Seeing his sister's questioning look, Klein suddenly felt this was an opportunity. He looked her up and down a few times, then said seriously:
" Melissa, you also lack respect for tonight's dinner party."
"What?" Melissa looked puzzled.
Klein pointed to her neck and said:
"As a lady, you're missing a necklace to complete this look."
Before his sister could speak, he chuckled and pulled a silver amulet, surrounded by Angel feathers, from his pocket.
"It's alright, I prepared it for you."
"..." Melissa was taken aback at first, then blurted out, "How much?"
"Sis, you're focusing on the wrong thing..." Klein muttered silently, then chuckled and explained:
"Actually, it wasn't expensive, because it was the Original just a semi-finished product. I carved blessing spells and beautiful patterns onto it, imitating artifacts I had seen before."
"You sculpted it?" Melissa's attention was indeed diverted.
"So? What do you think of my craftsmanship?" Klein handed the amulet to his sister.
Melissa looked at it several times, then bit her lip and said:
I love the Angel feathers around me.
If you think the incantations and symbols I carved are ugly, just say so. There's no need to hide it... The most important thing about a talisman is its effect! Klein's lips twitched slightly. Just as he was about to persuade his sister to accept it, he saw Melissa, with a "reluctant" expression, put the silver necklace around her neck and carefully position the talisman.
"Perfect." Klein glanced at it and praised it extravagantly.
Melissa glanced at him, looked down at the amulet, and said in a muffled voice:
" Klein, you weren't like this before, not like this..."
"Maybe it's because I have a good job and a decent income that I've become more confident," Klein interrupted his sister, offering his explanation first.
Sigh, although I received fragments of the original owner's memories and there are no major problems, I still habitually show my true personality in some details... especially after I became more and more natural with Benson and Melissa... He sighed inwardly.
Melissa seemed to agree with his reasoning, and pursed her lips as she said:
"You're doing great right now, really great..."
After chatting for a while, Benson changed his clothes and came downstairs. His white shirt, black vest, tuxedo, black bow tie, and crisp trousers made him look brand new, like a successful person who had worked hard for many years and built his own career.
The hairline is also similar... Klein chuckled to himself.
"Great, Benson, this is exactly how you dress." He said with a broad smile and a shrug.
Melissa nodded earnestly in agreement.
"It turns out that clothes are more important than the person," Benson joked.
Klein seized the opportunity to take out the remaining amulet, repeated his previous statement, and concluded:
I made one for you too.
"Not bad, I'll carry it with me." Benson accepted readily, and joked, " Klein, even if you suddenly learn to cut hair, sew clothes, repair clocks, and feed curly-haired baboons, I wouldn't be surprised."
"Life is always full of surprises and unexpected events," Klein replied with a smile.
Next, the three siblings tidied themselves up, went out the door, and took a trolleyless public carriage to Farnia Street in the North Borough where Selena's family lived.
The Woods also lived in a row house, but unlike Klein's family, they had a porch and a small lawn in front, making them appear more elegant.
After ringing the doorbell, Klein, Benson, and Melissa only waited a dozen seconds before seeing today's protagonist Selena Wood.
The girl with long, wine-red hair happily gave Melissa a hug:
I love your dress; it makes you look especially beautiful.
Beside Selena was her father, Mr. Old Wood, a senior employee of the Tingen branch of Bank of Backlund.
"Welcome, our esteemed brother, welcome, our young historian," he greeted Benson and Klein with exaggerated enthusiasm.
The young historian... why not add the description of "having a conscience"... Klein muttered to himself, took off his hat, and replied with a smile:
"Mr. Wood, you are more energetic and younger than I expected."
His style of flattery unconsciously leaned towards the image of a foodie empire.
Benson then reached out and shook hands with Old Wood, saying:
"I know many bank employees, but they are all equally arrogant and rigid, like the latest model of Robot; none of them have your demeanor."
"If you met me at the bank, you probably wouldn't have said that," Old Wood laughed heartily.
After exchanging pleasantries, Selena, wearing a new long dress, skipped slightly as she led the three siblings inside, sometimes saying in a normal voice, " Elizabeth has arrived," and sometimes lowering her voice to tell Melissa, "Your two brothers are more handsome than I imagined."
"Hey, my hearing is excellent... even though you're saying that as a compliment..." Klein looked helplessly at the two sixteen-year-old girls walking side by side in front of him.
No, that's not right. I'm still far from handsome... Hmm, Miss Selena, just how ugly did you think Benson and I were? One of us was introverted and gloomy, unkempt, pale, and with lifeless eyes; the other had thinning hair and looked prematurely Aging? Klein casually pinched the bridge of his nose, diligently practicing his " Spirit Vision."
