Chapter 188: Kissing Hands

"Yes, of course!" Ikanser smiled brightly and continued to speak in the surprised eyes of everyone:
"How much will you pay? Well, should I say how much will you donate? With 1 pounds, we can set up a technical school, which is secondary education. I remember there is a Tingen Technical School in Tingen, and the tuition fee is not high... This is definitely not your purpose!"

Ikanser said with a happy smile on his face:
"If you donate 10 pounds, we can establish a 'technical school' with the size of a university. Yes, it is also a technical school, but! We can name this school after you! How about calling it Old Blue Technical School? Your name will definitely be deeply engraved in the hearts of every student and become an eternal monument!"

“10 pounds?” Fors and Xio both looked as if they were joking. Conse also shook his head. This amount was not small. Klein was not surprised by this. Education has always been the most expensive thing, especially since Old Bruce was planning to lower tuition fees or even waive tuition fees for students with outstanding grades… This has almost become a charity…

Ikanser straightened his messy hair and said seriously:

"In fact, there is no need to establish a technical school in Tingen. Well, I got inside information that in the next few months, Backlund Technical College will be reorganized into a university and become Backlund Technical University.

"This is a resolution of the Higher Education Committee. We were notified of this in advance and have received support from the church... If you have a junior who is interested in mechanics, you can prepare him or her to enter this university in advance... Well, if you believe in steam, I can sign an admission letter right now, even though the university is not built yet."

Old Blue was silent for a while, then said, "Then...what about 100 million pounds?"

"Well...if you pay me 100 million pounds...I will immediately report to His Excellency the Archbishop and request that the planned Backlund Technical University be changed to Tingen Technical University! You can also get the title of Honorary President! Uh, I guess you don't need the title of a devout believer of the Church of Steam..." Ikanser even laughed as he spoke. What kind of mental state would a Storm's Punisher want to get the honorary title of Steam?

Old Blue nodded with satisfaction and said, "Okay, when I raise enough money, I will come to you... You must keep your word."

"Okay! It definitely counts!" Ikanser guaranteed, thinking that Old Blue was truly a gentleman with a sense of humor.

No one took it seriously. One million pounds... what can't you do with that money? Build a school? Serve as a probationer? Wouldn't it be good to use the money to buy a fiefdom or a baronial title?

Klein was stunned for a moment. He intuitively felt that Old Blue was not joking, but... 100 million pounds! He had no idea about this number and was no longer shocked...

Then, according to the pre-arranged process, everyone shared some information and formed a formation to participate in the extraordinary gathering, and each took a carriage to the destination.

Klein habitually built a spiritual wall in the carriage to isolate the inside and outside. This was mainly for soundproofing and to prevent the driver from hearing extraordinary information that he shouldn't hear.

"Klein, it turns out that you and Old Blue are both from Tingen! It's such a magical place... Have you known Old Blue for a long time?" Fors asked curiously.

“No, I just met Old Blue by chance recently,” Klein said with a very natural expression. “I have only been a Nighthawk for more than two months. Even though we are in Tingen, the Nighthawks and the Mandated Punishers are busy with their own things and we have almost no interactions.”

“I see… That’s amazing. It only took you two months to become a Sequence 8 Beyonder? It took me almost three years to become a ‘Master of Magic’…” Fors exclaimed.

Three years... Apprentice potion formulas are indeed rare... Klein nodded and asked, "How did you become a Beyonder? Do you mind telling me?"

"Well, it's not impossible. Anyway, those experiences must have been recorded in the Punisher's file," Fors said after a slight hesitation.

"That was almost three years ago. I had just graduated from Backlund Medical School...my father...the southern continent...a new family..."

As she recalled and narrated, Fors actually had complicated feelings towards her father. No, it wasn't complicated at all, she was just abandoned. What she couldn't forgive the most was that he didn't reply to her mother's letter until a month later when she was seriously ill and passed away. By then, things were already irreversible... and she had to accept her father's gifts and the job he introduced, otherwise she, who was still young, would not be able to survive in Backlund.

"After that, I worked in a clinic, and by chance I met a magical old lady... The old lady gave me the potion formula and asked me to take away the glowing objects that appeared..."

After Fors finished her story, a familiar trance suddenly struck her. An inexplicable memory appeared in her mind. She stretched out her right hand towards Klein as if asking for something.

