Benson

Lynch felt a rare twinge of guilt toward Klein, but he quickly brushed it aside. Seeing the man walking over from the living room, he smiled.

"Hey, Benson. How have you been these past few days?"

Benson: ...

What do you think?

Whenever he worked these past few days, he kept thinking about how his younger brother had racked up a debt of two pounds and ten soli, and Lynch had lost his job. Benson might even have to pay five pounds.

It had left him too afraid to argue with his boss about overtime, in case the man fired him outright and left his whole family homeless, with nowhere to go.

Even so, Benson had thought that at least Lynch would be just as worried as he was.

He and Lynch got along well. Sometimes, when he took a day off, he asked Lynch to cover his shift. He genuinely thought the young man was a good fellow.

Whatever Benson could think of, he was sure Lynch could think of too. He must have been beside himself with worry these past few days.

Benson had even planned to come home and offer the poor fellow a few words of comfort. But what had he found when he got back?

The guy had actually put on weight.

Not exactly fat, but he finally looked a little sturdier.

Lynch had been too skinny before. He'd been eating and drinking well these past couple of days, and now his cheeks had filled out a little.

Benson thought he ought to be happy for Lynch, glad that he was doing all right, but...

"How can you even sleep?"

After something like this happened, how could the guy sleep or eat?

Looking at how much thinner Benson was than a few days ago, Lynch slapped his forehead as if he'd just realized something.

He hadn't told Benson that he and Klein had both found jobs, or that the medical expenses had gone down.

Thinking about Benson's situation at work, Lynch felt sorry for him.

"Ahem, don't worry. Let me tell you some good news first: Klein and I both found jobs!"

Benson's eyes lit up, and he visibly relaxed.

That was good. It meant he wouldn't be under so much pressure.

"There's more good news. The medical expenses are down to three pounds, which means Klein and I only have to pay one pound and ten soli each."

Benson smiled.

"It seems my efforts weren't all that important after all. This got sorted out a little too easily. Lynch, thank you. I imagine you've been under a lot of pressure these past few days too, to have managed all this in such a short time."

It would have worn even him out to accomplish all that, let alone Lynch, such an honest young man.

"It's all right. I'm practically Klein's elder, after all. How could I leave you two to figure this out on your own? If I weren't really short on money, I wouldn't have asked you for any."

Lynch looked embarrassed.

Benson immediately waved a hand.

When Melissa told him that Klein had hit Lynch, his first thought had been that Lynch was a real friend, only making them pay half the medical expenses.

His second thought had been that Klein had actually hit someone.

He didn't want to believe Klein would hit anyone, but he also couldn't believe Lynch would lie and deliberately swindle them.

That was impossible.

Look, this just proved that he knew how to judge people.

Especially after Lynch told him that the security company Klein had joined had first taken an interest in Lynch, then thought of Klein because he was out of work too. Benson was so enthusiastic, it was almost unbelievable.

That afternoon.

Klein came back.

He'd gone to Tingen University that day to tell his mentor that he had a job opportunity. While he was there, he'd also asked for records about the Fourth Epoch, and his mentor had promised to keep an eye out for them.

On his way back, he'd realized someone was following him.

He'd gone straight to the Nighthawks team and asked Dunn for advice before leaving the security company. He returned to the surface by way of a church.

After that, he went to the training ground and practiced using firearms. Only then did he finally head home.

As soon as he entered, he saw Benson grinding coffee. He greeted him cheerfully and was about to take the coffee from Benson when Benson turned around and set it down nearby.

"Don't touch that. It's for Lynch, to thank him for taking such good care of you and Melissa these past couple of days."

Klein: ?

No, how exactly had that guy Lynch been taking care of them?

Had he just lain around sleeping all afternoon and waited for dinner, or waited for Melissa to mend his clothes?

He really couldn't figure it out!

"What did he tell you?"

Klein asked tentatively, and saw Benson's touched expression.

"He took you along to find work, got half your medical expenses waived, and did everything he could to protect you when you ran into criminals. I've never been so glad to have a friend like Lynch."

Klein: ...

No, aside from the medical expenses, all the other parts sounded weird.

But when he thought about it, they could sort of be explained.

They'd been investigated together; sure, they'd gone through the interview process together. And as for the criminals... Brother, he definitely didn't tell you they were actually two Beyonders.

But Lynch had indeed protected him. He'd died protecting him, and while it had shocked Klein, he was grateful for what Lynch had done.

But why did it sound so strange when Lynch told the story?

It made Klein sound like some unreliable kid who needed an adult to help him with everything.

"Actually..."

Klein opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but Benson quickly cut him off.

"Just tell me, was what he said true?"

Klein: ...

Even if some of it wasn't true, he had to keep it from Benson. He'd signed a confidentiality agreement.

"All right. Since it's true, you should thank Lynch. I've rarely met such a sincere young man."

Klein: ...

It still felt strange.

But never mind. He couldn't go into the details, and there was no point trying to explain.

So he looked around and asked, "Where's Lynch?"

"He went to the washroom. Before he left, he asked me to grind him a cup of coffee. He said this was what he admired most about me, that my coffee was excellent."

Klein: ...

Could it be that he just wanted free labor?

"All right, Klein, don't look so serious. I want to ask you something too. How did you learn to hit people?"

Klein stammered out an excuse about drinking, and Benson stared at him for a long while. At last, he patted Klein on the shoulder, still shaken.

"Don't drink anymore. Seriously, Klein, remember this. Our family can't afford to pay for this kind of thing!"

Klein felt as if he'd completely disgraced himself. In his brother's and sister's eyes, he must have been a terrifying drunk who hit people whenever he got drunk.

But he had no way to explain what had really happened, so he could only remain silent.

"All right, I'll make us something to eat. I have to head to the docks later, and I'm starving."

Benson changed the subject and got ready to cook, but Klein stopped him at once.

Benson's cooking was even worse than Melissa's. The original Klein and Melissa had only let him cook when they were little and had no choice. Later, once Melissa learned how to cook, she wouldn't let Benson into the kitchen anymore.

"You're tired from work. Go rest!"

Klein gave an awkward laugh and hurried into the kitchen to keep Benson away from the food in the house.

Making food that awful ought to count as a crime, right?