Early Tuesday morning, Klein woke up naturally and prepared two slices of toast, a piece of butter, a serving of bacon, and a cup of coffee before leisurely reading a newspaper while having breakfast.
With the terrifying Language of Foulness charm, he was much more at ease. He was no longer as tense as he was before.
Klein finished flipping through the Backlund Bulletin, picked up the Tussock Times, and saw a news article on the second page.
"At two o'clock this morning, there was a fierce gunfight at Red Brick Alley in the East Borough. According to the police, it is suspected to be a clash between two gangs, one of which is the notorious Zmanger gang."
The Zmanger gang... Red Brick Alley in the East Borough... A thought occurred to Klein as he left the dining table and found the map of Backlund.
With just a glance, he noticed that Red Brick Alley wasn't far from Bacardi Street. Furthermore, Ian Wright had previously appeared at the telegraph office on Bacardi Street.
Was Red Brick Alley where Ian Wright was hiding? Was the violent conflict between the military's special department and the intelligence staff of the Intis Republic? I wonder what the result will be... Klein picked up the last of the bacon, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly.
He had "informed" both sides about the divination the previous morning and they had already locked onto Ian's location that very night, which implied quite a high level of efficiency.
After taking a sip of coffee, Klein put down the newspaper and fell into deep thought.
Suddenly, he heard the tinkling of the doorbell.
"Who is it?" Klein wiped his mouth with a napkin and headed for the door, puzzled.
Could it be a new commission? For the past few days, I've been out and about because of the Intis Ambassador. I wonder how many jobs and potential clients I've lost... It's such a waste of my advertising money... If this goes on, my finances will be stretched to the limit... Klein suddenly thought of something and opened the door.
Standing outside were two ladies, one of them being Mrs. Sammer, who wore a dressing gown. She had intricate makeup on her face, making her look more beautiful than at home and nothing like she was in her thirties. The other lady wore a wide-brimmed hat with a black tartan veil, and a darker, more fluffy dress.
"Detective Moriarty, I have a friend who needs your help." Stelyn Sammer held onto her veiled hat, but there was no hint of a smile in her blue eyes.
"Please come in." Klein pointed to the living room, and while he was turning around, he took the opportunity to fasten the top button of his shirt and adjusted his black vest.
Stelyn nodded slightly and, without another word, led the black-veiled lady into the room.
She knew the place very well, and without Klein's guidance, easily found the sofa and took her seat.
Klein wanted to immediately start asking, but then thought about Stelyn Sammer's style of doing things, so he asked with a smile, "Coffee or tea?"
In his eyes, Mrs. Sammer was a lady who pursued a high quality of life and tried to showed her superiority all the time.
"There's no need." The other lady took off her hat.
She had good features, but the combination was disappointing. In addition, her cheekbones were too high, and she looked older than her actual age.
A little anger, a little sadness, a little hesitation, a little fear... Klein read the lady's emotions.
It wasn't that he suddenly possessed the abilities of a Spectator, but that the lady's actions were just too obvious.
"Yes, neither coffee nor tea can solve the problem." Stelyn imitated a position found in magazines, trying her best to appear classy. "This is Mrs. Mary Gale, a shareholder of Coim Company."
"What would you like to entrust me with, Mrs. Gale?" Klein sat down on a single-seater, leaning forward slightly and resting his arms on his thighs.
"Don't call me Mrs. Gale. Just call me Mary." Mary Gale pursed her lips. "I wish for you to tail my husband and confirm if he has a mistress. It's best if you can obtain material evidence."
As a result of the Church of the Evernight Goddess's active push for years, the Loen Kingdom was more radical in its marriage laws than the other countries, such as Feysac, Intis, and Lenburg. It stipulated that those who committed adultery had to pay a financial price for it, which meant that the adulterer would be at an absolute disadvantage during the division of property.
I've heard that at least four out of ten of the other private detectives are investigating extramarital affairs... I didn't expect that I would receive such a job too... Klein said thoughtfully, "Material evidence is not easy to obtain."
"I'll lend you the latest portable camera," Mary replied without any hesitation. "As long as you have the evidence, I will pay you ten pounds. If you only confirm that he has a mistress, you will only receive three pounds."
You mean the so-called portable camera that's about two-thirds the size of my head? 10 pounds, this isn't a low price... Mr. Klein has been focusing on entrepreneurship and knew about the latest cameras.
He hesitated for two seconds before saying, "Alright."
"But you have to provide me with detailed information about your husband and his regular activities."
"... No problem!" Mary paused for a second before gathering all her strength to say it.
"Thank you for your help. I hope you won't tell anyone else about this," Stelyn reminded him.
