**The True Spirit Medium...** Klein silently repeated the description, refraining from further questions as he followed Dunn Smith out of the carriage.
Welch's residence in Tingen was a standalone house with a garden, surrounded by an iron gate. The main road beyond could accommodate four carriages side by side, with gas lamps set at fifty-meter intervals along the way. Unlike any streetlights Klein had seen in his past life, these lamps had metal frames closely fitted around glass, creating a latticework effect that cast warm and cold shadows, a dance of light and darkness.
With Dunn leading the way, Klein stepped through the half-open gate and into the garden. The entrance path, wide enough for two carriages, was paved with cement and led directly to the two-story house. To the left lay a garden, and on the right, a grassy lawn, with the faint scents of flowers and fresh greenery mingling in the air, offering an oddly refreshing contrast to Klein's unease.
Suddenly, Klein's hairs stood on end, his eyes darting around the garden. He sensed an array of invisible presences watching him from the shadows—from the garden, the lawn, the upper stories of the house, even from behind the swing. The sensation was unnerving, like being scrutinized by a silent, unseen crowd in an otherwise empty place.
"Something's off!" Klein blurted, warning Dunn.
Dunn, walking calmly by his side, replied indifferently, "Ignore it."
Reassured by Dunn's words, Klein forced himself to press on, each step accompanied by the disturbing sensation of being watched. By the time they reached the front door, he was on edge.
**If I stay here long enough, I'll go insane...** he thought. When Dunn raised his hand to knock, Klein instinctively glanced back over his shoulder, only to find the garden empty, the flowers swaying gently in the breeze.
"Come in, gentlemen." A soft, ethereal voice floated from inside the house.
Dunn turned the handle and pushed the door open, addressing the woman seated on the sofa. "Daly, have you found anything?"
The dimly lit living room was arranged around a stone coffee table, with one large and two smaller leather sofas. A single candle, its flame an unnatural shade of blue, flickered atop the table, casting eerie shadows that enveloped the open layout of the living room, dining area, and kitchen in an unsettling hue.
Seated on the main sofa was a woman dressed in a hooded black robe, her eyes rimmed with blue eyeshadow and her cheeks brushed with the same color. A silver chain with a white crystal pendant wrapped around her wrist.
Klein's immediate impression of her was one of calculated mystery: **She looks exactly like a real spirit medium… Is she playing a part?**
The mysterious, otherworldly beauty of the "Spirit Medium," Daly, drew his attention as her jade-green eyes scanned Klein briefly before turning back to Dunn.
"The original spirits are gone, including Welch and Naya. The small ones here now don't know anything," she stated.
**Spirits? A spirit medium… Those hidden gazes earlier, were they spirits? So many of them?** Klein removed his hat, held it to his chest, and bowed slightly.
"Good evening, madam," he greeted her politely.
Dunn sighed and said, "This is a real mess…"
"Daly, this is Klein Moretti. See if you can find anything from him."
Daly's gaze shifted toward Klein. She gestured to a single sofa to her side. "Please, take a seat."
"Thank you." Klein nodded, taking the seat as his heart began to race.
This was it—this would decide his fate. Would he pass through this ordeal, or would his secret be uncovered? Without any resources to fall back on, he could only rely on whatever natural advantage he might possess… a realization that filled him with a sense of helplessness.
After Dunn took a seat opposite him on a two-seater sofa, Daly retrieved two small glass bottles from a dark pouch at her waist.
Her emerald eyes held a playful glint as she looked at Klein. "I need a little assistance," she said. "Since you're not an enemy, I can't be as direct and rough—that would make you uncomfortable, perhaps even painful, and it could leave lasting aftereffects. I'll give you a scent to soothe you, soften you, and ease you gently into the experience."
Something about her words sounded… off to Klein, leaving him slightly taken aback, his gaze tinged with surprise.
Across from him, Dunn chuckled, "Don't be surprised. Unlike the Storm Church folk, here, women can verbally tease men as well. You should understand this, having attended the Church of the Goddess's Sunday School with your brother and knowing that your mother was a devout follower."
"I get it, I just didn't expect it to be so… so…" Klein gestured, struggling to find a fitting description, nearly blurting out the term for "veteran flirt."
Dunn's lips quirked up. "Relax, Daly doesn't usually do this. She's just trying to help you unwind. She prefers the company of corpses to that of men."
"You're making me sound like a deviant," the "Spirit Medium" Daly interjected with a smile.
She opened one of the small bottles and dripped a few drops onto the vibrant blue candle flame. "Night incense, deep-sleep flower, chamomile, distilled and extracted—I call it 'Amantha,' meaning 'tranquility' in Hermesian. It has a pleasant scent."
The candle flickered as the essence evaporated, filling the room with a gentle, entrancing aroma. The fragrance slipped into Klein's senses, calming his mind and emotions, wrapping him in a feeling of serene stillness, as if gazing into the darkened quiet of midnight.
"This one is called 'The Spirit's Eye,' made from dragonwood bark and aspen leaves, sun-dried for seven days, boiled thrice, and steeped in Ronqueur wine—with a few incantations thrown in…" As Daly described it, she let a few amber drops fall onto the blue flame.
Klein caught the ethereal, floating scent of the wine, watching as the flame wavered, reflecting strange glimmers in Daly's blue eyeshadow and blush, almost doubling her image.
