'Well, this feels troublesome.'
Klein, who was sitting at the head of the long, mottled bronze table thought as he stared at the jelly-like substance in front of him.
'He was able to kill a Beyonder while being a normal human...that is certainly scary. But this clears out a lot of things.
Firstly, it would explain why I couldn't divine the person who was following me, despite doing it above the Gray Fog.
Secondly, my spiritual perception that had triggered at that time was because this person, Meursault, was tailing me. He had asked if I could look into Ian Wright. Since I refused, he was trying to tail me and kill me when he had gotten the chance.
As for how The Emperor killed him, it would remain a mystery. I do not think asking him would do any good since he gives the aura of quite a shameless liar. Not like I am the one to talk.'
Klein lampooned.
"This is a Beyonder Characteristic. It would seem like it is from the Hunter Pathway. What do you intend to do?" The Fool's tone was ever majestic.
Kiyotaka, who had arrived here after sending a signal to The Fool, was seated at the foot of the long table. He rapped the edge of the table before speaking, which somehow made the corners of Klein's mouth twitch.
"I am not sure. From our talks, I have come to know that I can consume this Characteristic alongside its supplementary ingredients and then become a Beyonder. However, there is an issue."
Klein hummed.
"That is that if I was able to kill Meursault while being a normal human, I am assuming it is not a good one to choose." The Emperor explained.
Klein hummed once again and then shifted in his seat. "This is a different case. In all honesty, I am surprised at how you managed to do it. Perhaps you were really lucky, but killing a Sequence 9 that specialised in combat is quite a big feat in itself. Or it could be possible that the other person was struck by some astronomical amounts of Misfortune."
"As for your assumption of it being weak, Pathways are just like any other weapon. It would depend on the wielder."
'I mean, with good conditions, a low-Sequence Beyonder is able to kill a Mid-Sequence one. I killed the Clown back then...even when I had no chance, I could do it, thanks to my access to Gray Fog. Of course, all of this is very rare and extremely circumstantial.'
Kiyotaka nodded and then summoned the Hunter Characteristic back to himself. After a moment of thought, he placed it down.
'I do not wish to consume it. But hearing those things from Glaint, perhaps turning it into a weapon could be better.'
As if on cue, Klein spoke once again. "You can turn it into a Mystical Item. They usually have very small downsides. As you explained, if you can turn it into a Mystical Item, it will boost your physical capabilities and will help you lay traps..." Klein paused, and then with a smirk added. "...no matter how useless they are. If I had to guess, the added downside would be an urge to commit murder or enter combat."
"That aligns with what I experienced when I held it."
Klein nodded. "Well then, I suppose you should find an artisan. If you want, we can bring up the matter in the next Tarot Club meeting, however, that would be beneath an existence such as yours."
There was obvious humor in his tone, however, he lampooned inwardly.
"Or perhaps you can commission it for me. I can, uh, pay you for it." Despite his dilapidated financial conditions, Kiyotaka still brought up paying him.
After a moment of thinking, Klein rapped his fingers. "I can do that. As for the price, I might need your assistance in the future on some matter. Perhaps help my Adorer."
'By Adorer, I mean myself!' Klein lampooned.
'By Adorer, you mean yourself.' Kiyotaka pasquinaded.
"As long as it doesn't outweigh the price of the Mystical Item." He added.
"Deal." The Fool declared as he placed his hands on the side of the table and got up. "I have some work to do. Let's meet again sometime later."
"Sure."
Kiyotaka passed through multiple, viscous membranes before arriving into the real world, while Klein was the only one who was left above the Gray Fog.
He jotted something down on a goatskin parchment and took out a pendant, mumbling 7 times. Once he opened his eyes, he saw that the pendant was still, unmoving.
"No use, huh..."
A little paranoid by the outcome, Klein returned to the real world as well.
**********
The sound of scribbling was loud. Williams was copying accounts and writing them in a new journal with utmost concentration.
His handwriting had improved quite a lot by this time, and it bordered on a flowery, fancy writing that one would see in exhibitions or in calligraphy competitions.
However, there was one major issue with all of it.
'This system of Single-Entry bookkeeping is very prone to error and due to it, backtracking anything is almost impossible. Since each entry is only hitting one single account at the time of entering it, there is no way to show a net effect.'
'I can recommend the system to the governing body over accounting, however, that would require me to become a part of RICA. Becoming a part of RICA would require at least two months, and I don't have that much time.'
'Not to mention that there would be a certain level of fame that would come with me introducing the Double-Entry Bookkeeping. It is almost impossible to not come under their RADAR. Once my name is famous enough, that would restrict a lot of what I do.'
'While it is not a bad thing, all that fame and money, it would still become a hindering detriment in my growth later on. Hmm...should I do it by using someone else? But that would require me to take an Apprentice under my tutelage.'
'Which brings us back to the original problem—I need a membership from RICA. Sigh...I do not want to spend money on the exams. And regardless, the threat of being persecuted would remain regardless due to two reasons.'
