Part 1 The Joker Chapter 37 The Club
Against the blazing afternoon sun, Klein stepped out of the house.
Since he had to walk all the way from Iron Cross to Welch’s residence, he changed out of his formal clothes, bowler hat, and leather boots in favor of a linen shirt, aged brown jacket, round-brimmed felt hat of the same color, and old leather shoes so that he wouldn’t have to worry about the smell of sweat contaminating the valuable set.
Along Daffodil Street, he walked slowly toward Iron Cross, subconsciously glancing there as he passed through the corner square.
The tents had disappeared, the circus from before having finished its performance long ago and left the area.
Klein had imagined that the tamer who had helped her with her divination was actually a hidden powerhouse who had come specifically to provide guidance because he had discovered her own specialness, and that there would surely be subsequent encounters and hints, however, none of that happened, and she followed the circus on the next leg of its journey.
Which has so many sets …… Klein lost his smile and shook his head, turning to the Iron Cross Street.
Iron Cross Street was not the only one, but as its name suggested, it was formed by the intersection of two roads.
With the crossroads as its core, it was divided into Left Street, Right Street, Upper Street, and Lower Street, and the apartment that Klein, Benson, and Melissa had previously lived in was located on Lower Street.
However, the people living in and around the apartments do not consider the neighborhood to be Lower Street, but rather have coined the term “Middle Street” to distinguish it from the slums that extend two hundred meters down the road.
There, five, six, or even ten people could fit into a single bedroom.
As he walked along the edge of Left Street, Klein’s thoughts wandered to the Antigonus family notebook, to its unknown fate, to the importance of the night watchman, and to the bloodshed that had ensued.
His mood slowly grew heavy, his face somber.
Just then, a familiar voice reached his ears:
”Little Klein.”
Well …… Klein turned his head in confusion, and found himself walking to the door of “Slim’s Bakery”, where the gray-haired Mrs. Wendy was greeting him with a soft smile and a raised hand.
”You don’t look very, very happy?” Wendy spoke warmly.
Klein rubbed the side of his face and said:
”A little.”
”No matter how much trouble there is, tomorrow will come eventually.” Mrs. Wendy said with a smile, “Here, help me try my new sweet iced tea, I’m not sure if it’s suitable for local tastes.”
”Locals, aren’t you one yourself Mrs. Slim?” Klein shook his head in amusement.
Try it should mean free, right?
Wendy Slim raised the corner of her mouth and said:
”You guessed it, I’m actually from the south and followed my husband to Tingen, which was over forty years ago, heck, Benson hadn’t even been born yet, and your father and mother hadn’t even met yet.”
”I’ve always been a bit uncomfortable with the northern style of food, always missed the food back home, pork sausages, potato bread, grilled pancakes, fried vegetables in lard, roasts in specialty sauces.”
”Well, miss sweet iced tea too ……”
Klein heard a smile spread across his face:
”Mrs. Slim, that’s a real hunger-inducing topic …… But I’m feeling much better, thanks.”
”Good food always heals sorrow.” Wendy handed Klein a cup of brownish-red liquid, “Sweet iced tea I made from memories, try it to see if it tastes good.”
After Klein thanked her, she took a sip, only to find that the drink had some of the taste of iced tea on Earth, but it was not as stimulating, the tea flavor was stronger and more refreshing, and it instantly dispersed the burning heat from the blazing sun.
”Very good!” He exclaimed.
”Then I’m relieved.” Wendy smiled and narrowed her eyes, watching amiably as Klein finished the cup of sweet iced tea.
After chatting with Mrs. Slim for a while about moving to a new home, Klein returned to the most familiar street.
In the afternoon, there were much fewer street vendors here, they would not regroup until after five-thirty, and the ones that were left had little spirit and wilted.
Having just turned into this place, Klein’s mood was suddenly inexplicably gloomy, with an indescribably depressing, low and gray feeling.
What’s going on? He was keenly aware of his own wrongness, and immediately paused and looked around, but, did not see anything strange.
After thinking about it, Klein raised his hand and tapped it twice on his brow as if he was thinking.
As far as he could see, there was an immediate change, and the aura of the one street vendor and a few pedestrians presented themselves.
Before Klein had a chance to examine the color of their health, he was drawn to the rich dullness that symbolized emotion.
Exactly what the observed were thinking, he could not tell, but the impression of pessimism, numbness, and dreariness stuck deep in his mind.
Looking around, he noticed that the neighborhood was filled with this dim hue that not even sunlight could dispel.
