There was a reason people said religion was a way to get out of things.
After all, in his previous life, when Lynch tried to get out of blind dates, it had been hard to make his mother believe anything he said. Now, all he had to do was mention the Goddess, and Mountbatten gave up on setting him up immediately.
"Make sure someone keeps an eye on Upton today. If he makes a move, go to Zolant Street and set off a red firework. I'll hear it and get ready, so don't worry."
After breakfast, Lynch gave Mountbatten his instructions, then left and headed for the Blackthorn Security Company.
He entered with eager anticipation, only to turn and find Rozanne giving him an accusing look.
He immediately remembered what he'd promised her.
He'd forgotten to buy her breakfast.
"I was wrong. How about I buy you two breakfasts tomorrow?"
Lynch gave an awkward smile.
Rozanne snorted in annoyance, pretending not to see the big guy standing right there.
"Klein said the captain's waiting for you in his office."
Rozanne relayed Klein's message with a pout, then tossed him a piece of bread.
"Here, eat this. I can't finish it, so you can have the rest!"
Lynch looked gratefully at the kind girl. He'd broken his promise, yet she was still willing to pass on a message and give him bread.
Compared to that, he'd come across as a little too aggressive last time.
No, this was Rozanne's fault.
Lynch patted his head, cursing himself for being so foolish as to let a few words and a piece of bread from a girl turn him into a fool.
After grumbling to himself, Lynch went into Dunn's office.
He repeated what he'd told Mountbatten, explaining that he hadn't dared tell him the company's exact address and had only told him to set off a firework.
He'd keep an eye out over the next few days. If anything happened, he hoped Dunn would go there with him and the other Beyonders.
Dunn nodded, indicating that Lynch could simply tell him what to do, as long as he was here. If necessary, Leonard and the others could help too.
Lynch nodded. He knew Dunn would be there when the time came, unless he received a telegram from the Church of the Goddess calling him to a meeting just as the signal came in.
But he probably wouldn't be that unlucky. Lynch had that much faith.
"All right, go back and continue your lessons with Old Neil."
Dunn spoke calmly, then smiled when he saw Lynch's astonished expression.
"I know you think dealing with the cult is important. But if the cult is taken down, you'll have enough merit to receive a Pathway personally bestowed by the Goddess. Then you'll be a Beyonder, understand?
"There's no time to lose when it comes to learning mystical knowledge. Leonard was right: the Pathway personally bestowed by the Goddess won't improve your memory, so you can't rely on it to cheat."
"I'm not the kind of person who cheats. I'll work hard on my own!"
Lynch made that clear in advance. He wasn't like Dunn and the others.
The Sleepless Pathway came with a poor memory, but other Pathways had people with good memories!
He refused to believe he couldn't find a Beyonder with an enhanced memory. Even if he took the Sleepless Potion, he'd show Dunn and the others what it meant to have a superhuman memory!
That was right. He'd already made up his mind to take the Sleepless Pathway personally bestowed by the Goddess. That way, the Potion would be provided for him, and he wouldn't have to use his meager salary to buy it.
If he chose another Pathway, he'd have to find a way to get the Potion formula himself.
Some of the formulas appeared in the original novel. He could get the Stone of Myriad Phenomena to produce the text of Lord of the Mysteries and learn quite a few that way, but most formulas weren't in the novel.
The Seer Pathway's formulas were indeed written in the book, but how would he explain to the Church of the Goddess how he'd managed to find the complete set? Why make things difficult for himself?
He could simply choose Sleepless and take the Potions according to that Pathway's formulas. No problem at all.
"I hope you won't regret taking the Potion. I remember Leonard admired the Sleepless Pathway too. Now he's so sick of reciting poems he could die."
Dunn thought Lynch had an overly rosy view of the Pathway personally bestowed by the Goddess. He'd find out soon enough what it was like when that illusion shattered.
Still, compared to other Pathways, this one was indeed much safer.
"All right, go study! I hope you're not like Leonard!"
Dunn patted Lynch on the shoulder and urged him to get to work.
Lynch pursed his lips, but still got up and headed to the underground weapons room.
Old Neil wasn't teaching Klein. The two of them were chatting, and Lynch heard his name come up again and again.
"Are you talking behind my back?"
He walked in and asked at once.
Klein and Old Neil both laughed.
"Do we need to talk behind your back? Rozanne's already told everyone you don't keep your promises, that you not only failed to bring her breakfast but also skipped work."
Old Neil winked at Lynch.
Lynch sighed helplessly.
He really had been in the wrong. He'd even forgotten to ask Klein to bring Rozanne something to eat.
"I hope she's calmed down by the time I go upstairs. I didn't do it on purpose."
Lynch sighed again.
"All right, don't dwell on it. We can start the lesson now. Today's material is tricky: you'll need to learn a ritual and memorize it. I didn't want to explain it several times, so I waited for you to get here before starting."
Old Neil straightened up, his expression serious once more.
Lynch quickly sobered up too.
Then his head began to buzz. This was hard—far too hard. Especially having to memorize so much. It was a real struggle.
He could only take notes as fast as he could, planning to take them home and study them at his own pace.
What comforted him was that Klein wasn't doing much better.
Neither of them stopped writing. For a while, the only sounds were Old Neil's lecture and the scratching of pens across paper.
Of course, Lynch's voice occasionally joined in.
Every so often, he asked Old Neil how to spell a word.
Old Neil felt as though his head was about to explode. After answering Lynch's questions, he would often forget where he'd left off.
"You don't even know how to spell the words. You really need to attend the church's night school."
Old Neil couldn't help complaining after the lesson ended.
Lynch looked at him immediately.
"Can't you do it? I think you teach really well!"
Old Neil didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He was happy to hear that Lynch thought he taught well, but having a hopeless student pester him to learn how to spell was enough to make him want to hit someone!
But...
"A gentleman never says he can't. If you're free tonight, come to my house to study. Your foundation is so poor, I can't even imagine you taking the entrance exam for Tingen University without knowing how to spell the words. Those people would laugh at me behind my back, and I'm your teacher!"
Just imagining it made Old Neil feel as if he'd lose the reputation he'd built over a lifetime.
"Oh, and cover your face when you come. I don't want anyone to know I have a student like you!"
Lynch: ...
Was that really necessary?
So what if he wasn't good at writing in Loenese?
He'd been really good at Chinese!
Before you continue