Klein read the diary of the original Zhou Mingrui- it stated how he and his friends had found an ancient book which turned out to be an important notebook brought to none other than the Antigonus family from the fourth epoch which had a high standing in the Tudor dynasty of this era. They found that the owner of the diary had something to do at the Nation of Evernight situated at the summit of the highest peak of the Hornacis mountain range- The students translated and read the diary, and everything seemed normal until-
"26th June. Are these strange things real?"
The record ended at this point. Zhou Mingrui transmigrated in the early hours of the 28th.
"Which means to say that there was indeed an entry for June 27th, it's that line… Everyone will die, including me…" Klein flipped to the page he first saw when he arrived, feeling goosebumps while he made the deduction.
Just as he was considering what he should do and if he should contact the police and get accidentally burned at the stake-
He heard knocks at his door!
The person identified himself as Bitsch Mountbatten, a member of the police of Tingen. Klein quickly hid the revolver in the stove and covered it with ashes and more coal and the pot! He couldn't let them find the revolver and hurt himself in trouble before he knew what they would do- since house inspection was quite common when police came knocking at your door, Klein doubted he'd be able to explain why he has a gun in his room.
"Sorry, I just had a nap." He murmured slowly as he opened the door. He was met with the figures of 4 men.
The policeman introduced them as special investigators, and the one with brown haired middle-aged man instantly started asking questions-
"Do you know Welch McGovern?"
The other kid with Klein Moretti who got a hold of the Antigonus notebook?
After the two inspectors played good cop and bad cop with the quivering Klein, he finally told them about the relationship between Klein Moretti and Welch McGovern. And was hit with the shocking news-
"I'm sorry, Mr. Welch has passed away."
"What?!"
Dead?!
Just like the original owner?
That was scary!!!
"What about Naya?" He quickly asked.
"Ms. Naya passed away too," the gray-eyed police inspector said quite calmly. "Both of them died in Mr. Welch's house."
Apparently, they both committed suicide- Welch had hit his head multiple times against the wall while Naya had drowned herself in a basin. There were no drugs or struggles involved- clearly stating that the two killed themselves while being sane without any external drug usage.
He quickly explained when and where he last saw them- and that was when the young looking officer almost his age with green eyes and a romantic poetic temperament suddenly walked in and flipped open the Antigonus notebook- Klein had completely forgotten to hide that!
"What is this strange thing?" The young police inspector turned to the end of the notes and suddenly asked, "And what does this mean? 'Everyone will die, including me'…"
Klein made a decision in less than a second. Putting his hand over his forehead, he answered painfully, "I have no idea. I really have no idea… When I woke up this morning, I felt I wasn't quite right, as if I had forgotten something. It's especially true for whatever happened recently. I don't even know why I had written such a sentence."
After some haggling and begging that Klein was indeed telling the truth- one of the inspectors nodded and told him that they would send an expert in two days to investigate further. Although Klein was a bit surprised that they took his reasoning just like that- but considering the fact that The Hanged Man had mentioned the world of Beyonders and extraordinary things and how the churches and militaries are involved in it, maybe these people were extraordinary professionals who were from the church and trained to deal with supernatural matters such as this? That seemed like the best theory.
Wait a second…
If they mean expert and this world have people with supernatural powers- wouldn't they figure out that he was transmigrated from earth?!
The young police inspector put down his notes and searched his desk and room. Fortunately, he focused on books instead of lifting the kettle.
"Well, Mr. Klein, thank you for your cooperation. We advise that you'd better not leave Tingen for the coming days. If you have to, please notify Inspector Mountbatten, or you'll become a fugitive," the gray-eyed police inspector warned.
Thankfully Klein hadn't ended up becoming a man rat and tortured for information- he wondered why the police officers just let him go this way with only a warning. Did the supernatural means they had something that could track him? Scary…
Nevertheless, he wanted to solve the odd turn of events brought about by Welch too. So he nodded.
"That wouldn't be an issue."
The inspectors exited the room one by one, and the young man at the end suddenly patted Klein on the shoulder.
"It's really nice. Very lucky."
"What?" Klein's face was puzzled.
The green-eyed police inspector with a poet's temperament smiled and said, "Generally speaking, the norm is for all the involved parties to die in such an event. We are very glad and fortunate to see you still alive."
After that, he exited the room and closed the door behind him in a well-mannered manner.
"…"
This world was scary! He wanted to go back to his earth!!!
