【2025 Lenk Spring Festival Event】【Lenk】Red (1-13)

【2025年伦克春节活动】【伦克】红

https://itisduya.lofter.com/post/1ccb535b_2bda696f0

(1)

Summary: Before the midnight poet of Tingen is killed by a monster with the same face as him, the monster offers him a chance to live.

—For example, pursuing his colleague, Klein Moretti.

But Klein was only laid to rest this morning.

Instructions for use: 1. Lunk only, a story about a crazy IF line Aurora Lun in the second round who comes to the main line to oppress the main line Lun and quickly goes to gay Klein.

2. It is full of OOC and blind eating of fish. Crows will eat your brains (whisper). The plot is partly private. I haven't seen the ring. There are IF line Aurora Club related settings.

3. It is not a dream literature, nor is it a prank by the God of Heaven.

0.

On the day of Klein's funeral, Tingen had a nice sunny day. The sun blew over the treetops, and white clouds swirled around the corners of the house. Leonard, as Klein's colleague and one of the few survivors of Tingen's Nighthawks, got the position of Klein's coffin bearer without having to fight for it.

He, his colleagues, and Klein's eldest brother carried the black coffin and placed Klein in the deep grave. Then there was the pastor's eulogy, the quiet prayers, and the sighs of his colleagues and relatives when Benson almost lost his balance when he filled the first handful of soil, but still insisted on saying "I can do it."

The world seemed very quiet, and the world seemed very noisy. Leonard heard a lot of things, but he also seemed to hear nothing. He just stood beside the grave like a puppet whose soul had been taken away, maintaining a distance that was neither far nor close. His sight drifted disorderly, drifting to the point that even Leonard himself didn't know what he was looking at, and he saw something.

"Leonard." Frye's voice was very soft. He walked to Leonard's side and whispered, "Your flowers."

"..."

What flowers? Leonard didn't understand for a moment. He remembered that he bought roses. But when he looked down following Fry's line of sight, he saw nothing but white. He was holding a bouquet of white flowers, the pure white petals swaying in the sun and breeze. The bouquet was tied with a black veil, which wrinkled like a dry leaf under his tight grip. Leonard slowly relaxed the strength of his fingers.

——He was the only one who had not laid flowers for the deceased.

He thought, he said to himself. Leonard tried hard to drive this heavy body to move. He told himself that Klein's sister...Melissa did it, and she didn't even cry. He found a hundred reasons for himself. He told himself that the captain and Klein would not want to see him like this. He said to himself that as the lucky one who did not die with the captain and Klein, you have no right to be sad in front of their tombstones.

But Leonard's limbs were still heavy, and his body was still heavy. Perhaps he still had some gauze on his body that he forgot to remove. Ordinary people sighed and made way for him. At the end of the road was a piece of new soil and a stone tablet.

——He was the only one who didn't say goodbye to Klein.

1.

The Midnight Poet, who had jumped down from the second-floor window several times and stunned Klein, had a hard time walking on flat ground for the first time. He almost stumbled to the white stone tablet and stood up straight with great effort. He lowered his head, but didn't know what to say to Klein.

He should say goodbye to him. Leonard had already planned for the future, he had already applied to join the Red Gloves, he had decided to go to the end of revenge or die on this road... but he still didn't know what to say to Klein.

Something blocked his throat, blocked his tear glands and blood vessels, and made his mind empty. Leonard could only desperately recall what others said - nothing more than good night, nothing more than thank you for your hard work, nothing more than saying that they hoped your soul would return to the goddess's heaven and rest in peace forever.

Leonard imitated those words and spoke, but he tried several times, but he couldn't say a word. He called the old man, hoping that Pales could help him control this body that was out of his will, but the old man only answered him with a sigh.

"Say goodbye to him."

Pales told him.

"You can look at him again."

Until this moment, until the moment the old man pointed it out, Leonard realized that he had not even set his sights on the stone tablet. He raised his eyes in a trance, his sight from the soil up, from the corner of the stone tablet up, familiar names and days passed through his vision, he looked up almost as if to avoid it.

So, after a few days, Leonard finally saw Klein again. Klein in the black and white photo was smiling at him. Leonard could feel countless eyes on his back. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the midnight poet's aphasia, which had lasted for who knows how long, suddenly healed without medication when he looked into the eyes in the photo.

Leonard lowered his head slightly, leaned down, and placed the white flower on the brand new grave. His forehead almost touched the top of the tombstone, and his lips almost brushed the corner of the photo.

He let go of his hand, and the white flower and the black veil lay together on the soil and stone steps. In the black and white, Leonard whispered.

He said.

"Goodbye...Klein, goodbye."

2.

At that time, Leonard had never thought that he would meet Klein again, not in the Goddess's kingdom, but in the cemetery late at night. He still held a shovel covered with grave soil in his hand, and his trouser legs were wet with mud from the dew. The black coffin that was buried this morning had not had its nails removed, but had been violently dismantled for most of the coffin lid. The little fortune teller slowly opened his eyes under the red moon, and what he saw was not a gentle world, but two lawless lunatics.

This situation was so embarrassing that it was hopeless. For a moment, Leonard couldn't even think of questioning Klein's resurrection. Unlike him, the person who ordered - or forced him to dig up Klein's grave that had just been filled this morning, turned his head to look at him after confirming the rise and fall of Klein's chest with his eyes.

In an instant, amber eyes and green eyes stopped on him, Leonard shuddered, and he blurted out.

"Klein! Listen to my explanation!"

"Leonard you——"

The two people who spoke at the same time paused at the same time. The awkwardness spread again in the cemetery at night. Klein was silent for a while and squeezed into the coffin.

"You go first."

Facing Klein's expression of "I will never leave unless you explain clearly", Leonard felt as if the sky was falling and the earth was cracking. He opened his mouth in vain.

"He told me that he could wait for you."

Klein had a complicated expression, half of which was a feeling of disappointment and half of which was doubt about life. He thought hard about whether he should condemn Leonard for throwing the Nighthawks' rules and lessons behind his back so quickly and believing anyone's words, or continue to question Leonard's sexual orientation - he had already seen that Captain Dunn's grave next door had not been dug up!

Before Klein could figure out what was going on, the man standing next to Leonard had already started moving. Klein then noticed his presence, and the faint sense of his presence quietly faded away, revealing a conspicuous red.

He is red.

Not only did the man have a face that was exactly the same as Leonard's, he was also wearing a three-piece Loen suit that Leonard would never wear. His vest and shirt were buttoned up to the top button, and his pants were tucked in. He stuffed the large bouquet of roses into Leonard's hands, and took over the shovel that had just played a major role in digging the grave and dismantling the coffin. Just before Klein's brain sounded the alarm, the man spoke to Leonard.

"I've already told you, I'm not your enemy. On the contrary, I'm here to help you accomplish the most important thing you should do - take your flowers."

After saying that, he took a step back, and now the light of the red moon just happened to shine on the two parties involved. The man spoke in a light and expectant tone.

"--Now, you can give it to the person you originally wanted to give it to."

4.

It's over, Klein thought desperately. This time it's confirmed.

Leonard is not only a gay, he is also a very perverted gay. Although I don't know why he suddenly went into mitosis, he came to dig my grave with a big bouquet of roses...

Considering the weirdness of this world, Klein had to consider a fact that was quite difficult for a straight man - if he hadn't been resurrected in time, he might not even be able to keep his innocence after death.

This reality and XP were too stimulating even for a straight man from the southwest in the 21st century. Klein could not stand the suspicious and questioning gaze at all, and Leonard, who received Klein's signal well this time, also shuddered.

"—I haven't finished explaining yet."

He said dryly. After a pause, he tentatively stretched out a hand.

"Do you want to get up first? It's quite cold underground now. I didn't control my strength just now and brought a lot of dirt in."

Klein was silent for a moment, then shook his head. The little fortuneteller who was brutally dug up after his second resurrection in the other world hesitated for a moment, and tried hard to shift his gaze away from the large bouquet of red roses.

"Leonard, why don't you go out first?"

He said tactfully. Leonard, whose brain was completely overloaded, cast a confused and aggrieved look.

"?"

There was no other way, so Klein had to explain it to him.

"...You are stepping on the lower half of the coffin lid, and I can't get up."

5.

So, when Klein finally climbed out of his own grave by himself—he firmly rejected the midnight poet Leonard who wanted to help him, and stayed away from the mutant who looked no different from Leonard but could button up his collar and wear a three-piece suit—he used the most covert movement possible to put Mr. Azik's copper whistle that fell into the coffin along with the soil into his pocket. The former dead man, who didn't even understand how he came back to life, cooled his head, which was dizzy from the shock of the terrible reality, in the cool night breeze before he had the strength to speak.

"What is your purpose?"

"Isn't this self-explanatory?" the man said, "My purpose is clear enough. Leonard needs to capture Klein - that's all."

"..."

Klein looked at Leonard, who shook his head at him. Knowing that he had no chance of winning in terms of combat power, Klein curled his lips. He believed that now was not a good time to increase Tingen's strength.

"——What should I call you?"

"Leonard Mitchell, no honorifics needed, thank you."

Under Klein's questioning gaze, the man shrugged.

"Yes, it's just what you think. I'm Leonard too. It's unfortunate, right?"

"Can I ask which part of Leonard you are from?"

"Not any part." The man corrected him patiently: "I am Leonard, but I am not the Leonard you know - you can think of me as Leonard from the future."

——This is too bad. Klein complained silently. He really couldn't imagine that the Midnight Poet standing next to him now would look like this in the future.

Logically speaking, Klein has always been as sensitive as a cat since he traveled through time, and he has always treated this strange world with caution. In this case, when he met Mr. Leonard from the future, who looked like his colleague and was obviously not a simple character, Klein should have been extremely vigilant, but he didn't.

This was a very strange thing, Klein realized. Normally, he should have started to suspect whether this Leonard who claimed to be from the future was a channel that could manipulate his emotions and thoughts, such as an audience, and then he would have been doubly vigilant. But in fact, he was not nervous at all.

Klein was not nervous. Strangely, on the contrary, he felt at ease, as if another self was standing beside him, telling him not to worry: Why should I worry? Can Leonard hurt you?

Klein didn't know the answer to this question. Before getting on the carriage, his newly revived joints were not flexible enough, causing him to tilt. Fortunately, Leonard was quick to pull him up.

Okay, okay, Klein thought. Leonard might not be someone who would make people feel a sense of crisis... Just as he was pondering, Mr. Leonard from the future, who claimed to be a time traveler, had already sat in the driving seat skillfully.

It was just like when Klein usually went on missions with Leonard and the captain.

6.

As the wheels began to rumble, Leonard, who was helping Klein sit in the carriage, let out a sigh.

"He's much gentler with you than he is with me."

"?"

"He didn't treat me like this before."

Leonard moved closer to Klein and whispered. Although he didn't think that doing so would ensure that the future version driving the car couldn't hear their conversation, Klein still cooperated and moved closer to Leonard. To be honest, this posture reminded Klein of the time when he and his classmates gossiped in class when he was in school. However, what blocked Klein at that time was a book, not a bunch of roses with wrapping paper that Klein had only seen in some love short stories, and the person sitting next to him was also an ordinary Earth human, not a Sequence 8 Midnight Poet.

"What kind of attitude is that?"

"The attitude of sending me to death if we don't agree with each other."

Klein did not answer. He found it hard to imagine that Leonard's face, which was full of charm and elegance, could become ferocious. Perhaps Leonard had already left a very humorous impression in his mind.

Leonard was silent, not knowing how to describe it. He rubbed his still aching neck, and then his shoulder blade which had been hit and pierced. He had already confirmed that the injury and the pain were very clear and real, and the collapsed table and blood-stained tablecloth at home also proved that this was not a dream... but there was really no trace left on his body.

In fact, this person had no intention of hiding his dangerousness from Leonard and Pales. He just acted like a good man like Leonard in front of Klein—the monster was even humming a little tune that Leonard had never heard of while driving the carriage.

"...I think I believe it a little bit."

The carriage fell silent. After a while, Klein suddenly spoke. Leonard was sure that he did not hear any communication between the two men. He did not quite understand why Klein had changed.

"What?"

"Believe that he is... another you from the future."

Leonard looked confused. He obviously didn't understand Klein's logic. He was afraid that Klein's brain would be damaged by some evil magic of resurrection and he would become another cultist. But if he taught him to treat Klein, who had just been resurrected, with the same attitude as a suspect, it would be too cruel. Klein ignored Leonard's entanglement. He sat in the carriage, tapping his knuckles lightly to the rhythm of the intermittent singing coming from the front.

Although it was a little off-tune and a little vague, he was very sure that the guy who claimed to be Leonard from the future was singing the song that Klein had hummed countless times before. Even if Emperor Roselle's cultural transfer work was really meticulous, it was hard for Klein to imagine that there were not only time travelers in this world, but also predecessors who happened to come from the same city as him and spoke the same not-so-authentic dialect that Klein learned from his mother.

How could there be so many coincidences in the world, and how could there be so many miracles? He thought so, but he couldn't help but beat the beat of the song. He closed his mouth tightly, but the melody of the lyrics still echoed in his mind.

"The insects are flying, the insects are flying..."

——Who are you missing?

7.

Compared to this song, the deeper doubt lingering in Klein's heart was their last conversation before leaving the cemetery.

"You said you were a traveler from the future who returned to this time. So what happened in the future that made you come back?"

"I can't say."

"Let's change the question. If you are Leonard Mitchell from the future, what about Klein Moretti from the future? How is he doing?"

"I can't tell you that either."

The man who claimed to be from the future said. He seemed to be completely unaware of Klein's aggressiveness and was unusually friendly.

"Let's change the question."

"...So." Klein paused: "What were you doing before coming here?"

"I'm on my way."

"On what road?"

"On my way to find Klein. I'm looking for him. In fact, I've just set out."

At this point, the man laughed. The moment he laughed, APP18's charm was fully displayed. Compared to the Midnight Poet, he had a different flavor that was polished by time. However, in Klein's cognition, Leonard as an individual would never have a different quality.

"But it doesn't matter. I'm sure I'll find him soon."

8.

This is a memory from the future.

The day Leonard Mitchell decided to leave, the weather was very clear, and the gods in the starry sky were still fighting with the outer gods, adding the fun of occasionally watching meteor showers to the poor daily life in the doomsday.

At that time, he decided to embark on the road of pursuit. Before leaving, Leonard did not tell anyone. He was just a casual acquaintance with the other members of the Tarot Club. Most people were more wary and respectful of him than friendly. But when he was about to embark on his journey, there was really an uninvited guest to see him off. Miss Justice of the Tarot Club stood by the road early. When she saw him coming, she greeted Leonard without surprise.

"Good morning, Mr. Star."

"Good morning, Miss Justice."

"I heard you were leaving today." Audrey spoke first without being asked, "I'll see you off."

"Is it His arrangement?"

Audrey did not answer. Her eyes stayed on Leonard, and soon, they retracted. Today, Leonard rarely wore a Loen formal suit, buttoned up to the collar, and even wore a red tie. To be honest, this dress did not look like the "star" in Audrey's cognition. It would not be too much to be solemnly married in the next second, but it seemed like the style of a certain old friend. Thinking of this, Miss Justice blinked, she only praised.

"...Your tie suits your complexion very well."

"Yeah." Leonard laughed, and the previous topic was easily forgotten. He paused and said, "This was given to me by Klein."

9.

——Actually, that's not the case.

This is not really a gift. Leonard never wears a tie, just like he never wears a shirt properly. A cultist who always wears a deep V-neck shirt and doesn't even have the opportunity to go to church, how can he use a tie? Especially such a bright red tie, which is completely inconsistent with his simple clothing style.

Klein had never given him anything like this, and they didn't have such a close relationship that they could give each other ties as gifts.

But one night, Mr. L of the Aurora Society was injured in another fight. He stumbled away and thought he would be in a safe house when he woke up, but when he opened his eyes, he saw a familiar face.

Klein cut the bandage and made a silent gesture to him. The Faceless Man's ability was activated, and he quietly turned into another person. Dawn handled the alarmed patrol properly.

After dealing with the patrol, Klein took a deep breath. He turned around and was about to put away the coat and accessories that were hanging on the back of the chair to show his leisure state, when he suddenly realized that his tie was missing.

He looked at Leonard, and Leonard just looked at him and smiled. He was all red, with different shades of red, and the red was almost black, drowned in the hem of his black windbreaker and the night.

After just one glance, Klein gave up the hope of finding something on a wounded man. He simply poured two cups of tea and sat beside the bed to help Leonard drink one.

"What do you want this for? You never wear a tie."

He said this, but he did not save the soft red tie from Leonard's pocket. So the tie lay quietly in Leonard's pocket. Year after year, the red fabric gradually became old, but it could still emit a soft light under the lamp. Leonard once put it in his pocket, put it in a box, and also wrapped it around his wrist.

He had been waiting for many years. Until that day, Leonard put on a red tie that did not belong to him, put on a formal suit that he never wore, buttoned up to his neck, and left the city and the prosperity alone like any other traveler. Only a colleague who could not be called a friend said goodbye to him.

Mr. L of the Aurora Society's disguise has always been far from perfect, and Leonard has never even bothered to cover up his lies. But this time, the audience, who can see through people's hearts at a glance, did not expose him, nor did they ask about his return date. Audrey just said to him.

"May you finally find what you want, Mr. Mitchell."

10.

"Well, I'll bring him back."

Leonard was still laughing. He spoke calmly, as if he had it all figured out, as if it was a matter of course. As if he would soon find that person, bring him back, and have a happy ending. The audience blinked again, and she asked softly.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Miss Justice added, "This is also Mr. Fool's wish."

"..."

Leonard was about to say no but swallowed the word "no" back into his stomach. Audrey suggested.

"——I can also apply for you to lift the church's ban on you. Mr. Fool has left the relevant documents and preparations, so it should be completed soon."

"No."

Mr. L said, he raised his head and looked up. The blue sky, the perfect sunshine, the scattered clouds, today is a rare sunny day in Backlund, in the far suburbs of Backlund, the haze is so thin that it only fills the sky with a touch of gray. The overall color is so bright that he can't help but think of the past - which past he himself doesn't even know.

"Can you help me get something?"

"Of course." Miss Justice said without hesitation, "Do you need me to prepare anything?"

"No, it's just a bouquet of flowers." Leonard said. In Audrey's silence, he repeated: "It's just an ordinary bouquet of flowers. I ordered a bouquet of roses."

"...I understand." Audrey took a deep breath and said, "Please wait a moment."

Soon, the golden retriever arrived with a bouquet of flowers. The bouquet of roses was a rare sign of life in the apocalypse, and also the scarlet red that could be seen everywhere in the apocalypse. Leonard thanked Audrey, took the roses, and picked up a small briefcase with his other hand.

He didn't look like he was going to leave, but rather like he was going to confess his feelings.

"--goodbye!"

Audrey was behind him. This was the first time that Backlund's pearl had done something so unceremonious and with all her might, she shouted.

"Good-bye! Mr. Mitchell—good-bye!"

(2)

Summary: Before the midnight poet of Tingen is killed by a monster with the same face as him, the monster offers him a chance to live.

—For example, pursuing his colleague, Klein Moretti.

But Klein was only laid to rest this morning.

Instructions for use: 1. Lunk only, a story about a crazy IF line Aurora Lun in the second round who comes to the main line to oppress the main line Lun and quickly goes to gay Klein.

2. It is full of OOC and blindly eating fish. Crows will eat your brains (whisper). The plot is partly private, and I haven't read the ring. There are private settings related to the IF line Aurora Club, please do not closely connect with the original work.

3. It is not a dream literature, nor is it a prank by the God of Heaven.

See the collection for the previous part

11.

Like Klein, who was dug up as soon as he opened his eyes, Leonard also experienced a turn of events that ordinary people could hardly imagine in the past two hours.

Two hours before the grave digging story, Leonard was still in his house. He had not eaten or drunk anything for the whole day. After returning from the cemetery, he sat numbly on the sofa in the living room like a stone statue, without even taking off his coat. He wore a neat white shirt buttoned to the top button of the collar. Originally, Leonard had already unbuttoned two buttons, explaining to his colleagues that it was easier this way under their teasing eyes.

It wasn't that Leonard had suddenly regained the orthodox Loen people's obsession with respectability, he just didn't have the strength. The Midnight Poet was full of spirituality and his extraordinary abilities were not impaired, but Leonard didn't have the strength. He didn't even have the strength to raise his hand to untie the collar that was stuck around his throat.

The pain has turned into numbness over time, and the numbness spreads from the fingertips to the chest and then to the eye sockets. The midnight poet has no more tears to vent, and only the blood is silently flowing in his veins. He wants to shed his last drop of blood for revenge, fulfill his duty as a dead survivor, and then smile to meet the soul of his deceased friend. Unfortunately, with Leonard's current sequence, he doesn't even have the qualifications to take revenge.

Leonard could only endure, wait, and continue this numbness. He could only run forward desperately. This was not difficult for a night watcher. Leonard had already submitted an application to the temple to become a red glove, and he should receive a response soon.

——He knew there was a path ahead, but every step he had to stop at was as painful as if it were burning on fire.

The pain was like burning fire or freezing cold. After a long time of pain, only numbness remained. The numb Leonard wanted to stab himself to see if his pain system was completely broken and needed some ritual or potion to repair it.

The old man knew Leonard's condition very well. He accompanied Leonard through the morning, remained silent throughout the afternoon, and then accompanied Leonard, the host, from the time the sun was high in the sky to the time when the sun set into the horizon. When the red moon rose above the eaves, the old man could not help but speak.

"You should go eat something."

"Thank you, old man." Leonard said, "I don't have an appetite now."

The old voice sighed again and he said.

"You can't keep doing this, Leonard."

"I know."

"You still have to avenge them, don't you? If you continue like this, you will lose control after drinking the nightmare potion."

"I know, old man."

Leonard said, he paused and continued.

"I just need a little more time."

"...I hope you really just need a little more time." As if to make up for the unfriendly wording, the old man added dryly: "I mean, your colleagues wouldn't want to see you like this either."

"Of course I know." Leonard said, "You may not believe this, old man, but I have been prepared for death. I am not Klein. I have been a Nighthawk for more than three years."

Pales did not speak. He was a parasite, although not a deep parasite, but Leonard was not an expert at hiding things. He did not completely trust him, nor did he completely distance himself from him. Pales and Leonard got along quite well, and the latter never hesitated to tell Pales about his plans and ideas.

Palez naturally knew that Leonard had actually been prepared for a long time. He also knew that Leonard just lacked a little luck and had a little too much good fortune.

12.

Leonard had long been prepared for sacrifice. The Midnight Poet, who once said he was the protagonist of the era, learned to separate the people around him from the passing of others, even before Klein joined the team. On the day when Old Neil died and the day when Coenley left, he was certainly in pain and could not accept it, but he did not fall to this point.

Leonard had been a night watchman for three years, and it wasn't the first time he faced the death of someone close to him. But the little fortune teller was. During that time, Klein was always silent, and Leonard could understand his anxiety and sadness. But everyone has this experience, and now that the murderer has been shot dead, the sacrifice has been valuable, so it's not too bad.

He found many topics to talk to Klein about. Neither of them was the type to give up because of fear. But when they were sitting in the carriage and Klein's eyes rested quietly on him, Leonard suddenly wanted to say something to Klein.

He wanted to say to Klein, you look lonely, would you feel better if I hug you, that's what Sister Mother did to me before; he wanted to say to Klein, I will protect you, don't be afraid, you are a fortune teller, our assistant, just stand behind me; he wanted to say to Klein, don't be too sad if I die one day, I just went to the goddess' kingdom first; he wanted to say to Klein, in fact, sacrifice is not always a bad thing, the pensions in our industry have always been very high, I am an orphan, no relatives can receive my pension, if I die, can you give all the pensions...

Leonard had a lot to say to Klein, appropriate or inappropriate, he had said a lot, but there was always more he wanted to say to him. He just hadn't found the opportunity yet, Leonard just hadn't had enough time. The crisis of death came earlier than he thought, and the midnight poet standing in front of Megose also felt boundless fear, he even felt that he smelled the scent of death.

——It's just death.

Even though he claimed to be the protagonist of the times, Leonard had imagined his own death. There were so many themes for poetry and so many stories for poets, all about love and death, hate and nostalgia, a moment surpassing eternity, loneliness overwhelmed the noise. Leonard certainly thought about his own death, either in the spotlight or in obscurity. I don't know which one is more in line with the positioning of the protagonist of the times, nor which one is more suitable for the ending of a night watchman.

Leonard was not afraid of death, nor was he afraid of fighting. He did not retreat a single step and fought side by side with the captain and Klein. He was just unlucky. He was just a little too lucky. He just had no choice but to become the one who survived. He just—

13.

Leonard said to himself, for the umpteenth time in these days.

——I just can't accept this ending.

14.

But whether Leonard accepts this ending or not, everything has been settled, and the coffin of the deceased has been buried. It seems that all he can do is to move forward, move forward, climb up, avenge the deceased, and use killing and blood to commemorate the unnecessary sacrifice.

The wind blew in through the gaps in the window. It was already night. Leonard held on to the armrest of the sofa. It took him a lot of effort to stand up and move his stiff limbs. Just as he walked to the window that was blown open, red flooded his vision.

——Leonard saw the red light.

Something darker than the red moon, more turbid than blood, and more like a disaster than the falling fire from the sky, descended into his living room. The turbid red light gathered in an instant and condensed into a human form, a person standing in front of Leonard.

The familiar, intense fear still entangled Leonard's brain. He raised his head with all his strength and looked at the man. His eye sockets were in pain, and Leonard could feel the dampness gradually sliding down his face. Red filled his vision. Leonard knew that this was the price of facing the existence that he should not face directly - but he had seen the man clearly. It was an adult male who was about the same height as Leonard.

——That person is red.

The man had only a red tie on his body, and the red that enveloped him had disappeared, but he still gave people an overwhelming impression of red. He was wearing the most orthodox and sophisticated three-piece suit in Loen, a black jacket with a white shirt, the shirt buttoned to the collar, and the red tie was old and did not match his expensive and sophisticated outfit. The weirdest thing was that the man had the same face as Leonard.

Same black hair, but the man's is longer than Leonard's; same green eyes, but Leonard's are bloodshot because of a recent nightmare. If you find someone to see the two of them, eleven out of ten will ask if they are twin brothers.

But no, Leonard is an orphan, but he is not the kind who knows nothing about his life experience. Leonard Mitchell has no brothers, no sisters, and no blood relatives alive in the world. Every death is recorded in the church. Leonard tried to call Pales, but the old man who comforted him before did not make any sound. However, his call was not in vain. The monster with the same face as him tilted his head slightly, and his head twisted in a strange posture on his neck, leaning towards Leonard's direction.

"......?"

Silently, his lips opened and closed, as if he was uttering a name, or just silently lip-syncing. The monster, who didn't need a response and seemed to have gotten the answer, smiled. It was not the romantic and unrestrained smile that a midnight poet from Tingen would show, but a stiff smile that looked like a puppet that couldn't smile, imitating a human smile. The monster's smile was so standard, so standard that it only made people feel creepy.

"How many times has this happened? How come you can use such a clumsy technique?"

He asked softly, his voice was the same as Leonard's, but a little hoarse due to excitement. The monster's face had snake-like bumps and movements, and the swollen blood vessels formed vine-like lines on his face. The smile at the corner of his mouth widened, forming a twisted arc. The pressure that was suppressing Leonard loosened, and Leonard stumbled back. His lower back hit the chest of drawers, and the vase on it shattered to the ground. The crisp sound was like some kind of signal. The shadows in the room began to crawl, and the solid wood texture of the wooden floor transformed into fine compound eyes in the shadow's tentacles, and each eye stared at Leonard.

"—Answer me, old man, are you in a hurry to die too?"

As he asked softly, black and red dead branches emerged from the shadows. They were arranged in a staggered pattern like the sharp teeth of a huge mouth, biting fiercely in the direction of Leonard. The Sequence 8 Midnight Poet had no time to react. Before the death without choice came, he suddenly moved back two meters like a phantom.

Just two meters away, the black and red dead branches were tightly bitten together, enough to bite Leonard into pieces. They made a small complaining sound and withdrew like the hands of a child. Only the outermost branch pierced Leonard's left shoulder blade and nailed him to the wall. Another old voice appeared in the room.

"Whether you believe it or not."

The light condensed into the shape of a worm, and the twelve rings of the worm body embraced into a circle. The Time Worm showed its true form with difficulty. It stole Leonard's vision so that he would not go crazy immediately. The shadow of the old man stood in front of Leonard. He clenched his fingers, and the black and red dead branches not only pierced through the body of the Midnight Poet, but also anchored his existence. After trying several times, he could not steal Leonard's injuries, nor could he steal the distance to send him to the Blackthorn Company. The Time Worm sighed deeply.

"—I don't know you."

15.

How do you tell who the person in front of you is?

Rely on voice, match information, verify appearance, or carry proof?

For a world where supernatural powers do exist, there are simpler methods. For example, the Night Watchers usually require relevant personnel to perform a prayer ceremony to the goddess, and the Sword of the Goddess carries the holy sword all year round and runs around the earth. As an old immortal in the Fourth Epoch, Pales, who is a thief sequence one [Time Worm], of course, has his own methods.

Stealing thoughts, observing souls, determining ranks—the Worm of Time had too many ways to determine what it was facing, otherwise Pales would not have been able to survive all the way to the Fifth Epoch under Amon's pursuit. But this time, Pales could not see anything.

Stealing thoughts, the other party didn't even do basic defense, he stole only endless negative emotions. He stole anger, and pain, took away pain, and despair. Even if he searched further, all Pales could find was endless hunger. The negative emotions were not only so strong that Pales doubted that he had not thought about it at all, but also deeply confused why the other party had not lost control.

That's right, it was out of control. In the short encounter, the power used by the other party was as undisguised as his emotions. The black and red long branches not only had the shadow of the Mother Tree of Desire, but also had the characteristics of the Secret Prayer; the pollution brought by the shadow was full of the breath of the Fortune Teller Sequence. If he hadn't appeared in time, Leonard would have been caught by the spiritual body thread; even the formal suit on the other party, which was incompatible with Leonard's face, was full of the creepy smell of the Night and Death Sequence in Pales's spiritual vision.

The aura and power on his body were all mixed and dirty, as if he had just crawled out of the Tingen sewer. When Pales saw him, he couldn't help but want to vomit.

"I have never seen you."

Pales said slowly. The Time Worm, which was far less powerful than before, had always been in a half-crippled state. He was not sure whether he would become the target of the other party's hunting. After all, a weak Sequence One was too tempting, and the other party did not seem to be a rational being, but Pales still wanted to make a final struggle.

"Also, my host is the Night Watcher of the Goddess of Night. Leonard Mitchell does not know my identity."

He emphasized the term "Night Goddess", hoping that the other party would give it more consideration - Pales did not hold out much hope for this. The other party's rank was obviously not lower than his, but it was not so high that Pales would give up struggling. In theory, in this era when the true gods were hanging high in the sky, any pollution should be closely monitored, but such a large thing full of the smell of the starry sky and pollution, almost like an Outer God, suddenly appeared in Tingen...

Countless thoughts flashed through Pales' mind, and the Time Worm tried its best to find a way to escape. Just as he was trying his best, the monster opened its mouth again.

"—Leonard Mitchell?"

As if with a hint of doubt and a sarcastic smile, the monster repeated the name, and then slowly repeated what Pales had just said.

"Your host... Nighthawk?"

16.

Leonard rarely wakes up.

Since he set out on the road to find Klein, he has rarely been sober. Mr. L of the Aurora Society has long lost his code name and does not obey the management of the Creator Adam. Klein came forward and announced that he was under the protection of the Lord of Mysteries. His colleagues in the Tarot Club extended an olive branch to him at the right time, but Leonard rejected it.

Leonard didn't think he was qualified to return to the sunshine, nor was he interested in joining the Church of Fools' harmonious party. He asked Klein if there was anything else he could do for him, and added at the end that anything was fine.

The little fortune teller had not fallen asleep yet, but he was very different from the old friend in Tingen in his memory. The exhausted Lord of Mysteries met him above the gray fog. He handed the gold coin to Leonard. It took Klein a long time to understand Leonard's question. He thought for a while and said softly.

"Write me a poem."

Leonard had thought of many things he could do for Klein, such as becoming the White Glove of the Church of Fools, or going to fight in the starry sky. The only thing he hadn't expected was that Klein would make such a request of him. After leaving Tingen, after the deal with the True Creator, he left his identity as a Nighthawk and had to plunge into the cult. Leonard, who was sinking deeper and deeper into this abyss, hadn't written a poem for many years.

"What poem?" he asked. "I haven't written a poem for a long time. You may need to wait a while. I will learn it."

"Any poem will do."

Klein said to him. His amber eyes lit up when he mentioned this, and he smiled faintly but surely, looking just like when Leonard first met him. Klein spoke slowly, his tone so calm—the Lord of Mysteries no longer had any extra humanity—but this was the only sentence he said that sounded more like a plea than an order.

"Wait for me a little longer, Leonard."

"good."

Leonard heard his own voice, which sounded like a curse, a little flustered, and incoherent. He made a promise to Klein.

"I'll wait for you, no matter how long it takes—I mean, don't worry, Crane."

He took a deep breath, slowed down his voice, and Leonard spoke to Klein again.

"We have a deal."

"Well, we have a deal."

17.

They had agreed. Leonard had promised Klein, and Klein had agreed to his promise. Leonard had thrown himself into that old dream again and again, not fearing death, regardless of the cost. After living in that dream for a long time, he gradually began to learn how to dream.

Later, Leonard embarked on a journey to find Klein. From that moment on, he seemed to have entered a dream, confused and unaware of the length of time. He wandered in one dream after another, and walked through one story after another. Leonard was already able to skillfully raise his butcher knife to his former colleagues the moment he smelled a familiar smell, and he also learned to kill himself in the hallucination - but when he heard that string of words, he couldn't help but wake up.

Leonard woke up, his sight drifting randomly, he first saw the familiar wallpaper and decorations, then the broken vases on the ground, then he swept across the 'Leonard Mitchell' whose aura of the Night Sequence was so pure that it made him sick, and the Time Worm that was blocking him. His sight finally fixed on a corner of the wall.

As he moved, all eyes turned to that corner, just like the sunflowers in the field, all raising their heads and turning towards the sun when the sun rises.

In the corner where countless pupils were staring, there was a photo frame on the chest of drawers to the right of the sofa. In the photo frame was a group photo. Everyone in the photo was smiling. They were sitting under the lights and toasting their glasses. The champagne was swaying with a clear halo. In the center of the photo was the core figure of the party, a young fortune teller with a bookish air. His expression was a little tired, but his smile was real and full.

There is a horizontal circle of blank space outside the photo, with a date and a string of words written on it.

[July 17, 1349, celebrating Klein's official joining of the Tingen Nighthawks.]

