This was not the first time that Klein saw someone familiar die in front of him, but it was the most sudden and unexpected time. He seemed to still remember the expression on Talim Dumont's face when he asked what it felt like to truly like someone. It was an expression that concealed excitement and boasting, but due to certain factors, it could not be shared directly and had to be expressed with caution.

Too fast... A normal disease wouldn't lead to death so quickly! Klein tapped his teeth with a solemn expression and activated his spiritual vision.

He knelt on one knee and squatted down, and saw that Talim Dumont's aura and emotional color were disappearing quickly.

At the position of the heart that was tightly covered, wisps of black air were entwined like snakes and gradually dimmed.

An extraordinary method similar to a curse? Klein made a preliminary judgment in an instant.

At this time, the waiter in the red vest and the maid in the black and white skirt nearby came running over, looking at the dead person on the ground with eyes wide open and white foam at the corners of his mouth in horror.

Klein closed his eyes and ordered in a deep voice:

"Go to the nearest police station and tell them someone has died here."

"Yes, Mr. Moriarty." The waiter in the red vest immediately turned around and ran out the door, so flustered that he even forgot to put on his coat.

Under the gazes of everyone, Klein did not check Talim's belongings, nor did he try to pull out a few hairs to try divination when no one was around.

His identity is already semi-official and semi-underground, so he can fully rely on the power of the "Mechanical Heart" to conduct follow-up investigations. There is no need for him to be a lone hero.

Thinking of the many times he played cards with Talim Dumont, the clients and investors he introduced, and the romantic story that had been on his mind for a long time before it finally had an answer, Klein couldn't help but let out a long, slow sigh.

“Who is Talim’s murderer?

"Which Beyonder who is good at cursing did Talim offend?

"Judging from his performance today, he should be in a very happy and peaceful state, with no awareness of provoking a scary person..."

Questions flashed through Klein's mind, but because he didn't know Talim Dumont well enough, he lacked the soil for inspiration.

When the police arrived, he was questioned as a witness, which delayed the case for quite a while.

Only after all this was completed did Klein have the opportunity to leave the Hillston District and go to the "Lucky Man" bar in the Backlund Bridge area again.

Carlson was still drinking there, but he replaced the strong distilled liquor brewed from pure malt with golden, foamy beer.

Klein raised his right hand, half covered and half pinched his mouth, leaned over, tapped the table and said:

"Is your job to drink here every day?"

Carlson was startled, but when he turned his head and saw that it was Sherlock Moriarty, he relaxed:

"What's the matter with you?"

This reaction is very familiar... Klein sighed silently and said solemnly:

"There's a case involving a Beyonder."

Carlson immediately looked around and found that there were already quite a few customers in the "Lucky Man" bar. Some of them were holding glasses and shouting loudly, while others were eager to go to the boxing ring for a fight.

"Let's go play a game of billiard." Carlson pushed his thick glasses and walked towards an empty billiard room with a beer.

Klein followed closely behind and closed the door skillfully.

"You seem to be able to drink quite well." He said casually.

"No, I just drink slowly." Carlson put down his glass and picked up the club.

Then, he added inexplicably:

"And I want to be alone lately."

I don’t care about this issue… Klein pursed his lips and said:

"I encountered a death at the Cragg Club in Hillston. The person was my friend, a descendant of an aristocracy and an equestrian instructor. He was usually in good health and had a very good mental state recently. But he suddenly died in front of me just now. It looked like a sudden heart attack, but my spiritual vision told me that he might have been cursed."

"Are you good at clairvoyance?" Carlson asked subconsciously.

What specific details did Mr. Stanton fabricate for me? After becoming an informant for the Mechanical Heart, they never asked me which path or sequence of Beyonder I was from, nor did they inquire about my origins and parentage... Of course, letting informants keep certain secrets of their own is also a strategy often adopted by official organizations... Klein responded calmly:

"Yes, there was some illusory black air on the chest of the deceased that was fading rapidly."

"It may indeed involve a curse and a Beyonder." Carlson did not ask any more questions and nodded slowly, "Hillston District... This is under the jurisdiction of our 'Mechanical Heart'."

In the northwest area of ​​Backlund, which is the core area of ​​this metropolis, the Queens District and Cherwood District belong to the "Manufactured Punishers", the West District and North District belong to the "Nightwatchers", and the Hillston District and Backlund Bridge area are managed by the "Machine Heart".

Having said this, Carlson looked at Klein and asked for confirmation:

"Which god does your friend believe in?"

After thinking carefully for a few seconds, Klein answered hesitantly:

"Storm Lord."

