Hearing Melissa's question, Klein's body suddenly stiffened. The joy of reuniting with his family was immediately replaced by heartache.
He forcibly used his Clown abilities to produce a smile and explained:
"This house belongs to a friend of mine. He knew my family was coming to Backlund, so he rented it to me at a low price..."
"The gentleman from before?" Melissa stepped forward twice, seemingly trying to find some flaw in the expression Klein had created with his Clown Beyonder Ability, while Benson frowned and said:
"Even if he's a friend, we can't just take advantage of him without a care. We've only just arrived in Backlund and haven't even settled on jobs yet. Living in such a nice house doesn't suit our class."
Benson's words were clearly reasonable, but recalling Sno's explanation of Backlund's situation, Klein simply could not agree with him.
He took a deep breath, retrieved a document from a hidden safe in the corner of the living room, and handed it to Benson.
"Benson, these are shares in a company I invested in. They're only worth a thousand pounds right now, but..."
"What? A thousand pounds? And you said only? Klein, what exactly have you been doing all this time?" Melissa cried out. Since she was so close, Klein nearly suffered a moment of ringing ears.
He raised a finger and made a gesture of digging in his ear, making Melissa guiltily retreat two steps before he smiled and said:
"Listen to me first. This company has excellent prospects. I believe it won't be long before its value rises to an outrageous level, so you don't need to worry about money."
Benson looked at the document in Klein's hand and nodded lightly. Meanwhile, Melissa began circling the house. After looking over the brand-new velvet bedding,