Chapter 50: The “Foreign” Master

Chapter 50: The “Foreign” Master

Turning onto one of the two main streets, Klein, now bearing a different face, headed straight for the green mailbox and took out a letter he had prepared long ago.

It was a “death notice” he had written by imitating the format of a police document. Its recipient was the sheriff of Simim’s harbor town. Its contents stated that local resident Winter had died suddenly of illness in Bayam.

When deciding to carry out this acting attempt, Klein had already drawn up the corresponding plan. He sought to let the matter proceed smoothly, not deviate from its course, and avoid causing irreparable harm to the girl Renee.

His plan was to use a Slumber Charm to disguise real acting as a dream. In this way, if Renee had no romantic feelings for Winter and directly rejected his confession, then when she later learned of his death, she would not feel much guilt. At most, she would feel afraid, and that could be effectively soothed through prayer and confession at church.

If Renee did likewise love Winter and responded to his confession, then the excuse of it being a dream would help Klein withdraw. The death notice afterward would sever Renee’s expectations and avoid having an especially negative effect on her future life.

“But even so, it is still a little cruel. No matter what sort of woman she is, facing the matter of the boy she likes entrusting a dream to her after death in order to confess his feelings will surely leave her heartbroken and unable to let go for a long time.

“Mm… If I did nothing, once Winter’s death was reported normally, Renee would definitely be extremely sad as well, only perhaps not as severely. But the knot in her heart might never be untied. She might spend her whole life wondering whether Winter left to adventure in pursuit of their future, or simply because he did not love her…

“Ending things this way may not be bad. Once she eases through the pain, she may carry forward the tenderness of having once been sincerely loved and use it to face the rest of her life.

“Sigh. No matter what, for the sake of acting, forcing myself into someone else’s life and causing some degree of influence on an innocent person—even under the excuse of fulfilling a final wish—is not truly a kind thing. It really is like Roselle said. The further one walks along the Beyonder path, the more it gives off a twisted and evil feeling. The acting method itself might not be anything other than a catalyst… All I can do is try my best to minimize the effect…”

After mailing the letter, Klein exhaled. Wearing an unremarkable local face, he walked toward the only inn in town.

On the way, he summarized the experience from earlier. His conclusion was that “truly disguising oneself as another person and receiving feedback” should be a primary clause of the Faceless rules, second only to “You can disguise yourself as anyone, but you can only be yourself.”

If it were certain Faceless, perhaps for the sake of this acting, they would block news of Winter’s death, accept Renee’s confession, spend one or two years falling in love with her, marrying her, and having children with her, then, unbound by the relationships of that identity, remembering who they truly were, coldly leave… During that process, if they were never exposed, the potion would probably be nearly digested… But I truly cannot do that! I cannot get past myself at all. I can only skirt the edge… Klein was overwhelmed with emotion and inexplicable fear.

He shook his head and silently mocked himself.

“What Beyonders must fight at every moment is not only danger and madness, but also the many varieties of evil thoughts that come from within, and that downward pull of corruption one may sink into if careless…

“Even so, in the end, perhaps I will still be corrupted by the abyss, becoming the kind of ‘monster’ I once swore to eliminate. Sigh…”

Gathering his thoughts, Klein entered the inn and said to the owner behind the counter, “One ordinary…