043 Looking for someone

Looking at Klein, Leonard nodded with a smile. "So, what do you need from them?" He had cooperated with Neil and others many times before and naturally understood that divination required a medium, especially when the "main character" was absent.

Klein pondered for a moment, then looked at the butler, Klee, and said, "I need Elliot's recent unwashed clothing, and if there are any accessories he used to wear, that would be even better." He tried to choose normal mediums rather than things that would make ordinary people speculate.

But even so, Klee, the old butler, looked puzzled. "Why?" he asked, then added, "I have a photo of young Master Elliot with me."

Why? Because we need to use divination to find his whereabouts... Klein was momentarily unsure how to answer. If he told the truth, disregarding whether it would violate confidentiality, Klee would probably turn and leave, tear up the contract directly, and curse in his heart, "These frauds! If this works, I might as well go find the most famous psychic in Ahova County!"

Beside him, Leonard Mitchell chuckled lightly. "Mr. Klee, my companion, um, colleague, has a peculiar pet whose sense of smell is even more sensitive than a hunting dog's. So we need Elliot's clothing and personal items to help with the search. You know, clues often lock onto a general area."

"As for that photo, we also need it. Both he and I need to know what young Master Elliot looks like."

The old butler, Klee, accepted this explanation, nodding slowly. "Are you waiting here, or are you coming with me to Mr. Vicar's residence in town?"

"We'll go together to save time," Klein replied succinctly. He both wanted to test his extraordinary abilities and had a simple desire to save others.

"Alright, the carriage is downstairs," said the old butler, Klee, as he took out a black and white photo from his pocket and handed it to Leonard.

It was a solo photo of Elliot Vicar, about ten years old, with slightly long hair that almost covered his eyes, a face with obvious freckles, and not particularly distinctive features.

Leonard glanced at it and then handed it to Klein. Klein examined it carefully, pocketed the photo, picked up his cane, put on his hat, and followed the two men in front out of the Blackthorn Security Company and into the carriage waiting downstairs.

The interior of the carriage was quite spacious, with thick carpets and small tables for placing items.

Because of the presence of the old butler, Klee, Klein and Leonard remained silent, quietly feeling the carriage moving steadily on the rain-soaked road amid the diminishing raindrops.

"A good coachman," Leonard broke the silence at some point, smiling.

"Mm," Klein responded nonchalantly.

Klee, the old butler, squeezed out a smile. "Your praise is his honor. We're almost there..."

Due to concerns about being noticed by the kidnappers, the carriage did not approach the residence of the tobacco merchant Vicar, but instead stopped on a nearby street.

The old butler, Klee, returned alone, holding an umbrella. While waiting, Leonard took the opportunity to say to Klein, "The last time I speculated, I had no other purpose than to tell you that the notebook will definitely reappear, perhaps soon."

"That's not a pleasant speculation," Klein pointed with his chin to where the coachman was, indicating that sensitive topics should not be discussed in the presence of others.

Leonard whistled and turned to look out the window. Raindrops slid down the glass, leaving blurry marks, completely obscuring the outside world.

After a while, Klee returned carrying a bag. He was covered in mud due to hurrying, with wet spots on his clothes.

"These are the clothes young Master Elliot wore yesterday, and this is the storm talisman he used to carry," Klee said, handing them to Klein.

Klein took a glance and found a set of miniature gentleman's attire: a small shirt, a small waistcoat, a small bow tie, and so on. As for the storm talisman, it had a bronze base carved with symbols representing winds and waves, but it didn't trigger any inspiration in Klein.

"Now, let me detail young Master Elliot's kidnapping experience for you, to help you pinpoint the target..." Klee sat down and recounted the morning's nightmare experience, hoping that the helpers he had finally found would be of some use.

Klein and Leonard were not interested in the specific details, only concerned about how many kidnappers there were, whether they showed any unusual behavior, and if they were armed.

"Three," "normal," "armed"... After obtaining the desired information, they bid farewell to Klee and hired a lightweight two-wheeled carriage nearby.

Different from public carriages, this type of hire could be either four-wheeled or two-wheeled, with charges based on distance or time. The former cost 4 pence per kilometer within the city and 8 pence per kilometer outside, while the latter cost 2 sules per hour. If less than an hour, it would still be charged as one hour. If over an hour, an additional 6 pence was charged for every 15 minutes or part thereof. In adverse weather conditions or emergencies requiring faster travel, prices could increase.

Klein had heard from Instructor Azk about how carriage drivers in the capital, Beckland, were notorious for overcharging.

For him, this was quite a luxurious indulgence. However, he didn't need to worry about it now, as Leonard handed two 1 sule banknotes directly to the coachman.

