Klein didn't touch Zerrell's body, and simply backed away from the side road.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
A sound suddenly came from afar, echoing continuously in the empty and desolate sewer.
Klein listened intently for a few seconds, then decisively retreated along the dirty cement road on both sides of the sewage river toward the exit.
For him, there was absolutely no need to take risks in matters that didn't involve himself.
After climbing out of the sewer, Klein closed the metal cover again, cleaned up the surrounding area, and then returned to his rented one-bedroom apartment in the East Borough, changed his clothes, and removed his disguise.
Then, he put on his gold-rimmed glasses, walked to another street, took a horse-drawn carriage, and returned to the Cherwood Borough in the quiet and cold of three in the morning, but not to Minsk Street.
Afterwards Klein took a long detour to make sure no one was following him before entering his own home, where he slept until dawn, when the doorbell rang loudly.
He suddenly sat up, put on his shirt, buttoned his vest, and hurried downstairs to the first floor, opening the door.
Prior to this, the " Clown " Sequence's precognitive abilities had already allowed him to naturally sketch the image of the visitor in his mind:
An ill-fitting old coat, Round Tower brown hat, a tattered satchel, bright red eyes, a handsome face, and a calm demeanor—this was Ian, the young man who had come to ask for a task yesterday.
"Good morning, Detective Moriarty," Ian greeted, glancing around before adding, "Any leads? Hmm... I was just passing by and wanted to ask."
Klein nodded solemnly:
"Have."
"..." Ian seemed startled and couldn't speak for a long time.
After a while, he murmured, his lips trembling, and asked in astonishment:
"Have you confirmed Mr. Zerrell's condition?"
"Yes." Klein paused, then said seriously, "I found Zerrell's body."
"The corpse..." Ian's pupils contracted, and he repeated in a low voice.
He didn't seem overtly surprised, as if he had anticipated this worst-case scenario.
Klein watched quietly without saying a word.
"Phew..." Ian exhaled, glancing warily around before saying, "Your efficiency is astonishing. Could you take me to see Mr. Zerrell's body?"
"No problem, in fact, that's what I was planning to do." Klein thought for a moment and said, "I hope you won't mention me when you call the police; just say you found it yourself. I think you know how to make up a reason."
Ian was not surprised at all. He knew very well that not every Detective liked dealing with the police. In fact, apart from the famous Detective who often provided advice and assistance to the police department, most other detectives were discriminated against, ostracized, and even blackmailed by the police.
This is the current state of the Kingdom of Loen.
"Okay," Ian readily agreed.
Knowing he would be entering the sewers, Klein changed into ordinary working-class clothes, put on a deerstalker hat, and took a lantern.
The two arrived in the East Borough by public carriage, and walked for half an hour under the watchful eyes of those who were either indifferent or malicious, until they reached the secluded entrance to the sewer.
"How did you find it?" Ian asked, half surprised and half curious, as he watched Klein move the lid and climb down.
Klein looked down and casually replied:
"Skilled training, which includes numerous techniques in reasoning, investigation, surveillance, and interrogation."
Ian followed into the sewer, nodding in disgust.
"... You seem to have received very professional training."
Klein didn't answer directly. Carrying the already lit lantern, he led Ian down a side road to that gloomy corner.
As he approached, his eyes narrowed slightly, for Zerrell's body was much more mutilated than the one he had seen the night before, missing an arm and half a rib.
This is something a rat couldn't do... Klein muttered to himself, without reminding Ian.
With the help of the lantern's light, Ian was able to see the corpse clearly.
He suddenly squatted down and vomited, gradually expelling yellowish-green bile. Klein took out the prepared " Oil of Krag," unscrewed the stopper, bent down, and brought the end to Ian's nose.
Ian suddenly realized what was happening and calmed down.
A dozen seconds later, he whispered weakly:
"Thanks..."
He slowly stood up and carefully examined the mutilated corpse several more times:
"I can confirm that he is Detective Zerrell."
"I'm sorry," Klein replied politely, "I suggest you call the police."
"Hmm." Ian nodded almost imperceptibly and followed the other person back to the ground.
At this moment, Klein clapped his hands:
"My mission ends here. What you do next is up to you."
Ian paused for a few seconds and then said:
"I still owe you three things, and you can tell me now."
"Actually, I've only thought of one thing for now," Klein answered frankly, "I want to know where I can get guns and ammunition, without needing a full-class weapons license."
Ian said almost without thinking:
" In the Backlund Bridge Area, on Iron Gate Street, at the ' Bravehearts Bar,' look for Kaspars Kanlinen. Just say the ' Old Man ' referred you."
"Okay, we'll talk about the other two things later. I have a feeling we'll meet again." Klein nodded, trying to sound casual.
Ian glanced at him, remaining silent and saying nothing.
The two parted ways and headed down different streets in the East Borough, where the secluded area returned to silence.
After walking for a while, Klein suddenly turned around, retraced his steps, and hid in a secluded corner, peering at the entrance to the sewer.
After waiting for two or three minutes, he saw Ian return silently, looking around warily.
