Chapter 234: Circus

Klein still in his seat of honor frowned.

"It seems that Lanevus is a higher sequence than I thought... No, he may have gained a benefit from aiding the descent of the True Creator's son... Perhaps an object or some divine characteristic?"

Although he now knew where his enemies were there was something that bothered him greatly. He didn't have the ability to wreak vengeance!

"Even if Lanevus is only sequence 7, or even 8, it won't be easy to deal with him if he received a great benefit. Ince Zangwill is more terrifying... A Sequence 4 Demigod and a powerful grade 0 artifact..."

His current self could do nothing against these monsters.

"If I want to stand a chance my only options is to continue advancing my Sequence and obtain powerful artifacts..."

With those thoughts and after thinking about it for a moment or two, Klein wrote one last sentence on the parchment.

<My chance to become stronger>

Setting aside the fountain pen, Klein leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

In his dream, the countless lights came together and formed a beautiful city with a crystal clear river.

Brightly colored buildings, traces of the old Feynapotter style, a few touches of the Baroque style...

The same place where Ince Zangwill once was! The 'City of Wisdom', Lenburg!

Immediately after that, the scene changed. He saw a majestic peak piercing the heavens, and, above it, an ancient palace. He saw the ancient stone throne and above it he saw a strange vertical pupil formed by countless mysterious symbols.

The dream broke and Klein sighed and his finger tapped the table again.

Tap Tap Tap 

"Lenburg contains the opportunities to make me strong..."

"The second scene refers to the peak in the Hornacis Mountains, to the treasure left behind by the Antigonus family?"

After thinking about it for only 1 second, Klein decided to forget about the second scene altogether 

"...Tempting but no thanks." 

Anything that could be related to the Half-Fool he didn't want to be within 10 kilometers of them!

"I'm just a little sequence 8. Why would I have to worry about something as dangerous as that now?" Klein muttered as he shook his head.

He was sure that even a Sequence 4 Demigod wouldn't be able to deal with whatever was on that peak!

"I think I'll go to Lenburg first..." Klein lampooned before going back to tapping the edge of the table somewhat curiously.

The image of Backlund had caught his attention.

The image was still fresh so Klein manifested what he saw.

Analyzing the view in front of him, and looking deeply into the most important city in the world.

The image had nothing unusual about it, it was a simple super realistic image of the city. 

The most remarkable thing about the city was the moon bathing it in crimson light.

Looking at the moon, Klein narrowed his eyes. 

Compared to the moon he saw in the sky of Lenburg. The moon in the Backlund sky shone with a bloody light.

"That would be a Blood Moon wouldn't it?" Klein commented appreciating the sight.

" Since April there hasn't been one..."

Shaking his head and seeing that he had already wasted a lot of time. He undid the image in front of him and simulated the sensation of falling.

Opening his eyes, Klein returned to the captain's grave and looked at the picture.

He slowly drew a crimson moon on his chest and left the cemetery.

Having been a Nighthawk, one who had to guard the Raphael cemetery quite often, he was quite familiar with the routes of the guards. He left the cemetery without incident and walked down the stone path to Tingen using the shadows of the trees for cover.

With 15 minutes to go before he reached Tingen, Klein stopped mid-step and his expression became flat.

For a few seconds, he was completely frozen.

"...How am I supposed to get to Lenburg?" Klein whispered barely above a whisper.

He didn't have a single penny to his name! All he had was his tuxedo, his pendulum, and Azik's whistle!

Never had Klein regretted so much that he hadn't tried his hand at his sacrificial ritual. With so much going on so fast, he hadn't had time!

"Maybe I can sneak onto a train..." Klein considered it and the more he thought about it the more tempting the idea became.

"But of course, if I get caught and they see my face I'm lost..." 

Letting out a sigh, Klein put his hand to his face.

By the legal way, it would have to be.

"How much is a ticket from here to Lenburg..." 

"Is there any job I can do for a few days that requires no ID, no registration, and is willing to pay me per hour?" 

"..."

After thinking about it for a long while, Klein pulled Azik's whistle out of his pocket and stared at it for a long time, a blush on his face.

