The Secret Master

 Before leaving, Klein took the time to meticulously clean his formal suit and top hat with a small brush and handkerchief. He then changed into a fresh white shirt and put on his only decent, cheap coat made of linen. He quickly stepped out onto the street. First, it was Melissa's dress, then Benson's formal suit, and only then could he consider my second set. There's never enough money... Besides, I have to start saving up for the porcelain tableware for entertaining guests... And I still need to save for various occult materials... Klein sat in the public carriage, mentally calculating his family's financial situation, shaking his head more and more as he did so. He estimated that it would take at least a year before he, his brother, and his sister could live like the so-called middle class. Of course, this was without considering a promotion and a raise. The public carriage passed through the streets and stopped across from the "Divination Club" on Howls Street. Klein held his black, non-silk half-top hat and half-jumped, half-walked off the carriage. He entered the club's second-floor entrance along the familiar path and saw the beautiful lady with brownish-yellow hair, Angelica. Her eye sockets still had some residual redness and swelling, but she looked very relaxed overall. Klein raised his hand and tapped his forehead twice, carefully observing. He noticed that the deep grayish darkness in Angelica's emotional color had dissipated significantly, and there was now a touch of bright white like sunlight. After his observation, Klein walked over, took off his hat, and smiled. "Ms. Angelica, what a sunny day today, isn't it?" Angelica looked up, gave a short exclamation of surprise, and then smiled. "You're just like Mr. Vincent's cat, walking without a sound. Oh, you can tell? Hehe, I forgot, you're a diviner who's good at reading faces..." She paused, bit her lip, and bowed slightly. "Thank you, thank you for your advice yesterday. I feel much better. I haven't been this relaxed, happy, and content in a year." Hearing her sincere thanks, Klein was also infected with her joy and happiness, and his lips curved upward. "It's my pleasure to be able to help you." As he spoke, he felt his spirituality become more relaxed and lively. Is this the "diviner" that the "potion" wants? A diviner who can truly help those who ask? Klein seemed to be thinking as he pinched his brow and nodded twice. He had to admit that he had already discovered in practice that the current actions to activate and deactivate "clairvoyance" were not very covert. But the problem was that he couldn't think of a better alternative in the short term because he had only recently become a "diviner," and his spirituality had not yet grown to its current limit. His own mastery was the same. Therefore, it had to be a position that could effectively stimulate his spirituality to serve as the "switch," and there weren't many such positions. The brow was a relatively superior choice. When he fully digested the "potion" and became a true "diviner," he should be able to design a more covert "switch" action... Klein nodded imperceptibly and walked towards the half-open meeting room. "Coffee or tea?" Angelica asked hurriedly. "Decaffeinated coffee," Klein replied with the mindset of trying all kinds of beverages. At this moment, he saw six or seven members in the meeting room, but not the one who had always been here, Haines Vincent. "Mr. Vincent didn't come?" Klein stopped and asked casually. Angelica was taken aback and said, "Mr. Vincent doesn't come every day. He accepted an invitation to give a lecture at a divination organization in Enmart Port. Do you have something to talk to him about?" "No, just curious. After all, I could always see him every time I came here before," Klein said with a smile and shook his head. At the same time, he noticed familiar faces among the seven members: Glasius, who had once consulted a fortune-teller for himself! Glasius was wearing a monocle and looking at the documents on the table when he suddenly felt someone's gaze on him. He raised his head and looked towards the source of the gaze. A clear joy suddenly appeared on his face. He pushed himself up with his hands and rushed over to Klein. "Good afternoon, Mr. Moretti. I was just thinking if you would come today." "Angelica told me that you're not a doctor but a fortune-teller who's good at reading faces?" Klein smiled and asked. "I'm not only good at that, Mr. Glasius. It seems you've completely recovered from your illness?" He pinched his forehead and tapped his brow twice, noticing that Glasius's complexion had returned to normal. "Yes, I was really regretful at that time. I regretted not following your advice. Fortunately, fortunately, there's a very skilled pharmacist near my home. He gave my wife a very magical potion, which saved me from death," Glasius said with emotion. As a prospective member of the Night Watch team, Klein asked with professional sensitivity, "A very skilled pharmacist? A very magical potion?" Magical? How magical? Does it fall into the category of the extraordinary? "He said it was a folk potion from Renburg. Anyway, it was very helpful for my illness," Glasius replied without any suspicion. Folk herbalist? Klein tapped his brow as if in thought, "What's his name? Where does he live? You know, fortune-tellers can't guarantee they won't get sick. Maybe I'll need to buy some potions from him in the future." Klein knew from his mentor and classmates that the modern medical