Ben began writing down rumors. But also his experiences and what felt vague.

This journal would be a first-person view of the last few thousand years.

Ben chose to include most ambiguities he felt and the small encounters that made him question the world.

His baggage was rich since Ben lived so many identities.

He worked with more people than he could recount. So issues inevitably sprouted up. But after being unable to work on many questions, he could finally offload his worries onto someone else.

"Did you finally wake up? Eh, this is going to take a few weeks. It's too much work."

'Even if I forgot quite a bit, there is still this much...'

"Well, eat and enjoy. Those kids will likely treat you well."

After greeting Syd good morning, Ben went back to work.

His work was meticulous since Ben had an extensive and detailed recall capacity. That was because Ben had used the same techniques that he applied to his memories toward most events in his life.

And he developed this weird skill while experimenting with what might increase his memory lifespan. However, the result wasn't robotic memories, as he hoped for, but more similar to writing on his insides.

So, he could stop and read it, but he couldn't naturally recall it.

As a result, unfortunately, toward the original goal, the impact was minimal on his condition. Nonetheless, he still did indeed learn a valuable skill.

---

As someone knocked on the door, Ben finally stopped working non-stop.

Yet, despite his excessive laboring, he didn't look tired.

Opening the door, Ben saw the sight he was expecting.

"If it isn't the prankster. Should I be careful?" Ben joked as he looked around with a worried face.

"I'm happy knowing you are so light-hearted. I'll skip complex greetings and merely ask if now is a good time to talk."

"If you come to this house while I'm here, you'll always find the same sight. I'll be writing away my worries into someone's else pocket."

Ben opened the door wide and gestured for her to enter while looking at her contagious smile.

After entering, Eloise found her way into the back patio and began to set up some afternoon tea.

This house wasn't shabby at all, despite being far from the more busy parts of the city.

"You came prepared," Ben said as he followed her outside.

Behind them, Syd curiously peaked at the guest.

"Since I knew you wanted to take care of yourself independently, I didn't bring anyone else to help. And it's not like I need it, either."

"Do I need to get anything?"

"Not really. I brought everything and a bit more."

"So thoughtful."

"I don't know if you are being nice or sarcastic."

"Why not both?"

"Ginn also bothers me with that phrase a lot."

"It shows."

"He told me."

"That's surprising."

"He mentioned the same. Back there, fiction would always point in the other direction, right?"

"Even when it didn't make sense. Distrust was too widespread, unfortunately." Ben talked, not minding remembering about Earth.

After she finished setting their food down, Eloise gestured for them to sit.

The snack was simple but still impressive.

And smelling the food, Syd ran to the table, throwing caution to the wind.

"Hi, I brought your food, too!"

However, as if afraid, Syd jumped into Ben's lap.

"Well, it seems Syd is overly careful of you. Maybe you are too strong? I don't know."

"Well, that's saddening. I even chose his food carefully."

"Perhaps he's being sensitive to something you are wearing. His sensitivity is indeed quite high. But his worry should decrease after a while."

Eloise smiled and nodded, being okay with it. But she didn't respond immediately, either.

"Thank you." After a moment of silence, Eloise changed subjects.

"That's quite the turn."

"Really, really, really, thank you." She said, her eyes glowing with gratitude.

"I understand. But don't make this too awkward."

"After I fell ill, I didn't believe I would be able to cultivate with Ginn again. I thought, at best, I could survive for a few decades and live a normal life. Limited by the after-effects."

Eloise sighed.

"So who would think I would go through something like a phoenix rebirth. The results are insane."

"That wasn't exclusively my work."

"But you made it feasible."

"If you weren't a young and rich princess, that would lead nowhere."

"You might talk like that, but who wouldn't pay everything they had for a second opportunity? Yet, often, it doesn't matter how much you have. You just resolutely can't have it."

"I don't like taking credit because I don't think that was me. It's mostly Ginn's fault. The sequence of events was too weird. And I think he wouldn't let you die anyway. He had fallback plans."

"I made him promise me that he wouldn't put himself in jeopardy."

"A sleepy beauty cannot be angry. A healed lover can. It would be inevitable."

"Maybe, but luckily, it didn't come to that. So give yourself more credit."

