Having solidified his plan to attempt the luck enhancement ritual again, Zhou Mingrui feels a surge of mental fortitude, pushing his fear and unease to the back of his mind. He finally has the headspace to delve into Klein's fragmented memories.
He instinctively rises to turn off the gas lamp, watching the flame dwindle and die before sitting back down. Subconsciously fiddling with the revolver's cylinder, he presses his temple, sifting through Klein's memories in the crimson-tinged darkness like a focused moviegoer.
Klein's memories, likely due to the head trauma, are shattered and incomplete. Crucial details are missing: how he acquired the revolver, whether his death was suicide or murder, the meaning of "Everyone will die, including me," and any unusual events in the two days preceding his death. Even basic knowledge seems fragmented, leading Zhou Mingrui to believe Klein would struggle to graduate if he returned to university, despite having just left.
He recalls Klein needing to attend a history department interview at Tingen University in two days. Unlike his Earth experience, Loen Kingdom university graduates don't typically stay at their alma mater. Klein's mentor had provided recommendation letters for both Tingen and Backlund Universities.
Through the window, Zhou Mingrui watches the red moon set in the west, its descent followed by a faint golden glow spreading across the eastern horizon. A commotion stirs within the apartment, and footsteps approach his door.
"Melissa is awake... She's as punctual as always," Zhou Mingrui thinks, a smile forming. Klein's memories create a sense of familiarity and protectiveness towards her, even though he knows he doesn't have a younger sister.
Melissa's education differed from Benson's and Klein's. She didn't just attend the Evernight Goddess Church's Sunday school. When she reached school age, the Loen Kingdom had implemented the 'Basic Education Law,' establishing a Primary and Secondary Education Committee with increased funding for education. Within three years, many public primary schools were established, incorporating some church schools while strictly maintaining religious neutrality to avoid conflicts between the major churches.
While Sunday school cost only a penny a week, public primary school cost three pence, but it offered six days of classes compared to Sunday school's single day. The low cost made it almost free. Melissa differed from most girls, showing an early interest in gears, springs, and mechanics, aspiring to be a steam mechanic. Benson, valuing education due to his own lack of it, supported Melissa's ambition, just as he supported Klein's university studies. Tingen Technical School was considered secondary education, so no additional language school or public schooling was needed.
In July of the previous year, fifteen-year-old Melissa passed her entrance exams, enrolling in the Steam and Machinery department at Tingen Technical School, raising her weekly school fees to nine pence. Meanwhile, Benson's import-export company faced difficulties due to the situation in the Southern Continent, leading to a significant drop in profits and business. Over a third of the employees were laid off, and Benson had to take on more arduous tasks and overtime to keep his job and support the family, explaining his absence in recent days.
Klein had felt inadequate entering university as a commoner attending an average language school. Noble and wealthy children learned ancient Feysac, the root of Northern Continent languages, from a young age, while he only encountered it in university. He faced similar disadvantages in other subjects, working tirelessly to catch up and eventually graduating with average grades.
These memories of his siblings linger as Zhou Mingrui reaches for the doorknob. He jolts, remembering the revolver in his hand – a semi-regulated item that could scare Melissa, not to mention the wound on his head. With Melissa likely arriving any moment, he presses his temple and quickly shoves the revolver into a desk drawer, slamming it shut.
"What happened?" Melissa asks, looking over curiously at the noise. She is in her youth, her face thin and slightly pale due to a lack of nutritious food, but her skin retains a youthful glow. Seeing her brown eyes, Zhou Mingrui forces composure, picking up an item beside his hand while calmly closing the drawer to conceal the revolver. He places his other hand on his temple, feeling the smooth skin where the wound had been – it had already healed!
He takes out a silver vine-leaf pocket watch, gently presses the top, and the cover flips open, revealing a picture of their father. It's the most valuable item their Royal Army sergeant father left behind, but being secondhand, it often malfunctioned despite repairs. Benson, who enjoyed using it to elevate his status, was often embarrassed by its unreliability, leading to it being discarded at home. Melissa, showing a knack for mechanics, had recently claimed to have fixed it after studying its principles and borrowing tools from her Technical School.