"Among the followers of the 'Lord of Storms'...he is the only one who died?" Carlson asked with a frown.

“Yes.” Klein answered affirmatively.

Carlson stroked the top of the club and exhaled:

"We have no right to take over, this is the domain of the 'Manufactured Punisher'.

"But I will pass on the information you submitted to them."

In the Kingdom of Loen, the principle of jurisdiction over supernatural events is to first divide them according to faith. If it involves believers of multiple churches and multiple gods, it will be determined based on the scope of jurisdiction.

Klein was familiar with this, and had no intention of embarrassing Carlson, so he said sincerely:

"Thank you, I hope they can find the real murderer as soon as possible."

Carlson picked up the wine glass beside him and took a sip.

"That's a descendant of a noble family. The Mandated Punisher will definitely take that seriously."

After a pause of one second, he looked at Klein and said in a low voice:

“It’s hard for me to believe that you’ve only been in Backlund for over three months.

"You seem to have established extensive connections here and possess numerous resources."

“Some people are naturally good at this.” Klein shook his head and laughed at himself before saying goodbye and leaving.

When he returned to Minsk Street, it was completely dark and the gas street lamps were lit one after another by the staff.

Although his friendship with Talim Dumont was not very deep, he was an acquaintance that Klein met almost every week. They were friends who would get together to play cards every now and then. Moreover, Talim was quite enthusiastic and kept praising the great Detective Moriarty and personally introduced commissions and investments.

His passing also made Klein feel sad and helpless about his fate.

In addition, he also had a lot of anger, anger towards those who cursed and killed people.

“I hope we can figure out what’s going on. I hope the Mandated Punisher isn’t short on manpower due to the assassination of Duke Negan…” Klein sighed, got off the carriage, and walked towards his own front door.

During this process, he discovered that there was no light in Summer's house next door.

“It looks like they’re on their way to Disi Bay… Is this Backlund’s New Year atmosphere? And I don’t feel it at all…” Klein sighed for a moment.

With such emotion, he fell asleep early and woke up at the stroke of seven.

To change his mood, Klein decided to try making a homemade cake today.

"Let's go buy the ingredients after breakfast." He whispered, drank his milk and flipped through the newspaper.

Soon, he saw an obituary in the Tussock Gazette:

"My beloved son Talim Dumont died of a sudden heart attack on February 8. His funeral will be held at Crown Cemetery at 9:00 a.m. on February 2. Please be informed."

——In the Northern Continent, due to reasons such as corpse transformation, an ancient tradition has been formed, which is to bury the dead as soon as possible after death. Of course, the premise is that there is no shortage of money for this.

Sudden heart attack? Is this the final result of the investigation? Or did the "Substituted Punisher" deliberately paralyze the real murderer? Klein frowned, unable to judge.

Maybe I could go above the gray fog and divine whether it was a trap set by the Mandated Punisher, but there was a high probability that I would fail. After all, I had no personal belongings with me, and it was not targeting me... He took a breath, calmed down, and filled his stomach in an orderly manner.

The subsequent attempt was not beyond Klein's expectations, so he had no choice but to leave Minsk Street and take a bus to Hillston District to visit Isengard Stanton.

The great detective walked in the warm room, pointed ahead and said:

"Sherlock, would you like some breakfast? My cooking skills are no worse than mine."

"No, I've already had breakfast." Klein shook his head and declined the offer.

Isengard stopped and asked casually:

"Where are you going to spend the New Year? I'm going back to, no, to Lenburg."

“It hasn’t been finalized yet. Maybe it’s the sea.” Klein said perfunctorily.

"The scenery there was originally very nice, but unfortunately the coal and iron resources are rich, and the shipping is also quite developed." Isengard adjusted his collar and touched the pipe in his pocket. "You seem a little anxious?"

"Mr. Stanton, I have something to ask you." Klein took the opportunity to describe in detail Talim Dumont's death, the results of his clairvoyance, the process of providing advice to the Mechanical Heart, and this morning's obituary.

Of course, he concealed the fact that he had become an informant for the "Mechanical Heart" and only said that he found the official Beyonder he met in the "**Apostle" case for the sake of a friend.

"Do you think this is a trap set by the Mandated Punisher?" he asked finally.

Isengard held his pipe and said thoughtfully:

"I have always tried to avoid the Mandated Punishers, and I don't know enough about the situation.

"I'll ask someone to find out, and if I have any news, I'll write to you."

“Okay, thank you.” Klein bowed sincerely.

In the evening, he received a letter from Isengard, which only contained one sentence:

"This case was not handled by the Mandated Punisher. The royal family took the case over on the grounds that Talim Dumont was a descendant of the nobility."

bq