Hearing this, Klein immediately sighed, "I'm a person who upholds confidentiality, and I often get into trouble for that."
...
In the lobby of Count Wolf's house, men and women were dancing amid violin tunes.
Audrey was carrying a glass of pale gold champagne when she "accidentally" bumped into the Intis Republic ambassador to Loen, Bakerland Jean Madan.
"You're the most beautiful young lady I've ever met." Bakerland, with his thin face and slight stubble, pecked Audrey's white-gauzed glove with a kiss according to propriety customs. His eyes looked passionate and bold.
Audrey rolled her eyes and said with a chuckle, "Is this the way people from Intis talk?"
"Yes, we are never stingy with praise for beautiful things." Bakerland chuckled. "If it wasn't for the style of the Loen Kingdom, I might have called you my angel."
Old pervert... Audrey maintained her graceful smile and said, "The people of Loen and Intis are indeed different."
"Heh, that makes me think of a joke. Please allow me to be presumptuous." Bakerland squinted his eyes and said, "After a good time with a beautiful girl, most Loen men would say, ‘Oh, dear, I'd like a cigarette', but most Intis men would say..."
He deliberately paused, and Audrey tilted her head, trying her best to keep her nausea in check while looking puzzled.
"What would they say?"
"Most of the Intis men would say, ‘Oh, baby, I have to return now and can't be discovered by my wife.'" Bakerland raised his glass and laughed.
"... People who can laugh at themselves always have an additional charm to them." Audrey smiled politely.
Her beautiful, clear, dark green eyes suddenly turned to look behind Ambassador Bakerland.
"I'm sorry, a friend is looking for me."
"It's a pleasure talking to you." Bakerland bowed and moved aside.
Audrey moved forward gracefully and didn't look back again.
Just as she was considering who she should find as the object of her excuse, a young gentleman approached her and, lowering his voice, warned her, "Audrey, don't be fooled by that Ambassador Bakerland, he's a dirty old man! I don't know how many women he's tricked into bed.
Bakerland is lustful? This is in line with my observations... This is a weakness...Audrey smiled without hiding her disgust.
"Kance, do you have a misconception about me? Goddess, how could I be bewitched by that Ambassador Bakerland? His cologne makes me want to vomit; his words are so foul, and his taste is like a male peacock."
Kance was Viscount Leerhsen's youngest son, and their family was on fairly good terms with the Hall family.
According to Audrey, Kance had entered MI9 after graduating from Tingen University and had become quite enigmatic.
Her original plan had been to have a chat with Ambassador Backlund, and observe him up close before using the pretext of exasperation to get more information from Kance and his other friends from the intelligence community to learn more about him. To her surprise, she didn't need to seek out Kance Leerhsen since he came over and started the corresponding conversation on his own accord.
"Your feelings are correct." Kance gave a sincere smile. He surveyed his surroundings and whispered, "Besides, Bakerland is a very dangerous fellow."
"How dangerous?" Audrey asked curiously.
"Have you heard of Beyonders? I know that you've always been interested in such matters," Kance said with some deliberation.
Audrey gently nodded.
"I know quite a bit, most of it being told to me by Glaint."
Kance took a glance at Bakerland, who was chatting with an affluent lady, and said with a serious expression, "He's Intis's intelligence head in our Kingdom. He's done numerous atrocities, but we haven't been able to gather any evidence of his crimes. He's a Sequence 6, a Conspiracist."
He didn't go into details with an outsider like Audrey, nor did he mention that Conspiracist was part of the Hunter pathway.
However, Audrey was already aware of this. She feigned naivety and sighed.
"He's really amazing!"
"He has an assistant in the shadows, one that has perhaps reached Sequence 5. In addition to that, all of the Intis intelligence agents in the Kingdom are under his management. Many of them are Beyonders. Unfortunately, we only know a few of them..." Kance added in passing. "Don't be too happy if Bakerland praises you either. It's not what he truly thinks. He just wants to use this opportunity to gather more information."
I don't like what you're saying... Audrey looked up at the ornate chandelier and thought for a few seconds.
"Is Bakerland very smart? You haven't managed to get any incriminating evidence..."
"He truly is good at scheming, but he also has a lot of problems. He likes to chase after women and loves the feeling of romance. He takes risks and is quite radical. If it wasn't for his identity as an ambassador preventing us from taking action easily, he would've been captured long ago." Kance stroked his chin and said, "However, he'll be replaced very soon. Very soon."
"Why?" Audrey asked in surprise.
"My dear beautiful lady, this isn't something you should know." Kance adhered to the principle of confidentiality.
When the ball was almost over, Audrey, who had gathered quite a bit of information, found Viscount Glaint and asked him to help her contact Xio and Fors.
