Who Did It?

After Melissa's attitude improved, she planned to cook for the two grown boys. But as soon as she stepped into the kitchen, she caught the rich aroma in the air.

"Who made this?"

She looked at Lynch.

She didn't think Klein could cook. Perhaps this gentleman had made it—his cooking smelled wonderful.

"Klein made it. I only did what little I could."

Lynch said quietly.

Luckily, Klein hadn't heard him, or he would have picked a fight with Lynch.

He'd hogged the bed and slept all afternoon. What had he done, exactly?

Snored?

"Klein can cook?"

Melissa still couldn't believe it.

Lynch chimed in to confirm it. "He made it look like the real deal!"

As he spoke, he gave Klein a thumbs-up.

Thinking of how the original Klein had behaved, Klein wanted to tell Lynch to shut up already!

He didn't want Melissa to discover that he wasn't the original Klein.

"Er, Welch had a lot of cookbooks. I looked through them and came back to give it a try."

"Give it a try?"

Worry showed in Melissa's eyes.

She was clearly afraid Klein had ruined the tender lamb.

"Come on, try it. I think it turned out pretty well."

Klein served Lynch and Melissa each a bowl of lamb stew with peas.

There were plenty of potatoes and onions in it, which brought out the lamb's flavor and made it especially fragrant.

Lynch went to wash his hands, then immediately soaked his black bread in the bowl and dug in.

Melissa was still a little hesitant, but seeing Lynch's reaction, she couldn't help taking a bite.

After just one bite, her eyes widened at how delicious it was.

Delicious!

"If you like it, have some more!"

Klein encouraged Melissa to try another piece of meat. Then he ignored Lynch and Melissa and began to enjoy his dinner with a certain degree of elegance.

Klein thought the flavor was only just passable, but the two across from him were eating with their heads down.

Lynch kept giving him thumbs-up.

What a chef!

What a great cook!

He probably wouldn't have cared about this in his previous life, but for someone like the original Klein, who hadn't eaten meat in ages, even plain salt would have tasted delicious—never mind something this well made.

After finishing the meal, Lynch finally felt more comfortable.

His body had a big appetite. Klein and Melissa were both stuffed, while he felt just right and could still fit in a little more.

No wonder the original Klein was always short on money. With an appetite that big, getting by in this era couldn't have been easy.

He shook his head and watched Melissa carry the dishes off to wash them, feeling that life was wonderful—if only Melissa hadn't been looking at them reproachfully.

Yes, Melissa had noticed that Klein had used pepper and lard. Her heart had nearly broken, and now she disapproved of both of them.

"I'll cook from now on. You two... both have job interviews to find, so you'll be busy!"

Interviews?

Lynch thought of Officer Mountbatten. He'd ask him tomorrow and see if he had any luck. Oh, right—he'd have to make a pennant. He wondered where he could get one made, and hoped it wouldn't cost too much.

After considering these things, Lynch said good night to Klein and Melissa, then took over Klein's room and lay back down on the bed.

He figured there was no way he'd fall asleep.

He'd been unconscious all night and slept all afternoon. No normal person could fall asleep after that.

But he did.

He soon realized, though, that he was dreaming.

The Stone of Myriad Phenomena in his mind was growing hot, warning him that this was a dream. Someone had pulled him into it, and its energy was rapidly being depleted to counteract his awareness within the dream. Lynch watched, heart aching.

Was it easy for him to build up that energy?

Did someone really have to pull him into a dream?

As Lynch grew irritated, a knock sounded at the door.

He didn't even need to guess. It had to be Dunn Smith.

He remembered that the captain was a Nightmare. In the original story, Dunn had pulled Klein into a dream. He hadn't expected Dunn to spare neither him nor Klein this time.

"Who is it?"

Lynch sighed, but still pretended to ask in confusion.

He didn't want anyone to know he could remain lucid in a dream.

"It's me, Dunn Smith."

"Okay, wait a moment. I'll open the door."

Lynch opened the door, and Dunn stepped inside. After looking around, he asked, "Where's Klein?"

"He's in Benson's room... Uh, there he is."

Lynch had just started speaking when Klein entered the room and looked at Dunn in confusion.

"What's going on?"

Klein looked at Dunn in puzzlement.

"We received reliable information that on the evening of the 27th, someone saw Mr. Welch walking you out and talking with you."

Klein didn't panic.

When the police had come that day, he had already guessed that the original Klein had indeed gone to Welch's place the day before.

"I really don't remember. Believe it or not, that's up to you."

Dunn smiled and didn't dwell on his answer. Instead, he brought up something else.

"We found out that Mr. Welch had lost a revolver. It should be with you, right?"

Klein was startled, but quickly raised his hands to show that he had the gun on him and that Dunn and the others could simply take it.

He didn't say exactly which pocket it was in, but he trusted that they would find it when they searched him.

However, Dunn didn't ask him to hand it over. Instead, he told Klein and Lynch to come outside with him.

"We said during the day that an expert would help you recover your memories. You can come with me now. Get in the carriage."

He pointed to the carriage outside.

Lynch climbed into the carriage without the slightest concern.

Before being pulled into the dream, he might have been worried. But now he was in one, and the Stone of Myriad Phenomena could keep him lucid. There was no reason to fear being found out.

All he was worried about was running out of energy.

Right.

Lynch immediately had the Stone of Myriad Phenomena pause its generation of Pathways. For now, aside from blocking observation, it only needed to deal with this situation.

It would be awkward if he ran out of energy and blurted out that he had transmigrated and revealed the plot of Lord of the Mysteries in his dream.

"Klein, your turn."

Dunn watched Lynch get into the carriage, then turned to Klein.

His expression was gentle, while Klein looked like he had a guilty conscience.

Just then, the street vendors outside suddenly started arguing. Klein immediately took advantage of the commotion to run off into the distance.

Lynch grabbed Dunn just as he was about to chase after Klein, a righteous smile spreading across his face.

"If you want to chase him, you'll have to kill me first!"

This was a dream. It was the perfect chance to show how loyal he was to his friends and prove that he'd acted normally when he stopped Klein the day before.

Otherwise, why would someone who always shrank back from trouble stop Klein and ask what was wrong when he saw him acting strangely?

Of course, the main reason was that this was a dream.

If Klein ran off in real life, Lynch would definitely distance himself from him first. After all, having a revolver pointed at your head was pretty frightening.

Dunn and Leonard looked ferocious. Lynch silently complained that he'd really suffered for Mr. Fool!