Backlund, inside a café.
"Sorry."
Klein, who was accompanying Mike on an investigation, suddenly stopped. Under Mike's puzzled gaze, he said expressionlessly,
"I need to use the restroom."
"Oh."
Mike immediately put on a look of sudden understanding and wiggled his eyebrows.
"I get it, I get it."
"Get what, damn it?!"
Black lines practically appeared on Klein's forehead. Restraining the urge to beat Mike up, he turned and walked into the restroom.
Taking four steps backward, he entered the gray fog above.
The crimson star representing The Hanged Man was expanding and contracting.
Klein sighed, stretched out his hand, extended his spirituality, and touched it.
"The marrow crystal of the Spring of Elf."
Playing with the eggshell-like object in his hand, Klein could not help but sigh.
This wasn't something he personally wanted. It was something a Pharmacist he had met at a Beyonder gathering had requested.
Acting as a middleman, he could naturally earn quite a bit from deals like this.
Yet Klein felt utterly helpless.
Why does it feel like I've become some kind of logistics hub?
How did I ever have the brainwave to start this whole sacrifice-delivery business in the first place?
Complaints aside, Klein never slacked off when it came to doing the actual work.
After all, the person profiting most from this "delivery business" was himself.
Without it, there was no way he could have advanced to Sequence 7 so quickly.
"Now I'm a genuine mid-sequence powerhouse myself. Maybe not a terrifying existence beyond comprehension, but at least I finally have the strength to fight back."
Sitting in the seat belonging to The Fool, Klein thought quietly,
"Perhaps I can start investigating the truth behind what happened in Tingen. No matter what, I owe myself revenge."
"Speaking of which..."
Klein suddenly let out a long sigh.
"I wonder how the Captain and the others are doing now."
A feeling of loneliness welled up inside him.
Above the gray fog, he was the all-powerful Mr. Fool.
Respected and revered by all the members of the Tarot Club.
But in the real world, who actually knew him?
The people who cared about him were still alive, but the Klein Moretti they cared about had already died long ago.
Feeling somewhat melancholic, Klein set down the marrow crystal of the Spring of Elf and soon returned to reality.
Walking out of the restroom, he saw Mike sitting by the window.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
As Klein approached and spoke, Mike immediately looked at him with concern.
"Sherlock, that doctor I introduced to you last time is really excellent. Do you want to think it over again?"
"No need!"
Klein's face instantly darkened.
You're the one with kidney problems!
Your whole family has kidney problems!
Winter County, northern Kingdom of Loen. The Church of Evernight's headquarters, the Cathedral of Serenity.
Leonard Mitchell, with black hair and green eyes, put on his thin black windbreaker, took the silk top hat hanging from the rack, donned a pair of red gloves, and left his room.
More than a month ago, he had successfully advanced to Sequence 7: Nightmare.
Over the past month, both he and the Captain had passed nearly every test the Holy Cathedral had given them.
Now, he finally qualified to officially join the Red Gloves and begin carrying out missions for the cathedral.
Turning a corner, Leonard saw a staircase leading downward.
Standing there were Captain Dunn Smith, with his deep gray eyes and black coat, and Klein Moretti, who carried a faint scholarly air, smiling as they waited for him.
Just like old times.
"What is it?"
Dunn Smith looked somewhat puzzled and glanced beside himself.
There was nothing there.
"It's nothing."
Leonard tilted his head slightly upward and said softly,
"My memory is getting worse too. I almost forgot that he's been gone for a long time."
"I see."
Dunn fell silent.
His eyes dimmed as he spoke quietly,
"My memory isn't very good either. But I don't dare forget. I don't dare forget how he died. He could have survived!"
Dunn clenched his fists, his expression becoming distorted.
Leonard simply watched in silence.
He watched as the always-steady Captain lost control.
He understood.
The Captain had always blamed himself.
If Klein had never handed that ring to him, perhaps everything would have turned out differently.
But if Klein truly hadn't given the ring to the Captain...
Would I still miss him this much?
Maybe instead I'd resent Klein.
Resent him for not giving the ring to the Captain.
Leonard suddenly laughed at himself.
"As expected... I'm really a selfish person."
"Captain, where are you planning to go next?"
Shaking his head, Leonard suddenly asked.
Although Dunn was no longer his captain but rather a fellow Red Glove, Leonard still couldn't break the habit.
"Backlund, probably."
After a long silence, Dunn answered slowly.
"What about you?"
"The same as you."
Leonard lowered his gaze slightly and smiled.
"Coincidentally, Miss Daly and Old Neil are there too. Doesn't this count as another kind of reunion?"
As he smiled, Leonard tilted his head upward again.
As if trying to stop something from falling.
Of course it was a reunion.
Unfortunately, one person who should have been there was missing.
The most important person.
Perhaps he hadn't seemed that important in the past.
But after his death, he had undoubtedly become the most important person in their hearts.
And the one they felt they owed the most.
Author's Note:
"Lewdness is the primary productive force."
(End of Chapter)
[email protected]/Lives954.
4/4 chapters this week
100 Power stones = 1 extra chapter