Issuing and Accepting a Mission

On Monday morning, having failed to find any pages of Roselle's Diary the previous week, Abner still owed Klein a "debt." He had no choice but to return to the business of making one up.

First, he imitated Roselle's tone to praise a certain lady's beauty and allure, then implied that their acquaintance had deepened... Naturally, Abner left out the details. However uninhibited Roselle might be, surely he wouldn't write explicit fiction about himself...

On the second page, Abner described some aspects of the Mutant Pathway.

During his trip to Enmat with Dunn, the two had discussed many things. Abner had learned that Kenley hadn't died, thanks to Lina.

And since Abner had already explained the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Indestructibility Above the Gray Fog, Klein probably wouldn't write to Mr. Azik about the Captain Cannibalism Incident as he had in the original story...

That might leave him short on knowledge about Mutants, so Abner intended to fill the gap.

After carefully rereading the diary pages he had "written" several times and finding no mistakes, Abner deliberately enlarged the handwriting and copied them onto separate sheets of letter paper.

He burned the drafts to ash.

After noon, Xio came by again... Through the door this time, no less.

She spent some time preparing her disguise in Abner's study. Only then did she step into her ten-centimeter height-boosting shoes, open the door, and call him in.

A Clown's balance really does come in handy. Abner took in Xio's appearance with a private sigh, then turned to another matter.

"Last night was dangerous. Fors might not survive the next Full Moon..."

Xio nodded gravely. "I'll spend this month laying the groundwork so she'll find it easier to accept Mr. Fool..."

Why does that sound so strange? Abner thought. Xio continued, "Also, Mr.