Chapter 50: Inspiration and Experiment

Chapter FiftyInspiration and Experiment

In the hazy, dim crimson moonlight, Klein lifted aside the cotton blanket and climbed out of bed.

For a Diviner, valuing dreams was the most basic quality. The dream just now absolutely could not be explained as a simple nightmare.

Wearing reasonably comfortable clothes, he went before the full-length mirror and said in a low voice, “I dreamed of the bloodstained door inside that room.”

Miss Bodyguard’s figure slowly outlined itself upon the mirror. Expressionlessly, she answered, “The influence of the evil spirit’s aura.

“It will gradually weaken until it vanishes.”

So that is how it is…

Klein nodded slightly, returned to the bedside, picked up his gold-cased pocket watch, snapped it open, and glanced at it.

Seeing that it was still early, he lay down and went back to sleep. This time, his dreams were fragmented, and he did not encounter what he had before.

The next day, Sunday morning, Klein, refreshed and clear-headed, made himself a runny fried egg and paired it with bread spread with cream.

In the Loen Kingdom—or rather, in all countries of the Northern Continent—reading newspapers at breakfast was something gentlemen were required to do. Klein was no exception. He spread out the Tussock Times, Backlund Post, and Backlund Morning Post, the three papers he subscribed to.

“The Government Employee Unified Examination Bill has officially passed the House of Lords. The first examination will be held in early December, the second examination in late January next year, and the final interview two weeks after that… Within one week, the government will announce the positions and requirements involved in this examination and begin accepting applications… The reporter speculates that most of them will be in Backlund…”

Klein’s eyes swept line after line across the report. He lifted his cup and drank a mouthful of Sibe black tea.

He inevitably thought of Benson and silently muttered to himself:

“The bill passed in late September, the positions will be announced in early October, registration will finish in early November, and the examinations will begin in early December… The timetable is extremely compressed, extremely unreasonable. It is enough to show the urgency of the King and the Prime Minister.

“But this is very advantageous for Benson. He prepared more than two months earlier than others. Even if he cannot compare with those elites graduating from universities, he can definitely surpass the vast majority of everyone else. And the positions those elites seek will not overlap with his.

“He should not have a problem…”

Klein had originally wanted to tap his chest four times, draw a crimson moon, and say, “May the Goddess bless him.” But thinking that Miss Bodyguard was nearby, he forcibly suppressed the impulse. After all, the faith he claimed to possess was in the God of Steam and Machinery.

After eating the last bite of bread, he continued reading the newspapers.

“The upper and lower houses have passed the proposal to establish a Kingdom Atmospheric Pollution Investigation Committee, allowing the government to form this institution… The next month will be the crucial period for all parties to compete for committee membership…

“…The individual position of Alkali Industry Inspector has been approved, targeting factories that produce acids and alkalis in order to reduce their pollution levels to the greatest possible extent.

“…There is no advertisement on the fifth page for Ernst Firm purchasing goods. There is no need to consider attending a Beyonder gathering tomorrow night…”

…

Tingen City, 2 Daffodil Street.

Benson silently reread the news item in the newspaper over and over, completely forgetting the bread on his plate.

“The Unified Examination Bill passed?” Melissa, wearing a black dress, turned her head to look at her brother, whose behavior was abnormal.

The newspapers over the past several days had already been gradually building up the passage of the…