Two Pounds and Ten Soli

Tingen.

Late at night.

In a dim alley where the Crimson Moon could not shine, a young man rubbed his throbbing forehead and struggled toward a place in his memories.

When he reached a house on Iron Cross Street, he finally succumbed to the torrent of memories surging through him and passed out completely.

Lord of the Mysteries... Klein... Lynch Trans...

When Lynch came to, his still-foggy mind finally made sense of what had happened.

He had transmigrated.

One moment, he had been playing a game. The next, he had become Lynch Trans, Benson's coworker in the world of Lord of the Mysteries.

Fate had gone completely off the rails. Someone who had never appeared in the original story had actually stopped Klein on his way home with the Antigonus Notebook, after he had parted with his classmates.

Then the notebook that had caused all the trouble ended up in his hands. A gunshot rang out, and the poor fellow died on the spot. Then the current Lynch had arrived.

With no idea what was going on, he saw someone trying to take something from him. Acting on instinct, he elbowed the person, then ran off with the Antigonus Notebook in his arms.

At first, everything seemed fine, but soon he sensed something was wrong.

His body felt a steady pull, as though it was drawing something from the notebook. His head grew hotter and hotter, and memories and knowledge poured into his mind all at once.

He instinctively realized he shouldn't stay in that alley, so he followed the address still lingering in his mind and ended up at Klein's front door.

Wait.

Klein?

His front door?

Lynch's eyes flew open.

It was a small room, with a door on either side. Across from him stood a desk, on which sat an ink bottle, a steel pen, and a notebook. Beside it was a pile of things like a coal stove.

It looked familiar. He felt like he'd seen it somewhere before.

Right, he'd seen it in a layout of Klein's room posted by a Lord of the Mysteries fan.

Was this Klein's room?

Lynch looked around once more, then turned his attention to his cheat.

That was right. The moment he transmigrated, a specialty from his hometown had come along with him.

The Stone of Myriad Phenomena.

It could absorb the energy released by Beyonder items and use it to sustain his current life state.

That brought them to the Antigonus Notebook.

The Stone of Myriad Phenomena had nearly drained the notebook dry, restoring his body to normal. It even had enough left over to temporarily block the few scattered bits of information about Lord of the Mysteries in his mind, so he wouldn't suddenly blow his head off just by remembering something.

Of course, he'd had a brief exchange with the Stone of Myriad Phenomena. It could still set aside some energy to help him find a Sequence suited to him and generate a Potion formula for that Pathway.

And if he managed to get more energy, the Stone of Myriad Phenomena could even help him generate a brand-new Pathway that didn't exist in this world, so he wouldn't have to compete with other Beyonders.

Energy really was wonderful. Too bad the Antigonus Notebook had no more juice to squeeze out of it for now.

Lynch sighed and was about to pull the Antigonus Notebook out to see if he could get any more energy from it when he heard footsteps at the door. Then it opened.

It was Melissa.

The sixteen-year-old girl looked youthful and fresh. Though she seemed frail and pale, it did nothing to detract from her beauty.

It was what she said that gave him a headache.

"Mr. Trans, you passed out at my door yesterday. Klein and I brought you inside and called a doctor to examine you.

"He said you were probably attacked... Anyway, the doctor's fee is five pounds. We don't have much money at home, so I hope you'll pay him as soon as possible, or let me pass the money along to him."

Five pounds?

Lynch awkwardly sat up and patted himself down.

He had only one pound and ten soli, the wages he'd received yesterday.

Where had Melissa found that doctor? Had she called some big shot?

That was far too expensive.

Lynch couldn't help grumbling to himself.

The original owner's weekly wage was one pound and ten soli. There was no way he could afford a five-pound doctor's bill.

Still, looking at the equally hard-up girl in front of him, he reluctantly took out a pound in cash.

It was practically all the money he had.

Five pounds... In this world, that could cost him his life.

He had to find a way to pay less.

"It was Klein who attacked me!"

Lynch gritted his teeth and tried to look innocent as he started making up a story.

Melissa froze for a moment, seemingly unable to understand how he had the nerve to slander Klein.

After all, Klein could barely manage to hit a chicken, let alone a person.

"It really was him. Yesterday evening, I saw something was wrong with him, so I stopped him and asked what was going on. He slapped me twice, then kicked me several times.

"I was so dazed from the beating that it took me ages to come to my senses. I went to look for him that very night just to ask why he'd done it, but I lost consciousness as soon as I got here. Ask him if you don't believe me."

Lynch didn't care whether Klein would deny it. He could only pay one pound toward the medical bill, two pounds and ten soli at most.

He absolutely shouldn't have to cover the whole medical bill, which was enough to bankrupt him.

Even landlords ran out of food, never mind a pitiful, lowly worker like him.

Besides, the original owner had only been trying to help. That was how he'd ended up dead.

"I'll ask him. If that isn't what happened, you'll have to give me another four pounds and one soli. One soli will cover the cost of your slandering Klein."

Melissa pursed her lips and told him disapprovingly.

Lynch nodded, indicating that he had no objection at all.

He could guarantee that Klein didn't remember a thing about what had happened on the way.

"By the way, where's Klein?"

Lynch rubbed his head. It still hurt a little.

Being broke was another source of pain, of course.

With so little money, how was he supposed to become a Beyonder?

Whether the Stone of Myriad Phenomena found him a Pathway that already existed in this world or generated a new one, he couldn't even afford the Potion ingredients right now.

Melissa glanced at Lynch, her tone a little displeased.

"Klein went out to buy bread. Oh, you'll have to pay for some of the bread, too. About three pence."

Money, money, money. Why did a perfectly nice girl have to talk about money every other word?

"I'll pay you once I'm better."

If Klein admitted to hitting him, perhaps he wouldn't have to pay so much for food, either.

With a guilty conscience, Lynch stuffed his ten soli into his wallet under Melissa's disapproving gaze, then pushed them farther inside so they wouldn't accidentally fall out.

"Oh, right. I'm still in pain and can't get out of bed. Could you go find Benson and ask him to get me three days off?"

Lynch remembered his supervisor and shamelessly tried to keep Melissa there.

It wasn't that he really couldn't get out of bed. It was just that, according to the original owner's memories, Benson was incredibly reliable.

If he went himself, their boss, a real skinflint, would probably dock a week's wages.

But if Benson put in the request, Lynch might get a pleasant surprise.

The man had once managed to take a week off without losing a single penny in wages.

"And tell Benson that Klein beat me up and was entirely at fault. Well, if Klein denies it, I'll pay another soli."

Lynch made the promise under Melissa's stern gaze.

If Klein really denied it, then Lynch would expose Mr. Fool's true identity in front of all the gods.

That was right. All this for two pounds and ten soli—no, two pounds and twelve soli now.