After leaving Azik's house, Klein took a public carriage back to Daffodil Street.
Click, he took out his key and opened the door, and suddenly saw a figure sitting in the dining room.
Klein instinctively gripped the cane in his hand, but then realized that it wasn't a thief, but the maid Bella.
Bella was engrossed in reading the newspaper spread out on the table when she heard the door Door Opening. Startled, she jumped to her feet and stammered an explanation:
"I... I just finished my work this morning, and I'm waiting... waiting for the water to boil so we can eat bread."
"I really haven't gotten used to having a maid in the house yet..." Klein chuckled self-deprecatingly, took off his hat, and nodded slightly.
"Reading is a good habit, and I was encouraged by my goddess to persist in reading amidst my busy work schedule."
He was afraid the other party would think he was being sarcastic, so he used the name of the Evernight Goddess.
But in reality, only the God of Knowledge and Wisdom places reading in a high position... Of course, every church advocates learning... Hmm, at seventeen or eighteen years old, believing in the Evernight Goddess indicates the influence of her parents. And such parents, unless completely helpless, will definitely ensure their daughter receives an education. If they can't afford public primary schools, the church's free schools are no problem, at most it will take a little longer... So, Bella isn't illiterate, she knows words, and can read newspapers... Klein thoughtfully put down his cane and walked into the living room.
He had a pretty good impression of Bella.
Although the little girl seemed a bit awkward and clumsy in the kitchen, she showed a willingness to learn and a willingness to work hard.
Bella lowered her hands, looking slightly embarrassed, and said:
"I've never really read newspapers before; our landlord doesn't allow us to buy old newspapers to wallpaper the walls... I just picked it up to wipe the coffee table and glanced at it by accident, and I found it... I found it very interesting."
"Poor girl, when I transmigrated here, the newspapers were at the bottom of the interesting lists..." Klein muttered to himself, chuckled, and, following the silver watch chain, took out his pocket watch, snapped it open, glanced at it, and casually said:
"As long as you finish your work and do it well, you are free to arrange your time as you wish. There's no need to be nervous. Of course, if Benson, Melissa, and I are chatting, you'd better stay in your room. I'll allow you to use the gas lamp inside and bring in a few old newspapers."
"Okay, come knock on my bedroom door at one o'clock this afternoon, and then prepare me a cup of Xibe black tea, two soft white bread rolls, a slice of oat toast, and a small dish of butter."
To celebrate his promotion to Sequence 8, Klein decided to splurge a little and eat the white bread that Benson planned to enjoy on the weekend.
"Hmm, I'll buy another 8 pounds. From now on, I'll switch from oat bread to white bread as my staple food! Sequence 8 Beyonder will definitely get a raise... The captain didn't even mention this before... He forgot again!" Klein paused for a moment, then decided to ask about it tomorrow.
"Okay, okay," Bella replied, her voice tinged with surprise and delight.
Then, somewhat uncertainly, she asked in return:
"Mr. Klein, is this the Siberian black tea served to our guests?"
Because the whole family were Moretti, she addressed them by their given names.
"Yes, from now on that will be the tea we drink regularly." Klein waved his hand and strode towards the stairwell.
After becoming the " Clown," he suddenly found that his financial situation had become very good.
This is because there are no additional, large expenses for the time being, so the daily fixed cost of renting a wagon for 2 Soli at the Red Chimney House, as well as the occasional replenishment of materials, the latter of which is often reimbursable.
Secondly, Klein had 300 gold pounds quietly sitting in his anonymous account. Keep in mind that in the countryside, one acre of farmland or pasture only costs 5 to 6.5 Soli. This means he could buy 920 to 1200 acres of rural farmland or pasture, roughly equivalent to 137 to 179 mu (or 23 to 30 acres) on Earth. Furthermore, this money would also allow him to buy a house on Daffodil Street for 15 years on a deed.
If I were to convert everything into land, the rent would be around £23 to £31 a year... not bad, but there's no need for that right now. I need to keep that £300 for emergencies... Phew, I need to find a chance to tell Benson and Melissa my real weekly wage in the next couple of days! Klein thought to himself as he went into his bedroom.
Klein locked the bedroom door, sat on the bed, and began Cogitation again, slowly controlling the small amount of power leaking from the Potion in this way, very carefully and cautiously.
For him, "out of control" was just a word he talked about, until he encountered that " Mandated Punishers."
However, he did not know the " Mandated Punishers " or what had happened to the other party before, and subconsciously thought that it was an exception and a rare occurrence.
It's like seeing a news report about a murder that happened in another city; a normal person might sigh a few times, but then forget about it.
But Old Neil's incident greatly shocked Klein, making him realize clearly that loss of control was all around him, and could happen at any time in an unexpected way!
