Chapter 87 — Exhortation

"Has it really been resolved?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

Klein smiled and nodded casually.

"Yes."

"It wasn't too hard."

That last part was a lie… He added inwardly.

Perhaps it was the fact that Klein had been calm and collected all this time, or perhaps he was her only ray of hope. Either way, Elizabeth didn't doubt him any more. She patted her chest and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. You truly are a trustworthy gentleman. I was scared senseless just now.

"How is Selena? Is she fine now?"

"She might remain unconscious for the next few minutes, but she's completely fine now. Oh, two to three days of weakness is to be expected." Klein suddenly had a stern expression on his face as he asked, "Who taught her mysticism? Didn't he tell her about the basic taboos?"

Elizabeth straightened up a little more like a student who had just been scolded by her teacher.

She thought for a moment before saying, "Selena once mentioned that her teacher is Hanass Vincent. She met him a year ago at the Divination Club on Howes Street."

Hanass Vincent… On the surface, he didn't seem to teach anything questionable about magic mirror divination, but he secretly been teaching dark divination… If I knew about this earlier, then I would have reported it to Captain and have raided him earlier… Klein felt some regret as he asked in a deep voice, "Was he also the one who taught Selena magic mirror divination?"

Klein was left with a lingering sense of fear because this matter had nearly affected his sister—Melissa!

Elizabeth nodded cautiously.

"Yes, but Selena had tried magic mirror divination a few times without any success. Oh, today she told me that she had a peek at her teacher's hidden incantations and that there would be no problems."

She was basically an expert at courting death… Klein massaged his temples to alleviate his headache.

"Do you still remember the incantations she recited?"

Well… Although Hanass Vincent had not voluntarily imparted the dangerous knowledge to Selena, it's obvious that he had been experimenting with it to extend an invitation to a mysterious, unknown entity. This would become a problem sooner or later. It has to be dealt with quickly before it gets worse and becomes a problem for someone else…

"I remember a part of it…" Elizabeth recalled. "She recited it in Hermes. As you know, I was only exposed to Hermes just recently. All I remember is her using the terms 'revolve,' 'spirit,' 'Creator,' and 'grace.'"

Creator? The True Creator? Many underground mysticism enthusiasts believe in this ancient entity revered by many secret organizations… Yes, an entity that appeared 1000 years ago during the early stages of the Fifth Epoch! Klein nodded amidst his thought and said, "Remember to ask Selena about the entire incantation after she wakes up, then find an opportunity to tell me."

"Alright," Elizabeth replied without any reservations.

But she immediately asked, feeling a little confused, "Mr. Moretti, why don't you ask her yourself?"

"I don't want to let Melissa know I enjoy mysticism. Can you help me keep that a secret?" Klein asked in return.

Elizabeth bit her lips, her eyes sparkling.

"No problem. Melissa prefers machines to mystery. She likes logic over instinct."

Klein placed his hat in front of his chest and bowed gentlemanly.

"Thank you for your understanding. As for Selena, you do know that she's not someone who can keep a secret."

"A more accurate description is that she likes to share secrets with others," Elizabeth agreed.

Klein put on his hat and thought for a moment before saying, "Remember to tell Selena after she wakes up that she suddenly fainted and shattered her mirror. I think her memory probably stopped at the point when she began the magic mirror divination."

Seeing Elizabeth nod, he put on a stern expression once again and said, "Remember, be it divinations or trying other mysticism rituals, do not pray to any other entities other than the seven orthodox divinities! You should immediately burn those types of incantations and stay far away from anyone distributing those materials!

"If I hadn't noticed this in time, Selena would have turned into a monster or an evil spirit in ten minutes, and everyone here would have been killed, myself included!"

Thinking about the ice-cold Selena in the mirror, Elizabeth had no doubts about what Klein had just said. She sighed with lingering fear and said, "I understand and I'll remember. I'll also keep an eye on Selena."

"Alright, go and take care of Selena." Klein raised his black cane and walked toward the stairway.

As he walked, his eyes became darker. He took out a single penny with his right hand and flicked it into the air.

"Selena is alright now.

"Selena is alright now."

…

Klein quickly repeated the description, then caught the falling coin. He saw George III's face facing upward.

This was not a simplification of spirit dowsing. Instead, it was a simplification of dream divination. At that moment, Klein had forced himself into a state of sleep with the aid of Cogitation in order to take a tour through the spirit world. The heads and tails of the coin were a symbolic manifestation.

Heads represented affirmation, while tails indicated dissent!

