Chapter 151: Klein's Request

The chirping of insects and the hooting of owls reverberated along the

path back to the small town. Azik looked ahead and said after a few

seconds of silence, "Even though I'm not entirely sure what happened to

me, I do have a rough idea.

"Perhaps---perhaps I'm someone who has lived for a very, very long

time."

*Mr. Azik, you have to seriously consider if you still fit the

definition of "someone"...* Klein thought to himself, but he

didn't dare to say it out loud.

"This wilderness, this silence, often makes one weak...

"I should've paid some sort of price in exchange for this long life.

I've lived since the end of the Fourth Epoch, like a wandering spirit

across the continent..." Azik's voice deepened, as if he was trying to

suppress his emotions. "I don't remember the past. I've forgotten about

the people and things that I've sworn to remember..."

Klein poked at the weeds in front of him and said, in thought, "Mr.

Azik, I have a theory regarding your situation."

"What theory?" Azik looked to the side.

"I think that there's a cycle to your memory loss. Perhaps you 'die'

once every few decades, and your memories of the events before that

vanishes. Then, after some time, you wake up from the darkness of your

slumber and begin a new phase of life. This way, we can explain why you

would have such varied dreams. Those are events that you came across

over your several lives," Klein described his theory.

Azik slowed down his pace, as if the darkness had grabbed onto his

sleeve. He looked ahead with a turbid look before saying after a while,

"That is consistent with the memories that were jolted awake just now."

Memories that were jolted awake? Klein had an idea as he said

immediately, "Mr. Azik, you might not have to leave Tingen to search for

your lost past. You'll regain your memories slowly!"

"Why?" Azik turned his head in surprise.

Klein smiled and said, "Your memories aren't completely gone. The parts

of your memory that jolted awake just now are proof of that.

"Furthermore, do you remember the moment you woke up in Backlund and

discovered that you had forgotten all about the past?"

Azik nodded. "That's a nightmare that bothers me till this day."

Klein tapped downwards with his black cane and explained in detail,

"Before today, I didn't think that there was a problem with that. But

your description just now, together with my own conjecture, makes it

feel a little weird. You had a document of identification and enough

money when you woke up from your dream. You also appeared in a way that

didn't startle anyone... All of that seems like it was arranged for you,

allowing you to fit into society with little effort.

"Then, who made the arrangements?

"There is only one answer; the you from the past!

"The past you regained his memories and knew that you would have to

usher in a new life. Thus, he prepared everything for you, trying his

best to not let you attract suspicion from anyone else."

Azik stopped walking. He looked at the specks of light coming from the

town, once again slipped into silence.

"Perhaps the 'parents' that I've been searching for were the past me all

along..." He sighed, admitting that Klein's deduction was very

plausible.

"Thus, you don't need to do anything. All you have to do is patiently

wait for your memories to come back to you," Klein concluded and

consoled Mr. Azik.

Azik subconsciously waved his cane before he turned still, like a

sculpture carved out of marble.

After a long time, he looked into the distance and answered,

"Perhaps---perhaps I'll only fully regain my memory when this life is

nearing its end. I don't want to wait that long. I want to have plenty

of time to understand and free myself from this destiny. So I have to be

more proactive in searching for my past, to trigger my memories a little

at a time. I have to get my memories back before the time you

hypothesized. Waiting would only make me repeat the cycle."

"Indeed that's the choice worth looking forward to the most." Klein

didn't advise against it. Instead, he asked, "Mr. Azik, may I ask for

your help in something trivial, other than finding the criminal that

took the skull of your child and made my fate disharmonious?"

Azik nodded slightly.

"What do you need me to do?"

Klein organized his words and said, "I hope that you can head to a town

between two and five hours away from Tingen by carriage next week, or

the week after. I need you to cause a paranormal incident, something

that wouldn't harm anyone. Judging from how you tried to search for the

criminal using your bloodline's connection, I would think that you are

fairly adept in the field of dead souls."

"No problem," Azik promised without any hesitation. He didn't ask Klein

why he wanted him to do something like that.

At the same time, he had tacitly confirmed Klein's conjecture about his

powers.

"Thank you. This is very important to me. Also, you can only choose a

follower of the Evernight Goddess when you are picking a target. Also,

don't leave any clues behind," Klein instructed.

