Backlund, Cherwood Borough.
Fors Wall and Xio Derecha were walking along the street towards the nearest branch of the Varvat Bank.
"My money seems to disappear without me noticing." Fors sighed.
Xio felt the same way.
"That's right."
"Luckily, my book, Stormwind Mountain Villa, is rather popular, and there are still royalties being sent to my account. Otherwise, I'd have to find a clinic or a hospital and become a doctor once again." Fors let out a sigh, both in satisfaction and in worry.
Xio was silent for a moment before carefully asking, "Will the investigation of Qilangos affect your status as an author? After all, we could be under the attention of the Mandated Punishers, Nighthawks, and the rest..."
"No, the only one they would focus on is you." Fors laughed. "You were the one who sent someone to make a police report. Same for the one who sent the letter and the one famous among the alleys and gangs of the East Borough. As for me, Fors Wall, I'm still the popular best-selling author."
Xio said in a daze, "So you've just been accompanying me all this time?"
Fors stroked her hair and laughed.
"Don't you find that this was an interesting experience? This experience has provided me with the much-needed inspiration for my work. My next novel will be about a sudden brutal murder."
Xio paused, not knowing how to continue the conversation. All she could do was continue walking forward bitterly, forgetting to make a turn until Fors dragged her back.
At that moment, they heard a paperboy shout.
"Extra! Extra! Rear Admiral Hurricane Qilangos killed in Backlund!"
...
Ah? What? Xio and Fors looked at each other in confusion.
They only came to their senses after the paperboy repeated himself multiple times.
"What? Qilangos is dead?" Fors couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"He's dead! How did he die so suddenly!" Xio, who was trying to hide from the prosecution of this merciless pirate, was shocked and dazed.
This... doesn't this have to follow a normal procedure? First, they find clues to confirm Qilangos's motive, then they would gather powerful Beyonders and ambush him. Killing the pirate was the last step... But, Qilangos was killed even though the first step hadn't been completed yet... He died just like that... Fors and Xio exchanged looks as if they were two marble statues.
Nearly a minute later, Xio charged towards the paperboy and bought a copy of the Tussock Times.
This was one of the three most distributed newspapers in the Loen Kingdom.
"Oh... Qilangos is really dead, killed by Duke Negan's bodyguard. Oh Goddess, Negan's bodyguard is..." Xio gasped, leaving out the "a powerful Beyonder," that she had wanted to say.
Fors looked at her good friend in pity.
"To think that you would believe everything the newspapers say..."
"Alright, perhaps someone realized Qilangos's motive in advance, and the Mandated Punishers, Nighthawks, Machinery Hivemind, and the military cooperated and executed a successful ambush..." Xio froze and exhaled. "We don't need to worry about it any longer. We can go back to our normal lives, but we have to avoid the sphere of influence of that police station from before."
She looked at Fors and asked, a little worried, "How much do you think Miss Audrey will pay us now? I know that a few hundred pounds wouldn't be too much to her, but we haven't really completed what she asked of us..."
"No, at least we made Qilangos appear on his own accord. The reason he rushed to take action and fall for the ambush was definitely in some part due to our contributions," Fors consoled her. "With Miss Audrey's generosity, she'll give us half the reward even if she's not giving us all of it."
"Let's hope so..." Xio took in a deep breath and had an expectant gaze. "I wonder who will claim that bounty of 10,000 pounds..."
"It sure invites the envy of others. If I had that much money, I'd have become a Sequence 7 or 6 long ago, but I missed the opportunity time and time again!" Fors also felt a little sorry, but she reminded her friend, "Xio, let us not contact Miss Audrey for the time being. Let her contact us on her own accord. There are too many hidden details surrounding the death of Qilangos. Looking for Miss Audrey abruptly could put us in a dangerous situation."
Xio first nodded before saying in surprise, "How did you know that I was thinking of heading to Empress Borough?"
"Try guessing?" Fors laughed in response.
...
After a busy morning, Klein returned to the Blackthorn Security Company. However, he looked listless.
He went across the partition, passing Rozanne chatting with a stranger and quietly opened the door to the office. He reported to Dunn Smith, "Captain, the people connected to Lanevus that I'm in charge of investigating have no problems. They were merely victims, not associated with any Beyonder incidents."
Dunn placed both his elbows on his desk.
"Then stop that for the time being. We shall place our focus on the more likely suspects after the rest of the members have finished with their investigations. We cannot direct all our manpower onto this incident. We have to guard against other sudden incidents."
"Alright." Klein was about to stand up and head out to lunch when he suddenly heard knocking on the door.
The handle moved and Rozanne peeked inside.
"Captain, someone is here with a mission."
She glanced at Klein before immediately turning to Dunn right after.
Who could it be this time? Klein had no energy to deal with missions directed at the Blackthorn Security Company.
Because it's not for the Nighthawk squad, he saw it as likely a mistake on the client's part.
Dunn thought for a moment before saying, "We can go hear the request out and reject it if it's too troublesome."
Klein nodded and stood up. But just as he was about to leave, he heard Dunn, "You did what's best Klein. Do not blame yourself."
