Chapter 46: Catching the Cat Offline

In the evening, at Count Wolf’s banquet, the most brilliant gems of Backlund attended in their finest attire. Because the gathering was not strictly formal, Susie was permitted to accompany Audrey.

However, since this was, after all, a banquet hosted by a count, Susie was allowed to come along but not permitted to enter the main banquet hall, having to remain instead in Count Wolf’s back garden.

And so, carrying a dainty little messenger bag, Susie stayed behind in the garden, keeping company with the hounds of the Wolf household.

The banquet ended quickly. Upon returning home, Audrey retrieved a package from Susie’s bag and impatiently unwrapped it, taking out the items stored inside. At the very top was a letter, beneath which pressed a small 24-sided die, a tube of soft paste resembling toothpaste smaller than the palm of a hand, and a pure white tooth wrapped in red silk.

Audrey’s gaze swept across the tooth with slight perplexity before she unfolded the letter that was clearly addressed to her. On it were intricately looped, florid cursive letters. Audrey recognized this as the handwriting Mr. Albus excelled at.

"My beautiful Miss Justice, hello:

Although separated by the gray fog, I cannot truly see you, but I believe your appearance must be quite exceptional.

Inside this package is the mystical item I promised you, and that tooth among them is a complimentary gift from me. Its name is 'Pure Spirit,' and I have foreseen that it will be of assistance to you in the future, so I took the liberty of sending it to you as a gift.

I do not know whether you would be willing to touch a stranger's tooth, so I have wrapped a layer of transparent film over it. You do not need to carry it with you; when you truly need it, it will certainly appear by your hand."

The signature was a smiling face.

Audrey observed closely and discovered that there indeed was a layer of transparent film on the tooth. She found a hiding place for these three mystical items.

…………

One day later, at the entrance of the Divination Club, Celrius materialized out of thin air without anyone noticing.

He walked briskly into the Divination Club, where Ms. Angelica at the front desk greeted him with a smile:

"Sir, are you here for a divination or to join our club?"

"I am here for a divination," Celrius replied. "Someone recommended that I look for Mr. Klein Moretti."

Angelica glanced toward the stairway, then walked over to the sofa: "Mr. Klein Moretti is currently divining for another guest. Please wait a moment."

"Very well." Celrius smiled and nodded, sitting down on the sofa.

"Would you like something to drink? We have here—"

Celrius produced a bottle and shook it gently, indicating that he had brought his own beverage. Seeing this, Angelica retreated back behind the counter.

Before long, a thirty-year-old lady wearing a blue standing-collar long dress descended from the second floor accompanied by a young woman wearing a lotus-leaf hat. Angelica introduced them to Celrius: "Those two are Mr. Klein's current guests. Perhaps it will be your turn very soon."

The younger woman kept her head down, her gaze lowered. Meanwhile, the older one spoke a few words from time to time along the way, seeming to offer words of comfort. Once the two had left, Angelica led Celrius to the door of the Crystal-Yellow Room on the second floor.

"Mr. Klein is right inside this room," Angelica said with a practiced, artificial smile.

"Thank you." Celrius returned the smile, handed Angelica a sol as a tip, and then pushed the door open to step inside.

Inside the Crystal-Yellow Room, Klein was seated on the opposite side of the table.

"Hello there, Mr. Klein." Celrius pulled out a chair and sat down facing Klein.

"Hello, sir." Klein feigned unfamiliarity with Celrius.

Yet the very next second, Celrius's words directly shattered Klein's put-on facade.

"Mr. Klein, do you know the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings?"

Klein was so startled he nearly leaped out of his chair. Just as he wanted to say something, he was interrupted by Celrius. He raised a hand to stop whatever Klein was about to utter: "I do not know what this means, but since you know it, then I suppose I have not found the wrong person."

Celrius produced a portrait and compared it with Klein: "Mm, very much alike." With that, he flipped the portrait in his hand around to face Klein.

Klein took a glance. It was a black cat wearing a top hat: "This... how on earth did you figure out this is me?"

Celrius withdrew his hand and carefully compared them again: "It looks just like you."

"Is this portrait supposed to be me?"

"It is you."

"Really?" Klein remained skeptical.

"Indeed." Celrius sounded quite affirmative. "Back then, you were still very thin."

"That is definitely not me."

"I didn't expect you to match the lines. It seems you've also read Roselle's *Let the Bullets Fly*."

Klein instantly felt an urge to cover his face with his hand.

"Never mind, that's not important." Celrius put away the portrait and produced a sealed envelope: "Mr. Klein, I hope you can take a look at this letter."

Klein took it, and Celrius explained to him: "This is a letter left behind by one of our predecessors two hundred years ago. He said that two hundred years later, we should find the Diviner depicted in that picture who knows the 'Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings,' and hand the letter to him—which is you. Only the person foreseen by that founder can open this letter. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose anyway."

"Yet I still think that picture is not me," Klein muttered as he took the letter. Since the other party had already spoken the name "Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings," he could not afford not to take it seriously.