“Okay,” Klein whispered, he took the low hat and put it back on his head again. At the same time, he continued to ponder about the characteristics of the sealed artifact “0-08”.
[The appearance of a normal quill?
[Can write without ink?
[So what is its real ability? Such that it is highly confidential and considered “extremely dangerous”?
[Is it a pen that can write anyone's death?
[No, that's too powerful. In that case, Ince Zangwill doesn't have to run away…]
Klein had just turned around and was about to leave the room. Suddenly, Dunn Smith shouted at him.
“Wait a minute, I’ve forgotten something.”
“What?” Klein turned his head back, he was full of doubts.
Dunn put back his gorgeous pocket watch and smiled.
“Later, go and find the accountant Mrs. Oliana for an advance payment of 4 week's salary, which is a total of 12 pounds. After that, you can pay back by deducting half of the salary every week until the repayment is completed.”
“That's too much, there is no need for this, you can give a little less,” Klein said subconsciously.
As for the advance salary, he did not object to it. After all, he did not even have the money to take the public carriage back. However, holding a huge sum of 12 pounds was scary for him.
“No, this is a necessity.” Dunn shook his head and smiled. “Think of it this way, are you still willing to continue living in the current apartment, where even the bathroom has to be shared among several households? Perhaps you don’t mind, but you have to be considerate for the lady. Additionally…”
Seeing Klein was nodding in approval, Dunn paused, smiled, and studied at the other's clothes carefully.
“You will also need a walking cane, plus a proper dress.”
Klein was stunned for a second and immediately realized that his face was red. It was because that the set of cloth that he wore was low standard and cheap.
Normally, a top hat that was made of silk was worthed 5 to 6 sule. A bow tie was 3 sule, a silver decorated cane was 7 to 8 sule, a shirt was 3 sule, a pair pants, vest, and tuxedo were about 7 pounds. Leather boots were 9 to 10 sule. For such a set, it would cost a total of 8 pounds 7 sule and above. Of course, a decent gentleman would also need a bracelet, a pocket watch, and a wallet.
When the original self and his brother Benson were living thriftily in the past, there was a time when they took a sum of money and went to a proper cloak shop to check on the price. However, it was so expensive that they left the shop without even trying to bargain. In the end, they went to a bargain shop near the Iron Cross Street and bought an economical set each for fewer than two pounds.
It was because of this matter that the original self had an extremely deep impression of the price of proper clothing.
“Okay, okay,” Klein replied in a stuttering voice.
Like the original self, he was also a person who cared about appearance.
Dunn took out his pocket watch and glanced at it.
“How about you go to Mrs. Oliana first? I don’t know how long you will stay with Old Neil. If you wait a little longer, Mrs. Oliana is going home.”
“Alright.” Klein, who was feeling poor, did not object.
Dunn paced back to the table and pulled one of the ropes under the droop.
“I'll ask Roseanne to take you there.”
As ropes were being pulled and the gears started turning, Roseanne, who was in the reception hall of the “Blackthorn Security Company”, heard the soft jingles of the bell hanging from the side. She quickly stood up and carefully stepped down the stairs.
It didn’t take long for her to appear in front of Klein.
Dunn Smith smiled humorously.
“I hope I have not disturbed your rest? Well, please take Mr. Moretti to Mrs. Oliana.”
Roseanne quietly pouted her mouth, but she answered “happily”.
“Okay, Captain.”
“Just like this?” At this time, Klein was surprised and blurted out.
[Going to the “Finance” to advance the salary, don’t you need the Captain to write a note and sign?]
“So?” Dunn questioned curiously.
“I mean… in order to request Mrs. Oliana for advance salary, don’t you need to sign a note?” Klein tried to explain in simple language.
“Oh, no, it’s not required. Rosanne can prove it.” Dunn Smith pointed at the brown-haired girl.
[Captain, we have almost no management for our “financial management”… ] Klein resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment, he followed Roseanne and walked out of the room.
Just then, he heard Dunn call again.
“Wait a minute, there is something else.”
[Can’t you finish your instructions at one go?] Klein turned back with a smile.
“Go on.”
Dunn pressed his temple.
“When you go to the old Neil, remember to collect ten 'demon hunting bullets'."
“Me? Demon hunting bullets?” Klein was surprised to ask.
“Welch’s revolver is with you right? You don’t have to turn it in.” Dunn placed one hand in his pocket, “With the ‘demon hunting bullets’, even if you encounter a supernatural danger, you can protect yourself. Oh, at least it can give you courage.”
