The Irritated Lynch

This time had been a huge haul.

There was two or three times as much energy as last time. He felt like one of those people who'd gotten rich overnight, and started having the Stone of Myriad Phenomena generate all sorts of things he needed.

He wanted it to keep generating Pathways, and as quickly as possible. Even if it only managed to produce a Sequence 9 Potion, that would let him become a Beyonder. It could take its time generating the rest.

After Lynch passed this thought to the Stone of Myriad Phenomena, it replied that the Sequence 9 Potion formula would be ready in three days.

He also needed a complete text version of Lord of the Mysteries. His memories had grown hazy, and he really couldn't remember much about the book. There were things he wasn't even sure about.

He didn't dare think about higher-level matters, but he couldn't go around knowing nothing, either, could he?

Generate!

Oh, right. He'd also asked the Stone of Myriad Phenomena to generate a Beyonder item capable of corrupting ordinary people.

The Stone of Myriad Phenomena told him it could produce one within ten days, as long as it had enough energy.

With three energy-consuming requests underway, Lynch didn't even dare look at how quickly the energy was being used up. He hurriedly withdrew from the Stone of Myriad Phenomena.

This thing was useful, all right, but it consumed far too much energy.

And then there was Sefirah Castle. He just couldn't understand why it was so jumpy. Couldn't it let the Stone of Myriad Phenomena absorb more energy in peace?

Was it easy for him to get that energy?

Lynch muttered under his breath.

While he grumbled greedily in his heart, Klein, who was groaning next door with his head in his hands, felt more exhausted than ever before.

Hadn't he only stayed ten minutes longer than last time?

But he'd already become a Beyonder. Surely he could last that long?

Klein really felt as though he'd nearly been drained dry. The moment he came down from Sefirah Castle, he collapsed on the floor and fell asleep.

By the time he woke up again, he'd been moved to bed and thoughtfully tucked in.

"Mm... Why did you collapse on the floor just now? And don't lock the door again. It took me forever to get it open. You looked so bad, I nearly called a doctor. Good thing you woke up. Do you still need to go to the hospital?"

Lynch entered Klein's room with a glass of water, wearing a concerned expression, as though he had nothing to do with what had happened to Klein.

He'd been in his room grumbling about Sefirah Castle when he heard something heavy hit the floor. He'd immediately known something was wrong.

He'd gone to knock, only to find Klein had locked the door. So he'd had no choice but to force it open...

"You'll have to pay for the new lock yourself. I'm not spending another penny!"

Lynch quickly made that clear in advance.

Klein's mouth twitched.

How was he supposed to put it?

The guy was a good person, sure. He'd risked his life to help him, and when he realized something was wrong, he'd even broken down the door to get in. But...

How could anyone care so much about money?

"We'll split it half and half. I can't cover the whole cost!"

Klein hurriedly argued back.

His money hadn't grown on trees, either.

Lynch: ...

Fine!

Klein did share some of the blame.

But Lynch immediately suggested paying his share with the money he would've spent on dinner.

"You don't look like you have the energy to make dinner, so I'll waive the cost of my meal."

Lynch sounded perfectly justified. But Klein quickly got up and insisted he could make dinner. Making dinner was what he loved most in life, and Lynch could forget about using it as an excuse to dodge the cost of replacing the lock.

Klein bought groceries, cooked, and stewed the meat in one smooth sequence. The food tasted great, and Lynch couldn't find anything to criticize. In the end, he could only hand Klein one soli with a heavy heart, then watch him hire a locksmith to replace the lock for two soli.

Not a penny was going to be pocketed.

Once all that was taken care of, Klein planned to carry out his task for the day. He would walk from Iron Cross Street to Welch's house and see if he could remember who, besides Lynch, he'd given the Antigonus Notebook to.

Lynch didn't plan to go with Klein.

When he heard Klein mention the Antigonus Notebook, he remembered that he'd also asked Dunn for permission to use it.

He'd been in a hurry to find Klein that morning and had forgotten about it. Dunn had a bad memory, so he'd probably forgotten, too, since Lynch hadn't brought it up. He'd better go ask for the notebook now. He was still worried someone from the Big Meat Church might suddenly show up and demand it.

If he blurted out that he'd forgotten about it, he didn't know whether they'd get so angry they'd try to kill him.

Thinking of that, Lynch immediately said goodbye to Klein and headed for Zolant Street.

He went up the steps in front of the security company and immediately spotted Rozanne talking to someone.

He listened in.

"Klein has a male friend, really! I'm not making it up. His family keeps an eye on him and wants to know who the friend is. I told them that if no one else could figure it out, it had to be Lynch. Those two are inseparable. Honestly..."

"That's enough!"

"Rozanne, I said that's enough!"

Lynch immediately turned into a roaring beast, wishing he could tear Rozanne limb from limb.

"Ah, Lynch, what are you doing back here?" Rozanne cried in alarm, revealing the person standing beside her.

Leonard gave an awkward laugh, touched his hair, and quickly cleared himself of suspicion.

"Rozanne was the one who said it. I was just listening. Ahem, the captain gave me a mission, and I'm very busy. Yes, keeping busy is great..."

Watching Leonard dash back into the office, Lynch grabbed Rozanne as she tried to slip away and started tickling her waist. She laughed and begged him to stop.

"I was wrong, Lynch! I really was! I'll never do it again, not in my whole life..."

Lynch only stopped after ten minutes. Seeing Rozanne too exhausted to struggle left him in a wonderfully good mood.

"Where's the captain?"

"How do you have the nerve to ask me anything after nearly tickling me to death?"

Rozanne glared at him indignantly.

Lynch acted as though he was about to start tickling her again. Terrified, she hurriedly told him Dunn was on watch at Chanis Gate below ground.

"I'll let you off this time. But if I hear you gossiping again, just you wait!"

Lynch threatened her. Seeing the lingering fear on Rozanne's face, he finally headed downstairs, feeling light as a feather.

Left behind in the reception room, Rozanne sighed in despair.

Wasn't telling her not to gossip as good as taking her life?

But remembering how powerful his tickling had been, she still warily covered her mouth.

No more. She'd never do it again. At the very least, she wouldn't gossip about Lynch anymore.

Then again, the kid looked skinny, but he was pretty strong. She wondered whether he and Klein were the top or the bottom—or if they took turns...

Rozanne's eyes widened, her heart suddenly full of the urge to share the idea.

But when she saw the direction Lynch had gone, she swallowed it back down.

No, she couldn't keep it in!

Rozanne quickly took out pen and paper, deciding to write a novel starring Lynch and Klein.

She'd write about how their love was misunderstood by the world, how they could only love each other in secret, and how they finally overcame a series of obstacles and found happiness together.

Hmph. Lynch could tell her not to gossip, but could he stop her from writing a novel?