"You won't mind if I borrow some money will you?"

Biting his lips, Klein dropped his pendulum and muttered under his breath.

<It's a good idea to borrow money from Mr. Azik>

Repeating this 7 times, Klein watched in relief as the pendulum swung in affirmation.

Pulling out the copper whistle, Klein gave a loud blow but no sound came out.

'I'll pay him back when I get the chance.' Klein said in his heart as he watched the giant skeleton form.

As soon as those eye flames focused on him, Klein didn't have time to say anything before the skeleton extended something to him.

"?"

Somewhat confused, Klein took the object and his eyes widened like saucers when he saw what it was.

It was a black leather wallet and a considerably heavy one at that!

Klein looked so stunned at this that he missed how the skeleton disappeared before he could say anything

Staring at the fat black leather wallet. Klein's hands were shaking.

"Did Mr. Azik know that I would be resurrected and that I would have no money and prepare something accordingly?" Klein muttered in a daze before he sighed and nodded seeing the logic of it.

'Mr. Azik is the Death Consul, I don't know what I was expecting trying to hide it from him.'

Perhaps that's why he hadn't even stopped to think about Mr. Azik's reaction when someone who should be dead wrote to him.

Shaking his head, Klein wasted no time and shamelessly opened the wallet.

Immediately the smell of money hit his nose but what caught his attention most was a small folded piece of paper in the middle of the wallet.

Grabbing and unfolding the paper, only one sentence was written on it.

<Welcome back Klein>

A small smile grew on Klein's face.

'Thank you Mr. Azik...' 

Carefully pushing the paper aside, Klein counted the money.

His hands shook again and his eyebrows rose to touch his hair.

'Three hundred pounds?!'

...

"Are you sure you don't want him to know?" a man in a black tuxedo with a mole under his ear asked.

"... I don't want him to see me in this state" an icy male voice replied, despite the coldness in the voice one could tell how the man tried to make it gentler. His pale face was semi-transparent and one of his eyes burned with a gray flame.

Azik just nodded calmly without saying anything.

...

After recovering from the shock and carefully stowing his wallet in his breast pocket, Klein continued on his way to Tingen. 

Klein walked aimlessly for two hours and before he knew it, he had returned to a familiar street.

When he regained his thoughts, he saw how he had returned to the street where he lived with his sister and brother.

Seeing the house in front of him, Klein took a joyful step but suddenly stopped. With a bitter smile, he turned and walked away from the house.

'This is better, this is better... The things I will do will not involve them in the future. The Nighthawks' compensation will make sure they will live well for a while, even if Melissa fails to find a job or Benson loses his they will be fine...' Klein repeated to himself mentally trying to comfort himself.

Walking the streets with a heavy and sad heart, he suddenly felt fatigued. Finding a simple motel, he paid for a night, and before going to sleep he cleaned himself up, wiping all the dirt from his death, and then slept until daybreak.

Leaving the motel, Klein bought several stylish clothing and clothes for the approaching winter, along with a leather luggage suitcase and a cane. In all, he had spent 38 pounds.

...

'Tuesday? I've hardly been dead a day...' Klein thought as he read the newspaper. He was in a private carriage to avoid bumping into anyone familiar on the way to the Tingen train station.

From Tingen to Lenburg would take a 16-hour train ride.

Having bought a second-class seat for 10 soli, Klein sat on a bench to wait for the 2 o'clock train. It was barely 11 o'clock.

He was happy that there was no surveillance on this sort of thing. With just money, he could board the train without needing another document to confirm his identity.

Klein suddenly had an empty heart, the fact that he was leaving Tingen for Lenburg in a few hours left him in great pain.

He thought of his younger sister who gave a maternal air. Of his older brother who liked to play bad jokes...

Klein suddenly had a strong desire. A strong desire to see his siblings again...

At this moment, Klein realized why he took the 2 o'clock train and not the 12 o'clock one.

Grabbing his suitcase, he quickly left the train station on his way to Daffodil Street...

A few minutes after he left the station, two beautiful women entered. The older one was dressed in a white dress and a small hat while the younger one wore a black dress with a veiled hat of the same color, and the younger one carried two black suitcases of luggage.