What a bloody lesson... Klein ended his Cogitation, opened his eyes, and muttered to himself silently.
During this period, he often dreamed of that day's scene, and would often wake up suddenly in the middle of the night, drenched in cold sweat.
He was grieving over Old Neil's death and worried about his own future. If it weren't for Cogitation to help him fall asleep, he believed he would have been having trouble sleeping lately.
"Besides digesting the Potion, I also need to try my best to control my emotions and desires, keeping them within a reasonable range so that I am not Corrosion by them..." Klein exhaled a breath of stale air, lay down, and quickly entered a deep sleep.
On the day Old Neil died, Dunn's actions and words deeply moved him, making him seriously examine the responsibilities of Nighthawks for the first time, and want to take on his own responsibilities as soon as possible to help his captain and teammates.
Therefore, he did not intend to waste the afternoon and would attend the combat training class as usual.
It was 3 p. m. in the makeshift practice field.
With his short, Gawain hair and wrinkled face, Gawain watched Klein's movements gradually change from awkward to skillful, and from skillful to like that of a trainee knight who had undergone more than half a year of training.
And all of this happened in just forty minutes!
He called a halt to the practice, looked the other person up and down, and couldn't help but ask:
What happened?
Klein had already prepared a story to attribute his performance to scientific research, but as soon as Gawain finished speaking, he hesitated and added:
If it's inconvenient to answer, then you don't need to.
It seems the relevant personnel from the police department had already communicated with Professor Gawain... Well, he occasionally trains Beyonder, how could he not have given prior warning... Klein breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
"Teacher, how long do you think it will take before I can participate in real-world practice?"
Gawain crossed his arms, looked at him carefully, and replied in a slightly hoarse voice:
"Two or three days."
But that's not enough!
He explained as if deep in thought:
"Being able to participate in actual combat does not equate to being proficient in fighting; the latter will probably require another two to three weeks."
"In addition, you must master easily portable melee weapons, such as canes, whips, daggers, and triangular daggers!"
... So many projects? Klein was stunned.
Gawain's weary gaze swept over him as he said:
"Remember this: every drop of sweat you shed here could save your life someday."
"Yes, teacher!" Klein replied, perking up.
On Saturday morning, Klein entered Blackthorn Security Company and knocked on the captain's office door again.
Dunn Smith, as if he had been prepared, glanced up briefly and then began to speak to himself:
"I forgot to inform you yesterday that after promotion to Sequence 8, your position in the police department will naturally change from Probationary Inspector to Inspector. I will have them come and change your identification and uniform epaulets as soon as possible."
"Your weekly wage will be increased from £6 to £10, with the church and the police each contributing half. This is equivalent to the level of a senior Nighthawks, specifically Sequence 9, of course."
"Captain, did you write a draft?" Klein was taken aback for a moment, then his eyebrows relaxed and he replied with a slight smile:
"This is more than I expected."
He thought his weekly wage would only increase to £8.
Dunn picked up his coffee, took a sip, and said:
"The salary increase for Nighthawks is based on three factors: length of service, contributions made, and their job rank. The third factor is often closely related to their contributions."
That's true. Without merit, even if you digest the Potion and meet the promotion standard, you can't apply for the formula and materials... Klein nodded thoughtfully.
A weekly wage of £10, or £540 a year, is quite good for the middle class, tax-free, second only to professions like Lawyer, renowned architects, senior Doctor, and senior government employees—professions that are almost social elites.
The deputy director of the Finance Department of the Kingdom of Loen only earns 700 pounds a year, and that's before tax; after tax, it's at most 640 pounds—well, less than that... According to the newspaper, a decent house in Backlund West Borough and Hillston Borough costs around 2500 pounds. If Benson, Melissa, and I can maintain our current spending, we can buy one in seven or eight years... Purely on our own, we can buy a detached house in the city center of the capital or Shanghai in just seven or eight years. This salary is truly delightful... Klein got up to say goodbye and walked briskly into the underground to take his turn guarding the Chanis Gate.
Just before 10 o'clock, he suddenly heard someone approaching the guard room.
Soon, Dunn appeared at the door, his gray eyes deep and unfathomable, and said:
There's a case that needs your help.
"Involving an extraordinary case?" Klein asked instinctively.
"No, City Councilor Maynard was found dead in his home this morning. The Tingen City Police Department is under a lot of pressure and hopes we can use Spirit Channeling abilities to help them find the killer as soon as possible. Well, currently, you're the only one in the team who can Spirit Channeling," Dunn explained, then added, " The Holy Cathedral will send a ' Mystery Pryer ' to join us next week. Actually, we should have done this before, but you just happened to join and chose ' Seer '."