4200 words
"You do know she is a minor, right?" Klein spoke without looking back.
Currently both Klein and Kiyotaka were walking towards the car. Once they were there, they both boarded it and began to talk.
"I am aware. And?"
"What do you mean by 'and'?"
"I am not engaging in any kind of strange activity with her. So I fail to see the problem."
"Ugh— We can talk about this later. The entity here that triggered my Divination earlier is at least Sequence 5. Usually my divination does not result in such a reaction if the other person is only one Sequence above me. Which means that this Beyonder might have a Demigod level sealed artefact. I am sure of it."
Gehrman explained in a cold and calculated manner.
"Can you tell what Pathway is he from?"
Gehrman's sharp face hardened for a moment as he said: "Marauder Pathway. It is the same Pathway as the Angel of Time, Amon."
Kiyotaka nodded. "Hmm, I see. So the abilities are most likely going to be centered around marauding—stealing. And if the artefact corresponds to the same pathway, then it should have some time manipulation abilities as well."
"Correct. That said, most Beyonders who posed certain levels of dangers left through a backdoor. It looks like Maury Macht hosts these meetings quite a lot."
Kiyotaka nodded and placed his hand on the steering wheel. "I see. I am unsure about you but I am underequipped for anything like this. Besides, I cannot exist in two places at the same time. So unless you can perform a bestowal ritual to give all of my Mystical Items back to me, I will recommend against going after him, or her."
"What is your plan for tonight?"
Kiyotaka took out the gold-plated pocket watch from the inner compartment of his coat and looked at the time. It was a little over nine.
"I have to show Hazel the car and maybe give her a ride." He paused to look at Gehrman who had a grimace over his face.
"You freak..."
Sighing, Kiyotaka shook his head. "Anyways, it won't take long. We will be back in about an hour, if everything goes well."
"So, around ten."
"Yes. In the meantime, I want you to relay a letter to the church using your Faceless powers to transform into me."
"Don't talk about my powers as if you know everything about it. It makes me uneasy." Gehrman's brow twitched.
"Can't say I am sorry." Kiyotaka paused and then continued. "Or otherwise, if you want, you can accompany Hazel and I can make a visit to the Church."
"The problem is not where I go. You have a weird personality and are hard to match." Klein rubbed his eyes. "I will go to church. Tell me the standard procedure about how you get in touch with them and how you normally talk to them."
Kiyotaka's mind went back to a certain scene at the mention. Clearing his throat, he pretended to find something and began talking. "Go to Whitethorn Security Company. Once you are there, you will find Roxanne. Tell her you want to meet Soest or Daly. If it's Soest who comes to meet you, be straight forward with him. The same goes for Daly."
"And tell them what?"
"Tell them that you — Williams, in extension — went to a party and are going to perhaps fall into an altercation with a rogue Beyonder who is at least a Sequence 5 with a Demigod Mystical Item. You can make up the reason for doing so."
Klein rolled his eyes. "What reason? That you had a change of heart and wanted to help the poor Macht Family so you can have their daughter's hand in marriage?"
"More or less." Kiyotaka replied. "Minus the last part. I am not interested in getting married. Regardless, you just need to convey the message and leave as soon as possible. It could be even easier if you could go there in Spirit Body form and drop a letter on Roxanne's desk."
Klein shook his head. "No, that's a bad idea."
He could vaguely tell that entering via spirit body form was going to prove detrimental. After all, the Black Emperor Card of Blasphemy belonged to Kiyotaka, and out of the good of his heart, he had avoided looking at it or using it.
"I will go to the Church. But does that mean we are going to hunt this Beyonder?"
Kiyotaka looked down and hummed. After a moment of deliberation, he looked up. "Who knows."
*****
After paying Klein to take a carriage towards Whitethorn Security Company, Kiyotaka walked back inside Unit 39, Böklund Street.
The guests had begun to leave and Kiyotaka, out of decorum, avoided interacting with Hazel or the Machts. Instead, he busied himself by familiarizing himself with the various rich people and nobles of Backlund and beyond.
This kind of socialization was a golden opportunity. In his past life, he used to make alliances by vaguely involving himself and then receding back into the shadows. However, his circumstances were much, much different now.
And hence, as the Trend of Times demanded, he changed his approach as well.
