Chapter 151: Klein’s Request

Chapter One Hundred Fifty-One
Klein’s Request

The calls of night owls accompanied the chirring of insects, echoing across the road from the abandoned castle toward the town.

Azik looked ahead and remained silent for several seconds before saying, “Although I am still not completely certain, I already have some thoughts.

“Perhaps—perhaps I am a person who has lived for a very, very long time.”

Mr. Azik, you could actually seriously consider whether you still fall within the category of “person”…

Klein answered inwardly, but he did not dare say it out loud.

In this wilderness, deep in the quiet of night, people always became weak.

“I must have paid some price to obtain a long life, living from the tail end of the Fourth Epoch until now, like a ghost wandering across the continent…”

Azik’s voice was low, as though suppressing the emotions within.

“I do not remember the past. I forgot the people and events I once swore to remember…”

Klein thoughtfully brushed aside the weeds in front of him with his cane.

“Mr. Azik, I have a guess regarding your condition.”

“What guess?” Azik turned his head and glanced at his companion.

“I believe your forgetting is cyclical. Perhaps every few decades, you die once, clearing away the memories you had before. Then, after a certain period of time, you awaken from dark slumber and begin a new life. Only this can explain those different dreams of yours. They are things you experienced in different lives.”

Klein described his speculation.

Azik’s steps abruptly slowed, as though darkness itself had caught the corner of his clothes. His gaze remained deep as he looked ahead. Only after a long time did he say, “That matches some of the memories awakened by the stimulus just now.”

Some memories awakened by the stimulus just now?

Klein’s heart moved, and he blurted out, “Mr. Azik, perhaps you do not need to leave Tingen to search for your lost past. You may slowly remember everything!”

“Why?” Azik turned his head in surprise.

Klein smiled slightly.

“Your memories have not been lost completely. The fact that a portion awakened today after stimulation proves that.

“In addition, do you still remember how, when you first woke up in Backlund and discovered you had forgotten your past, that whole matter unfolded?”

Azik nodded solemnly.

“That is a nightmare that has always troubled me.”

Klein tapped the black, silver-inlaid cane against the ground and explained in detail.

“Before today, I did not think there was anything wrong with that. But combined with your earlier description and my own guess, it now seems a little strange. You woke from a dream in confusion, yet you possessed new identity documents, enough money, and a way of appearing that did not frighten others… All of this was like a deliberate arrangement, allowing you to quickly integrate into society.

“Then who arranged it?

“There is only one answer: the past you.

“The past you recovered your memories and knew a new life was approaching. So you arranged everything afterward and did your best to avoid being suspected.”

Azik stopped, looking toward the sparse, dim points of light in the distant town. Once more, he fell into a long silence.

“Perhaps the ‘parents’ I have been searching for all this time were my past self…”

He sighed aloud, indirectly acknowledging that Klein’s reasoning was persuasive.

“So, you do not need to do anything. You only need to wait patiently, and your memories will slowly recover,” Klein concluded, trying to comfort him.

Azik unconsciously swung his cane once. Then his entire person seemed to transform into a statue carved from marble.

Only after a long time did he answer, eyes deep and distant, “Perhaps when an old life reaches its end, I will completely recover my memories. I do not want to wait that long. I want enough time to understand this fate and escape it. Therefore, I must actively seek the past and stimulate myself bit by bit, completing the awakening in your conjecture ahead of time. Waiting will only make me repeat the previous cycle.”

“That is indeed the most hopeful choice.”

Klein no longer tried to persuade him. Instead, he changed the subject.

“Mr. Azik, besides helping each other to find the criminal who made my fate disharmonious and took your child’s skull, may I ask you for a favor? A small favor.”

Azik nodded lightly.

“What do you need me to do?”

Klein organized his words and said, “I hope that next week, or the week after, you can go to a small town near Tingen—preferably one that takes more than two hours and less than five hours to reach by carriage—and create a few supernatural incidents. Supernatural incidents that will not harm anyone. Mm, judging from the way you traced the criminal just now through a bloodline connection, you should be quite skilled in certain things related to the domain of necromancy.”

“No problem.”

Azik agreed without the slightest hesitation, not asking why the other party wanted him to do such a thing.

At the same time, he tacitly accepted Klein’s guess about his abilities.

“Thank you. This matter is very important to me. Also, when you choose the targets of the supernatural incidents, choose only believers of the Evernight Goddess. And leave no clues,” Klein instructed.