[You don't have to add the last half of the sentence…] As Klein was also worried about this, he agreed without hesitation.
“Okay, I will remember it!”
“This will require me to write a formal document, wait a minute.” Dunn Smith sat down and picked up the dark red pen. He quickly wrote a “note”, signed his name, and covered it with a stamp.
“Thank you, Captain.” Klein took it and said sincerely.
He slowly stepped back and turned again.
"Hold on…”
Dunn shouted again.
[ … Captain, you seem to be only in your thirties, how come you are behaving as if you aging in advance?] Klein forced a smile and turned back.
“What else?”
“I've forgotten, you haven’t practiced shooting before. Therefore, it’s useless to hold the ‘demon hunting bullet’. How about this, you will receive 30 normal bullets every day. When you are out, go to Zouteland Street. There is an underground shooting range which is mainly used by the police department, but there is an area dedicated to the Night Watchers too. Ah, yes, you will need to get a badge from the old Neil, or else you can’t enter the shooting range.” Dunn patted on his forehead and took back the “note” from Klein. He added the other contents and also impressed a stamp.
“All good gunmen are fed with bullets. Don’t underestimate the practice.” Dunn handed the modified “note” back to Klein.
“I understand.” Klein, who was afraid of the possible dangers, couldn't wait to go today.
He walked two steps, suddenly turned his body halfway, and asked cautiously.
“Captain, is there anything else?”
“Nothing.” Dunn nodded firmly.
Klein breathed a sigh of relief and walked outside the door. During which, he had a strong urge to turn around and ask, “Are you sure you have nothing else?”
He resisted this impulse and finally left the “keeper room” successfully.
“The captain has always been like this. He is always forgetting things.” Roseanne walked beside him and complained in a low voice. “Even my grandmother has a better memory. Of course, he will only forget small things, um, little things. Klein… I will call Klein from now on. Mrs. Oliana is a kind-hearted person and she is very easy to get along with. In addition, her father is a watchmaker and his craft is very good…”
While listening to the brown-haired girl’s ramble, Klein stepped on the stairs and returned to the upper level. He met Mrs. Oliana in the office on the right-hand side.
She was a dark-haired lady wearing a lotus leaves pattern dress. She looked like she was in her thirties. She had a stylish curly hair, a pair of green pupils which were clear and smiling. She looked scholarly and elegant.
After listening to Roseanne repeating Dunn Smith's arrangement, Oliana took out a note and wrote an advance slip.
“Please sign here. Do you have a seal? If not, you can leave a fingerprint instead.”
"Okay.” Klein completed the formalities.
Oliana took out a bronze key and opened the safe in the room. She counted the pound notes, smiled, and said.
"You are so lucky, there is enough cash today. By the way, Klein, are you invited by the Captain because you were involved in evil events and have your own specialties?”
“Yes, Madam. Your instincts are accurate.” Klein praised in a direct manner.
Oliana took out four light-gray backgrounds, dark-black-colored banknotes. She re-locked the safe, turned around and laughed.
“It was the same for me.”
“Is it?” Klein appropriately expressed surprise.
“Have you heard about the serial killer that shocked the entire Tengon 16 years back?” Oliana handed four notes to Klein.
“…Oh yes, I remember! He was the 'bloody butcher' who killed five girls, He took the hearts from some girls and the stomachs of the others. When I was a child, my mother often used this incident to scare my sister.” Klein tried to recall the incident and replied.
He received the banknote and realized that it was two 5 pounds notes and two 1 pound notes, both of which were gray and black, with complex patterns and special watermarks on the four corners.
The former was slightly larger. The center of the note was the fifth king of the Kingdom of Ruen. He was Henry Augustus I, the direct ancestor of George III. He had a white hair band, a round face, narrow eyes, and very serious expression. However, he had an incomprehensible closeness in Klein's eyes.
[This is a 5-pound note!
[It is equal to nearly 4 weeks of Benson's salary!]
The center of the 1 pound note was the father of George III, the former king William Augustus VI. The “strong leader” had a thick beard and a determined look. During his reign, the kingdom of Ruen dispelled its past shackles and once again rose to the top of the nations.
[These are all “good kings”…] Klein vaguely smelt the heart-warming ink scent of the banknotes.
“Yes. If it wasn’t for the Night Watchers who had rushed to the scene, I would have become the sixth victim.” Mrs. Oliana still had a hint of fear in her tone, even though it had been more than a decade.