As the numbers of guests dwindled down, Maury Macht, accompanied by Hazel walked over to him while he was having a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
"Holmes. Was the party up to your satisfaction?"
Kiyotaka stood up and placed the glass down. "Yes. Very much so."
His eyes flicked towards Hazel who had changed her clothes. She was now dressed in a heavy, tailored traveling walking suit that was of a deep burgundy wool, buttoned strictly to the throat with polished brass fasteners.
Over her shoulders was a black fur-trimmed capelet, and her dark black-green hair was neatly pinned under a jet-black velvet hat with a small, folded face veil.
A faint layer of lead-free rice powder had been used to pale her skin, while a muted plum shade had been carefully blended onto her cheekbones and the outer corners of her eyes, softening out the youthfulness of her features and giving her a more mature look.
It was kind of like how Daly used to do her makeup, but Hazel's was not so obvious. Her lips, too, carried a faint sheen of beeswax. It was just enough to make them shiny and plump without appearing vulgar.
Furthermore, instead of the light, floral lavender perfume that she was previously wearing, she now smelled of an intoxicating blend of night-blooming jasmine, musk, and warm amber.
'First Freya and now Hazel. But then, I suppose, things really were like this in the olden times as well. Children become bargaining chips and investments. You can't entirely blame the parents as well.'
"Well that's a relief." Maury replied as he motioned towards the main doors.
Kiyotaka began to walk beside him while Hazel trailed a little distance away. She did not have a smile on her face — if anything, she was frowning. But at least Kiyotaka could not sense any genuine animosity from her.
As the three arrived in front of the car, Maury looked at the machine and suppressed the urge to whistle. He pressed his hand on it and let it trail up and down. "She's beautiful."
"Thank you. Your own model should arrive in another week or so."
Maury smiled and gripped the handle of the driver's door, feeling the expensive leather around it. "It might be a bit crass of me to verbalize it like this, but I can not wait. I had driven the Steam Engine car once, however, it was too noisy and too uncomfortable. It seems like you have put both convenience and transport as your first priority."
"The cars do not drive themselves." Kiyotaka replied.
Maury let out a laugh and looked inside through the window by tip-toeing. "Indeed. This is why I like you, Holmes. You have a unique mind. Of course, when said, it becomes obvious, but I can bet my jewels on it that not a single engineer thought about it when they were making Steam Engines."
He turned around and looked at Hazel instead. "It is quite commendable how a person can have such foresight."
'Why is he praising such a basic thing...? It is understandable to marvel at an invention such as this. If I lacked my White Room training, and was naturally born in this place, then any transmigrator's work would appear as something extremely outlandish as well, however, things such as this are quite natural to think about... Right?'
"Consider me exceedingly flattered."
Maury smiled. "Well, I suppose I should leave you two for your evening."
Hazel seemed to tense for a singular moment as Maury turned towards the mansion and began to walk inside.
At the same time, Kiyotaka opened the door to the front passenger seat, prompting Hazel to sit inside. As she placed her soft hand into his, Kiyotaka gently helped her up while she collected her dress and sat inside while the door closed with a bang after her.
Kiyotaka looked at the house and closed his eyes. Using his Spirituality as a guide, he tried to find any kind of distortion in it, however, his pathway was not focused on such things, and hence he was unable to detect any kind of abnormality.
If only he had Gloom or Guile...
Just as he opened his eyes, his gaze settled on one of the balconies overlooking the front courtyard. Standing with was Riana Macht, whose one hand rested lightly against the stone balustrade while a glass of wine was held delicately between the long fingers of her other hand which had light red nail-tint on them.
The evening breeze stirred a few loose strands of her hair as she looked down at Kiyotaka. For a moment, she and Kiyotaka simply looked at one another.
Then, Riana slowly raised her glass and a small, coy smile appeared on her red lips.
It was a warm smile as she raised the glass to her lips, turned around but kept her gaze at Kiyotaka as it narrowed. While she drank the liquid, she smiled once more and stepped inside the room, disappearing from the balcony.
'I was not expecting Bribe-Charm to work this well... And well, in this manner. I suppose the type of Charm depends on the situation.'
Riana had spent the evening listening to him speak, and apparently the effect had been enough to leave an impression.
