Upon hearing Klein's question, the elegantly coiled chestnut-haired lady displayed no signs of impatience. She maintained her polite smile and replied:
"Our members are free to offer divination services within the club and set their own prices. We only take a small commission. If you're interested in divination, you can take a look at this brochure. It contains profiles and rates of members willing to perform divinations for others."
"However, today being Monday afternoon, most of our members are at work, and there are less than five of them here..."
As she spoke, she invited Klein to sit on the sofa by the window in the reception hall. Then, she opened the brochure and pointed out the current club members:
"Hannes Vincent, a renowned diviner in Tingen, and a resident tutor at the club, proficient in various divination methods, charges 4 sules per session."
"So expensive... this could buy me, Benson, and Melissa two hearty dinners..." Klein marveled inwardly but did not voice his thoughts.
Observing Klein's reaction, the lady with the coiled chestnut hair continued flipping through the pages and introduced each member one by one:
"...and the last one, Gracis, who just joined the club this year, specializes in Tarot divination, charging 2 pence per session."
"Sir, which one would you like to choose?"
Klein replied without hesitation:
"Mr. Gracis."
The receptionist fell silent for two seconds before she said, devoid of emotion:
"Sir, I must warn you in advance, Mr. Gracis is only a beginner."
"Understood. I'll take responsibility for my decision," Klein replied with a smile and a nod.
"...then please follow me," the receptionist stood up and led Klein through the door next to the reception hall.
There was a corridor leading to the conference room at the end, filled with sunlight and furnished with tables, chairs, newspapers, magazines, and cards. A faint scent of coffee wafted through the air.
As they approached the conference room, the receptionist signaled for Klein to stop and hurried ahead. In a soft voice, she called out:
"Mr. Gracis, someone is here for a divination."
"Me?" A voice filled with surprise and doubt rang out, accompanied by the sound of a chair shifting.
"Yes, which divination room would you like to use?" the receptionist replied emotionlessly.
"The Amber Room, I prefer amber," Gracis appeared at the door of the conference room, curiously eyeing Klein waiting not far away.
He was a man in his thirties, with a slightly darker complexion, deep green irises, soft light blonde hair, dressed in a white shirt and a black waistcoat, with a monocle hanging from his chest. His demeanor was quite respectable.
The receptionist said nothing more and opened the door to the "Amber" room, which adjoined the conference room.
Inside, the curtains were tightly drawn, and the room was dimly lit. It seemed that only in this way could one receive revelations from the divine and achieve accurate divination results.
"Hello, I'm Gracis. I never expected you to choose me for your divination," Gracis greeted Klein with a gentlemanly nod as he quickly entered the room and sat down behind the long table. "To be frank, I'm just trying my hand at divination for others and lack extensive experience. For now, I'm not a good diviner. You still have a chance to change your mind."
After reciprocating the greeting, Klein followed suit and closed the door behind him.
Taking advantage of the light filtering through the curtains, he smiled and said:
"You're quite honest, sir. But I'm someone who stands by my choices."
"Please, have a seat," Gracis gestured to the opposite side, pondered for a few seconds, and continued, "Divination is just a hobby for me. People often receive guidance from the divine throughout their lives, but ordinary individuals can't accurately interpret the Lord's will. That's where divination comes in. It's also why I joined this club. In this regard, I don't have enough confidence in myself yet. Let's consider the upcoming divination session as a conversation, a free one. How does that sound? As for the fees payable to the club, I'll cover them myself, just a quarter of a penny."
Klein neither agreed nor disagreed. Instead, he smiled and remarked:
"It's clear to me that you have a decent, respectable job."
As he spoke, he leaned slightly forward, his right hand clenched into a fist against his forehead, tapping lightly twice.
"But this won't improve the accuracy of my divination," Gracis humorously replied, pondering as he asked, "Do you have a headache? Are you looking to divine health-related issues?"
"A little. I hope to divine the whereabouts of an item," Klein had already prepared his response and leaned back slowly.
In his eyes, Gracis's aura was clearly defined, with the orange-red color in his lungs dim and sparse, affecting the rest of the brightness.
This doesn't indicate exhaustion... Klein nodded imperceptibly.
"Searching for a lost item?" Gracis pondered for a few seconds. "Then let's start with a simple judgment."
He pushed the neatly stacked Tarot cards on the black tabletop toward Klein:
"Calm yourself, recall the item in your mind, silently ask 'Can it still be found,' and at the same time, shuffle and cut the cards."