He briefly wondered why they left him without any kind of protection as the key witness/suspect.
Though from what he himself knew about how the police and special forces worked from his own world over the Internet- they were probably going to secretly stalk and observe him after giving him a false impression that they had let him go to see his real reactions and motives.
He felt much calmer after thinking of this and was no longer so panicked. He slowly opened the door, deliberately shouting with a trembling voice at the staircase, "You guys will protect me, right?"
There was no response and Klein shouted once again,
"I know! You'll do that!" Klein shouted again in a tone of feigned conviction, trying to act like a normal person that was in danger.
The sound of footsteps gradually weakened and disappeared into the bottom floor of the apartment.
Klein snorted and laughed, Isn't that response too fake? Their acting skills are not up to standard!
He did not run after them. Instead, he turned back to the room and closed the door behind him.
In the next few hours, Klein fully expressed what they called back in Foodaholic Empire, China—restlessness, nervousness, agitation, inadvertence, and murmuring words that he did not understand. He did not slack just because there was no one around.
He was certainly a better actor than those inspectors!
He waited until it was time for Melissa to come back.
It was time they finally ate that mutton!
But he remembered how Melissa cooked the meat…
First, she boiled the water and stir-fried the meat. Then, she added onions, salt, a little pepper, and water. After a specific period of time, the peas and potatoes were added, and the stew was to be cooked for an additional forty or fifty minutes with the lid on.
"It's indeed a simple and crude way to do it… Supported purely by the flavors of the meat itself!" Klein shook his head.
But there was no other way about it. It was hard for commoners to have many kinds of condiments and various cooking methods. They could only pursue simple, practical, and economical methods. As long as the meat was not burnt or spoiled, anything was good for people who could only eat meat once or twice a week.
Klein was not a very good cook himself and ordered takeout food most of the time. But by cooking three or four times a week, after many weeks of accumulated practice, he had a passing standard and felt that he would not let the pound of mutton down.
Melissa would be coming late and would be starving by then- it was time to show her what real food was! Also those leftovers Amon had given Klein-
With that, he started cooking!
First, he started the fire again, went to the bathroom to collect water, and washed the mutton. Then he took out the kitchen boards and knives before chopping the mutton into tiny chunks.
He would just blame his sudden skills on that dead friend of Klein with a hired chef- no one could ask a dead person!
He quickly cooked the meat dish with his own common knowledge from the earth- added the peas and the onions, used the yellowing salt, some leftover carrots, and the precious black pepper and lard which were in tiny containers. He really wanted to use things like red wine to enhance the flavor- but the Moretti family was really poor- they couldn't even afford cheap beer let alone fancy wine!
By the time he was finally done, Melissa had reached home.
"You made this?" She asked in disbelief as she smelled the aroma in the house.
"Yes, Welch's chef taught me some basics," Klein quickly lied, and before Melissa could ask some more questions, he quickly cut in, "Also! Amon came in and left some leftovers…" he said as casually as he could- noticing Melissa's reaction to that name. He still hadn't cross-checked that Amon was actually his fiancé since the story just didn't add up no matter how much he thought about it-
"Amon…" Melissa sighed.
She knows Amon?
But what's with that reaction?
Does the Moretti family not approve of Klein's and Amon's relationship? There definitely was something going on since Melissa had reacted like that-
Was it because they were both men? This was still old age as compared to the modern era on earth, and even on earth during the twenty-first century, many countries including Klein's own didn't support gay relationships. Klein himself didn't really have an opinion about it since he thought that it didn't involve him- until now that is. And even though the Moretti family believed in the Church of the Night which didn't really curse gays and people of other sexualities like the others- homophobia was still something very rampant in the world.
He… Klein might be able to use this as something that could help him get away from Amon! He really didn't want to marry a man… even if he was rich and brought tasty food… really tasty food…
And it was also the fact that he wasn't really Klein Moretti, hence he wasn't really Amon's real fiancé- just someone who possessed him. And even though Klein wouldn't call himself a saint- he did have a bottom line and a strict moral code he lived by. He couldn't live with himself knowing that he had replaced someone's lover and deceived them and even had sex with them…
Wait wait wait wait-
Why was he even thinking about having sex with that Amon?!
Thankfully, according to Loen culture, couples don't actually share rooms and sleep together before marriage- unlike Intis where literally anything ran and was okay.
So he wouldn't have to do anything intimate with Amon before he could go back home and/or divorce him… probably… hopefully.
