Detective

Friday, the sky was covered with thick clouds, blocking out the sun. But instead of cooling down, the weather grew even more stuffy.

After school, Colin headed back to the Russell family's home with his backpack. He was only wearing a single shirt, but he was still sweating profusely from the heat.

He quickened his pace, eager to get back and take a cold shower.

Upon arriving at his doorstep, Colin found an unfamiliar black horse there. Setting aside its color, Colin carefully examined the horse's frame, its strength, and other subtle details.

"A purebred from the Aishier Highland," Colin mused.

"Who could it be? It couldn't be the person I invited, could it?" Colin pinched his chin, then tightened the straps of his backpack across his chest as he walked towards the door.

As Colin was changing into his slippers, Linda came out from inside the house. She wasn't wearing an apron today, nor did she smell of cooking oil, nor was she holding a spatula.

"A young gentleman is looking for you. He says he's John Lorrain, from Kent City," Linda said to Colin in a low voice, a strange expression on her face.

"Could it really be the person I invited? To have a purebred horse as transportation?" Colin was full of surprise, then he smiled at Linda and said, "Sister, I want roast chicken."

Linda was taken aback, then understood, and shot Colin a glare. She whispered, "Don't do anything bad." Then, Linda went back to get her small purse, checked if there was enough money inside, and then went out.

Colin, wearing his slippers, entered the living room and saw a charming gentleman. He was tall with a well-proportioned build, and beneath his glossy short golden hair was an extremely handsome face, his lips slightly upturned, revealing two shallow dimples. He was dressed very formally and appropriately, and his black leather shoes were polished to a shine.

"Hello, Mr. Colin. I am the private investigator you requested, John Green," John said with a faint smile on his face, rising and bowing slightly to Colin.

"Hello, Mr. John," Colin replied, also bowing slightly.

After the pleasantries, Colin invited John to sit down again. On the coffee table were two small cookies and two cups of black tea. Judging by the steam rising from the tea, John had only just arrived.

"I wrote to Mr. George to ask him to introduce a private investigator, but I didn't expect such a wealthy gentleman to come," Colin shook his head, still surprised.

"Not only am I a wealthy gentleman, but I am also a Lifetime Knight of the Empire, and one of the best private investigators in Kent City. I specialize in infidelity cases. So you need to be prepared, my fees are very high."

John said this with a smile, even winking playfully at Colin.

Colin was a bit speechless. He had only asked George VIII to find him a private investigator, how did someone like this show up? And an Imperial Knight at that. To not be a proper Imperial Knight and instead be a private investigator, he looked like a shady character.

And the fees were high.

Colin's heart twitched, but he maintained a composed smile and asked, "How high are your fees?"

"It depends on the situation. For supernatural cases, it starts at twenty gold coins. For ordinary cases, it starts at ten gold coins. For infidelity cases, it depends on the security strength of the other party," John said, maintaining his smile throughout.

Colin nodded, it was within an acceptable range.

"The target is Kebir, a wealthy grain merchant, currently the vice president of the Grain Association in Will City. Investigate him thoroughly and find his dirt," Colin stated directly.

"Fifteen gold coins," John said after thinking for a moment, quoting a price.

"Deal," Colin agreed readily.

By the time Linda returned with the nicely wrapped roast chicken, the private investigator had already left. Linda didn't ask any further questions, only warned Colin once more.

"Don't do anything bad."

Colin agreed insincerely.

Hiring a private investigator to investigate Brian's father, intending to ruin him, and then intervening in the grain business to make a fortune, would that count as doing something bad?

Since Mr. John had visited, he had disappeared as if he had never been there. Colin continued to attend school during the day and make basic potions at night.

Time passed, and it was September 1st. On this day, Colin took leave from Ms. Anna and waited for his guest in his living room. This was after he had obtained a full three hundred gold coins from Rhode.

Colin put the gold coins into a leather bag, rented a horse from the stable, an East Gelan White Horse, and rode the white horse towards Knight Victor's villa outside the city.

Colin handed the horse to the old doorman at the entrance and then directly found Knight Victor, who was training Smith. He then abandoned Smith, his own brother, and together with Knight Victor, they went into the villa's living room to sit down.

Colin placed the leather bag in his hand on the coffee table in the living room. The gold coins inside the leather bag made a crisp clinking sound.

"Lord Victor, here are the agreed-upon three hundred gold coins. You and your friends can get started," Colin said, sitting on the leather sofa as a maid brought over black tea and cookies. Colin didn't add sugar this time and drank the black tea directly.

"Truly remarkable." Victor had noticed the suspicious leather bag when he first saw Colin. It was only now that he let out a sigh of admiration.

How old was this boy? He could produce such a large sum of cash.

"First, we need to go to the Will City Municipal Hall to register a grain company and divide the shares. Then, in our name, we will borrow a sum of money from the Imperial Bank and use the loan to acquire the grain that originally belonged to those wealthy merchants." Victor looked up at Colin and said with a smile, "This is your plan, but you haven't named the company yet."

"Noah," Colin said after thinking for a moment.

"Noah? What does that mean?" Victor was taken aback. As a traditional Imperial Knight, he possessed extensive cultural knowledge but didn't know the meaning of this word.

"It's the name of a ship. Starting from this company, we will embrace the vast ocean," Colin said with a smile.

Knight Victor, however, didn't understand at all and couldn't help but shake his head.

"I'll get it done right away." Victor then stood up and called for his butler to prepare a carriage to go to the municipal hall to register the company.

Colin met up with Smith, and they had lunch at Victor's house. It wasn't until the afternoon that he patted his backside and left Victor's villa, returning to Will City.

The subsequent events proceeded extremely smoothly. Noah Company was officially established, primarily dealing in agricultural products. The actual controller of the company was Colin Russell, holding sixty percent of the shares.

The shareholders were Victor Williams and five other Lifetime Knights of the Empire.

Afterward, Knight Victor, under the company's name, successfully borrowed a sum of three thousand gold coins from the Imperial Bank and officially entered the grain business for the year.

The main reason was that the company's shareholders were too formidable. Upon seeing the company's documents, the bank realized it had five Lifetime Imperial Knights and readily approved the loan.