'One: Practicing without a licence and posing as a member of a Royal body.'
'Two: I had recently killed someone. There are a lot of ways people can reach me using divination. Yes...I need to change identities and hide as soon as possible, once I have obtained this week's salary.'
'Because the person I killed must have someone to avenge him. As for the Security Company, they will know about the illegitimacy of my claims one day or the other. It is better to shame myself than let others shame me.'
'Ideally, not get shamed at all. I hope with all these talks of my secret getting busted, I don't jinx myself.'
Kiyotaka pasquinaded internally.
At that moment, the young woman with dark makeup that made her look a little older than she was entered the office where Kiyotaka was. The rapidly racing thoughts and the religiously scribbling motion of his hand came to a halt at the same time.
Without looking back, Kiyotaka stood up and placed a hand on his heart before turning around. He spoke before he could fully face the woman. "Good afternoon, Ma'am Daly."
"Good afternoon, Williams." She greeted.
'The gloom around her eyes and her features in general has somewhat gone. Of course, humans are like that. While they can carry the grief in their hearts for a lifetime, the impact of that said grief is reduced to subtle psychological influence. Even that wanes with time.'
'I suppose Daly's moments of mourning are coming to an end as well.'
"It is good to see you so dedicated to your work." Daly began as she pulled a chair. Leaning her weight on the backrest of the chair, she looked at Kiyotaka and pursed her purple-matted lips. Then she briskly took a single step and came to the front.
Lifting her long, flowing skirt a little, she sat down and then crossed her legs. She was wearing skin-colored socks and black coat-shoes with small, flat heels.
Kiyotaka kept his gaze on her face. She motioned towards his chair. "Please, have a seat."
Kiyotaka sat down and placed his hand on his thighs. His back was not touching the backrest.
It was a classical show of mistrust and vigilance. In this state, he could quickly jump into action if she attempted to do anything. While he did not believe that a frail woman like Daly could pose a threat to him, he decided to stay vigilant since people with Supernatural abilities lived side by side with normal people.
There was also the fact that there was a certain phantom that Kiyotaka had seen around 3 times ever since he joined this Security Company.
Daly leaned forward and placed her chin on the indention between her index and middle finger of her balled fist. "How is your work? Did you find any other anomaly after that?"
Kiyotaka shook his head. "No, not really. There are some misstatement errors, but not serious ones. No other fraudulent activities either. The errors that do exist can be attributed to tardiness or lack of prior knowledge from the accounting personnel before."
Daly let out a long, tired breath. Her voice was a little croaky, but it was still as soothing as before. It seemed like she had not slept all night. "About that, we had no accounting personnel beforehand."
Kiyotaka felt his brow raise for a fraction of an inch.
"As a matter of fact, we never did. In any of our branches. The employees themselves used to do it. Or the clerk. This is the first time we thought about...hiring someone?" Daly's words drawled towards the end as her flawless forehead creased in deep thought. "Well, we recently hired one a few months ago in our Tingen Branch, so I suppose it is not that far off."
'That does sound suspicious. The auspicious man who led me here and the security company's sudden requirement for an Accountant... It can't be a mere coincidence.'
Kiyotaka ruminated as Daly's unfocused eyes regained their lustre.
"Regardless, your previous tip regarding Elias Crowe, he has been captured. He had stolen a lot of money using many direct and indirect methods. Currently he is being detained in the closest Decosse. All thanks to you." Daly smiled a little.
Kiyotaka nodded. His eyes were unblinking as he did. "It was a part of my duty."
Daly pursed her lips and reached for the inside of her sleeve. Kiyotaka's senses suddenly flared, and he almost pounced at the bag beside Daly where his revolver was kept. However, he kept his rapidly beating heart in control and calmly saw her withdraw something from the wide sleeve.
It was a small envelope.
"This is your bonus. The company decided to award you with £50. While the amount would have been even larger had you disclosed the information a month ago, when the stolen money was still recoverable, the company is still really grateful to you. Of course, it is not your fault since you were not employed beforehand."
"For that reason, your salary would've been increased to £7 a week."
Kiyotaka hummed a little as he took the envelope from Daly. He opened it without a sense of decorum and counted the 5 £10 notes. Once he double checked that they were £50, he finally looked up and said: "Would have been?"
Daly nodded. "Yes. But I assume you can guess by now why there is a "would've" scenario involved in this conversation."
Kiyotaka didn't lower his gaze, but he felt a little defeated. There was no way to get out of this scenario. He could not even say that he was just waiting for results, since he was not even registered with the relevant body.
Taking the cash out of the envelope, he stuffed it into his pants' pocket. "Yes."
Daly nodded and then uncrossed her legs. Dusting off her long, complicated and velvety skirt, she leaned on her knees and looked at Kiyotaka. "How much more have you been lying?"
"That is about it."