"Ka-"

The sound of bones breaking rang out. Leonard broke his wrist unconsciously. He didn't cry out in pain, and he didn't even tremble. He was like a stone, motionless. But unlike his stagnation, his eyes paused. They closed and opened repeatedly. The scarlet tentacles bit the black and red dead branches that covered the wallpaper. The dirty red occupied every corner of the room. The sweet and fishy smell and the stench of blood evaporated to the point of poisonous mist. Pales almost thought that this monster was about to disintegrate into a ball of irrecoverable pollution in front of him, but it didn't.

The loss of control faded away silently on him, the pollution was controlled back to the original state, the brief madness was incompletely stripped away, and in just a few breaths, the monster regained its human form. He took a last look at the photo, the monster stretched out his hand, and the bones of his raised hand were still twisted and bent, and the excess vitality made it grow in the wrong way without being fixed.

But it's enough.

He stretched out his hand to the fallen Midnight Poet. With just one simple movement, he passed through Pallez's protection and the Midnight Poet's neck was tightly grasped. He exerted all his strength, and the fragile cervical vertebrae made an unbearable, teeth-grinding sound. Leonard's lips quickly turned blue and were about to spread to his entire face.

Before the Midnight Poet of Tingen died, he once again saw the face that was identical to his own. Without the pressure of the High Sequencers and the contamination that would spread just by looking at it, the Midnight Poet finally saw that face clearly. In that face that he could see in the mirror every day, there were green eyes like his. Those eyes faced his eyes, but Leonard could not find any reflection of himself in them.

Leonard from another world line grabbed the neck of his counterpart in this world. He smiled. Before his own death in this world, he finally said the name.

He asked:

"——Do you know Klein?"

18.

What answered him was not a yes or no answer - regardless of whether the midnight poet who was about to be strangled had the ability to abandon the basic functions of the human body like the mythical creature and be able to answer properly when being strangled by the throat - but the midnight poet's eyes that suddenly became empty.

Familiar pain, familiar numbness, familiar despair, familiar emotions filled the pair of pupils that were identical to his. The monster from another world subconsciously loosened his fingers. He already knew the answer, but he subconsciously shook his hand off and stepped back as if escaping could save something.

"——Klein is dead."

He was just a midnight poet in a different world. He didn't have the flavor of the Aurora Society, but he became a host of the Time Worm, Leonard Mitchell said. His throat had been strangled for too long, and now what he uttered was more like a breath, and his expression was so sad.

"I don't know what you are, or what you want to do with Crane - you are too late, Crane is already dead."

"No, that's not it—"

The monster uttered a murmur of resistance. He was about to leave the living room. Those eyes, tentacles, dead branches and pollution reappeared. They screamed, roared, and bit. The Midnight Poet was once again nailed to the wall like a bug. Even the shadow of Pales was temporarily unstable. The monster stretched out his hand. This time, he did not attack. He tightly grasped the old red tie around his neck. The soft fabric wrinkled between his fingers. He seemed to be suffocating, but he still pulled the tie tightly, as if to send himself deeper into death.

Pales took a deep breath, and the Time Worm returned to the host's body. The Midnight Poet subconsciously called out "old man", but before he could ask a question, other voices came from the door.

There was a knock on the door, interrupting the monster's movements. Leonard was stunned for a moment, then he struggled even harder - the only people who would come to visit at this time were the ordinary people in Tingen that Leonard needed to protect, and Captain Dunn and Klein had fought hard to protect - in the face of the huge power difference, his struggle seemed so insignificant and meaningless. Only more blood was pumped out of his flesh that had begun to rot and wither as he struggled, quickly staining the carpet that Klein had praised for its taste, and seeping into the cracks in the wooden floor.

The monster loosened his grip. He did not seem to be in a hurry to take Leonard's life, nor did he continue to torture himself. He just smiled, his folded arms covered by his hanging long sleeves. The man who looked no different from Leonard walked to the door, without even trying to cover himself, and he did not seem afraid of Leonard's rescue. He opened the door.

Standing at the door was a boy who was barely worthy of being called a teenager. He was dressed simply but cleanly, and the edges of his old clothes had been worn to the point of being frayed. In his arms, he held a large bouquet of flowers that covered his entire upper body and half of his face. The boy's dark brown eyes looked up, and the man's body blocked the view of the people outside the door into the room.

"I'm here to give you flowers."

The boy gave the name of a flower shop.

"Mr. Mitchell, this is the bouquet you have reserved in full. Please sign after confirmation. I'm sorry I'm an hour late."

He struggled to hand over the red bouquet, and the man's eyes stayed on the red. The beautifully wrapped bouquet was tied with a beautiful ribbon. The thorns of each red rose were carefully removed, leaving only some tender leaves as a match. At a glance, it was all rich red. The pedestrians who hurriedly passed by on the street were also attracted by the dazzling color, and soon showed a smile of understanding after casting a glance.

Roselle's inventions, his poems and plays, opened up a new era. In Roselle's artworks, roses have always been praised as the flower of love, especially red roses. Even in Loen, this is no exception. Such a grand bouquet of roses is the most daring and passionate confession in the eyes of the conservative people of Loen.

The man was silent for a while, then he reached out and took the rose, then the paper and pen handed to him by the boy. He wrote an L, paused, and then continued with the following letters. The florist who had completed the delivery task left quickly. The door closed, and the light of the street lamp and the voices on the street were isolated behind the door. Only the increasingly strong fishy sweetness remained in the dark space. Two pairs of green eyes stared at each other in the darkness, one pair was as fierce as a wolf, and the other pair was left with only deathly indifference.

"You ordered the rose."

The man said.

"No card, no signature... Whose rose is it for?"

"What does it have to do with you?"

Leonard said, his hand tightly grasping the black and red long branch that pierced his shoulder blade. The Night Watcher, unwilling to be nailed to the wooden board like a bug, never gave up struggling. His blood loss had reached a very dangerous level for a superhuman. He should have fainted long ago, but Leonard did not faint. He repeatedly pulled at the wound, letting the pain help him stay awake.

——Because Leonard had sworn, because Leonard had already experienced the outcome of fainting, and because he no longer wanted to be the helpless, dead left behind.

"...It's for him."

The man didn't seem to hear Leonard's voice. He stared at Leonard for a moment, then lowered his eyes. His gaze stayed on the red that he hadn't let go of. After a long silence, he spoke in a very soft voice. The question was more like a self-questioning than a question.

"Leonard Mitchell, you bought the flowers, why didn't you give them away?"

19.

Why didn't they send it out? They clearly ordered a large bouquet of roses. Even the midnight poets of Tingen knew what it represented. It was a gift beyond the scope of friends and colleagues.

Because it's too late.

Leonard has already mixed into the Moretti family's group. He gets along well with Melissa and Benson. They will go to see Legend of the Count together tomorrow. Leonard ordered flowers and plans to give them to him after watching the play. The two tickets for Legend of the Count that belong to Klein and Leonard are still lying on the cabinet at the entrance. That person was buried six feet under this morning, and after the day he left, Leonard never picked up the tickets that he couldn't give away.

Leonard once asked himself the same question: Why didn't he give it away? Why didn't he ask for it earlier? Why didn't he figure it out earlier? Why did he wait until after Klein's death, when he was carrying his coffin, but didn't have the status to ask Klein's brother and sister to give him some of Klein's belongings as a memorial?

My heart is stuck in my throat. I couldn't help being attracted to you from the first time we met. I kept approaching you. I've trusted you time and time again. We've also sat together and dreamed about the future.

Obviously, there should be a long time and a long story between him and him.

Then death sealed everything. The ticket without its owner lay on the porch. The rose Leonard had forgotten was delivered to the door only after the deceased was buried... Now Leonard was also going to die. He was going to throw away the only life that Klein had left for him and that was protected by the captain.

The old man stopped talking. The Midnight Poet knew that this strange man with the same face as him was an opponent he could not defeat. Leonard couldn't even pull himself out of the ground, let alone continue fighting. Leonard was certainly not unaware of the fate of the Nighthawks caught by the heretics.

It's nothing but death.

But inexplicably, Leonard actually felt a little relieved. After the death of the captain and Klein, he had always felt something pressing down on his chest and shoulders, holding down his breathing and arms. This was the first time he felt so relaxed. Perhaps it was an illusion due to excessive blood loss, or perhaps there was some contamination or toxin on the black and red branch that pierced his shoulder blade.

Leonard's life, which he could not choose, was about to end. Leonard's death, which he could not choose, was about to fall. His soul would eventually reach the goddess's kingdom and sleep with him in the fragrance of the deep sleeping flower. At this moment when he had to die and could not even take revenge, Leonard only hoped that he could walk faster, and perhaps catch up with the grave pit next to Klein.

"You can't get away."

The Nighthawk said this in a hoarse, low voice. Leonard was a Nighthawk after all, and he didn't think that a monster with the same face as his could gain any advantage with it - the goddess always watched over her wolf pack.

"I know."

The monster said, His voice was calm. Softly, He said.

"I didn't think about running away...I just couldn't accept this ending."

Feng Ya has something to say: Why is it getting longer and longer... 8870 updates are here. Please comment and like the little blue hand to support it. Orz Thank you everyone

In the next chapter, Aurora Club Lun will continue to work overtime to keep an eye on the main storyline Lun GAY Klein!

(3)

20.

The wheels of the carriage rolled around, round and round, and the monster sitting in front of the carriage was still humming the song. Klein sat next to Leonard, and he kept the beat of the unfamiliar song. Leonard had never heard of that song, and he didn't know why Klein thought that the monster was also "Leonard." He just couldn't help but look at Klein.

Just like a few days ago, Klein was still sitting next to him; just like every time before, the carriage shook as it moved, and their legs would always touch each other a few times; just like before, Klein's body temperature was transmitted to Leonard through two layers of clothing, and he was warm.

——Klein is alive.

Just this one thing made Leonard's eyes and nose sore. The midnight poet in Tingen suddenly felt like he was in a dream.

If it weren't for the grave soil that fell into the coffin on the corner of Klein's clothes, and the black suit that was too formal and expensive even for the little fortune teller who always observed etiquette, Leonard might really think that the previous death was just an illusion. Tingen did not face a crisis, and no one in the Nighthawks team left. After he and Klein finished the mission and sat in the carriage, he could see Captain Dunn's serious face when he returned to the Blackthorn Company.

But outside the carriage, the monster was still humming a song Leonard had never heard of, a song of an unfamiliar style, and the pain still lingered on his shoulder blades. The old man was quieter than ever before. Everything told Leonard that everything that happened before was not a dream. There were not so many nightmares in the world. This world has always been flooded with things that are worse than nightmares.

Fate does not produce illusions, Leonard knew, but he thought: But fate does have miracles.

Like a miracle, Leonard personally dug up the grave he had filled up this morning just because he wanted to take another look at Klein and didn't want to leave Klein's body to be desecrated by a monster. His hands were shaking, and the trembling made him use the wrong strength, and a gap was opened in the coffin. Through the gap, Leonard saw Klein's face. The little fortune teller's face was bathed in the light of the red moon, and it seemed to have a hint of redness. Without the dead whiteness of excessive blood loss and the stiffness of the dead, he looked as if he was alive. Klein looked like he was just asleep.

——Then, those eyes opened, and Klein woke up.

Leonard actually didn't know how all this happened. He didn't know why Klein, who had his heart dug out and was buried by his own hands, came back to life from the coffin. He also didn't know what role the monster played in this, and whether Klein left any traces of the virus on his body.

There are no gifts without reason in this world. This is what Leonard has been taught since he was a child in the church's orphanage. It is this kind of vigilance that makes Leonard not rush to be promoted, even though his "adventure" repeatedly urges him. It is also this cognition that tells him that there are no free miracles in this world, especially the miracle of resurrection from the dead.

Leonard didn't know what the price of a miracle was, but he thought he was willing to pay it for Klein.

twenty one,

No matter what the cost of the miracle was, no matter where that cost would put him.

Even though Leonard already knew that he was not the protagonist, even though he was just a lucky survivor, even though he was destined to lose again and again until he had nothing, even though he only had one chance in his lifetime to risk his life... even though he had already missed it once.

"I can always do something."

Leonard murmured, his voice was very low, he was really mumbling to himself, he didn't even really want to say it out loud - but Klein still heard it. The little fortune teller who had always been alert like a cat now looked less nervous. Of course, there was still some uneasiness on his face about the sudden unfolding of the plot, but he was no longer nervous. He turned his head to look at Leonard, his eyes seemed a little shallow in the night, as shallow as a lake of candy.

"What?"

"nothing."

Leonard said, and Klein glanced at him, knowing that this guy was definitely hiding something from him. But seriously, what could be more terrifying than closing your eyes and opening them again, not only coming back to life, but also finding that your gay male colleague is digging your grave?

Now that things have come to this, it's better to just ask directly. Klein thought so. He felt that he had mustered up enough courage, but the topic that came out of his mouth was still something else.

"You haven't told me yet"

Leonard had a clever idea and blurted out the Midnight Poet.

"—He threatened me!"

"How did he threaten you?"

Klein seemed a little suspicious. There were no signs of torture on Leonard, and he didn't look like he was being controlled. The little fortune teller found it hard to imagine how the Leonard from the parallel world outside could threaten his counterpart in this world, causing two Leonards to not only dig his grave, one to guide the other, but also bring a bouquet of roses that shouldn't be refreshed in a cemetery, but should be refreshed in some confession studio. Leonard shuddered, his inspiration told him that there were some things he couldn't say, and his reason told him that he had made a decision.

"I can't say." Midnight Poet smiled bitterly and said, "Change the question."

"..."

Klein was silent for a while. Leonard was never good at keeping secrets. He knew that. Leonard was not good at lying either. He knew that. Besides, he had come back to life. There was still plenty of time and opportunities. Klein, who felt that he couldn't rush into such a matter and could wait until he returned to the gray fog to divine, obediently changed the subject.

"You can still buy a shovel at this time?"

In this era, most families have tool boxes on hand, and some even have tool rooms to deal with various unexpected situations in the house. But a shovel is obviously not one of the common tools. Klein thought, at least I can know how long this protagonist of this era has been planning to dig my grave, right?

"That guy gave it to me."

Leonard made a sound of great desire to survive, and the pendulum on Klein's wrist swayed gently, clockwise, which was the truth.

"oh."

Klein said slowly. He stared at the pair of green eyes that looked like gemstones and lakes. The red bloodshot covered the whites of the eyes. It seemed that Leonard had not been doing well during the time of his death. This was natural. Klein had witnessed the death of the captain before he died. Leonard was just a protagonist of the era with a grandfather and strange self-comparisons. He was not a monster without blood or tears. Leonard's emotions and goodwill were always frightening. When he came close to him, Klein once madly complained in his heart, "Fuck, there is a gay..."

The captain and I died in front of him. How could he not be sad? Klein thought as he stared into those eyes. Suddenly, he missed Benson and Melissa. They had only been a family for less than three months, but at this moment, Zhou Mingrui missed them a little.

How are they doing? Have they received their pension? I heard that the pension for the Nighthawks is really high? Did Melissa cry? Can Benson comfort her? He always tells bad jokes...

His thoughts spread out like water, and Klein suddenly felt a little cold. He didn't know how long he had been dead, but when he left the cemetery, he could see the yellowing leaves nearby. Autumn had arrived. This was his first autumn in another world, and probably his first New Year... This was the first time Zhou Mingrui had been so far away from home.

The Midnight Poet's face was full of signs of fatigue. His former vigor and elegance had cooled in death, but when he looked at Klein, his eyes were still the same as before.

It was the same beautiful green color as before, and the same warmth as before.

In his eyes, Klein was not some monster who had inexplicably come back to life and should be escorted to the Chanis Gate for dissection, but his colleague, his friend, and someone he cared about.

So, inexplicably, Klein also relaxed. Freed from tension and sadness, the curiosity that killed the cat took over again. Klein asked again.

"Did he give you the rose too?"

——No need to divine, no need to wait for an answer, Klein knew very well, of course not. Although Klein could see something different about the rose, the wrapping paper was very familiar, and the name of the flower shop was printed on it. The flower shop was on the same street as the Blackthorn Company, and Klein passed by the flower shop many times on his way to and from get off work.

Under his gaze, the midnight poet of Tingen fell silent. He remained silent for a long time and finally chose to raise his hands in surrender.

"...Can I not say it?"

When he said this, the wheel just happened to run over a stone, and the entire carriage suddenly threw up. Klein lost his balance for a moment. The Midnight Poet did not reach out to grab any handrails. He subconsciously hugged Klein at the first moment. It was a posture to resist attack. Having given up his extraordinary strength, without guns and ammunition, Leonard only had this body left, and he used the body to wrap Klein tightly.

His back hit the corner of the carriage, and Leonard let out a short groan. Klein hurriedly climbed out of his arms, supported by Leonard's arm to regain his balance. He returned to his seat, but the previous image was still lingering in his retina.

It was just that second when the carriage was jolting, just that moment when the window was shaken open, just the right angle, the unfamiliar red moon illuminated the carriage. Klein raised his head slightly. The Midnight Poet's physique was indeed enough to completely wrap up the little fortune teller who grew up in malnutrition. When Klein raised his head, he could only see his neat jawline and the side of his neck.

twenty two,

Leonard's right ear, the midnight poet's ear, is hidden under his messy black hair, and his earlobe is red.

The atmosphere suddenly seemed a little tense. Klein sat back in his seat in silence and tightly shut his mouth. The keyboard warriors of the 21st century felt that this development was really too shocking. What was even more shocking was that as a straight man, he actually felt good. His heartbeat even accelerated. He did not feel disgusted at all as a straight man when he was raped by a gay.

It's all the poet's fault, Klein thought. Who told him to have a face that looks like it was modeled in a game with filters and soft light turned on...

The little fortune teller was still struggling in vain, and Leonard breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know whether he should be thankful that the sudden accident interrupted Klein's questioning, or that it was night time. The unlit carriage was dark enough, and Klein was not an insomniac. Without the bonus of night vision, he probably couldn't see his ears, which were already hot and red.

"You won't tell him?"

Pales' voice rang in Leonard's ears. The midnight poet no longer made obvious gestures of listening attentively. He just gently tapped his knees twice with his fingers.

That is a gesture of negation.

Leonard thought, I won't let Klein know. Klein has worked hard, Klein has paid his price, he has died once for Tingen, he has died in front of me once. It is enough that he survived, this is a miracle that Leonard had never even dreamed of before -

twenty three,

What remains is the price Leonard needs to pay.

twenty four,

In a story that Klein didn't know, a conversation took place while he was still sleeping in the coffin and before the two Leonards who were digging the grave walked out of the house.

"Klein will not die."

"He's dead," Leonard said. He emphasized and repeated it over and over again, more like trying to convince himself than to convince others: "- I buried his coffin in the ground with my own hands."

"Did he say goodbye to you?"

The monster just asked. Leonard wanted to ask, what do you think death is? How do you think Klein died? Do you think accidental death is like a postman who comes slowly? When it arrives, he will stand outside your door and knock on the door, waiting for you to open the door and let him in when you are ready. Before he could find the right words to express his anger, the monster repeated the question again.

"Did Klein say goodbye to you?"

"..."

Leonard closed his mouth. The pain was even stronger than when he was nailed to the wall before, his flesh corroded, and his bones withered, so he had to grit his teeth: Klein certainly didn't say goodbye to him. He fainted during the battle, and when he woke up, there were only two bodies with broken chests lying beside him. He couldn't cover the blood that was almost drained from Klein's chest, nor could he bring back the captain's breath that had already stopped.

He was a midnight poet, not a psychic. Leonard couldn't communicate with spirits, and he wouldn't disturb their souls that had already gone to the Goddess's kingdom. The dead couldn't speak or hear any sound, so Klein certainly didn't say goodbye to him.

"If Klein wants to leave, he will definitely say goodbye to me."

The monster said, and in his words he seemed to be that Leonard. Leonard just felt sick. He really couldn't imagine why he became like this. The third time, the monster asked.

"--Did he say goodbye to you?"

——How can one not think about it? How can you not think about it, if it is possible, if there is a miracle, if God has mercy, if God has eyes, if everything has an if, if you can see him again?

"......No."

Leonard heard his own voice, and he also heard the old man's sigh. He spoke word by word.

"Klein didn't say goodbye to me, and I... didn't have time to say goodbye to him."

25.

People are really stupid, aren't they? You clearly know the result, you clearly know the answer, you clearly know that he won't come back, but you still can't help but say goodbye to him.

Goodbye, goodbye, it seems that after saying this, I can wait until the day we meet again.

26.

"I wanted to kill you."

The bunch of roses that was big enough to fill Leonard's arms was still held in the monster's arms. The heavy roses tilted sideways, and the fragrance of the flowers mixed with the dirty blood tortured Leonard's sense of smell. The monster raised his hand, and the long branch that was tearing at Leonard's shoulder blade was crushed into powder, and merged into the shadows. He rubbed his fingertips, and then snapped his fingers. With just a snap of his fingers, all the wounds on Leonard's body had healed. Leonard subconsciously raised his hand and touched the area below his collarbone. Not to mention the scar, even his clothes were back to normal, and even the dizziness caused by excessive blood loss disappeared.

"I don't like them, but I didn't intend to kill the old man. Until you said Klein's name... How dare you let the phantom shout out his name? Zoroaster."

"I'm not a phantom," Leonard said. "I'm alive. I don't know what the story is between you and the old man, but I won't help you."

He stood up by holding onto the wall, his right hand stained with blood that had not yet dried. The midnight poet of Tingen emphasized again:

"——I won't give you the chance to control me."

"You will do it." The monster said, and he smiled. This time, it was no longer rigid and standard, but it was still stiff: "Just like I will do it... Leonard will do it. How can Leonard refuse?"

"I won't." Leonard said, "You can kill me, you can control me, I don't need the old man to tell me that I know you can do it. But I will never help you."

"——If I need you to catch up with Klein, will you refuse?"

"......?"

"Listen, Leonard, you satisfy Crane, or I kill you and let another 'me' do this."

The monster laughed gently, kindly, and also with extreme malice and hatred.

"You can ask that old guy. I can do it. I'm not Klein. I don't like Leonard that much."

He used a wording that was more like love. Leonard paused. There was no need to talk about his feelings for Klein anymore. The roses that had lost the chance to be given away were still held in the monster's arms. The midnight poet of Tingen could regard himself as the protagonist of the era, so he naturally had no lack of self-confidence. However, love not only makes people blind, but also makes people timid. Even Leonard, who called himself the protagonist, could hardly have such a high standard for Klein's feelings for him.

Maybe if Megose hadn't come, maybe if Klein hadn't died, maybe if they had really gone to see the Earl's return together, maybe if the rose had really been delivered to the little fortune teller, maybe ten or twenty years later, Leonard would have had such confidence, but there is no if in reality. The story ended before Leonard even opened his mouth.

His relationship with Klein ended before it began, and he was buried under the soil along with the little fortune teller's coffin, remaining in the definition of a colleague. Leonard didn't even have the qualifications to ask Klein's relatives for a little relic to commemorate him, so how could he dare to covet Klein's love?

The pain spread skillfully from his chest, and the bitter taste of swallowing at the funeral still remained in his throat. The old man did not respond. This should have been disturbing, but perhaps the numbness that lasted for many days swallowed up his vigilance. Leonard could not help but ask.

"Why did you do that?"

"Are you asking me?" The monster said. He seemed more surprised than the person being asked, as if the answer to all this was obvious and something Leonard should know: "Do you even need to ask this? Only in this way will there be a slight chance that Klein will be willing to stay."

"What is your relationship with Klein?" Leonard asked. His brain was working faster than ever before in this crisis, but he couldn't understand what the other party was saying at all: "Why did you say that you want Klein to stay? Where will Klein go?"

Where could Klein go? Why did Tingen's little fortune teller want to leave? Apart from death, what else could make him leave the Nighthawks? His brother and sister were here, his home was here, his favorite sweet iced tea and cakes were all here, and his colleagues, teachers, and friends were all here.

Leonard didn't have the arrogance to think he was important, but he couldn't help but think - I'm here too.

Tingen carried everything Klein had and gave him everything he wanted. Why did Klein leave? What could make him leave? Leonard didn't know the answer - he even thought that the madman opposite him might have lost his mind to think so.

But this time, the monster who always spoke words that Leonard couldn't understand did not answer. He didn't feel sad because his pain point was hit. He didn't even react. He just said.

"This is not something you should know now... You just need to answer me yes or no, hurry up, I'm in a hurry."

Before Leonard could reject it outright, the monster added one more sentence. He asked.

"Leonard Mitchell, if you had a choice, what ending would you choose?"

27.

If you had a choice, what ending would you choose?

28.

Leonard had thought about this question many times: the day he became an orphan; the day when the orphanage was raided by the cultists of the Aurora Society; the day when Sister Mother fell in front of him; the day when he was supposed to die like the other children, but was saved because of a word; the day when he was sent to Tingen with hatred, repeatedly prayed to the goddess but got no result, acted alone but was still protected by his companions during the mission, and finally made up his mind to die before his companions.

People always have different answers to the same question at different times, but Leonard's answer has remained the same since the day he was branded as a member of the Aurora Society at the age of five.

——Only death.

If possible, he would avenge Mammy and his childhood companions before dying. If not, he would resolutely not let the Aurora Society's conspiracy come true before dying. During those peaceful days, Leonard became the Night Watcher of the Goddess of Night. He had decided not to be promoted in this life, to live a daily life, to be an ordinary low-level person, not to take on any important tasks, and not to give those monsters any chance until the day when the Aurora Society could not help but come to clean up the mess. Even when he met Klein later, Leonard was led by him in a daze. He couldn't help but stick to him, thinking that he would protect him and he would die before him.

But Klein died in front of Leonard. In despair, Leonard admitted for the first time that he was also a monster, picked up a shovel and went to dig Klein's grave. He thought that your soul and the captain's soul had gone to the goddess's heaven. You are so kind, you probably won't mind leaving your body to me. In the end, what lay in the coffin was not a cold corpse, but Klein, whose heartbeat was slowly recovering.

Leonard's fate went to another extreme. In order to pay for the miracle, he became the person he would rather die than become. The new member of the Aurora Society soon became Mr. L of the Aurora Society. He was highly valued and famous. Scarlet and whispers entangled him, dragging him into the abyss - but Leonard still raised his head and looked at Klein.

All he could see was Klein.

29.

Klein is Leonard's reason for persisting, Klein is the reason why Leonard did not die, and Klein is the starting point and the end that Leonard set for himself.

Leonard didn't dare let the detective, who went by the alias Sherlock, know what he was doing. He tried hard to pretend, but he knew he was not very good at pretending. Klein often looked at him suspiciously, but Klein didn't expose him in the end. They lived under the same roof in Backlund, leading two completely different lives. Every time he returned home, Leonard smelled the food in the kitchen, saw Klein sticking his head out and asking him if he wanted coffee or tea, he was thinking.

He thought, if only it could stay like this until death.

But there are no ifs in the world, just like miracles always have a price. One day, the normal shell that Leonard maintained with great difficulty was broken. The ability of the Rose Bishop saved him from sudden death, but also presented a pool of turbid red in front of Klein. The flesh magic made Leonard recover quickly. He quickly regained his human form, still handsome face, still beautiful muscles, still healthy bones - when the pair of green eyes were repaired, Leonard saw Klein.

Klein was sitting next to him, his blood and flesh all over his favorite sofa and carpet, which Leonard had brought him to the flea market to buy. Leonard recovered, but they could never recover.

Klein didn't ask any questions, and he didn't even speak. The detective had already set up a spiritual wall to prevent others from seeing the abnormality in the room. He even cleaned up all the traces that Leonard didn't have time to deal with properly. He just looked at Leonard silently. There was no confusion in his eyes, but a trance of enlightenment. Although he didn't say anything, just by meeting that gaze, Leonard seemed to be able to hear Klein's voice.

He was asking him - how did you become like this.

Leonard, how could you become like this?

As a result, a stronger pain than when he was transformed penetrated his brain and chest, and Leonard seemed to have become a corpse hung upside down on the altar with his throat slit. At that moment, the monster's mind flashed through a thousand and ten thousand ways to prevent a person from escaping, but in the end he didn't even dare to grab the corner of Klein's clothes.

Leonard couldn't even say the words to persuade him to stay, nor could he make a sound of pleading. The Aurora Society had recently become famous, and Mr. L, who had hated everyone from the Orthodox Church to his evil peers, had the urge to shrink under the gaze of his old friend. Bishop Rose wished he could hide in a skin so that Klein wouldn't see him look so ugly.

The only thing that stopped Leonard from doing this was not his brain, which had been burned out by the mumbling and the battle for sanity, but Klein. It was because Leonard knew that Klein did not like to escape, nor did he like people who escaped.

So he had no choice - he had already done too many things that Klein would never like or accept, but he couldn't accept that he had become something that Klein didn't like in the areas that he could choose.

"I know what I'm doing. I know what I'm doing. I'm going to die a miserable death. Don't worry, Klein. After I... I will die obediently."

Leonard was confused and panicked. He didn't even know what he was saying. His words were confused and he just kept repeating the same theme. But he still remembered hiding that thing. It was a secret that Klein couldn't know no matter what.

"——I've made up my mind. I've always known that I should die, Klein. I will really go. I won't run away."

Leonard said this, and he knew that his promise was worthless. Who would believe the promise of the Aurora Society? Who would believe the oath of the cultists? Even Leonard himself didn't believe it. When he was still a night watcher, he would only send such a monster behind the Chanis Gate, or more simply, give him a bullet.

"...I don't want you to die, Leonard."

Klein said he grabbed Leonard and he held Leonard's shoulders.

"I don't want you to die, I just don't understand why you won't tell me no matter what—"

Klein paused. He wanted to ask Leonard why he didn't tell him, but he stopped. Mr. Magician of Sequence 7 felt a deep sense of powerlessness again. He suddenly realized that even if Leonard told him, he could do nothing.

Of course you can save a person who is starving to death in the slums, and you can save a hundred people like that, but how can you grab the hand of a person favored by an evil god and bring him back to the blessing of a righteous god?

"sorry."

Leonard was still apologizing, he was still apologizing to him. The last link was opened, and Klein naturally quickly connected the seemingly not very smart Leonard in front of him with Mr. L, who was said to be promoted by Aurora. Looking at Leonard's current appearance as if he was an elementary school student who had made a mistake, Klein felt that it was a bit absurd, but also a bit funny. That emotion disappeared in a flash, and only sadness remained.

Klein knew that the world he traveled to was not a peaceful one. He also knew that things are unpredictable. He had faced the death of Old Neil and witnessed that Coenley stopped breathing just because of a wrong decision. Klein died with the captain. After arriving in Backlund, he saw more elderly people and children in the slums fall like straw... But he never thought that Leonard would become like this.

He always felt that the midnight poet in Tingen was the midnight poet he knew no matter what. He was naturally suave, had a little more confidence than the protagonist, had a superior sense of smell, and was familiar and close. Klein thought about many of the little secrets Leonard had kept from him. He had also participated in the Gray Mist Divination, but after confirming that Leonard's little secret was harmless to him, he chose to respect him as he did in Tingen.

Klein was the only one who never thought Leonard would become like this.

30.

After an unknown amount of time, Klein heard his own voice. His throat was hoarse, and he spoke dryly.

"—you shouldn't have said sorry to me."

Klein said, then paused and continued.

"I should say sorry."

"......?"

Bishop Rose didn't understand what Klein was talking about. He blinked blankly and waited quietly for Klein to pronounce the verdict. To be honest, Leonard had thought about it countless times before. It would be great if he could be judged by Klein and die in his hands.

He had always thought so, but Leonard didn't dare to say it, and he didn't dare to ask. He knew that Klein was nostalgic and soft-hearted. He felt that there was still a little friendship between him and Klein, so he didn't dare to be so cruel to Klein.

Mr. L had long been stained with blood, and the difference between the Aurora Society's leaders and the word "heartless" was as great as that of eight thousand Nighthawks. Leonard had gotten used to this kind of life, and he was doing very well - but he just didn't want to do this to Klein.

He didn't want to be so cruel to Klein, he didn't want to force it, he didn't even dare to ask. He just looked at Klein from afar, he just kept waiting, like a sunflower waiting for the sunrise.

"I should say sorry, I should say sorry to all of them."

Klein said to him, his voice was low but firm. He seemed to be trying to persuade Leonard, but also seemed to be talking to himself.

"I will pay it back with you. I know it's not enough. I will find a way, Leonard. Believe me, I have a way... Leonard, I will stay with you."

For a moment, Leonard almost thought he had heard it wrong. He raised his head and looked into those amber eyes. Those eyes were already wet, but still so bright, as bright as the sun.

——I will be with you, from now to the future. I will watch you, from the beginning to the end. I will not let you face all this alone, and I will not let you continue to sink.

The sun was not blinding, nor did it burn people. It did not have a burning wind, nor was it high above. His sun gave him a hug, using all the strength of the little fortune teller. It took Leonard a long time to regain his limbs and strength in the warmth that overwhelmed him. Tentatively and gently, he placed his hand on Klein's back. Klein did not break free, and his breath hit Leonard's shoulder.

One second, two seconds, three seconds. He didn't break free. As if he had received some permission, Leonard finally closed his arms and hugged Klein tightly.

——He dragged him back to the human world.

Feng Ya has something to say: It's true that in the IF line, for various reasons, Lun upgraded faster than Xiao Ke at that time, although upgrading quickly is not a good thing.

This article is really longer than I expected, probably because I was too excited to write it. This chapter has 9000 words, and three chapters have 25,000 words. What's going on? This is different from what we agreed on.

Please continue to comment and like the little blue hand to support. Orz, there will be updates when the popularity exceeds 100, and comments can also trigger updates. We write very quickly.

(4)

29.

Contrary to what Klein expected, the carriage did not head towards the Blackthorn Company.

"I thought you would park the carriage directly in front of the Blackthorn Company."

Klein leaned against the uncomfortable hardwood backrest, with the huge bouquet of red roses still lying in his arms. The Tingen hero who had just resurrected from the dead said so.

"Why should I take you back to Blackthorn Company at this time?"

Leonard seemed even more confused than Klein. He quickly realized what Klein meant:

"Actually, I thought it would be safer to let the goddess check it out, but there are always unexpected things."

He didn't say it too clearly, but Klein already knew who the accident was—for example, Mr. Leonard from a parallel world whose name was unknown. The little fortune teller still insisted on speaking tough.

"I thought that as the goddess's night watchman, you would be more persistent."

"I said it before, that guy is not as gentle to me as he is to you." Leonard said, "I think now is not a good time to bring disaster back to Tingen."

Such a big thing happened in Tingen, so the temple naturally arranged people to patrol. The diligent Sword of the Goddess was on the way. Leonard, as one of the few remaining night watchmen, naturally knew this information. The Midnight Poet, who didn't know the old man's strength, certainly didn't know that he was not at the same level as Deacon Sesima in another world. He just made plans silently.

"Too."