"Alright," Klein actually couldn't remember the appearance of the ancient notebook, so he improvised the question he needed to silently contemplate: Can the notebook of the Antigonus family still be found?
Amid repetition, he skillfully completed the shuffling and cutting of the cards.
Gracis picked up a card from the top and pushed it horizontally towards Klein:
"Turn it clockwise to vertical, then flip it over. If it's reversed, meaning the pattern on the card faces you upside down, it indicates that the item cannot be recovered. If it's upright, then we'll continue with the divination to find its specific location."
Following the instructions, Klein turned the horizontally placed card into a vertical position clockwise.
He pinched the edge of the Tarot card and flipped it over.
It was a reversed card, with the pattern upside down.
"Unfortunately," Gracis sighed.
Klein made no response because his attention was focused on the Tarot card in front of him.
The pattern on this reversed card was of a "Fool" wearing luxurious clothing and extravagant headgear!
Another "Fool"? It can't be just a coincidence... According to the "Hanged Man" and Old Neil's explanation, divination is the result of communication with the spirit and the spiritual realm, interpreting "symbolic revelations" facilitated by the Tarot cards. Theoretically, the divination object doesn't matter, and it doesn't affect the outcome... Klein frowned slightly and pondered for a while before saying:
"Can I divine whether the item has been acquired by someone else?"
"Absolutely, using the same method as before, let's try again," Gracis nodded eagerly.
Klein reshuffled and recut the cards, silently contemplating the question.
Drawing a card, laying it horizontally, turning it clockwise into a vertical position, he prepared with a serious expression.
Taking a deep breath, Klein reached out and flipped over the Tarot card.
Please, not the 'Fool' again... In a mood of prayer, he suddenly relaxed, because the card showed the 'Star,' reversed!
"It seems the item hasn't been picked up by someone else yet," Gracis interpreted with a smile.
Klein nodded, raised his right hand, tapped his forehead twice thoughtfully, then took out two pennies with a dark yellow brass sheen from his pocket and pushed them toward Gracis.
"I thought you said it would be free?" Gracis frowned.
Klein smiled as he stood up:
"This is respect for the divination."
"Very well, I appreciate your generosity," Gracis stood up and extended his hand.
After shaking hands, Klein took two steps back, turned his body, and walked towards the door, twisting the handle.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned back and uttered, "Hmm," saying:
"Mr. Gracis, I suggest you see a doctor as soon as possible, primarily for lung issues."
"Why?" Gracis asked in astonishment.
Is this dissatisfaction with the divination's outcome, cursing me? Klein thought for a moment and said:
"It's a symptom I noticed from your complexion. Um, your brow is darkening."
"Brow darkening..." Gracis heard such a description for the first time.
Klein didn't elaborate further, just smiled and walked out of the room, casually closing the wooden door behind him.
"Is he an unlicensed doctor or a rural apothecary?" Gracis chuckled and shook his head, picking up the silver mirror used for divination.
Upon careful examination, he indeed found his brow darkening.
But it was due to the environment; under the dim light penetrating the curtains, not only his brow but his entire face was darkening!
"A rather unlikable joke," Gracis muttered.
He uneasily divined his health, confirming there were no issues.
...
Leaving the divination club, Klein had another plan for the future.
That is, to save money quickly, pay the annual fee, and become a member of the club, thus beginning to play the role of a so-called "diviner."
Why not go solo? It's because there are no resources for the time being, no channels, and it's not feasible to go street vending. After all, he's somewhat respectable and has some dignity.
After a few minutes, he waited for the public carriage, spending two pennies to arrive at the not-too-distant Zottlan Street.
Pushing open the door of "Blackthorn Security Company," he didn't see the familiar brown-haired girl, only finding Leonard Mitchell, with a poet's temperament and black hair with green eyes, sitting behind the reception desk.
"Good afternoon, where's Roselle?" Klein asked after tipping his hat.
Leonard smiled and gestured towards the partition door:
"She's on duty at the armory tonight."
Before Klein could ask again, Leonard seemed to be considering something and said:
"Klein, there's something I've been curious about."
"What's that?" Klein looked puzzled.
Leonard stood up, smiled in a relaxed tone, and said:
"Why did Welch and Naya commit suicide on the spot, but you returned home?"
"It should be because the unknown entity wanted me to take away the Antigonus family's notebook and hide it," Klein said, stating the commonly accepted speculation.
Leonard paced for a moment, then suddenly turned to look Klein in the eyes:
"If making you commit suicide was to silence you and erase clues, why not just let you destroy the notebook on the spot?"