It was depression colored by an unknown number of days, months, and years.
Seeing this, Klein understood the reason at once.
Just like what Old Neil had said, his own self who had turned on his spiritual vision could easily feel uncomfortable due to entering an unfamiliar environment, and could easily be infected by other people’s emotions as well.
A similar reasoning could be applied to the ability of “Inspiration” – this was an ability that could be acquired without additional study after becoming a “Diviner”, and it belonged to the category of passive and unrefusable senses, allowing one to directly perceive and recognize the emotions of others. It is a passive and unrefusable sense that allows one to directly detect the existence of some abnormal situations.
And the perception will certainly have a certain degree of interaction, so, in the extraordinary eyes of similar “psychic”, the strength of each person’s inspiration is so obvious, like a torch in the dark night, so the high inspiration of the person will be very natural and easy to be affected by the abnormal and strong atmosphere, can only be grasped through repeated practice, to control, to adapt.
”I’m afraid it will take a long time for such depressing ‘tones’ to develop, won’t it?” Klein sighed and shook his head, touched.
He tapped his brow twice more and tried to collect his aura.
Ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, Klein took a step towards the apartment, sensing other possible anomalies and subtle connections as a way to find the Antigonus family notes that had been hidden away by ‘himself’.
The street was as clean as usual, with dirty water and garbage, until it reached the front door of the apartment.
Klein pushed open the half-covered door and circled the first floor in the gloom where the sunlight failed to reach.
He made his way up the wooden stairs one step at a time, making them creak constantly.
The second floor was, as usual, devoid of light, and Klein indulged his “inspiration” by looking straight into the dimness.
However, not only did he fail to find a clue to his notes, he didn’t even see a single invisible spirit.
”If it were so easy to meet, the majority of ordinary people would not be able to detect the existence of extraordinary things ……,” Klein sighed to himself.
He had already realized that most of the “spirits” did not exist in the form of a spirit body, but rather a spirit, which could only be communicated effectively by a “psychic”.
After taking a look around the third floor, Klein left the apartment and walked to Welch’s residence along the path he remembered.
He walked for an hour, but still could not find anything on the way.
Standing outside the garden house, Klein looked out over the house through the locked iron gate and muttered darkly:
”The Welches shouldn’t have to look for it, should they? The captain and Ms. Daley must have carpet searched it ……”
”And I don’t have a key to this place, so I can’t go over the wall ……”
”Let’s try another route tomorrow ……”
”I’ve walked so much today and there’s no step chart ……”
In the midst of spitting, Klein turned back and headed to the nearby neighborhood, intending to take a public carriage to the Blackthorn Security Company, claiming today’s share of thirty rounds of ammunition and grabbing the time to practice.
”What the Diviner lacked in quick and effective attacks, he made up for in revolvers and canes!
The area around Welch’s house was fairly clean, with a number of stores lined with brightly lit windows.
Turning the intersection, Klein was about to look for a public carriage point when his eyes suddenly swept over a few signs on the second floor location across the street:
”Harold’s Department Store.”
”Retired Officers’ Club.”
”Divination Club.”
……
The Divination Club …… Klein mumbled the name, and suddenly thought about the fact that he was going to be “playing” the role of a soothsayer.
Well, go over and take a look …… looking for new ideas ……
In the midst of his thoughts, Klein crossed the street and arrived at the opposite side of the street, ascended to the second floor, entered the lobby, and stood in front of the pretty lady in charge of reception.
The lady, who wore her brown hair in a coiffure, surveyed Klein and said with a smile:
”Sir, do you wish to divine, or join our club?”
”What are the conditions for joining?” Klein asked casually.
The lady with brown hair coiled high on her head introduced herself familiarly:
”Fill in the details and pay the annual membership fee, which is £5 for the first time and £1 per year thereafter, and rest assured that we are not like those political or business clubs where you have to get a recommendation from a full member to join.”
”Members can use the club’s meeting room and various divination rooms and divination tools free of charge, enjoy the coffee and tea we provide free of charge, read the newspapers and magazines we subscribe to free of charge, and buy lunch, dinner, alcoholic beverages, and a number of divination textbooks and divination materials at cost.”
”Moreover, we will invite at least one famous diviner to give lectures every month to answer questions.”
”Most importantly, you will be able to find a group of friends who share the same hobby and can share their experiences with each other.”
Sounds good, however, however I don’t have any money …… Klein smiled to himself and turned to ask:
”What if you want to do divination?”