He gripped the crest of his cane before slowly loosing it before nodding. Klein replied, "I can... use my time later to check on her?"
"Of course." Dunn arranged his shirt and vest as he prepared to walk out of the office. "But it's better if you allow her to breath and process the situation. Busy yourself. You can come with us to check on this client."
Klein casted his gaze down and thought.
"Alright." he said as he lifted his head.
They made their way through the partition and towards the sofa in the receptionist area. Rozanne followed curiously behind but Klein seemed a bit detached.
Rozanne opened her mouth, but closed it without saying anything.
There were two ladies on the sofa, both of them were wearing black hats and dresses without any extra color.
One of the ladies was plump and had fair skin. Her face was completely obscured by the black veil of her hat.
Klein felt a sense of familiarity when he saw her, as though he had seen her somewhere before.
Just as he was recalling, he heard the skinnier lady beside her speak.
"The mission we would like to entrust to you is for you to track and monitor Madam Sharon and find evidence of her crimes."
Madam Sharon... Klein suddenly had an epiphany, and recalled where the sense of familiarity came from.
The lady that remained silent was the wife of Member of Parliament Maynard, the daughter of the New Party's leader.
She found it hard to accept the death of her husband and is unwilling to accept the conclusion the police department came to, so she came to a security company in private to do another investigation?
To think that she came directly to us... Klein shook his head.
"Madam Sharon?" Dunn obviously knew of Baron Khoy's widow, a famous socialite in Tingen.
Maynard's wife turned her head to shoot a glance at the scrawny lady who came with her to the Blackthorn Security Company, but she didn't speak for herself.
The scrawny lady in the black dress and hat weighed her words before she spoke.
"Yes, Madam Sharon, the wife of the deceased Baron Khoy. She, she..."
She stammered, then suddenly spat in anger, "She's a b*tch!"
Upon hearing her curse, Klein suddenly recalled the porno that he had seen and Madam Sharon's behavior which appeared nervous on the surface but was calm deep down. That made him believe the rumors about her, and he felt sorry for the deceased old baron.
It's not like Madam Sharon can't remarry. But her loose behavior...
Dunn didn't have much of a change in his facial expression. He sat on the sofa opposite and said with his mellow voice, "But that doesn't make her a criminal.
"You know clearly, and I know it clearly too. Madam Sharon is very influential in Tingen. If we were to follow her and monitor her, there could be very serious consequences for us."
"She's a criminal!" the scrawny lady said angrily. "She caused my brother's death, but those lovers of hers pressured the police department and made them pronounce that my brother died of excessive drinking and continuous indulgence in sexual pleasure. Th-they are all criminals!"
Those... Klein realized that the scrawny lady was Maynard's sister while feeling sorry for the old baron once again.
That's right, for such a scandal, she would definitely not send a maidservant here. It's better if the request is made by family... He nodded his head in enlightenment.
Mrs. Maynard patted the back of the scrawny woman's hand and added with a deep yet cold voice, "She's a criminal! If you suffer any damages because of this, I will compensate you for your losses."
That tone... She lives up to her identity as the daughter of the New Party's head. If the police department wasn't very confident with the result of my mediumship ritual, I'm afraid they would've submitted under her pressure... Klein lampooned inwardly.
Dunn was silent for nearly twenty seconds before he said, "Alright... I have another question. Why do you seem to be so certain that we would find something?"
The scrawny lady nodded and said, "The tobacco merchant, Vickroy, introduced us here. He said that you're the cream of the crop in this industry and can complete missions that others aren't capable of completing."
The tobacco merchant Vickroy... Who is he? Klein looked at Captain subconsciously and noticed that Dunn Smith looked really confused.
Captain doesn't know... Sigh...
The scrawny lady saw that the two elite mercenaries looked confused, so she added, "You saved his kidnapped son."
Oh, him... That kidnap case led me to the discovery of the Antigonus family's notebook... Klein was suddenly enlightened.
He fell into a deep thought. Then, it occurred to him, the Antigonus family's notebook is being brought to light again!
A coincidence?
Dunn nodded slightly and said, "I understand."
Upon seeing this, the scrawny woman laid out her offer, "You are to tail and monitor th-that b*tch for two weeks. Even if you don't find any evidence of her crime, you have to take note of who visited her and who she visited. We will pay fifty pounds for this.
"And if you find evidence of her crimes, we would pay another additional two hundred pounds."
If this is a coincidence, where is this leading to? Klein was fixated onto something else that the words of money went pass him.
Wait, Selina was so alerted by Ince Zangwill. Officials dying in the line duty. How exactly? By 0-08? I need to know what 0-08 is capable of, but it's highly confidential... even knowing anything about it is prohibited... Klein was fixated on something else that the words relating to money went pass him like a wind.
Dunn thought for a moment before saying, "No problem, we can sign the contract now. You'll have to pay a deposit of twenty pounds up front."
Klein paused. He didn't expect Dunn Smith would accept the mission although he, himself, was quite keen on accepting.
Mrs. Maynard nodded slightly and said, "No problem. I believe in you. Please don't disappoint me."
Dunn smiled but kept quiet. He turned his head and told Rozanne, "Please write up a contract."