Kiyotaka walked over to the driver's seat and settled in. He did not turn to look at Hazel and instead inserted the key inside its holder before turning the ignitions. As the engine coughed and wheezed, trying to come to life, Hazel's voice reached Kiyotaka's ears.
"My parents seem rather fond of you."
"So it seems."
Hazel stared at him, before huffing and crossing her arms. "You're not even going to pretend to be modest?"
"I don't see the point."
At the same time the engine ignited as a deep mechanical vibration travelled through the frame of the vehicle. Hazel's eyes widened slightly at the sudden noise as the vehicle seemed to come alive beneath her.
Kiyotaka adjusted one of the controls and placed both hands upon the steering wheel.
"Are you ready?"
Hazel looked at him with a frown. "Should I be concerned?"
"Perhaps. Life is quite uncertain." Kiyotaka replied dryly.
A faint smile almost appeared on her lips, which morphed into an incredulous one. At the same time, the car began to move. It rolled slowly down the driveway, past the iron gates and out onto the street.
Only after the gates disappeared behind them did Kiyotaka accelerate.
Hazel instinctively pressed herself deeper into the seat at the sudden acceleration while Backlund's gas lamps began sliding past the windows, one after another until the imposing Macht residence gradually vanished behind them.
Hazel pulled the veil completely in front of her face.
After all, no matter how un-ordinary they seemed to be taking the entire ordeal, it was definitely going to be quite scandalous for the Machts if someone were to spot their only daughter during nighttime.
Of course, it was a bad idea in itself to make her accompany Kiyotaka in a vehicle which could be easily recognized, however, he had already guessed it. In the invitation letter, Maury had mentioned Hazel once or twice, and hence he had memorized roads which had minimal traffic at this hour beforehand.
Meanwhile, inside the carriage, Hazel remained silent for many minutes as she just looked outside the window, through the veil. Then she turned her head towards him. "Mr. Holmes."
"Hm?"
"What exactly do you want from my family?"
"That depends on what your family is willing to offer." Kiyotaka's hands remained steady upon the steering wheel.
Hazel's eyes narrowed. "That is not an answer. Well, I don't need you to answer. I already know... It should explain why you deliberately sought out my father."
"Actually, your father sought me out first." Kiyotaka replied dryly, causing Hazel to blink.
"My father?"
"Yes." He turned the steering wheel slightly, guiding the car around a slow-moving carriage. "He approached me on behalf of someone else."
Hazel's gaze sharpened behind the veil. "My father doesn't invite strangers to parties on a whim."
"No. He invited me because some people had taken an interest in the automobile, and he wanted to be the first to host the man behind it." A small and unhurried pause later, he continued. "I'll admit the rest of the evening was more pleasant than I expected."
"Is that meant to flatter me?"
"I don't believe you'd find flattery particularly convincing, would you?"
Hazel said nothing, though she seemed to be more or less convinced. It did make sense as well, however, she was just trying to parse a reaction out of him.
Kiyotaka let the silence do some of the work.
"That's a very convenient way to avoid answering what you actually want from my family."
"I am not avoiding it. However, I am not going to make you privy to the discussion I had with your father."
"You can just tell me."
"I could." He glanced at her for a brief moment. "But you'd only trust it if you worked it out yourself. So I won't insult you by trying."
Hazel didn't answer right away.
Kiyotaka could see her turning it over— The flattery buried inside the refusal to flatter her like a door left open rather than pushed.
It was a small thing, that patience, which made quite the difference
"You're strange," she said finally.
"So I've been told."
She almost laughed but caught it before it fully surfaced, but he heard the shape of it in her breath.
Whatever suspicion she had carried into the car hadn't disappeared, but it had loosened its grip.
Suddenly, a familiar and faint prickling sensation coursed through her fingers as her gaze drifted toward his hands on the wheel and stopped.
His sleeve had pulled up, exposing a plain crimson bracelet around his wrist. The bracelet, despite looking new, had an odd kind of rust around it and Hazel's eyes couldn't help but shine by looking at it. It was as if every part of her body was urging her to steal it.
"Nice bracelet, Mr. Holmes."
Kiyotaka looked at Ember and then towards the pearl cuff around her own.