Great, everything is fine now… Klein twirled the bronze coin with his fingers happily.

That was a simplification only a Seer could accomplish.

…

Elizabeth was staring at Klein's back and saw the flying coin before he caught it.

Only when Klein vanished down the staircase did she turn to enter the bedroom. She saw Selena asleep on the floor with shattered pieces of the mirror beside her.

She held her breath and tiptoed into the room as she looked at the fragments of the mirror. She made sure that the ice-cold Selena was no longer present; instead, the fragments were reflecting the ceiling.

Phew. Put completely at ease, Melissa heaved a long sigh of relief.

But despite her efforts, she couldn't move Selena to the bed. Instead, she nudged her awake.

"Elizabeth… What happened to me? Did I get drunk?" Selena asked weakly, the glow in her eyes having turned considerably dull while her eyes were filled with confusion.

Elizabeth thought for a moment and replied in a serious tone, "No, Selena, something happened to you. Your magic mirror divination invited a malicious entity."

"Is that so?" Selena weakly made her way to the bed with Elizabeth's help. She rubbed her temple as she said, "All I remember is when I started the magic mirror divination."

Elizabeth told a half-truth, "You were a completely different person during the ritual. The you in the mirror was completely different from the you in real life… I was very scared. Using the excuse of giving you a surprise, I brought you into the bedroom before I snatched your mirror and shattered it onto the carpet. After that… after that, you fainted."

"Blessed be the Goddess, you're okay now!"

"I-I don't remember anything…" Selena muttered, her face pale.

The more Selena tried to remember, the emptier her mind became, and the more afraid she felt.

Subconsciously, she glanced at her desk and noticed that the placement of items was clearly different.

Just what happened exactly… Selena tried hard to remember, but she could only faintly remember a man in a black suit and hat. He was not strong or tall, but he had a straight back.

"Selena," Elizabeth said seriously, "I met a mysticism expert when I went to the underground market to purchase the amulet. He said that we shouldn't pray to any entity other than the seven orthodox divinities. Otherwise, we would be sure to invite disaster. Promise me, don't try this anymore. I didn't even know if what I did could save you just now!"

Selena was scared senseless. She nodded in a daze.

"No more, I'll never try this again!"

"And, just what did the incantations of your mysticism mean? If I have the chance to meet the mysticism expert again, I will ask him for you," Elizabeth asked, feigning nonchalance.

Selena rubbed her temple and said, "Spirit that revolves this world, the grace of the True Creator, the eyes that look at fate."

…

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Klein smoothed the creases and patted the dust off his clothes as he walked down the stairs.

After that, he took off his hat and returned slowly to the long dining table.

"Where did you go? It has been nearly 10 minutes," Selena's brother, Chris, asked as he folded his hand.

Klein smiled and replied, "To the bathroom, then upstairs to acquaint myself with the ladies."

"I appreciate your honesty," Chris praised in laughter.

He had the red hair and short build that ran in their family. He wore gold-framed glasses and had quite the personality; he was an exceptional lawyer.

You wouldn't say that if you knew that I had knocked your sister unconscious upstairs… Klein replied humbly, "We were merely engaging in academic discussion."

In the area of mysticism…

He put down his hat and returned to his seat. He received his two cards as the new round started.

Flipping up the corner of his cards, he saw the King of Spades and the Ace of Diamonds.

Looks like I became luckier… Is this payback for doing a good deed? Klein took out a coin in preparation to place his bet.

Since Hanass didn't intentionally reveal the incantation to Selena, there's no need for me to urgently report this to Captain…

He continued his cautious playstyle in the following rounds, only betting when he had a good hand. He didn't take any chances to bluff and didn't win much. When the game ended at half past ten, he had won six pence.

"I won two soli and eight pence." Benson fiddled with the notes and coins in his hand.

"I didn't expect you to be an expert at poker," Klein praised, laughing.

"No, I don't play often, but I know that this is the same as negotiation. You have to hide your cards and figure out the hidden cards that people have before using various means to scare or entice them…" Benson hadn't finished his sentence when he saw Melissa and the rest coming down from the second floor.

"It's time to go home," said Klein as he glanced at his sister and her friends while rubbing his temples.

The throbbing pain in his head remained.

After that, Klein went to the bathroom once more and took the opportunity to walk past Elizabeth and obtained the complete incantation.

Returning to his siblings, he smiled and said, "Oh right, I suddenly remembered something. I need to head back to the company for a while. Shall we go to Zouteland Street first? It'll be quick."