The Bookkeeper

"The name is Klein el Seer," he said with a bow, then stepped behind the counter where Raiden and Noelle had seated themselves. He served them water.

Klein had dismissed everyone from the tavern, leaving them alone, but an unsettling atmosphere still permeated the room.

No aura with no mana crest would be reasonable, considering most commoners Raiden had encountered had neither. What made it worse was that Klein's crest showed no number. But having a crest while lacking an aura was puzzling, not only to Raiden but to Noelle, too. Despite her unbothered expression, her eyes betrayed her curiosity.

"Klein el Seer, huh?"

"Yes, that's the name," he said with a smile as wind ruffled his hair. "Are you sure water is all you want?"

"Everything about you is unusual. The way your hair flickers is too dramatic; you're blindfolded, and yet you can see perfectly—you can even distinguish colors," Noelle said coldly, standing up and fixing Klein with a threatening stare.

"No aura, and not even a number," she said, removing her aether from her mouth.

"Who the heck are you?!"

Raiden blinked repeatedly as he watched the exchange. Klein braced his elbows against the counter, rested his chin on his fists, and gave Noelle an affectionate smile.

Raiden was baffled, not only by Klein's reaction—Noelle was right to question him, after all—but by Noelle's abrupt change. She had been perfectly calm just moments before, so why was she suddenly confrontational with Klein?

"You better speak now!" She added.

"Calm down, would you?" Klein said as he stood upright and reached for a bottle of wine on the shelves behind. "I literally just saved you from those creepy Astros."

Klein filled Noelle's glass with wine, picked it up, and outstretched his hand toward her. "Take it…"

Noelle stayed motionless, making no attempt to take the glass. Raiden sighed, knowing Noelle was right. They needed answers, so why had Klein stepped in to help them at all?

"I think it would be best if you answered her question," Raiden said, his eyes narrowing a little. "You stepped in for us when we needed it, even going so far as to dismiss everyone in your tavern."

Raiden nodded toward the glass of wine. "And now you're offering free wine…"

His voice grew deeper, making Noelle turn to him in surprise.

"Our presence intrigues you, doesn't it?"

Klein broke into laughter. "This is why I like you, Raiden."

"Raiden? We never told you our names…" Noelle's bewilderment was evident.

Klein let out a sigh. "Come on, I am Klein el Seer, nothing passes me."

Klein's name should have been a dead giveaway to Raiden, but he was giving him the benefit of the doubt. Even being a seer didn't explain all his strange qualities.

"So you can see the future?"

Klein touched his bottom lip, appearing lost in thought. "That would be an understatement."

Raiden's eyes widened. He didn't want to entertain the possibility that Klein could see everything, because that would be impossible and likely a god-tier ability.

Are you saying you're a number zero or something?' Noelle raised an eyebrow. "You look perfectly human to me."

Klein smiled. "You guys can leave now; your friends are looking for you."

Raiden held Klein's gaze while Noelle just walked away. He was waiting for something, some words to prove Klein could actually do what he claimed—something deeper than the surface-level comments he had already made about himself.

After a moment of holding each other's gaze, Klein's smile widened. "I will see you soon, Raiden… sooner than you think."

"And take care of your dragon," he gestured at Ash who remained dormant on Raiden's shoulder.

Raiden remained silent, continuing to stare at Klein for a moment before rising to his feet and heading out of the tavern while Klein waved enthusiastically from behind.

The moment he stepped outside, Noelle was waiting for him at the entrance.

"What if he knows something about the pages?"

Raiden barely heard Noelle's words. He walked past her and headed down the alley they had returned from, his thoughts spinning. It felt like Klein was toying with him. There was no way Klein knew everything—if he did, he would have known how desperate Raiden was to get home and that he didn't actually need Ash for anything.

He smiled to himself. "He's probably a fraud," he muttered.

Neither Raiden nor Noelle spoke after Raiden ignored her question. Before they knew it, they had reached the inn without uttering another word.

As soon as they walked in, they spotted the others seated at tables to their right, enjoying freshly baked bread and stew.

MK approached Noelle. "You don't look good, my lady… What's wrong?"

She walked past him and took her seat, Raiden following suit. The moment he sat down, Aeris, who was on his left, turned to him.

"As for the search, I found nothing helpful in this city, but I was told Sheon and Westland City would be our best options."

Raiden turned to her. Aside from Nyx and Persia City, Sheon and Westland City were the only remaining options, and both lay between Coast City and Persia City. It would take about two days to reach even Westland, the closer of the two; the landscape was that vast.

"We are on the right track then," Levi announced, his tone prideful. "I heard there's a cult in Westland called the Transmit Cohort, and they could help."

That put a subtle smile on Raiden's face, though he doubted this would be any different from the Astro Society.

"We leave tomorrow, then."

"No one knows where they are, so we might have to ask around," Levi said with a teasing smirk.

Raiden didn't care much about the struggles—if arriving there would give them a lead on the twenty-eight pages, then that was all that mattered.

He leaned back in his chair as he realized Noelle was staring at him. He didn't know what the problem was, but he assumed it was because of the awkwardness between them when they'd returned.

Still, he didn't dwell on it as much as he did the mystery surrounding Klein. What if Klein knew everything and all Raiden had to do was ask? That wasn't hard to believe considering Klein had welcomed them for literally nothing, but what if he did it because he wanted Raiden to ask for what truly mattered to him?

He ran his hand through his hair in irritation. "If he really knows everything, then he knows how irritated I am right now."