Monday, October 1, 1349
Dressed in a double-breasted suit, Klein leisurely made his way through the streets of East Borough, until he reached Bravehearts Bar. He went to the counter and sat on one of the stools, before placing a few Pence on the counter. "One half-and-half, please."
The bartender took it away, casted a sidelong glance before quickly making his drink and pushing it towards him. The movement caused the froth at the top to lap back-and-forth but there was no spillage.
"I want to meet Maric."
The bartender cleared his throat. "Snooker room 2."
Klein nodded and quietly finished his drink before standing up and walking over to the Snooker Room 2. The inside was just like how it was the first time he had come here. The depressed looking, 28-year-old man with black hair and malicious brown eyes was playing cards with his zombies.
Walking inside, Klein placed his hat to the side and smiled. "Good evening."
Maric looked at him from the side of his eye. The cruelty in his eyes looked much more emphasized, which made Klein rattled, just a little. Calming himself, Klein walked confidently towards the Zombie.
Maric was a whole sequence above Klein. But, while Klein had just recently advanced to Sequence 7 due to grasping the crux of the Acting Method after the ordeal with Kiyotaka, had a lot of means at his hand to deal with Maric, in case he lost control over his emotions and gave in to indulgence.
"Yes?" Maric's voice was flat.
"Is Madam Sharron here?" Klein asked, sitting at a seat across him as his zombie kept playing.
"She is not. She is busy somewhere."
Klein hummed and then was about to tap his finger on the edge of the table, however, he realized that it was a habit purely connected to his persona as The Fool. Bringing it to the real world would do no good.
"I see, I had something to entrust her with, but I am sure you can do it as well...?"
"That would depend." Maric waved him off, visibly irritated.
Klein took out Billy's Beyonder Characteristic and gently pushed it towards Maric. "I want to turn it into a Mystical Item. You can take your own premium from it as well. However, I need it done as soon as possible."
"Is it for you, or someone else?"
Klein looked into Maric's eyes. "It is for me." 'And then I will bestow it upon my most "trusty" believer...heh-heh'
Klein lampooned internally.
"Alright, the earliest it can be done is in 3 days, and that would mean more premium. You know the situation of Artisans already. They won't take the risk unless there is good money involved."
Klein hummed. 'I don't know what this guy's budget is. I don't want it to be too expensive, in a way that he can't pay it and his Beyonder Characteristic will be stuck with the Artisan. That would pain me in bad light.'
"What do you think is the final amount that it can come to?"
"Around £600."
Klein could almost feel a needle through his heart. However, it was a good investment, after all, he had seen the abilities of a Pyromaniac himself. Moreover, he had seen how good Kiyotaka was in utilizing his Beyonder Powers, even as a Sequence 9.
If he was able to advance to Sequence 8 and then have a Mystical Item made out of a Pyromaniac, he was sure that it would be almost impossible for any of his peers at the same Sequence level to stand up to him.
It made Klein rattled. Even if he employed a lot of his own abilities, it would still be a little hard to beat him, despite having a Sequence advantage over him. That said, Klein's new abilities were focused on flames, and he could maneuver his way around them a lot.
This made his heart stop beating so rapidly.
"Excuse me for a while." Klein excused himself as he went to the nearby toilet and took four steps counterclockwise.
Arriving above the Grey Fog, Klein immediately contacted Kiyotaka. However, no reply came from the other side. He tried again, and a few more times, but every time there was nothing but silence.
Klein felt a little uneasy. This was the first time he had not responded to anything.
'Did the Devil Dog get to him?' Klein shivered.
However, seeing how his crimson star was still there and carried its subdued luster, Klein assumed that he was alive. But he couldn't be really sure about it. Klein sat there for a moment, and felt his heart go heavy.
After losing everything in the Tingen Incident, things like these really gave him the jitters. He had no specific attachment to Kiyotaka, unlike the family-like relationships with Dunn Smith, and Old Neil, however, over the past few days, despite his weird antics and him being part of the Tarot Club, Klein couldn't help but feel rustic.
Taking out a sheet of paper, Klein wrote down something on the paper and took out the topaz pendulum before letting it dangle loosely. He closed his eyes and recited something softly seven times.
The pendulum began to revolve clockwise. 'He's alive.'