Although he had no idea how dangerous the Leonard in the other world was, Klein nodded, saying that he would definitely choose the poet he was familiar with between the two Leonards. The resurrected man tried to adjust his mood, leaving all the things that could not be changed and the decisions that could not be made to his future self. He asked jokingly.

"--So, where are you taking me now, Mr. Nighthawk?"

"Let's go back to my house first."

Leonard said. His words were serious, but his tone was inevitably light-hearted, just like Klein's.

"It's late and you just woke up, so come to my place and take a hot bath and get some sleep. We can also get something to drink if you need."

"Forget about coffee, black tea will be fine." Klein consciously skipped the option of alcoholic beverages and said.

"no problem."

Leonard agreed seriously, with a smile on his face:

"—three pieces of sugar, double milk, I know."

30.

Before the carriage came to a complete stop, Leonard from the parallel world, who was acting as the coachman, jumped down first.

In this regard, his style was similar to that of Leonard, whom Klein was familiar with. He was determined not to wait until the carriage had stopped before getting off. Klein felt that this was more of a show of cool than a waste of time. Of course, an incompetent carriage driver would not open the door for passengers, but the Midnight Poet that Klein was familiar with had already gotten out of the carriage first, just like him in the parallel world. After landing, the Midnight Poet turned around to look at Klein who was still in the carriage and extended a hand.

It was a very gentlemanly gesture—Klein had a hard time suppressing the twitching corners of his mouth—it would have been even better if it wasn't usually used when a gentleman picks up a lady from a car.

In fact, the little fortune teller, who had not yet reached the point where he needed help, ignored Leonard's outstretched hand and got out of the car. What came into view was a familiar building - Leonard's home. Outside the townhouse, a vine plant that looked similar to creepers climbed over half of the wall, with lush leaves folded and fluttering, and all he could see was a deep and light red.

This wasn't Klein's first time at Leonard's house. The last time he came, most of the Tingen Nighthawks came with ingredients and gathered around Klein, who had accidentally exposed his cooking skills, for a dinner party... The bitterness surged up his throat, and Klein could still clearly remember the expressions and actions of everyone at the dinner party. He tried to pull himself out of his memory, but he couldn't help but be a little absent-minded.

"Klein?"

Noticing Klein's immobility, Leonard opened the door and walked back. His green eyes and handsome face occupied most of Klein's vision. The Midnight Poet coughed uncomfortably. He got out of the car and ran so fast just to make sure there were no traces left in the house. He didn't know whether he should thank that monster. The room that was a mess before they left, with scarlet on the floor, had now returned to its original state. Only the vase that had disappeared from the chest of drawers could prove that what had happened here before was not Leonard's hallucination.

"What are you looking at?"

"...Red."

"?"

The Midnight Poet's gaze lingered on Klein's face, and then he turned his head to look back along Klein's line of sight. He hadn't paid attention to the streets and houses for some time. The deaths of Klein and Dunn had drained all of his energy. The Midnight Poet's spirituality was clearly sufficient, but he always felt that he lacked strength.

People whose hearts are filled with loss and hatred have no spare energy to pay attention to irrelevant things. Leonard didn't even notice the change of seasons. After the fall, the night watchmen were still wearing late summer clothes, relying on their bodies and the fire in their chests to survive the change in temperature.

"Leonard, have the plants on your exterior walls ever been so lush before?"

Leonard's pupils contracted. The vines in his sight were waving green leaves and black branches. The winter in Tingen was not cold enough to snow, and the plants planted by the previous owner were not deciduous plants. Logically, the vines should be evergreen. But the moment Klein asked him, it was like an illusion was broken. The green leaves in Leonard's sight instantly turned red. The scarlet leaves covered the black and red dead branches. The long branches looked damn familiar. They were exactly the same as the ones that were nailed into Leonard's shoulder blades before.

"Maybe it's because I've been so fertile lately."

Another voice interrupted their conversation. Klein was stunned for a moment. He only realized now that he had completely ignored the existence of Leonard in another world. The latter did not enter the house, but stood in the courtyard. He put his hands in his pockets and his eyes were fixed on Klein when he said this. He stared at the bouquet of roses in Klein's arms and said with a smile.

"Plants, like humans, need nutrients. If left alone, they will just wither in the winter - right?"

"I have never tended a garden."

Klein chose a cautious statement. The monster seemed not to have heard him. He did not respond and just walked into the house. Unlike Klein who was a little confused, the Midnight Poet was horrified. He naturally knew what the monster meant by nutrients. The disappeared bloodstains and carpets in the living room were connected with the lush plants. He swallowed his saliva, and the Midnight Poet stood in front of Klein. In front of them was the open door and the person standing behind the door.

A monster with the same face as him stood behind the open door. He entered the room without turning on the lights. In the dark room, only his green eyes were bright, as bright as some wild beast.

In response to the monster's waiting, the red leaves in Leonard's sight swayed, and the vines twisted like snakes. Behind each leaf, there was an identical green eye.

Countless eyes were staring in the same direction. Each of them was staring at Klein, just like a sunflower staring at the sun—but a sunflower would not have the hunger to swallow the sun.

"Leonard?"

Klein's voice rang in his ears, and at that moment, all the abnormalities disappeared, and the tense atmosphere also disappeared. The red leaves and dead branches were so quiet that they seemed like simple plants, lying obediently on the outer wall. The little fortune teller, who had cooperated with Leonard many times in the mission, didn't know what made Leonard alert, but he had already cooperated and prepared for the battle.

"What did you find?"

"......nothing."

Leonard blinked, and he felt the pain again, the pain lingering on his disappeared wound, catching his neck. Leonard could feel the cold sweat soaking his back, and the fabric of his shirt stuck firmly to his spine. He called out to the old man in his heart, and this time, the old man spoke.

"Go in." The old man said, a little tiredly: "If He wanted you to die, He wouldn't have to go through so many detours."

——Him.

Leonard knew very well what this pronoun meant, and he felt his tongue turn bitter. Tingen was generally a peaceful city. The strongest beings that the Midnight Poet had faced before were nothing more than traitors from the Church of the Night and descendants of the True Creator. This was the first time he knew that the so-called angels looked like this—more like monsters than the out-of-control ones Leonard had seen, and they would use anyone's face.

"Don't you call yourself the protagonist of the era?" The old man said unhappily, "Why don't you dare to imagine that you can become an angel one day?"

Although the old man said so, Leonard, who had not completely relaxed, gestured to Klein. He walked into the house first, and Klein followed behind him. The topaz pendulum hung from his wrist, spinning clockwise.

"We'll talk about it after we can become an angel."

Leonard said in a voice that was almost a whisper.

"——I don't think I'll become...that kind of person."

31.

This is the only thing that makes Leonard confident and unwavering.

The death of Klein and the captain certainly made him determined to seek revenge, but it did not twist the Midnight Poet into a follower of an evil god or a monster who would do anything to achieve his goal. Leonard never believed the monster's lies that he was from another world, because he was certain.

Leonard couldn't imagine how he could become like that. He couldn't even think of the possibility. Young people are just so arrogant. They are too arrogant to become someone who looks like he's dead while alive, and who looks like a vengeful spirit or irrecyclable pollution after death.

The old man could not deny it, he just reminded Leonard.

"Follow your colleague closely and try to do what He asks. If you don't want to die—Yes, I know you are not afraid of death now, but your colleague has just been resurrected. Do you want him to die too?"

Having said that, the cool Midnight Poet, who had previously been ready to fight that devil if he had a disagreement, knowing that he would just die anyway, clenched his fists. He was silent for a while, then slowly nodded.

"I know."

He said softly.

"I won't risk Klein's life, old man. Don't worry. I... I can't afford the risk."

32.

The first thing Klein did after following Leonard into his house was to place the large bouquet of roses in his arms on the coffee table.

The rose bouquet that could hold an adult's arms looked heavy, but in fact it was heavier. Under the cover of the wrapping paper, the bottom of the flower branches was wrapped with a piece of moist cloth to serve as soil to help maintain the flowering period. Klein's sequence was that of a fortune teller who had not specially strengthened his body, and not an insomniac who could break door locks with his bare hands. His arms were already sore from the journey.

After putting down the flower, Klein moved his arms as discreetly as possible to make the unbearable numbness and itchiness go away quickly. On the other side, the Midnight Poet had already started communicating with him in the parallel world.

"It's getting late," Leonard said. "Whatever you want to do, you can do it tomorrow. It's time to rest now."

"oh."

The monster made a meaningless sound. Leonard took it as his agreement. He turned his head to look at Klein. The little fortune teller who had just stretched his arms suddenly said.

"How are the rooms divided?"

If Klein remembered correctly, the last time he came to Leonard's house, he and his colleagues turned Leonard's house upside down for various reasons. This certainly did not conform to the Loen gentleman's code of conduct, but the Night Watchman was a companion who could be trusted after all, and Leonard himself had no objection. He clearly remembered that Leonard's house only had two bedrooms.

——Two bedrooms and a living room, who will sleep on the sofa has obviously become an urgent problem that needs to be solved.

Leonard obviously didn't understand Klein's confusion, he said.

"I have two bedrooms..."

"——That's perfect." Leonard from the parallel world, dressed in a suit and tie, interrupted the midnight poet's narration: "One for me, and the remaining one is for the two of you."

Klein wanted to say that he felt safer with the two Leonards together, especially when the rose was in front of the three of us. Besides, don't you sleepless people not need much sleep? But in the end, he just asked a question that didn't sound too stressful.

"......Why?"

"Good question."

Leonard from the parallel world said, Klein noticed that his standing posture was exactly the same as that of the poet classmate, both of them looked like they couldn't stand straight no matter what. But unlike the poet classmate who always put his hands in his pockets and was as carefree as the world was, the man always raised one hand to touch his chest, his fingertips lingering on the old red tie, the silk fabric was wrapped around his fingers.

It was inappropriate. Perhaps because he had received too many gay shocks tonight, Klein suddenly had a strange idea - he wrapped the red around his fingertips, as if he wanted to tie the red string to his hand forcibly.

Just when Klein couldn't help but get rid of this thought along with the water that had entered his head at some point, he heard the man's voice.

"Maybe it's because—I like killing people when I dream?"

After saying this, before the remaining two people could reply, the man went upstairs. Soon, the sound of a door closing could be heard from upstairs. Only Klein and Leonard were left in the living room, looking at the roses blooming on the coffee table.

If it had been before, Klein would have definitely thought it was a coincidence, or that Emperor Roselle, as a time traveler, had copied everything. But after that Sichuan-flavored song, the evidence was irrefutable, and the perpetrator was caught red-handed. Klein could only blame himself for the spread of Earth culture—God damn, I'm good at the Loen translation of killing people in my dreams!

Besides, Leonard is a midnight poet, and the most he could transform into is Li Bai or Du Fu, why would he transform into Cao Cao?!

33.

Klein, who had to share a bedroom, or rather, had to move into Leonard's bedroom, followed the owner upstairs.

"I should have a very good relationship with you in this parallel world." Klein said, with a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone: "Why did I tell you everything?"

"I don't think that kind of thing is me either." Leonard muttered. The Midnight Poet always had an extra talent in judging Klein. He could naturally hear that Klein's complaints even had a hint of intimacy. He couldn't help but ask, "What does he mean?"

"Stories from my hometown."

Klein said, he paused and asked again.

"Do you want to know? I can tell you, too. Just this once."

The little fortune teller from Tingen said this in a casual tone, but his expression was not casual. He looked so tired, so exhausted, and so sad. Leonard looked at him and for some reason seemed to feel pain as well.

The defensive line between him and Klein suddenly disappeared. The little fortune teller stood in front of him, just like the stray cat Leonard had seen many years ago, soaked in the rain and giving up struggling or asking for help. If it weren't for the heaving of its chest, it would have looked like it had died again.

Leonard knew what this meant; his former police colleagues in the Night Watch had taught them that, in the context of an interrogation, it meant that the person you were interrogating had their defenses completely broken down and no longer had the strength to resist. As long as you press on and take advantage of the situation, you will find out everything you want to know.

But Klein is not the person I am interrogating, Leonard thought. I want to see Klein get better more than his secrets, than the story of Klein that the monster knows but I can't understand.

Leonard wanted to see Klein get better, pick himself up, put up defenses, and protect himself, even if he was isolated from this and returned to his original position as a colleague and friend.

——He has already experienced a miracle. Klein is alive. The miracle Leonard prayed for has already happened. For a mortal, a miracle that happens once in a lifetime is already too many.

It's so much that it would be disrespectful for Leonard to ask for anything more now.

"...Klein, I'll go get you some water."

Leonard said, he spoke softly.

"Take a hot bath and you'll feel better."

"..."

Klein was looking at him, and Leonard tried to meet his caramel eyes with a clear conscience. His hands hung at his sides, his palms relaxed, and every pore was trying to convey a harmless message. After an unknown amount of time, Leonard finally heard Klein's voice again.

"——You mentioned earlier that there was black tea."

"I'll make you some!"

Leonard wanted to jump directly from the second floor to the first floor. He hurriedly took two steps back, wanting to make tea for Klein, but then he remembered that he hadn't heated up the bath water for Klein yet, so he walked back. The Midnight Poet wanted to grow eight legs to help him. Klein followed behind him, not helping at all, but just following Leonard. Suddenly, he laughed.

"Three candies."

He reminded. Leonard nodded, and he rolled up his sleeves and was adjusting the furnace.

"And there's double the milk. Don't be afraid, Klein. I won't forget."

"......Um."

34.

By the time Klein came out of the bathroom, he had already changed into Leonard's pajamas. The Midnight Poet's 1.80-meter height did give him a certain advantage over the 1.72-meter-tall little fortune teller. Klein had no choice but to roll up his sleeves and trouser legs, and when he walked out, he pulled at the collar that was wide enough to reveal most of his collarbone.

He walked into the bedroom with a warm vapor on his body and sniffed like a cat.

"I thought the Night Watchmen usually used Deep Sleep Flowers."

"Perhaps it's because the sleepless don't need sleep anymore?" Leonard said. The door separated the inside and outside. This was his bedroom. Klein was sitting on his bed. "I don't know about other sleepless people, but I don't usually need the deep sleeping flower essential oil to help me sleep."

"——If you're tired, just go to sleep, right?"

Klein played a joke that no one in the other world could understand. When the 21st century social animal programmers thought of the sleepless people's schedule that made 996 cry, shocked 007, and was almost on par with Stardew Valley, they felt that the work atmosphere was back.

"uh-huh."

The Midnight Poet, who didn't understand the joke, picked up the clothes on the high-back chair on the side of the bed and stuffed them into the closet. He occupied the high-back chair himself, proving with his actions that he really didn't intend to compete with Klein for the bed. Klein sat on the bed. From this angle, he looked at Leonard. The black gauze curtains at the four corners of the four-poster bed just covered half of Leonard's face. The curve of the gauze curtains slanted across Leonard's profile to the end of his eyes. His green eyes were blurred behind the black gauze, and only the smile at the corner of his mouth was particularly clear.

"So, what essential oils do you use?"

Klein, who had been busy studying mysticism and gold pounds since arriving in the other world, obviously had not expanded his knowledge to this extent. The time traveler who had never tried to fall asleep under the gaze of anyone other than his parents and teachers, just picked a random topic. He lifted the quilt, satisfied with the fluffy touch under his fingertips. The bed that the midnight poet, who fed the whole family with one person, bought for himself was completely worthy of the high weekly salary of the night watchman. Klein stuffed himself into the fluffy and soft quilt. He resisted the urge to roll around in the quilt and enjoy the big bed. He lay down like a board properly, with his hands neatly folded on his abdomen.

"Seville daisy."

The Midnight Poet said, and he lowered his voice very cooperatively. His voice, which was as superior as his face and body, was so sexy after being lowered that it made straight men's scalps numb and they wanted to run away. Klein's left hand held his right hand, and the rare straight man in the southwest repeated to himself that this was a temporary measure, and Leonard just took him in out of kindness.

"The language of flowers is joy. The most common species in Tingen are the golden ones. If you are interested, I can accompany you to the flower shop."

"Not that interested..."

Klein said, looking a little uncomfortable. The little fortune teller thought of the bouquet of roses again. Now it was lying in the middle of the coffee table in the living room on the first floor. Leonard just smiled. He leaned back and put his feet on the small table beside him. His green eyes were as bright as gems under the light of the red moon.

"Go to sleep," said the Midnight Poet. "It's getting late, and there are still many things to deal with tomorrow."

This was the truth. No matter why Klein climbed out of the coffin, no matter if there was any conspiracy or contribution from the evil god, and no matter what relationship all this had to the arrival of Leonard from another world - they would all have a very busy tomorrow.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, the armor of suspicion and caution that he had temporarily put aside would have to be put on again. Klein didn't know whether he would be sent to the Chanis Gate or dragged into a cult tomorrow. The fatigue overwhelmed the cat-like sensitive nerves of the resurrected. He shrunk a little deeper into the quilt, covering his mouth and the tip of his nose.

According to past practice, Klein should have tried to divine in the gray fog in the bathroom when he went to take a shower. He should have also taken advantage of the time before the foreseeable crises and disputes came to think of ways to break the deadlock. But for some reason, Klein just didn't want to move.

Klein didn't want to move, nor did he want to think, as if the resurrection and the unexpected developments before him had exhausted his energy. But he didn't want to sleep either, as if someone was whispering in his ear that the time was so good now, time was precious, and he should not let sleep occupy even a single minute of it...

"I'm not sleepy yet."

Trying hard to suppress the urge to yawn, Klein said. Leonard naturally would not miss his voice that was softened by sleepiness, and he could not help but want to laugh. Leonard felt relaxed for the first time in a long time, as if he had unloaded a burden. His shoulders were no longer heavy, and it took all his strength to straighten his back. The pain that had been pulling on his shoulder blades and neck also faded away, and he felt light and airy. Leonard seemed to have regained the leisure of the midnight poet in Tingen.

"Klein," he asked, with a hint of a smile, "Do you want me to read you a poem?"

"The kind from the Midnight Poets?"

The fortune teller who had partnered with him many times said unhappily. Leonard clenched his right fist, put it to his lips and let out a short laugh.

"No need for abilities, they all say that I can recite poetry pretty well, do you want to try it?"

Before he could finish his words, the Midnight Poet had already stood up. He pulled out a volume of Roselle's poems from the gap between the headboard and the pillow. Leonard sat back in his chair and flipped a page. Before Klein could refuse, he began to read softly.

——Okay, okay. Klein wanted to refuse the gay's excessive soothing service, so he covered half of his face with the off-white fabric again.

Strangely, the little fortune teller, who was sure that he was not sleepy and had no sleepiness at all, was still struggling with how to pass the awkward awake time, but before Leonard finished reading a poem, he was almost completely enveloped by sleepiness. Too lazy to struggle anymore, the little fortune teller closed his eyes obediently. The lantern placed by the window was not extinguished yet, and the light from behind Leonard was cast on his face. After Klein closed his eyes, he still saw red.

Through the skin and flesh, across time and space, the red moon and the firelight shone on Zhou Mingrui's face. In the fragrance of Seville chrysanthemums, Zhou Mingrui had a dream.

Dreams are red.

Feng Ya has something to say: Updates are coming. This chapter is 7100+, please enjoy it slowly. Next, we will start to follow the plot. The story of the IF line will also be gradually revealed as the plot progresses!

Please continue to comment and like the little blue hand to support Orz. There will be updates when the popularity exceeds 100. Comments can also trigger updates! Believe in our speed!

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35.

Klein had a dream. He was sinking in a sea of ​​red. Before he reached the bottom, he sank into the fragments of his dream.

Perhaps it was because the amount of Leonard was too high today. Klein also saw Leonard in his dream. The Leonard in the dream was not much different from the one outside the dream. The green-eyed midnight poet still had that romantic temperament. The top two buttons of his shirt were never buttoned properly. The collar was so wide that you could see his collarbone. He stood with him in the corner of the workhouse. Klein could easily recall that this was the early stage of their investigation into the sudden increase in deaths in Tingen.

It was also on that day that the poet classmate said something that was enough to make Klein laugh behind his back for the rest of his life - the two protagonists met, and the wheel of history began to roll forward.

Thinking of this, Klein couldn't help but curl his lips. He looked at Leonard, and their conversation went on as planned until they got to the point about each other's secrets.

"...As long as your actions do not harm the Nighthawks and the entire city of Tingen, you are still my teammate. Similarly, I hope you can treat me with a similar attitude. (1)"

Leonard said, with a fake smile on his face. Klein in the dream just looked at him silently, but Klein couldn't help but frown: No, something is not right. It seems that something is missing, and something is extra. However, no matter how good Klein's memory is, it is not enough to firmly imprint every word and every scene that happened in the past in his mind. Before he could delve into what the problem was, he heard his own voice.

"I do have this attitude. I only care about your behavior and purpose. I don't care about your uniqueness and I don't try to pry into your secrets. (2)"

Klein in the dream made the same promise as in Klein's memory. After a pause, he asked.

"I will never hurt anyone. I swear to the goddess. What about you? What will you use to guarantee it?"

Because it was a secret conversation away from other people, the two of them were actually very close, so close that it seemed that it was not appropriate to say such sharp words. Klein had never said such words in his memory. He promised that Leonard should relax and start discussing with him the parts of the case that he had learned with the help of Little Secret... Klein could see himself in those green eyes. Klein in the dream had the same face as him, and also had a bookish air, but what was more prominent than these was the caution and vigilance on his face. It was as if the person standing in front of him was not Leonard, not any of the Nighthawks, or even a believer of the goddess, but a known cultist.

What went wrong? Klein didn't know. Was this the world line where Leonard from that parallel world was? How did he and Leonard from that world become friends later on? Klein couldn't figure it out. A mess of thoughts disturbed his brain. Klein had many guesses, but without evidence, he couldn't come to a conclusion.

Just when he thought that he would fight with Leonard in his dream, or at worst part ways unhappily, he heard Leonard's voice.

"I pledge my life."

Leonard said, the fake smile on his face disappeared. The midnight poet without a smile looked like a poet without any poetic charm. He looked like a stone statue carved by a third-rate worker from the best template, with a shape but no soul, stiff and stereotyped. He put his hand on his heart and spoke each word, as if he was praying or swearing.

"If your secret can do it, you can also make sure of it yourself - I will die before I hurt you, hurt you all. I swear it."

36.

——The dream was distorted.

The scene that carried the old times shattered like a mirror, and the originally clear scenery and the human figure shattered together. After the dream was shattered, it was falling, falling at an extremely fast speed. The spirit body made Klein not have to open his eyes against the wind pressure. There were no physiological tears blurring his vision. Red and black occupied his field of vision.

Red and black make up the entire world, like the universe and also like a temple. Klein fell down, the feeling of weightlessness gnawing at his heartbeat and ankles. Behind him was deep black, and his figure quickly passed by pure white. The pure white pipes looked like stone sculptures, but they were soft like the curtains hanging from the top of a church; strings of stars with the luster of bones and mother-of-pearl were dotted in it; the walls were all scarlet, and the scarlet was squirming and opening and closing, as if he had fallen into the body of a monster.

This should have been an extremely bizarre scene, but inexplicably, Klein did not feel any fear. Strangely, he even felt a strange sense of relief. He fell very quickly, and from a distance, Klein could see the land he was about to fall into.

More scarlet, like fascia and muscles without skin disguise, like entangled worms and blood vessels, scarlet shuttled across the dark earth, palely dotted among the ruins. The 'earth' was melting, it was slowly sinking, and above the earth, a little light was rising.

The light was as thin as mist. It looked so weak and frail. It came towards Klein. Unable to help himself, Klein stretched out his hand.

Before falling into the scarlet embrace, before landing on the earth, and before touching the bright light, Klein woke up from his dream.

37.

"——!!!"

Klein woke up with a start.

Tingen's little fortune teller suddenly opened his eyes and sat up from the bed. Klein took a few deep breaths before he managed to calm down. At this time, Klein reached behind his neck and felt a normal dryness and warmth under his fingertips. In that strange dream, even though Klein woke up in shock, he did not break a single cold sweat.

What was that dream? The fortune teller couldn't think of an answer. Was it a sequelae of resurrection? Or was he also contaminated by the true creator when he died? Klein wasn't sure. He turned his head and saw the yellow crystal pendulum on the bedside table, besides the Roselle anthology that Leonard had read last night. The sofa was empty, the curtains were drawn, and only a little light squeezed in from the gaps in the thick fabric.

It's dawn.

When he realized this, Klein swallowed. It was quiet all around, and no one was waiting at the door to take him into the Chanis Gate, but for some reason, the fortune teller suddenly felt a little nervous.

It's like when an iOS alarm rings. Even if you don't have anything to do, even if you forgot to cancel the timer, you still can't help yourself. When you hear the ringtone, you instinctively wake up and get anxious. Moreover, Klein is not idle. He just came back to life. His experience as a night watchman tells him that if he doesn't want to become a new resident behind the Chanis Gate, it will be difficult for him to return to the goddess' holy emblem.

The accounts of those who died in battle before him, the hatred for Ince Zangwill, the unknown whether Benson and Melissa are doing well, the secret and price of his own resurrection, which is probably destined to leave him, the six-pound weekly salary that Klein had praised countless times, and the parallel world and the two Leonards he knew...

The fortune teller sighed, got out of bed, stepped on Leonard's slippers, which were definitely more than one size bigger than his, and headed towards the bathroom. The topaz pendulum was wrapped around his wrist again.

Anyway, let's go to the gray fog to have a divination. Also, although I don't know what day it is today, I hope I haven't missed the Tarot Club, otherwise I will have to make up a reason to explain why the omnipotent Fool suddenly short-circuited the signal...

38.

"There is an evil spirit behind my resurrection."

Counterclockwise.

"I've been contaminated."

Counterclockwise.

"Melissa and Benson..." The fortune teller above the gray fog paused. Of course, he had ways to avoid being recognized by his old friends, such as dressing up as a clown and meeting them. But now was obviously not the right time to do so: "They are not doing well now."

Counterclockwise.

"They are in good health. They were not involved in Ins Zangwill's attack."

Clockwise, still clockwise, a reassuring result. Klein continued to divine. He didn't know if his resurrection had stimulated his potential golden finger. He could feel that his connection with the gray fog had deepened, and his spiritual energy consumption in the gray fog had also become much smaller. Now Klein could stay above the gray fog for a longer time.

"Leonard has ill intentions towards me."

The pendulum rotated counterclockwise at a very fast speed. If it tried harder, it would spiral up like a dog's tail. Klein inexplicably found this scene quite funny. He changed the question and divined -

"Well, Leonard from the parallel world will pose a threat to me."

The pendulum spun counterclockwise faster, and this time it looked like it was really going to spiral up to heaven. Klein hesitated for a moment. He wanted to divine the origins of the guy who looked fine but didn't look like Leonard. His spiritual intuition told him that there were many stories behind him that he should know. Tingen's little fortune teller was no longer a novice in fortune telling. He closed his eyes and had no medium, so he could only recite the known information silently.

Klein had no expectations for such divination. He knew too little information, only that the other party claimed to be Leonard from a parallel world and that the other party knew too much about the culture of time travelers. Even if we don't discuss whether divination under the bonus of gray fog can cross the barrier of parallel time and space, such few clues whose authenticity is unknown make it difficult for him to touch the core of the problem from dream divination.

Klein just wanted to try. The little fortune teller who always followed his heart outside the gray fog not only transformed himself into an evil god in the gray fog, but also acted so recklessly that it was frightening. Otherwise, he would not have divined the blood of the Eternal Blazing Sun before.

However, contrary to Klein's expectations, this divination, which was unlikely to succeed anyway, was successful.

The dream came again, just for a moment, and the deep and light red filled his vision again, and it was gone in a flash. Before Klein could see clearly, before the sharp alarm of his spirituality penetrated his brain, he woke up first.

There was a distinct feeling left on Klein's shoulder. Klein was stunned. He could tell what that feeling was.

——Someone pushed him out.

Above the gray fog that was almost omnipotent and must be of a very high rank, and that neither the Goddess's Sword nor the holy object could see through, someone pushed Klein out of his own dream divination.

What was even more terrifying was that Klein did not sense the slightest sense of crisis. He even had a feeling that it was not pollution, and the gray fog would not allow that kind of thing to remain on his spirit. It felt like he was speaking to himself, his own spirit was speaking to him.

——Don't look.

39.

When Klein went down to the living room, the first person he saw was Leonard.

The curtains that the poet always drew casually at midnight were tied neatly with ribbons. Tingen's generous sunlight shone through the glass window, illuminating the entire room. Leonard sat at the dining table by the window, with his slightly long black hair gathered behind his head. A breakfast was placed opposite him, but in front of him was only a clean table.

With just one glance, Klein could confirm that he was not the Leonard he knew. Even though he was no longer wearing the three-piece suit that was too dignified for Leonard, and was enough for a wedding or a funeral.

Although the Midnight Poet had nothing to do with the word sloppy, he was not a staunch believer in the cult of neatness. Klein had the habit of categorizing and arranging everything neatly since he was Zhou Mingrui, especially when it came to the storage of bottles, jars, and sundries. It was exactly the type of storage videos you could see on the Internet in the 21st century.

——Can the me in that parallel world actually change the habits of someone like Leonard?

It's inappropriate, Klein couldn't help thinking. He also wanted to complain: Leonard could develop such a habit, how long did I live with this guy in the future? Is Benson married? Do I have to find someone to share the house with? Or is it that my supernatural ability in that world is so dangerous that he dare not continue to live at home...

"Good morning."

Klein was still doing his brain work skillfully. Leonard, who had just been staring out the window in silence like a stone statue, had turned his head. He had a smile on his face that was completely different from the midnight poet style that Klein was familiar with. His green eyes were almost shining like fine gems in the sun, and there was not a single trace of red on his body, so much so that his skin seemed to lack color, but he still gave people an overwhelming impression of red.

"It's a rare nice day today, isn't it?"

Leonard from the parallel world said so. Klein glanced out the window. Today was another bright sunny day, which was indisputable, but the sunshine in Tingen was always good, and the pollution from heavy industry had not reached the level of smog... Leonard from the parallel world lived in an area with very bad weather before coming here?

"Good morning."

Klein hesitated for a moment. The resurrected Tingen hero seemed to be able to hear the growling of his stomach. He tried to let his eyes casually scan the meal opposite Leonard in the parallel world: fried eggs, bacon, perfectly toasted bread, paired with milk, and a small dish with plenty of jam. It was the type that Zhou Mingrui, a Chinese stomach, could completely accept, and it was indeed the type he preferred in Western breakfast.

——The only problem is that the midnight poet that Klein is familiar with always feeds his family with his own food, and his cooking skills are even better than nothing. He usually relies on work meals and eating out. It is impossible for his family to have such a sufficient food reserve, let alone find a second portion...

"I'm going to make some breakfast. Do you need me to prepare anything?"

The good news is that Leonard's financial situation is not like the tight Moretti family that Klein just traveled through. Leonard, who has been a night watchman for three years, naturally does not have a reserve of black bread that can kill people without hot water. The bad news is that in order to extend the storage time, Leonard is used to storing another kind of whole wheat bread that is similar to baguette. It is said that it can be kept for more than a month after being completely dried. The last time Klein came to Leonard's house, Luo Yao used this thing as a punishment prop for losing a game when he played cards with Leonard and his friends...

Baguette, whole wheat! Klein could clearly remember the teeth-grinding sound made by the sleepless who broke into the door with their bare hands and chewed on that thing after losing the card game. He now only hoped that Leonard's kitchen still had some leftover milk, and it would be even better if there were some dried fruits, so that he could make some bread porridge at home.

"unnecessary."

Leonard from another world line said, as if he didn't notice Klein's eager gaze at all. After finishing the conversation, the man's attention shifted back to the window. Klein, who was not invited, had to accept the reality that a luxurious breakfast would go cold in front of him. He looked at the gradually solidified half-cooked egg yolk with regret and walked towards the kitchen with a hungry stomach.

For some reason, perhaps because he had come back from the dead, Klein was particularly hungry today. He felt like he could swallow a cow.

As he walked past the dining table, Klein looked outside. He followed Leonard's perspective in the parallel world and saw only the ordinary streets of Tingen under the sunlight, with no special passersby, and the stairs leading to the door...

Wait, he seemed to have been looking at the door. Klein then realized: Who was Leonard in the parallel world waiting for?

Who could Leonard be waiting for? Klein felt that even if he met his parallel self, unless the other party volunteered to bring him food today, he would definitely not wait so long. Moreover, the poet classmate told him that the relationship between the two Leonards was not so friendly.

Klein walked into the kitchen and found a milk jug in the cupboard. He sniffed it and discovered with sadness that the milk had gone bad. However, there were still some dried fruits left.

...Bread porridge with only water should be good too.

From Sequence Nine to Sequence Eight, the fortune teller, who had no physical strength to gain, picked up a saw, put the completely dried baguette equivalent from another world, which was definitely enough to be used as a weapon and ammunition, on the chopping board, and began to saw it hard.

40.

No one knew who he was waiting for. The man who claimed to be Leonard from a parallel world suddenly spoke after Klein had filled his stomach with a large portion of bread and porridge.

"Leonard went to work."

"!"

Klein, who had eaten one and a half times his usual amount of food, was so shocked by the sudden conversation that he almost jumped up. He changed from a semi-paralyzed position in the chair to sitting upright, expressing his full willingness to communicate.

"Didn't he leave any message for me?"

——For example, when will he come back, what arrangements should I make today, and how should I deal with this huge Leonard isomorph in front of me... Damn it, they say a good man should cure a good man, so why did Leonard run away? Why do I have to deal with another Leonard!

"No." Another Leonard said, "He doesn't trust me that much yet."

His tone was nonchalant, as if he didn't care at all about his bad relationship with himself. This really refreshed Klein's perception of Leonard as an individual. You know, according to Klein's understanding, Leonard, who could say that he was the protagonist of the era, should be the type with excessive self-confidence and narcissism. It was impossible to see that he would have such a bad relationship with himself.

If you say that it's because there can't be a second protagonist in the same era, that's not what my poet classmate told me before. Klein put aside his confusion and asked tentatively.

"You don't seem bothered by this."

Since Leonard from the parallel world did not keep silent, it would be easy to deal with. Although we don't know whether what Leonard's counterpart said is true or false, we have nothing to do anyway, so any information we can get has its value - after all, the Midnight Poet hinted that this Leonard is an enemy that all the official Beyonders in Tingen cannot defeat together, so even if he does not come from the future of the parallel world, he obviously possesses more valuable information.

To Klein's surprise, although Leonard in the parallel world's eyes were still fixed on the door, he actually answered every word Klein said. It just seemed that his answers were somewhat irrelevant.

"Klein will like Klein very much." He said, "I know."

"I thought Leonard should be like this too."

"Maybe, but I'm different."

What's the difference? Klein almost blurted out the question. He paused and chose another way to ask that would get more information.

"Aren't you Leonard too?"

"......I am."

Leonard Mitchell from the parallel world replied.

"But I broke down early."