These women won the eyes of several men present because of their great beauty, especially the older one.

Handing two first-class tickets to the guard who stared at them dumbfounded. The women took their seats in first class and waited for the train to start.

Looking around somewhat worried, the younger woman was clearly waiting for something to happen. 

Detecting her apprentice's anxiety. The older one let out a small giggle and shook her head.

"Nervous Trissy? Don't worry, no one is going to bother us."

Trissy, or as he was formerly known, the man Triss, nodded at his teacher's words.

" Forgive me, Madam Sharon."

Smiling at her apprentice, the Witch of Sequence 6 returned her attention to the window as the train bell rang.

Choo-chooo!

After fifteen minutes in silence, Trissy spoke again.

"Madam Sharon, why are we going to Lenburg?"

Smiling sideways, Madam Sharon didn't take her eyes off the scenery.

"Because it's a special occasion." 

...

Klein stood in the distance watching the destroyed and decayed expressions of his siblings.

Melissa looked like she hadn't stopped crying all night while Benson had a blank stare with red eyes. 

Both were wearing black which made them look even more miserable... Klein's heart ached and he wished he could do something to ease his siblings' pain but he didn't know how. He couldn't just approach them...

Following his siblings who were slumped over, he arrived with them at the municipal square where there was a large number of tents.

He looked at this in confusion for a second and then remembered how an excited Melissa had bought tickets for the new circus in town a few days back.

Klein's heart broke even more as he remembered that the tickets were for today... Just one day after his death...

Although he thought it impossible, the hatred he felt for Ince Zangwill multiplied enormously.

But the sadness and pain in his heart was even greater. Tears fell from his eyes and he tried to wipe them away as best he could.

His red eyes went to the sign with the name of the circus.

<CIRCUS DELO>

In front of this sign were several people dressed in exaggerated, pastel-colored clothing, with hats with bells, their faces painted white, their eyes circled blue, and their noses painted bright red.

Watching as one of the colorful, white-faced Clowns approached his brothers, he watched as the yellow-hatted Clown did various tricks with balls and cards.

Benson forced a smile and clapped his hands while Melissa looked on with a blank expression.

The Clown was unfazed by this and simply gave an exaggerated bow and walked off to another part of the square.

'Knowing Benson he was the one who took Melissa out... He sure didn't want her to stay in the room all day...' 

Gritting his teeth, Klein wanted to reach over and hug his sister but using all his will he restrained himself. 

Suddenly, he lowered his hand into his pocket where his wallet was and had an idea.

Benson and Melissa continued to stroll around the square. But no matter how hard the man tried, Melissa kept staring blankly.

After a while, he too became sullen.

But after a few more minutes, they saw another Clown come running towards them.

Unlike the previous Clowns who wore pastel colors. This Clown was wearing a fancy suit, a fancy hat, and a face painted in pastel colors.

The Clown pulled a tennis ball out of his pocket and tossed it in the air, and while the siblings' attention was focused on the ball, he pulled a bouquet of yellow flowers out of nowhere and presented them to them.

They were Seville Chrysanthemum and represented happiness.

Benson and Melissa looked at the Clown in a daze. All they saw was a huge smile painted on the white face. It was a happy smile, an exaggerated smile, a ridiculous smile.

...

A Clown with a blue hat and eyes of the same color stared at this scene for a few seconds.

"Nathan! The main act will start soon come here!"

Shaking his head and looking away from the scene, Nathan smiled and nodded.

'What a nice guy.' The Clown thought as he walked away from the scene.

He had seen how those 2 had spent the day with droopy expressions and although Susan had tried to cheer them up she had failed. Just as he was about to show that duo one of his best tricks he saw how an unknown Clown went and did that.

He recognized him as the man who had followed the duo for a long time but always kept a good distance away from them.

'Maybe a friend or something.' Nathan shook the previous scene from his mind and turned his attention back to preparing for his act.

In a few days, the DELO group would be leaving Tingen so they had to make their time here a good one.

--

I tried to keep the essence of the end of volume 1 while adding my own twists, I hope I succeeded and didn't damage the emotional farewell of the Moretti brothers.