“Sounds that serial killer, no, the butcher, was an Extraordinary ?” Klein carefully folded the banknotes, placed them in the pockets on the inside of the suit, and then touched the vicinity of his cloth several times to confirm.
“Yes.” Mrs. Oliana was nodding with an intense expression. “There were many people who had been killed by him before. The reason why he was caught was that he was preparing for a demon ritual.”
“No wonder he needed the different internal organs… Sorry, ma'am, I made you recall such a horrible experience.” Klein apologized sincerely.
Oliana smiled. “I am no longer afraid now … at that time, I was still studying Accounting at a business school. After that, I came here. Okay, I shouldn't delay you, you have to go see Old Neil.”
“Goodbye, ma’am.” Klein took off his hat and left the office. Before walking down the stairs, he couldn’t help but touch the inside pocket to confirm that the 12-pound banknotes were still there.
He turned at the crossroad and headed to the right. Not long after, he saw a half-covered iron gate.
Dun. Dun. Dun.
Amidst the sound of knocking on the door, there was an old voice.
“Come in.”
Klein pushed the iron door and found it to be a narrow room. It could only accommodate one table and two chairs.
On the other side of the room, there was a tightly locked iron door. Behind the table, there was an old man with white hair and a classic black robe. He was reading a few pages of pale yellowish paper under the light of the gas lamp.
He looked up and glanced towards the door.
“Are you Klein Moretti? Roseanne mentioned just now that you are a very polite gentleman.”
“Miss Rosanne is really a friendly person. Good afternoon, Mr. Neil.” Klein took off his hat.
“Please sit.” Neil pointed to the silver tin can with complex flowery patterns. “Would you like a cup of freshly ground coffee?”
The wrinkles around his eyes and mouth were deep. He also had a pair of dark red pupils which were slightly cloudy.
“You don’t seem to drink coffee?” Klein keenly observed that Neil’s ceramic cup contained clear water.
“Haha, this is my habit. I don’t drink coffee after 3 pm.” Neil smiled and explained.
"Why?" Klein asked casually.
Neil smiled and looked into Klein's eyes.
“I am afraid that if I have a bad sleep at night, I will hear some inexplicable whispers.”
[…] Klein didn’t know how to respond. Instead, he tried to ask.
“Mr. Neil, what documents and books should I start with?”
As he spoke, he took out the “note” written by Dunn Smith.
“Things related to history are complicated and piecemeal. To be honest, I have always been trying to learn, but I can only master the basics. The other things are too troublesome, such as people’s diaries, popular books, epitaphs, etc… Wait,” Neil lamented. “For example, the ones I have at hand need more detailed historical records to infer the specific contents.”
“Why?” Klein was a little confused.
Neil pointed to a few pieces of pale yellowish paper in front of him.
“This is the diary that Russell Gustaf had lost before his death. For confidentiality, he had recorded it in the strange symbols that he had invented.”
[Russell the Great? The transmigration senior?] Klein paused and immediately listened attentively.
“Many people believe that he had not really died but instead became a hidden god. Thus, there have been cults holding various rituals to worship him, trying to gain some kinds of powers. We would occasionally encounter such things and obtained a few pieces of original or copied notes." Neil shook his head. "Till today, no one can interpret the true meaning of those special symbols. Therefore, the ‘Sacred Cathedral’ has allowed us to keep a copy for studying, hoping to arrive at some unexpected surprises."
Having said that, Neil showed a smug smile.
“I have actually interpreted a few of these symbols. I can confirm that they are numeric symbols. Look at my discovery, this is actually a diary! Well, I am hoping to use the historical events of the different dates, especially the events regarding the emperor. Comparing these to the records on the day of the diary, I can try to interpret more symbols.”
“The mind of a genius, right?” The old gentleman with white hair and deep wrinkles looked brightly at Klein.
Klein nodded to agree.
“Yes.”
“Haha, you can also take a look at it. You will have to start helping me with the documents tomorrow.” Mr. Neil pushed the yellowish pages towards Klein.
Klein turned the pages around, took a glance at it, and was immediately stunned on the spot.
Although those “symbols” were copied in an ugly fashion and were slightly distorted. He would never mistake them…
[This is the text that I am familiar with.]
[Chinese!]
[In addition, it is Simplified Chinese!]
TN:
Updated 'Sacred Temple' to 'Sacred Cathedral'
Updated 'Temple of Serenity' to 'Cathedral of Serenity'