Only through this method could the incident be relayed to the Tingen

Nighthawks. Only then could he join the team on the mission and suggest

using Sealed Artifact 3-0782. Only then could he extract the divine

blood from the Sealed Artifact to create Flaring Sun Charms!

That was the most powerful item he could obtain at the moment.

Under the assumption that the culprit living in the house with the red

chimney hasn't left Tingen, and that Klein was going to continue

investigating, he had to try his best to become more powerful!

*Yes, according to the information I obtained, stealing a little of its

powers wouldn't damage 3-0782. At the very most, the expiry of its

purifying powers will be slightly reduced... This is for the safety and

stability of Tingen City!* Klein inwardly tried to justify his

actions.

Azik didn't care about his motives. He nodded.

"I will tell you the name of the town and the estimated time beforehand

so you can prepare yourself."

Phew... Klein heaved a sigh of relief. He felt that this trip

to Lamud Town wasn't a wasted trip.

Even though they only managed to peel back the outermost layer of the

mysteries surrounding Mr. Azik and had much more to find out, he had at

least managed to gain the friendship of Azik, a reliable ally in his

search for the culprit behind the scenes!

At half past eleven that night, Klein returned to 2 Daffodil Street,

hungry and tired.

"To think that Mr. Azik didn't treat me to dinner... Sigh. He wouldn't

have been in the mood to enjoy dinner anyway," Klein muttered as he

opened the door.

The house wasn't as dark as he had anticipated. An elegant gas lamp was

silently emitting its light, warmly illuminating the living room. Benson

was sitting alone on the sofa with a book, draped under a bright "coat."

When he saw the door open, Benson was just about to speak when he

yawned. He had no choice but to cover his mouth.

Klein closed the door and smiled, quipping, "I went to Lamud Town with

Mr. Azik. There's an abandoned castle with a long history over there."

Benson was immediately enlightened as he laughed.

"A moonless night, a castle abandoned for a millennia, a cold and creepy

environment, coupled with a two-man archaeological team... This is the

perfect recipe for the opening of a paranormal novel."

What happened today could be classified as paranormal... Klein

suddenly recalled the strange door Mr. Azik conjured and the cries of a

baby. He said, a lingering fear still gripping onto him, "It did feel a

bit like that back there."

Benson yawned again before shutting his book and said, "I need sleep.

Ever since I began studying and reading classical literature, the

quality of my sleep has become especially good."

Klein laughed to himself, suddenly recalling something Miss Justice had

mentioned. He said, lowering his voice, "Benson, you know that my

company has connections with the Awwa County Police. I recently heard

news from Backlund that the King, Prime Minister, other ministers and

Members of Parliament are all sick of an inefficient government. They

want to push for a reform and select talents to take on positions in the

government based on an open examination, just like the entrance

examinations of universities."

Benson was at a loss at first, then his eyes sparkled as he asked, "An

open examination?"

"Yes. As long as you pass the examination, you could become a civil

servant in one of the branches of the government. My guess, yes---my

guess is that the contents of the examination will be modeled after the

entrance exams of the universities: literature, the classics, math and

logic, as well as a basic understanding of the law..." Klein used this

opportunity to include his opinion. He continued, "Benson, this must be

kept confidential, and don't put too much hope on this. No one knows if

this will be passed by the House of Lords and House of Commons or not."

"I'll keep it in mind. I understand that all I need to do is study

hard." Benson smiled, then said, "I'd study hard whether this change

happens or not. I'll try my best to free myself from my current

circumstance and find a better job. Learning---that's the greatest

difference between a human and a curly-haired baboon."

*No, research suggests that baboons have decent IQ levels, and a certain

level of learning abilities...* Klein lampooned silently and

looked on as Benson headed to the second floor.

After that, he smiled and rubbed his stomach as he walked toward the

kitchen.

He found the leftovers and the chicken Benson and Melissa left him

especially. Klein relaxed as he started preparing his late dinner.

It was deep into the night now, and most people had already gone to bed.

He was the only one still awake, breathing in the cool air with mixed

aromas and making slight movements.

Everything was peaceful and serene.

After he was satiated, he washed the dishes and took a bath. Finally,

Klein returned to his room and locked the door.

He yawned but kept himself awake. He took out the silver dagger used for

rituals and sealed the room with a wall of spirituality.

He wanted to divine above the gray fog whether summoning "The Fool that

doesn't belong to this era" was dangerous or not!