Bringing his attention back towards the road, he took a U-turn and began riding back. "Thank you. It's called Ember and enables me to manipulate flames."
Hazel's face paled and her lips seemed to move in an uncouth manner. It was as if the word "Beyonder" was stuck in her throat and she was unable to get it out. A few seconds later, Kiyotaka's gaze fell directly on her pearl cuff.
"That pearl bracelet is beautiful as well." He paused as the car shuddered due to running over a rock and then continued. "Does it have a name?"
"...no."
"You should give it a name." Kiyotaka began talking. Then, he turned his head and looked directly into Hazel's eyes, making a cold shiver run down her spine. "All good Mystical Items have one."
"How...?"
"Hm?" Kiyotaka tiled his head as he had left one hand on the wheel and was driving the car purely on intuition while he kept his gaze frozen on Hazel's eyes, which had gone wide behind the veil.
"I was inclined to believe that as a Beyonder, you only agreed to go with me because you wished to obtain my bracelet, right? You have been eyeing it quite a lot."
Hazel turned around and scoffed, however, the tension in her shoulders was quite obvious.
"And? I had merely looked at it because it was a beautiful piece of jewelry. Nothing more, nothing less. Besides, if I knew a man who made such a revolutionary scientific discovery believed in occult terms such as Mystical Items, I would have refused the offer in the first place — despite the stubbornness of my mother. And father."
"I am quite inclined to believe you... How strange. Do your abilities allow you to somewhat alter my thinking in believing your lies? Quite fascinating, Miss Macht."
If she had some semblance of control over herself, she seemed to have lost it completely. Her face had paled and it felt like she had come under a Marionettist's control.
Seeing her reaction, Kiyotaka, who was about to drive the car into a tree, corrected the vehicle and began driving on course again. Letting a few seconds pass by, he waited for Hazel to speak first.
"You are a Beyonder yourself, it means. How about you go to the local police station and surrender yourself as a rogue Beyonder?" Hazel suddenly spoke up. Her voice was somewhat changed.
At the same time, Kiyotaka's thoughts seemed to be re-directed and he felt a certain change to his Body of Heart and Mind. However, having attained resistance to mental attacks upon advancing to Barbarian and then to Briber, he was able to shake off whatever Hazel was trying to do.
"No, I don't think so." Kiyotaka replied.
Hazel was quite surprised, given how anyone who had been subjected to her own pathway's "Eloquence" was more or less manipulated by her.
Hence it came off as a real surprise — and horror — when Kiyotaka did not even seem to struggle and refuted her outright.
'When Framis Cage's Lawyer, Pacheco Dwayne used Eloquence on me while buying shares, it had a strange effect on me. Maybe it was because I was too low in Sequences compared to him, however, I did not feel like this.
Hazel's words are targeting my Body of Heart and Mind directly. What Pathway is she from? Spectator? The effects are somewhat similar to that, however, it's quite different from what little descriptions I have.
First of all, powers often relate to their Potion names. For example, a Seer's power is divination, Lawyers are eloquent and know their way around social situations. Barbarian is a barbarian and Clown has abilities related to circus clown in a weaponized manner.
However, Sequence 9 to 7 for Spectator Pathway are Spectator, Telepathist and Psychiatrist. She's definitely not above Sequence 8 and does not have powers corresponding to a Telepathist. Which means she is not from Spectator Pathway.
What other pathway can affect a person's Body of Heart and Mind so much that it's taking my enhanced mental attributes everything to resist her words?'
Kiyotaka thought about all this in a parallel portion of his head and continued talking.
"However, I believe your status as a Beyonder can prove to be quite detrimental. Do you know what a member of Parliament housing a rogue Beyonder entails? Hmm, it can range from possible espionage to a multitude of illegal activities. Or much worse, foreign influence. They wouldn't need proof."
Hazel's expression slowly changed and the confident facade seemed to slowly drain from her. "T-They would investigate. They will know that my father did nothing wrong or something that would put the kingdom at stake."
"That has never stopped an investigation."
Hazel fell silent. Kiyotaka continued driving, his expression unchanged. However, despite the veil hiding her features, Kiyotaka could tell that there was a certain panic behind them and she was currently trying to talk her way out of the situation.