"It's a great help in communicating with spirits… and has the allure of a floral elixir…"
As Daly's voice wove through the room, Klein felt it coming from all directions. He glanced around in dazed confusion, seeing everything around him waver and blur as though wrapped in layers upon layers of mist. Even his own body seemed to lose form, feeling weightless and floating.
Red became redder, blue more vivid, black deepened—all colors blending together, like a dreamscape of impressionist brushstrokes. Faint whispers overlapped in the background, as if countless invisible voices murmured in conversation.
"This feels like the 'Luck Ritual' experience," Klein mused inwardly, puzzled. "But without that maddening urge to explode…"
Just then, a pair of crystalline green eyes captured his focus. There was Daly, seated on the hazy "sofa," her gaze eerily fixed on the top of his head, her voice a soft smile as she said, "A formal introduction—I'm 'Spirit Medium' Daly."
So… I can still think calmly and clearly, just like during the "Luck Ritual" and the "Gathering"… Klein thought, allowing himself to appear somewhat dazed. "Hello…"
"The human mind is vast, hiding many secrets. See, it's like an ocean. What we understand is only the island above the water, but beneath, the island stretches far wider, connected to the vast sea… and then there's the infinite sky of the spirit world above," Daly continued, gently coaxing him. "You are the spirit of this body. You know not only the island's surface but the depths beneath and the vast sea…"
"All existence leaves a trace. While memories on the surface may be wiped away, those in the depths and across the vast sea always leave echoes…"
Daly's voice urged him on, the surrounding shadows and winds shifting to mirror the shape of an endless sea, as if Klein's mind had been laid bare, inviting him to search and discover.
Klein watched serenely, occasionally "stirring" the sea. Finally, with a voice soft and distant, he answered, "Nothing… I can't remember… I've forgotten…"
He displayed just the right amount of anguish.
Daly tried prompting him once more, but the lucid Klein resisted.
"All right, let's end it here. Go back."
"Go back."
"Go back…"
Her ethereal voice lingered as Daly disappeared. The wind and shadows settled, and the soothing fragrance of the herbs and faint scent of alcohol became distinct once more.
All colors returned to normal; the foggy, chaotic sensations faded. Klein's body trembled slightly as he regained his sense of weight.
He opened his eyes, which he hadn't realized he'd closed, to see the same blue-flamed candle before him, Dunham Smith comfortably seated, and the hooded "Medium" Daly still standing there.
"Why did you use the theories of those alchemists from the School of Psychological Alchemy?" Dunham asked, frowning as he looked at Daly.
Daly, packing away her small bottles, answered calmly, "I find them fairly accurate. At least, they align with some things I've seen and encountered…"
Before Dunham could respond, she spread her hands and said, "A tricky one, left no trace whatsoever."
Hearing this, Klein breathed a long sigh of relief and, feigning ignorance, asked, "Is it over? What just happened? It felt like I took a nap…"
Did I pass?
Thank goodness for the "luck ritual" practice!
"Consider it over," Dunham cut him off, then turned to Daly. "Did you examine Welch and Naya's bodies?"
"A body can reveal more than you'd think, but Welch and Naya truly did take their own lives. The force affecting them was terrifying, leaving no visible trace at all." Daly rose, reached toward the candle, and said, "I need some rest now."
The blue flame went out, and the room was immediately washed in the dim red of the night.
…
"Congratulations, you can go home now," Dunham said as he escorted Klein to the door. "But remember, you must not share this matter with family or friends. That's a firm requirement."
Surprised, Klein asked, "No curse or malevolent spirit check needed?"
"If Daly didn't mention it, it's unnecessary," Dunham replied briefly.
Relieved, Klein then asked, still mindful of his previous worries, "How can I be sure nothing will come up later?"
"No need to worry too much." Dunham's lips twitched as if in a slight smile. "Statistically, about eighty percent of cases like this, where the survivor remains alive, don't face any terrifying aftermath. Rough estimate—give or take."
"Which leaves a twenty percent chance of being unlucky…" Klein thought, not willing to leave things to chance.
"In that case, consider joining us as a civilian worker. That way, if there are any early signs, we can detect them." Dunham continued as he neared the carriage, "Or become an extraordinary yourself, though we're not your babysitters, so don't expect us to watch over you every single night—even if you're, well, occupied with someone."
"Could I?" Klein followed up on the comment, almost on impulse.
Of course, he wasn't expecting much. After all, how could joining the Night Watchers and gaining extraordinary abilities be that simple?
Extraordinary abilities!
Dunn stopped in his tracks, glancing sideways at Klein.
"…It's not impossible, depending on the circumstances…"
What? This unexpected turn stunned Klein, and he froze next to the carriage before finally managing to say, "Really?"
Is he serious? Is it really that easy to become an extraordinary?
Dunn chuckled softly, his gray eyes partially concealed in the shadow cast by the carriage.
"Don't believe it? Actually, becoming a Night Watcher comes with many sacrifices, like losing your freedom."
"Even putting that aside, there are other issues. First, you're not a meritorious clergyman or a devout believer, so you won't get to pick and choose a safe path."
"Second…" Dunn gripped the handrail and stepped onto the carriage. "Of all the cases we—the Adjudicators, the Heart of Mechanics, and other similar enforcement agencies—handle each year, a quarter involve extraordinaries losing control."
A quarter… of all cases… involve extraordinaries losing control… Klein was momentarily stunned.
At that moment, Dunn half-turned, his gray eyes deep and serious, and his mouth moved without the hint of a smile.
"And of that quarter, a large portion are our own teammates."