Miss Selena is in good health, in high spirits, and very happy... Old Wood has a minor lung problem, yes, I saw his pipe... Klein surveyed the crowd with a good mood.
" Elizabeth, Melissa is here." Selena called out cheerfully towards the front.
A young girl wearing a blue lace dress walked over; she had naturally curly brown hair and adorable baby fat.
Klein was stunned for a moment, because he recognized the girl.
He even helped people choose amulets in the underground market!
Elizabeth greeted Melissa first, then looked at Benson and Klein.
She stood there, stunned, her brows furrowed slightly, as if deep in thought.
Elizabeth quickly smiled and greeted him politely as if nothing had happened.
Klein pretended not to recognize the other person and, led by Old Wood, went to the living room sofa area, where he was introduced to Selena's Chris and the other guests.
Watching Benson chat so happily with Chris and the other Lawyer, using his neighbor Mr. Shawd as a topic, Klein couldn't help but feel a little envious.
I simply don't have that kind of social skill... He picked up a glass of aperitif from the corner table, listened quietly, nodded occasionally, and chuckled in agreement.
Before long, all the guests had arrived, and the banquet officially began.
Because there were too many guests, the Wood family's dining table couldn't handle it, so the dinner was served buffet-style. Maids brought out plates of steak, roast chicken, fried fish, mashed potatoes, and other foods, placing them on different tables, while male servants cut the food to make sure the portions were suitable for everyone.
Klein was secretly amazed when he saw the elegant glazed plates and silver cutlery, thinking that the Wood family, being merely middle-class, was far too extravagant.
"Since they're so rich, why does Chris need to prepare for the wedding for so many years?" He wondered, recalling something his sister had once said. "Hmm, maybe it's to accumulate enough tableware for the wedding. For a family like this, appearances are very important!"
Lost in thought, Klein picked up a porcelain plate, went to the dining table, and forked a piece of roasted meat smeared with honey.
Just then, Elizabeth, with her adorable chubby cheeks, leaned closer, looked at the food, and whispered:
"So you're Melissa's brother... Thank you. Selena really likes the amulet I gave her; she said she feels healthier as soon as she put it on."
Selena... the amulet... Klein suddenly remembered the reason why the girl beside him had chosen the amulet in the first place:
This is a birthday gift for a friend who is interested in the occult!
That friend is Selena? Selena likes things from the mystical realm? Klein frowned slightly, then smiled politely:
That might just be a placebo effect.
After saying this, he waited for the other person to praise Emperor Roselle.
Elizabeth's reaction was one of utter bewilderment:
What is a placebo?
"It's purely psychological. Sometimes, if we firmly believe we'll get better, we really will," Klein explained briefly.
"No, she said it's different from any of the amulets she's bought before, it feels different," Elizabeth emphasized.
She glanced at Klein sideways and said curiously:
"I never imagined that Melissa's brother was an expert in the occult."
"You know, I studied history, so I always come across similar things." Klein subtly changed the subject, asking instead, "Are you also at the Tingen City Technical School?"
"No, Selena, Melissa, and I used to be classmates. Later, they went to a technical school, while I stayed at Evans Public School nearby," Elizabeth explained earnestly.
Public schools are not public schools, but rather schools that admit students from the general public. They evolved from good grammar schools and aim to produce graduates who can get into university. The tuition is quite expensive, and they will consider the student's family background, making it difficult for even the average middle-class family to afford.
She didn't chat much, picked out her food, and returned to Selena's side.
After wishing the main character of the day a happy birthday, the dinner party gradually came to an end. Klein and Benson were invited to join the Texas Hold'em game, with the small blind at half a penny and the big blind at one penny. Meanwhile, Melissa, Elizabeth, Selena, and other friends went upstairs, it was unclear whether they were chatting or playing other games.
Klein was having a bad day. He played about twenty hands and didn't get a single good hand. He could only keep looking at the cards and folding, acting as a spectator.
He lifted a corner of the card again and found it was the 2 of hearts and the 5 of spades.
"Should I try to bluff?" Klein considered for a moment, but still couldn't muster the courage and resisted the urge to cheat with Divination.
He covered his cards, tapped the table to indicate he wouldn't call, then got up and left the long table to go to the restroom.
Roselle, who also had obsessive-compulsive tendencies, came up with a strange reason to continue naming this game Texas Hold'em... Klein shook his head as he walked on.
Just then, he suddenly stopped, his eyes narrowing slightly.
His Spirit Intuition told him there were strange fluctuations upstairs!