Dear Mr. Azik,
Since September began, the temperature in Backlund has been dropping day by day. Recently, I’ve already seen elderly people wearing gloves when they go out.
As in previous years, the fog has started to blanket the city. Every week, there are one or two heavily foggy days, sometimes even more. It's obvious that improving air pollution isn't something that can be fully achieved in a year or two—it’ll take at least five years. What is reassuring is that the pungent smell in the air has already decreased significantly. My vampire friend is quite satisfied with this weather.
Another welcome change is that more and more students, postmen, and workers are buying bicycles. There are noticeably fewer carriages on the streets. This means that horse manure and its smell are no longer the dominant factors in Backlund’s air quality. Of course, they still hold a very important place. As you know, those gentlemen and ladies who consider themselves of high status won’t casually lower their standards. However, from what I’ve observed, the younger members of their families are gradually taking an interest in bicycles.
For some time now, I’ve been living the life of a normal person. I visit Saint Samuel Cathedral and the Loen Charitable Education Fund several times a week, participate in their activities, and make continuous donations. Occasionally, I watch horse races, theater performances, enjoy symphonies, play cards at the club, play golf, and host or attend dinner parties, balls, and salons on weekends.
I forgot to tell you that I’ve bought a manor. It originally belonged to Duke Negan's family and is called "Mergo." It has its own high-quality vineyards and a winery, as well as a large expanse of forest and fields for planting and hunting. The main house forms a quadrangle missing one long side. It has four floors and a great number of rooms. I just wandered around inside for a while without leaving the entrance hall and walked over ten thousand steps. At the same time, it has a large collection of sculptures, oil paintings, decorations, and exquisite tableware. It’s as magnificent as a palace.
Perhaps my description is a bit exaggerated, since I've never seen a real palace. This is also my first manor. I still remember in Tingen, my brother, sister, and I lived in a rented house with only two rooms and fell asleep to the smell of coal every day.
It was introduced to me by Major General Junas Corger. It cost me a total of twenty thousand pounds. Don't worry about my financial situation. I made a large sum of money on the Southern Continent and also sold a few mystical items. Currently, I have over seventeen thousand pounds in cash, fifteen thousand pounds in gold bars, and a fair number of gold coins, soli, and pence.
I am quite satisfied with the Mergo Manor. I sent my former valet, Richardson, to be the manor steward. It’s already autumn, and I am about to invite guests to spend a pleasant weekend there. I hope Richardson can make the preparations in time.
The mystical world of Backlund has remained unchanged for now. I hope it stays this way.
That "magic mirror" I mentioned before has recovered, but it seems to have developed PTSD related to Amon. As long as something related to him is mentioned in a question, it automatically changes its font color, gives an incorrect answer, and repeatedly asks me to praise it.
It has also changed its mind about leaving the Church of Steam and Machinery. It seems to have decided to stay for a while longer, thinking it's safer that way. It even wants to exhibit dangerous traits and become a Grade 1 sealed artefact. I must say, its way of thinking always surprises me.
Thanks to some of its answers, I found a way to create pure darkness. The method is to create it using a domain talisman of the Night that contains dreams. This is a response from the Goddess of the Night and can be classified as pure. In addition, after trial after trial, I finally managed to meditate and engrave the symbol of divinity today, and I created the item I wanted.
Writing this, Klein, sitting on the sofa using his lap as a desk, couldn't help but stop his pen and raise a hand to rub his temples.
Each failure meant the loss of another "Worm of Spirit," and every time he separated a "Worm of Spirit," it was a wound like a tear in his spirit body, requiring a long time to recover.
Therefore, to maintain a margin for emergencies, Klein never pushed himself to the absolute limit. After separating three or four "Worms of Spirit," he would choose to rest for a few days before attempting the engraving. Going back and forth like this, trying and resting, resting and trying, only now did he completely master the method and produce the finished product.
Glancing at the rectangular "diamond" placed beside him, he saw complex symbols stretching in layers into the void within its constantly refracted light. His head spun slightly, as if he were witnessing a stretch of history.
I'll name it the "Yesterday Once More" charm. Withdrawing his gaze, Klein continued writing:
"Storms have once again made landfall in the coastal areas. The Kingdom's upper and lower houses have entered the traditional period for discussing important bills. The footsteps of the New Year are getting closer and closer, louder and louder, which inexplicably stirs some worry.
I hope you can recover soon and wake up.
Your eternal student, Klein Moretti."
Putting down his pen and folding the letter, Klein blew on Azik's copper whistle, summoning his towering, four-meter-tall skeletal messenger.
Different from before, the messenger only revealed its head and one arm, with the rest of its body beneath the floor on the second floor.
This made it look much shorter than Klein.
After all, I can now be barely considered a Blessed of "Death." Klein handed the letter to the messenger and watched as it collapsed into a waterfall of bones, burrowing into the ground.
After doing this, he picked up the "Yesterday Once More" charm on the armrest of the sofa.
This was his first successful product. He planned to use it himself. After all, with the experience, making the next ones would be easier.
As for whether borrowing power from his past self was dangerous, Klein had already performed a divination above the Gray Fog in advance. He thought that if it involved the true "Fool" or the master of the "Light Door," at least the Gray Fog and the mysterious space could shield him.
The result of the divination was that it was perfectly safe.