A Reporter Seeking Help

(Bonus chapter for everyone's monthly votes!)

Odys, sitting on the public carriage, reconsidered. He figured Miss Mandy had already made the appropriate arrangements.

However, to be safe, he still needed to visit the Nanmu Ballroom tomorrow.

15 Minsk Street.

Ding-ding~

Klein, who had just been about to enjoy dinner, heard the doorbell and smiled helplessly. Now, whenever he heard a doorbell, it felt like hearing a phone ringtone in the past—something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

As he hurried to the door, the image of the somewhat anxious Daily Observer reporter, Mike Joseph, had already appeared in his mind.

Klein was slightly stunned. Why had this reporter come looking for him so late at night?

The moment the door opened, Mike smiled and said, "Sorry, I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Well, you already are." Klein said helplessly, "What brings you here so late?"

"I received a threatening letter." Mike spoke rather calmly. "It seems I wrote something I shouldn't have."

This veteran reporter had encountered this sort of situation before, so he remained fairly composed.

Klein was slightly taken aback. "Come in and talk."

After the two entered, Mike sniffed the aroma of food in the living room. "Mr. Moriarty, if you ever decide you don't want to be a Detective anymore, you could consider becoming a chef."

"In response to your praise, I should invite you to dinner." Klein smiled as he brewed tea. "But sorry, I only made enough for one."

He handed a cup of tea to Mike. "Let's discuss business."

Mike took an opened letter from his pocket. "I received this this afternoon."

Klein opened it and quickly skimmed through it. The letter roughly pointed out that something in today's Daily Observer was "inappropriate," then invited Mike to the Nanmu Ballroom tomorrow for a talk.

It was rather different from the threatening letters he imagined. Its wording was very polite. If he had not known it was sent by Miss Mandy, it would have seemed like nothing more than an invitation for Mike to dance and spend a little money.

Klein asked, "What do you plan to do?"

"I definitely have to go," Mike said with the confidence of experience. "It'll only be more troublesome if I don't.

"But going alone could be dangerous, so I've already applied to the editor-in-chief for a ten-pound commission. I hope to hire you to protect me.

"Like last time, you'll receive the commission even if no conflict occurs.

"If there is a conflict, I'll add more commission depending on what you contribute."

The last time they went to the East District, the commission had only been ten pounds for the entire day.

Mike finally added, "I know how these kinds of talks usually go. As long as I promise not to write about Miss Mandy again, I don't think a conflict is likely."

As Klein listened, he casually played with a coin. When Mike finished speaking, he suddenly flicked it into the air and caught it.

After glancing at the side facing up, Klein smiled. "I'll take this job."

Mike sighed in relief. "Good. Then we'll set out at eight tomorrow morning."

Klein nodded. "I won't keep you for dinner, then."

After seeing Mike off, Klein hurried to the dining room and prayed to the Goddess that his dinner had not gone completely cold.

At eight the next morning, Klein, having eaten breakfast early, took a carriage with Mike to the Nanmu Ballroom on Ernst Avenue in the North Borough.

After getting out of the carriage, Klein was slightly stunned. He had assumed the Nanmu Ballroom would be like other ballrooms, with dim, vulgar decor and streetwalkers displayed outside like merchandise.

But to his surprise, the Nanmu Ballroom felt completely different.

First of all, it was a four-story building, and its main entrance was two or three times larger than that of an ordinary ballroom. To the left of the entrance stood a huge hand-painted sign.

Klein had no idea what kind of dye had been used, but even outdoors, its colors remained vivid.

Besides the words "Nanmu Ballroom," it depicted a young woman in a black dress, striking a pose that invited others to dance.

The woman was not seductive, but she possessed a refined bearing. Her gaze and movements were graceful and generous, clearly different from those of ordinary streetwalkers.

Yet the black stockings exposed in just the right places still left much to the imagination.

Klein suddenly felt something strange. It was not until he entered that he understood where the feeling came from: even in Backlund, this was an exceedingly rare and clever form of advertising.

51 Henry Street.

Odys arrived at the herbal shop early and replenished the herbs on the shelves.

After Kainer arrived, Odys gave him a few instructions before heading to the basement in the backyard.

This small courtyard had a basement, but Odys had sealed it off. Only he could enter.

The basement door was inside Odys's room, and beyond it lay a staircase leading down.

Odys extended his hand and infused spirituality into the correct positions, deactivating the several Beyonder traps set along the descending corridor.

At the bottom of the stairs was a room about the size of a living room.

The room was very empty, containing only a clothes rack and a table with chairs.

On the rack hung a black trench coat and a black top hat. On the table lay a pair of black trousers and a silver mask, while a pair of black leather shoes rested on the floor beside it.

On two walls of the basement were two Teleportation Arrays that had cost Odys nearly nine thousand pounds in total to construct.

Like the Magic Formation at 77 Hilton Avenue, they used an eight-pointed-star layout. A valuable Ahorna Crystal sat at the center, while gemstones of various colors were placed at key nodes.

Because the expense was so great, he had only managed to get half the cost reimbursed by the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery in scattered installments. He still had a long way to go before recovering it all.

One Teleportation Array led to a room in the Nanmu Ballroom, while the other led to Odys's laboratory in the suburbs.

That suburban laboratory was his main laboratory.

Odys changed into the clothes, put on the mask, and infused spirituality into the Teleportation Array leading to the Nanmu Ballroom. An illusory passage appeared before him. He stepped inside and, two or three seconds later, appeared in a room on the third floor of the Nanmu Ballroom.

He opened the door to the third floor, directly opposite the reception desk.

The female receptionist was slightly startled, then immediately smiled. "Mr. Gal, you're here."

As she spoke, she rang the bell leading to Miss Mandy's office.

With most of his face hidden behind the mask, Odys gave a slight nod. After waiting a short while, the poised Miss Mandy hurried over. "Mr. Gal."

Odys said, "I read yesterday's report."

Miss Mandy was somewhat flustered. "My work was not thorough enough. I have already arranged to meet with that reporter, Mike. He and the bodyguard he hired have already arrived."

Odys nodded. "You can have your discussion. I'll just sit nearby and listen."

Thank you all for your monthly votes. The number has now exceeded 150, so I'm adding another chapter.

Although this is not an impressive result, this is still a new book. In this author's opinion, having this many monthly votes is already quite good.

Let me also announce the current bonus chapter standards: an additional chapter will be released for every 150 monthly votes, 1,000 recommendation votes, or a cumulative reward total of 10,000 points.

This standard may seem a little slow right now, but it should generally be easy to reach after the book goes premium. At that time, I might have to raise the requirements again (^▽^)

Finally, thank you once again for your support and votes.