In an apartment of East Borough Grey Rock Street, Shermane changed into the clothes, pants and cloak he wore when committing the crime in his safe house. He first burned them with Black Flame to remove any occult information that might be left behind. Then he threw them into the small fireplace, lit a fire, and watched the gray smoke float into the air and disappear at the top of the window.
Compared with half a year ago, Backlund's air quality has improved a lot. The release of new pollution made Shermane feel a little guilty in his heart, of course, only a little.
Putting on the dress that had been prepared here, and putting on the hooded cloak that could cover up her long hair and half of her face, she packed up her belongings and was about to leave this temporary place of residence.
When passing by a mirror with several cracks, Shermane stopped and his eyes rested on the face reflected in the mirror.
This female face that she had dreamed of before but could easily possess now had a hint of melancholy at the moment.
After staying with Miss Triss for a long time, I seemed to be infected with her mood... Shaking his head, Shermane took one last look at himself in the glasses, turned off the gas light, and hurriedly left the apartment.
Along the Grey Rock Street with narrow roads and cramped buildings, we came to White Whale Street, which was full of factories and warehouses. Shermane walked straight towards a factory where carriages came and went from time to time.
As she passed the gate, she looked up. The brand new nameplate read "Black Bear Cannery" and also printed a black bear claw with only four fingers. That used to be the symbol of "Black Claw Gang", but now it has become the trademark of the best-selling Backlund canned fruit.
Entering the noisy factory area, watching the boxes of colorful, brightly colored cans packed in glass jars being loaded onto a carriage, Shermane seemed to see Gold Pound one after another. Stacks of banknotes were flying towards him, and a bright smile appeared on the face under the hood.
Originally, she took over this Canned Food Factory just to find something to do for the gang members when East Borough gradually restored order and the gang's business scope continued to shrink. She didn't expect to listen to Miss Irene's suggestion and switch from cheap tin pickled fish cans to glass jars of fruit cans. She murmured silently, her eyes wandered around, and soon discovered the busy Liv in the factory.
Not only did Black Claw Gang, the poor people who had no choice but to join the gangs, now have a stable income, Liv can also do some easier work than starching clothes, which allows Freyja and Daisy to go to public elementary schools instead of helping out at home every day.
For Freyja, who is close to adulthood and has no way of further education even after finishing elementary school, this is just an opportunity for her to become literate and learn simple knowledge so that she can find a better job after graduation. But for Daisy, it may be an opportunity to change her destiny.
This may be the last thing I can do for them... Carefully bypassing Liv, walking through the steamy production area with all kinds of sweet fruity and sugary smells, Shermane came to the warehouse at the back of the factory, followed the stairs to the third floor, and went to his own, or Sherman, office.
In fact, after I became Shermane, this place belonged to Hugh. Unfortunately, she came less often than me. If it weren't for someone to manage it, this factory would have been in chaos... She thought about it, opened the door with the key, and was keenly aware of a person standing in the corner of the dim room.
She was wearing a long black dress, with a graceful figure, and the curves of her face seemed to be plated with gold in the room where the curtains were closed and only the dim light came in, making her both holy and coquettish.
"Miss Triss."
Shermane said hello and turned on the gas lamp, filling the room with warm light and dispelling the melancholy and indifferent atmosphere emanating from the other party.
"I didn't expect your factory to be doing well. I watched by the window for half an hour, and three carriages had already left carrying cans."
Trissy didn't seem to like the light very much. He shrank to the corner and said in a joking tone.
"The profits are not high, but they are enough for gang members to support themselves and their families."
Shermane's serious attitude in answering made Trissy startled, and his tone slowed down, no longer sarcastic:
"That's good... was it your short friend who came up with the idea?"
"It was the suggestion given by Miss Irene. It was also her plan to switch from supplying cheap cans to Sailor to produce this kind of high-quality products. It seems to be working well now."
Irene Watson...Trissy recalled in his mind the woman he had met several times in front of Great Smog and almost regarded her as his "comrade-in-arms" in Tingen City. It was difficult to associate that ordinary face with "Golden Queen" Angelica Zaki.
And she didn't expect that that stupid-looking woman could actually come up with such a business plan.
"Ha, you should know that the focus now is not on this factory..." After a while, Trissy squeezed out a little laughter from deep in his throat, and said with an inexplicable tone, "How is your performance of 'Witch' going?"
"I will complete this large-scale performance by solving two more predetermined targets, but the feedback received is not as expected... Maybe the official blocked the news, which caused the serial murder case to not spread widely and not cause people to panic about me?"
Shermane's beautiful eyebrows wrinkled and she muttered in confusion.
