Through Leonard's theory. Klein ought to comply and attempt to divine it.
However, due to the environment. He demanded a quiet and undisturbed place as well as needing the personal belongings of Mrs. Lauwis and others. While his place had these qualifications, the thought of Ms. Roy made him hesitate.
How's she doing now? Benson is out and Melissa will be returning any time soon...
"How about your house?" Leonard suddenly suggested.
Klein hesitated to answer.
"Why the silence? Is there a..." Leonard grinned. He had an epiphany that made his flippant smile brighten, "Oh I see. Ms. Roy had just moved in today right?"
"Yes. I wouldn't want to disturb her." Klein replied calmly.
Leonard's lips curled up. He suddenly said, "It wasn't surprising I guess..."
Klein paused. He subconsciously creased his brows, "What guess?"
"Don't act dense Klein. Everyone in the department is starting to see it days ago." Leonard shrugged teasingly.
"But honestly. Everyone agrees that the thought of it isn't too far-fetched. It makes me wonder how it would turn out."
I didn't know nonsensical bouts is apart of your vocabulary... Klein cursed and simply smiled.
Leonard abruptly laughed. "You can be sure that the 'lady' gets her well-deserved rest."
But just as he leaves. He added, "Do consider first before anything else."
After that he suddenly stepped past Klein and walked toward the hall, not saying anything more.
... Lady? Klein froze only to realize it moments later. Is he talking about Selina?
He ruminated for awhile before finally returning to where Leonard and Frye are.
...
Around this point in time.
Selina just got home from sightseeing around the Indus Region. When she returned, Leonard and Frye greeted her at the living room.
As they converse trivial topics. The department's miscellaneous mishaps, Frye's mention of Leonard's whimsical excuse about not wanting to be laughed at by Rozanne and the others, and discussion about the case. Klein locked the door and sealed his room with a wall of spirituality.
Muffled voices and streaks of chuckles that echoing suddenly tuned down.
After which, he set up an altar and asked for the help of the goddess, eliminating any disturbances.
Then, Klein wrote a divination statement on a piece of paper.
"The position of the altar."
He gave a sweeping statement to prevent himself from missing out on any information.
Grabbing the piece of paper and the belongings of the dead, Klein laid down on his bed. He first recalled the scene Leonard described, then silently recited the statement seven times.
He didn't try using the world of fog, firstly, because that weird and mysterious Leonard was downstairs. Who knew if he would notice something weird about the ritual. Secondly, his Seer potion was about to be completely digested. It was likely that the aid of the ritual was sufficient for the success of his divination.
Klein would only consider finding an opportunity to enter the world of fog if he didn't get a result. After all, the summoning of an evil god or devil was something that could threaten Benson, Melissa, and himself!
With the help of Cogitation, he quickly entered the dream and saw a hazy, illusory, fragmented scene.
Soon after, an image floated before his eyes.
It was a two-story grayish-blue house bathed in a sunset glow. The windows of the first floor were shut tight and the dark curtains had no gaps. However, they expanded and contracted from time to time.
The soil around the house was dark brown, but nothing was growing in it. The garden around the house seemed to be covered in shadows, dilapidated, and dark.
There was a river flowing silently near the house.
...
Sometime later, Klein exited the dream, having not seen anything else.
Leonard's hypothesis was correct... Where could that building be? There are too many rivers in Tingen City, such as the West Borough, Southwest Borough, the harbor area, the university area... He opened his eyes and rubbed his temples as he thought, his expression serious.
...
Seated on the sofa. Selina maintained a posture while saying, "That is true. Captain can be scary some times"
Leonard nodded. "One of the symptoms unique a Nightmare. But it's not as problematic as forgetfulness."
For a Nightmare. With dreams and reality intertwined, it's often hard for a person to differentiate between what is real and what isn't. They need to remember what isn't part of reality... Selina recalled the description she read from Old Neil's given confidential records.
"I initially thought of it as caused by burning a midnight oil..."
"That's partly true." Leonard enlightened. "But it's mostly the fault of becoming a Nightmare."
I can't fathom becoming a Nightmare. Selina thought to herself. Thankfully I'm an Apothecary...
"I have finished divining the ritual site." Klein's voice echoed from the door.
He turned and before telling the details, he instinctively asked Selina. "How's your stay here? Have Benson toured you around?"
Selina nodded as her lips curled. "I only inquired the necessities. There's really no need for a tour."
Leonard sneaked a glance at Frye, who's looking cold and pale. It was uncertain whether he's teasing or playing humor. But out everyone in the room, he's smiling at Klein unusually.
Feigning obliviousness. Klein didn't pressed and instead walked to the room before explaining.
"My divination revealed something. I saw a grayish-blue two-story building in my dream. The windows on the first floor were all shut tight, and the curtains were drawn. It's surrounded by a few meters of brown soil without any greenery or flowers. It also has a terribly gloomy garden, just like the kind you find in a horror story.
"The only characteristic that can be used to identify it is a nearby river, a slightly broad river.
"It might be the Tussock River or Khoy River. We could only find out through process of elimination. Hopefully we can still make it in time."
The Tussock River was the biggest river in the Loen Kingdom, coming down from the northwest where the Mirminsk mountain was and situated near it is Milo. It flowed towards the southeast, passing by the Midseashire, Awwa County, and then passing through the capital, Backlund, and into the sea near Pritz Harbor.
