Seeing Alfred look over, Klein returned with a smile and nodded gently.
"I suddenly sensed some danger."
With that said, he calmly turned around and headed for the carriage which Haggis had pointed out.
"Danger..." Alfred repeated the word softly as he warily surveyed his surroundings but failed to find anything odd.
He slowed down his pace, constantly taking note of his surroundings before returning to the nearby three-story building with out-of-the-ordinary vigilance.
Pagani glanced at the heavy-expression wearing Alfred and asked, feeling somewhat puzzled, "What happened?"
He was quite a distance from the arms deal, so he hadn't heard their conversation.
Alfred walked to the window and looked down at the convoy that was prepared to leave after loading the munitions. He deliberated and said, "Dwayne Dantès suddenly left, saying that he had sensed danger."
"Danger?" Pagani didn't dismiss it as he warily looked around. He didn't notice anything amiss even when Maysanchez's men left the region and vanished into the darkness.
He then laughed.
"Haha, Alfred, I think you're too sensitive. I believe it's solely because Dwayne Dantès is a coward and was unwilling to stay here for too long!"
Alfred retracted his gaze and frowned.
"Perhaps."
After returning to his hotel, Klein made Enzo, who had turned into a mixed-blood lad, open the suitcase in his hand. He took out the gold coins and bars one by one and did the count.
It was valued at a total of 30,000 Loen gold pounds!
Thankfully my previous agreement with Miss Messenger is 10,000 Loen gold coins. I don't need to make any additional conversions... Sitting leisurely in the reclining chair, Klein drank the sweet and sour but refreshing Gwadar as he "monitored" his marionette's work.
After Enzo separated the items, he took out the adventurer's harmonica and blew into it.
Reinette Tinekerr walked out of the void with the four blonde, red-eyed heads in hand. It was as though she was constantly nearby.
Her eight eyes turned towards the pile of gold coins and gold bars that had been separated.
After a few seconds, the four heads in Reinette Tinekerr's hand said, "Very good..." "In the future..." "Missions will..." "Cost more..."
...What's the logic behind this? Why are you raising the price after the mission despite me paying you so quickly? Klein was taken aback as he asked with a straightened back, "What?"
Reinette Tinekerr's four blonde, red-eyed heads nodded seriously.
"Mission..." "Price..." "Depends On..." "Your..." "Ability..." "To..." "Earn Money..."
I never expected that... Klein turned agape, but he was unable to retort. After all, such matters were solely decided by the helper. Furthermore, with him advancing to Sequence 4 and becoming a demigod, the missions that he needed her help with in the future was likely to increase in difficulty and danger. It was seemingly reasonable to increase the price.
After Reinette Tinekerr swallowed the gold coins and vanished from the room, Klein reined in his thoughts and began doing calculations regarding his current wealth.
My expenses have been quite significant recently. I'm left with 17,275 pounds in cash and 65 gold coins... This pile of gold bars is worth 25,000 pounds... That makes for a total of more than 40,000 pounds. It's not something to dismiss in all of the Loen Kingdom. I can already buy a manor and some land for farming... Arms dealing sure is profitable...
Reinette Tinekerr needed gold coins, so whatever was left were gold bars.
Standing up and sending the gold bars above the gray fog, Klein walked to the window and cast his gaze to the north.
With the matter coming to a close, he was poised to return to Backlund.
Looking at the horizon, Klein suddenly sighed silently.
Backlund...
North Borough, Backlund University of Technology.
Audrey was touring the campus with a few staff members of the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation.
She was dressed in a simple, light-green dress. By her waist was a white, unadorned leather belt. Her blonde hair had a veiled hat with ribboned flowers that showed off her playful side. She didn't wear any other accessories other than a silver bangle on her left wrist. She looked no different from a female student that came from a family that could only be considered middle-class.
Over the past few days, she had been to public primary schools that bordered East Borough, and she had visited the technical schools in the area around Backlund Bridge. She already knew the appropriate clothes needed for the occasion, not treating charity work as another social scene.
Her green, limpid eyes darted around slightly as she wore a faint smile as she observed the students that came and went.
Backlund University of Technology had recently sent out its acceptance letters, and it was matriculation day for the new class of students.
Matriculation should've happened in late-August or early-September, but as a newly restructured university, Backlund University of Technology's entrance examinations were later than the other universities. That also delayed the results, which also meant that students that applied to the school had also participated in the examinations of other universities or might've already been accepted. Therefore, they had brought forward the registration work to confirm the matriculated numbers before deciding how many more students needed to be accepted.
