"But there's nothing we can do about it. At least for now, I can't think of any solution. Fortunately, I don't have anywhere else I want to go, so staying with you for now is fine," Lin Ruo said, noticing Klein's unspoken doubts but not minding them. In fact, he welcomed them.
Lin Ruo had deliberately shown some flaws and mystery when he started experimenting with his abilities outside. This was to help build his persona without showing hostility, thus reducing Klein's wariness.
If he were dealing with the Klein who had experienced the Evil God's offspring incident or the Great Smog, he wouldn't have done this. But for the newly arrived Klein, it was perfectly fine.
After all, the halo of being a fellow traveler made Klein naturally more favorable towards him.
Lin Ruo glanced at the bloodstains in the room that hadn't been cleaned yet and cheerfully reminded, "Friendly reminder, it's almost dawn. You're not the only one in this house, right?"
Klein immediately realized and stopped worrying about his doubts, resuming his cleaning.
After all, his sister Melissa was still sleeping in the next room. If he didn't clean up the bloodstains soon, she would be frightened.
Outside, the red moon had set, and the golden sun was peeking over the horizon.
It was indeed almost dawn.
Soon, there was movement from the adjacent room, and Lin Ruo saw Klein hurriedly throw the revolver into a drawer. A sixteen-year-old girl, who resembled Klein, emerged from the room. She was Klein's sister, Melissa.
"What happened?" Melissa asked, puzzled by the noise of the revolver being thrown into the drawer.
Klein instinctively wanted to make an excuse, but his eyes caught the reflection of the young man in the mirror.
Although he couldn't see Lin Ruo's physical form, the reflection showed him standing there with his arms crossed, smiling warmly.
Despite his strange state, Lin Ruo had a naturally likable presence, making it hard for people to dislike him.
But that wasn't the issue. The issue was that Lin Ruo was in a spirit form!
Melissa would be scared!
Klein's heart raced as he tried to think of a way to divert Melissa's attention, but she had already looked at the mirror.
Melissa walked to the mirror, checked her reflection, and adjusted her clothes before turning to Klein, more puzzled. "Klein, what's going on?"
She didn't see him?!
Klein quickly realized this and, while puzzled, organized his thoughts to answer, "Sorry, I was just a bit nervous… about the interview."
It wasn't a complete explanation, but it was a suitable one. Melissa frowned, then after a moment, began to encourage him, "Klein, you don't need to be too stressed. You're great, and you'll definitely pass the interview at Tingen University…"
Klein, who hadn't been thinking about the interview at all, nodded, accepting Melissa's comfort.
After encouraging her brother, Melissa took her toiletries and left for the public washroom. Klein, relieved, looked at Lin Ruo and asked, "Melissa can't see you?"
"She really can't see me," Lin Ruo confirmed but didn't elaborate.
He wasn't entirely sure himself. During his ability experiments, he had tested if others could see him through the mirror and found they couldn't. That's why he wasn't worried when Melissa came out.
But he wasn't sure about extraordinary beings, especially those like corpse collectors who could see spirits. He couldn't test that easily without risking being purified as an evil spirit.
It's tough.
Lin Ruo, not too discouraged, then asked Klein, "So, what do you plan to do next?"
"I…" Klein hesitated, organizing his thoughts before asking, "Lin Ruo, how long have you been traveling?"
"Well, that's a secret!" Lin Ruo could have lied but chose not to, shaking his head. "But I can tell you, besides us, there are other travelers in this world, and some have caused quite a stir."
To be precise, they've caused a lot of stir!
Thinking about how the mysterious world was almost entirely shaped by a few travelers, Lin Ruo's smile became a bit subtle.
Klein, surprised by this answer, paused, recalling something from the fragmented memories of the original owner, and hesitantly said, "Emperor Roselle?"
"Yes, he was a traveler!" Lin Ruo nodded, seeing Klein's expression turn a bit sad.
"It seems you don't like this journey and want to go home?" Lin Ruo asked.
"I still have parents, family, and friends…" Klein replied, "Isn't wanting to go home normal? Don't you want to go home?"
Lin Ruo was taken aback, recalling his life before traveling. Although he had no parents, he had friends and a happy life.
But after traveling and focusing on causing trouble in the literary world, those memories felt distant, as if they had faded.
Is it an illusion…
Lin Ruo lowered his eyes and sighed, "You're right…"
Even with the faded memories, if given a choice, he would still want to go back.
But after traveling twice, how far was he from his real home? Could he ever return?
Lin Ruo didn't know, just as he didn't know why he traveled in the first place.