When he said this, he still had a smile on his face. That smile was not the romantic smile that a midnight poet always had, nor was it light and happy. He seemed to just maintain the action of smiling, like a mask on a clown's face, not because he really wanted to smile, but to please others and tell them that he was living a good life.

Even if he is not living a good life. Even if there is a crying face under the clown's mask.

41.

Something interrupted Klein's thoughts before he could get a conclusion. For some reason, he seemed to hear that voice again. The Leonard he didn't know said to the completely unfamiliar Klein:

"—I will die before I hurt you, before I hurt any of you. I swore it."

Leonard in the dream had no smile on his face when he said this. He said it so firmly, so confidently, and his eyes were close to piety. But for some reason, Klein had a feeling that Leonard, who could easily say that he was willing to guarantee it with his life and could easily say that he would die, was much more relaxed than the one who was now sitting diagonally across from him.

Of course, Leonard is unlikely to be dangerous, but with Leonard in this state, it is really unlikely that Klein will admit that he is not dangerous.

For some reason, Klein recalled the dream, the conversation between Leonard and Klein in the dream. Was that the parallel world of Leonard he met? Klein didn't know. But he knew that his relationship with his poet classmate was not like that.

Why would I be so wary of a fellow Nighthawk, even to the point of being hostile? Klein asked himself, and he had no idea. Klein certainly knew what he would be hostile to: for example, capitalists with no bottom line, or cultists who did all kinds of evil, but he couldn't connect these words with Leonard.

If, Klein thought, as a keyboard warrior, he certainly knew the theory of parallel worlds and knew that anything could happen in parallel worlds. But if Leonard was really hopeless and a traitor mixed in the Nighthawks, Klein also believed that after learning the truth, he would choose to report him secretly instead of such blatant spying and malice.

This is not Klein's style. As a time traveler, Zhou Mingrui is indeed a bit cowardly and often makes choices based on his heart, but he is never a villain who likes to stab his companions in the back. His style of doing things has nothing to do with this word. Klein tried to infer: If what he dreamed of was a fragment of a parallel world, if this memory was true, why would Klein in that world do this?

Is it because there is a reason why Leonard cannot be exposed for the time being? Or is it because although Klein from that world found a way to prove that Leonard is a traitor, he is actually helping the Nighthawks? Or is it both?

Klein wrote down his guess. He planned to wait until he could go to the gray fog to continue divination. The food that had filled his throat before had gone down a little after a while. The fortune teller, who was finally able to stand up, took the clean bowl to the kitchen. Before he walked into the door, a voice came from behind him.

"I won't hurt you."

Leonard Mitchell, who claimed to be from a parallel world and was not a reliable person no matter how you looked at him, was as different from the midnight poet from Tingen that Klein knew as the difference between Earth and the Centauri galaxy. When he said this, he turned his head and his gaze once again rested on Klein, but he lowered his eyes slightly and only looked at the corner of Klein's clothes.

He spoke softly with devotion to the gods and determination as he stood before the throne.

"I swear to him—I swear to Mr. Fool."

Notes: (1) From Chapter 121 of Volume 1 of the original work.

Feng Ya has something to say: Updated, this chapter is 7000+, please enjoy it slowly. It seems that it is difficult to restore the word count to my dream of 4000 (sad). The plot makes Ya rack his brains, if there are any bugs, please remind Ya, if it is a bug and not a foreshadowing, we will work hard to change it Orz

Please continue to comment and like the little blue hand to support Orz. There will be updates when the popularity exceeds 100. Comments can also trigger updates! Believe in our speed!

(6)

45.

When that word reached his ears, Klein felt like he was about to explode.

- If he had been able to maintain a relaxed and adventurous mindset in the previous conversation, Klein was now like a cat whose tail was caught by a stranger, and his fur stood up.

Klein was not unfamiliar with the sentence Leonard swore, but generally speaking, the one who replaced Mr. Fool was the Goddess of Night. The existence of the Fool and the gray fog happened to be Klein's deepest trump card, the most unspeakable secret - if he had to choose between the identity of a time traveler and the existence of gray fog, Klein might even choose to reveal that he was a time traveler who had resurrected from a dead body. After all, there was the example of Emperor Roselle on this track.

Klein was certain that as long as the Klein in the parallel world was also Zhou Mingrui, he might tell his friends stories about the 21st century under various pretexts due to homesickness, but he would never mention the gray fog. This was Zhou Mingrui's greatest golden finger and the most profound secret as a time traveler.

How did Leonard know about my relationship with Gray Mist, and why did he know the name of The Fool? How much did he know? Did he only know that I was related to The Fool, or did he know that I was playing the role of a newly revived evil god named The Fool?

That sentence was like an effervescent tablet thrown into a carbonated drink, and Klein's brain had obviously become that bottle of sweet, fizzy drink that was filled with countless messy thoughts and conjectures, teetering on the edge of exploding. Klein repeatedly told himself to stay calm and not show any abnormality. Although the man who claimed to be from a parallel world seemed to be the safe part from beginning to end, that weird sense of security was the biggest problem.

This is a world full of weirdness and mystery. In this world, even one's own senses and memories cannot be clearly trusted. Even names and existence cannot serve as fixed points to anchor the individual, let alone the sense of security that has no origin in the first place?

That - if he is really Leonard - why does he know so much? What kind of relationship do I have with him in that world that made Klein in the parallel world tell him such secrets? What is the purpose of Leonard's counterpart appearing here?

——It couldn't be that he said that. Was it just a simple matter for Leonard to catch Klein? Even if Leonard was not only gay, but also a real gay, even if Zhou Mingrui's straight nature was not taken into account, and Klein and Leonard were really put together to create some kind of green website story that Zhou Mingrui's female classmates loved when he was in college, he would never believe that a person could travel through time and space and world lines. This was all he wanted.

Zhou Mingrui didn't disbelieve in the greatness of love. Keyboard warriors had seen all kinds of stories, from the farewell of deep love to the change of heart in January. He just couldn't believe that someone would choose him like this.

46.

The time travelers just couldn't believe it.

He could accept being used, he could accept being traded, he could accept someone having ulterior motives, or being careless. But he could not afford to pay for love.

Because - because, Zhou Mingrui always has to go home.

This is his motivation to move forward, this is his innate starting point, and this is everything he relies on for survival.

47.

So, why did Leonard from another world tell Crane that he knew about his connection with the Fool?

If it was Zhou Mingrui from that world who told him, what kind of message did Zhou Mingrui from that world want to convey to me through him? Klein didn't understand. He claimed that Leonard was his friend. To be honest, although he played the role of the evil god above the gray fog with great fanfare, there were only three audiences that Klein had to face. He really couldn't imagine how he in another world could be believed by his friends.

Just thinking about Leonard praying devoutly to Mr. Fool—just like he usually prayed to the goddess—Klein got goose bumps all over his body, and Mr. Fake Evil God wished he could dig out a Tingen City under his feet right away.

"You seem to know me very well."

Klein took another step and put the bowl in the sink. He turned on the faucet and the bowl that he didn't have time to wash was quickly filled with water. He returned to the living room, wiped his hands with a napkin, and changed his words.

"I mean, you seem to know Klein very well."

"No."

This sentence almost broke through Klein's psychological defenses. The man from another world, who had no idea what his relationship with Klein from that world was, and who also had no idea whether he was Leonard, blinked and said.

"I don't know him, I just remember him, I just... I've been watching him."

This wording is so strange. Klein thought. And he didn't think so. To be honest, if it was really him in that world who told Leonard about everything from the jokes on Earth to the Fool, then Klein and Leonard in the neighboring world must be very close.

Klein may not understand Leonard from another world, but he understands himself. If he doesn't have enough understanding and trust, if he doesn't have a very close relationship, he will never tell others about the things on Earth, let alone the things about the gray fog and the fool. He is not Roselle, and he is not keen on being the male protagonist of the starting point, or promoting Chinese culture in another world. Zhou Mingrui is just an ordinary and innocent passerby. His only purpose and expectation is to go home - this is why he turned down the blind date and love that Benson and Melissa expected. How can a person who wants to go home be too involved with other people in this world? This is a very irresponsible behavior.

It was hard for Zhou Mingrui to imagine what had caused his neighbor to betray Zhou Mingrui as an individual and become an irresponsible Klein. If Zhou Mingrui had not had a genetic mutation or had encountered something that forced him to do so,

This is really hard to accept. I never thought I could accept forced love. Not to mention being a gay man, a specialty of the southwest. Klein muttered to himself. He smoothly and expectantly passed over this possibility and thought about it from another direction: If this Leonard is not the other Leonard, the sense of security he brings is indeed the result of some extraordinary abilities, and what he wants is indeed a lot and hidden very deeply...

"Mr. Mitchell."

Klein spoke again, using a different name.

"Does the Klein you know look like me?"

Is Zhou Mingrui from that world dead? Died from betrayal by a friend or something else? The Leonard who appeared before him now was not Leonard. Everything he knew about the Earth and the Fool was through soul searching and spiritual communication... If this was the possibility...

This was not difficult to judge. The man in front of him was not the type to be stingy with words. Although he didn't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, he always leaked a lot of information in his words. As long as he talked enough and had enough information, Klein believed that he could always get a relatively accurate judgment.

Although the former keyboard warrior was not the legendary great detective, with the help of gray fog and divination, and thanks to the help of extraordinary powers, Klein thought it was not difficult. There was no way to avoid doing something that was related to his life.

But this time, the man who had always seemed to be very keen on responding to him did not answer. Klein's heart skipped a beat, and before he could get alert, he saw the man's expression.

"..."

I don't know why, but he looks a little sad.

48.

The sadness did not come from the change in his expression. The man still maintained that smile that was a little strange for Leonard. The sadness was more like an atmosphere, a charm, just like when you look out the window on a rainy day, you just happen to see a big dog lying on the corner across the street. His fur is still lush, his body is still strong, but his tail is drooping, and he is lying alone on the street in such weather. The narrow awning above his head is useless in the rain. The rain has soaked half of his body and submerged his horizontal paws.

You know he will be fine. He looks like such a good dog and many people will want to adopt him. Even if he is not adopted, he does not seem to lack the ability to survive on his own. But when you meet those eyes, your heart still skips a beat.

He looked like he was about to drown.

He had nowhere to go, he didn't want to go anywhere, he couldn't find a place to go back to, the stray dog ​​lay quietly on the street corner, in a familiar place, waiting for the person to take him back...

He keeps waiting and waiting, but when you look into his eyes, you know that he actually knows it too.

——No one will come.

49.

What should Klein look like?

It was the smell of secrecy when they first met, but it wasn't choking, nor did it have the stink of malice and human life. It was the colleague who always dressed very well during the days of Blackthorn, who was sweet and a little greedy, but it was like a halo around him that Leonard couldn't take his eyes off. It was the corpse that fell in front of him later. Death took away his warmth and the light in his amber eyes. There was still a little relief and happiness on his face, but death froze him in the second before dawn.

Leonard didn't know, maybe he went crazy too fast, maybe the jump path and the true creator's whispers also messed up his brain, maybe the loss he could bear in this life finally exceeded the threshold, or maybe he didn't understand why it was not him who died this time. The moment Leonard realized that he had flesh and blood magic, he picked up the shovel, he thought he had to leave something behind... and then he dug out a miracle.

Later, Leonard and Klein went to Backlund together. One of them was a rising star that the Aurora Society had been cultivating, and was said to be valued by both the angels and the Lord. The other could not return to the Nighthawks and could only pretend to be a detective for others. In the beginning, Leonard and Klein were not used to the smog in Backlund, the prices in big cities, the work they were doing and had to do... everything like that made them uncomfortable.

They were like little animals that were suddenly pushed out of their homes and had to face the rainstorm. They tried their best to move forward, resisting or submitting to their fate. They had too many secrets that they could not tell others - but fortunately they still had each other.

Leonard and Klein have always lived under the same roof. They share the rent, but they are more than just roommates. Leonard has thought many times that he should move out. He even set up a few Aurora-style safe houses elsewhere. The Aurora is as generous with money as the Church of the Night - but he will still come back.

It was as if Leonard's flesh and bones had their own will, and they brought him back. It was as if the Rose Bishop's flesh and blood magic had gone out of control. He told himself again and again that he shouldn't think about it, that he should stay away from Klein, but he couldn't help but think about Klein.

He thought about Klein, what Klein was doing, and whether Klein would hand him over to the Church of Evernight or the Church of Steam that he now claimed to believe in after knowing the truth... Later, Leonard didn't dare to think about these things. He only thought about Klein.

Klein seemed to live in his brain, and also in his chest. It's not like the Rose Bishop had never lost these body parts, but Klein would always grow out again along with his flesh, blood, fascia, bones, and nerves.

How strange.

But fortunately, Klein also needed him, not for half of the rent, nor for a reliable roommate. Even though Mr. Detective's career was getting bigger and bigger, Leonard tried his best to avoid him. He could no longer find a reason to need Leonard, but he still needed him.

Klein would ask Leonard when he would be back, what he wanted to eat tomorrow, and whether he wanted to go to the opera together. One of his customers gave him two tickets. The little fortune teller always had the ability to make every invitation seem commonplace and casual, like a cat walking past you. He wanted to get close to you, but because he was a cat, he just walked past you, and as he walked past you, he seemed to casually rub his side against your calf, and then hook his tail around your ankle.

Leonard couldn't refuse this. He couldn't refuse Klein. This was not something that could be done rationally.

So, in late nights and afternoons, they shared food, told stories of daily life, whether fake or real, and wove stories and the future. They huddled together, forgetting the things they had to do and facing the crisis of life or death. They just absorbed each other's warmth. They were like cats and dogs struggling to exhaustion in a blizzard, and could only curl up in a corner.

They talked a lot, talking about everything. Leonard wasn't very good at pretending, so he spent most of his time listening. Klein was very good at pretending, but I don't know if he didn't want to pretend anymore, or if he had been pretending for too long and it was difficult for one person to cover everything. When he talked to Leonard, he always had a lot of experiences and thoughts that "Klein Moretti" shouldn't have.

Klein seemed to be more than just Klein. Leonard seemed to have grasped Klein's secret, as if he had grasped the yarn on the cat's head. He knew that as long as he pulled it slightly, everything would be exposed before his eyes. But he was afraid.

He didn't want to explore Klein's secrets. Leonard never felt that he was qualified. Moreover, now he didn't even have the captain and teammates to protect. He only had Klein. He was afraid that Klein might really just not notice his omission. He was afraid that the shape of the black cat would be seen and run away. He was afraid that...

Leonard just didn't want to make Klein unhappy. He didn't have much ability anymore. He had done a lot of things that Klein knew would never make him happy. He had already obtained enough miracles to trade for his soul and life - miracles were so expensive, so expensive that it would be disrespectful to ask for them. But Leonard still hoped that Klein could be happier.

Klein had better be happier and more relaxed. Just a little more time, just a little longer to wait, until he has paid enough, until he has enough... Klein might be able to go back.

He could also return to Tingen and be the little fortune teller who lived a simple but serious life. He might not be able to be a night watchman, but being a university teacher was not a bad job either.

As Leonard thought this, he couldn't help but lean a little further to the other side of the sofa. His entire side was pressed against Klein, and the warmth soaked into his skin through the fabric.

"You're heavy."

Klein said that the afternoon sun was bright, and the tea and snacks on the table were now empty cups and plates, the fortune teller said. But he didn't push Leonard away in the end, and he didn't even move out a bit. He just pressed his weight towards Leonard.

In the bright afternoon sunshine, Klein yawned.

"I'll take a nap."

"Um."

"Call me at five. I have to go to the club... Are you in no hurry to leave?"

Before Leonard could answer, the detective began to breathe evenly. He had fallen asleep. The sweet scent still lingered in the air. Even though no one was waiting for an answer, Leonard still answered seriously.

"I'll wait until you wake up."

He said.

50.

Klein woke up to a gentle call. The first thing he saw when he woke up was Leonard's flawless profile. The detective who claimed he was not gay stood up.

"Leonard, you didn't move at all?"

"You slept soundly," said Bishop Rose, "and it wasn't for long."

Klein thought, "Mr. Poet, if you continue to be so gay, I will really doubt your sexual orientation. Or do all Loen people treat their good brothers like this? This is even more terrifying than the college students in our southwest. I'm not saying that if Mr. Poet, with your strategy ability, traveled to a GALGAME game, you would definitely be invincible...

"I'm going to the club at five o'clock. What's going on?"

Leonard asked him, which was rare. Klein rubbed his eyes. A nap that was too comfortable could easily make people feel like they were still asleep. He answered very slowly.

"It's still the same commission as before."

"The one about the factory owner's wife who wants you to find evidence of her husband's infidelity?"

"No." Klein paused. "The other one... Leonard, I went to Backlund Bridge yesterday."

"...Is this why you're unhappy, Klein?"

"Is it obvious?" Klein said, his voice a little lighter. "I saw a lot of people who were not doing well. Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting in a restaurant with my informant, and suddenly someone collapsed on the street. Old Kohler told me that the man was dead. He also told me that when he died, he hoped to have a full meal, and if possible, it would be best if he died in a warm place."

"You seem to be very uncomfortable." Leonard said, and he also lowered his voice: "Do you need me to pour you a cup of hot tea, Klein?"

"No, I still have to go out... Leonard, it's not that I can't adapt, no, it may be that I can't adapt. You know, in my hometown, everything is not like this, we are no longer like this, we have a complete social system and a sound support system. If old Kohler was in my hometown, he would not be jobless. Even if he can't work and has nowhere to go, there are shelters-"

Klein's voice suddenly stopped, and the detective's voice that sounded like a dream stopped. The moment he realized what he was saying, he woke up. Almost stiff, a gesture he had never had since becoming the Joker, Klein stiffly and slowly looked at Leonard.

——Where else could Klein Moretti's hometown be? In this continent, in this era, in this world, is there any civilization that allows the elderly, the weak, the sick and the disabled to live and work in peace and contentment?

He looked at Leonard, but there was no surprise on the other's face, nor was there any tolerance for a drunk who was talking nonsense.

"You know it."

Klein heard his own voice. Klein's voice was a little hoarse. He spoke in Loenese, not Chinese, his native language that he had spoken for more than 20 years.

"When did you know that?"

"..."

Leonard didn't answer. He didn't even approach Klein. He seemed to be frozen. He just looked at him, his green eyes soft like a lake. For some reason, Klein suddenly felt a little ridiculous. He felt that this inexplicable time travel was a little ridiculous. He didn't choose a second-generation Roselle, but chose a strange breed like him who didn't want to make progress and just wanted to go home, and fame and wealth were not as good as store discounts. He felt that Leonard was a little ridiculous. How long had he known that the person sitting in front of him, living under the same roof, was not Klein's 'Klein Moretti'? He could still hold back like this. Could the poet classmate just keep his oath and respect each other's little secrets like this... Zhou Mingrui even felt that he was a little ridiculous.

Zhou Mingrui knew that he had not pretended well. If he had, he should not have lived under the same roof with Leonard, should not have talked so much to him, and should not have been so close to him. He was not good at pretending to be perfect, and should not have left such an omission.

It was Zhou Mingrui himself who didn't do the part he should have done. He was too tired. The feeling of exhaustion had been haunting him since the first second he woke up after traveling through time. The exhaustion taught him to unconsciously drop his disguise in front of people close to him and when he was alone, as if he was afraid that if he pretended to be Klein for too long, he would forget what Zhou Mingrui was like.

He was probably hoping someone would find out, Zhou Mingrui thought: He was hoping someone would find out, he was hoping someone would expose him, someone would stop him, so that he could give up on this idea, or be lucky enough to be both Klein and Zhou Mingrui in front of someone.

Zhou Mingrui once thought that he would never speak until the last step of his journey home, or until the day he died in a foreign land. But he seemed to be much weaker than he thought. Klein once thought that he could be just a passer-by, not establish close connections with anyone, not become a liar or a troublemaker, but he seemed to be much weaker than he thought.

"I can...I can forget it." Leonard said. He seemed even more panicked than Zhou Mingrui: "I won't ask! Trust me."

——He always said, "Believe me, Klein, believe me." But this time, Leonard didn't call anyone by name. He didn't know any names other than Klein, nor did he know how Klein wanted to be called. Leonard didn't even know if his promise would count. Although Klein didn't know, who would believe the promise of a madman from the Aurora Society?

Zhou Mingrui understood, and he believed Leonard could do it, as Leonard had always done so before. If Zhou Mingrui had not made an inexplicable slip of the tongue today, Leonard would probably have been able to pretend that nothing was wrong - I don't know where the poet got such good acting skills from - but looking at those green eyes, seeing the panic and concern that could not be covered by the panic, Zhou Mingrui suddenly couldn't help himself.

"Leonard."

He didn't answer, didn't say yes or no, didn't make any request, he just asked, without any beginning or end.

"—Do you want to know?"

Then, in his sight, in the increasingly dim skylight, the pair of green eyes lit up. He heard Leonard's voice. Leonard grabbed him, but his strength was a little too much. Klein felt a little pain in his wrist.

"I want to know." Leonard said, "I want to know, Klein, I want to know. I have always-"

"good."

Leonard was the first to reach out his hand. Zhou Mingrui said to himself: This is the first time and the last time. I can swear.

"This is a very long story. You will probably have to listen to me for many years."

"no problem."

"It may take several years...it's not impossible that it will take several decades?"

"Klein," Leonard said firmly, as if he was swearing, "I will always be here."

He will always be there, the monster of the Aurora Society thought. Even if it's just to hear the story, just for Klein. Leonard knew that he was the only one who shouldn't know. He knew that he was the only one who was unforgivable and didn't deserve any redemption, but he couldn't help thinking about it.

I want to hear his story, he thought. He wanted to live until the day he could hear his story, or he would never speak to him again.

51.

——I can swear that I will repay him, I will always be good to him, and I will hold him back - just as he holds me back.

What Leonard didn't know was that Klein also swore the same thing in his heart at that time.

52.

"..."

The visitor from another world who claimed to be Leonard did not answer Klein's question, as if such an obvious thing as whether the Kleins of the two worlds were similar was an unprecedented difficulty.

Why? Was Klein in that world living a miserable life or having a tragic ending? Was he Klein or Zhou Mingrui? Klein thought, and he gave up on the question that would not get an answer, and instead gave a fake smile.

"I have another question." He said, "If it's inconvenient to answer, you can tell me directly."

The visitor from another world nodded. Klein took a deep breath. The climax was about to begin, he thought.

"——Did Klein in that world also experience death and resurrection like me?"

Feng Ya has something to say: Updated, this chapter is 7200+, please enjoy. It seems that 7000 per chapter is already the norm.

Thanks to for the long comment.

Because a friend asked, I have an additional information tip. The Aurora Club Lun in the IF line was not in the Hanged Man sequence from the beginning. Otherwise, according to the fact that he was the only survivor left by the Aurora Club when he was a child, he would have become a secret praying man ten minutes later and the permanent population behind the Chaness Gate would have increased by 1. He was transferred after going to Backlund through a method similar to the Dark Cross.

The plot makes Crow rack his brains. If there are any BUGs, please remind Crow. If it is a BUG and not a foreshadowing, we will work hard to change it Orz

Please continue to comment and like the little blue hand to support Orz. There will be updates when the popularity exceeds 100. Comments can also trigger updates! Believe in our speed!

 (7)

53.

Is resurrection from the dead the predetermined fate of Klein in both worlds, or is it just an accidental miracle?

This is a crucial issue for Zhou Mingrui.

The civilization of the earth is a civilization of fantasy. Humans fantasize about flying like birds, and giant iron birds eventually fly above the sky and become a common means of transportation. Humans fantasize about controlling thunder and fire, and gunpowder and bullets eventually revolutionize the world and bring the fate of mankind to another abyss. After inventing the telegraph, humans desire more convenient interactions, so the telegraph operators, who were still high-tech businesses at the time, were eventually replaced by mobile phones. After humans got the steam engine, they still wanted more powerful power and efficiency, so electricity ushered in a new era... By the 21st century, although there are still wars in the world and people are different, if they were shown to our ancestors, I'm afraid they would all get the same evaluation.

It's like heaven, it's like the power of God.

By the time Zhou Mingrui lived, human occupations had become highly differentiated. 99.9% of the world's people were incapable of creating inventions that would revolutionize the world, but they did not stop fantasizing. The entertainment industry was highly developed, and humans fantasized about a completely new, unfamiliar world. In those worlds, there was never a lack of various gods.

From the ancient myths of each doing their own job to the supreme being of unity, from humans who only possessed higher power to another species of so-called complete divinity. Humans imagine all kinds of gods, but most of them are not for faith. As an atheist who grew up under the red flag, Zhou Mingrui especially lacks awe of God.

Like most Chinese people, Zhou Mingrui respects good gods and other people's beliefs, but he himself finds it difficult to have the mentality of a believer. After a preliminary understanding of this world with extraordinary power, and after witnessing that his fellow Nighthawks mainly rely on potions to overdraw their bodies to recover, he even has the time to deconstruct the realm of gods: the gods of this world are not typical of weaklings, but obviously, according to the understanding of the former Nighthawks, at least not to the extent that any clergyman in the DND worldview can cast a healing spell.

Although Zhou Mingrui, a newcomer to the supernatural world, was not sure whether it was due to the restrictions of rules caused by the different worlds or something else, in short, the gods in this world were not all gods that could give believers the supernatural power of healing, not to mention the ability to attract faith to prolong life, maintain eternal youth, and resurrect from the dead. Although he soon learned that cults and special channels always had some ways to bluff people, it was different from really achieving such miracles.

Klein didn't know why he came back from the dead, but he knew that coming back from the dead was very abnormal. His path did not overlap with Mr. Azik's, and he did not completely lose his memory after coming back from the dead. Klein did not believe that there was no price for giving in the world, nor did he believe that he, who was unlucky enough to become a time traveler, could get any benefits like a miracle.

Zhou Mingrui didn't have a system, but the old man knew one, but Leonard didn't have any character panel or level for him to add points. Gray Mist was his golden finger, but it didn't seem to have anything to do with resurrection, unless resurrection was a bound skill that only gods could have, and Klein successfully pretended to be an evil god and gained the recognition of the world or shared the rank of Gray Mist - what kind of god would be burned half his life by the sun just because he looked at his colleague for a second longer?

If Klein was more confused than thoughtful when he came back to life, and if he had woken up on his own instead of being dug up by a male colleague with roses in his hands, he would probably be thinking about how to take revenge on Ince Zangwill after ensuring the safety of Melissa and Benson.

But there are always some ifs. Klein followed the two Leonards back to Leonard's home. He took a hot bath and slept in the scent of Seville daisy. The unfamiliar quilt was very warm. The poet recited a long poem at midnight... He slept well and filled his stomach. He felt like a stray cat who was forced to leave his home and was adopted again, or like a lonely traveler who saw a fellow traveler again. Klein suddenly relaxed.

After he relaxed, curiosity took over again. When survival and exile were no longer the first and second on the list, the important questions that needed to be figured out took over one by one.

54.

Klein wanted to know - he wanted to know very much whether his resurrection was part of a written fate, or a miracle created by some unknown existence or golden finger behind the written fate.

55.

"I can't tell you."

Leonard replied. Klein frowned. Before he could ask why and get more information, Leonard's counterpart gave Klein an answer he had never thought of.

"Klein told me that there is no benefit in knowing too early."

"No good for me, or no good for you?"

Although this answer was completely beyond Klein's expectations, it was in line with the rules of this world. Klein didn't know how much the other party knew about him, so he couldn't just say, "Why don't you pray to Mr. Fool? Mr. Fool, go to the gray fog and answer the phone now..." After all, although Leonard in the dream seemed to have a little disloyal secret, he had an attitude of "I will never betray you." Who knows what he would do with the fact that his colleague was playing the role of believing in evil gods.

Although he knew that information in this world is pollution and that knowing does not necessarily mean happiness, Klein still couldn't help but ask a question when it concerned him. Leonard's isomorph just looked at him. Because of the existence of the gray fog, Klein, who always took risks that a Sequence Eight shouldn't take, looked at the other party. After realizing that he couldn't get an answer, he changed the way he asked.

"Is it that Klein who didn't let you tell me, or do you think I can't know it now?"

Klein's question was almost a blatant question: Were you arranged by the me in another world to come here, or did you come here on your own? But Leonard just calmly gave an almost worthless answer.

"I'm looking for him."

He said this, very seriously. It was as if the Klein in another world line was a bride who had fled to another world line. As long as he found her, he could bring her back. Klein couldn't help but complain. He thought, it's not impossible. Think about that bouquet of roses... Maybe the me in another world couldn't stand the great face of the poet classmate and didn't want to be a gay, so I chose to flee.

Regardless of whether the truth was as bad as Klein complained, or whether it was filled with some malicious fate, Klein knew that he would definitely not be able to get more information from the other party regarding this matter. He gave a fake smile.

"Okay, I understand." He tried to speak in a lighter tone, "Excuse me, can I go out now?"

"You shouldn't go meet Melissa and Benson. It would put them in danger."

"..."

Klein, whose next step was guessed, remained silent. He really wanted to ask if this was also part of the future vision?

"I have no intention of meeting them. As you said, the church has already deemed me dead, and Klein Moretti has been buried... I will not cause them any trouble."

It was difficult for Klein to say it, but he still said it. It was like he was clarifying to Leonard in another world, but also like he was speaking to himself.

"I just have other things I want to do."

"Can I help you?"

Leonard from the parallel world asked without hesitation, and then he paused as if he understood something under Klein's gaze.

"I didn't mean to lock you up," he said, a little embarrassed. "I wouldn't do that to Klein... You are free. I'm just reminding you."

What he said was sincere and heartfelt. Considering that the other party had never said anything before, or said something that he couldn't understand, he looked more like a madman than a liar. Klein didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"Well, I mean, I know." The fortune teller said awkwardly, "Thank you for your kindness, sir. I've thought about it, and it's not appropriate to go out now. Leonard said before that Lord Cecima has arrived in Tingen. In order to prevent me from living behind the Chanis Gate, let's wait until Leonard comes back."

Lord Cecima, Leonard thought for a long time before he matched the name and title from his fragmented memories. In his memory, that person was just a Sequence 5 at that time, and even if he held the Sword of the Goddess, it would not cause him any more trouble. Leonard wanted to say that you can do whatever you want, don't worry about them...

But he didn't say it in the end. Leonard flexed his fingers, and clenched his hand that was originally on his knees into a fist, carefully maintaining a strength that would not pierce his palm, so as to prevent the filthy blood from flowing out. He asked softly.

"Do you need me to pull him back?"

The ability of the Gate Sequence was not very compatible with Leonard. Perhaps it was a continuation of the punishment from the top of the sequence, but Leonard would always be sent to a more unfamiliar place when he opened the gate. However, after so many years of use, he thought that Tingen's radius was not a problem - even if there was a problem, it was Leonard who died, not Klein.

What is the point of Leonard Mitchell's life? Leonard could never find the answer to this question, but he treated all Leonards, including himself, equally.

Klein naturally didn't know that Leonard would type six question marks if he heard it. He thought to himself that there was no need to ask anymore. He knew that you didn't care about the goddess and you could beat the Sword of the Goddess. It seemed that reporting was a dead end, at least reporting in Tingen seemed useless. If the threats from the Sword of the Goddess and the Church of Evernight were not effective, it seemed that he didn't need to blow the whistle. Involving Mr. Azik didn't seem to be a good choice. You know, Mr. Azik still hasn't figured out what sequence he is.

So, Klein's curiosity about what happened in the parallel world grew even more. The Midnight Poet of Tingen was his colleague and one of the few friends he had after traveling through time. As a night watcher who had adapted to the poet's romantic aura and the protagonist's confidence - now he should be called a former night watcher - he really found it difficult to understand what happened in the parallel world that would make Leonard look like the way he did.

56.

On the other hand, for the sake of so-called politeness and to avoid missing any information, Klein kept his gaze fixed on the man, looking at the pair of green eyes and the face that was no different from the Midnight Poet. It was clearly the same face, the same eyes, but one glance would reveal that they were two completely different people.

For some reason, Klein couldn't help but feel relieved.

This was the first time he missed a man so much. At least if the poet classmate was present, he wouldn't be so stressed. The rare straight man in the southwest couldn't help but joked in his heart. On the other hand...it seems that he has to pay more attention to Leonard in the future.

——Mr. Poet looks more pleasing to the eye like this.

57.

During the conversation, another very important issue was discovered:

"I thought you were a follower of the Goddess of Night."

Since he had no intention of going out, nor did he plan to go back to sleep, Gray Mist had already gone up to confirm. Seeing that the man did not resist, he simply planned to kill time with a conversation and try to find out some information. Klein pulled his chair away and sat on the other side of the dining table again. Klein said.

To be honest, although the Earth traveler from the 21st century has read many works about parallel worlds, this is the first time he has realized the deviation between the worlds. At least the Leonard he knows seems to be very loyal to the goddess, and he never expected that he could say that the church and the goddess are not important. And if the scene in the dream really happened to the other person, the Leonard in the dream may not look right, but it is wrong on the spiritual level, so he would not be charged with apostasy.

Thinking about it this way, it was really creepy. Klein realized that what happened in that world line was far beyond his imagination. Even though the man in front of him didn't show any abnormality in front of him, divination proved that he was particularly harmless and would help him.

"I don't know whose believer I am." "If I have to say, I only believe in those who respond to me. If that's the case, I only believe in Klein."

"...Does the goddess have any objections?"

Klein asked. Leonard in that world seemed very calm.

"——Anyway, I am already an apostate." He said, "I have failed the love and grace of the gods, and have strayed from their tolerance and path."

Although the Night Goddess's teachings and responses made the traversers feel identified, to be honest, it was difficult for Klein to associate "love" and "grace", as well as the so-called "tolerance", with the Night Goddess. Let alone the Holy Night Scripture, which Klein, a night watcher who changed his career, could not memorize very well, the prayer to the goddess clearly stated "the queen of misfortune and fear". Whether it was holding such authority or simply describing the style of the church, it was not as friendly as Leonard's counterpart described.

Could it be that Leonard in the parallel world is a follower of some goddess? Should the treatment of a follower be much better in the gods' place? Klein retracted his disorderly and divergent thoughts. To be honest, if the natives of this world heard what the man just said, they would probably start a holy war on the spot, which is completely contrary to the thinking of the Fifth Epoch people. But Klein didn't care. He was Chinese, and the Chinese way of thinking was to believe in what was useful.

Klein was silent for a while. He hesitated for a while, but still asked.

"You said He would respond to you, and you acted like He was good to you... Then why did you become like this, Leonard."

Leonard certainly has superhuman self-confidence and has claimed to be the protagonist of the times, but he is not the blackened Long Aotian in Qidian Literature, nor does he have an insatiable hunger. On the contrary, Leonard is always easy to satisfy and happy. If there really is a god watching over him, if the god really gives love and tolerance, in this world where gods and miracles really walk on the earth, the power of the church is greater than the imagination of atheists, how could they not even take care of Leonard?

"...It's my own problem."

Slowly, he said.