"Something wrong?" Klein asked after seeing Melissa's reaction to Amon's name.
"No… nothing, just-" she looked at Klein with a fierce expression, "Remember not to get your heartbroken okay?"
What?
"What?" Klein blinked in confusion.
"You really are so innocent and easy to take advantage of…" Melissa sighed as she sat down at the table to eat, "Have you ever even wondered why someone so rich and successful as him has taken an interest in you? It's obviously just a passing fancy and he'll throw you away like a pet after he grows bored of you… I've heard my friends talking about evil rich men like that all the time…"
Klein suddenly felt his heart touched at that lecture, yes, Melissa was indeed the motherly type and this was exactly her kind of thing to say and worry about…
But from what Klein had gotten from talking with Amon… that guy seemed kind of innocent?
He really needed those original memories from the original Klein Moretti back to know how to deal with this whole Amon situation…
"And two guys together is…" Melissa sighed, "I'm not saying that two guys can't be together- but think of what others would say. Because of this… you might even get fired from your jobs and not get any employment since people are so cruel these days."
Yes…
Melissa was indeed this kind of person as well…
Melissa saw Klein not replying to her at all and blushed shamefully, "I'm sorry… I know you love him and you guys are even planning to marry- I shouldn't have made you hear that… but please be sure to be careful okay?"
Klein nodded wordlessly as he served Melissa the food he had cooked as well as half of Amon's leftovers with a few pieces of Rye bread.
Melissa instantly gobbled up everything Klein had plates in front of her- even Klein's own portion.
By the time she realized it, she had already eaten several pieces of the mutton.
"I… I… Klein, this was supposed to be prepared for you…" Melissa blushed and stammered.
"I've already eaten some while cooking, and I did eat most of what Amon had brought me so don't worry about me," Klein smiled at his motherly younger sister.
After Klein too ate his own portion they chatted for a while before Melissa went to the basin to clean the plates- Klein had cooked today so she'd clean up the mess.
That was when she saw the used bottles of black pepper and lard.
"Did you just use them?" She asked surprised.
Klein shrugged his shoulders and laughed.
"Just a little. It's the price of a delicacy."
Melissa's eyes twinkled, her expression changing for a few moments, before she finally said, "Let me cook in the future."
"Um… You have to hurry up and prepare for the interview. You have to think about your job."
Ah… right.
The job interview.
Klein who only had fragmented memories and knowledge from the original Klein Moretti couldn't help but sigh.
The interview was in 2 days and he was even involved in this weird supernatural mystery… would he even have time to catch up?
This will be tough…
The siblings finally went to sleep.
And in the middle of the night, Klein was woken up by knocking sounds from the door.
"Who is it?"
He wanted to curse who the hell was pounding at his door in the middle of the night! Also, why didn't Melissa wake him up…?
"It's me. Dunn Smith," a man with a deep voice outside the door replied.
Dunn Smith…?
Klein had no memories of that guy-
Was he someone like Amon who wasn't included in his fragmented memories of Klein Moretti?
He opened the door to see the gray-eyed police inspector whom he had met the day before standing in front of him.
Alarmed, Klein asked, "Is there something wrong?"
The policeman replied with a stern look, "We found a carriage driver. He testified that you had gone to Mr. Welch's place on the 27th—the day when Mr. Welch and Ms. Naya died. Furthermore, Mr. Welch was the one who paid for your transportation fees."
Ah-
His lies were caught!
Time to act dumb!!
He re-told his amnesia story to the policeman and his own guesses and conclusions on what he has gone through and done after coming in contact with the notebook.
Then Dunn asked him about the missing revolver.
Ah…
Can't hide it anymore…
At least he now knew where the revolver had come from.
He quickly showed the policeman where he had hidden his gun in the most non-threatening way possible- he had seen videos online on how to act and behave in front of the cops, especially when they're questioning you. Something like holding a gun, even to show them where it was, was likely to be taken as a threat and the situation could escalate!
After that, he quickly explained how he had woken up and seen his head busted open and shot and automatically heal by itself.
"And since then, I have lost some memories, including what I saw and did at Welch's place on the 27th. I'm not lying. I really can't remember."
He had explained everything to Dunn Smith for the sake of his own safety except for his transmigration and the place above the grey fog (and the cult he had accidentally started).
After that the policeman told him about his interrogation and that the specialist who was to investigate his memories had arrived earlier than expected.
"Allow me to leave a note."