system in this world was just taking shape and had almost no way to deal with many diseases. Therefore, magical potions and skilled pharmacists still had a big market. It wouldn't hurt to learn about them. Maybe there would be a need in the future. Glasius answered calmly, "His name is Rosen Darkweid. He has a small shop on 18th Vlad Street in the East District, called 'Rosen's Folk Herbal Shop'." "Thank you," Klein said quietly, making a note of it. "Please sit down beside me," he said sincerely. Glasius turned around and led him to sit beside him. At this moment, Angelica brought over the coffee. Compared to Southwell coffee, Dixie coffee had a stronger aroma but a relatively poorer taste... Klein took a sip and savored it for a moment. Seeing him put down the white porcelain cup, Glasius carefully chose his words and said, "Mr. Moretti, could you please do a fortune-telling for me? I'll pay you the price you set." "Eight pence is enough. I won't raise the price at the last minute," Klein said, hoping someone would come to him for a fortune-telling. "Do we need to go to the fortune-telling room?" "Sure. The Yellow Crystal Room," Glasius said, more familiar with the place and led the way. After entering the fortune-telling room and locking the wooden door, Klein sat behind the long table and asked solemnly, "Mr. Glasius, what do you want to have fortune-told?" "I have an investment opportunity, but the amount involved is too large. If it fails, my family and I will suffer a heavy blow. I want to know if it will go smoothly," Glasius said proactively. "I did a tarot card reading myself once, yes, after purifying my mind. The result was not bad. Yes, I interpreted it myself, but I didn't violate those symbolic principles." Klein thought for a moment and asked curiously, "Then describe the matter in detail and give your own information. If you have the other party's information, that would be even better. We'll do a horoscope reading." "Okay," Glasius organized his words and said, "Mr. Lanerius discovered a large iron mine with rich reserves and good quality in the Hornechis Mountains during his exploration. He spent all his savings to buy that piece of land and hired a professional company to conduct a survey, which yielded encouraging results." He lacked the funds for further development, so he established a steel company, planning to apply for a loan from the bank with this project and issue a certain proportion of stocks to raise the initial capital. This plan was still in the private preparation stage and offered very generous returns. Recently, Klein, who often read newspapers and was a self-proclaimed "history expert", knew about stocks and was aware that the concept originated from Emperor Rosel. Yes, it was him again. During the colonization of the southern continent, he established the West Bayron Company and raised funds from the public by issuing stocks, successfully solving the financial problem and reaping the first pot of gold from the colonial interests. Because the returns were generous, similar things happened one after another since then, such as railway stocks, mining stocks, and stocks for the development and utilization of steam, and so on. Some were successful, while others failed, which gave rise to organizations like the Beckland Stock Exchange. In addition, Emperor Rosel also introduced national bonds and trust funds. The former has been passed down to this day and has become the most stable investment method, offering an annual return of four to six percent. Klein remembered that his brother Benson once said that if he could inherit 3,000 pounds, he wouldn't have to work hard anymore because the stable annual income would be about 150 pounds, roughly equivalent to Klein's current annual salary. This is what is called the rentier class... Klein sighed inwardly and asked cautiously, "Are you sure there's no problem with this? Can we trust Mr. Lanerius?" "I've seen his property documents and exploration reports, which have the seal of the government of Siviras County and the endorsement of professional companies. Besides, there's a group photo of Mr. Lanerius with Sir Devereaux and the mayor in his office," Gracis nodded in response. A group photo? A group photo doesn't mean anything... Klein, who was born in the era of the knowledge explosion, had seen too many similar things and wasn't convinced by it. However, it didn't matter whether he believed it or not. He could only pick up his pen and draw the corresponding horoscope based on the key time information provided by Gracis. After a long while, Klein pointed at the "horoscope" and said, "You should be able to see for yourself that this matter will not go smoothly. Beneath the surface prosperity lies a cliff, an abyss. My divination opinion is to bypass it and avoid it." "..." Gracis fell silent, his mouth opening and closing several times before finally closing again. After a few minutes, he gave a wry smile and said, "I'll think it over carefully when I get home." Hearing this answer, Klein could only shake his head and sigh inwardly, understanding the helplessness that a "diviner" should have: a "diviner" can only offer advice but cannot make decisions for others. Just as the two of them left the yellow crystal room, Angelica came over and said, "Mr. Moretti, someone wants to have you do a divination." She added in a low voice, "He didn't ask for a recommendation and didn't look at the album either." Has the reputation spread? Klein turned towards the reception hall in confusion.