"He has given me something more than gods and believers. It was I who was too arrogant. It was me... who thought I was the cause and the result."

"do not you?"

"I'm not." The man said. When he said this, he smiled lightly. "I'm not even worthy of being that price. In the flood-like fate, I'm just an insignificant insect."

"..."

Klein was silent. Even though he was also a time traveler, Zhou Mingrui had never considered himself the protagonist. Now, after having just experienced what it meant to be a divine display and a dimensionality reduction attack, he especially lacked such confidence.

"You said you were looking for the Klein you knew."

"yes."

"Help me, or rather, what you said about 'letting Leonard keep me', you encouraged Leonard to dig my grave, how does that help your expectations?"

"I don't know." Leonard said softly: "I have tried many ways... I came here by accident."

"I don't know what you need me to do for you, and now it seems that you may not know it either."

Klein concluded.

"But I can promise you that I will do my best to help you as long as it does not violate my principles. If the me in that world really believes in you, you should know better than I do now what I can do and what heights I will reach in the future. In exchange, I want to make you a promise."

"..."

The man nodded silently. Klein smiled, and this time, it was no longer a fake smile. He said.

"One promise for another. Swear to Mr. Fool that you will not harm the Leonard of this world."

Almost subconsciously, the man opened his mouth and before he could swear, Leonard from another world was stunned when he realized what Klein asked him to promise. Klein, who probably understood that he was not unwilling to swear, but did not understand why he was asked to swear not to hurt Leonard, felt more confident.

"I don't know why Leonard has become so hateful of Leonard. I also don't know what I did wrong in which world, and whether it's too late. But I can't let you hurt the Leonard I know."

Klein said, and he was serious, so serious that he reiterated it again.

"You are looking for Klein. Even though it is Klein from a parallel world, you are here because of Klein. This is about 'me'. So it should only be about me. Don't involve irrelevant people."

"..."

After a long silence that was so long that Klein knew it was useless, but he couldn't help but tense his nerves. The man in Klein's sight tried to open his mouth. He tried several times, but it seemed that he couldn't find the function of language. He seemed to have a lot to say, but it took him a long time to squeeze out a word with difficulty.

"--good."

He only said this one word.

58.

How could Leonard be an irrelevant person?

Leonard couldn't figure it out. He seemed to feel the pain again, the familiar pain stirring in his chest, forcing him to use flesh and blood magic to confirm that his heart was still intact. He wanted to argue with Klein, he wanted to say that Leonard was involved, Leonard should have done something - he didn't deserve it, he didn't do it.

The monster of the Aurora Society was not good at speaking, and he had not communicated with anyone for a long, long time. If the authority he swallowed did not include a part of speech, and he had extra experience in self-recasting and adjustment, he might have found it difficult to speak Loenese.

But the long silence did not leave any marks on him. Leonard found it difficult to argue with others. He was more familiar with swords than words, and better at solving problems than persuading. Mr. L spent most of his time making requests, solving problems, and executing them, just as he did to Leonard in this world when he first came to this world.

But these methods cannot be used on Klein. Just like when he was asked whether the Klein in front of him was like his Klein, he actually wanted to answer.

He wanted to say that you were the same, but that was not the result he wanted. He wanted to say that being like him was not a good thing, but he had no way of denying Klein.

——How could Klein be bad? What's wrong with Klein? Klein is everything he relies on for survival. Klein tolerates everything about him and gives him things he never thought he would get in his life. Klein, whenever Klein chooses to sacrifice, he will choose to sacrifice himself.

How could Klein be bad?

Mr. L couldn't say it, he just, he just skillfully, he just suddenly missed him again.

So, Leonard finally just lowered his head and said okay, he said I will do it, I can do it.

Just like countless times before.

He swore to the fool, he said Crane's name, as if he wanted to swallow the short word in his mouth.

As always, the deity did not respond.

59.

Even though Klein seemed confident of winning when he asked Leonard from the parallel world to swear, he actually had no confidence at all.

Klein knew very well that he could not restrain Leonard, and Mr. Fool was a fake evil god played by him, with a false name. It was already a great achievement for Gray Mist to be able to serve as a logistics worker through the ritual he created. In fact, Klein's heart was also beating when he made this request. He thought that the me in the other world could help, and at the same time, he thought that if it didn't work, he would die. I have already died once, and logically, I should not be alive. I just don't know if the distance is enough for the poet to escape now...

As a former Nightwatchman who had come back from the dead and should never have anything to do with the True God Church again, Klein was looking forward to the power of the Church and the Goddess for the first time. Klein knew that he should no longer pray to the True God, but he still couldn't help but think about it.

He wished that God would bless...at least bless his innocent poet classmate.

60.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Please go ahead."

"Leonard, why do you care whether Leonard lives or dies?"

The man who clearly claimed to be Leonard asked, his green eyes had a faint light, like phosphorescent fire in the wilderness.

"I can do a lot of things. You should choose to let me do more things that benefit you."

"?"

This time it was Klein's turn to be puzzled. He could see that the man had a low opinion of every Leonard, including himself. It was as if he was lying down and dying after being beaten repeatedly, and he wanted to put a "I can't do anything" on his forehead... But asking such a question once again exceeded Klein's imagination.

"Does this kind of thing need a reason?"

"Klein should have chosen something better."

The man said stubbornly. Klein just found it funny, so he explained.

"Leonard is my friend... Friends don't have to do something or be useful to become friends."

"Even if he's useless, I'm not very useful... Leonard can't do anything in the end?"

"Leonard and I don't have a mutually beneficial relationship." Klein shrugged. "I'm not a good person. I don't rule out the possibility that I might maintain the kind of mutually beneficial relationship you mentioned with some people—but Leonard is different."

He was very serious when he said this, just like he was trying to figure out how he came back to life. Leonard stared at him in a daze, and he suddenly remembered that his Klein was also like this.

The Klein in his memory had said the same thing. When others told him that Leonard was not a good person, when he knew that Leonard was not a good person; when Mr. L repeatedly begged him to let go and leave...

Klein and Klein said exactly the same thing. Even when facing Leonard, who had a completely different fate, it was still exactly the same.

"He told me that, too."

Leonard from the parallel world said. For some reason, he calmed down and no longer bothered about why he should be kind to Leonard in this world.

"Have I ever told you about the theory of parallel worlds? Even between me and me, there will always be differences." Klein said. He gave an example: "For example, if I choose the fortune teller, he might choose the sleepless one?"

Leonard's counterpart didn't answer, he just smiled. Klein, unable to get any words out of him, sighed and said.

"I don't know why you hate Leonard so much - you are also Leonard."

"...Because he's so lucky."

Are you the unfortunate Leonard? Klein wanted to ask, but he didn't. He changed his sitting position and casually crossed his hands on the table, forming a pyramid-like shape.

"My hometown always says that a person's luck and misfortune in life are equal, just like a cup of sweet water and a cup of bitter water. If you drink the bitter cup early, the rest will be sweet."

"Yeah, Klein told me that, too."

"So, what's left is also sweet." Klein said, and jokingly asked, "Did you taste it?"

Leonard was laughing, and his vision was filled with red. From that day on, his vision was filled with nothing but red. The scarlet flooded his vision, the taste of blood flooded his taste buds, his nose was filled with scarlet sweetness, and his skin was forever soaked in the heat of wetness.

This is the curse that the godslayer should suffer, even if the gods did not intend to curse him. This is the outcome that the fanatic should accept after betrayal, even if the Lord did not intend to punish him.

He knew, he always knew, that as long as he turned around, as long as he wanted, the shadow was behind him and he could see him.

But he didn't look back.

Leonard just laughed. The monster laughed, licking the taste of blood in his mouth. He said:

"—I tasted it."

Feng Ya has something to say: Updated, this chapter is 7400+, please enjoy it slowly. I have gradually gotten used to 7000+ words, which is bad.Thank you for your comments, good discussions give Ya more motivation to update! Ya will continue to work hard on the next chapter! To be honest, Ya has given up pursuing anything because of the popularity of this article. At present, it is at the level of just surviving. I can keep writing instead of starting a new pit thanks to everyone's discussion and support and Ya's love for this stalk.

Let me clarify one thing in advance. IF Lun did not kill IF Ke. Not to mention that he would rather die than kill Xiao Ke, considering Xiao Ke's self-destructive tendencies, he would not be able to do it even if he really wanted to. The gap in strength is too big. There are other stories here, which will be told slowly later.

Trust the aesthetics of crows! I don't eat anything that can be obtained in the crematorium of murdering wives/husbands! ! !

In the next chapter, the main storyline Leonard will be back!

The plot makes Crow rack his brains. If there are any BUGs, please remind Crow. If it is a BUG and not a foreshadowing, we will work hard to change it Orz

Please continue to comment and like the little blue hand to support Orz. There will be updates when the popularity exceeds 100. Comments can also trigger updates! Believe in our speed!

(8)

61.

The midnight poet of Tingen left home only after the resurrected fortune teller fell asleep.

At that time, Roselle had not finished reading a poem in his anthology, and Klein, who had just said that he was not sleepy, was now only breathing evenly. The poet's eyes passed over the brow of the book, and he looked at the bed, and he kept reciting slowly the poem that he could actually memorize without reading the book. The dim environment naturally could not fool the eyes of the sleepless sequence. Leonard could see Klein's profile, the outline of the fortune teller was blurred in the darkness, and the deep amber eyes lay quietly under his eyes. But this time, inexplicably, the night watcher who had thought that he had a psychological shadow on Klein who closed his eyes felt relieved.

It seemed that until this moment, Leonard's heart, which had been hanging for a long time, slowly floated out of the cemetery and fell back into his stomach.

The Midnight Poet stared in that direction without blinking. His sight lingered on Klein's chest, which rose and fell slightly with his breathing, as if he could draw strength from it to survive. Even though Leonard had memorized the entire Roselle Anthology before he was promoted to Midnight Poet, he had no idea what he was reciting now.

Leonard no longer had the time to think about those things. In his eyes and in his mind, all he could see was Klein. The living Klein, the breathing Klein, the Klein whose chest rose and fell instead of having a gap. He was filled with Klein, and his whole body seemed to be as light as a balloon and about to fly.

"You should go now."

I don't know how much time passed before Pales' voice rang out. The old man was as sharp as ever.

"If you don't go to work, your colleagues will come to your house to look for you. Now is not a good time to disappear."

Oh. Leonard took a moment to react, and slowly blinked his eyes, which had been dry from staring for so long. Of course, what the old man said was true. As a night watchman who was still on the list, unlike Klein who had been judged to be sacrificed, he should go to work.

62.

After the Megos incident, the Nighthawks of Tingen suffered a great blow. With the loss of two teammates, the Nighthawks of Tingen have lost all their auxiliary sequences, leaving only a few people. Although the Temple has approved their application and will add players to them as soon as possible to meet the basic operating conditions of the Nighthawks, and will not refuse them to develop their own players, but because Her Excellency the Sword of the Goddess will soon arrive in Tingen, the Temple did not add immediate combat power for them in a short time.

In this situation, even though the Punisher and the Mechanical Heart team helped them take charge of the relevant areas and events, the Nighthawks team, which was left with only four people, could only work in two shifts to maintain the guard of Chanis Gate - after all, this was something that could never be entrusted to other churches, and only the Beyonders could do it.

Of the four remaining extraordinary people in the Tingen Night Watcher team, three were sleepless people who only needed three or four hours of sleep a day. The only exception was Frye. As a corpse collector, Frye had a similar need for rest as an ordinary person. The three sleepless people wanted to reduce his duty, but Frye refused with one sentence.

"I am the next captain of the Tingen Nighthawks." He said, "This is what I should do, and the captain will do the same."

His words were inconsistent, and neither his recognition as the next captain nor the approval of Leonard's promotion to the Red Gloves was given, but everyone was silent. Because as he said, if Captain Dunn was still there, he would do the same.

Being a night watcher was never an easy job, and Tingen's night watcher squad had also experienced losing teammates. In the three years since Leonard joined the squad, the Tingen night watcher squad had experienced several personnel changes. They were not short of manpower, but it was only when Klein had just joined that they could fight evil in the lounge.

Every time a difficult event happened, the captain was always at the forefront. Every time the Nighthawks were in trouble, the captain took on the most responsibility. Frye was the next captain that Dunn had long favored. He said he should do this, and no one could refute him.

So everyone had to endure it together.

Even the sleepless ones who needed less sleep were almost exhausted by such a long shift. Coupled with the shadow and grief of their companions' death, it was a difficult time for everyone in the Tingen Nightwatch Squad. Although Leonard had applied to become a Red Glove, he was still a member of the Tingen Squad before the approval came down. In terms of shouldering some of the responsibilities and work, he not only had no choice but also had no intention of shirking it.

If Leonard had previously held an attitude of atonement towards such suffering - devoting himself to work was originally a way for Leonard to relieve his pain - now things have changed. Leonard, who was escorted by his own monster from another world to dig a grave, dug out a living Klein. Tingen's resurrected hero, his dearest friend, the little fortune teller in the Nighthawks team, was living under the same roof with a highly dangerous monster that even the goddess did not believe in. This incident made Leonard extremely anxious, and he wished he could dig out his eyes like that monster and hang them on Klein's chest to confirm whether the fortune teller was safe.

Therefore, it became particularly painful to have to go to work... But Leonard had no reason not to go. Not to mention that without him, the Tingen Nighthawks would only be in a more difficult situation, which was not in line with Leonard's expectations. Even if Leonard was a madman who only cared about Klein, he was still a Nighthawk after all. At this time when people were panicking, the inexplicable absence and disconnection of a Nighthawk could really cause an uproar. This was not the usual excuse of oversleeping or having an emergency at home.

Leonard felt a chill down his spine just thinking about his colleagues coming to his house and the vines outside the house that he didn't know what they were. Unlike Klein, Midnight Poet knew exactly how crazy the monster was and didn't dare to bet on what he would do to others.

Just like Leonard never thought of bringing Klein back to the Church of Evernight and leaving him to the will of the Goddess. He hoped that Klein could live well, and he also hoped that others could live well.

Klein is back. No matter if this miracle was created by a god or Klein's secret, by that monster or by the gift of fate, it is Leonard's miracle. Leonard is willing to pay the price for it, up to his own life and soul - but he has never thought of involving other people.

Leonard took one last look at Klein. He picked up his windbreaker from another chair, patted it and put it on. The Midnight Poet carefully opened the window. He slowed down his pace as much as possible and jumped onto the window sill. For the first time, he was thankful that his bedroom had a large glass window that could accommodate a person. This was rare and not very safe in this era. The Midnight Poet closed the window from the outside and then jumped down from the second floor.

The red moonlight was high above the clouds, illuminating the silent and deserted streets and the only pedestrian. Leonard took a deep breath, and subconsciously wanted to point out a moon on his chest, but he froze in place when his finger fell for the first time.

In his ear, for him alone to hear, Pales let out a hoarse laugh.

"Now you know what a secret tastes like?"

"It's not like I didn't know before..."

Leonard tried to argue. The old man snorted.

"That's different."

He said so, paused, and continued.

"Run, you have five minutes."

63.

Thanks to the Pales alarm clock, Leonard arrived at the Blackthorn Company's temporary base not too late.

Pushing open the door, passing the unattended reception desk, and then the empty corridor. Leonard walked all the way downstairs, and soon he arrived outside Chanis's door and greeted the three remaining colleagues in the room. The two ladies who were finally able to rest relaxed their tense nerves for the first time in a long time, and even Xijia, who usually behaved indifferently, couldn't help but yawn. Frye, who was in the same shift with him today, didn't seem to have any objection to Leonard's slight tardiness. The corpse collector glanced at Leonard's face, indicating that there was still time, and he could go wash his face and clean up first - and bring in the midnight snacks in the reception room.

Leonard had no objection, and the midnight poet hurried into the bathroom. The afterglow of midsummer still remained in the daytime, but when the cold water from the faucet hit the back of his hand at night, Leonard, who had just realized that autumn had arrived, could not help but shiver. He scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on his face.

"You seem anxious."

Pales' voice rang out. Leonard didn't have time to open his eyes. He subconsciously said "old man". The old man said unhappily.

"I'm here. I'm not old enough to tell whether you're alive or not."

"...There's no point in me getting anxious."

Although the old man had stolen part of his vision and senses during that encounter, Leonard still knew that he almost died, the Midnight Poet said awkwardly. Pales just snorted. He knew that Leonard meant that no matter how anxious he was, he had to finish his shift in front of Chanis. This was different from a mission. The time for duty was fixed, especially now that there were only two shifts. Leonard had no way to leave early. But the old man wanted to distort Leonard's meaning.

"What else?" Pales said, "He wants to destroy Tingen. What can you do? Even if the three churches in Tingen decide to cooperate sincerely, the power of the three churches plus the patrolling Sword of the Goddess will not be able to stop them."

"Can an angel do this?"

Leonard, whose only previous understanding of angels was related to mythology, wiped the water off his face and asked tentatively. The Midnight Poet's little attempt to get information out of him naturally could not be hidden from the thief's Sequence One. After all, this was taught to him by Pales.

"What do you think an angel is, kid? Originally, according to your current sequence, you should not know this part of information, but considering your luck, which is not sure whether to say it is too lucky or unlucky... kid, remember one thing. Don't use human standards and cognition to speculate on Him."

"You mean in terms of strength?"

"No, if it's just a difference in strength, it's not that scary." The Time Worm, who is actually an angel himself and can even be called an archangel, laughed and said, "The fact is, angels and humans are two completely different species."

"?"

Leonard obviously didn't understand. Pales didn't act like a mysterious person at this time. He didn't say anything here and there, but just urged Leonard to get promoted. After all, there was a god-knows-what thing lying in his house now, and it seemed to be targeting Leonard and his colleague, the fortune-teller who was about to become his former colleague. Pales, who knew he couldn't escape, was impressed by Leonard's amazing luck. He had to give Leonard some last-minute lessons, lest this unlucky host turn into a cookie with him someday.

"To give you a simple analogy, kid, when you were rushing to find your fellow fortune teller and running wildly on the streets of Tingen, did you notice how many bugs you stepped on?"

"...You mean, to him, I am just an insignificant ant?"

Leonard frowned, and Pales sneered, and he corrected him.

"Wrong again. To Him, your existence, life or death, is unimportant. He crushed you to death without even realizing it happened."

"Although that monster is indeed terrifying, it seems to be somewhat different from what you described, old man. At least He seemed to be very easy to talk to in front of Klein. And if He really didn't care about my life or death, with the malice He showed at the beginning, shouldn't I have been crushed to death by Him the first time we met?"

Leonard's brows furrowed even tighter. The Midnight Poet took a towel and wiped his face. His voice came through the cotton cloth, sounding a little muffled.

"He is frightened by you, old man?"

"You think too highly of me. Do you think an old, disabled person like me can scare that kind of being?" Pales said. "The scariest thing is that He stopped. You didn't want to, and He could have killed you, replaced you with someone else, or manipulated you to do it, but He chose to communicate with you - would you communicate with the ants in front of the carriage wheel one by one and ask them to get out of the way?"

Of course not. Although Leonard is not a bad person and has no habit of using supernatural powers to do evil, his usual behavior can be regarded as a high-class character even in the Church of the Night. But Leonard has never even thought about doing something of this magnitude. Not to mention the people of Loen, even Zhou Mingrui, who lives in China and has learned "this fish cares, this fish also cares", can't do this.

When we were human, we always had a sense of superiority over other creatures. The life and death of other species seemed not so important, and it would be best if even their wailing did not affect our daily lives. But now, when humans have become insects in the eyes of other creatures, it is very sad.

"You mean, He has a bigger plan? A plan that makes Him willing to endure, even going against the usual practices of angels?"

"I didn't say that," Pales said. "I can't guess what he wants. I just know that this is not a common thing. The people I know who were given such high hopes usually didn't end up well. At least they were not as good as being crushed to death at the beginning."

"......I see."

Leonard hung up the towel after wiping his face. He paused and continued.

"But I understand that this is useless. Old man, you can't take us away, and it's useless to tell Lord Cecima... Old man, do you have any other ideas?"

"If there was, I would have run away long ago and would not be here talking nonsense with you."

Thinking that he was innocently involved—well, considering that the monster called out his name and questioned whether it was an illusion, Pales had to admit that he was not so innocent—the Time Worm made a cold and ruthless sound. Leonard, who had been honed by the old man's venomous tongue, begged for mercy even more skillfully.

"No, then what should I do?"

Pales wanted to say, how should I know, that monster didn't ask me to have a crazy love affair. But when he saw the young man's face in the mirror, he couldn't help but sigh and control his temper to teach him.

"Cooperate with His request, if possible. And then pray for a little good luck, and a little favor?"

"Old man, is there no other way?" The Midnight Poet, who had no inspiration or creativity in rhetoric and writing, quickly found an applicable metaphor from classic quotations: "What's the difference between this and the kind of person the emperor said who lies down and lays flat waiting to die."

"Not without, but you don't look like you have much of a chance."

"for example?"

"For example, you have now become the favored one of the night, or you have been favored by some other true god."

Pales said lightly, Leonard was silent for a while, he wiped the remaining water droplets on his chin, and the tone of the midnight poet dropped a little.

"...I'd better apply for a grave next to Klein and the captain's graves."

64.

Leonard was looking forward to whether he could apply for the tomb next to the captain and Klein, but that was another matter. Before he actually wrote an application, Her Excellency Cecima had already arrived in Tingen. If it weren't for the timely telegram from the church and the misunderstanding caused by the damn quill pen, the church would have been able to send a car to pick up the Sword of the Goddess from the train station. Her Excellency Cecima, who had to take the coal train, could only carry the Holy Sword and walk to the Church of Saint Selina.

Like most church leaders, Lord Cecima was not keen on pomp and circumstance. After a brief conversation with the head of St. Selina Church, he came to the Chanis Gate. Frye and Leonard, who were guarding the Chanis Gate, looked out of the gate in unison. Krestel Cecima took off his hat, which was still covered with night dew and coal dust, and smiled at the two survivors of Tingen's team.

"Thanks for your hard work."

He said. Without waiting for the two to invite him, he had already walked into the room. The senior deacon placed the silver-white briefcase containing the holy relics on the table. With his steps, the Chanis Gate, which had occasionally made unusual movements before, fell into a dead silence. He nodded gently at the two night watchmen.

"Considering previous events, I need to do some checks on you."

"Of course, sir."

Leonard and Frye exchanged a glance, and the future captain naturally took over the responsibility of talking to Lord Cecima. He stood up and responded as calmly as possible.

"But as you can see, I'm afraid we can't get away any time soon."

Theoretically, Chanis Gate only needs to be guarded at night, but now Tingen's night watchmen are so empty that no one can guarantee that no one else will want to try. So the remaining four night watchmen have to start a two-shift life. Fortunately, Chanis Gate is relatively stable during the day, and they can even take a short nap in the guard room. It was still late at night when Lord Cecima came, and they still had at least three hours before they could leave temporarily. The Sword of the Goddess nodded, and he asked again.

"When will the other two ladies be here?"

"They will be here to relieve us before noon," Frye said. "It's their turn to guard Chanis Gate tonight."

"I see."

The Sword of the Goddess with short golden brown hair also put his hat on the table. He dragged a chair from the side and sat down, leaning back gracefully and making an inviting gesture.

"Who will go first?"

Since the senior deacon had said so, the two of them naturally had no objection. Frye said, "I'll go first." Leonard, who had gone through this process before, left the duty room and stood in the corridor outside the door. The elegant gas lamps illuminated the entire corridor. Leonard walked to the end of the corridor, leaning between the two lamps, and gently pinched his right wrist with his left hand, which was against the wall behind his back.

Leonard certainly didn't have any wounds on his body, but his shoulder blade was still hurting where the monster had pierced him. The Midnight Poet checked in the mirror and found that there was no abnormality in the skin on his chest or back, and there was nothing wrong with the bones. There was no hindrance even when he moved. Only the burning pain was entangled in his nerves like a maggot on his tarsal bones, and it could only be temporarily relieved when he stared at Klein.

"no problem."

The old man's voice sounded at the right time, and he seemed a little tired.

"There's nothing wrong with a mere Sequence 5. In fact, I suspect..."

He fell silent again. Considering that the Sword of the Goddess was still outside the wall and this place was also part of the Church of Saint Selina, Leonard could not ask any more questions. The Midnight Poet, who was temporarily relieved, calmed down. The darkness spread from the guard room and soon faded away. Frye opened the door and walked out.

"now you."

"——I'll be right there."

65.

Lord Goddess Sword's inspection of the loss of control was the same old routine, and after confirming that Leonard was fine, not only Leonard, but Lord Cecima also seemed relieved and nodded to Leonard.

"For the next week, your duty of guarding the Chanis Gate will be suspended. I will be in charge of this area. The new Night Watchman sent by the Holy Temple should arrive in Tingen in three days."

"Okay," Leonard said. "I'll tell the captain."

After he finished speaking, he realized that the order for Frye to succeed as captain had not yet been approved by the Temple, and Captain Dunn was no longer there. The Midnight Poet paused, not knowing whether he didn't care or thought it was okay. Lord Cecima just nodded. Leonard walked out the door, and just as he was about to close the door, Cecima's voice came from behind him.

"etc."

"Anything else? Master Cecima."

"I forgot to inform you." Lord Cecima touched his pocket, but found nothing. The man put the pocket watch on the table back. He said, "Your application to become a Red Glove has been approved. As one of the three leaders of the Red Gloves, you need to undergo an additional inspection and swear an oath."

"..."

Leonard froze, he had forgotten about it. But now that things had come to this, he could only choose to believe the old man's words about the inspection. Lord Cecima and the Sword of the Goddess could not find any problems with him. The Midnight Poet went through the redundant review process with a little trepidation and swore an oath on the Holy Sword. He stepped out of the room again, this time Leonard slowed down a little, and sure enough, Lord Cecima called him again.

"I think you should be ready to go to Wintershire."

Cecima added again. He paused, and said, with a little nostalgia, His Excellency the Sword of the Goddess.

"Also, the approval from the church should come tomorrow. Remember to collect the relevant tickets and travel expenses, and pack the most important luggage. You can pack the rest and store it in the church. Don't worry, once you have confirmed your residence, the church will transport it to your new residence."

In terms of employee benefits, especially for future elite employees, the Church of the Night has done its best. Leonard would have been excited in the past, but now he happened to meet that exception. The Midnight Poet knew with his pretty face that leaving Klein for a while or convincing Klein to go to Wintershire together were both bad decisions.

"I see."

That's all Leonard could say to his future boss.

"I'll be ready."

Lord Cecima nodded, and this time Leonard finally closed the door of the duty room without being called again. So even Lord Sword of the Goddess can't avoid the common problem of poor memory among the sleepless. While laughing and crying, Leonard couldn't help but raise his hand and touch his hairline, which was still very lush, a little too lush. For some reason, inexplicably, he felt a little more relaxed. Unlike Leonard's long-lost sense of relaxation, the old man sneered loudly.

"If I were you, I would take this opportunity to go to sleep now."

Pales said unhappily.

"You still have a tough battle to fight when you go back - don't expect me to help you, I'm just an old and weak man!"

66.

While Klein and Leonard Mitchell from a parallel world were sitting on opposite sides of the dining table, engaging in a one-sided intrigue among fortune tellers, Leonard took a short nap and enjoyed a rare normal breakfast with Frye.

"You joined the Red Gloves."

Frye said as he forked up a fried egg.

"As you can see."

Leonard said he didn't know whether to sigh or smile. The chance of promotion and revenge he had dreamed of before seemed particularly awkward now that Klein was resurrected and there was a monster in his family. Leonard had a bad feeling - if he told the monster that he needed to go to Winter County for training first, the monster might really kill him.

"The approval from the Holy Temple came faster than I thought."

Frye certainly didn't know the life-and-death question of 'to be or not to be' that Leonard was now facing, and he paused for a moment in chewing.

"Red Gloves is a dangerous profession."

"I know." Leonard said. He put aside the things that he couldn't solve or figure out for the time being, and planned to discuss it with Klein after returning. "But isn't it the same for the Nighthawks? The captain said that we are just a group of poor people who are always fighting against danger and madness. You see, in fact, the risks we face as Nighthawks and Red Gloves are the same. At least by becoming a Red Glove, I have the opportunity to move up and avenge them."

The corpse collector swallowed the food in his mouth with difficulty. The office meals provided by Old Weir Restaurant were no different from before, but for the first time, he felt that they were tasteless. Frye pulled the corners of his stiff mouth.

How can this be the same? Of course it is not. The mortality rate of the Red Gloves is much higher than that of the Night Watchers. They are the most elite hounds of the Goddess, and are the existence that all the Night Watchers admire and fear. If most of the Night Watchers can be dressed up and let their relatives see them for the last time after their death, and be buried in the cemetery in their hometown, then the families of the Red Gloves can only get a death notice and a pension, and they can't even touch the ashes of the deceased.

"I should have advised you, but I don't want to, Leonard." Frye said, "If I didn't have this talent, if the captain didn't want me to continue to protect Tingen after him, if... if I wasn't a coward and I didn't dare to talk about revenge, and I just wanted Tingen and my friends to be well, I should have applied."

"...You've done very well, Fry."

"It's different, Leonard, this is different." Frye shook his head gently: "I wasn't there when you were fighting; I won't be there when you're taking revenge - Leonard, I don't want to see you brought back one day."

He looked at Leonard, his eyes full of pain, but determined. Fry's eyes seemed to be speaking, as if saying, there are only a few members of the Tingen Nighthawks, so you must live well. But he couldn't say it out loud. The Red Gloves are a life-threatening profession. In such a profession, harboring the idea of ​​stealing life is not only detrimental to the work, but may even become a fatal weakness. Fry knew this very well, so he could only say to Leonard, he said I don't want you to be taken back one day.

- In the form of a death announcement, in the form of ashes, or if you are luckier, in the form of a coffin.

Leonard knew better than anyone else that they had lost more than two friends forever. Even if it was hard for them to recognize each other again, at least Klein was alive. However, Leonard's desire to embark on the road of revenge remained unchanged, but he would go with Klein.

"Trust me, Fry."

Leonard finally said, he patted Frye's shoulder, and the Midnight Poet smiled. The smile was still the same as before, with a little more romantic charm and a little more confidence:

"I can do that. I'll write to you after I've avenged them."

"When that time comes, if you can, help me shoot an extra bullet."

Frye took a deep breath, raised his other hand and patted Leonard's arm.

"Okay." Midnight Poet promised earnestly, "I will. I will take what belongs to Klein and me, and also yours."

The poet of Tingen spoke so confidently and assuredly - as if he could do this easily, as if fate had not put a price on every bit of luck and miracle.

But Frye would never know. As if comforted by this impossible promise, the man moved the corners of his stiff mouth and smiled gently.

67.

By the time the two ladies arrived, it was already noon, and the Old Weir Restaurant had delivered four meals. Leonard and Frye cleaned up a clean table with four chairs. After that incident, no matter how tired they were, the remaining four night watchmen always insisted on having lunch together and chatting for a while.

The two ladies arrived soon. Due to time constraints and excessive fatigue, everyone ate quickly. During the meal, Leonard naturally conveyed the notice from Her Excellency Cecima, and Fry did not shy away from the fact that Leonard would be promoted to Red Glove and leave Tingen. Luo Yao sighed and said that he should have asked for a bottle of champagne to celebrate when ordering the meal.

The short lunch break ended with the conversation. Although they knew they didn't need to be on duty today, the two ladies decided to stay at the temporary station to pack up the remaining items of Blackthorn Security Company. Leonard chose to go home after the meal, and Frye still had to deal with the captain's work. The three watched Leonard walk out of the door in a hurry and exchanged glances.

"He seems to have figured it out a little bit." Xiga, who had just picked up a pile of documents, said, "Leonard is indeed the one who made the decision to join the Red Gloves... Maybe he can really do it, and he can do it better than any of us."

"Who knows?" Luo Yao said. The lady also patted Frye's shoulder like Leonard did. "The Chanis Gate is represented by Lord Cecima. It's a rare opportunity to rest. You should go and catch up on some sleep. Frye, we still have a lot of things to do later."

"Wait until I finish what I have on hand." Frye did not resist: "There are not too many documents at this time."

"There are no reports to write or review." Xijia said, and after a pause, she asked again. "Speaking of many things, Fry, didn't you mention that matter to Leonard?"

"What's the matter?" Luo Yao was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized: "Is it about us reserving a row of graves in the Saint Raphael Cemetery? You didn't tell Leonard? I thought he would be the first to say that he wanted to be buried next to the captain and Klein."

"That's not necessary."

Frye said.

"I wanted to tell him before that I wanted him to try his best and come back with a body that can be presented to the public. He shouldn't act like it's a great sin for not dying with the captain and Klein. But now..."

Frye didn't say anything else. The usually taciturn corpse collector thought, just this time, just today, Leonard appeared in front of him. Although he still looked excessively uneasy, there was still a blazing fire in his eyes. But for some reason, he had a strange feeling that Leonard seemed to be alive.

He was pulled back from the edge of the cliff by something, like a dying tree finally receiving a shower of rain.

"Anyway, it's a good thing that Leonard is getting better." Xijia concluded. Midnight Poet sighed deeply. She raised her head and looked up. The sign of Blackthorn Security Company was moved to the door they were temporarily occupying. "To be honest, I always thought that the company was a bit noisy because there were too many people in it, especially the loud voices of you men when you were fighting evil... But now, when there are only a few of us left in the company, I miss the original noise a little bit."

Due to the recent mutation, all the civilian staff of the Nighthawks have been given a holiday. Fortunately, the Nighthawks have temporarily relieved themselves of the task of guarding Tingen and handling daily events due to the lack of personnel. The temporary station is a mansion donated by a wealthy believer. Although it is also on Zotland Street, it is located on the street. The Nighthawks occupy the entire building. Now there are only three people breathing in the building, and even the footsteps have an echo. The hastily rescued and relocated documents have not been sorted out and are directly piled in the corner of the room, which looks particularly empty.

"...It will be fine."

Frye said. The corpse collector, who was not known for his good words, imitated Dunn and spoke to his colleagues.

"I promise, we're going to be fine."

——He tried very hard, but his smile looked nothing like Dunn's, except for the reassuring part he learned from Dunn.

Only in that part is Frye exactly like Dunne.

Xijia sighed softly and long. Luo Yao tried very hard to smile, and she agreed heavily.

"I believe you—I mean, I'll help you, too, Frye. Don't be like the captain, always taking everything on yourself."

68.

When Leonard returned home, the fortune teller, who had only eaten a bowl of bread porridge in the morning, was thinking about the same question of 'to be or not to be', a matter of life and death - to go out to find food, or to starve to death in the house.

Theoretically, the better a person's life is, the less afraid they should be of missing a meal occasionally. After a few months at the Blackthorn Security Company, Klein was no longer the hungry college student he used to be. The high salary and good food of the Nighthawks not only effectively improved his extraordinary abilities, but also his physical foundation.

