Chapter 16: Intertwined
"How many nights?"
The innkeeper asked.
"A whole week, please."
Klein answered as he slid over a bag of silver coins.
The innkeeper took out some silver coins and counted to twenty-one and gave the rest back.
"Hope you have a great night."
"Thank you."
Klein walked up the staircase followed by the other two hooded figures, he reached the designated room and entered.
After they calmed themselves down, they quickly took off their hooded cloak.
"Big Brother, what are we doing here?"
Jeanne inquired as she sat down at the edge of the bed, she was currently patting the sleeping Laos.
Klein's lip parted yet no words came out.
Should I even explain…?
He wondered.
Then, he decided to grit his teeth.
"It's related to that God that I've become a Champion of."
Jeanne seemed unconvinced and pushed again.
"Is that really it? Are you sure this Lord Solomon wasn't an evil God?"
Klein stayed silent at his sister's question.
He also didn't know.
"Lord Solomon isn't an evil God, at least that wasn't my first impression of him. He doesn't seem to ask anything beyond just me being a Champion, and being his Champion doesn't seem to be burdened by anything."
Jeanne was curious, so curious yet her brother seemed rather disturbed while trying to answer that she refrained from doing so.
"I will be truly honest, our situation right now wasn't a direct order from Lord Solomon, I do it out of my own volition. When I became his Champion, I was given power, not traditional power, but knowledge through vision of the supposed path of the future."
"Future…?"
"Yes, I saw the future. Not just a simple vision but rather a perspective of someone living in that future. I saw the suffering they went through, the pain that they endured and the life they lived. The worst thing was that he endured that whole thing since he was a child. I want to help them because I can still save them, they're here, at least I hope so."
Jeanne stayed silent.
Then, she awkwardly stood up and went to the bathroom but stopped for a moment to say.
"I'm sorry for asking."
Klein answered with a smile.
"No big deal, being worried for your siblings is a good thing."
Hearing Klein's response made Jeanne smile back.
Lord Solomon hasn't answered any of my recent prayers, is it because he was busy? I mean, being a forgotten God for so long and suddenly regaining influence would really anger other Gods.
He wondered, he reminisced regarding the methods of communication he saw being done by Priests of many Religions and Sects.
Should I try one of them? Outside of being busy, my messages might not reach him directly…
No. As far as I remember, such a method required an altar and an established church or temple, but we don't have such luxury yet.
He sighed in disappointment when he realized that his only other option was to directly invoke Lord Solomon's encrypted name and allow him to manifest in the physical world.
"I wouldn't dare to call for Lord Solomon without anything to offer."
As his sister finished her bath, the three siblings had finally fallen deep into their slumber.
The bright sun had risen to face a new day, the same goes for the Whitecrow's siblings.
Klein's goal for today was to get an Adventurer's license, it's a pretty handy form of identification in a foreign land and it wasn't like he could get one in his previous Kingdom.
He entered the Adventurer's guild, many gaze fell onto him and his two siblings yet he remained calm and composed.
"What can I do for you today, Sir?"
The receptionist girl asked with a smile.
Klein returned the smile alike and spoke.
"I want to register as an Adventurer."
Her gaze landed on the two small figures standing behind the man before her, they looked alike, likely related.
Then, without thinking she asked.
"What about your children?"
An awkward silence stretched over as Klein corrected her assumption.
"Um… They're my little siblings…"
Hearing Klein's explanation the receptionist girl turned red in embarrassment and quickly retracted her words.
"I didn't mean to-I-I'm sorry…"
"It's not really a problem."
He replied with a casual smile.
Still embarrassed, the receptionist handed over a form and told Klein to fill it so that she can register him.
"Done."
He returned the filled form to the receptionist.
"Alright, all of it seemed fine, we need 5 silver coins to finish the registra-"
Before her words could finish, a heavy pouch of various coins dropped on the receptionist desk with a heavy thud.
"Oh my goodness!"
"Oh wait, you said only 5 silver right?"
"Erm… Well, yes…"
He picked five glistening silver coins from the pouch and handed it over to the receptionist girl.
"Alright, wait for a moment, I'll give you your license asap!"
Time passed by quickly as they're currently outside and walking around the market filled with various products.
"Big Brother, were you flirting with that girl?"
Jeanne asked while squinting her eyes in suspicion.
"I mean, your handsome elder brother is still a man after all."
Klein answered casually as he turned his head towards Laos that tugged on his clothes and pointed at a food stall.
"We haven't really eaten this morning."
Jeanne mentioned as she remembered that they straight up went towards the Adventurers Guild right after waking up.
"Ah, yeah I forgot. How about buying some food at the restaurant near the Inn? I think the food there is really great."
Klein offered but he was met with Laos tugging harder at his clothes.
"Fine, we're eating that first."
Hearing that Laos's face brightened up as he quickly walked up to the stall.
"5 horned rabbit meat skewers, 2 for me, 2 for this little guy and the last one for my dear sister."
Klein told the stall owner their order.
"Eh? Why am I the only one with a single meat skewer?"
She inquired as Klein sarcastically replied.
"Aren't girls supposed to care about their weight?"
Seeing his sister's furious face, he let out a chuckle as he corrected his order.
"I'm just kidding, 12 horned rabbit meat skewers."
Listening to the siblings' shenanigans before him the stall owner just sighed in amusement as he repeated the order.
"12 horned rabbit, right?"
Klein nodded in response.
Beneath the shadows, a small figure was seen standing menacingly, its gaze empty, a light temporarily illuminated its figure.
It was nothing more than a starved child, the clothes that covered his body were nothing but rags, his eyes devoid of light that all children should have.
Inside those endless void within his eyes, one could see longing and loneliness buried deep inside.
Luckily, you're still there. I wonder, will fate let me change the course of history?
He wondered.
His mouth bit into the meat skewers without much thought, his gaze resolute, he wouldn't let history return to its original path, even if it would lead to his knowledge being useless.
Why would I want to have an advantage if it means the world will walk through that original path which was only filled with suffering and agony? Never in a thousand years.
Even if the change is catastrophic, I am confident that I can handle such drastic changes.
After all, I am a different person than the version of me that 'died'.
He paused and inwardly exclaimed.
I am Klein Whitecrow, the Champion of a long-forgotten God, the Champion of Solomon the God of Knowledge.
To be continued…