Due to this, Audrey and the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation's staff came to help the first batch of approved applicants to complete their matriculation procedure.
Wherever she could see, she discovered that the students on campus wore a beaming expression, and every action they made exuded obvious confidence. Their words and actions had an indescribable vigor, one that seemed to have immense hope for the future that allowed them to see light.
And this feeling was completely different from the few public primary schools that Audrey had experienced in the past. The students there were either boorish and noisy or silent and gloomy. A common trait of theirs was being uneasy and confused. Whenever they encountered strangers of status, they would be filled with trepidation. Their eyes were dull, lacking the spirit that youths ought to have.
I really wish those kids will have a chance of receiving higher education and be like the students here where they can work hard for a better future... As Audrey sighed silently, she swept her gaze to a male-female duo who were likely siblings.
The elder brother had clearly stepped into society and started working. He wore a silk hat and wore a rather thin black formal suit. He appeared to be in his thirties and had the air resembling a civil servant.
He had borrowed a rather old camera from somewhere and had placed it on a tripod. He gestured for his younger sister to move and adjust her pose as he searched for the best angle.
The sister was about seventeen or eighteen, and her black hair simply cascaded down. Her brown eyes had a look of exasperation, but she didn't say a word as she seriously listened to her brother's instructions.
Such combinations were everywhere on campus. Some of them had parents and their child, while others were groups of friends.
What a beautiful scene... Audrey looked away and continued proceeding forward.
It was a square, and in the middle of it was a decommissioned steam locomotive. Its massive body was standing there proudly, adding industrial vibes to the Backlund University of Technology.
Whoosh!
The behemoth-like steam locomotive spewed out smoke as it hauled its long body into the platform before slowing down a stop.
A mixed-blood, seven- or eight-year-old girl who looked like a doll, held her mother's hand as she waited in a long line. She asked her father, who was similarly mixed-blood with Loen and Balam heritage, about Desi Bay.
Amidst her shuffling, she saw a gentleman with white sideburns and a top hat holding a gold-inlaid cane. He had a servant with brown skin as he walked towards first-class.
The servant looked around curiously and said, "Sir, the recent situation is different from what I had imagined. I thought the people from Balam would lead tough and difficult lives, with squalid, chaotic, poor, and repressed surroundings. But there was none of them. We even drank Gwadar and smoked East Balam cigarettes. There were even some people who could afford bikes. Uh, as you know, although I have Balam blood in me, I was born in Backlund. I've never been to the Southern Continent. Of course, my Dutanese is still not too bad."
The very noble middle-aged gentleman chuckled and waved his cane.
"That's because we only went to the cities and regions that aren't too bad. The saddest people of Balam are in the villages, in the plantations. The rest take up residence around the factories, creating slums. We never had a chance to see them."
As though sensing the girl's notice, the gentleman with his deep blue eyes and his servant looked over and gave a warm smile.
The corners of their lips clearly curled up, revealing eight teeth before they nodded gently, looked away, and continued on their way.
Before long, the girl and her parents boarded the steam locomotive and found their seats.
When the whistle sounded again, the girl saw a man with dark brown skin, soft facial features, and red lumps on his cheek walk over with his head bowed. His hand pressed on his hat as he quickly walked down the aisle and headed for the head of the train.
The man knocked on the partition before quickly entering the operator's compartment and said to the train driver, "All the train attendants have been swapped with our men. The bridge ahead is where the sacrifice will be held."
With a thick mustache, the train driver nodded and said, "May God be satisfied with the sacrificial items on this train.
"Let's hope we can gain eternal life in the kingdom."
Whoosh!
The steam locomotive drove under a bridge before cruising past a huge bridge. After a long trip, it finally arrived at its destination, the pier.
The doll-like, mixed-blood girl was somewhat sleepy and was no longer as lively as before. Under her parents' lead, she followed the crowd and inched towards the door.
There were a few attendants at the door who were helping some of the passengers remove their luggage.
When the girl and her parents walked past, these attendants curled the corners of their lips and revealed eight teeth, showcasing a warm smile.
After the girl jumped onto the platform, she looked back at them subconsciously. She saw figures standing outside the door, discussing something. Among them was the train conductor, as well as the man with the lumps on his cheek.
A second later, these people turned their heads over and curled the corners of their lips, revealing eight teeth.
The girl retracted her gaze and skipped along as she left the platform with her parents.
