Emlyn glanced at Ian, pinched the tip of his nose, and chuckled:
"It seems you don't understand. Okay, to put it more simply, help me gather information on outsiders from the Southern Continent, especially from the Star Plateau and the Paz Valley."
"What specific intelligence are you referring to? There are quite a few pure-blooded Southern Continent people in Backlund, and those with the corresponding bloodline are frequently seen." Ian remained calm despite being looked down upon, and asked his question with composure.
Emlyn chuckled and said:
"The kind that's rather unusual, acting furtively and mysteriously—you should know what I mean."
"There must be quite a few people who fit your description of highlanders and valley people. In Backlund, they are either servants or laborers, or thieves or members of gangs. And the latter all meet the criteria of abnormal behavior and being secretive." Ian sincerely pointed out the impracticality of Emlyn's request.
Emlyn, however, was prepared for this. With a barely perceptible smile, he nodded slightly and said:
"Alright, give me all the intelligence that meets the criteria, and I'll do the screening myself. Okay, I'll pay you £50 upfront as the basic fee for the initial investigation. Subsequent payments will be calculated based on the value of each piece of intelligence gathered, with an additional £20 for each piece."
"Who decides whether it's valuable or not?" Ian asked after thinking for a few seconds.
With him, there's an initial income of £50, which is enough to accept the commission. This amount is enough to hire a dozen people to investigate from the East Borough to the Cherwood Borough for half a month, from morning till night.
He didn't care how much he could earn from those 50 pounds, because many people depended on him for survival, and he had to arrange paid tasks for them from time to time; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to stay informed.
Emlyn glanced at Ian and scoffed.
"Of course it's me. You should know my reputation very well."
" Detective Moriarty didn't tell me that..." Ian muttered, then sighed, "Well, our last collaboration was quite pleasant, so I choose to trust you."
Emlyn nodded in satisfaction, took out his wallet, and counted out the banknotes totaling 50 pounds.
During this process, Emlyn realized that he only had 407 pounds left in his savings, and he felt a little reluctant to part with it.
Now it's 357 pounds... He looked away from the stacks of banknotes and handed the cash to Ian.
He didn't linger. He put on his top hat, walked out of the billiards room, and left the " Bravehearts " bar.
Once on the street, Emlyn released his fingers from his nose, looked up at the fiery clouds, his expression gradually hardening, and muttered to himself:
"This time, that ' Wraith ' isn't here... Where did it go?"
"Hmph, Ian acted as if he'd never heard of the Rose School of Thought, but his racing heart betrayed him..."
"Furthermore, he didn't even ask Sherlock Moriarty if he had returned to Backlund this time, showing no concern whatsoever... Could it be that Sherlock has already returned to Backlund and met with him?"
Bayam, the " City of Generosity " in the Rorsted Archipelago.
Outside a house near the port, with gas lamps lit, " Admiral of Stars " Cattleya, accompanied by Frank Lee, walked to a secluded corner and watched as a figure emerged from the shadows.
This is Heath Doyle, the " Bloodless " who is in charge of monitoring the " Artisan " Sharif. He is tall and thin, with skin so pale it's almost transparent, and looks so frail he could be blown away by a gust of wind.
"Has anything unusual happened recently?" Cattleya pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses.
Heath Doyle grunted in agreement.
"On the third day after you left, a stranger came to visit Sharif and stayed for about fifteen minutes. I didn't go near him, afraid of being discovered."
"As you instructed, Captain, I had my men follow that stranger, but they lost him."
"What did that stranger look like?" Cattleya nodded slightly.
Heath Doyle pulled a piece of raw beef from a small leather pouch at his waist. The blood on it was still fresh, yet it did not contaminate any part of the surface it touched, as if it had become a pure solid.
Then, the piece of beef melted in Heath Doyle's hands, dripping onto the ground like water, wriggling as if alive, and painting a portrait.
"This is exactly the effect I wanted!" Frank Lee stared intently at the scene, expressing his thoughts with great excitement.
Under his gaze, Heath Doyle seemed somewhat evasive, leaning slightly to the side as he pointed to the ground and said:
It looks something like this.
At this moment, a blood-red painting had taken shape. The main subject was a man with a mustache and facial features similar to those of the Paz Valley people. His most distinctive feature was that he had three earrings in each of his ears.
"The gold earrings are lean, with little fat, but very healthy," Heath Doyle added.
Cattleya then turned her gaze away from the ground and said:
"Then what?"
Heath Doyle hummed in agreement again.
"After that, no one visited Sharif again, except for his temporary servants and cook. I had my men investigate, and they were all found to be without fault."