Klein thought before writing something else on the conjured piece of paper and divined it again. This time, the pendulum moved clockwise but very slowly. 'It means he is alive, but he is not in the best of states... Well, considering the kind of troubles he gets himself in, it is not that implausible for him to be in this state. But well, if he needed help, I am sure the shameless guy would've told me by now... Heh-heh, I am worrying too much for him.'
Sinking back into his seat, Klein's lips curved up into a smile. 'I'll just agree on £600 and take £50 as my personal fee. Since this is an emergency request and will be delivered as soon as possible, the price isn't too outrageous. That said, will he even be able to manage that much money?
Oh well, he has a house in Cherwood Borough. It is rented, but still, to be able to live there means he has significant amount of money. I shouldn't be worrying too much.'
Arriving back into the real world, Klein made the deal with Maric, agreeing on £600 for turning the Pyromaniac's Beyonder Characteristic into a Mystical Item.
*****
Wednesday, October 3, 1349
Burning in a body-numbing fear, Kiyotaka let out a slow and heavy sigh as he laid in bed.
Two pillows were stacked beneath his head that was damp with sweat, and his honey-gold hair was spread unevenly across them. His long face was flushed as heat lingered beneath his skin, and his lips had turned pale and flaky, skin peeling away despite the moisture in the air.
Someone turned in the chair beside him, dipped a piece of cloth in some water and then placed it on his forehead. The figure was small in stature, had a different shade of golden hair, green eyes and bronze skin.
The boy-looking woman turned to look at him as she sighed. "How does one even get this sick? He had sent this letter just this morning, and now he's like this." She spoke to no one in particular.
"He has been sick for a long while now. It's just that his body gave up on fighting it just now." Another voice spoke from some distance. It was a lazy voice. "That said, a few doses of this medicine would patch him up in a day or two." She reassured, placing a medium sized glass vial right next to the bowl of water.
The blonde woman picked it up and then held his face into a pout, pouring the medicine in as his adam's apple moved up and down. Just as it bobbed once, Kiyotaka's eyes suddenly shot open and he thwacked the vial and the hand holding it aside, before lashing out and reaching out for the woman's throat.
A gasp left her mouth as his fingers wrapped around her throat before throwing her down on the bed and climbing on top of her. Just as he restrained the blonde woman's arm under his knee, she suddenly jerked and overpowered him in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, Kiyotaka was pinned down by the woman, however, he used his long—relatively long—body to kick her away. The blonde woman flipped and landed nimbly on her tiptoes. In the meantime, a tall figure entered the room.
"Relax, Will, it's me, Xio!" Xio screamed out as Kiyotaka whipped out his revolver and pointed it at her who was standing with her arms in the air and a panicked look on her face.
Kiyotaka's eyes squinted as his chest heaved up and down restlessly. His head was pounding, nose stuffy and throat full of phlegm. "How...did you get in?"
She slowly took out the letter from her back pocket. "I received your letter. I wanted to talk about a matter like this in person. However, you did not open your door even after I had knocked multiple times. I was about to leave but I saw you had collapsed from your window that didn't have the draperies pulled over.
After I... unlocked your door, I probed for signs of life and realized your pulse had gone dangerously low. I wanted to call a doctor, or someone else, but there have been some talks amongst intelligence regarding you and your involvements in some matters. To not expose your status as a Beyonder in any way, I called Fors to treat you...
...she has been treating you for the past 2 days and I came to see you just today."
Xio looked at Fors from the corner of her eye who was frozen solid in her path, seeing Kiyotaka pointing a revolver at her friend.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Kiyotaka let his arm drop as he sat back on the bed. Removing the wet piece of cloth that was still stuck to his forehead, he looked at Xio and then at Fors. "Apologies for the violent reaction. It is not an everyday occurrence when I have two ladies over and tend to me and force vials of... liquid down my throat."
"I think you just didn't like how rough my fingers are." Xio joked with a slight, relieved chuckle as she let her arms drop by her side. "You have been drinking it quite nicely when Fors fed you."
Kiyotaka looked to the side, only to find the blue-eyed woman gone. "I assume I just gained consciousness. Uhh, sorry, and thanks... Is she still here?"
"Maybe. She is most likely rattled by what she saw and needs a moment to calm down." Xio explained as she helped herself on the cuck-couch beside Kiyotaka's bed and took a seat.
