The Original Creator? Klein was taken aback for a moment, then immediately recalled the intelligence Old Kohler had given him recently:
Recently, someone had been spreading the faith of the Original Creator in the East Borough, the Dock District, and the Factory District, claiming that He had not truly perished but existed within every person and everything. As long as one served and praised Him wholeheartedly, not only would one receive salvation after death and enter His kingdom, but one's current life would also greatly improve—for instance, having sizzling, oil-dripping meat to eat every day.
This was extremely close to the Aurora Order's variant theory of the Creator, so Klein had immediately judged it to be the work of that secret organization. It seemed that after the Lainus incident, they had begun paying attention to the masses of the poor.
They'd already grown this brazen, recruiting people on the street? Klein considered his response:
"I've heard of it."
The middle-aged man in worn clothes immediately broke into a smile:
"Then do you know that the apocalypse is approaching? That the Original Creator will establish a terrestrial sanctuary to protect His followers?"
For a brief moment, Klein considered allowing himself to be proselytized, slowly infiltrating the Aurora Order's outer organization, gathering evidence and leads to retaliate against their search for "The Fool's" followers. But after careful consideration, he decided it was too dangerous—doing it alone would be exhausting, troublesome, and not necessarily effective.
In the end, he resolved to report this phenomenon to the "Mechanical Heart" and let the official organization handle it!
Having made up his mind, Klein's expression instantly turned cold:
"Don't know, and don't want to know!"
He strode forward, breaking away from the man and ignoring his shouts.
On his way out of the East Borough, he observed carefully and noticed that many workers who had lost their jobs due to improvements in textile machinery and the off-season at the docks were gathering in groups of three to five, listening to unidentified individuals offer comfort and teaching.
The investigation of the East Borough, Dock District, and Factory District had been completed two months ago—why hadn't the three major Churches and the Council taken concrete measures yet? Their attention to the area must have increased; they couldn't possibly have failed to notice the current situation... Were they trying to cast a long line to catch a big fish? That—that could easily backfire! Klein grumbled inwardly as he adjusted the flat cap on his head, leaving the East Borough and heading straight for the Backlund Bridge area.
The "Brave" bar had just opened at noon, with almost no drunkards inside—only nearby workers stopping in for a simple lunch.
Klein mingled among them, spending ten pence on an oat bread roll with pork sausage and a glass of South Wales ale, making him appear quite wealthy.
After leisurely filling his stomach and finishing his ale, he turned to the bartender:
"Is Caspas Kaynining here?"
He figured he might as well stock up on some ordinary ammunition.
The bartender glanced at him:
"You haven't been here in quite a while, have you?
"Caspas is dead. Apparently he was restless in his sleep and wrapped himself up too tight—suffocated himself. Heh, I don't really buy that sort of thing. I've only heard similar stories in ghost tales, but that's what the black-and-whites said."
The black-and-whites referred to the police in their black-and-white checkered uniforms.
Suffocated by his own blanket? That sounded rather occult... Was it that high-Sequence powerhouse from the Rose School who, unable to find Miss Sharon and Maric, had resorted to killing out of frustration? But what about the dignity of a high-Sequence powerhouse? If that was the case, then Caspas could no longer reach Sharon and the others either... Perhaps they had already left Backlund...
Caspas had been far too insufficiently prepared for the dangers of the supernatural world. In Klein's place, he never would have returned to the "Brave" bar—he would have taken his accumulated savings long ago and moved to another city for a fresh start... But then again, under normal circumstances, a high-Sequence powerhouse wouldn't specifically target ordinary people like that. At most, they simply wouldn't consider whether there were aftereffects when forcibly conducting a séance... As expected of the indulgent Rose School—for a high-Sequence powerhouse to actually do something like this...
Klein felt both surprised and sympathetic toward the black-market arms dealer.
The bartender wiped a glass and continued:
"If you're looking to buy some goods, there's a new dealer now."
"Who?" Klein asked casually.
"'Old Man.' He's in pool room number three," the bartender replied without looking up.
Klein immediately stood and leisurely strolled to that familiar place, knocking on the half-open door.
"Come in," a voice called from within.
That voice sounds a bit familiar... Klein pushed open the wooden door and looked inside.
Standing beside the pool table was a boy who didn't look too old. He wore an old coat and a brown bowler hat, and had a pair of vivid red eyes—he was none other than Ian, whom Klein had first met when he arrived in Backlund. Through him, Klein had taken on the case of the missing Detective Zeriel and been drawn into the competition for the third-generation difference engine manuscript, forcing him to spend a large sum to hire Mr. A of the Aurora Order to kill the Intis ambassador to the Loen Kingdom, Becron Jean Martin.
"It's you, Detective Moriarty?" Ian was startled.
He had deliberately affixed two mustaches to his face to look older.
Klein smiled as he entered the pool room, casually closing the door behind him:
"It's been a long time."
He had been quite surprised at first to see Ian here as a black-market arms dealer, but he quickly recalled certain details and felt it made perfect sense:
The reason Klein had been able to find the "Brave" bar and Caspas Kaynining was precisely because of Ian's introduction.
This big brother must have had certain connections in the neighborhood!
"Indeed." Ian composed himself from his shock and muttered, "I went to Priss for a couple of months. Found that bunch was both barbaric and vicious—not showing the slightest restraint or care toward kids. So I came back to Backlund and went back to doing what I was good at. Then when Caspas died, I decided to switch trades."
Before Klein could speak, he added:
"Detective, I've always kept it in mind—I still owe you two favors."
No need to explain so much—I don't really care what you did in the past. Although I've always found your escape from MI9 a bit suspicious, it never bothered me much... Klein picked up a cue, sized up his stance, and said: