I Told Her to Host It

In the early hours of June 13, 1399, Lynch finished the dinner Miss Valente had prepared with her own hands.

It was hardly a feast: a few slices of golden, pan-fried smoked meat, two tender, bouncy sunny-side-up eggs, some vegetables, and a few pieces of bread. That was all.

The taste was unremarkable, nothing extraordinary, yet for some reason, Lynch felt he would never forget this meal. Especially under the dim glow of the gas lamps, with the two of them sitting side by side, silently enjoying this belated dinner, Lynch believed that for a long, long time to come, this scene would remain firmly etched in a corner of his heart.

For some reason, however, on the way back to the guest room, he kept feeling countless cold, malicious gazes staring at him from the darkness behind him, as if he had moved into a haunted house.

Forget it. It is too terrifying. I had better do nothing and just go back to my room to sleep.

Unfortunately, it must have been because he had inhaled too much soul-calming grass, as Lynch simply could not fall asleep. In the end, he climbed out of bed and reread the ancient parchment book 《Goddess of the Black Fan》 several times. According to Lady Luna, this would help him absorb the death information contained within and deepen his understanding of the death authority.

At dawn the next day, Lynch left the residence in someone else's carriage. As he departed, the old butler stood with the household staff in two rows to see him off, looking quite grand. However, seeing them glare at him with murderous intent as if they wanted to beat him to death, Lynch had every reason to suspect that his act of sneaking food the night before had been discovered.

Well... I mean sneaking food literally. Besides, the reason for the haunted house was also found.

After leaving the Valente residence, he first took a detour to the nearby Count of Lorand's mansion for a secret talk with Princess Chloe, then stopped by Bessie's Props Shop in the Crown District on his way.

It was nearly noon by the time Lynch returned to his apartment, exhausted in both body and mind.

Having been away for two nights, the first thing he saw upon entering was Mrs. Maggie's surprised, smiling face. Since he had previously asked the butler, Mr. Louis, to deliver a letter to inform her, the beautiful landlady was not overly worried; she simply helped Lynch put away his coat and top hat and went off happily to brew him some tea.

Looking at the small living room and bedroom, Lynch felt a long-lost sense of intimacy. He had spent the last two days in a mansion where every move was attended to, yet returning to his own simple, cramped apartment made him feel incredibly relaxed.

Especially when taking a hot bath, changing into pajamas and slippers, and sitting on his familiar fabric sofa with his feet up on the coffee table to stretch his body—that comfort from the bottom of his heart was something no mansion could compare to. Especially after sipping a few mouthfuls of black tea brewed by Mrs. Maggie herself, the fatigue accumulated over the past few days quickly surged up.

He was indeed quite exhausted.

Over the past three days, he had first pitted his wits against Princess Chloe and the Count of Lorand, then pursued the Deep Ones, Alice and her companions, through the shipwreck, followed by infiltrating the enemy's nest to retrieve the gem, and finally heading to the territory of an evil god for a direct confrontation with the Swelling Daughter.

He had not felt it while things were happening, but now that it was all over and he was back in his familiar little nest, a sense of mental and physical exhaustion swept over his entire body.

Fortunately, it was not all in vain. The 《Goddess of the Black Fan》 he brought back not only increased his number of death-related abilities to over four, meeting the requirements for promotion to the next rank, but also made his understanding of death increasingly thorough. Especially when he witnessed the corpses strewn across the wilderness for the first time, he felt closer to death than ever before. Lynch even felt that if he let himself witness it a few more times, he might be able to comprehend one or two more abilities under the death authority.

It seems it is time to start preparing for the next promotion. Let us see when Countess Hathaway can send over the neighbor's memories, and then see which evil god is about to have a streak of bad luck.

But the most important thing was the death veto ability, which made Lynch feel as if he were in a dream. This thing was even more useful than the burning-the-boats ability in a certain game; it triggered automatically, which was equivalent to giving him countless extra lives out of thin air. Coupled with the double boost that death coil provided to both melee and ranged combat, it could be said that his combat power had taken a leap forward. He finally looked a bit like a rank two soul manifestation soul severer.

Next time, I will try it out on Prince William and the Rangers, as well as that mysterious enemy who dared to burn down my house.

Hmm? Is something wrong? Never mind, let us assume everything is right.

However, the only thing that left Lynch dissatisfied was that he had actually comprehended a secret technique—the first one he had ever mastered.

Hmm... the swelling daughter contact technique.

It could be used anytime, anywhere, and its only purpose was to allow him to communicate directly with the Swelling Daughter.

It was a side effect of reading the book. By the time Lynch realized it, the thing had already been comprehended and could not be forgotten, making him so angry that he was jumping up and down in his mind and cursing.

But since things had reached this point, he could only accept his fate. At worst, he would just not use it in the future. Even if I have an attraction to mystery, it is not like it can force me to use this thing.

【Hehe.】

Alright, alright, I know you are peeking.

Using his last bit of willpower to stay awake, Lynch shoved the dangerous item into his safe, threw himself into the bedroom, and drifted off into a dream with a smile.

He slept so soundly that he did not even know when Mrs. Maggie snuck in to take his shirt and pants away to wash.