But whether it was due to his resurrection or some other reason, Klein was very hungry after waking up from a sleep, and he felt as hungry as when he had just crossed over. Otherwise, according to the fortune teller's usual style of following his heart, he would rather starve in the house for another day than think about risking going out to find food.

Fortunately, before Klein could hold back, Leonard opened the door. The midnight poet from Tingen rushed into the room along with the warm midday breeze. He carried the scent of cooked meat and bread, and Klein swore he could smell black pepper. Leonard's eyes lit up when he saw Klein still sitting at the table. He ignored the monster that he didn't know how to define and showed Klein the box in his other hand.

"I brought you lunch." The Midnight Poet, whose green eyes shone like gemstones even in the light, said briskly. He closed the door carefully before uttering the name that should have been buried in the grave: "Although it's not from the Old Weir Restaurant, this one is not bad. I ordered a black pepper steak for you, Klein."

"You've been a great help." Klein was touched. If it weren't for the discrepancy with Rune's etiquette, he would have even wanted to shake Leonard's hand and give it a few firm shakes. "Thank you, Leonard."

"?"

Leonard didn't know why he received such high praise for bringing a meal, but the future Mr. Demon Wolf had already skillfully wagged his non-existent tail. He decided to make one more stop tomorrow to bring Klein some cookies or cakes. Oh, by the way, Klein would be very bored at home alone, so he should also bring him some books...

Leonard brought the food back to the kitchen. Unlike the Old Ville restaurant, which would deliver tableware and then send someone to collect it, this restaurant did not have any cooperation with the Blackthorn Security Company, and Leonard purchased it in his personal capacity. The food was packed in a paper box, and when Leonard opened it, the hot steam hit him in the face. Klein swallowed his saliva, claiming that Leonard had worked hard to bring the food back, and he definitely shouldn't sit there waiting for Leonard to serve the food. So the two of them squeezed into the kitchen shoulder to shoulder and served the hot meals on plates.

The table was filled with a meal that was a bit too rich for a workday lunch. Even Leonard's peer was placed with a knife, fork and plate, and the latter was watching from beginning to end. From the moment Leonard came back, it was as quiet as if he didn't exist. Klein, who felt that he was starving, couldn't wait to raise his knife and fork after confirming that Leonard had already eaten lunch at the office.

Klein spent a while using food to suppress the hunger that felt like a black hole in his chest, and then drank half a cup of water in one breath before he felt himself recover. Just as he finally raised his head, Leonard suddenly spoke.

"Klein."

Said the Midnight Poet of Tingen.

"I have something I want to tell you."

69.

"It's like this, Klein," Leonard said, his voice a little difficult. "My application to become a Red Glove has been approved. The bishop told me that the official notice from the cathedral will come tomorrow. He informed me that I need to hand over my work within a week and prepare to go to Winter County."

From the day he came back from the dead, Klein knew that it would be difficult for him to return to his previous life trajectory. He just didn't expect that this day would come so soon and so unexpectedly. And the person who had to go first between him and him was actually Leonard. But, this is not a bad thing, right? What kind of brotherhood is it to hinder a friend's promotion? Klein convinced himself with this. He took a deep breath and steadied his voice.

"...Congratulations, Leonard." After the first sentence was spoken, the rest seemed to come from the heart. Klein smiled and congratulated, "If now weren't a bad time, we should go to Old Weir's Restaurant to celebrate."

Going to the Old Weir Restaurant to celebrate has always been a tradition of the Tingen Nighthawks, from the promotion of Ms. Daly to Klein's joining. The Nighthawks have a small treasury reserved for this purpose. It's a pity that as a Tingen hero who has returned from the dead, Klein obviously has no chance to participate in this customary celebration. As the person being congratulated, Leonard was stunned for a moment, and he quickly added.

"Red Gloves is going to Wintershire for induction training."

"I know." This time it was Klein's turn to feel strange. Although the Red Gloves and the Nighthawks were two different systems, this basic information was not a secret to the Nighthawks: "Isn't it the same? The training time generally ranges from one month to one year, depending on the individual's level of mastery. It is said that one Red Glove took three years to complete the training course... Ms. Daly told us this joke, and you were there at the time." (1)

"Of course I haven't forgotten."

Klein had not forgotten it either. He still remembered that when Ms. Daly teased Klein, forget it. A person as careless as Leonard would probably have to work for five years before he could graduate... After Ms. Daly teased half of the Blackthorn Security Company and left, Captain Dunn came to explain to everyone awkwardly that Daly had good intentions and that what she had just said was just a joke... Thinking of Captain Dunn, Klein's smile froze. He tried to raise the corners of his mouth.

"I believe you will be an excellent student who can graduate on time." Klein said, "It seems that we should be able to set off together now."

"I think so too," Leonard said. After a pause, he continued, "That's not what I want to say. I want to say, Klein—wait, let's go together? Klein, where are you going?"

"..."

Klein did not answer. To be honest, he just said it casually. Klein actually did not know where he should go. He could not go back to Klein Moretti's home. He did not want to disturb Benson and Melissa's peaceful life, nor did he intend to challenge the worldview of two ordinary people, let alone bring danger to them. As a fortune teller, he could not continue to work as a night watchman, unless Klein wanted to be locked up behind the Chanis Gate. He was also playing the role of an evil god, and the traverser with the gray fog did not believe that his golden finger was hidden enough to deceive the goddess and the high-ranking officials of the Church of the Night... He still had an unnamed deposit certificate to cash in, and he had not yet left Leonard's house and had to sleep on the street, but for some reason, Klein felt that he was not much better than the homeless people on the street.

If it were the past, if Klein had woken up from the coffin by himself last night, he might have blew the copper whistle first and asked for the advice of Mr. Azik, who was more experienced in resurrection and starting a new life... But now there was a dangerous person next to him that Mr. Azik might not be able to deal with.

Klein was really at a loss now. Perhaps he should go to the Gray Mist to divine tomorrow to find out where Ince Zangwill and Lanevus were, so that he could plan revenge. By the way, speaking of revenge, would it be useful to divine where his chance of promotion might be?

But, no matter what, Klein didn't want to involve Leonard anymore. Leonard was about to become a Red Glove, and he had a bright future ahead of him. There was really no need for him to get involved with someone like him who was already an illegal resident. Just as Klein was still thinking about how to fool his poet classmate, the man who had remained silent throughout the conversation and had not taken any food suddenly spoke.

"He's going to Backlund."

The man said, with a little nostalgia on his face. He spoke slowly.

"That's what Klein told me. He told me that Backlund has his chance to be promoted."

Notes: (1) This is not mentioned in the original book, and is a private setting.

Feng Ya has something to say: Updated, this chapter has 12000+, please enjoy it slowly. Although it is a bit late for reaching 100 popularity, it is a special bonus to reward the high-value comments before!Having said that, when I really wrote such a long chapter, I couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. But I still want to write what I originally planned to write, such as some stories about other people in Tingen that were not originally the main line of love. I hope everyone understands, and thank everyone who likes it.

Some of the night watchmen's work and other related content in this chapter are privately set. I searched for a while and I don't know if it's a problem with my search ability or if the original book really didn't write about it. Anyway, I'll make a bold assumption. Please forgive me.

Finally, why is this article getting more and more serious? It's already 66,000 words so far. If it goes on like this, when will I be able to finish it? It won't become another long novel, will it? No!

The plot makes Crow rack his brains. If there are any BUGs, please remind Crow. If it is a BUG and not a foreshadowing, we will work hard to change it Orz

Please continue to comment and like the little blue hand to support Orz. There will be updates when the popularity exceeds 100. Comments can also trigger updates! Believe in our speed!

(9)

70.

Backlund, the capital of Loen, is the most prosperous city in the southern and northern continents combined, and is also known as the city of hope. It is the pride of every Loen citizen, and also the unattainable dream of every Loen citizen.

Even from Klein's fragmented memories, Zhou Mingrui knew the name of the Capital of All Capitals. This was a city that Klein had thought about countless times before. When he looked up relevant documents and was informed that they were only collected in the university library in Backlund, when Benson casually talked about the import and export goods shipped from Backlund, and by chance, Klein heard Melissa's teacher say that with Melissa's talent, if she was in Backlund and was a believer in steam, she would definitely have a better development.

Backlund, Backlund, it seemed that once you arrived in that city, everything would be fine, as if once you arrived in that city, there would naturally be countless jobs and gold everywhere. People yearned for that city, but also feared that vortex. As a keyboard warrior in the 21st century, Zhou Mingrui subconsciously equated Backlund with London in history - you know, London in history was not a good place to go.

As Klein, Zhou Mingrui naturally knew that he hadn't even done divination, let alone knew that Backlund had an opportunity for his promotion. But as Tingen's midnight poet, Leonard subconsciously cast a questioning look at Klein.

"Not me."

Klein clarified.

"I have never divined something like this. Even if I had to, I would first divine how to avenge the captain."

Leonard breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't know what had delayed the cautious fortune teller from predicting the future and clues, he could put the blame on that monster. After all, with such a person by his side, it was understandable that Klein didn't dare to do the fortune telling seriously when he was alone with him. He wanted to question the man who fell into a trance-like state after saying that, but he held it back because he remembered the old man's warning.

Although Klein didn't understand why Leonard could hold it in, he was happy to see that Leonard didn't play with fire next to the unstable explosive pack. The fortune teller subconsciously put his hands under the table. He had just shaken out the topaz pendulum, and before he had time to tell fortunes, Leonard, who claimed to be from a parallel world, had come back to his senses.

"Klein told me."

He repeated it, still using the same wording. This time Klein understood, but the Midnight Poet, who had never been exposed to the theory of parallel worlds, seemed even more confused. He asked instinctively.

"Is there another Klein in this world?"

"This is not this world," the monster said. "This is your world."

He completely understood Leonard's doubts. Klein made a divination and found, not surprisingly, that the pendulum on his wrist was motionless, as quiet as death. A fortune teller cannot predict everything, which Klein had learned a long time ago. However, this was the first time Klein had encountered a man who showed off his rank without pretending. It seemed that without the assistance of the gray fog, divination would be useless to this guy. Klein was not surprised by this. A being who could despise the Church of Evernight and the Sword of the Goddess must have his confidence, otherwise he would die quickly.

After sorting out his thoughts, Klein put his hands back on the table. He bent his fingers and knocked on the thick wooden table with his knuckles. The clown's ability allowed Mr. Fortune Teller to conceal the pain caused by the heavy knocking. Two pairs of green eyes looked over at him almost at the same time.

"Perhaps you don't mind if I explain to Leonard what the concept of a parallel world is first?" Klein showed a typical fake smile. "Otherwise, communication between us may be a little difficult."

Mr. L wanted to say that it was not necessary. It was enough for you to understand. A creature like Leonard only needed to execute, not understand. If he didn't want to execute, I could recast him, and I could also recast him into the shape that Klein liked... But it was Klein who made this suggestion to him. Leonard couldn't refuse Klein, even if it wasn't his Klein who was speaking. So he shut up.

"Thank you for your understanding."

Klein said. Before he finished speaking, Leonard had already skillfully moved a chair to sit next to Klein, as if he was going to have a conversation in front of the teacher. Looking at those green eyes filled with urging and curiosity, Klein suddenly missed Gray Mist.

At least when he talks in the gray fog, everyone else will listen quietly. Even the bronze chair cannot be moved. No one will disturb him from showing off...

Although he didn't know why Leonard, the only one in the room who didn't know the concept, could avoid the terrifying visitor from the parallel world with a higher sequence. With the physical fitness bonus of the Sleepless Sequence and the various extraordinary abilities of this world, Klein had no doubt that even if he whispered to Leonard with his ears touching his lips, the man on the opposite side would not miss a word.

But—this is Leonard. Klein didn't push away the Midnight Poet's head in the end. He cooperated very well and even found it a little funny. He also moved his face closer.

71.

The concept of parallel worlds is not difficult to understand if you don't go into too much detail. Besides, as a former keyboard warrior and surfer, Klein has no shortage of examples. Leonard nodded quickly, indicating that he understood. He did not move himself and his chair back to his original position, but sat down next to Klein. Klein moved to the right, proving with his actions that he still had some of the last integrity of a straight man that is rare in the southwest.

But considering that he had held the roses in his arms in a daze before, and even slept in a male colleague's bed last night waiting for the person who gave him the roses to read a poem to him, this is definitely a last-ditch struggle with some moral integrity, but not much.

"I think I understand what it means."

Leonard turned his head and looked in the direction of the monster again.

"You mean, you are Leonard from a parallel world. In your world, you know Klein from that world, and he told you a lot of things. Is that right?"

The monster nodded. He seemed nonchalant in the face of Leonard's questioning. If Klein hadn't been watching, he probably wouldn't have answered. Or he could have made a few more holes in the Midnight Poet's body to tell him what it meant to just do it, not ask questions. Although Klein didn't know why Leonard, who claimed to be from a parallel world, had such deep malice towards himself in the parallel world, and he didn't know whether the other party had really done it, he didn't intend to act recklessly based on the man's unsecured oath.

After all, Klein couldn't really say whether the man believed in the Fool or not. He wasn't even sure if he was Leonard or why the self in that world showed up for him. The only thing he could be sure of was that life was very precious, and he might not have many chances to come back from the dead, and Leonard didn't seem to have any golden fingers in this regard.

Klein turned his arm and patted Leonard's shoulder. The Midnight Poet was obviously a little excited, and the muscles on his arm were tense. But just like every time he went on a mission, since Klein had asked him to, Leonard shut up and handed the stage to Klein. When the Midnight Poet's green eyes looked at the face that looked exactly like his own, they lost the brightness of gemstones and the vitality of emerald green, and instead looked as vicious as a wolf in the wasteland.

"I find it hard to believe what you said." Klein considered his words and said, "If it is just a parallel world, you should be at the same time point as us. It is hard for me to imagine what made me in the parallel world take the initiative to seek an opportunity for promotion and go to Backlund at this time. The transfer of Nighthawks cannot be based on personal will. Even if I in the parallel world was promoted to Red Glove, I should have gone to Wintershire. What caused this dislocation? Can you tell us?"

Klein's question was very clever. No matter how the man answered, he would be able to get some information. He might even be able to get information that the man hadn't explained before, such as whether Tingen in the parallel world had also suffered a drastic change and whether Klein had died in it. But between yes and no, the man chose yes or no.

"no."

The man said, changing his wording.

"I'm from... the time after everything is over."

That is, the other party not only crossed the world line, but also reversed time. Why does it sound more terrifying than before? What kind of existence can do this? Even the true gods can't do it, right? At least among the existing seven gods, it sounds like there is no one who has such authority. The remaining two evil gods that Klein already knows, the True Creator and the Original Witch, don't sound like they have such power. To be honest, the power of time and space is super-powerful in any world view.

It's impossible that Leonard in the parallel world is really the protagonist of some other world, Klein thought. What's wrong with Klein in that world? How could he run so fast that a being that can travel through time and space can't find him?

"What do you mean after everything is over?"

Klein asked. The man was silent. Just when Klein thought he would not answer, the man slowly spoke.

"This is something you cannot know yet."

"So what can we know?"

Leonard asked. Klein wanted to say that it was useless to ask, because he could tell that he was not very friendly to you, and his disdainful attitude was obvious. But he answered this question.

"You don't have much time."

The monster from the parallel world said that only when he talked about this matter, his words were fluent, his expression was accurate, and his attitude was firm. It was as if coming to the parallel world to find the Klein he knew was not his goal, but this matter was what he was obsessed with and wanted to achieve in the parallel world no matter what.

"Until that day comes, stay with Klein."

"Wait, why do you make it sound like I will definitely run away?"

Klein interrupted, but was ignored by the two green eyes. Leonard frowned.

"Klein wouldn't leave without saying goodbye. You said so before."

"Um."

"Even if Klein has explained it to me, I still can't believe you."

Leonard said, the old man called his name, with a warning in his tone. But he simply threw the warning behind his head, and the midnight poet's eyes were burning.

"It's not that I don't believe in parallel worlds. You know the old man, but the old man doesn't know you. You know a lot of things that you shouldn't know, and you don't look like a fortune teller... I don't believe you. It's not that I don't believe you are from another world or the future, but I don't believe you are me."

This was the only thing Leonard seemed extremely certain about, as if he was swearing an oath, said the midnight poet of Tingen.

"I know myself very well. I will never allow myself to become like this. I will never betray the goddess and my companions. I don't know who you are and why you are using my face, but you can't be me!"

72.

It's over, Klein thought. This is going to be a big conversation.

Of course, Klein didn't completely believe that the man was Leonard from the parallel world, but at least he wouldn't go straight up and poke the boss's sore spot. Who knows if the boss will go berserk? The fortune teller felt that he could only hope that the oath the man had made, whether it was the oath he made to Klein in the dream or the promise he made to him, would still count.

But, to Klein's surprise, the man didn't seem to care as much about this matter as Klein had observed before. Or maybe it was because Leonard was the one who made this judgment, and he didn't care much about the so-called isotopes in the parallel world.

"Is this important?"

The man asked, his tone cold.

"You just have to do it, just like I told you at the beginning, you just have to do it. If you can't do it, then act like you can do it."

"If you need me to do something, you should at least tell me clearly what you want me to do."

"I've already said it. If you need more details - follow Klein to Backlund."

"..."

Klein wanted to say, "I'm not sure I'm going to Backlund yet. I have to wait until I go to the gray fog for divination before I decide." But the divination master chose to keep his mouth shut. Anyway, Leonard didn't seem to be in any danger at the moment, so why not wait for Leonard to charge ahead and ask him some questions?

"There's no way I can go directly to Backlund with Klein."

Leonard said, it's not that he didn't want to, to be honest, especially when the monster opposite him was determined to follow Klein. Leonard really wanted to be with Klein. Although facing an angel and another one, he probably wouldn't be of any use, but at least this time Leonard could die with Klein. He didn't have to be left alone in the mortal world, and Leonard thought this was not a bad ending.

Leonard said this because he really couldn't do it. It was the rule of the Church of Evernight that Red Gloves had to go to Wintershire for induction training. Leonard's induction process had come to this point. Even if he could temporarily withdraw, he was still a Nightwatchman in Tingen. It was impossible for him to go directly from Tingen to Backlund. Even after being promoted, the chances of being transferred there were slim. After his promotion, the biggest possibility was that he would be transferred to an unknown city to be a Nightwatchman captain like Ms. Daly, rather than being transferred to Backlund.

"The goddess and the church are keeping an eye on every red glove, you should know that."

There is a big difference between a Nighthawk and a Red Glove. If the death of a Nighthawk will only add a new name to the long wanted list of the church, then if a future Red Glove who was supposed to go for further studies was killed before leaving, the church would definitely conduct a special investigation and revenge. Killing reserve forces and intimidating other Red Gloves is absolutely not allowed to happen.

"I know." The monster said, "He" remained calm. His green eyes were as dead silent as a lake that led directly to the abyss. "This is the problem you need to solve. I just need a result."

Two pairs of green eyes looked at each other, and the midnight poet from Tingen asked slowly.

"...If I say I can't do it, will you kill me?"

——He should have said yes. Leonard knew, he had known it for a long time. This was the result he wanted, this death. His death would become the first link in a chain reaction. As long as the chain reaction started, the goddess would sooner or later cast her gaze. Of course, he knew that he was facing at least an angel, but an angel might not be able to defeat a true god.

Since they were all going to die anyway, Leonard might as well choose the best way. At least in this method, the resurrected Klein could get out of it more easily. His resurrection might be covered up by a bigger case, and he might be able to get his identity back, along with his daily life - it was worth it.

The monster blinked and opened his mouth. Leonard did not flinch. The midnight poet's muscles were tense and he was biting the prayer to the goddess between his lips and teeth, even though he knew it was useless. Leonard was ready to face death until he heard the monster's voice.

"The price of a miracle is very high."

The monster's eyes were motionless, like paint smeared on stone, but his words clearly pointed to the direction that Leonard had been most reluctant to admit and accept for so long.

"——You should know that."

——He was referring to Klein.

73.

In this world, in Leonard's more than 20 years of life, there has been only one miracle.

Coming back from the dead is a miracle.

And now, it was almost obvious that the monster was threatening him, mocking him, and asking him - Do you dare to bet, Leonard?

Do you dare to bet that Klein's resurrection is because of his little secrets, not because of me? Do you dare to bet that if you reject me, you will face his death again?

74.

"well."

When he said that, he once again brought up the proposition that had once made him fall into the abyss of fate. This time, he did not use it to threaten others, but to treat the moment when he was too lucky in the parallel world. Mr. L heard that voice again, familiar, long-lost, and fake. That voice sighed. It came from very close, as if the person was standing behind him, whispering something in his ear.

"You should have told him that."

"..."

I won't, Leonard thought, I won't talk to him nicely...what's the point of talking to him nicely?

In his eyes, whether it was himself or his parallel self, Leonard was better off being just a tool, a shell, a shield that should naturally stand in front of Klein. He would better follow behind Klein, stand in front of Klein, and help Klein wade through the thorns ahead. As for where Leonard would die on the way, or if he was lucky enough to survive, Mr. L really didn't care at all.

"Talk to him nicely, he will understand, Leonard, you are too impatient." The voice continued: "You shouldn't be so cruel to him...well, you shouldn't be so cruel to yourself. You are still in pain, aren't you."

What problem can be solved by talking nicely, getting understanding, and getting help? Mr. L didn't know. He only knew that he shut his mouth tightly. He didn't respond, and didn't even turn around. He just sat there, as if he hadn't heard anything, as if not turning around and not responding had not used up all his strength.

So, once again, and again, just like every time before, the phantom that he rejected slowly disappeared. Klein's shadow was reflected in the monster's eyes. The little fortune teller in Tingen didn't know at this moment what price the miracle of fate would take from him in the future. He looked so vivid, so alive. His eyes were still the color of deep amber. He still smelled like sugar and black tea. He didn't seem to be overwhelmed by the bone-deep fatigue.

If possible, Leonard hopes he will never become like that, no matter what the cost or what the outcome will be.

But, more real than this false fantasy is the fact that Mr. L has known for a long time.

——He couldn't find Klein.

The familiar pain overwhelmed him again, followed by madness, and finally a sense of loss of control. Before he exploded into blood and mud in front of the brand new Klein, something stole his pain, took away his madness, and finally put him back into this body. His shadow rolled and twisted abnormally, and finally regained its calm.

Almost uncontrollably, Mr. L's lips trembled. He couldn't help wanting to speak, he wanted to reach out, he wanted to say something - he knew it was useless, he had said it before. But it was useless.

75.

"Please, give me back my pain, give me back my madness and loss of control. I don't want to forget, I don't want any future, I just, I just want, I want to..."

The answer was silence, just silence, eternal silence. As the pain faded, he felt the emptiness again, as if he was left with only the outermost layer of skin, as if his soul and emotions had been emptied out. The emptiness quickly turned into hunger, and the hunger made Leonard unable to think of anything else. He wished he could swallow himself whole and stuff it into his stomach, perhaps that would make him feel better.

But he still remembered that incident, and he still remembered those words, mixed with swallowing sounds, like a mumbling, he prayed.

"Give...give Klein back to me."

76.

Only at this moment, only in madness, only when Leonard has forgotten the past and himself, Mr. Star, who no longer belongs to the Aurora Society, can say this.

77.

Klein quickly realized that he was being used as a bargaining chip to threaten his fellow poet.

Regarding this matter, the time traveler only wants to give a stereotyped answer: Ah? Me?

Of course, Klein didn't know whether his resurrection was the inevitability of fate or whether it was the intervention of the guy on the other side, but he knew very well that if the other side was willing, he and Leonard would have to die together again. Klein no longer had a strong fear of death, but he still didn't want to die that much. Logically, he should be afraid. Only those who have experienced it would be afraid of losing again. Klein, who had died once, should have a stronger fear than before. But strangely, Klein didn't feel any fear at all. He just thought it was funny.

It was as if he was certain that the other party was just talking, just to scare Leonard. It was as if he was certain that he was completely safe and not being held hostage. This sense of complete security and trust was really strange, but what was even stranger was that even though Klein was clearly aware that something was wrong, he still didn't feel a sense of crisis.

Is this the effect of the parallel world? I in that world trust Leonard, so the same emotion was passed on to me? No, if that's the case, then wouldn't all of me be repeating the same path? What's the meaning of the parallel world... Klein guessed: Is it a supernatural power? An advanced technique that I don't know yet? The me in that world put a stamp on Leonard that only Klein can see, telling the other world's self that this person is worthy of Zhou Mingrui's trust? Or did the me in that world help Leonard travel from the parallel world? After all, the Sleepless Sequence doesn't sound very related to time travel, although the Fortune Teller doesn't seem to have much to do with this ability.

Hey, Leonard from that world seems very strong. I wonder if I am strong enough in that world and whether I have successfully returned to Earth. It's a pity that it's Leonard instead of me from that world who came and he can't share his success experience with me... Speaking of which, could it be that Leonard went to the wrong place while replicating the miracle of time travel?

To be honest, looking at the poet classmate gritting his teeth in deep hatred, and then looking at Leonard across from him with the aura of a villain boss, Klein inexplicably felt as if he had strayed into some strange film set. He hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell the poet classmate not to be afraid - even if he said it, Leonard might not believe it, and would instead feel that there was something wrong.

To be honest. Even if a man has a self-loathing feeling that is obvious at first glance, it is rare for him to hold such a strong malice towards his parallel self. At least it is difficult for Klein to understand. He has always felt that the Leonards in the parallel world should be closer to each other than the Zhou Mingruis in the parallel world. After all, Leonard does not look like the kind of person who would be bitter and resentful, or self-loathing.

Especially the fact that the man kept saying, and his actions and words revealed, that he was very familiar with Klein in the parallel world. Klein found it hard to imagine how he could be so familiar with a mine-type person, and even harder to imagine how he would not try to pull the person out if they were friends.

You know, this is a world with extraordinary powers. If the psychiatrist on Earth is just a profession, the psychiatrist in this world really has special abilities to work. Are you still worried about not being able to treat mental illness?

Klein didn't understand. He was just shocked. Before the fortune teller reached out to pat Leonard's shoulder, the person sitting to his left had already spoken.

"I know." The Midnight Poet said. He said it with great difficulty, gritting his teeth. He knew that saying this meant that he would betray his faith and become something he had never imagined before. But he still said, "—I will do it."

"......?"

Klein suddenly felt like he might have skipped a part of his life. His hand froze in place, and soon dropped as if to cover up something. Midnight Poet noticed this movement, lowered his arm, and tentatively grasped Klein's wrist. Noticing that Klein did not resist, he quickly grasped Klein's wrist tightly, as if grasping the last straw, as if grasping all he had.

"Don't be afraid, Klein." Leonard said, his voice a little hoarse. The Midnight Poet whispered to Klein, "This time, I will stand in front of you. Don't be afraid."

I'm not afraid at all. I don't think it's that bad. Although I don't understand what's going on, I think we can still talk about it. Klein had a lot to say, but his throat seemed to be stuck. He couldn't swallow or spit it out. It seemed like something was stuck in his throat, blocking his vocal cords and causing him to hold his breath involuntarily.

"......All right."

Klein could only say this in the end. He felt the sweat on Leonard's palm. Strangely, the fortune teller didn't seem to reject such contact. The familiar sense of security made him completely relax.

78.

...Okay, okay, Klein thought. It was a little funny. He hid his emotion. Because of the miraculous resurrection, he had to say goodbye to his relatives, lost his stable job and good teammates, and never saw his friends again. The resurrected man who had lost almost everything Zhou Mingrui had gained after coming to the other world turned his face slightly to the side so that his red eyes would not be so obvious under the light.

There was really no other way now. Klein said to himself: But I won't let Leonard be the only one to pay. I won't let Leonard be the only one to sacrifice for me. I will also... I will take good care of him, too.

Although this was difficult, although there were many variables, and although Klein didn't understand why Leonard on the other side looked completely broken, nor why the Midnight Poet who was holding his wrist had also mutated. Even though saving two lives from a high-ranking being seemed like a fantasy, Klein would still do his best.

Just because Leonard promised him so first.

Feng Ya has something to say: Updated, this chapter is 8000, please enjoy it slowly. I was in a bad state during the day today. It was already 11 o'clock in the evening when I started writing, so the update is a bit late, but I still promise to update it every day.The story in this chapter fully proves that if you want to heat up your relationship with someone quickly, you should experience dangers with him, support each other, and live and die together.

IF Lun's idea was very bad, but he managed to get things done by accident. Considering that he was once one of the backbones of the Aurora Society, this is Beaver's (nod)

Don't worry, if this story is about a young couple on the run with a ghost behind them, the plot will be too outrageous. So the main storyline Lun still has to go to the Red Gloves for training. Anyway, in the original book, he only trained for a month or two at most. I believe he will be more motivated this time.

Of course, IF Lun is squatting here. Considering his obsession, the main line Lunk will still have other ways to meet, and Lun will not be completely offline during this period!

The plot makes Crow rack his brains. If there are any BUGs, please remind Crow. If it is a BUG and not a foreshadowing, we will work hard to change it Orz

Please continue to comment and like the little blue hand to support Orz. There will be updates when the popularity exceeds 100. Comments can also trigger updates! Believe in our speed!

(10)

79.

For someone like Klein, as long as he is sure of what he wants to do and has made up his mind, he will be very active. Klein is not only active, but he is also very good at persistence, like a piece of stone that cannot be broken by a hammer or persuaded.

This is how he dealt with time travel, how he looked for a way home, and how he pretended to be an evil god. Now that Klein had decided, he didn't know how to define it. He still did the same thing with the change in his relationship with Leonard. Almost immediately, Klein began to consider Leonard.

So, the fake evil god stopped the stalemated conversation and said that he wanted to wash his face and sober up, which was fine with the two Leonards. Klein returned to the second floor and locked himself in the bathroom. He used the silver dagger he took out from Leonard's bedside table to draw a spiritual wall. Then he headed above the gray fog.

This was his first time going above the gray fog today. Just like the transformation he experienced last time, he consumed much less spiritual energy in the gray fog. But this time, Klein had no intention of staying longer. He simply divined a few issues that he had been concerned about before. After confirming that Lanevus and Ince Zangwill were both in the City of Hope, and that the hope of his promotion that Leonard had mentioned was indeed in Backlund, Klein quickly left the gray fog. He turned on the faucet, scooped up a handful of cold water with both hands, and buried his entire face in it.

——Giving up your identity and previous accumulation with me and starting over is definitely the worst choice for Leonard. Leonard is an insomniac, and almost all the extraordinary people in the insomniac sequence are in the Church of the Night, which means that he basically has no promotion channels outside the Church of the Night. If Leonard's promotion or not was a matter of choice like Luo Shan's choice of becoming an extraordinary person, after the appearance of Leonard in the parallel world, it became a single-choice question. In order to survive and to gain more opportunities, Leonard can only choose to continue to be promoted.

Now that Leonard has successfully joined the Red Gloves, his future is bright. Moreover, Klein himself is also a whistleblower. He feels that with his cooperation, Leonard should not lack informants and merits for promotion. This is the best way Leonard can get access to now. On the other hand, Klein also knows very well what kind of person Leonard is.

Leonard was willing to sacrifice for him, and he was sincere, Klein knew that. But feelings could not stand the test, and Klein did not want him to regret it one day in the future. He also did not want Leonard to sacrifice himself. To be honest, the fortune teller felt that the Midnight Poet was best the way he was before.

...So Klein had to find another way for him, another way to solve Leonard's request to him, a way that would allow him to continue to be a red glove.

——I must find this way. The water in the palm of his hand slowly flowed out through his fingers. Klein raised his head and looked at himself in the mirror. He said to himself: I will definitely find that way. I have already lost the captain, I have made a mistake once, I couldn't do it again, this time, I will definitely do it.

He is determined not to let Leonard become the second Dunn.

80.

Klein sat down at the table again and looked no different than before, but Leonard could sense that something was different about him. While the Midnight Poet was still hesitating, Klein had already looked at the monster.

"Regarding Leonard's distribution after he officially becomes a red glove, can you do anything?"

Klein asked. What he meant was whether this Leonard from the parallel world could provide some relevant information to help Leonard have a chance to choose. After all, it is human nature to want to go to a better unit and pursue more promotion opportunities after making meritorious contributions, and Backlund is an absolutely suitable city. At worst, he has some way to secretly change people's wills - just like 0-08. At this time, the new evil god who still doesn't know what kind of power the sealed objects like 0-08 represent in this world still has such expectations. But Leonard's isomorph, who heard his question, obviously has a way of thinking that normal people would never have.

"...Klein doesn't like me attacking people from the Church of Evernight."

Leonard from the parallel world said, and he spoke quite calmly, as if it was normal to attack his colleagues. To be honest, considering the questions he raised before, Klein swore that this attack was definitely not as simple as physical persuasion. Although Leonard's counterpart's words were not very anthropomorphic, it seemed that he had a "reputation" in the other world that his colleagues could speak easily, just like a pelican. He even disdained to cover up this matter, or was so crazy that he didn't think it was a problem at all. But after he noticed Klein's shock and secret dislike, Mr. counterpart immediately said as if he had suddenly realized something.

"Do you want me to talk to the Goddess of Night? It may not be very helpful. They have always treated me badly."

"???"

This time, Klein really wouldn't do that. Although he knew before that Leonard in the future would definitely not be a simple person, but being able to talk to a goddess on this level was still completely beyond his imagination - very good, he now admired himself in that parallel world even more.

Leonard was just as shocked as Klein. If Leonard had been warned by the old man that the man who claimed to be him in a parallel world was an angel, he still had some hope that the goddess would send down an oracle to solve the problem. But now that he had said "talk to the goddess", although Leonard was still frantically calling the silent old man, the Midnight Poet was basically certain that he was by no means an angel.

"It's not the case that such an extreme situation is needed..." Klein's tone was a little weak: "Perhaps you know 0-08?"

"That thing is very dangerous." Leonard's future counterpart said, "You shouldn't touch it. If you need it, I have a similar method."

He stopped here, without explaining what the similar method was, nor did he demonstrate it. Based on the man's previous style, Klein could only infer that this was the part that Leonard from the future thought was 'not suitable for Klein to know'.

"We just need to influence Leonard's assignment after he finishes the Red Gloves training course," Klein said. Then, he immediately added, "As for your request for Leonard to be with me, I have a suggestion."

Two pairs of green eyes stared at him, and Klein once again felt a little uncomfortable. The fake evil god couldn't help but raise his hand to touch the tip of his nose. He coughed lightly, hinting in a way that if Leonard really knew everything, he would definitely understand.

"——There are still many gaps in the Tarot."

Leonard didn't have to go to Backlund with him. Klein thought that he could just join the Tarot Club. Ordinary evil god organizations were dangerous, but Klein himself was a fake evil god. If meeting at least once a week couldn't meet Leonard's requirements in the future, then he could just bring his poet classmate up a few more times. Besides, considering that he could predict the other party in the gray fog, Klein felt that Leonard in the parallel world might not be able to see what was happening in the gray fog.