Glowing objects? Klein nodded. That should be the extraordinary characteristic of the Apprentice. The old lady might have a close relationship with the Abraham family.

Hmm? Klein looked at the slender hand stretched out in front of him in confusion. Suddenly, the carriage seemed to have just turned a sharp corner. Klein was caught off guard and leaned forward due to inertia. His lips were directly imprinted on the palm of the hand.

Well, there are obvious thick calluses where the pen is held, which is very consistent with the author's identity...

No! That's not right! That's not the point! Klein was stunned. Is this a disguised kiss on the hand?
The carriage returned to stability, but the hearts of the two people in the carriage were in turmoil. Fors wanted to slap himself. Who am I, where am I, and what am I doing! Oh, right... I seem to subconsciously want to draw a card... Why? What card should I draw?

Klein raised his head, pretending to be calm. He stretched out his left hand to hold Fors's hand. With his right hand, he took out the white handkerchief on the chest of his formal suit and placed it on his palm. He said:

"Fors, thank you for holding me up, otherwise I would have fallen."

"No, you're welcome. This is what I should do." Fors picked up the handkerchief reflexively and wiped it gently, then skillfully put it into her handbag. When she reacted, she suddenly froze. What on earth was she doing? But she couldn't take it out and return it at this time, which would make the atmosphere even more awkward...

She quickly explained:

"I'll wash it and return it to you.

"By the way, now that I've finished talking about my past, what about yours? You must have experienced something even more fantastic and dramatic when you became a Nighthawk, right?"

Klein shifted his gaze away from the woman's handbag and the silk handkerchief he had just bought... Never mind, this was not the time to be stingy. He recalled:

"I... have indeed experienced a lot of things, unimaginable things, huh, an extraordinary world...

"My father was a sergeant in the Royal Army. Unlike you, he died in the conflict in the southern continent. My mother passed away four years ago when I just entered Khoi University. Only my brother, sister and I are left.

"I just graduated from the History Department of Khoyi University in June this year, and I am preparing for an interview for a lecturer position in the History Department of Tingen University. Haha, if I had followed my original life trajectory, maybe I would have become a conscientious young historian?"

Fors laughed too. Klein's tone sounded very relaxed, but... the suffering he had experienced was definitely no less.

However, no amount of suffering could defeat this young man, and he has grown into a reliable gentleman... She couldn't help but say:
"So you're 3 years younger than me, I can't tell at all! Uh, I'm not saying you look old, I'm saying you handle things in a mature way, and you don't panic when you encounter extraordinary events..."

Klein paused for a moment, then smiled and said:

“That’s not something to be envied. If I had a choice, I would rather go back to that ordinary, busy world that I always feel is not good enough and spend more time with my family.

“But, something unexpected happened.

"One of my college classmates, well, we are both students of history and are very interested in antiquities. Under the persuasion of a malicious Beyonder, he bought an 'ancient notebook' that changed the fate of many people, including me... After that, I was discovered by the Nighthawks and became one of them.

“Until now, I still feel that the incident is weird, thrilling, and terrifying… Perhaps this is the norm in the extraordinary world.

"But fortunately, I met a lot of warm teammates. Some of them look cold, but actually have a heart warmer than anyone else. Some have a bad memory, but can remember everything you need. Some... can't write poetry at all, but have the appearance of a poet, and recite the copied poems every day..."

Based on Klein's description, Fors seemed to see vivid characters one by one... This was the instinct of a writer. She instinctively engraved the characters in her mind, and the description of the "poet" seemed to correspond to another vague image in her brain... The corners of her mouth curled up a beautiful arc:

"Star? Star brand?"

“Hmm?” Klein was stunned. The Star card is one of the Major Arcana cards in the Tarot deck, and the picture shows a woman... Why did Fors say this?
"Ah!" Fors came back to his senses and quickly explained:
"I mean, you Nighthawks are like the 'Star Card', representing hope and giving you hope... Well, I've been studying the Tarot Divination you taught me last time, and I always want to match various things to a certain Tarot card..."

Klein nodded thoughtfully and said with a smile:
"The symbol of the goddess is the red moon. Perhaps as her warriors, we are more suitable for the 'Moon' card."

"Ah? Really... But I don't know why, I always feel that 'Stars' might be better..." Fors replied in confusion.

(End of this chapter)