"By the hour," Leonard instructed before closing the carriage door.

"Where are you going?" the coachman, holding the two banknotes, asked, both pleased and puzzled.

"One moment," Leonard cast his gaze on Klein.

Klein nodded slightly, took out Elliot's clothing, laid them out on the carriage floor, and then wrapped the storm talisman around the head of his cane.

Grasping the silver-inlaid black cane, he firmly planted it on Elliot's clothes. The "light ball" condensed in his mind, and Klein's mood quickly became tranquil. His brown eyes deepened, entering a semi-meditative state.

He felt the "spirit" of his body becoming lighter and more ethereal, faintly seeing the ubiquitous "spiritual world," silently chanting "Elliot's location" in his mind.

After seven repetitions, his hand left the black cane, and astonishingly, the cane did not fall but remained upright, standing steadfastly there, even as the carriage swayed slightly!

Subtle and invisible movements could be felt all around, and Klein seemed to sense indifferent gazes fixated on him.

During this time, he occasionally experienced similar sensations during meditation and spiritual vision.

With these slight shudders, he stared at the cane with deep black eyes and silently chanted again in his mind: "Elliot's location."

As soon as he finished silently chanting, the silver-inlaid, wooden, black cane fell forward, straight ahead.

"Straight ahead," Klein grasped the cane, speaking in a low and slightly ethereal voice that seemed to penetrate into the unknown world.

This is one of his divination abilities, called "Seeking with the Cane." The prop must be made of wood, metal, or a combination of both.

Normally, two real canes are required—a shape resembling an unbent iron wire bent at a right angle, grasped by the shorter side to determine the direction. However, as a diviner, Klein discovered through practice that he could directly use this method to find people and could use a cane instead of a divining rod. The direction it falls indicates the direction of the sought-after object.

As for the Antigonus family's notebook, because Klein completely forgot its appearance and had no impression of it, he couldn't search for it.

"Straight ahead," Leonard loudly instructed the coachman. "I'll tell you when to turn."

The coachman didn't understand why this was necessary, but the image of the banknotes in his inner pocket and the other party's unhesitating payment made him keep quiet and accept.

The carriage moved slowly, passing through one street after another.

During the journey, Klein used the "Seeking with the Cane" technique several times to correct the direction.

When the carriage circled around a building, he finally confirmed that Elliot was inside. It had only been thirty minutes since he parted ways with the old butler, Klee.

After sending away the coachman, Klein didn't use Elliot's clothing again but directly planted the cane wrapped with the storm talisman into the ground.

His eyes deepened once again, and the few raindrops around them suddenly spun in place.

The cane fell diagonally forward, and Klein pointed to a staircase entrance, saying, "There."

"Sometimes, I envy Old Neil, and now, I envy you," watching the scene, Leonard sighed with a smile.

Klein glanced at him and replied calmly, "This isn't difficult. As long as you're willing, you can definitely learn... Your intuition must be very high, right?"

Leonard nodded and chuckled, "That's not necessarily a good thing."

He quickened his pace and walked into the staircase entrance, where only the remnants of rainwater remained.

Klein, afraid of ruining his formal attire, almost jogged to keep up.

The building only had three floors, similar to a block of flats on Earth. At each entrance on each floor, there were only two rooms. Klein used the "Seeking with the Cane" technique on the first and second floors, and the cane remained steady, pointing upwards.

Both men walked quietly and reached the third floor. Klein again placed the silver-inlaid black cane lightly on the ground.

Whoo!

A breeze blew through the staircase, and his eyes changed color, becoming as deep black as if they could absorb souls.

Whoo, whoo, whoo!

Invisible cries seemed to echo around them.

Klein's palm loosened, and the cane wrapped with the storm talisman miraculously stood upright.

After silently chanting "Elliot's location" once more, he watched his black cane fall, silently pointing towards the room on the right.

"He should be in there," Klein said as he picked up the cane, lightly tapping his forehead twice.

With various "colors" deepening, he looked towards the door on the right and directly saw various "auras" inside.

"One, two, three, four... Three kidnappers plus one hostage, the number matches... One of them has a small stature, should be Elliot... Klee mentioned they have two shotguns and a revolver..." Klein murmured softly.

Leonard chuckled and said, "Let me sing them a poem."

"Why resort to being kidnappers when they could happily be civilized?" Klein put down the bag containing Elliot's clothing, took two steps forward, and his expression instantly turned tranquil and sorrowful.

His magnetic voice, low and deep, slowly began to resonate:

"Oh, the threat of fear, the crimson hope!

At least one thing is true: this life flies by.

One thing is true, all else is lies,

After a flower blooms once, it bids farewell to the world..."