A strange guest arrived outside the gates of the Suramar Central Bank.
She was clearly a young lady, yet she carried a cane and wore a monocle—an accessory usually reserved for gentlemen. However, paired like this, she possessed an indescribable air of elegance, causing many young ladies and noblewomen entering the bank to steal frequent glances at her.
Even many women who were as straight as steel found a doubtful thought suddenly blooming in their hearts upon seeing her—why should gender be an obstacle to love?
In fact, it wasn't just others who felt this way; even the tall lady herself believed she had her elegant persona down to a science.
It was just as the saying goes: handsome is as handsome does, but what a pity she's a pervert.
This tall woman was none other than Syl in her Joker form. For the sake of that damned elegant temperament, she had been forced to spend money on an expensive dark red suit to replace her bright red one, and she had also purchased a cane, gloves, a monocle, and several small clothing accessories.
After this shopping spree, Syl's wallet had been squeezed dry. She had no choice but to take the deposit check she had received that afternoon to the bank to exchange it for some cash.
There was no other way; this was the money required for her role-play. Although it pained her, she still had to spend it.
After stating her intention to withdraw money at the front desk, Syl was led to a counter. Sitting behind the counter was a young girl who looked to be in her early teens, around sixteen, with her head down calculating some data.
"Excuse me—" Syl drawled. Because the counter was too low, she had to lean over slightly, propping her right elbow on the counter so she could actually see the girl's face. "I want to withdraw money. What's the process?"
After speaking, Syl placed the check on the table and waited for the girl's reaction.
The bank clerk, who still had a childish face, seemed a bit annoyed at being interrupted halfway through her calculations.
But when she suppressed her slight irritation and looked up at the lady before her, she was instantly petrified.
"Hello," Syl had to push the check forward a bit. "This is a check. Can I cash it?"
"Uh... oh, right, sorry..." Coming back to her senses, the girl hurriedly took the check. In her fluster, her fingers accidentally brushed against the somewhat cool fingers of the person opposite her, causing a flush of crimson to rise on her face.
"This is..." The young clerk's hand suddenly hesitated while looking at the check, pausing in mid-air as if she rarely saw this type of check.
"Is there a problem?" Syl actually felt a bit skeptical about whether this check could be cashed.
"No, no... it's nothing," the girl replied as she put away the check and began the standard procedure, explaining, "This is a checkbook specially printed by our Suramar Central Bank. It's only issued to clients with extremely large deposit amounts. It's quite rare, so I didn't react immediately just now..."
"Mm." Syl nodded without much of a reaction.
Syl didn't want to chat with the girl; Syl just wanted her to hurry up.
The girl also noticed that Syl had no intention of talking, but during a gap in the withdrawal process, she still asked somewhat persistently, "Beau... beautiful lady... may I ask your name?"
"Do I need a name to withdraw money?" Syl simply looked at the girl and asked back, somewhat puzzled.
After counting the money, the girl placed it on the table, looking a bit awkward. "No... I just..."
"Thank you." Syl picked up the bills, put them in her pocket, turned around, and left immediately.
Syl didn't want to continue wasting precious time.
On the way from the inn to the bank, Syl had been approached by at least seven or eight women. There was even a cute girl in a luxurious dress who had stepped down from a carriage and asked for her name with a blushing face.
Dealing with them was truly a hassle.
The Joker didn't need these emotions; she only wanted to see the fear of others.
And women wouldn't affect the speed at which she threw her knives in the slightest.
As she walked, Syl unconsciously found herself by the riverside again.
This winding waterway connected the entire city; it was difficult to cross districts without encountering this river.
Even though it was already night, the riverside was still bustling with people. Besides the shops on the left side of the road, there were also many vendors setting up stalls along the river on the right. From time to time, some people would throw food scraps into the river.
The scene, which lacked any sense of hygiene, left Syl somewhat speechless. It couldn't help but remind her of a very famous river in India.
Rendered appetite-less by the scene, Syl simply found a bakery and bought a piece of bread to temporarily tide her over.
After eating, Syl continued walking along the road beside the small river. Her goal this time was clear: she was heading toward the Queens District.
Since she wanted to scout for information on the nobility, she naturally had to go where nobles appeared. In the Queens District, you might even hit a Bonsandi if you threw a stone.
"If you wanted to look for information on nobles, wouldn't it have been enough to just get on that noble girl's carriage earlier? ^_^"
"Why should I rely on women for information I can get for free through fear?"
"Why should you rely on fear for information you can get for free through women?"
"...Forget it, The Joker is really no fun. Goodbye."
The screen displaying the system's text vanished; it seemed it didn't intend to continue arguing with Syl.
While Syl was distracted, a figure bumped into her right arm. Syl stood motionless, but the person who bumped into her staggered back several steps.
"Sor... sorry..." It was a man who looked preoccupied. After looking up and apologizing to Syl, he hurried past her and headed toward the back.
"Tsk... if I have to make a comparison, women are indeed much more pleasing to the eye than men." Syl slowly extended her left hand, which was clad in a white glove, and gently brushed her right arm, though there was no dust there.
Suddenly, Syl's brow furrowed.
The wallet containing 1,650 currency, 12 shillings, and 3 pence was gone... Syl slowly turned her head to look behind her, her gaze landing exactly on the man who had just brushed past her. He was now standing over ten meters away. Looking at Syl, who had suddenly turned around, his expression was somewhat terrified; he seemingly hadn't expected her to realize the wallet was missing so quickly.
Upon realizing he had been discovered, the man panicked and turned around to start running quickly.
After running about four or five meters and hearing no movement, the man couldn't help but steal a glance back, only to see the tall, thin woman still looking at him unhurriedly. She had simply turned around as if taking a casual stroll and taken a step in his direction.
That irrepressible expression of delight made it look as if she had found some interesting toy.
"Scared? Terrified?"
"Then you can start running."
"I'll be there soon."