When he woke up again, it was still daylight, but it was already the morning of the 14th.

The familiar hustle and bustle of Charles Square made the corners of Lynch's mouth curl up. Stretching forcefully, Lynch finally recovered from his fatigue.

Actually, if he did not have an appointment today, Lynch would have liked to sleep for another day. After all, a life without having to get up early for work or school was just that monotonous and boring.

I really envy those office workers who have reasons to get up early. I envy them so much I cannot even close my mouth.

He put on his dried and ironed clothes and took his full set of equipment, especially that small cloth bag.

He opened it to look, and a red light immediately illuminated Lynch's face.

Flaming Red Lips, the real deal.

This thing must be kept safe. The subsequent matters will depend on it.

Lynch smiled eerily, retied the cloth bag, hid the gem close to his body, and then picked up his cane to walk down the stairs.

"Wow, Uncle Lynch, long time no see. I haven't seen you since your leg got better, and you haven't played with me either." Little Martha had not yet gone to school, and her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Lynch. She rushed over excitedly, hanging onto Lynch's leg. "When will you break it again? I still want to draw. Ouch!"

She really knows how to talk. Congratulations on receiving two slaps.

The little brat got the two slaps she wished for and immediately sat down next to the dining table, holding Lynch's hand, feeling satisfied. The little thing was getting more and more clingy. However, he had asked around in Charles Square a few days ago, and that group of 'children of the Crown District' had indeed restrained themselves quite a bit and rarely caused trouble now, which surprised everyone.

"This is for you." Lynch took out two one-pound banknotes, thought for a moment, and then swapped them for four ten-shilling coins. "You remember that black uniform of mine, the Ranger uniform, right?"

"Yeah."

"Tell your people to keep a close eye on the nearby blocks these next few days. If you see anyone with that kind of clothing lurking nearby, notify me as soon as possible."

"Got it." The little one finally put the money into her pocket, her sky-blue eyes staring at Lynch. "Is there any danger?"

"For you, no. But if you get beaten up, that is your own fault." Lynch stood up to take the breakfast and coffee Mrs. Maggie had brought over, taking a big bite that felt quite satisfying. "Any news these past few days? Anything heard from your sister Maya?"

"No, everything is normal."

Little Martha's answer left Lynch feeling somewhat disappointed. It seemed the Rangers had found some way to appease the Deep One pirate, Davis, and had not exposed their collusion. It was a pity; he had wanted to watch them tear each other apart. Just as he was feeling regretful, he heard Martha continue:

"It is just that some princess is going to host another ball. It will be published in the newspaper today. These rich people are really disgusting. They host balls for no reason all the time, and I do not know why they host so many. It is so annoying."

"I know why. She is hosting it to invite me."

"Hahahaha, Uncle Lynch, you are too bold. The princess invited you to a ball? Hahaha, the governor invited me, too."

Bang, bang, bang.

The cheerful laughter was still echoing in the dining room when a knock on the door suddenly sounded.

The little one pattered off to open the door, leaving only Lynch and Mrs. Maggie facing each other in the dining room.

"Please do not be angry with her. She did not mean to mock you. She knows you are genuinely good to her; she was just teasing you and joking with you."

Looking at the blond-haired, blue-eyed landlady with her soft smile and gentle tone, Lynch felt a warmth in his heart and smiled. "Do not worry. I do not dislike children who learn from their mistakes. This little thing is slowly learning to be sensible now."

"Yeah." Mrs. Maggie wiped her eyes and nodded vigorously. "I really want to thank you. If it were not for you, I would not dare to imagine what would happen in the future. In the future, I still ask you to..."

"Huh?"

Before Mrs. Maggie could finish her sentence, Martha's surprised voice came from the doorway. Turning around, he saw the little thing holding an envelope, looking completely stunned.

"What is wrong?" Mrs. Maggie walked up to her worriedly, checking her over repeatedly to confirm her daughter was fine before she felt relieved.

"An invitation letter... for Uncle Lynch." Little Martha looked at Lynch with an expression as if she had seen the Goddess of the Black Night she believed in. "The princess is inviting you to attend a ball on the night of the 17th. The butler from the Count's mansion delivered it personally."

"Just leave it on the porch for me. I know about this matter, no need to look at it." Lynch said casually. "I have to go out in a bit, so I will not take it upstairs. It is not anything important anyway."

"Oh..." The little one glanced at Lynch, carefully placed the invitation on the shoe cabinet, and suddenly stuck her tongue out at Lynch in indignation before pattering back to Lynch's side, shaking his arm as she asked, "Uncle Lynch, why did the princess invite you? And she even hosted this ball specifically to invite you."

"I told her to host it. She asked me to find something for her, and I found it, so I am using this ball to hand it over to her in a high-profile manner."

"Then you said you were going out in a bit; are you going to see her, too?"

"Not necessarily. Meeting at the ball is enough; there is no need for a prior meeting." Lynch had finished his breakfast, stood up, and patted the little one's head. "Do you remember the old lady who often came to treat my illness a few days ago, Mrs. Nightingale?"

"Yeah."

"I am going to find her. It is time to pay back the favor I owe her."