"What happened, happened. And I don't think our interactions will dwindle, so no need to overreact."

"Hopefully, it does not. So I can pay you back. Here is some of it." Eloise gave the small box in her hands to Ben.

After checking it, Ben quickly took note and found around half of what he requested inside. But he also noticed there was more in there.

"It isn't much, but since I heard that some stuff happened with your ring, I brought you whatever I could from the old list. And that box should be less of an issue."

"To be fair, this box is more of an issue."

"Did I guess it incorrectly?"

"It's too flashy."

"Shit, Ginn was correct. Sorry, I can find a solution for that, maybe? Okay. How about this: I can reserve you a place in our treasury. And you can come and get whatever you need into or out of your personal chest."

"Why does this feel like a losing proposition for me?"

"You said it yourself. We'll meet plenty of times from now on."

"Alright, I'll accept it. If something happens, I'll consider it as I never had any of it."

A big smile appeared on Eloise after Ben so quickly accepted her offer.

Looking at the box, Ben felt some weird contradiction. However, his intuition was screaming to him to accept it. But it sounded too straightforward to his worried ears.

"My father was quite surprised, too."

"Is that a good thing to hear? It isn't. He's too strong and influential."

"Well, because of that, I got a few good things. A token is inside if you ever feel that you need it. I also included distress notes from our Sect and some subsidiaries."

"That I like it!"

"Shit, Ginn was right." Eloise sighed. "Why does he understand you so much? It doesn't make sense."

"We talked a lot. And his eyes are discerning, dauntingly too discerning."

"I know. But well, if you have anything else I might be able to do, please let me know."

"I'll keep that in mind. But don't overthink it since I'm not going to waste such goodwill. I'll make it count as much as I can."

"Knowing that makes me happy. I hope I can help that much."

Ben's mood changed suddenly, and he put his hand on his collar, pressing the Fortune Coin. However, he felt no change. The woman in front of him flowed outside of Ginn's currents freely.

'The others carry some influence due to their connection to Ginn. But after confronting her, I discover that the wife seems immune to it. How weird. I wasn't expecting this, to be fair.' A smile appeared on Ben.

Eloise noticed but didn't comment on it. But she wasn't clueless, either, because she had slightly felt the treasure from the beginning.

"You seem very likable."

"Is that a compliment?" Eloise asked, bewildered.

"Nope. Some people are just social butterflies. I ain't one of them, though."

"I'll take it as a compliment, then. Anyway, the main topic is out of the way. So, as a representative, I would like to disclose that our faction is delighted to work with you."

"I hope the intel sells itself well."

"It will, I'm sure. We can never have too much information. The world is so difficult to understand."

"As someone taught by a major Sect, are you willing to dive in?"

"I wouldn't have fought with my family if I wasn't. Ginn truly empowers people's overconfidence."

"There's no way to be shy around him. The flow toward the future doesn't allow you to."

"Indeed, there's always something happening. But it's okay. I like it. And while very busy, I don't feel overwhelmed."

"That only proves you are as weird as him."

"Fair enough. Ginn tells me the same all the time. But anyway, is what coming terrible for the world?"

Stopping for a moment, Ben tried to find the right words.

"I thought it would take a while. But if you ask me to guess. Right now, I wouldn't bet 500 years. And given the state of the world, they might succeed if people are indecisive. Perhaps, I wasn't as sensitive before, so my guess was inaccurate. Or maybe, something else indeed happened."

"If so, we might have enough time. We might play a big role."

"Ginn likely can make time out of his ass, too."

"He's lucky indeed." Eloise laughed lightly.

"To be fair, if I haven't met your faction, I would be terrified about the conflicts to come. Fortunately, I don't have to worry as much anymore."

"I don't mind you offloading some of it. We can likely turn it into a profit, too. We aren't shy."

"Breathing gold..." Ben looked at the box. "Or better yet, breathing Spirit Cores."

"There is also another offer I wanted to make. You might find it sudden, though."

"You can ask, but I promise nothing."

"After talking with Ginn extensively, we decided to ask if you wanted to be our child's godfather. That's in addition to becoming our faction's official external adviser. The latter felt inevitable. Hopefully, this shit doesn't feel too sudden? Yelp, what's that face? Ben?"