As for whether Leonard is willing to chant the name of an evil god - things have come to this point, there is a Chinese saying that it is better to live a miserable life than to die a good death. It really can't be done, it really can't be done...

Klein hadn't made up his mind to confront Leonard if things didn't work out. Leonard's future counterpart had already turned to the Midnight Poet. For the first time, he looked at Leonard seriously, with a bit of disdain and criticism in his eyes. That look almost made Klein think that this future counterpart was going to chop his parallel self into pieces. In the end, the other party just nodded.

"Repeat after me."

Leonard's counterpart said, and then, as fluently as a fanatic who had recited it countless times, he uttered the honorific name that Klein had designed not long ago. The Midnight Poet was stunned at first. The three-part honorific name was so strong, and it was a name of God that he had never heard of. The Nighthawk's instinct made him not recite it out loud at the first time. In fact, he just paused for a moment. At this point, Leonard already knew that he had no choice, and he would definitely recite it anyway - but the monster obviously misunderstood the meaning.

"It is your honor to be gazed upon by Him."

He spoke with the tone of a fanatic, and Klein wanted to dig out a monster from Tingen City from under his feet. Leonard had no choice but to repeat the three-part honorific name. From then on, he was stabbed by an unknown evil god. Mr. Monster seemed to be dissatisfied. His tone was arrogant and self-righteous, and his piety was natural. He taught Leonard:

"——Receive this glory, praise His name, practice His teachings, accompany Him until death, and let His dream reappear on earth."

Not sure if it was an illusion, but Klein seemed to hear a voice. That person sighed softly and shallowly.

81.

Now that they had decided to leave, the next step was to make some normal preparations. Leonard was going to the Tranquility Temple in Wintershire for training, and Klein was also going to Backlund. After the two discussed it, Klein decided to leave Tingen first. As a dead night watchman, Klein's face was still recognized by a certain number of people in Tingen. It was not impossible for him to stay at Leonard's house for a few more days and wait for Leonard to bring back food every day, but it was not very meaningful. It would be better to go to Backlund earlier.

Considering that Leonard was still a Red Glove reserve and was still in the probation period before joining the company, although the Church of Evernight's power and probation might not be so comprehensive, Klein still felt that it would be better for Leonard not to take the risk of buying clothes and other gifts that were completely different in size from what he needed. In the end, he only accepted some of Leonard's family supplies as basic supplements, so as to avoid having to buy a new handkerchief when he arrived in Backlund.

Klein was packing his luggage. He decided to leave early tomorrow morning to avoid any trouble. Leonard was also packing his luggage. He needed to pack much more than Klein. Since he was going to give up the current house, the Midnight Poet thought he would spend much longer than three years in this house, so he bought a lot of things. Now he had to pack up everything, except for the basic supplies, and store them all at the church. The workload was so heavy that Leonard had to thank His Excellency the Goddess Sword for coming to take over his shift.

Leonard from the parallel world obviously had no intention of helping them. After achieving his goal, the man said he was a little hungry and soon disappeared somewhere. Klein sincerely hoped that he was not out looking for new colleagues to eat. Although he didn't know how powerful he was and whether he could monitor in real time, the fact that there was no dangerous person standing in front of him obviously made Klein and Leonard relax.

Leonard began to rub against Klein. He soon gave up packing his own luggage and started to help Klein. As a half-senior who had brought Klein to work as a night watchman, Leonard had no talent in this area. Most of the time, he was holding things he thought were useful and asking Klein if he wanted to take them, like a crazy salesman in a shopping mall. The fortune teller thought, I'm going to Backlund, not moving. The capacity of a suitcase in this era is obviously very limited. I'm not blessed to enjoy so many gifts.

Klein soon gave up looking back when Leonard called him. But Leonard soon developed a new pattern. He began to come back to Klein like a retriever, bringing things he thought Klein would use—mostly his own collection.

"No, I know that silver table knives and forks are very useful, and the rose carvings are also very beautiful... Wait, Leonard, you actually used the table knife as a ritual dagger?!"

Leonard blinked. Just think about how Old Neil used a ritual to ask the goddess to help him with his bill problem, and you will know how many tricks these night watchmen can play when the gods are not strict. Perhaps what Leonard did is not really blasphemous - Klein could only convince himself this way. He refused the whole set of knives and forks that Leonard brought over, and also refused the high-heeled cup decorated with real deer antlers that Leonard brought over. The fortune teller, who was repeatedly interrupted, finally had to hastily close the suitcase and announced that the luggage had been packed.

"Aren't you going to be on duty today?"

Having finally escaped the sales frenzy, Klein felt that he had never longed for peace so much. Leonard helped him push the suitcase to the corridor. Later, he would help the little fortuneteller, who had no extraordinary strength enhancement, to carry the suitcase downstairs and put it in the entrance hall. This would save Klein some unnecessary effort when he left tomorrow.

——Leonard has his own opinion on what is unnecessary effort. He believes that everything he can do for a fortune teller is unnecessary effort. But obviously the canine intuition tells the Midnight Poet that he'd better not tell Klein this, just do it.

"Lord Cecima has taken over all our shifts. We only need to go six hours a day now, and we don't have to worry about the defense of Chanis Gate." Leonard said, "Luo Yao and Xijia are packing up the company's things recently, and Fry is processing documents. Since I'm going to Winter County soon, they decided to give me a holiday so that I can pack up first."

"That's good."

Klein said dryly. After finishing the work at hand and having nothing else to do to distract him, the fortune teller once again realized that he and Leonard were too close at the moment. Klein, who had just finished a housework operation, was now sweating a little. Considering that there was only one high-backed chair in Leonard's bedroom that was not occupied by clothes, Klein and Leonard sat on the bed by the window, one on each side. They were so close that their arms would touch their arms and thighs would touch their thighs with the slightest movement.

"Klein." Leonard suddenly said, looking very serious: "I suddenly thought of something."

"What's up?"

Klein also became serious, and then he heard the "very important thing" that even the Midnight Poet of Tingen would say solemnly.

"You have no money now?"

"?"

"I mean, we've already given your pension to Melissa and Benson, and it's obvious that you can't get your savings back..."

Leonard paused here. He carefully observed Klein's expression and made sure that there was no embarrassment or resistance on his face before he carefully made a suggestion.

"So, take my savings certificate with you to Backlund. I have saved some money over the years. You can't be without money in a city like Backlund. Even if I lend it to you, I don't need it anyway. Red Gloves will provide food and accommodation and can reimburse you. You don't have to rush to pay me back."

Leonard, who had not yet been to the Gray Mist, obviously knew nothing about Klein's extra income from the Tarot Club. He was so careful when he said this, as if he was the one who was going to borrow money from Klein, not the one who was giving money to Klein. The fortune teller just thought that this scene of "I am stealing the goddess's welfare to support you" was a little funny. It was difficult for him to explain to Leonard why he was not so miserable as to be penniless. Klein could only thank Leonard for his kind help.

"I'll give it back to you."

- For example, next time I take you to the Gray Mist for a meeting, I can ask other members of the Tarot Club to teach you how to use your real name and ritual to send a package. At that time, I will return the deposit slip to Leonard. Since I currently have no way to deal with the issue of opening a small account, it can be said that Klein is the follower of the fool.

Klein made a decision silently, and Midnight Poet quickly brought his deposit slip to Klein. I don't know if it's because the protagonist of the era always has some awareness of doing something, but Leonard actually deposited an unnamed deposit slip, which is often used for transactions. Therefore, the amount of the deposit slip was written in a very eye-catching place, with a very beautiful number written on it.

"You can find a better house first." Midnight Poet planned with Klein excitedly: "Anyway, I will come to see you soon."

Wow, five hundred pounds. Klein whistled in his heart. This must be the money from the poet's wife. He thought, it's a good thing he can give me this money. Klein could see that although he said "I'll lend it to you", Leonard had no intention of asking Klein to pay it back.

As a social person in the 21st century, Klein has some knowledge about borrowing money. At least he would not lend such a large sum of money to a friend. If it were not for a special situation where he could not explain where his money came from, Klein would not borrow such a large sum of money from a friend. Zhou Mingrui's parents taught him since he was a child that if you don't want to lose a friend, don't lend money to a friend. If you lend money to a friend, don't worry about whether you can get it back.

They say that feelings are not worth testing. In other words, in the poet's heart, I am worth at least 500 pounds? Klein thought, then I am quite valuable.

Klein was still pondering the mystery of friendship, and Leonard had already stood up again.

"Klein, what would you like to eat tonight?" Leonard asked. He quickly added, "You can name a few. And for breakfast tomorrow, you should also prepare some food on the way."

Even the wife of the poet classmate had taken the book, so Klein was not reserved about such a small matter. He named a few dishes. After a pause, he asked again.

"Do you remember that bakery I told you about, the one Melissa loved."

——The one you like very much, you told me many times about the owner's good craftsmanship and sweet iced tea. Leonard recalled it almost instantly. He did not expose Klein's rhetoric of pushing his love of sweets onto his sister. Anyway, for some reason, Klein never admitted his preference for sweets and insisted that he was a party to all flavors. The Midnight Poet nodded briskly.

"Remember, Slin Bakery, I just happened to have something to do there."

This was of course a lie, but Klein had no intention of rejecting Leonard's kindness. He nodded and made his request.

"I want lemon pudding and Tingen cake."

"clear."

The Midnight Poet performed a weird knight's salute and said with a smile.

"I'll remember to bring you another cup of sweet iced tea."

83.

On the last night in Tingen, Klein and Leonard slept on the same bed.

Klein originally thought that he would suffer from insomnia because of having an extra bedmate. He had already made up his mind to hypnotize himself that Leonard was just a large pillow. However, the aroma of Seville chrysanthemum essential oil mixed with the deep sleeping flower scent that was about to be pickled on the Midnight Poet was unexpectedly soothing, and he soon fell asleep.

Klein had another dream. The dream was still about that red. He was falling in that strange world of black and red. Below him was still the pitch-black and turbid red earth. The mist-like light was still so weak. It did not rise. It just sank gently there, like the only plant on the barren earth, the only white flower in the black and red world.

The moment his sight touched that ray of light, Klein was once again drawn into a fragment of memory.

84.

Klein closed his eyes again. After an unknown amount of time, light appeared before his eyes.

It was as if time had gone back in an instant, and what appeared before his eyes was an unfamiliar scene. Klein saw the stage, the lights, and the red curtain on the stage had been unveiled. The singing was hovering above the crowd. Klein could see the actors on the stage, but with just a few glances from the corner of his eye and the pleasant singing, Klein was certain that this was the 'Return of the Count' that Melissa had told him about, based on the distinctive appearance and plot.

Did Klein from that world go to see The Return of the Count? It seems he kept his promise. I wonder if he experienced the incident with Megose, or if that incident was resolved in some other way.

Klein's thoughts drifted aimlessly, but soon, he stopped. His vision had indeed been fixed on Melissa and Benson, but only then did he realize that they were both wearing black suits that looked like they were attending a funeral. They stared at the drama on the stage, but they seemed to be in another world. There was no joy on their faces, as if they had not listened at all.

This is not right—Klein realized then, no, this is not right. Even if this is a dream, this is a memory, but the Klein in the memory is clearly sitting here? Wait, why is the Klein in the memory sitting so far away from Benson and Meili?

Klein seemed to feel pain, but it was hard for him to tell whether the pain came from the owner of the memory or his own sadness. He just stared at Melissa and Benson. They were wearing the very respectable formal clothes that Klein had always wanted to buy for them. However, they were not bought by Klein, but the mourning clothes they bought for Klein's funeral.

The play ended quickly, and before the crowd stood up, Klein felt another hand grabbing him. He numbly let the man lead him forward. They did not squeeze into the exit passage that was about to be crowded. The man led him around and around, and soon came to the corner of the stage that was now empty. At this time, the red curtain had fallen, and the actors had left. The corner of the theater quickly became quiet.

"sorry."

That person—Leonard said. He didn't look as depressed as Klein in the dream. The poet even looked too radiant. But for some reason, Klein had a feeling that he was also withering.

Leonard was also withering, just like Klein.

"I'm sorry, Crane. The show is about to end and they're about to leave. I'm sorry, but I can't take the risk. I can't let them find you."

"I know."

Klein heard his own voice, Klein in the dream said.

"Thank you, Leonard, I know. I won't involve them. Melissa and Benson deserve better than..."

He paused. The Klein in the memory fragment did not continue. He walked towards the gap in the curtain. He raised his hand. The fortune teller's hand was trembling. He carefully opened a gap and tried to find the two familiar figures through the gap.

But there were too many people and the gap was too narrow, so Klein couldn't find them no matter how hard he looked. He could only watch the crowd pour out like a dark cloud, and soon, the entire theater fell silent. In the dream, Klein was still clinging there, as if someone would come back. He tried to look out, his eyes ached, and his whole body was stiff, almost like a statue.

Then, he was pulled back. Leonard pulled him back. He hugged Klein tightly from behind and pulled him back. Leonard's language system seemed to be confused. He spoke nonsense. He kept apologizing to Klein. His words flowed through Klein's ears. Klein in the dream seemed to take a long time to come back to his senses. He finally heard clearly what Leonard was saying.

Leonard was saying, he was speaking to Klein in a pleading tone—

"Klein, let's go. Don't you want to go to Backlund? Let's go to Backlund—it's fine to go anywhere you want, Klein, let's go, we should go—stop looking, please, Klein. Please."

Klein heard his own voice. The characters came out of his mouth. His voice was terribly hoarse. He heard himself say.

"good."

Klein turned his hand over and held Leonard's hand. He whispered and repeated it again. This time, Klein could see Leonard. Leonard's eyes were red. In those green eyes, Klein saw himself. He saw himself with tears streaming down his face. Klein, who was crying silently but didn't even wipe his tears, opened his empty eyes and looked at Leonard. He held Leonard, just as Leonard held his hand tightly.

"Leonard," Klein said in the dream. His voice was very soft, as if he was mumbling, "—You are the only one left."

The time traveler lost everything. He lost his brothers and sisters who belonged to the original Klein, he lost his job, he lost his friends, and death tore him apart from everything he had worked so hard to build. It told him that he must move forward, told him that he could not turn back. The only exception was Leonard. Leonard stood here, and Leonard was with him.

All Crane had left was Leonard, just as all Leonard had left was Crane.

——In the dark space, behind the red curtain, amid the distant and seemingly unreachable applause and cheers, they held each other's hands tightly, as if this was the only driftwood they could grasp in the flood-like fate.

Feng Ya has something to say: Updated, this chapter is 7700+, please enjoy it slowly. Sorry for the late update. I was a little excited when writing the cohabitation story yesterday.

Klein from the previous chapter to this chapterBe like: So do we have to go to the point of betraying the whole world? Is there no other way? Gentlemen, I think there is!

Regarding Leonard's private fund (wife's money), my friend told me to set it at 200 pounds. I said: Three years, and there are plug-ins, how can the protagonist of the era say no! Then I set it at 500 pounds. Anyway, if there are too many bugs, it is the old man who helped Leonard. (Being beaten)

The next chapter will be Backlund! I feel like the plot is moving more and more slowly now. Ugh ah ah ah ah

Leonard of the main and IF lines (in a dilemma): Anyway, I am willing

(11)

85.

Mr. L left the house on foot.

To this day, he still abides by the agreement with Klein: if it is not necessary, he will not use his supernatural powers at home, even though he knows very well that this is not his and Klein's home. Just as he still maintains his previous insistence: if it is not necessary, he will not use the powers that do not belong to the sleepless in front of Klein, even though he knows clearly that this is not the Klein he is staring at.

The heavy wooden door closed behind him, the metal mechanism stuck, and the light and the familiar figure were locked behind the door. There were few pedestrians on the streets of Tingen at night, and everyone was in a hurry, unwilling to delay on the road for a second. Naturally, no one paid extra attention to the stranger who had just joined them. Without using any extraordinary abilities, Leonard was submerged in a corner of the city as if he had opened a secret realm.

The man didn't care whether others paid attention to him or not. He just stood on the steps at the door of the room, slowly becoming lost in thought.

Klein is going to Backlund. He thought: ...Leonard is going to Backlund with Klein.

The trajectory of fate seemed to have not deviated at all, but it seemed to have gone in a completely different direction from the very beginning. At least in Leonard's own memory, he did not have a parasitic time worm on his body, nor did he have the excessive self-confidence and luck of that Leonard.

Leonard didn't know what kind of ending a different starting point would lead to, but he knew that he had to do something and he would do something - that's why he came here.

Fortunately, although he didn't arrive early enough to arrive before everything happened, he didn't arrive too late. This time, Leonard still caught up with Klein to go to Backlund. Freed from the restrictions of the Nighthawks, Klein will step onto a bigger stage in Backlund. His name will soon become a part of the capital of all cities. He will save the city that holds the people he cares about again and again - Backlund.

Backlund, Backlund. Just by saying this name, Leonard felt the familiar pain. Just like every time before, before he instinctively and mechanically trembled because of the pain, something took away his pain first.

That power was so weak for a god, so weak that Leonard would have crushed the power and its source into dust if he had just a little bit of resistance, but Leonard did nothing. He just stood there, suppressing all his resistance, letting the power drain his pain, take away his sadness, and finally leaving him with only an empty body. Once again, the feeling of emptiness quickly turned into hunger, and the hunger made every nerve in Leonard scream, as if he wanted to eat each other first.

Leonard didn't know which was more terrible, pain or hunger. But he knew that this was what Klein left for him, so he gave up resistance and chose to accept it, just like countless times before.

Leonard was always like this. From the moment he received the miracle that he shouldn't have expected, the former midnight poet gradually became like this. He no longer had the courage to hold the hands of his old friend, and he didn't even dare to say more than one word of prayer... He could no longer do anything.

All Leonard could do was wait. All he could do was wait. He didn't even dare to ask or think whether Klein would come back. He just kept waiting.

In the familiar emptiness and hunger, the monster blinked, the green in his eyes faltering, and the shadow under his feet stretched out like a beast that had finally given up curling up. Slowly, confused, and almost without reason, the monster repeated his last thought.

——Backlund.

So, without thinking or making any decisions, the monster stretched out his hand. It was just a simple action like pushing a door, but he disappeared in an instant, leaving only the light of the red moon shining on the stone steps at the door. The next second, hundreds of kilometers away, in a corner of Backlund, a black figure slowly walked out of the shadows.

He walked into the moonlight. The monster in beautiful human skin looked around, but he found nothing. The shadows under his feet fled outward like a group of startled snakes, but they did not bring back any familiar traces.

Where is Klein? Why can't I find him?

The monster didn't understand. He raised his head, and his head was at a strange angle that was against the structure of his bones. He looked up, and the red moon was hanging high in the sky, saying nothing. The monster lowered his head, and with the power he devoured, he could see the pulsation of thoughts in the spiritual world. He tried to reach out his hand, but all he touched was the stone road flowing with sewage.

——Am I too young? Am I waiting in the wrong place? Is it that he can't find his way back?

The monster had no answer. He couldn't find the answer, but he didn't dare to leave rashly - what if he took only one step out, and this step caused him and Klein to miss each other? All of his negative emotions were swallowed up one by one, and the extreme emotions that could cause a demigod to lose control hundreds of times were taken away one by one, leaving only an increasingly strong feeling of hunger.

Such a horrible feeling of hunger almost took control of His body. The monster could feel its outer skin crumbling, and the hungry inside was devouring its skin. Just before He was about to descend in His true form, bringing destruction and death, He stopped.

It was not reason that stopped him. The tip of the monster's nose moved slightly, and he smelled a scent, a very recognizable scent. Although it was not the scent he longed for, it was a scent he remembered.

——That was the smell of a witch, with joy and pain, plague and immortality, blessings and curses. It was a smell that was marked in His memory as "I wouldn't be angry even if Klein died."

——The monster laughed.

86.

The witch walks in the night of Backlund.

After the Augustus family decided to start cooperation with the Aurora Society, the Psychological Alchemy Society, and the Witch Cult, Backlund was no longer a dangerous hell for the witches. Although as long as the flag of the righteous god was still flying over the city for even one day, it would not become a paradise for witches. But at least it was not as easy for a Sequence Four like Panatia to travel in Backlund as it is now.

It was already late at night, the sacrifice work was over, and the subordinates who reported the progress also left in time. Panatia refused the carriage and the endless banquet. On a whim, she chose to go out for a walk on her own two feet.

This is the outskirts of Backlund. It is already late at night. The poor people nearby cannot even light up the lights, let alone have any nightlife. Even if Panatia suddenly wants to go out for a walk, it will not cause any consequences. Not to mention that Panatia herself is a Sequence 4 demigod. As the famous "Desperate Nightingale", there are people in Backlund who can stop her, but there are definitely not many.

This should have been a relaxing and pleasant night trip with no surprises. In her predetermined fate, Panatia should have walked smoothly to the manor where she was staying temporarily, drank a glass of champagne, enjoyed a fragrant and hot flower petal bath, and then repeated the action of taking life when the second day arrived.

But——the unexpected happened. A being that fate had never recorded appeared on Panatia's path.

It was a man wearing a wrinkled black suit, his white shirt had turned into something like a rag, and his palms were still stained with mud and dirt from the stone road. He seemed to be drunk and moved slowly, staggering, and when he heard Panatia's footsteps, he slowly raised his head.

He looked at Panatia, the red moon illuminated most of his face, a face that even a witch could not help but admire its beauty. His green eyes were just the right color, as beautiful as dyed stone.

"It's late."

Although her inspiration was not giving any warning, Panatia could not for some reason feel the urge to seduce this outstanding man in front of her and enjoy a wonderful night. It was strange that she did not sense any extraordinary power from him, and he looked like a drunk, but Panatia could not help but feel a sense of fear.

The fear seemed to flow down her veins, like a child encountering a pair of dark green pupils in the wilderness. She might not know what that was yet, she might not even understand what death meant, but the memory of her ancestors' struggle for survival had been replicated in her body, telling her that this was dangerous, telling her to run away quickly.

The witch in white robes smiled, which was different from what most people thought of witches. There was no temptation or desire in her smile. When the desperate nightingale smiled, she looked like a saint.

"Aren't you going home yet?"

"..."

It seemed that it took the man a while to understand what Panatia meant. The voice of his answer was a little strange. His originally superior voice was stumbling, as if there was a piece of phlegm stuck in his throat.

"No...I have no place to go back to."

Leonard was no longer the Rose Bishop of the past. If he wanted, he could just reach out his hand, and not only Backlund, but the entire Loen would be swallowed up overnight. In the scarlet and deep black, his city and kingdom would eventually emerge, but even so, Leonard knew clearly that there was no place on this land for him to return to.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." The witch in white robes smiled more sincerely, but did not move forward. "Is there anything I can help you with? I know where the poorhouse of the Church of Evernight is."

"Yes." The man answered more decisively this time: "—I'm hungry."

"I still have some gold pounds," the witch said. "If you need them, I'd be happy to give them to someone who needs them more."

"Gold pounds..."

The man read the word and he seemed to be thinking seriously.

"He likes—likes? What does like mean?"

"Since you need it, I'll put the money here."

Panatia forced a smile, she bent down, and placed the entire silver purse, inlaid with jewels, and decorated with gold tassels on the ground, letting the mud, water, and darkness stain them.

"Can I go now?"

"Leave? Why do you want to leave? Why do you want to--" The man asked subconsciously, as if he had heard the words he couldn't accept the most. Then, he seemed to realize that Panatia was not the one he wanted to keep. The green eyes moved up and down on his face in a way that human organs could not do. "You are not him... Who are you?"

"Pannatia." The witch said carefully, "You can call me Panatia."

"——It's you."

After hearing the name, Panatia did not retreat as she thought. The man was not even awake. Or rather, because Panatia herself did not understand the problem of his own name, the man seemed to be even crazier. He smiled, and that smile had an element that Panatia could not understand. The witch could swear that it was the first time she met this man. His face was too recognizable. Even a witch who had seen countless people could not forget it.

"That's great. If it's you, Klein won't be angry and will even praise me, right? When Klein comes back... when Klein——"

As he was speaking, he got stuck again, and the resonance sound that seemed like countless mouths opening and countless people speaking at the same time became lower. The man raised one hand and rubbed his eyes. As he moved, the witch stopped breathing - the man's emerald eyes turned into ashes like colored paper encountering molten fire when his fingers passed over them.

——Not only the eyes, the figure in the witch's sight swayed and rose, and the being standing in front of her slowly shed its human disguise, revealing the monster's inner self. Scarlet occupied her vision, as if a pair of eyes were still looking at her on a head that was barely pieced together. It was a pair of suffocating pupils. The monster's left eye burned with dusk-like dark gold, while the right eye was precipitated with the blackness of the abyss, as if two relics from different mythological eras were forcibly embedded in the human skull.

His lips, which were covered with sutures and growth scars, lifted up, revealing a smile that humans are accustomed to. What came out of his mouth was the authentic Loen Common Language, which was stripped of madness and chaos. The monster asked her:

"——Excuse me, have you seen Klein? I'm looking for him."

"..."

The witch was speechless. There were so many men in the desperate Nightingale's memory, not that there was no one named Klein, but she had no way to answer. Because the moment the monster asked the question, his shadow had already enveloped her. The severe pain instantly passed through her body and reached her brain.

Panatia was being torn apart by shadows, and countless mouths full of sharp teeth were tearing at her limbs, and soon they were gnawing at her shoulders - that horrible pain could not be numbed by adrenaline, even a demigod-level witch felt that she was about to lose control in the face of that intense pain.

But she just didn't have that. She couldn't lose control, couldn't struggle, and couldn't even beg for mercy. She could only be awake and clearly feel how she was being eaten bit by bit, bite by bite.

The eating monster seemed to have no interest in Panatia. The monster was fishing for something in the shadow that was like the abyss under his feet. He repeated the action rigidly and stiffly - what was he fishing for? What was more important than killing a witch, than devouring a demigod?

Before she was swallowed and lost her last consciousness, before the desperate witch died in utter despair, the monster finally stopped his salvage. He slowly withdrew his hand and stood up.

Between his fingers were two green eyeballs, exactly the same as the ones Panatia had seen on his face when she first saw him.

87.

When Klein stepped off the steam train, he was greeted by Backlund's unfriendly aura.

It was no different from the information about London during the First Industrial Revolution that he had seen before he traveled through time. In this window of the leap forward in this era, Backlund, while being the city of hope, also had far more terrible pollution than Tingen. The pollution made the sky of the entire city look gray, and the entire city, along with the buildings that were much more magnificent than Tingen, seemed to be wrapped in a gray shell.

"You don't like it here."

The man standing next to him, who had wasted Klein's ticket money, said. He didn't use a questioning tone, but he was concerned about him after all. Klein curled his lips and answered.

"For an adult, personal likes and dislikes are not the top priority."

"You can put your preferences first."

The man said. Klein thought to himself that he was no longer a child. Even if he put his likes and dislikes first, no one would pay for him. But when he thought of the man's tone of "you can oppress Leonard in any matter", as if he himself was also a Leonard, Klein felt that it was really not good to persecute the poet classmate anymore. He looked at the big clock at the top of the train station and chose to fast forward to the next topic.

"It's time for lunch."

Klein said.

"I think we need to find a restaurant first, then a proper inn."

"I don't need lunch." Leonard's counterpart said, and this time he seemed very understanding: "I already ate last night."

I hope you can sustain yourself for a while after eating at once. After all, the prices in Backlund are really high, higher than I thought before. Klein felt the pain for his wallet and couldn't help but wonder, what kind of food can keep a High-Sequence Beyonder from getting hungry... Could it be that Leonard's isotope really went to find a colleague from another world to eat?

——If he ate the sleepless ones. Klein thought of Captain Dunn, Old Neil, and his colleagues in Tingen, and his breathing stagnated slightly. Before he could continue thinking, the man spoke first.

"——I didn't eat my colleagues." The man said, "I don't eat people."

"..." Klein chose not to ask the man why he knew what he was thinking: "Did he tell you this too?"

"What do you mean?" Leonard's counterpart blinked his green eyes. He quickly understood: "Youth has no price tag, and it melts in your mouth?"

"So, I've spread so many clichés on the Internet to you."

This time it was Klein's turn to be speechless. He didn't know how to complain about himself in another world, but he thought that spreading the 21st century Internet culture, especially the culture of bad memes, was a good idea. Mr. Fake Evil God, who had read many of Roselle's diaries, was already intimidated by the senior time traveler. He really wanted to understand why his parallel world self was worse than the emperor in spreading the culture of his hometown.

"He told me a lot of stories."

Leonard's counterpart answered seriously, and then he asked Klein in return.

"I know a shop that has delicious Dixie pie, would you like to try it?"

Klein thought about it. He guessed that the restaurant recommended by Leonard's counterpart must be one that his counterpart in the parallel world also liked, but he was really unsure about his financial situation in the parallel world. To be honest, although two hundred pounds sounded like a lot, considering that he had lost his stable income, Klein still felt that saving money was also an important part of life.

Perhaps he took too long to consider it. Mr. Leonard in the parallel world had already skillfully deduced the problem of why he could still hold on to his bottom line in the face of Dipsy's pie.

"I can treat you."

He opened his hand and showed Klein the purse he had pulled out from nowhere. It was a very delicate women's purse, with the words "I am expensive" written all over it. Klein's eyes twitched. He had never seen such an exaggerated purse at Madam Sharon's house. Why would a purse be inlaid with a circle of gold and gems? Wouldn't the purse be more expensive than the money inside?

"—Is this a women's purse?" Klein lowered his voice and couldn't help but ask, "Where did you get it from? Are you already on the wanted list?"

"Its owner won't come looking for it."

Leonard's counterpart assured him, and Klein shuddered.

"Hijacking and killing people?"

"...According to Klein's definition, it should be considered as eliminating harm for the people."

Leonard from the parallel world said so, and Klein decided to believe in himself in the other world - as well as the moral standards of Zhou Mingrui from the parallel world.

"Is the store you mentioned far away?"

Mr. Monster, whose understanding of distance was different from that of normal humans, thought about it, pinched his fingers, and made sure that there was no change in the extraordinary characteristics of the door. He said, "I'm not sure."

"Can I take you on a trip?"

"...I think we could get a carriage."

Klein chose a safer approach, considering the other party's source of income and the free lunch that was about to come to his mouth. The fortune teller added, feeling quite painful.

"I'll pay."

88.

After swallowing the last bite of pie, Klein felt as if he had been elevated.

The combination of meat filling and apples was better than he thought, and the puff pastry brought the taste of the whole dish to a new level. The restaurant in Backlund was more generous with spices than the one in Tingen, and the salt used was definitely not inferior. Mr. Time Traveler felt that his taste buds were about to be saved. If he hadn't seen a very good number when Leonard in the parallel world ordered, Klein would have even planned to look for a house for rent near the restaurant and use this restaurant as a canteen.

However, due to my limited financial resources, I can only wish for the next time. At least the food and prices of the restaurant are worth the painful fare. Klein recited it in his heart almost devoutly - and thanked the unknown lady for the gold pounds she gave him, and thanked the restaurant that I tried in the parallel world.

"This store doesn't have sweetened iced tea."

Leonard from the parallel world asked him.

"Honey lemon sparkling water or latte?"

"Latte, thank you."

Leonard and Klein in the parallel world probably really come to this restaurant often. He didn't even need to look at the menu when ordering. Soon, the waiter placed the coffee in front of Klein. Leonard's counterpart, like Tingen's Midnight Poet, immediately pushed the sugar on the table to him. Klein added three portions of sugar and began to stir it with a silver spoon.

——Although parallel worlds are not necessarily exactly the same, or it is precisely because of the differences that they are called parallel worlds. But since Klein in the parallel world is financially well off enough to come to this level of restaurant frequently, does that mean that I also have great hope for the future?

In fact, Klein, who still had no clear plan for his future work, brought the coffee to his lips. The familiar aroma filled his nostrils. He took a small sip, and the mellow and sweet taste overwhelmed his tongue. The fortune teller sighed comfortably. The man sitting opposite him didn't even ask for a glass of water. Leonard from the parallel world sat opposite him, with a proper posture, like a variant of Leonard instead of an isotope. His eyes were always on Klein, but it seemed as if he was looking through Klein's shadow to something far away that Klein didn't know.

Being stared at all the time should be very uncomfortable, especially for a fortune teller with excessive inspiration, but Klein didn't have any negative feelings. Now he was even a little used to it - even if the person sitting opposite him was a poet, those green eyes would still be fixed on him as if they were tied by two ropes.

Some things seem difficult at first, but once you get used to them, you can find benefits from them. Klein thought humorously: for example, with such a big Buddha here, his safety is relatively guaranteed. For example, when he is undecided about something, he can try to seek advice on success or failure from the parallel world... Wait, there seems to be such a thing now.

"Mr. Mitchell?"

"I am here."

"Can I ask you something?" Klein asked, and the latter nodded: "Do you have any recommendations about Backlund's house?"

"128 Minsk Street, Cherwood District."

The man blurted out the words almost without thinking. After saying this, he fell silent again. Klein had to infer it based on the information he learned on the train. The sphere of influence of the Church of the Goddess of Night is the North District. Considering his current situation of revival, he definitely can't even think about it. Considering Leonard's commuting problem, the risk is too great. Besides, it's not known when Leonard will come. Red Gloves also provides food and accommodation, so Leonard may not need to rent a house and spend money on it. Although the safety of Cherwood District is definitely not as good as that of Queens and the West District, it is also a medium-level area with relatively good safety...

Just as Klein was planning his route and thinking about going to see the house in person later - after all, renting a house and moving are very troublesome things, if possible, Klein still hopes to live in one place longer - Leonard's counterpart, who fell silent after saying the address, suddenly spoke.

"Mrs. Doris next door had a black cat, which Klein loved very much. It took him a while to get the black cat to accept him."

So, with him leading him in this way, Klein's words came out smoothly.

"——Then let's go check on the cat first?"

Feng Ya has something to say: Updated, this chapter is 7300+, please enjoy it slowly. This is an update previewed by a friend!

IF Lun proved physically that witches tasted really good, but in fact, a Sequence 4 witch was not enough for him to eat... But it doesn't matter! When it comes to starvation, Mr. IF Lun has as much experience as a little hungry kid who dares not move!

By the way, don't believe what Ifluen says completely, but don't disbelieve it completely either. What a person says is definitely the truth he knows, especially for someone like Ifluen who is not very good at lying. But considering how crazy he is, what he says and what he understands may not necessarily be the complete truth...

We will be moving into our new home soon! Happy housewarming, Mr. Klein.

(12)

89.

The words were out, and Klein's actions certainly kept up with his thoughts. Leonard, whether he was an isomorph from another world or the one Klein was familiar with, was always known for being one step ahead. Since these two people decided to go see the cat, they naturally set off immediately.

Leonard's counterpart was traditional in this matter. He waved and called a horse-drawn carriage, and Klein followed him in. The man gave an address without thinking, Minsk Street, Cherwood District. Without much thought, Klein connected this address with the rental advertisement in the newspaper he had seen on the train. Minsk 15 in Cherwood District was naturally also in Klein's range of options. The reason why it was not the first choice was mainly because Minsk 15 was a bit too big for living alone or even for two people.

