261
East Borough, a cheap café.
Klein had successfully sold his bicycle shares for 500 pounds. When he arrived at the rendezvous he had arranged with Old Kohler, the latter was already waiting there.
The middle-aged man now had a pair of gloves pieced together from scraps of cloth. The stitching was fine, and they looked like a matching set with his scarf. One glance was enough to tell whose handiwork they were.
He couldn't help smiling. Taking off his scarf and hat, he sat down opposite him, took out a stack of one-sol notes, and handed them over. "Next week's operating expenses, plus the reward for the last batch of information. One pound in total."
Old Kohler's complexion was noticeably rosier than before. He accepted the cash with some embarrassment. "The information I gave you last time didn't seem all that important..."
"No, whether something is important depends entirely on who's looking at it. Many things you consider insignificant might be someone else's source of income." Klein explained with a smile, then asked, "Anything happening this week?"
Holding the stack of notes, Old Kohler stuffed them into his pocket and said thoughtfully, "Same as before. Lots of people are still looking for believers of 'the Fool.' Haha, why would anyone believe in 'the Fool'? That's hardly a nice title."
...The corner of Klein's mouth twitched. "Have they made any progress?"
The Aurora Order really is persistent... Klein thought helplessly.
"No. There aren't any people like that at all." Old Kohler shook his head before changing the subject. "Someone's been organizing a strike recently. They've approached me several times, saying they want to fight for more reasonable working hours and wages."
"Although Miss Maria successfully expanded the factory and hired at least another hundred people, there are still more and