Only in that way would the matter be transferred to Tingen City’s Nighthawk team. Only in that way could he join the mission group and propose using Sealed Artifact 3-0782. And only in that way could he, during the rotation for guarding the item, steal power from that Sealed Artifact—the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem—and use the divine blood within it to make a Sunflame Charm!

That was currently the strongest item he could possibly obtain.

With the mastermind living in the red-chimney house possibly still within Tingen, and with Klein himself continuously conducting searches, he had to make every effort to become stronger.

Mm, according to the knowledge I obtained, stealing only a little power will not damage 3-0782. At most, it will reduce the number of years its purifying effect can last… I am doing this for Tingen City’s peace and stability!

Klein silently defended himself.

Azik did not care about the other party’s purpose. He merely nodded again.

“I will tell you the town’s name and approximate time in advance, so you can make preparations.”

Hoo…

Klein released a fierce breath, feeling that this trip to Lamud had not been wasted at all.

Although they had only lifted the outermost veil of Mr. Azik’s many mysteries, with far more unknowns and unanswered questions still remaining, at least he had gained Azik’s friendship and found a sufficiently reliable ally against the mastermind.

…

At half past eleven that night, Klein returned to Number 2, Daffodil Street, tired, sleepy, and hungry.

“Mr. Azik actually did not invite me to eat dinner… Sigh. With his current state, how could he possibly be in the mood to eat?”

Muttering soundlessly, Klein took out his key and opened the door.

The house was not as dim as he had expected. An elegant gas lamp quietly bloomed with radiance, making the sitting room warm and bright, draping Benson, who sat alone on the sofa, in a bright-colored “coat.”

Seeing the front door open, Benson, who held a book in his hand, was just about to speak when he suddenly yawned and had to raise a hand to cover his mouth.

Klein closed the door and casually said with a smile, “Instructor Azik and I went to Lamud Town. There is an abandoned castle there with a long history.”

Benson immediately understood. He smiled.

“A moonless night, an abandoned thousand-year-old castle, a cold and gloomy environment, plus an archaeological team of only two people. That is the standard opening of a supernatural novel.”

Everything that happened tonight really does count as a supernatural incident…

Klein thought of the strange door Mr. Azik had created, of the infant cries, and said with some lingering fear, “In that kind of environment, it truly does feel that way.”

Benson yawned again. He closed his book and said, “I should sleep. Ever since I began studying grammar and reading classical literature, the quality of my sleep has become excellent.”

Klein laughed inwardly. Suddenly, he remembered the matter Miss Justice had mentioned. Lowering his voice, he said, “Benson, you know that our company has certain connections with the Awwa County Police Department. Recently, I heard a rumor from Backlund. It says the King, the Prime Minister, the ministers, and the members of Parliament are all tired of the slow and inefficient government, and intend to carry out reforms: selecting talent through public examinations to serve as officials handling specific affairs—just like university entrance examinations.”

Benson was first bewildered. Then his eyes lit up as he asked back, “Through public examinations?”

“Yes. As long as you pass the examination, you too could become an employee of the government dealing with specific affairs. I suspect—mm, I suspect that the examination contents will imitate university entrance examinations: grammar, classical literature, a certain degree of mathematics and logical ability, as well as basic legal knowledge…”

Klein took the chance to pour in his own ideas. At the end, he said, “Benson, this matter must remain confidential. And you should not place too much hope in it. No one knows whether it will be passed by the House of Lords and the House of Commons.”

“I will remember that. I understand that I only need to work hard at studying,” Benson said with a smile. “Whether this matter exists or not, I will continue studying hard and strive to escape my current situation as soon as possible and find a better job. Learning is the greatest difference between humans and curly-haired baboons.”

No. Scientific research shows that baboons are not unintelligent and do possess a certain ability to learn…

Klein silently complained as he watched Benson walk toward the second floor.

Then, smiling, he touched his hollow stomach and walked toward the kitchen.

Finding the leftovers from earlier and the portion of chicken Melissa had specially saved for him, Klein finally relaxed completely as he prepared his “dinner.”

At this hour, everything outside was quiet. The night was heavy. Most people had already fallen asleep. In the neighborhood, only he was breathing the cool air mixed with fragrance and making faint sizzling sounds.

Everything was so peaceful and leisurely.

…

After eating his fill, washing the dishes, and soaking himself clean, Klein returned to his bedroom and locked the wooden door behind him.

He yawned, forced himself to remain alert, pulled out the ritual silver knife, and sealed the entire room with a wall of spirituality.

He intended to go above the gray fog and divine whether summoning “the Fool that does not belong to this era” carried any danger.