Zhou Mingrui looks at the open watch, noticing the second hand is still. He subconsciously twists the top dial to wind it, but hears no sound of tightening springs, and the hand remains motionless. "It looks like it's broken again," he says to his sister, trying to start a conversation.
Melissa gives him an expressionless glance, walks over briskly, and takes the pocket watch. Standing still, she pulls up the button on top and makes a few simple turns. The ticking of the second hand begins. Isn't pulling the button up usually for adjusting the time...? Zhou Mingrui's expression goes blank.
At that moment, a distant cathedral bell chimes six times, its sound ethereal. Melissa tilts her head, listens, pulls the button up again, and turns it to synchronize the time with the chimes. "It's okay now," she says simply, without emotion, pressing the top button back down and returning the watch to Zhou Mingrui.
Zhou Mingrui offers an embarrassed smile. Melissa gives him a piercing stare before turning to the cupboard, taking her toiletries and towel, and leaving for the public bathroom. Why did her expression have a look of disparagement and resignation? Is it a look of love and concern for a retarded brother? Zhou Mingrui lowers his head and chuckles, closing the pocket watch with a click and then opening it again. He repeats this action, his idle thoughts focusing on a question.
Klein committed suicide without a silencer. Well, I'll consider it as suicide for now. His suicide should have caused quite a commotion; yet, Melissa, who was just a wall away, did not notice it at all. Was she sleeping too soundly? Or is Klein's suicide shrouded in mystery to begin with?
Click! The pocket watch opens. Clack! The pocket watch closes... Melissa returns from washing up and sees her brother's subconscious act of constantly opening and closing the pocket watch. Her gaze is once again filled with exasperation as she says in a sweet voice, "Klein, take out all the remaining bread. Remember to buy fresh ones today. There's meat and peas too. Your interview is soon. I'll make you mutton stewed with peas."
As she speaks, she moves a stove from a corner and uses charcoal to boil a pot of water. Before the water boils, she opens the cupboard's lowest drawer and takes out a can of inferior tea leaves, treating it like a treasure. She throws about ten leaves into the pot, pretending it's real tea. Melissa pours two large cups of tea and shares two pieces of rye bread with Zhou Mingrui over their simple breakfast.
There is no sawdust or excessive gluten mixed in, but it is unappetizing... Zhou Mingrui, still feeling weak and hungry, forces himself to swallow the bread with the tea, complaining silently.
Melissa finishes eating a few minutes later. After adjusting her black hair, she looks at Zhou Mingrui and says, "Remember to buy fresh bread. All we need is eight pounds. The weather is hot, so the bread will easily spoil. Also, buy the mutton and peas. Remember to buy them!" Indeed, she was showing concern for her dull brother. She even had to repeat to emphasize it another time... Zhou Mingrui nods with a smile. "Alright." He mentally equates the Loen Kingdom pound to roughly half a kilogram.
Melissa says nothing more, tidying the area. After packing the remaining bread for lunch, she puts on a tattered veil cap their mother left behind, picks up a self-sewn bag for her books and stationery, and prepares to leave for her day of classes at Tingen Technical School, a fifty-minute walk to save money on the public horse carriage.
Moments after opening the main door, she pauses, turns halfway, and says, "Klein, don't buy too much mutton or peas. Benson might come back on Sunday. Oh, and remember we only need eight pounds of bread."
"Alright. Sure thing," Zhou Mingrui answers, a hint of exasperation in his voice. Simultaneously, he repeats the word "Sunday" a few times in his head.
He recalls that in the Northern Continent, a year is divided into twelve months with 365 or 366 days, and a week has seven days. The months are based on astronomical observations, making him wonder if he's in a parallel world. The seven-day week is religiously based, tied to the seven orthodox gods: the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Lord of Storms, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, the Evernight Goddess, Mother Earth, the God of War, and the God of Steam and Machinery.
Watching his sister close the door and leave, Zhou Mingrui sighs. His thoughts soon return to the luck enhancement ritual. Sorry, I really wish to return home...