Chapter 36 - Chapter 36: Inspection

Fren walked leisurely on the road, watching the Stars slowly move across the sky. He couldn't help but think of his younger self who loved the Stars. Even though it was the 21st century, the sky above his hometown still sparkled with Stars.Fren thought at that time, with so many Stars in the sky, even if he sat on the grass, resting on the field, facing the Cosmos, watching the Cosmos day after day, he still wouldn't be able to remember the positions of all those Stars. Sometimes, when Fren went to the town library to look at atlases introducing the Cosmos, he couldn't help but marvel at the patience of the scientists who observed daily and the ancient astronomers who observed those silent Stars day after day.Thinking of those joyful childhood memories, a faint smile appeared on Fren's lips. Fren was not entirely immersed in the Stars in the sky; he used his ability to pay attention while playing on his phone, looking at the road while also observing the brilliant Stars, led by the Red Moon, above the Cosmos."Farming Constellation? No, that should be the Thunder Constellation, or perhaps the White Frost Constellation. Hmmm, never mind, I'll just look for now and then re-familiarize myself with these constellations later, combining them with stargazing books and notes."Fren returned to Koson Street in a relaxed and pleasant mood. Seeing the lights on in the villa, Fren was not surprised. Although he didn't have a key, Open the Door for those without keys was what Apprentices excelled at.He didn't see an exposed lock, clearly, Miss Ashley had put the lock she would use after he left back inside the villa. Fren used his only usable ability, Open the Door, preparing to briefly experience the power of a Beyonder.Open the Door brought many different forms of use. Just like now, after Fren extended his hand, his vision seemed to flash, like a dream, and a mysterious force accompanied Fren's opening motion, opening the Door in front of him, which had no connection to mysticism whatsoever.Fren didn't want to alarm the maid who was cleaning, so he simply slowed his steps, looking at the cleaned rooms little by little. However, it was a pity that an Apprentice wouldn't gain magical abilities like Dark Vision or Supernatural Perception, so Fren regretfully stated that he saw nothing.Fren was not willing to stop there. He ungracefully bent down and felt the floor of the house with his hand. Although the weather in Trier was cold now, Fren could still distinguish between a cold floor and a wet and cold floor. So, Fren's sense of touch told him that the floor was almost dry."Qualified, hmm, at least the floor cleaning is qualified now," Fren evaluated in his mind.Fren straightened up and began to check the cleaning situation in the house bit by bit. To Fren's surprise, this lady's movements were clearly much faster than Fren had imagined. The corridors and rooms Fren had already checked, as well as places like the lampstands along the way, were clearly cleaned in an orderly manner by this lady.During the inspection, Fren also discovered the whereabouts of the dutiful maid. After all, while checking the rooms, Fren heard the lady's optimistic singing from outside the washroom. Although he didn't know which dialect the lady was using, the singing was unexpectedly good, which made Fren sigh with emotion. After all, it was Trier, the city of art; even a maid could sing with unique charm.Without disturbing her, Fren continued his inspection. After being very satisfied with the maid's work, Fren went to his private study to look for a secret compartment containing four keys identical to the one Fren held in his hand. Of course, there were still subtle differences.On one side of the golden bronze key, besides the inconspicuous pearl inlay, there were also faint marks engraved that would not appear unless deliberately illuminated under a light.Fren touched the inscription nostalgically, saying nothing more, simply picking up the key with the "Martin" inscription and putting the rest back into the secret compartment.Walking silently up the stairs, feeling the extraordinary experience the candle's light brought him, Fren deeply felt that when he had previously conserved candle oil, only some rooms were lit at night, and walking up the stairs felt like walking through a haunted house. The more Fren thought about it, the more he felt that what he had once thought was cool now seemed not only foolish but also somewhat terrifying.Fren joked to himself, dismissing his idle thoughts, and then walked to the washroom.Just as he was about to Open the Door, he found that the washroom Door suddenly opened. Miss Ashley, who opened the Door, clearly hadn't expected the owner of the villa to be back and about to Open the Door to the washroom. She was terribly startled, her pleasant singing instantly soared and then quickly disappeared without a trace.After her mind went blank for a long time, Ashley slowly recovered and said to Fren, "Mr. Furen, you are truly elusive! I was worried you would have to wait for me to Open the Door for you, but I didn't expect you to just come back directly."Fren also understood that his sudden appearance to someone in the middle of cleaning would be particularly frightening, so he considerately waited for the lady to recover, then said apologetically, "I'm sorry I startled you. I'll be more careful next time. How about I knock outside the washroom where you're working when I return, huh?"Fren then felt that this might be even more startling, so he quickly said, "Actually, most of the time, I'll be back around 9 to 10 o'clock. I hope this hint will prevent you from being too startled when you see me next time."Miss Ashley nodded understandingly, then looked at the clothes she was holding, ready to hang dry, and said, "Sir, please wait until I have finished all my work before we talk. If I finish work early, can I go home early, sir?"Fren nodded understandingly and said, "Please do. If you can finish your work early, not only will you be relaxed, but I will also be very happy. I also understand your hard work." Then, Fren stepped aside, indicating that Miss Ashley could continue her work.Although Ashley didn't understand the meaning of Fren stepping aside, relying on her many years of life experience, Ashley still understood that it meant for her to continue working. So, Ashley just nodded in acknowledgment and continued with her unfinished tasks.On the other hand, Fren now didn't know what to do. Scratching his head, Fren realized that he should provide the maid with some tools for cleaning and some daily necessities like candles. Nodding, Fren sat down in the living room on the first floor, preparing to give some specific instructions to the maid.