Take That!

Klein began awkwardly making excuses for himself under Lynch's disdainful gaze.

Maybe that guy really had been mistaken.

But after Lynch waved the Antigonus Notebook at him, Klein couldn't say anything more.

If things hadn't happened the way Lynch said, the Antigonus Notebook wouldn't be in his hands.

The diary made the notebook seem pretty sinister. It was possible it had affected his mind.

Maybe Lynch had stopped him, and Klein had thought he was trying to steal the notebook, so he'd gone berserk and beaten him.

But...

Five pounds!

"I can't be the only one paying the medical bills!"

Klein couldn't help shouting.

Lynch's mouth twitched. It was truly miserable for people from their world to end up in such a state.

Then again, five pounds was about the price of an ambassador.

"Don't worry. We'll split it down the middle!"

Lynch hadn't intended to make Klein pay the whole amount. Neither he nor Klein's family could afford to pay five pounds at once without going bankrupt.

Klein breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as he didn't have to pay the whole amount.

Still, he felt that his own responsibility amounted to only one pound. He'd merely been affected by the notebook; beating Lynch hadn't been his intention.

Maybe none of this would have happened if Mr. Trance had left him alone!

But after thinking it over, he gave up on bringing this up with Mr. Trance. He was afraid the other man might hit him with the heavy Antigonus Notebook in his hands.

Splitting the cost was probably the best arrangement.

"Then it's settled."

Klein finalized the compensation arrangement, then quickly turned his gaze to the Antigonus Notebook in Lynch's hands.

"This notebook..."

He wasn't sure whether to ask Lynch to give it to him or let him keep it.

After all, there was something sinister about it.

But leaving something like this with the other man didn't seem right, either.

Before he could bring it up, he saw Lynch toss the notebook to him.

"I took a look at it earlier. This thing made me feel uneasy, so I suggest you don't keep holding on to it. I think it should be handed over to the police or destroyed. Of course, I'm just giving you a warning. It's up to you."

Now that they'd settled the compensation, Lynch's tone had warmed. He hadn't meant to antagonize Klein; he was just fretting over the 2.5 pounds.

Klein nodded, and the resentment that had been building inside him gradually faded.

Mr. Trance really was concerned about him. Even though he'd been beaten, he was still willing to cover half the cost.

But the thought quickly turned to heartache when Klein saw the soli in his hand. Benson would surely cry when he found out.

Klein wanted to cry, too.

"Don't worry too much. We can ask that doctor first if he'll give us a little more time. I can put up my watch as collateral. Sigh, if I weren't so short of money, I'd pay the whole medical bill myself. How could I ask a young man like you, who doesn't even have a job yet, to pay?"

Lynch shook his head with a helpless expression.

He meant it.

Before he'd crossed over, he'd been thirty. Whenever he went out to eat with a young colleague who'd just started working, he'd always treated them.

Zhou Mingrui might have been a little older than Klein's current body before crossing over, but Klein had no money right now.

Klein shook his head, looking a little embarrassed.

Klein hesitated, wanting to say something.

He took a look at Lynch.

With brown hair and black eyes, Lynch was clearly more handsome than Klein's current body. Apart from his thin frame, which made him look a little malnourished, there was nothing about him that wouldn't make people envious.

The guy might have been a little older than Klein's current body, but surely not by more than three years.

Why was he acting like an older brother?

Still, maybe he'd been working longer, which was why he felt that way.

Klein felt a little warmth in his heart. This guy really wasn't bad.

It was rare to meet someone so straightforward.

"All right. Are you eating here, then?"

Klein suppressed the pang of regret over the 2.5 pounds and asked as calmly as he could.

Lynch nodded.

"I am. I told Melissa already. I'll pay her back later."

Klein could almost picture Melissa's expression: conflicted and utterly helpless.

Who had money to feed one more person these days?

But the original Klein had beaten the man.

Right, it was the original Klein who'd done the bad thing. It had little to do with him, Zhou Mingrui.

Thinking of this, Klein finally felt a little better.

He got some food and began to cook.

Two loaves of black bread and three potatoes stewed into a soup.

Once the potatoes had softened, he added a little salt.

That was lunch for him and Lynch.

It was delicious. The only thing was, Klein had no idea how Lynch had managed to choose so carefully. He'd deliberately skipped the bread Klein had left in the washroom and taken the clean black bread beside it.

Klein sighed and could only take one of the loaves he'd left in the washroom.

What could he say?

Aside from the fact that it had been in the washroom, it tasted just as good.

As for Lynch, sitting beside him...

Seeing how eagerly Klein ate, he quickly took a couple of bites himself.

He'd thought he wouldn't like this sort of food. Before he'd crossed over, he hadn't been much of a fan.

But maybe it was because he'd been hungry all day. It tasted delicious to him now.

He scooped up a spoonful of potato and put it in his mouth, unable to stop himself from exclaiming.

Wonderful!

Klein should have become a chef.

He finished his portion of black bread in no time. He resisted the urge to eat another loaf, then poured a little more water into the pot of potatoes and rinsed it again and again, determined to get every last bit of potato and salt out.

Klein reminded him that he could have another half-loaf of bread, but he refused.

He remembered that Klein still had to make a big dinner that evening, so he'd save the bread for then.

After they finished eating, Lynch washed the pot, which he'd practically rinsed clean, and returned to his room to lie down.

He couldn't move. If he did, that little bit of food in his stomach would be gone.

Couldn't the transmigration gods have given him a better identity? At the very least, couldn't they have spared him this kind of misery?

"By the way, you said earlier that you'd read this notebook?"

Just as Lynch was sprawled on the bed, Klein suddenly raised the Antigonus Notebook and asked.

Lynch nodded.

He'd indeed read it.

The Stone of Myriad Phenomena had nearly drained all the energy from the Antigonus Notebook, so he'd opened it and read through it.

It contained the location of the Hornacis Mountain Range, various descriptions, and the Sequence 4 Seer formula.

At the time, he'd also used Klein's fountain pen to quickly copy down the formula, in case he could sell it to Klein later.

Aside from that, while reading, he'd discovered that the Antigonus Notebook had regained some energy. The Stone of Myriad Phenomena had absorbed it immediately, but it was clear that the notebook was still a Beyonder item.

It would be best if Klein didn't open it again.

But before Lynch could warn him once more, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?"

Klein frowned and looked toward the door. He was about to open it when Lynch grabbed him.

"Take that!"

Klein followed Lynch's gaze. It was the revolver the original owner had used to kill himself. Klein had hidden it in a drawer while cooking.