"You have more to lose than me. I can even disappear, but can your father do that? A mundane human like him? Hide from authorities can squash even you — a Beyonder — like a bug?"
Hazel's head dropped. Her lips seemed to flutter, however, in the end, she said nothing.
The rest of the journey continued in dead silence as neither Kiyotaka nor Hazel talked.
A few minutes later, Kiyotaka drove the car back into the inner perimeter of Unit 39, Böklund Street.
As the heavy machine made out of steel and other alloys entered, a few guards and butlers ran towards it. At the same time, Maury Macht — who seemed to be waiting in the foyer — also bolted out.
He had changed into informal clothes and had a cigar clutched between his fingers. As he saw Kiyotaka step outside the car and open the door for Hazel, a butler walked beside him and took the cigar away from him in a tray.
Kiyotaka stepped out of the car and walked around to Hazel's side. He opened the door and offered his hand. "Allow me."
Hazel hesitated only for a moment before placing her hand in his as his fingers closed gently around her soft hand.
To anyone watching, it was an entirely courteous gesture, after all, a gentleman helping a young lady down from an automobile, yet Hazel's heart had begun to beat faster and faster.
Kiyotaka's fingers remained around hers even after both of her feet touched the ground. For a small instant, he leaned slightly towards her. "Don't worry, Miss Macht."
Hazel's breath suddenly caught in her throat.
"Your secret is safe with me."
Hazel's fingers instinctively tightened around his as Kiyotaka's pale and empty eyes met hers.
What was unsettling about them was, at that moment, there was no malice in them. "For the moment." He said it so softly that, had Hazel not been standing beside him, she might have mistaken it for an expression of reassurance.
Kiyotaka did not leave her hand immediately since Hazel was clutching it quite tightly.
As a matter of fact he was quite surprised since the force behind her soft hand was enough to easily break all bones inside a normal person's hand.
With their hands tightly wrapped around each other, Kiyotaka and Hazel started to walk towards Maury, hand in hand.
Only when they were a few steps away from Maury did Kiyotaka leave her hand and gently prompted her to move towards him.
Maury smiled and hugged his daughter from the side. "Well, Hazel? Did Mr. Holmes' contraption prove to be as remarkable from the inside as it does from the outside?"
Hazel, who seemed to still be in a trance, coughed and cleared her throat. "It was... quite remarkable, Father."
Her reply was simple as Maury looked up and smiled once more. "That's great to hear. My thanks, Holmes. You have been most gracious to indulge her curiosity."
Kiyotaka bowed a little. "Of course. It was quite... insightful, talking to Miss Hazel. I enjoyed her company quite a lot."
Hazel suddenly stiffened. As she looked up, through the fishnet veil, she could see the expressionless features of Kiyotaka walking with extreme confidence and fluency. When she turned to look at her father, it felt as if the man was completely charmed by him as well.
'What is wrong with everyone...? Can't they see...? H-He's a dangerous man... Then why...'
"Indeed? Then I shall have to insist that you not allow tonight to be your only excursion together. After all, I see no reason why the two of you should not become better acquainted. Holmes, you must permit us the pleasure of your company again."
Kiyotaka's pale blue eyes turned to meet Hazel and a shiver ran down her spine as a depraved, upward curve appeared at the corner of his lips while he said. "Of course. That would be my pleasure."
After that, the two exchanged a few more perfunctory formalities and with that, Kiyotaka bid his goodbye and left. After driving the car into Janus Engines and parking it there, he took a brisk walk back to an area that was about 500 meters away from the start of Böklund Street.
At that moment, a pair of cold and crazy eyes appeared in front of him. It belonged to a man who was wearing an elegant suit and had sharp angular features while being as tall as Kiyotaka.
Seeing him arrive with his hand pressed on his hat, Kiyotaka waited for him to speak. After a moment of staying silent, he threw a disgusting looking piece of flesh towards Kiyotaka who caught it and wore it on his left hand.
It was Cyst, a Mystical Item corresponding to Sequence 6: Rose Bishop from Secrets Supplicant Pathway.
As Kiyotaka wore it, the crazy looking man pressed his hand on his hat and murmured. "Tonight, Gehrman joins the hunt."
He said in a low and heavy tone as Kiyotaka stared at him in a deadpan manner while the cold winter wind blew some leaves around.