"Right..." Kiyotaka picked up the vial and turned it between his fingers before sniffing it. "Chemical medicine, hmm...? Smells like cough syrup."
"She said you've had high fever for too long and didn't do anything about it, so you fell sick. Your throat is in the worst state." Xio looked at the bottle of whiskey and the pack of cigarettes on the table beside his bed. "I see you have started to smoke as well."
Kiyotaka pointed at the bottle. "Its full, as you can see. It's one thing or the other."
"How about none?"
"That is quite impossible." Kiyotaka joked but it seemed to have gone right over her head as she shot him a glare.
The two of them fell into silence. After a few seconds, Xio stood up and poured herself a small gulp of the neat whiskey. She winced as it went down her throat.
"I don't think you should drink." Kiyotaka sighed, remembering how Xio used to get whenever she drank too much.
"I almost snapped your neck, Will, I need something to calm down." Xio dismissed him before slumping back into the chair.
Kiyotaka placed the piece of clothing to the side, took out the fresh one, dipped it into water, squeezed it and laid back on the bed before placing the drenched cloth on his forehead and pressing it tight.
He knew what she was saying was the truth. If she wanted to, she could've snapped his limbs and neck in an instant, but her main goal was to neutralize the sudden reaction of a person who thought he was getting attacked.
Xio stared at Kiyotaka for a long time. She had a lot of questions on her mind, such as his sudden change of faith, how he got skilled enough to react as soon as he regained consciousness. While skilled in street fights, the caliber of reaction that he had shown to pin to Xio and then break out of her pin was simply not normal, especially not for a Lawyer.
Even skilled fighters don't show such reactions as soon as they gain mildest of consciousness. She wondered if it was because of the Lawyer potion, however, from what little intel she had on the Pathway, it did not give physical buffs, well at least not at Sequence 9.
"Are you ok now?"
"More or less." Kiyotaka spoke, keeping his eyes half-open.
"Right... well, I won't waste too much time. Since you are awake now, I might as well just be done with it." Xio cleared her throat. "Why do you want to investigate into this Lanevus person? Why now? All of a sudden?"
Kiyotaka did not open his eyes. He could hear Fors in the hall, closing a metallic box and placing things that softly clattered inside the metallic box as she wrapped her essentials up. Making a mental note to thank her later, he focused back on Xio.
"As I wrote in the letter, I lost my job. It was coming to me anyways." He began. "The role was temporary as that company didn't have an in-house accountant before. And besides, there seems to be some inside reluctance towards taking action for fraudulent activities. I would've left soon enough myself anyways."
Xio hummed and nodded. "Right... Well, anyways, according to the little intel I had, he is not someone who needs a lot of attention so you might be able to capture him quite easily, if you put your mind and connections to it. He swindled money out of people in Tingen—it is a small city a few hours away from Backlund via steam locomotive, you should know this—and had then run to Backlund.
Are you sure you want to catch him? Just for cash? Is that the only reason?"
Xio was a little suspicious. After all, just yesterday, after seeing Williams collapsed and leading Fors to his house, she had gotten a commission from Audrey Hall regarding the man. It was at that time did she learn of the man's name as well; after looking at the portrait Audrey had provided her, through the help of Mr. Fool.
She was founding Williams more and more suspicious.
"Yes." Kiyotaka's reply was curt.
However, it wasn't meant to be like that. In the time that Xio was talking and he had closed his eyes, he was listening to a "prayer" of sorts. He saw Klein sitting on a high-back chair and saying: "I have finalized the deal with an Artisan. It will set you back £600 and will be done in 3 days. Uhh, today is October 2. That will be all. Just so you know, this is a really, really, really dangerous work."
'£600?! That much...? Sigh... I have to take some cash out from the investments that I got from Mr. Cage. I had about £564 and after leaving £10 with the Haberdasher to keep his mouth shut, I now have £554. I think the extra premium that Mr. Cage gave us could compensate for it. After all, taking out £50 out of it for myself shouldn't be that much of a problem. Sigh... Poverty, it's such a troublesome thing.'
"Alright, if I find anything, I will let you know. But if you find anything, don't take action yourself. At least let me know so I can be of some help. You might be a Beyonder but you shouldn't take risks needlessly." Xio advised as Fors peeked in through the room.
