He Xi looked at the bottom of the newspaper.
Just as he stared at the landlord's name in surprise.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh. A strange sound suddenly came from outside the room, drawing closer from afar.
He Xi looked up at Flora beside him. "What was that?"
Flora stood before a metal safe beside the bookcase, holding something like a black ledger in her hand and happily waving it at him.
"Not sure." There was a hint of lightness in her voice. "Who cares what it is? We found the thing, anyway! Remember, those ten shadow points are mine!"
"No problem." He Xi nodded. "But before that..."
He pointed toward the door, signaling that someone had arrived.
The two exchanged a quick glance and, in perfect tacit understanding, completed their next moves.
He Xi returned the newspaper to the table exactly as it had been, while Flora swiftly shut and locked the safe again.
The two figures melted into the air once more.
Before long, hurried footsteps and roaring came from beyond the door.
"Get in there, you lying slut!"
A coarse, greasy voice, as though its throat had been clogged with lard, exploded at the doorway.
Bang!
The door was kicked open violently, and Rolinde was shoved inside with a scream.
Amid the clatter of armor plates, a pair of silver-white knight's boots forged from fine steel entered He Xi's view first, followed by sharply lined greaves.
A knight's costume? He Xi froze slightly.
But that voice definitely did not belong to the young Gareth.
Only when the obese body—so fat it had nearly stretched the silver light armor out of shape—completely squeezed through the door did the invisible pair simultaneously click their tongues in their hearts.
It was Allen West.
The theater owner had actually changed into a knight's costume almost