"Is there anything else I should know about?" Daly's tone was a little lighthearted.
"Honestly, I am not very aware myself. Is there something else you should know?"
Daly looked in his blue eyes for a moment and then pulled away. "You are good at what you do. I can understand why you would refuse to give exams for something you've already mastered. But everything requires appropriate protocols. It would be better for you to get the proper credentials before claiming to be something of such a high level."
Kiyotaka sighed and looked down in an indiscernible manner. "I will keep that in mind for the next time. Thanks."
He was about to stand up when Daly did it first and quickly walked to the door. Before she could walk out of the door, she looked back and narrowed her eyes at him. "Williams?"
"Yes?"
"What faith do you follow?"
Kiyotaka looked at the beautiful woman and after a moment tapped his chest four times. "The Evernight Goddess, of course."
A knowing smile graced Daly's lip. Before walking out, she spoke: "Your pro-rated salary will be given to you by Roxanne in the evening. Thanks for your work and co-operation."
Once the door clicked behind her, Kiyotaka looked out of the window. "My first job...I was fired before the end of the first week..."
******
Walking down the street with freshly obtained £54—£50 from bonus and £4 from the pro-rated salary—Kiyotaka catalogued that his cash-in-hand, coupled with his original £3 and £5 from the attacker, had increased to £62.
'Sigh...well, I had it coming. At least I got something out of it. It is enough for me to give formal exams; however, it has a lot of downsides. I can pretend to do one-time evaluations of businesses. That way no one can look into me. As for any need for documentation, it can be forged. I can complete a task the same day I receive it.'
'That way there is no real reason for anyone to look into my background. The only reason the Security Company decided to look deeper into me was because of the weird circumstances of the man who told me they needed an Accountant and the strange need for an Accountant on their part as well.'
'This could mean a few things. The one that concerns me the most is that I might have some higher existence's attention. It could be possible that the other existence is a bunko reprobate like The Fool, but the involvement with me is quite apparent and direct. They are not afraid of being found out...or perhaps they are too good at concealing themselves and their tracks.'
'Regardless, I have to stay on my toes. Not only that, but there is also the matter of the Sequence 9: Hunter that I had killed. The faction or even a gang backing him would definitely seek some kind of revenge. Unless of course, if he is a standalone Beyonder, but that would be an exceptional case.'
'And seeing my luck so far, that is not the case. I should make some preparations and better equip myself.'
'For now, I should focus on getting some clients. As for the money I have, I should invest the £50 in some kind of upcoming invention. What this world lacks is fuel. Fuel such as crude oil is nonexistent, since from Williams' memories I can discern that the concept is not present. There are steam locomotives though...'
Kiyotaka's train of thoughts shifted.
'What if I can guide someone to make a car that can run on pressured steam. However, making it with this world's technology would be quite hard. Unless...I somehow land my hands on a Sequence 9: Savant potion. However, choosing the Savant Pathway purely from a money perspective would be quite disadvantageous.'
'Emperor Roselle who was a fellow transmigrator also lamented the fact that he had chosen this Pathway. And from one of the diary pages that The Fool had read, he really wanted to choose one of Seer, Apprentice and Marauder. However, The Fool could be lying. What I saw myself was that he praised the Mystery Pryer Pathway.'
'On a rather optimistic note, if The Fool isn't lying, it could be attributed to the fact that Seer, Apprentice and Marauder really are the best pathways for progressing on. At least for Transmigrators...or is there something else tied to Transmigrators that makes choosing these three pathways much better?'
'Yes, that could make sense. Since The Fool did mention that Beyonders of these pathways are rare.'
Kiyotaka sighed as he scratched his crotch in a crude manner.
His brows furrowed immediately as he sighed once again.
Not putting enough emphasis on the matter, he started walking again.
'There is going to be a Beyonder gathering soon. I told Xio that I would attend. She will send me a letter once she confirms the location. If I can, I will try to look for the formula for one of the Seer, Marauder or Apprentice potions...wait, since Xio is going to be there, I can just ask her to do it.'
'I should write a letter to her. After all, there is going to be suspicion on me as well. While it is hard to make a connection that I am the non-Beyonder who killed a Beyonder and due to paranoia of being hunted down, I am seeking to become one, it is still quite risky. If she can buy the Potion formula for me, I can just pay her.'
Once Kiyotaka had made up his mind, he quickly walked through the smog-laden streets. Despite the night being a few hours away, it was completely dark with the only source of illumination being the gas lamps that littered both sides of the road.
As he was walking, he looked over his shoulder to see a giant man who was close to ripping his hair out. He stood up and looked at the structure in front of him before letting out a long sigh. He was a tall, thin man with black hair and blue eyes.
He seemed to be in his thirties and was dressed in grayish-blue worker attire, but he appeared gentle and refined.
However, at the same time, his eyes went wide. It was hard to believe that he was thinking about it just a moment ago.
The structure was that of a motor vehicle!