She was wearing her usual brown clothes with long, dark brown skirt. Her eyes had dark circles underneath them, but the luster of her blue eyes was the most enchanting thing on her otherwise ordinary face. She was about to whisper something when her eyes fell on Kiyotaka who was staring right back at her.
"You have calmed down."
"I have." Kiyotaka closed his eyes. "Thanks for the treatment. My health forbids me from sudden movements, so apologies."
He was referring to him not standing or sitting up.
"You should prioritize your health first." Fors remarked lazily. There was a subtle slur in her voice. She looked over to Xio. "Hey, I am going to leave first."
Kiyotaka opened his eye facing Xio. "I am fine."
Xio stood up and picked something from beside her. "Alright then, take care. Both of us will be taking our leave. Make sure to lock the door before you fall asleep."
"Will do."
"Do you need anything else?" Xio asked, wearing her leather jacket.
Remembering something, Kiyotaka sat up painfully. His back felt like that of an old man with severe arthritis. "Do you know the Sequence 8 of Lawyer Pathway?"
Xio stared at him dumbfounded. After a second, she replied: "Have you digested your potion?"
"I may or may not have done that."
Xio sighed. "Spoken like a Lawyer, alright. Sigh... It is like watching your siblings go into a rebellious phase. Anyways, the Sequence 8 for Lawyer is Barbarian. I do not have the formulae, but I can ask around for it. It will cost a lot more than the usual price of Sequence 8 formulas though."
Kiyotaka leaned back onto the pillow. "As long as you are safe while doing it."
Xio crossed her arms. "Well goodwill won't fill my stomach."
Realizing what she meant, Kiyotaka nodded. "Of course, I will pay a premium as well."
Revealing the tiniest of smiles, Xio nodded. "Better. Anyways, we will be leaving now."
"Sure. Have a safe journey."
The two ladies walked outside his room, chattering to themselves. Kiyotaka could not make out what they were talking about. Instead, he focused his attention on Klein. Letting out a sigh, he parted his lips and chanted: "The fool that does not belong to this era, the mysterious ruler above the grey fog, the king of yellow and black who wields good luck"
Waiting for a lot of time, Kiyotaka eventually gave up. He walked over to the door and locked it. Just as he was about to go back to bed, he saw a man walking outside his house. It was a man with high cheekbones, blue eyes with a tint of gray, and neatly combed hair. Looking at the man gave Kiyotaka jitters; however, he composed himself.
He drew the curtains and began walking back to his room. Just as he was about to walk into his room and closing the door after him, he saw a letter flip through the bottom of the main door. Kiyotaka frowned, however, he did not it bother him.
He calmly walked over to his table and picked up the Mystical Item that was in the shape of a ring. Wearing it, he quietly picked up the letter. He was not in a dangerous situation, and the more he himself was stimulated, the more irrational the Mystical Item made him. Due to this, while his physical body was boosted, he did feel any effects of it.
Slowly picking up the letter, he saw a seal on the back of it. It was a familiar seal, and he had seen it some time ago. It was Viscount Glaint's seal. He broke the seal and read the letter inside. It was a short letter and did not say a lot, just that Glaint needed Kiyotaka for something that will help him elevate his status and name amongst nobles.
Since Kiyotaka was looking for an opportunity like this anyways, he nodded approvingly and decided to go meet Viscount Glaint later when he had recovered. In the meantime, he was going to wait for Klein to respond to him so he could catch up on anything major that he could've missed in the past days that he had been unconscious.
Just as he planned, his stomach let out a loud grumble. He sighed and turned around, but before he could walk to the kitchen to see what he could quickly make, he saw a greasy bag on a plate on the dining table.
Walking over to it, he ripped the bag, only to find a pie inside it. He only had it once before, so it took him a second before he realized that it was a Desi Pie. Desi pie was a type of pie from Desi Bay that stood out amongst other southern pies as it was a baked dish made of wheat dough filled with a tiny bit of meat.
The meat was usually really juicy, complimenting the fried and dry exterior.
Swallowing the phlegm in his throat and sniffing really loud, Kiyotaka put the pie back into the torn bag. Knowing how much oil it had, it was going to be hell for his throat. Walking back into the kitchen, he began to quickly dice whatever vegetables he could find to make a soup for himself.
However, his mood was not entirely sour. 'Barbarian, huh. The trend of Sequence 8 being a total opposite of Sequence 9 continues...'