According to the general description in the newspaper, a house with six bedrooms, even if two of them were guest rooms, would be too much for three people. If Melissa and Benson came to Backlund with him, or were about to come and live with him in the future, Klein would consider it.

——The me in the parallel world actually chose this house? Could it be that Melissa and Benson really came to Backlund with him? Well, Leonard, me, Melissa, and Benson, there are just enough bedrooms. If Benson gets married, it may not be enough...

The restaurant they had been to was not far from Minsk Street. In less than half an hour, the horse-drawn carriage brought the two to this street. Klein jumped off the carriage behind the man, and the two of them walked along the street. Leonard's counterpart walked briskly, as if he had walked this road countless times. His mood inevitably affected Klein, and Klein couldn't help but have some expectations for his future residence. They quickly crossed half of the street. As they walked, Klein's eyes swept across the houses on both sides, roughly estimating the occupancy rate here based on the appearance. Suddenly, he saw a sign with 15 written on it.

But Leonard's counterpart had no intention of stopping. He continued walking forward with Klein. When he heard Klein's footsteps pause, the man turned around.

"Wait a moment." Mr. Fortune Teller stopped and asked, "Isn't the house to be rented at No. 15 Minster Street?"

"...Didn't you say you wanted to see a cat?"

Leonard's counterpart seemed even more confused than Klein. He turned around and looked at Klein.

"You don't want to watch it anymore?"

"..."

Klein thought to himself, I don't know whether I should continue to stay in the hotel today. The hotels in Backlund are really expensive. I think it's better to finish the work first and then have fun... He was still hesitating, and Leonard's counterpart seemed to know what he was thinking and added.

"It's a black cat named Brody. Klein once accepted a commission and took care of it for a long time. It took him a long time to successfully 'pet the cat.'"

The word "cat petting" came from Mr. Leonard Mitchell in a parallel world and directly adopted the Chinese pronunciation. Klein found it a little funny. He asked.

"From what you said, the cat doesn't seem to like me very much. Can we see the cat if we come here like this?"

Zhou Mingrui likes cats, but he knows better that cats are magical creatures. There is a saying on the Internet in the 21st century that dogs see people as equals, and they will not look down on you just because you are poor. Cats also see people as equals, and they will look down on you regardless of whether you are poor or not. Zhou Mingrui likes cats, but he is not the legendary "cat-loving person". Considering the tragedy that he had to take care of a cat for a long time before he could pet a cat in the parallel world, he felt that there was no need to go today.

"If you want."

"...Do extraordinary abilities target cats? Are you a pharmacist?" Klein quickly realized, "No, Leonard is an insomniac... Did you bring any extraordinary items that can communicate with animals or have similar abilities?"

Faced with his series of questions, Leonard from the parallel world did not answer yes or no, he just repeated it.

"If you want it, I can do it."

"Even if it's just to summon a cat?"

"Even if it's just to summon a cat."

Faced with the man's confidence, Klein was speechless. He suddenly understood why his parallel self had told Leonard so many things. But he did not envy his parallel self - because to put it bluntly, the poet was just as sincere to him. It was Klein who kept the secret and pushed the others away.

It's a blessing for the person who was pushed away not to run away. How can you ask others to be more enthusiastic and attentive to you? Klein is not so hypocritical. On the other hand, Klein is also happy for himself in the parallel world - there must be a Zhou Mingrui who is not lonely and does not have to walk alone, right?

Klein asked with a little curiosity and a little amusement.

"Brody... a Mr. Cat, I guess. Which household is Mr. Brody in?"

"58 Minsk Street."

"That's not far indeed - I want to touch the cat's belly, can I do that?"

Cats generally won't let people touch their bellies, especially strangers. Moreover, just by listening, you can tell that Mr. Brody probably won't be as friendly as the orange cats at Zhou Mingrui University. But he still said it, and sure enough, Leonard in the parallel world just calmly repeated the sentence again.

"I said, if you want, you can."

90.

Leonard still remembers the black cat.

The Secret Prayer Sequence never produces anything other than lunatics. As a rising star of the Aurora Society, Leonard was particularly crazy at that time. There were many stories in the Aurora Society about the Rose Bishops waking up from a sleep and swallowing up the servants in the house and their families. But Leonard was different. He always had a part that was awake. The part that he could be awake was not much, and that part was all written with Klein.

Klein, Klein, Klein. Leonard remembered that the restaurant Klein liked before had changed its menu, so every time he ordered takeout, Klein would add some extra black pepper. He also remembered that if Klein's favorite sweet iced tea was to be brewed at home, he would add a green lemon and pound it for two more minutes in a wooden mortar that was usually used to make medicine. He would even remember to take time out of his busy schedule to go back and help Klein feed the cat when Klein suddenly left home for something.

Klein didn't have a pet. Leonard often accompanied him on the streets to feed cats and stray dogs. He once suggested that Klein should also get a cat or a dog, or something else. Once before, Leonard even brought back a puppy from the Aurora Society that the Loen royal family gave to the witches. It had golden fur and noble blood, the kind that Klein had mentioned before.

But even though Klein couldn't hold back his smile while holding the puppy, he still rejected Leonard.

"Because I gave it to you?"

Leonard asked him, with a little trepidation in his tone. He had always known Klein's position and persistence, and he had tried his best to avoid using the money stained with blood and human lives to buy things for Klein, but he was still afraid, afraid that Klein would hate him as well for causing the deaths.

"Or do you not like golden fur?"

"Neither," Klein said. He paused, then gently reached out his hand and touched Leonard's face in the same way he had touched the puppy's head. "Thank you, Leonard, but I think I may not have the time to raise more."

Compared to Leonard, Klein's body temperature was always on the cooler side. But when his palm covered Leonard's cheek, the warmth still made Leonard shiver. Klein was warm. He was always so warm, and he had a sweet breath. He was so warm that the Rose Bishop almost couldn't wear his own skin.

"I can help you." Leonard whispered. He tried to control the urge to press his face against Klein's palm and just tilted his face towards Klein's palm. "You just need to touch him and play with him. I will help you with the rest."

"That won't work either." Klein said. His tone was not tough, but very firm: "I still have a lot of things to do."

"But." Leonard saw his own expression in those determined amber eyes. He stammered, "But, Klein, you always look unhappy lately."

——Leonard didn't want anyone other than him to be in this house. It took him a long time to accept the maid who was only responsible for basic cleaning work and shared with the neighbors. After realizing his rejection mentality, Klein quickly fired the maid and divided the housework between him and Leonard. Fortunately, both of them were Beyonders, and there were only a few rooms in the whole house that they used, so the pressure of housework was not that great. The reason why he could endure it and even brought back a puppy with his own hands was because Klein seemed unhappy recently.

"...Leonard."

After a moment of silence, Klein's hand dropped down and landed on Leonard's shoulder. Leonard understood what he meant in an instant. Bishop Rose turned sideways and embraced Klein with his long arms. Klein's chin slowly rested on Leonard's shoulder. He didn't know what he was busy with recently, but he always went to the East District. He was so thin that his jaw bone dug into Leonard's shoulder socket.

"Leonard, there are many things I can't do."

"What is it?"

Mr. L of the Aurora Society hugged him tighter. He asked in a low voice, unconsciously with a hint of coaxing. But Klein just shook his head. He paused for a moment and then continued.

"Actually, I really want to have a cat and a dog. I'll just keep the cat until Brody is taken back. I also want to stop thinking about promotions, struggles, and conspiracies. I want to go back to Tingen, or Melissa and Benson can come to Backlund. If they don't come, I can go with you. I think—"

As he was speaking, Klein choked up. He didn't say anything more, but hugged Leonard even tighter. Mr. Magic's ten fingers exerted force, but only wrinkled the thick outer robe of the Rose Bishop.

"You can do it." Mr. L of the Aurora Society promised in a low voice: "Wait for me, Klein. I can help you achieve it."

Klein just smiled. The resonance of his chest was transmitted to Leonard's heart through the tightly pressed clothes. He buried his entire face in Leonard's shoulder.

"...Leonard, there are many things in this world that I can't change or do just because I want to."

"What if I'm included?" Bishop Rose didn't dare to move. His skin was more sensitive than ever before. While being ironed by Klein's breath, he was also alert to the impending dampness. "Klein, can't I do something with you?"

Klein shook his head again.

"This has nothing to do with you, Leonard. I can't let you make a meaningless sacrifice."

"It's not meaningless," Leonard said, calling out the name in a low voice: "Klein, Zhou Mingrui, it's not meaningless. I want to make you happy. You look sad now."

"..."

The magician's usually flexible body froze in his arms, and Leonard's heart became even more panicked. He really couldn't find a solution, and he was reluctant to let go of Klein to see his expression. He could only hold him helplessly and ask questions.

"If I accompany you, Zhou Mingrui, will you be happier?"

Leonard was ready to give up the hug and see Klein's expression if Klein didn't answer him. But fortunately, Klein answered this time.

"—I will. Thank you, Leonard."

"That's great." Mr. L of the Aurora Society breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled and promised the person in his arms. "Klein, tell me what you want. I'm willing to do anything for you."

He said it with such conviction and sincerity, just like the recently famous detective in Backlund who was not only standing against the Aurora Society and even all cult organizations, but also often used his good reporting skills. Klein not only found it a little funny, but according to the style of the time traveler, this topic should stop here. The best way to avoid losing a relationship is not to test him at all. Klein never wanted to test Leonard's feelings for him. But this time, he couldn't help but ask again.

"Even if it might put you in danger?"

"Yeah." Without even thinking, Leonard gave an affirmative answer. After a pause, the man added with some hesitation, "It's just that I can't die now. This is a bit troublesome - but don't worry, Klein, it's not easy for me to die now."

Mr. Magic, who always couldn't stand it when talking about this kind of topic, was no exception this time. He patted Leonard on the back in annoyance.

"... Bishop Rose's ability is not meant for you to use like this!"

As if he had finally lost patience with the two noisy bipeds, Mr. Black Cat, who had been curled up on the mat to sleep, could no longer bear it and stood up. He stretched out his front legs first, then his hind legs. After completing a set of cat stretching movements, Mr. Brody sat upright, with his tail coiled in front of his paws.

"Meow--"

Mr. Cat gave a long cry to the two tactless two-legged beasts - he was hungry.

91.

The two of them quickly crossed most of the street and arrived at No. 58 Minsk Street. Just when Klein thought that Leonard's counterpart would knock on the door, the latter took him around the alley and walked to the side of the house. He did not take out any extraordinary items. Soon, a black shadow flipped out of the half-open window. It landed in front of the two strangers in two or three steps. The visitor from the parallel world took a step back. The cat walked around Klein as if it understood his body language, and then quickly put its two front paws on Klein's trouser legs.

This was an overly affectionate gesture for a cat. Klein was overjoyed for a moment. He thought he could just take a look. The time traveler immediately lowered his body and began to pet the cat. While petting, he also looked at the black cat carefully.

——Mr. Brody is just an ordinary black cat, as Leonard in the parallel world said.

In terms of breed, it has no special bloodline; in terms of skills, it has no special talents; even its appearance is nothing special except its black color. If Klein, a cat lover, did not like all cats in the world equally, he would probably find it difficult to understand why his parallel self was so obsessed with this cat, to the extent that he even remembered Leonard.

Klein claimed to be a cat lover. To him, cats were always cute, especially cats that were meant to be petted and cuddled. He played with the cat for a while until he heard the voice of an old man calling the cat from across the wall. He reluctantly let go and watched Mr. Black Cat leave. The fortune teller, who always paid attention to his decency, squatted for so long that his legs became numb. If Leonard's homologue hadn't pulled him a step at the right time, he would have stumbled.

"The fun is over." Klein cleared his throat and said, "Let's get down to business now."

92.

Since he had already decided to copy the successful homework from the parallel world, Klein did not hesitate too much. He quickly returned to No. 17 Minsk Street with the visitor from the parallel world. After negotiating the price and the lease term of the first contract with Mrs. Summer in the rental advertisement, Klein got the key to his residence for at least six months in the future. The maid who was responsible for sending them took him around No. 15 next door, and after the introduction, she politely said goodbye.

Klein and Leonard's counterparts were the only ones left in the huge two-story house, and it seemed a little too quiet for a moment. Klein put the suitcase against the wall first. While thinking about the order of cleaning, he casually found a topic.

"I thought you didn't like people like this."

"I don't hate humans." Leonard from the parallel world replied calmly: "I just don't know how to get along with them."

——The experience he got from the beginning to the end was not to get close, not to keep memories, and not to bring bad luck and disaster to those who were important or would become important to him in the future. After a long time, Leonard slowly forgot how to get along with others.

Clearly what he said were very sad words, but the person with such a fate himself seemed not to care at all.

"I am very dangerous to humans. Seeing me is usually a very bad thing." Leonard from the parallel world still did not ignore Klein's irregular heartbeat. He added, "You can rest assured. I swore to Klein that I would not harm humans."

At that moment, Klein almost blurted out, he wanted to answer him, saying I never doubted you. But that inexplicable impulse soon disappeared, and Mr. Clown touched his chest in confusion. He didn't quite understand where the impulse and emotion just now came from.

Is this also part of the influence of the parallel world? It seems that I need to be more careful in the future - Klein secretly took note of it and smiled.

"Leonard isn't here yet, maybe you'd like to pick a room first?"

As if receiving a guest, the new owner who had just rented No. 15 Minsk Street for the next six months or even longer asked the uninvited guest. In this matter, the visitor from the parallel world had some sense of propriety and distance. He didn't even take a look at the layout of the house, but just said casually.

"I'll just stay in the guest room."

92.

It all started when Ms. Arianna took one extra look when she returned to St. Samuel's Cathedral.

Late at night, the Servant of Secrets traveled in the sky, the red moon shining on her path, and wrapped in secrecy, she passed over Backlund unnoticed. Just as she was about to return to St. Samuel's Church, an inexplicable spiritual intuition guided Arianna to take a look at the Cherwood District, which was not within the sphere of influence of the Church of Night.

In her eyes, the Jowood District seemed no different from before. But at the level of Sequence 2, spiritual guidance is often more useful than thinking. The Servant of Secrets, who is always known for his meticulous work, did not choose to leave after a quick glance. Without thinking, she used the power of secrets, and the black veil covered her eyes. The goddess's gift came here, and she looked in that direction again.

This time, Arianna saw scarlet.

The red color, which was completely different from the Scarlet Moon, looked extremely dirty. The red cocoon stood on the ground, carrying a similar but different aura to the Mother Tree of Desire. Arianna subconsciously strengthened the secret barrier - but it was useless. When she saw "Him", "Him" also saw her. With just one glance, Arianna covered her eyes. Her eyes began to deform rapidly, before her eyeballs grew sharp teeth and lips and tongues, chewing on her eye sockets in turn. Half of the Servant of Secrets' arm instantly transformed into the form of a mythical creature, and she directly dug out her eyes with her claws.

——What is that?

The Outer Gods are the Outer Gods that have never been seen. This is beyond doubt.

——How did an Outer God of this level manage to secretly descend on this land and come under the protection of the Goddess?

Arianna didn't know the answer, and she didn't have time to think about it. The Servant of Secrets fell rapidly, avoiding the piercing dead branches, and then she rolled without hesitation to avoid the bone spurs on the ground. Mythical creatures don't just observe the world with their eyes, but the unguarded glance just now still passed the pollution to her. Arianna grew a second pair of wolf ears on her head, and she had to rely on hearing to determine the direction of the enemy.

She held the silver sickle given by the goddess in her hand and swept it across like a farmer mowing the grass. There was a sound of flesh and bones being cut, and then there was a sound of something gushing out. Arianna took a step back and raised her other hand. The black veil that had originally covered her eyes and half of her face like a veil instantly expanded, protecting her from the absolutely unsafe splashing liquid.

She tried several times to use stealth to wipe out her own or the enemy's attacks, but failed every time.

It wasn't that a higher-level god was using other powers to dismantle Arianna's secrets, but that there was a force that was the same as hers, exerting force in the opposite direction, causing the core ability of the Servant of Secrets to fail again and again. The battle-hardened angel realized this after only a few failed releases, and she was almost heartbroken in an instant - the extraordinary characteristics of the Sleepless Sequence have always been under the control of the Church of Night, and the high-sequence ones are all servants of the goddess, or waiting in the basement of the temple for the day to see the light of day again. Arianna didn't dare to think about which of her colleagues had betrayed the goddess, she just prayed silently to the goddess's honorable name.

——Even if she died here, Arianna would pass the news to the goddess as soon as possible.

The Servant of Secrets changed her battle strategy almost instantly, and she began to break out at all costs - in front of a true "god", Arianna had no confidence in escaping, she just wanted to open a passage, punch a tiny gap in the barrier, and pass the dangerous information to her god.

Due to the lack of time and opportunity, Arianna's intention was very obvious, but the Outer God obviously had no interest in her little tricks. Soon, Arianna was pierced by dozens of dead branches, and her linen gray robe was stained with blood. The dead branches led her to the direction of the "cocoon" she had witnessed before, just like a pack of wolves returning to the cave with food.

Only this time, the hidden servant of the goddess, who had always been the claw of the goddess, the goddess's wolf hunter, played the role of the prey.

Arianna took a deep breath. She had been injured more severely before, but this was the first time she felt such pain. The pain flowed through the dead branches and into her body, causing the ascetic lady to tremble and curl up. She barely used her last bit of strength to put her hand into her mouth, so as not to bite off her tongue in the excruciating pain.

——So, His authority is pain? No, it's not like that. Rather than pain, it's more like a kind of sharing and assimilation... Is He in pain? Did He not come in a perfect state? But He was also severely wounded?

Arianna guessed. She almost breathed a sigh of relief as the dead branches led her up. Soon, she arrived near the scarlet cocoon. This time, Arianna's eyes, which had grown well, clearly saw the details of the giant cocoon - it was a barrier composed of countless fascia, flesh, branches and bones, which separated the inside and outside world from the mystical sense. And inside the barrier was just a two-story house that looked no different from the houses on both sides of it.

The one who captured her was sitting on the roof of the house. His face was a little familiar. The man was wearing a black suit. He had green eyes and black hair. His skin was as pale as a dead person. There was no red on his body. But he gave people an overwhelming impression of "red". Arianna lowered her eyes in time. The Servant of Secrets would certainly not make a mistake. The person sitting in front of her was not "him", but "Him".

For the last time, Arianna chanted the name of the Goddess of Night softly. She didn't know if He would give her time, so she had to start her final prayer in advance - even though her prayer and her soul were destined to never reach the Goddess's kingdom...

Just when Arianna was ready to die, she heard the voice of the Scarlet Lord, He spoke softly.

"-Shh."

He said to the prey who came uninvited and was captured just because he looked at him for a second longer.

"Don't wake him."

Feng Ya has something to say: This chapter has 7300+ words, please enjoy it slowly.

Don't worry, Arianna won't be eaten, she just triggered IFren's defense mechanism. Amanisis will come in the next chapter.

Because I don't know how to write the battles on the side of Guimi, I came up with a clever little trick and changed the way I wrote it... After writing it, I felt that it was similar to the plot design of The Wandering Earth 2, which had a group of fifth-generation fighters fighting in dogfights. Of course, dogfights are the most classic part of fighter jets, but it's really my fault that I can't write the battles on the side of Guimi. Stop scolding me. QQAQQ

Lun won't be absent from the main story for long! He will soon be pulled up into the gray fog to choose cards. Gaga gaga (makes a crow's evil laugh)

By the way, I would like to recommend a song that I listened to and wrote the IF line very smoothly: Sand-Dova cameron

(13)

93.

The moment Arianna's message was delivered, in the basement of St. Samuel's Church, at the deepest point behind the Chanis Gate, a pair of black eyes suddenly opened.

There was no need for the Archbishop to personally lift the seal, as the will from a higher level had already controlled the carrier. The black-haired, black-eyed woman was wiped out like a picture, and then appeared in the sky above the Cherwood District. She—no, it should be said that "She" fell like a leaf, with a light posture. The branches on her side that Arianna had to use all her strength to cut off before retreated like leeches that encountered salt.

Before Arianna could even call out God's name, He sent her into a deep sleep. The true God who had come to the world on a carrier stood in the air, his four illusory arms clasped with her hands in front of her belly.

"A mixed smell." The visitor said, his voice was ethereal and distant: "I smell a familiar yet strange smell on you... What are you?"

"Leonard Mitchell." Facing the real God, the monster had no intention of worshipping him. He simply stood up so that he wouldn't have to look up at the god floating in the air: "—That's what Klein called me."

"Leonard Mitchell." The goddess repeated, "I know the name, but you are nothing like the Red Glove I know."

"Don't you think so?"

On this topic, the monster, who had not disguised himself at all, was unexpectedly serious. He raised his hand, touched his face, and even took out one of his eyes to confirm the color with the other. After confirming that it was still green, he asked for advice seriously.

"Is it that my eyes choose a wrong green, or is there something wrong with my body mimicry?"

Amanesis could see that His attitude was very serious, very serious, so serious that it seemed that imitating Leonard Mitchell was the most important issue for Him right now. As an Outer God, being discovered to be in his true form in Backlund and being besieged by the Seven Gods at any time was a trivial matter. On the other hand, Amanesis's eyes swept over the monster's shoulder, and He was silent for a while, then asked in a low voice.

"How many years has it been since you last saw what you look like?"

"..."

The monster fell silent. He still violently groped his bones, and his fingers that were tearing at his muscles and blood vessels stopped. He raised his eyes and looked at Amanesis. The pair of green ornaments quickly lost their luster without his careful maintenance, like a glass window that had been in disrepair for a long time and was covered with dust, and only the halo of the sun could be seen through it.

"You know it. Normally, the moment you approach the Earth, the gaze and hostility of the True God will descend upon you."

"I know." The monster interrupted Amanesis and repeated, "I have always known."

"The reason why you didn't have any," Amanesis ignored Her attempt to change the subject, and the Goddess of Night said, "It was not until you exposed yourself today that I discovered that you had..."

"—I said, I know."

The monster interrupted Amanesis's statement again, and the flesh and tentacles under his feet began to beat violently like a heart beating faster. The goddess of night stretched out her hand, pulling in a secret black veil to cover the space, so as to ensure that no ordinary people would be hurt in this change.

"Then you should cherish this luck." Amanesis said: "There may be beings in this world that are difficult to kill, but there is no being that is absolutely immortal."

"They all told me so, and you told me so too," the monster said. Unlike the turbid red blossoming under his feet, his tone was so calm, as calm as a human's: "But I can't do it - Klein is still waiting for me, I have to go find him."

"..."

The Goddess of Night let out a long sigh, glanced behind the monster, and finally loosened her fingers that had been bent and ready to grasp the handle of the sickle.

"—The Seven will be watching you."

He said so, and the monster showed no fear at all, and He smiled.

"I will not die." The monster said, "This is the only thing I am confident of."

Amanisis wanted to say, you are just hard to kill, I have already told you, there is nothing in this world that is absolutely unkillable. Your presence here means that in the near future, our attempt to kill Tianzun was successful... Seven gods are coming together, even if you can't die, can you still stay with him in your current state?

But Amanesis did not speak. She just looked at the monster that no longer looked like the new Red Gloves she knew. The Night Goddess's eyes were covered by the black veil. She looked at the side and back of the monster without any hesitation. She saw that figure again, the broken, familiar, almost shapeless figure with only a glimmer of light left.

Is this the future we have arrived at? Amanesis wanted to ask, but in the end He did not speak to the phantom that He knew was impossible to answer. He just silently stretched out his hand, and Arianna floated in front of Him. Before leaving with the angel who made a mistake, Amanesis heard the monster's voice.

Obviously, no one was expecting His answer, but He continued to speak, as if anyone could hear Him. He said:

"——Because I will never die in the hands of anyone other than him. I promised him."

94.

That was before Leonard turned into a complete monster.

The adventurer who was supposed to conquer the Five Seas had to return to Backlund because of an accident. Klein had no intention of going back to see Leonard. They often communicated through letters and in the gray fog. But it just so happened that Klein was rummaging through the pile of debris in the gray fog and happened to find the coffee beans he had bought for Leonard before.

Since he was back, it would be better to hand the gift to Leonard personally—this is what Klein told himself. He used the connection in the gray fog to divine Leonard's location. After exiting the subway, he hired a carriage and walked for a while. What greeted him was not the green eyes of an old friend, but a panicked crowd.

First there was an explosion, then a crowd of people fled in all directions. Klein walked against the flow of people, holding down his hat with one hand and using his cane to help the lady who was about to fall. Soon, he saw the red.

The original garden at the corner of the street was blown to pieces along with the fountain, leaving only a pile of protruding white stones. The white stones were surrounded by blood that looked like ink splashed, and in the center of the blood was the Rose Bishop who was slowly regaining his humanoid posture. Green eyes emerged from the turbid flesh and blood, followed by black hair and a face that Klein was familiar with.

It was the flesh bomb of the Rose Bishop, Klein thought, but beyond pure rationality, he seemed to hear a roar. At that moment, he thought a lot, but in the end, all he could see was the arm lying at his feet. It looked so thin, where did its owner go? Was she or he still alive?

The creator of the disaster was not distracted by the sight from the original position. Mr. L of the Aurora Society slowly stood up. He looked up and looked at the enemy who was still standing high up. The witch stepped on the window sill and slowly walked out. The fragments of the mirror used as a substitute fell from the corner of her skirt. The extraordinary charm made Klein a little dazed for a moment, but Leonard seemed to be completely unperturbed. He only said.

"--Come."

"Does it have to be this way?" The witch smiled. She knew she was no match for him, so she tried to delay him with words in order to get a chance to escape. "We are not necessarily enemies... The path I'm on does not stand in the way of your Lord."

Under deliberate urging, the witch's charm has been brought to its extreme. But the man in scarlet seemed unaware, he just repeated it again.

"You come."

As he spoke, the church bells rang at the hour, and the ice blade thrown by the witch and the white doves flying across the sky in the distance crossed the red sky. Klein opened his eyes wide and watched Leonard's figure twist and expand in an instant, the scarlet and the witch's white skirt intertwined, and the next second, the head without a body flew up into the sky empty.

This was clearly an extremely bizarre scene, a fight between evil and evil, but for some reason, Klein opened his eyes wide, and he couldn't help but think of the religious scriptures he had read when he was still a keyboard warrior in the 21st century. In the scriptures, God had four horsemen under his command, symbolizing the end of the world. He saw a knight riding a white horse with a bow and a crown on his head. He wanted to win again.

Leonard didn't pause. He threw a dirty bottle and collected the witch's soul. He waved at the next target and said the same thing.

"--Come."

The elder of the Psychological Alchemist sighed and raised his revolver. Then, the blood rose again, people killed each other, and the bombs made of flesh and blood bloomed like flowers, piercing him like a sieve. In more blood, the shaky Mr. L raised his eyes again, and he looked at the next target with his green eyes.

"You come."

The conceited nobleman regained his former bravery in the face of impending death. He rushed forward with his sword in hand. The sound of metal cutting flesh and bones was repeated countless times, and the last sound was the sound of his larynx being broken. Klein had heard of him. He was a capitalist who should have been hung on the street lamp in every sense, and who started his business again by exploiting others. He was also the pride of the nobles who "never wasted." But this time, it was not the judgment of the tarot cards or the scales of the law that took him away, but a malice more extreme than his.

Mr. L dropped another soul-collecting bottle—it was obvious that he was already preparing for his advancement to a shepherd. He raised his eyes again, his green eyes were as dark as will-the-wisp, and his keenness as a secret praying man allowed him to accurately look in the direction of the last living being present—Klein.

"you--"

Leonard blinked in the scarlet, and the blood on his eyelashes fell down. He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and replaced them with a name. A name he would never forget.

"Cl... Ryan?"

This time, the Grey Knight, who was supposed to ride a grey horse and be given the power to kill a quarter of the people on earth, abandoned the Beyonder characteristic that was within his grasp, along with his victory, and stumbled towards Klein, but stopped in front of him. He reached out his hand to touch Klein's cheek, but stopped when he saw the scarlet on his hand.

"You're back... I, I didn't attack irrelevant people. I carefully selected my targets. They are all--"

His attempt to defend himself was interrupted, and Klein hugged him. It was the first time that the faceless man hugged Leonard with such light force, as if he would break in the next second.

"Leonard." Klein heard his own voice and felt something hot and wet falling down his face. He asked softly, "Aren't you in pain?"

"...Klein, are you in pain?"

Klein wanted to say that I was not injured, and that it was you who could not even stand, but he could no longer speak. He shook his head, and in his blurred vision, Leonard laughed. His smile was filled with supreme joy and happiness, without any trace of the pain of being a Rose Bishop who did not even have the energy to heal himself.

"I'm fine." Bishop Rose said, "Klein, after this, I can be promoted to a shepherd. Then I can leave Backlund and go to the sea to find you."

95.

Thanks to Klein's experience at sea and a little help from others, he was able to bring the almost immobilized Rose Bishop back home before the official Beyonders came knocking on his door. He took out all the potions and spells that he was reluctant to use from the gray fog, and used divination to determine which ones were usable and gave them all to Leonard.

By the time Bishop Rose recovered, it was already late at night. The first thing Leonard did after regaining consciousness was to apologize to Klein - he seemed to always feel that he had endless guilt towards Klein.

"I'm sorry, Klein. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry, and I didn't mean to make you sad." Bishop Rose stammered, "I just can't control myself - I can't do it, Klein. I can't change. I don't know what to do."

"Then promise me."

Klein heard his own voice, and with unprecedented strength, he looked down at Leonard, who was forced to shrink into the sofa, like a huge, pitiful, and helpless dog, almost whimpering. The green eyes looked up, and in his eyes was Klein's figure, which looked even darker and more like a shadow under the light behind him.

"Leonard, promise me, promise me. No one can punish you, no one can sanction you, and no one has the right to hurt you except me—including yourself."

"......!!!"

What Klein was asking for was clearly the most basic right of life, something that was against the law and his personal moral code. However, Leonard seemed to have found a fulcrum when he was asked this, and he almost couldn't wait to hand over his promise.

"——I promise you!"

He said. His green eyes were full of eagerness, desire, and expectation. Only at this moment, Leonard looked like the way Klein had just seen him in Tingen.

"We agreed, Klein, if you don't speak up, I won't go anywhere."

95.

The exhausted Bishop of Rose curled up on Klein's bed and fell asleep. Klein patiently untied his fingers from his hand - this was not difficult. As long as Klein was willing to hurt himself, Leonard would let go of his hand immediately, even in his dreams.

When his hands were free again, Mr. Faceless shook his numb fingers. He stood up and walked towards the kitchen in the dark. The stench of scarlet and blood was still hovering in front of his eyes and nose, but Klein's aching stomach told him that he had to eat something.

"Does this make sense?"

The moment the bedroom door closed behind him, an old voice slowly sounded. The old man who was living on the gold coin Klein received said that he had seen the will of the true God and would not pose a threat to him. He only asked him for the future gold finger.

"You know very well that as long as you don't look at him, or even - don't blame me for speculating with malice - Klein, if you take your eyes off him, he will immediately relapse."

Klein paused. He knew that what Pales said was true. Klein had certainly heard the story of Pavlov's dog. Pain is a powerful tool for changing a person. Pain can make people feel fear, make people know how to make choices, and make people know how to retreat. But what if a person is not afraid of pain anymore?

What was the big deal about pain for a secret praying person, for a Rose Bishop? The reason why Leonard hadn't gone completely crazy was not because he had a strong tolerance, but because he was held back by Klein: he was not afraid of pain, but he was afraid of seeing Klein's disappointed eyes.

"I just... I don't know what to do, Mr. Pales." Klein whispered, biting his lower lip. "Let him promise me. This is the only way I can think of that will bind him."

"How long can you restrain him?" Pales sighed, "Or do you want to accept that you and him will always maintain such a deformed and twisted relationship, and let him parasitize on you like a parasitic vine or a tree? Klein, he is very dangerous, and you will be swallowed up by him sooner or later."

"I'm not a tree, Mr. Pales. Leonard is not a parasitic vine either." Klein said, "He should have been a healthier and more normal tree that could have grown in the sun all the time... He became like this because of me."

Leonard became like this because of Klein - this was the reason why Klein couldn't let go in the beginning - although such a shallow reason became less and less important as time went on, it was the only thing that a time traveler who still hoped to go home at this point in time could say to a soul he was not familiar with.

"If I were you," Pales said, "I wouldn't keep him if I were you."

"...Mr. Pales, if it was him instead of me who picked you up." Klein said slowly, "If you could have met him earlier, if you could have guided him and held him back—"

Of course, the time traveler knew that saying "if" at this time was the most useless thing to say. There was no "if" in the world, and there was no regret medicine to take. Not to mention that Leonard's problem occurred when he was a child, which was more than ten years ago when Klein traveled through time. It was a past that he could not change even if he took the regret medicine. But Klein couldn't help but want to ask.

"Let's not talk about whether the past can be changed. I can't do it." The old man said, sighing with a little certainty: "You know very well that he can't see anything except you, and I won't choose such a madman."

"Leonard wasn't like that."

After a moment of silence, Klein spoke. He tried to describe to Pales the Leonard he knew, the Leonard who was still the midnight poet. Those stories were clearly just memories from a few months ago, but when he told them again, it felt like a lifetime ago. Klein tried to use words to outline the outline of the poet who was heavy and had secrets, but had not yet entered madness. But he always felt that his language was too inadequate and his words did not express his meaning.

Maybe I should buy a poetry collection... let alone a collection of Roselle's poems. It's endless, Klein thought. He paused for a moment, and Pales thought he had finished. The old man still found it difficult to connect the poet in Klein's description with the madman just now. He just thought that Klein had a completely wrong perception of the latter from the beginning, accompanied by an excessive desire to protect him.

Pales had long given up trying to change Klein's opinion, and he simply gave a dry summary of the entire topic.

"——I really can't tell."

95.

If possible, Klein thought, if there were ifs in this world, he hoped that Leonard could have a healthy childhood, perhaps even more healthy than the children in the orphanage, with a little more arrogance and self-sustaining like Roselle's localized Long Aotian, just like the protagonist of the era.

It would be better for Leonard to be an ordinary night watchman forever, or to follow the routine to become a red glove who upholds justice, which he has always hoped for. It would be better for him to pick up a gold coin when he was just starting out and meet a friendly old grandfather. It would be better for him not to be promoted so quickly, and not to rush forward.

He is the best, no need to chase anyone and don't meet him again.

Feng Ya has something to say: This chapter is 5800+, please take your time.This chapter is shorter because it has the same outline as the previous chapter, but the previous chapter was too long to finish. It feels weird to continue the outline for this chapter, so it turned out like this.

The next update should be about the male ghost, and then the epilogue of digging graves. After that, it will be about living together. In between, I will take a leave to write a commissioned article.