The steam trains of this era were not very fast, and in order for one train to pull more people and goods, the locomotive dragged more than 20 carriages forward, which slowed down the progress even more.
When arriving at Stoen City, the capital of East Chester County, Angel looked at his pocket watch and found that nearly two hours had passed since the departure.
Can we really arrive at Enmat Harbor on time?
Holding her pocket watch worriedly, she looked out the window at the busy crowd.
Stoen City is slightly smaller than Tingen City, with a permanent population of less than 100,000. However, due to its beautiful scenery and close proximity to mountains and rivers, it is a good place for the Loen Kingdom's rich and powerful to purchase real estate and travel for vacation.
The train stopped at Stoen and was delayed for about twenty minutes. During this period, half the people in the carriage Angel were in left, but three times the number of people came on. The carriage was quickly filled, and almost every booth was occupied.
There was also a man in his thirties sitting in the seat opposite her. He was wearing a brown vest and a white shirt. His coat was on his right hand and he was holding an exquisite suitcase in his left hand.
Putting the box at his feet with a bang, the man casually hung his coat by the window, took out the iron cigarette case and matches from his vest pocket, smacked his lips and poured out one as if he had been waiting for it for a long time. He looked at the lady sitting opposite, put the cigarette to his nose, smelled it, and stuffed it back into the cigarette case.
Angel doesn't smoke, but he doesn't object to others smoking, not to mention that there is no ban on smoking in such public places.
But when she saw that the other party consciously put away his cigarette case, she smiled politely to express her gratitude.
"Enmat Harbor?"
Angel was looking at the crowd gradually dispersing outside the window, listening to the long "woo--" sound from the train whistle. He didn't realize that the man opposite was asking him. It wasn't until the other person repeated it that he turned his attention to him.
"Yes, on a business trip."
"Ah, me too, it seems we are on the right path."
Doesn't this train have only one destination... Could it be that we can't go along the way?
The man didn't seem to notice Angel's impatience, and kept talking:
"I have been to Enmat Harbor many times. Unlike Pritz Harbor, it is far away from the Berserk Sea, and it does not have the barbaric temperament of the Southern Continent. On the contrary, it has a more inland style, the architecture is like this, and the food is like this..."
Angel turned her head and no longer looked at him, but looked out the window. The steam train started again, and the scenery kept changing. Soon it returned from the urban area with many buildings to the farms and fields in the suburbs.
Contrary to what she feared, the journey from Stoen to Enmat Harbor was downhill, which made the train move much faster. The "clang" sound of the wheels running over the gaps between the rails was obviously more intensive than in the first half of the journey.
It looks like we'll arrive on time...
Her mood improved a lot, and the man's croaking noise in her ears was no longer harsh, but she still put on the hood of her cloak and protested with action.
Thanks to the height difference between the two places, the steam train that ran all the way finally arrived at the Enmat Harbor train station after 11 a. m.
As soon as the train stopped and other passengers were still packing their belongings, Angel left the carriage with his suitcase.
In order to facilitate the transfer of goods, Steam Train Station of Enmat Harbor was not far from Port District. As soon as she stepped out of the car door, a sea breeze mixed with fishy smell and humidity blew over. The experience that was so different from the dull car made her squint her eyes, smile and take a deep breath.
"This is your first time at Enmat Harbor, right? You can see the sea when you go around the platform. Judging from the weather, there haven't been big waves in the past few days. I recommend you go to the beach to have a look..."
The familiar voice of the man who got on the bus at Stoen City came from behind, making the smile on Angel's face almost not tighten.
"Thanks for the recommendation, but I have other arrangements. Goodbye."
She answered hurriedly without looking back, tightened her hood and walked towards the station exit.
In order to prevent the familiar man from continuing to pester her, she immediately found a hired carriage and got into the carriage without asking for a price.
"Golden Apple District, First Avenue, um... Saint George Church, please hurry up."
After announcing the destination, Angel put the suitcase away and looked at the exit of the train station from the car window. He saw the man walking out wearing a coat and looking around, but he didn't pay attention to the carriage that was already moving.
The road near the train station, which is busy with cargo transportation, has been pockmarked by various overweight vehicles. The horse-drawn carriage that lacks shock absorbers will bounce from time to time as it passes by, causing Angel inside the car to suffer. Fortunately, after entering Golden Apple District, the quality of the road improved significantly and the road became much wider. The surrounding buildings changed from low warehouses and apartments to shops or single-family houses that are both beautiful and practical.
It seems that Golden Apple District of Enmat Harbor is similar to North Borough of Tingen City. They are both wealthy areas. No wonder the church is built here...
"Ma'am, Saint George Church has arrived."
The carriage stopped at the driver's cry.
After getting out of the car, what appeared in front of Angel was a slightly smaller building than Tingen's Saint Selena Cathedral. Perhaps due to its age, buttresses were not used to reinforce the exterior walls when it was built. The bell tower was independent of the church body, and the stained glass on the exterior wall had become slightly dull due to the year-round erosion of the sea breeze.
While observing the church, the coachman eagerly helped her unload her suitcases from the carriage and then stood waiting to pay the bill.