"Alright,"
Okay,
Extraordinary powers were too weird and powerful!
Klein cried in his heart.
What was this entire nightmare schtick?!
He had tried to run away while being escorted to the carriage and then the carriage he had taken to run away turned out to be run by none other than Dunn Smith!
And after he woke up from the nightmare- Dumn Smith was already at his door! Apparently, this man had the power to enter his dreams and interrogate him there while he was in some kind of half-conscious state…
But he clearly remembered being quite clear-minded in the dream…
Was it his transmigration special skill?
Or was it another power given to him by the ring…
Ah yes,
Klein felt the ring in his pocket.
This ring which had apparently been given to him by his fiancé Amon as an engagement ring, and had also somehow helped him control the power of the grey fog and manage its side effects… was the ring especially made for such a purpose? If so why would Amon give Klein that ring and what sort of connection did Amon himself have with the mysterious place above the grey fog? And did that mean that the original Klein Moretti also had access to the grey fog?
No…
That really seemed too far-fetched.
It was probably something to do with the special grey fog like stone which was the main gem in the ring- he had seen many movies and played many games back on earth on how some noble made some sort of accessory from some really pretty stone or gem they found which turned out to have ancient supernatural powers. And Amon was obviously of noble lineage- and from what Ms. Justice had acted like, nobles were kind of involved in extraordinary and beyonder things even if they didn't really know what it was like Ms. Justice herself and even had beyonder items on them without their knowledge that they held such powers.
So Amon had found some ancient weird mystical stone in his family treasury and casually turned it into a ring and gave it to his lover despite not knowing its origin and possible side effects? That seemed horribly dangerous…
Maybe the ring held some connection to the mysterious place over the grey fog just like how Zhou Mingrui had found that magical notebook with the incantation- and that was probably why he had transmigrated into Klein Moretti specifically…?
There wasn't much knowledge he had at all about this world of beyonders and supernatural… all he had just thought of were really vague and made up theories and postulates from little to no information. He couldn't really find the actual purpose of Amon and the secrets of that ring…
Klein sighed as he talked to Dunn about the failed mediumship ritual. He had met the lady named Daly and the ritual was kind of like his own luck enhancement ritual, thankfully the lady had failed to figure out his true origins as Zhou Mingrui and his real identity for some reason, probably also due to some other weird power he had gotten.
That was when Dunn had mentioned Klein being able to join the NightHawks as civilian staff.
"Really?"
Joining them is so easy?
Becoming a beyonder was this easy?
Klein smelled a scam.
If it's too good to be true- it's probably not true!!
"You don't believe me, huh? Actually, when you become a Nighthawk you lose a lot. For instance, freedom." Dunn let out a sigh.
He then explained the cruel world of extraordinaries to Klein.
Losing control… such a high death rate… killing your own insane teammates…
Klein once again let out a loud sigh.
This world of beyonder was truly really scary and dangerous… he didn't want to get involved at all.
As the horse galloped vigorously and nimbly while the wheels of the horse carriage reeled on ahead with Iron Cross Street in sight, Dunn broke the silence suddenly and formally invited Klein.
"Would you like to join us as a civilian staff member?"
In Klein's mind, multiple thoughts surfaced, making him indecisive. He contemplated and asked, "Can I have some time to consider?"
Before leaving for his home- he finally asked the most important question any Asian would ask for about a job.
"Mr Smith, what kind of salary and benefits do civilian staff get?"
This was a serious question…
3 pounds a week…
What danger?
What scariness?!
Klein, who was once again almost seduced to the dark side because of money, went through all the pros and cons of joining the NightHawks.
Although the money was really good and Klein wasn't sure about passing the university interview to become a teacher-
Being a Nighthawk civilian staff member had its apparent disadvantages.
Especially with his sensitive identity as 'The Fool' coupled with the restrictions on where he'd be allowed to go-
And also the risk of losing control…
But,
He was sure that he'd get involved in even more strange and supernatural things in the future just because of his connection to the grey fog and his transmigration identity.
For those cases, he'd need the special powers and training by the NightHawks.
He'd be able to help The Hanged Man and The Justice and possible future members- it would also solve the problem with gathering materials for the potions as well as act as a really good cover.
As the first rays of the morning sun shone, the crimson disappeared. Gazing at the golden light on the horizons of the sky, Klein made up his mind.
He would find Dunn Smith today and become part of the Nighthawk's civilian staff!
That was when Melissa woke him up-
"Amon is here."
Fuck.