wrapped around his arm.
"Useless." Rosago pulled slightly, breaking the threads. It was clear he had not relaxed his control over the Demoness Irin for a moment.
Just as he believed victory was in his grasp, Klein seized the moment he was slightly distracted, pulled something out of his pocket, and threw it at him.
"Light!" He squeezed out a word from his throat with all his might.
"What!" Before Rosago could react, blinding light rushed towards him.
"Ah!"
...
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Klein looked at the body in front of him, riddled with holes, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, there was still one "Sunlight" talisman left… he sighed inwardly.
When he encountered Ince Zangwill back then, he used one, and the other had been kept in the gray fog. He only took it out as a trump card for this incident.
He didn't expect it to actually be used.
'Good luck, the talisman is still within its shelf life…'
...
After the spirit channeling ended, Klein began collecting spoils of war and clearing traces.
"Oh my~ you're quite impressive."
Irin appeared in the living room at some point.
"Damn!"
"It seems to be the power of the Sun domain. This talisman wasn't given to you by the organization, was it?" Her tone was light, but it sent chills down Klein's spine.
"Uh…" Klein's brain began to race. He found himself in the same predicament as he was in Tingen; he couldn't explain the origin of the "Sunlight" talisman.
"I say, let's split the spoils of war." Irin suddenly proposed out of the blue.
"Huh?" Klein, who was thinking of an excuse, was stunned.
"Don't we need to report it to the higher-ups?"
"Report? Report that I failed to provide adequate support, or report that you're secretly praising the Eternal Blazing Sun?"
"I'm not an undercover agent, nor am I a believer of the Eternal Blazing Sun."
"Hehe, I believe everyone has their little secrets." Irin still maintained her smile. "I heard that the Intis Ambassador's side seems to have been mostly dealt with."
"It's chaotic over there now, so no one will probably care about this gentleman."
"Falsi isn't here, so how about we pretend no one ever came today?"
"This…" Klein hesitated. He actually understood that Irin wanted to keep these spoils for herself, as they would definitely be confiscated if reported.
"Okay." After a moment of hesitation, he chose to agree, as this way he wouldn't have to explain the talisman, and Irin, as an accomplice, wouldn't leak the secret.
Finally, Irin took a Mystical Item corresponding to a Notary, as well as all the money on Rosago.
And Klein received a "Marionettist" Characteristic with strong light pollution.
...
"Mr. Detective, I've been waiting for a long time. Haven't you found any news at all?"
In the Truth Union, Xio, pressured by Fors to no end, transferred the pressure to Klein.
"Madam, your commission is indeed a bit tricky."
"But believe me, I've already found clues."
"I'll soon find that Lorne. De Senck." Klein was actually a bit embarrassed. Recently, due to the Ambassador incident, he had almost put his detective work on hold.
But it wasn't true that he had done nothing. After the Ambassador incident, he used the contaminated Marionettist Characteristic to successfully create a dummy codenamed "World" and entrusted Miss Justice of the Tarot Club to help investigate Lorne. De Senck.
Finally, after much persuasion, Klein barely managed to send Xio away.
But Xio also expressed her hope that the next time she came, Klein could show some substantial progress.
'It seems it's too late to wait for Miss Justice. I'll have to use divination.'
...
"Xio, you're back." Seeing Fors fully dressed, Xio was a little puzzled.
"What's wrong?"
"Do you remember Miss Audrey Hall? It seems she has a commission for us."