He Was a Spy!

Klein shot Lynch a disdainful glance.

This lazy good-for-nothing—he had no idea how he'd managed to survive before. Had he been living on nothing but black bread every day? Was that why he'd been so scrawny?

Remembering how Lynch had collapsed outside his home, Klein shook his head.

Back then, he'd thought the guy was a beggar who hadn't eaten in ages!

Thinking of how Lynch would be reduced to that state again after he moved, Klein magnanimously nodded.

"You'll pay for the meals. I'll need one pound a week for food and labor. Don't say I'm ripping you off—you eat way too much, more than Melissa and another person combined."

Lynch had actually wanted to say Klein was ripping him off, but after hearing his reasoning, he kept quiet.

All right, he really did eat a lot.

Klein was giving him a friends-and-family rate.

Seeing Lynch at a loss for once, Klein sat up straight in high spirits.

"Remember to give me the money when the time comes..."

Klein spoke smugly.

But before he could finish, he heard Benson's voice.

"Actually, there's no need to rent two places. We've known each other for a while now, and we all trust Lynch's character. So I think we should just rent one place together. We could save on rent, too.

"Of course, there are more of us, so we'd need three bedrooms. Lynch would only have to pay a third, and he could have a washroom to himself."

Lynch was stunned. He hadn't considered the idea before, but it seemed surprisingly appealing.

Then he glanced at Melissa.

She was only sixteen. Having a strange man in the house now and then was one thing, but living together all the time might be inconvenient. He also worried Melissa might feel uncomfortable.

"You don't need to worry about me. I trust you. If you wanted to do anything, you'd have done it by now."

Melissa didn't seem concerned.

After living with so many tenants for all these years, she'd gotten used to some people giving her hostile looks, even leering at her.

But Lynch wasn't like that. He treated her no differently from anyone else. He never gave her lingering looks, and his eyes were always sincere. The only time he showed pity was when she went to use the communal washroom.

It was truly miserable for a girl to have to share a washroom with everyone.

Especially when she needed privacy. Sometimes she could even hear the men in the next stall, and all she could do was squeeze her eyes shut and pretend she hadn't heard anything.

"Ahem. If none of you mind, then of course I'd be happy to live with you. It'd make it easier to mooch meals, too."

Lynch muttered.

Renting a place on his own would definitely cost more than sharing one.

Besides, the Kleins were all decent people, and he got along with them pretty well.

Even if things didn't work out later, he could always move out.

"I have no objections!"

Klein raised his hand.

Melissa voiced her agreement, too.

And of course Benson, who'd proposed the idea, was on board.

They decided to go look at places the next day, hoping to find something cheap.

But that would have to wait until tomorrow. For now, they could clear the dishes and get on with their own business.

Melissa had lessons to review, and Benson continued studying accounting on his own. Klein took out a book. Only Lynch had nothing to do, so he started thinking about how to bring down the Big Meat Church.

He needed to act on that soon.

Lynch didn't think it would be too difficult, though. He just needed to use the Antigonus Notebook to lure out the people behind Upton, then have Dunn take them all out in one fell swoop.

But if he did that, his lie would be exposed.

A Nightmare could question those people in their dreams. Not everyone could stay lucid in a dream like he and Klein could.

But maybe there was a way around that.

Lynch thought of the Stone of Myriad Phenomena.

His cheat seemed to have all sorts of uses. It could shield him from being watched, let him stay lucid in dreams, and even help him generate Pathways. Could it also help other people stay lucid in their dreams?

He touched the Stone of Myriad Phenomena with his mind and sent it his thoughts. The answer he got was that it couldn't do that for now, so he had to abandon the idea.

If that wouldn't work, could he corrupt the other person instead, making Dunn afraid to enter the dream?

He'd just have to make sure Klein didn't use divination...

Wait. If he had enough energy, could he make it impossible for Klein to see anything about him?

Lynch touched the Stone of Myriad Phenomena again and immediately got an affirmative answer.

The Stone of Myriad Phenomena even told him that if it could devour half the energy of Sefirah Castle, it could take Sefirah Castle back.

Take it back?

Wait, Lynch thought of the Antigonus Notebook.

Could the Stone of Myriad Phenomena have taken that over, too?

Was that why only he could see it, while no one else could see what was inside?

Damn, the Stone of Myriad Phenomena could do that, too? If this happened in a fight, the enemy could throw out a Beyonder item, only for the Stone of Myriad Phenomena to drain its energy and make it switch sides. The enemy would be furious!

Lynch pictured the scene and almost laughed out loud.

But he quickly remembered that he wasn't a Beyonder yet, and shut his mouth.

He let out a deep sigh and decided to go back to his room and sleep.

Klein's room, of course. As for Klein and Benson, the two of them could squeeze together. They'd find room somehow.

Lynch really was exhausted that day. He fetched some water to wash up, climbed into bed, rolled over, and promptly fell asleep.

He didn't know how long he'd been asleep when he suddenly felt someone shaking him.

"Was the Antigonus Notebook really taken away?"

He opened his eyes. A man in a robe and hood stood before him.

"Yes, but the Nighthawks said it was fake and suspected someone had switched it. In a couple of days, I can ask them to hand it over to me so I can bring it to you and see what's going on."

The man nodded thoughtfully, then warily glanced toward Klein and Benson's room.

"That Klein is with the Nighthawks? But he seems ordinary. He was a student before."

"That's a disguise. He's a Beyonder. I collapsed right outside his home, and when he saw me carrying the Antigonus Notebook, he nearly turned me over to the Nighthawks."

Lynch explained.

The man fell silent.

After a while, he asked, "Upton said he saw you get shot."

Lynch immediately looked indignant.

"To hell with him. Someone did shoot at me, but I dodged. I was so scared I lay on the ground for a while before I recovered. Then I fought back and got away.

"Why don't you do something about Upton? He was watching from nearby. He watched me run off in a daze, and watched me collapse outside Klein's home. Klein nearly killed me... I suspect Upton's a Nighthawks spy!"

Lynch looked thoroughly displeased, and the man fell silent again.

Upton said Lynch might be a problem, and now Lynch was saying Upton was the problem.

He didn't know who to believe.

But Lynch seemed more important.

The Nighthawks...

"That Klein watches you every day. What have the Nighthawks got planned for you?"