Morning

Early morning, Black Street No. 1.

Qin Ran sat in the study, eating breakfast.

The aromas of buttered bacon toast and hot milk filled the room, mingled with a faint scent of fruit and vegetables. Anyone who smelled it would have worked up an appetite.

Qin Ran was no exception.

Seated beside a low table, he ate slowly, savoring each distinct flavor.

The smoky bacon and soft bread came together under just the right touch of smooth butter, bursting across his taste buds with an incredible flavor.

A few slices of cucumber and some cherries did not seem out of place. Instead, they brought out the essence of the meat and wheat even more clearly.

Qin Ran lost himself in the meal.

He was unstinting in his praise for Friedel, who had prepared it.

"Your Cooking is outstanding!"

Qin Ran said.

"Thank you for the compliment!"

"Here are today's newspapers!"

The Ghost Butler could not speak and still communicated with Qin Ran through pen and paper.

In every other respect, though, he was beyond the reach of ordinary butlers.

At the very least, Friedel vanished and reappeared with two newspapers in his hands.

One was the city's daily paper.

The other was a newspaper for people in the know.

"They have a newspaper too?"

Qin Ran paused when he saw it.

He had clearly never expected anything like this.

He had assumed those people would keep themselves hidden.

Some might work with ordinary people, as Nikelei did, and others might act with impunity, like the Wanderers' Society. But most, he thought, would hide their identities.

The newspaper forced Qin Ran to reconsider that assumption.

"We have to keep up with the times too!"

"Nikelei is one of the editors who founded this newspaper!"

"So they send us a free copy