"Every evening, Sharif would take a walk, find a prostitute on the street, and take her home until dawn before letting her leave... I've been following him, but I haven't noticed him contacting any strange people along the way."
"He's been behaving normally all this time?" Cattleya asked, her brow furrowing slightly.
In her view, the absence of any abnormality is the biggest abnormality!
After all, this involves members of the Rose School of Thought who believe in the " The Moon Primordial ".
Heath Doyle nodded firmly:
"Yes."
Cattleya glanced at the front door of the house, hesitated for a moment, and then said:
"I originally planned to use my extraordinary abilities to infiltrate, subdue Sharif as quickly as possible, and take him away to avoid any accidents, but now it seems the best way is to knock on the door and visit him directly."
The most terrifying thing is the unknown danger.
"Captain, I'll go with you." Frank Lee, realizing he'd been busy with experiments lately and hadn't done the duties of a first mate in a long time, quickly offered his services.
As Cattleya removed the heavy glasses and hung them on the belt of her black Wizard's robe, she nodded and said:
"Good."
After saying that, she left the dark corner and walked towards the main entrance of " Artisan " Sharif's residence.
As she drew nearer, she looked up at the crimson moon piercing through the clouds, then bent her fingers and gently knocked three times on the door.
Not long after, footsteps approached, and the main gate creaked open.
" Artisan " Sharif hasn't changed much since last time; he's still lean and dark-skinned, with slightly puffy eyes, and a forced smile in his brown eyes.
"General, what's the matter this time?"
He stood in the doorway, blocking the light from the gas wall lamp behind him, making the area dim and as if he were immersed in the shadows.
Cattleya stared at him for a few seconds, then slowly spoke:
"I have a new idea; I plan to make you a member of my crew."
She remained motionless, showing no intention of entering the room.
" The Artisan " Sharif's expression Distortion, and his tone suddenly turned sinister:
"Why?"
Cattleya's gaze suddenly froze slightly, then she slowly spoke:
"Because I am a pirate."
Pirates need no reason; they do what they want, entirely based on their own whims.
Sharif's facial muscles twitched slightly, and a hint of a smile returned to his eyes:
"I can be your Sailor, but as a ' Artisan,' I'm better suited to the big city."
"I agree with you," Cattleya said, dismantling the other's resistance. "But before that, you need to spend some time on my ' Future ' and become companions with the others."
Sharif's expression slowly turned cold, and he replied in a slightly ethereal voice:
"I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself; I have a strong urge to reproduce every day..."
"A strong reproductive drive?" Frank Lee was listening nearby, lit up and asked in confirmation.
Sharif paused, unsure whether to nod or shake his head.
Frank then looked at " Admiral of Stars " Cattleya and asked with slight excitement:
"Captain, is this my experimental assistant?"
"I love this trait of his so much!"
Cattleya remained silent for several seconds, then slowly and solemnly nodded:
"Yes."
Frank immediately flashed a hearty smile and extended his right hand to " the Artisan " Sharif:
"It's a pleasure to meet you. Let me introduce myself, I'm Frank Lee, the first mate of the ' Future '."
Sharif's expression returned to normal. He shook hands with the other person with a puzzled look before saying:
"Are you really only going to stay on the ' Future ' for a short period of time?"
"I swear on my honor," Cattleya replied sincerely, silently adding in her mind:
Before long, the Queen will personally come to deal with your problem...
"Fine, I can't beat you anyway." Sharif shrugged. "Please allow me to pack my belongings."
He then took two steps back, turned around, and walked towards the staircase at the end of the hall.
As he walked, he suddenly stopped, turned his back to Cattleya and Frank Lee, and said softly and slowly:
" The Moonlight tonight is as beautiful as ever, isn't it?"
Without waiting for a response, he continued walking and disappeared at the top of the stairs.
Only then did the seriousness on Cattleya's face become increasingly apparent.
After Sharif Door Opening, she had already noticed the unusual thing about him with her own eyes:
If the spirit of the Sharif was a normal human being, then now it's a conjoined twin!
Under the Moonlight, these conjoined twins are growing rapidly.
This is not a problem I can solve. I must write to the Queen, and also, I cannot forget Gehrman Sparrow's request for a meeting... Cattleya sighed silently, subconsciously tilting her head back.
High in the sky, the clouds were thin, and a bright, serene red moon shone.
Backlund, Hillston Borough, " East Balam Veteran Officers Club ".
Dawn Dantès and Senator Macht stepped down from their carriages and entered the foyer together.
P. S.: Requesting minimum monthly votes at the beginning of the month~