Angel estimated the distance from the station to the church, which is about 2-3 kilometers. According to Tingen City, the price will not exceed 1 soli. She took out 1 soli from under her cloak, grabbed a handful of pennies, and asked casually, "How much?"
"A total of 3 soli, ma'am."
"Okay... how much?"
She looked at the coachman in disbelief. The latter raised his head confidently but did not dare to look directly at the driver. "A total of 3 soli."
Am I being bullied as a foreigner?
Suppressing the anger in his heart, Angel put the penny back in his pocket, took out 1 soli and put it in the palm of his hand. With the other hand, he found Awwa County's Inspector Badge from the inner pocket.
"Either take this 1 soli, or..." She shook the Police Badge, "Let's go to the Police Station across the street and calculate how much the fare is."
The driver's eyes quickly filled with panic as he looked at Police Badge.
"What, you... you are a policeman? I'm really sorry, I made a mistake just now, it was... I calculated it wrong, there is no need for 3 soli..."
"Then let's do the math. Is 1 soli enough?"
"Enough, enough..."
The coachman took a step back, as if he wanted to escape directly, but he gritted his teeth and took the 1 soli in Angel's hand, then jumped on the carriage, without even bothering to close the door, and drove the carriage away quickly with a wave of his whip.
Unexpectedly, the first time I used the police's authority was to use it on myself...
Angel took back the badge, looked around, and found that many Passerby had noticed the movement here and looked over curiously.
She quickly picked up her suitcase and walked towards the three-story building directly opposite the church.
Unlike the somewhat hidden "Blackthorn Security Company", the Enmat Harbor Nighthawks Squad stronghold has a nameplate of "Silver Bullet Detective Agency" hanging generously next to the main door on the first floor. The door is open, and the sound of conversations can be heard from inside.
Walking up the steps and standing in front of the door, Angel knocked on the inward-opening wooden door.
"Please come in!"
A lazy female voice came from the door, and she felt it sounded familiar.
"Ms. Daly?"
Walking into the hall, which was brightly lit in broad daylight, Angel saw at a glance "Spirit Medium" Daly Simone dressed like Spirit Medium. She was sitting on the high-backed sofa in the center of the hall, with her legs crossed and a thick book on her lap. When she heard someone calling her, she looked up at the door.
"Angel Granger? That guy actually sent you here? I thought it would be Mitchell."
Putting the book in hand back on the coffee table, Daly stood up to greet him. The silver chain in his hand collided with the crystal pendant and made a crisp sound.
"The captain said you have too many 'Sleepless' here and you need to order some other Pathway and Beyonder."
Seeing acquaintances as soon as she arrived here made Angel feel at ease. She looked around the hall and found that the entire first floor seemed to have been transformed into a literary salon-like venue, with three areas separated around the combination of sofas and coffee tables. The place where Daly was resting just now is separated by a screen. There are many bookshelves on the walls on both sides. The gas lamp above the head emits a steady light, making the room covered with curtains as bright as the open air.
In addition to the two of them, there were two men sitting on the sofa in the corner of the room, bending over and talking in a low voice. The sound Angel heard outside the door just now came from them. Seeing someone coming to the door, one of the men with black hair and slightly darker skin just raised his head and glanced, then lowered his head indifferently. The other gray-haired man with a windbreaker on the back of the sofa and a top hat casually thrown on the coffee table had his back to the door, and did not look towards the door at all.
"Pritz Harbor Team came to support Nighthawks. They arrived by boat early in the morning. I will introduce them to you later."
Daly followed Angel's gaze towards the two men and explained in a low voice.
"Clement won't be back until the afternoon. I'll take you upstairs first and put your luggage away. They originally arranged to share a double room with Nighthawks from Stoen. Unexpectedly... I'll find another single room for you."
Angel followed Daly around the partition of the hall and from the rear stairs to the third floor. When passing the second floor, she stopped and took a look. It seemed to be the office of Emmett Harbor Team. There were a row of offices on both sides of the corridor, most of which had their doors closed and were quiet.
I don't know if they have a Underground Area like "Chanis Gate"... And the stronghold is across the street from Church of the Evernight Goddess's church in Enmat Harbor. There should be a secret passage connected to it, but it's hard for me as an outsider to ask...
Passing through the second floor, the two went directly to the living area on the third floor. The style of this floor was similar to that of the second floor, with a continuous corridor and doors on both sides. The stairs continued to extend upward, but the top was locked by an iron door, which should lead to the rooftop.
"302...304...306, this is it."
Daly Turned on the gas lamp in the corridor on the third floor, walked to one side, came to the door of the room with the door number "306", took out a bunch of keys from under the cloak, found one, and opened the door.
The lights in the room were not turned on and the curtains were drawn. While Daly was groping for the gas light switch, Angel had already seen the furnishings in the room clearly through Dark Vision.
The two single beds are separated by a low bedside table. There are two wooden armchairs and a coffee table of the same style near the window. The desk and wardrobe are on the inner wall. The bathroom is on the left side of the door...
It's really like a standard hotel room!
Looking at this familiar furnishing, Angel couldn't help but think of the various hotels he often stayed at when he was on business trips in his previous life.
"How about it? The living environment here is much better than Tingen City, right?"
As if to show off, Daly put his hands on his hips and said behind her.