The trick Klein pulled was not one taught in the textbooks at the Academy, or anywhere in The Continent.
It was his own modification of 'Blink' that required the most precise calculations. It was not a feat that could be accomplished by others very easily, if at all, and certainly not with the apparent ease with which Klein had done so.
He had ascertained the precise location of the few coins in the pouch of a mercenary sitting on a table right behind him, and then transferred those coins to his hand by transforming their spatial coordinates through a sophisticated mathematical process.
After all...
Klein had no money with him currently.
The owner glanced at the coins on the counter and silently handed Klein the key to his room.
"Thank you very much for your hospitality" Klein closed his fist over the key, ready to make his way up, then, as if recalling something trivial, turned back to the owner and asked, "By the way, how was last night for you guys?"
Not only the owner, but the low hubbub of the mercenaries began to cease as they turned to him sharply.
"Hey c'mon, it couldn't've been worse than what I saw. Tell me 'bout it" Klein pocketed the room key and then lifted his hands up in a harmless gesture.
After a moment or two of silence, one of the mercenaries spoke up.
"Last night, some townsfolk went missing and some foreigners came. That's why we're all gathering here, to figure it out..." He eyed the family of four with great suspicion as he said so.
Amelia and Harold were a few paces behind Klein. They had started feeling uncomfortable the moment they entered town, but even more so when they entered the inn. Despite not understanding a word these people were saying, seeing the casualness with which they carried swords and wore leather armor was enough to put them off.
On top of all that, they were able to tell that the atmosphere did not welcome them.
"Hahaha, yeah, we have new alien neighbors now, isn't it wonderful?" Klein spoke with a joyous laugh, and the atmosphere became even more tense.
Krr.
The scraping of a chair against the wooden floor sounded.
Shing.
A sword was drawn and raised to the couple.
Clack. Thump.
The rest of the mercenaries stood all at once, toppling their seats over in the process, surrounding Klein and the family, weapons drawn.
"Hey there, easy now! Why're you all in a fuss? D-do you want more ale?" Klein raised his hands once more to earnestly display his innocence.
Amelia and Harold were distraught, unable to do anything more than clench the hands of their children tighter and trust that the strange wizard had some way out of this.
"Who are they? Foreigners?" The one who had drawn their sword first asked bitingly.
"Right. These are my alien friends" Klein spoke with an enthusiastic nod. "Come now, I'll order the drinks on the house for everyone to sit and have a nice chat!"
"Umm... Klein?" Harold's low whisper attracted Klein's attention.
He sighed, casting [Soul-Link] again to talk with them.
"Don't worry about it, these folk are just a little antsy" Klein gave him a wink, clearly speaking English.
"A-are you sure? They seem..." Harold tightened his hold on his son, and a bead of sweat trailed down his forehead.
He didn't think the situation would end well.
"Relax, relax" Klein gave the man and his family a reassuring smile, waving away their concerns with a frivolity unbefitting the current situation.
The mercenaries were stupefied.
How had the man who was so fluently speaking Common, speaking this strange language they had never heard before?
As mercenaries, they could be said to be well-traveled individuals, but they had never heard the phonemes of that strange language before or else they would have recognized them.
Klein interrupted the bizarre atmosphere by speaking in Common again.
"Hey owner, let's give everyone here a drink on me. That's fine, right? Right! Of course it's right, there isn't a use for refusing money after all!" Klein decided by himself, turning to the silent non-responsive owner and flashing him a bright smile as he spoke.
He then turned to the rest who still had their swords drawn.
"In the meantime..." He walked up to the vocal mercenary with a light step and a harmless smile, casually moving aside the blade of his sword with his hand, as if the action was no more trivial than turning a door handle.
The mercenary gulped upon seeing Klein's smile. He didn't know what it was, but there was something about it that felt deeply unsettling...
In his daze, the man barely registered the fact that Klein had put his arm over his shoulder.
And before he could utter a protest, he was sitting down on his table with a mug of ale in front of him.
The others awkwardly allowed the sequence to play out. Klein turned to them too and said "Well don't just stand there, let's drink! Talk things out! Be friends and be merry, whadd'ya say?" He smiled as he pulled a few of them with him to sit too.
Once he got them all sat down, he slapped his palm on the table a few times "Owner! over here, give us what ya got!"
Klein sat with them and called the family over too. He used [Soul-Link] again.
He may as well break his resolution for honestly learning English at this rate...
He shook his head inwardly, and called out "Hey, wanna sit with us? The atmosphere's cozy all of a sudden!" He smiled at them with a welcoming gesture.
Amelia watched the whole event play out, strangely convinced that she was in the presence of a lunatic. If it wasn't clear to her before, it felt so now.
Though that being the case, she didn't feel as if Klein was mentally unwell after having witnessed his behavior. It was a strange, contradictory feeling. She would have tried to diagnose the young man with mania at that moment, but she was also relieved that his antics had earned them their life back.
"No, I think we'd like to rest a bit..." Amelia said after she and Harold silently communicated with their eyes again.
"Ah! Of course. You guys go up while I have a fine chat with these gentlemen" Klein handed them the key and gestured to a waiter to show them the way to their room.
"So, drink and tell me what's been going around these parts. I'm also from the country not too far from here, so I'm sure we have a lot in common" Klein spoke, and then, as if remembering something, he called out to the owner.
"Hey, can I get some juice? I'm not old enough to drink yet!"