A Hardcore Landlady

Knock, knock, knock. Lorne knocked on Mrs. Griffin's door on the ground floor.

"Who is it at this hour of the morning?" Mrs. Griffin's voice came from inside.

Morning? It's almost noon already. The corner of Lorne's mouth twitched.

He had gone out early that morning to buy groceries and encountered the Silver-Haired Woman. After mixing and drinking his potion, he had spent some time calming down, then more time packing his luggage to make his escape. After all that running around, it was nearly noon.

"Don't you know it's rude to disturb a lady's sleep, young Lorne?" Mrs. Griffin opened the door with an irritated expression, apparently grumpy from being woken up.

"Actually, it's almost noon," Lorne reminded her quietly.

"Noon? Ah, I really am getting old." Mrs. Griffin sighed softly.

"No, Mrs. Griffin, you're still very young. Like, like..." Lorne ran out of words. He didn't have much experience with social interaction.

"Yes, I know I'm getting on in years. Let's not discuss such a dull subject." Mrs. Griffin quickly put an end to the topic of age. She looked up at Lorne, noticed how out of breath he was, and asked him a question.

"What brings you here in such a panic?"

"I... something urgent has come up, and I might have to go away for a while. I wanted to let you know."

"Going away? So are you here to give up your room, or ask me to refund your rent?"

"I remember we signed a contract, and you can't go back on it. Don't think you can break our agreement just because I'm easygoing," Mrs. Griffin said sternly.

"No, that's not it. I'm not trying to break the agreement," Lorne hurriedly denied.

"Then what do you want?" Mrs. Griffin asked, puzzled.

"To be honest, young Lorne, you've been acting rather strange these past two days."

"Acting strange? Has she figured it out?"

As someone who had transmigrated into this world, Lorne felt a little guilty.

"I..." Lorne hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Actually, I was wondering whether you could leave for a while too, while I'm away."

"Why?"

"I've offended some people, and I need to lie low. I'm afraid they'll come here looking for me, and then they might..."

"You're afraid I'll get dragged into it, is that right?" Mrs. Griffin interrupted before he could finish.

"Yes." Lorne nodded.

"That's all?" Mrs. Griffin looked completely unconcerned.

That's all? They could be powerful Beyonders. Are you really that fearless at your age?

"No wonder you've been acting so strange these past two days. You've gotten yourself into trouble!"

"You don't have to leave," Mrs. Griffin continued. "The original contract included a clause requiring the landlady to ensure her tenants' safety. With me here, you have nothing to fear."

"But..." Just as Lorne tried to speak, Mrs. Griffin cut in.

"Who did you offend? A gang, or the police? Or perhaps a noble?"

"None of those. They're much more troublesome."

"Oh? What are they, then?" Mrs. Griffin grew interested.

"Uh, please don't be frightened when I tell you." Lorne hesitated.

"Don't worry. What didn't I see when I was young? There's nothing much that can frighten me," Mrs. Griffin reassured him.

"They're... people who have surpassed human limits." Unsure how to describe Beyonders, Lorne could only put it that way.

"Surpassed human limits? Interesting." Mrs. Griffin neither doubted him nor showed any fear. If anything, she seemed eager to have a go.

"How did you offend these people?" Mrs. Griffin gave him a scrutinizing look.

Her gaze made Lorne uneasy, and he said nothing.

"Never mind. You have your secrets, and I won't pry. In any case, I'm not leaving."

"But..." Lorne had barely opened his mouth when Mrs. Griffin spoke again.

"Why don't you stay as well? This house is perfectly safe."

"After all, I forbid all violence here."

"As for these so-called people who have surpassed human limits, I took down plenty of them when I was young." Mrs. Griffin looked thoroughly confident.

So confident? Could Mrs. Griffin be a Beyonder too, and a very powerful one at that?

If that's really the case, perhaps I don't have to leave. Lorne assessed his situation.

Just then, however, Lorne slipped into a daze again. An image suddenly surfaced in his mind: a sparse crowd and a steam train hurtling toward him.

It was Backlund's train station.

Is fate telling me to leave? Lorne wondered.

He was willing to trust what might be his special advantage.

"Young Lorne? Are you all right?" Mrs. Griffin asked when she saw him standing there in a daze.

"Uh... I'm fine. I just didn't expect you to be so formidable."

"Of course I am. When I was young..." Mrs. Griffin was delighted by the compliment and began talking at length about her younger days.

"I know you're very capable."

"But I still need to leave for a while." Lorne decided to follow fate's guidance for now.

"You think I can't protect you?"

"No, not at all." Lorne hurriedly denied it, making up an excuse. "It's just that I was already planning to leave for a while. Besides, this is my own problem. I don't want to drag you into it."

That was also true. Lorne wasn't the sort who liked owing people favors. Besides, although Mrs. Griffin seemed very confident, what if something went wrong? She was getting old. What if she couldn't beat them?

If he wasn't here, even if the Silver-Haired Woman came looking for him, she probably wouldn't risk attacking Mrs. Griffin, who had nothing to do with it. After all, grievances had their rightful targets.

Mrs. Griffin gave Lorne a long look and nodded.

"All right. If you want to leave, I won't stop you."

"But you don't need to worry about me. No one can hurt me in my own home." Mrs. Griffin smiled confidently again.

"When are you leaving?"

"Tonight, probably?" Lorne wasn't quite sure.

"Then keep your footsteps quiet. Don't disturb me.

"All right, go take care of your business. I need a little more sleep." With that, Mrs. Griffin turned around and shut the door.

"Uh, goodbye."

After speaking with Mrs. Griffin, Lorne returned to his room. He had arranged to meet Bottle at eight thirty that evening, and it was only around noon now. He still had plenty of time.

He planned to

use that time to test the abilities he had gained after drinking the potion.

"I seem to be a little stronger?" Lorne walked over to his desk, placed his left hand underneath it, and lifted it with one hand.

"Yes, I've definitely gotten stronger. Neither I before transmigrating nor this body's original owner had this much strength."

Lorne could feel the changes in his body. It wasn't just his strength, either; his overall physical condition had improved.

Yet he wasn't particularly pleased.

My strength has improved, but it's still within the range of an ordinary person. Lorne did the sums in his head. Spending several hundred pounds for such a small improvement was clearly a bad deal.

"Spiritual perception far beyond that of ordinary people... how do I test that?"

After thinking for a while, Lorne took a one-penny coin from his pocket. With a light flick, he sent it into the air. His gaze followed it to its highest point, and the instant it began to fall, he flipped his hand over and caught it.

"I guess tails." Lorne opened his hand and found that the tails side was indeed facing up.

Then he tossed the coin again.

"I guess heads."

"I guess..."

Only after trying several times and guessing correctly every time did Lorne finally understand what spiritual perception far beyond that of ordinary people meant.

At least for now, he could consider it an exceptionally accurate intuition.

"Maybe I could become a Gambling God.

"With this ability, guessing whether a dice roll will be high or low should be easy, right?" Lorne muttered to himself.

Although he finally felt a little like a Beyonder, Lorne really wasn't all that happy.

First, this ability was far too subjective and didn't suit a science-and-engineering type like him.

Second, the ability wasn't tangible enough. It gave him no real sense of wielding supernatural power.

"Strange. Why am I so tired?"

Lorne looked up at the mechanical clock on the wall.

"It's already past five in the afternoon?"

Realizing he had spent almost the entire afternoon testing his spiritual perception, Lorne hurriedly pulled himself together.

He had arranged to meet Bottle at eight thirty that evening. Factoring in the travel time, it was about time to set out.