Hearing Klein and Frye's guesses, Leonard tugged at his shirt collar, paced back and forth a few times, and said:
"Then we have to investigate everyone Souls came into contact with in the workhouse, and every person he met after he went bankrupt and was kicked out of his house. This is very troublesome... Let's hurry up, split up and do an investigation here first, then head straight to the third death in the West District, leaving the rest to the police."
"Alright." Klein replied without hesitation.
Frye had no objections either, turning around and walking towards the paupers who had slept near Souls last night.
Klein was about to find another target when he suddenly saw Leonard wink at him, jerking his chin towards the side hall of the workhouse.
What does that mean? Baffled, Klein pretended nothing was happening, walked halfway around the Misa Hall, and then, when Frye wasn't looking, followed Leonard into the side hall, passed through a partition, and arrived at a quiet, secluded corner.
"I have a guess." Leonard stopped in front of the window with the shattered glass, speaking abruptly and directly.
Klein looked around in confusion. "What guess?"
Leonard's green eyes were deep as he questioned back: "If there were no supernatural factors involved, what do you think Mrs. Lovis's outcome would have been?"
Klein thought for a moment, then said somewhat heavily, "The same outcome, just delayed by a week, two weeks, or a month. For a family like theirs, they wouldn't see a doctor until they absolutely couldn't bear it anymore. And once heart disease becomes severe, death can come at any time, leaving no room for salvation."
"And what about Souls? If no one had instigated him, what outcome would he have had?" Leonard asked again.
Klein carefully considered his words: "From the information provided, Souls has been full of resentment over his bankruptcy for a long time, and was exceptionally angry about not being saved. I think he would have eventually sought revenge, but his target wouldn't be the relief recipients, but rather the company boss who caused his bankruptcy and the bank clerk who took away his house."
"And what would have happened to him after his revenge?" Leonard pressed.
"Undoubtedly, he had already decided to end his life. Whether his revenge succeeded or not, he would have died." Klein answered with certainty.
Leonard nodded slightly, revealing his trademark frivolous smile: "Then can I say that Mrs. Lovis and Souls were people destined to die in the near future?"
Klein was a "well-informed" keyboard warrior. Hearing this, he immediately had a guess: "You mean, their deaths were artificially brought forward by supernatural factors? And why is that?"
"To be more precise, the 'life' they should have had was artificially shortened, stolen. And 'life' has always been the best material for summoning evil gods, demons, and performing terrible curses." Leonard smirked slightly as he corrected Klein's guess.
"Summoning evil gods, demons, performing terrible curses..." Klein stared into his emerald green eyes, questioning and speculating. "You seem very certain? But our sample for the investigation is still only two..."
Leonard gave a cynical smile. "Klein, there's no need to pretend between us. I witnessed you break free from the control of Sealed Artifact '2-049', I know your specialness. And you should vaguely feel that I am different from ordinary Beyonders."
He dropped his smile and met Klein's gaze. "I once told you that this world has many special people who can always do what others cannot. For example, you, and for example, me."
"This world has a long history, and there are all sorts of magical items. Someone will always find them, master them, and become the protagonists of different dramas. There won't be too many such people, but there definitely can't be just one or two."
"I don't think that a Beyonder with secrets is definitely a bad person, a villain. I don't think I have to understand what their specialness stems from or what it manifests as... As long as your actions don't harm me, the Nighthawks, or the entire city of Tingen, then you're still my teammate. Similarly, I hope you can look at me with a similar attitude. Of course, it's best not to tell the higher-ups about this kind of thing. Those guys are all rigid and conservative. They always think that special people like us will inevitably lose control, and will inevitably be seduced by evil gods and demons to fall."
*But my secret is probably much bigger than you imagine...* Klein silently murmured to himself, and then said frankly: "I really do feel this way. I only look at your actions and goals. I don't care about your specialness. I don't try to pry into your secrets."
After saying this, he silently added in his mind: *No, actually I do care a bit, I'm quite curious, but I have to forcibly restrain myself. Hmm, Leonard sees himself as the protagonist of a drama? What kind of encounter did he have, what kind of magical item does he possess?*
Leonard unbuttoned his shirt collar, gave a light laugh, and nodded. "I'm glad we reached a consensus."
"In those adventure novels, this is called the meeting of two protagonists. The wheel of history begins to roll forward."
*Shameless!* Klein forced a smile.
He knew full well that "the wheel of history begins to roll forward" came from Emperor Roselle...
At that moment, Leonard briskly paced two rounds, his green eyes bright, a grin on his lips. "Alright, I'll be frank. I'm fairly confident that the protagonists of these deaths were all supposed to die within three months, but were brought forward to the last two weeks by various methods. Their goal is to summon an evil god, a demon, or to carry out a terrifying, widespread curse."
"Making people who are showing signs of death die prematurely can easily be covered up, won't quickly attract the attention of the police department, and won't be destroyed by the Nighthawks, Punishers, and Machinery Heralds during the preparation phase..." Klein muttered to himself, analyzing the thoughts of the one behind the scenes.