"Of course, even if the official Beyonder doesn't expect you to be acting, at least they know that the murder case with obvious characteristics has some kind of religious meaning, and they will inevitably block the news to avoid spreading and causing panic... You have to change your strategy, and the last two assassinations will be carried out in the public, directly allowing a large number of Passerby to witness their deaths, thereby completing the acting."
Trissy recalled the method Mitis taught him when he was Tingen, and passed it on to the "junior" in front of him.
Hearing this, Shermane's eyebrows became even more melancholy, and he asked after consideration:
"Will this... will attract the attention of those Nighthawks who are stationed in East Borough?"
"Oh, you have attracted their attention a long time ago," Trissy sneered, leaning against the wall with his arms folded, his black hair and black skirt almost blending into the darkness in the corner, "I came here this time because your Miss Irene asked me what the East Borough serial murder case was, and whether it was done by 'Demoness Sect'... How do you want me to answer?"
Shermane, who had already known in many actions that he did not belong to "Demoness Sect" and guessed that Miss Irene might have some official background, opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
At this moment, she was extremely lucky that she followed her inner thoughts and chose people who were full of evildoers. Otherwise, Miss Irene might have killed East Borough long ago, dragged herself into the mirror, and thrown her into the church to receive Judgment.
"In short, you should complete the last two performances as soon as possible and leave East Borough to avoid being caught by those Beyonder. Even if you kill guilty people, they will not think you are innocent..."
Seeing that Shermane was silent, Trissy shook his head and said, and then quickly changed the topic:
"Change your clothes and come with me to West Borough. There are less than three hours left for tonight's date with Viscount Stratford."
Realizing that the "occult instructor" in front of her suddenly turned into "Female Butler" who arranged all her activities, Shermane sighed silently, found a youthful light blue dress in the lounge attached to the office, took off the dress in front of Trissy, and changed it.
This guy didn't shy away from me at all. I remember when I first became "Witch", I didn't dare to change clothes in front of Mitis... Trissy curled his lips and looked away.
A doubt suddenly arose in her heart: Why was she, "Witch", who had never forgotten her male identity at that time and was extremely resistant to the female body, chosen to be Divine Descent Vessel of "Primordial Demoness", or even given the name "Cheek"?
Could it be that my resistance and ambivalence towards identity made me closer to that God?
After a not too long wait, Angel saw Sander in the private room of the cafe opposite East Balam Veteran Officers Club.
The retired officer, who was over fifty but still energetic, did not exchange too many greetings. He personally opened the suitcase brought by Angel, checked the 7,000 pounds that belonged to him inside, then closed the suitcase with satisfaction and laughed:
"I was already prepared for a lot of twists and turns in our first cooperation. I didn't expect Miss Theresa to solve our batch of useless arms so smoothly... Haha, I heard that Gargas Archipelago has been very lively recently. I hope Feysac people can handle it."
"Unless they send more troops, they will soon have to retreat to Nast City, and the outer areas may be occupied by rebels and pirates."
Stuart on the side interjected, looking at Angel from time to time, as if showing off.
But he soon discovered the ring Angel was wearing on the ring finger of his left hand, showing undisguised surprise.
"Christine, you, you are engaged?"
He hesitated and finally asked the question.
Sander, who was obviously better informed than the major, glanced at the young man behind him and said with a playful tone:
"Three days ago at the dance at Councilor Macht's house, Mr. Miss Theresa and Mr. Dantès have become the focus of everyone's attention. I am just a little curious whether you and Mr. Gentlemen, who also came to Backlund not long ago, are really as compatible as the rumors say, um, like each other?"
Is he asking whether Klein and I got together because of interests, or is it really because of feelings?
Angel quickly understood what the other party meant, glanced at Stuart, whose expression had collapsed, covered his mouth and replied with a chuckle:
"When I first attended the dance at Maht's house, I was attracted by Dawn's mature temperament and elegant manners. Later contacts proved that he is a more suitable partner than those exaggerated young people... Of course, the same interests between each other are also an important bond."
Emotions and interests are equally important, and this is also in our interests. After all, both of them are important "business partners"... Sander squinted his eyes and thought for a moment, the smile on his face became even wider, and he nodded:
"In that case, I look forward to attending your wedding." Then he changed the subject, "In addition, a military leader wants to meet you secretly in the near future. You should be prepared at any time. I will notify you in advance."
Seeing Angel frowning subconsciously, Sander chuckled and added:
"Don't worry, she is female."
That's not what I'm worried about... Angel muttered, made a relaxed expression, nodded and said:
"I'm looking forward to meeting this lady."
After that, she stood up and said goodbye gracefully, and finally took a reluctant look at the box containing a huge sum of 7,000 pounds, which was almost equivalent to the production cost of "Iron-Blooded Knight" Mystical Item. She left the cafe with a smiling Sander and Stuart who was expecting and breaking their guard without permission.