The locations where it converged in Tingen City included the southwest corner of the West Borough and the harbor in the South Borough. The source of the Khoy River came from the northern York Mountain as it passed through the university district in the East Borough and locally merged with the Tussock River.
Those were the two main rivers around Tingen. The rest could only be considered streams, and none of them had an expansive water surface.
Selina, who had grasped the case from the perspective of both Leonard and Frye instantly knew that process of elimination is the only efficient method.
There was no other clues besides that!
Just then, Leonard smiled and said, "Perhaps we can narrow down the possible locations of the target."
"How do you propose we narrow it down?" Klein calmly asked in reply.
Leonard chuckled.
"A criminal with a plan and a goal would select targets somewhere far away from the location of his altar. This is a result of their natural instinct—to be safe.
"Only when there aren't many soon-to-be-dead people left in the areas far from his altar would he consider the nearer targets.
"So, we should read through the information again, exclude the areas where the number of death incidents rose rapidly above average standards.
Hearing all this from the ambivalent poet himself. Selina couldn't help but muse in heart. Should there ever come a day that I disappeared. Perhaps I can rest assured Leonard and Klein will be able to quickly find me...
Klein acknowledged it and praised, "What a brilliant conjecture."
At the same time, he sighed inwardly, I didn't thought of that... Do I even have what it takes to be a detective?
Frye nodded and picked up the documents on the coffee table and started reading it again.
After a few minutes, he deepened his hoarse voice and said, "There really is such a region, and there's only one possibility."
"Which area?" Klein asked and Selina paid close attention.
Frye passed the thick stack of information to Leonard who was next to him. He pursed his thin lips and said, "West Borough."
It's the West Borough? Klein clenched his fist and immediately suggested,
"Then let's search the southwestern area of West Borough. That way, we can further chart the options as the area isn't too big."
"I agree," Leonard echoed as he waved the papers in his hands in agreement, as though he wasn't the one who suggested narrowing down the scope of their search.
As Frye readied his tools. He suddenly confronted Selina and asked, "Do you wish to join?"
Selina waved Klein and Leonard goodbye on the door before shaking her head. She calmly replied,
"No need Mr. Frye. Please be safe on your operation."
She didn't mentioned the case of Rose School of Thoughts in the city. Regarding that, Klein had already briefed her of the progress.
Frye didn't insist and quietly left.
...
The two-wheeled carriage slowly drove along the muddy road. Beside them, the red and orange glow of the sunset reflected off of a broad river that was colored with the twilight radiance of the sunset.
Klein and Frye looked out the windows from both sides of the carriage, inspecting one house after another. They were searching for a grayish-blue house with a dilapidated garden. If possible, they would take note if the curtains on the first floor was drawn.
Leonard leisurely sat in his original spot, leaning against the wall of the carriage as he hummed a popular local tune.
The dim scenery flew past, and Klein caught sight of a grayish-blue two-story building from the corner of his eye
In front of the building was a gloomy garden that appeared in ruins.
"There it is!" Klein said while suppressing his voice.
Before he finished his sentence, Frye and Leonard squeezed over to look out the window. There was almost no space between them.
As the carriage drew closer to the building, the dark curtains that were drawn on the first floor appeared before the three Nighthawks' eyes.
Klein didn't even need to divine whether they had the right building; he was completely certain that it was the building that he saw in his dream. That was where the evil altar was set up!
None of them stopped the carriage, but instead allowed the carriage driver to continue driving forward. They passed their target and continued away from it, as though they were just passing by.
When they could no longer see the building when they turned around, Leonard told the driver to stop the carriage.
"Klein, return to Zouteland Street in this carriage and tell the Captain to come here for assistance." Leonard snapped his fingers and smirked at his teammate.
Is he thinking of me as a rookie and that I shouldn't be involved in such a dangerous mission? This fellow is still quite a nice guy... Klein was stunned as he realized what Leonard meant.
Frye nodded in agreement.
"You just started combat training and your job is a support role."
A person who could kill so many in order to hold a ritual won't be an easy opponent. Only the Captain could make this situation less terrifying... Klein took a breath and agreed rationally.
He looked at Leonard, then at Frye before forcing a smile and said, "Be careful."
"Don't worry, I cherish my life a lot. Until the Captain arrives, we'll only keep watch, and we won't get close." Leonard smiled.
Frye didn't say anything but only picked up his suitcase.
Klein was quiet for a while, he then took out a copper penny and said, "Let me divine once for you."
He chanted, "What will happen here will lead to a good outcome." He flipped the coin at the same time his eyes turned dark.
Dang!
The coin flipped into the air, then landed firmly in Klein's palm.
Klein looked and saw it was the King's head. He immediately let out a breath of relief.
"It's only a blurry symbol, so there are other interpretations. The most important thing is to be careful and prudent at all times," he explained to Frye and Leonard like a Seer would do.
Leonard had already turned around. He waved and jumped off the carriage.
"As naggy as my eighty-year-old grandma..."
Frye nodded seriously and got off with his suitcase.
Watching both his teammates head towards the target building, Klein touched the revolver in his armpit holster and told the driver, "Zouteland Street."
The driver, who had been hired by the hour, didn't object but allowed the horses to continue the journey.