Klein quickly looked away, leaned against the wall, and listened to the sounds.
He heard the scraping sound of the metal cover being moved aside, and he heard someone climbing down.
Peering cautiously out, Klein discovered that Ian had re-entered the sewers.
There were clues or an item hidden on Zerrell's body? This matter is indeed very complicated... He nodded thoughtfully.
Having satisfied his curiosity, Klein didn't linger and truly left, planning to go find Kaspars Kanlinen again in a couple of days.
It was afternoon tea time at Viscount Glaint's home in the Queens Borough.
The study door was tightly closed, completely separating the four people inside from the guests attending the salon outside.
"Hugh, Fors, this is your due reward." Audrey, dressed in a pale yellow dress adorned with numerous lace decorations, pushed a bulging envelope towards the two ladies across the desk.
Hugh wanted to say a few polite words, but her hand had already grabbed the envelope, feeling the weight of the money.
She could only say sincerely:
"Miss Audrey, thank you for your generosity; your integrity makes you even more beautiful."
As she spoke, she untied the thin thread wrapped around the envelope and saw the banknotes inside.
Those were uniformly gray banknotes with black patterns, thick and exuding a unique, pleasant ink scent.
"10 pounds..." Hugh pulled out a bill, checked the denomination, and Fors, who seemed lazy and indifferent to money, had also come over at some point.
This, at least... Xiu observed the thickness and tried to figure out how many sheets there were in total.
She couldn't help but exchange a glance with Fors, and saw the surprise in each other's eyes:
This was significantly more compensation than they had imagined!
Audrey smiled faintly:
"It's 800 pounds in total. You can decide how to divide it among yourselves."
"I'm very sorry that incident put you in danger."
800 pounds... No, no need for apologies... I would accept the commission again, even knowing the possible consequences... Even if we split it, with my savings, it would be enough to buy the formula for the " Sheriff " Potion... Hugh, who was just over 1.5 meters tall, stared blankly at the banknotes in the envelope, wishing he could pull them all out and count them repeatedly.
She was confident that the generous and beautiful Miss Audrey wouldn't shortchange her, but what if the other party miscounted?
Everyone makes mistakes! Hugh raised his right hand, paused for a few seconds, and then silently lowered it.
Fors couldn't help but smile, and sighed:
"This is more than all the royalties I've received so far for my book ' Stormwind Villa '..."
Should I praise Miss Audrey, or mock my own poverty as Author? She added silently.
Viscount Glaint, sitting on the sofa, was also a little envious, but not of Hugh and Fors. As a Viscount whose financial situation was fairly good, 800 pounds was not a large sum of money.
He envied Audrey's generosity and lack of any sense of obligation.
"Ahem..." Viscount Glaint cleared his throat, "If you can get your hands on the ' Apothecary's' formula, I will reward you handsomely."
"We'll do our best!" Hugh replied without hesitation, then looked at Audrey, "We recently made contact with people suspected to Psychology Alchemists, and we'll soon have leads on the ' Spectator ' Potion you want."
"Hugh, I'm already Sequence 8, better than you..." Audrey said with a reserved smile.
I'm really looking forward to it.
After finishing their business, the four chatted about various rumors in the extraordinary circle, and under Audrey's example, each began to look for books they wanted to read.
Suddenly, Hugh's eyes lit up when he saw two hard-covered books:
"History of the Nobility of the Kingdom of Loen " and " Heraldry ".
At the same time, Fors also found books that interested him:
" People and Geography of the Feysac Empire " and " Traveling Around the Northern Continent ".
"Your Excellency Viscount Glaint, may I borrow these two books? I will return them soon," Hugh said pleadingly to the master of the study.
Glaint nodded nonchalantly.
"No problem."
Upon hearing his reply, Fors quickly made his own request, which was also granted.
Witnessing all this, Audrey's lips curled slightly, and she glanced to the side with a reserved air, pretending to look for a book.
As a qualified and promoted " Spectator," she had accurately grasped Hugh and Fors's preferences in certain aspects after multiple encounters, and used this to make arrangements in advance, arrangements that went unnoticed.
Making those being guided believe that it is their own will is a testament to the Spectator's ability.
As evening fell, Hugh nestled on the sofa, facing the fireplace, by the light of the gas lamp, and read "The History of the Nobles of the Kingdom of Loen," while Fors went to a gathering of Author.
After looking at it for a while, Hugh suddenly felt that the cardboard cover was a bit strange, so he carefully checked it and found the inner layer, where he found an old piece of paper.
The front of the paper was covered with the special symbols created by Emperor Roselle, while the back was inscribed with a passage of Ancient Hermes.
" Glaint Viscount's ancestors deciphered some of Emperor Roselle's special symbols?" Hugh suddenly exclaimed excitedly.
She struggled to decipher the Ancient Hermes, silently reciting:
" The Fool That Doesn't Belong to This Era;"
" The Mysterious Ruler Above the Gray Fog;"
" The King of Yellow and Black, who holds the key to good fortune."