"What?" Fors touched her earlobe, wondering if she had misheard.
The beautiful, innocent, curious, and naive Miss Audrey would actually give out assassination missions!
Moreover, their target was the ambassador of Intis, a powerful nation in the Northern Continent!
Hugh was rather slow to grasp this, and hesitated before answering:
"Our strength—no, it's insufficient to complete this mission."
Her first consideration was the difficulty of the task!
Audrey ignored Fors ' question, letting them imagine the reasons themselves, and said with a slight dimple:
"I'm not asking you to accept the commission yourselves. Rather, I want you to find an Beyonder capable of completing it, such as Mr. A. I will pay him 4,000 gold pounds for that. Of course, this is just my initial quote; the specifics are negotiable."
"If things succeed in the end, I will give you a fee of 500 pounds; even if they fail, you will still receive 200 pounds, because you have taken the risk."
Her accumulated annuity balance, which had not yet been invested, plus her remaining prize money, amounted to about £13,000. However, if she used too much at once, it would certainly attract the attention of the Earl Hall, and even the Bavant Bank would conduct some investigation. After calculation, she believed that £5,000 was the critical point, and it was best not to exceed it.
4,000 gold pounds... Hugh heard her own heavy breathing, but she quickly became frustrated, knowing full well that she couldn't possibly take on this task.
Just for inviting other Beyonder in our name, we get a reward of 500 pounds... Miss Audrey is the most generous, magnanimous, and beautiful girl I've ever met! Hugh quickly returned to reality.
While Fors was intrigued, his mind was also filled with questions:
Why did Miss Audrey assign this task?
Infighting within aristocratic circles?
Is this the prelude to a premeditated war?
Do certain powerful figures, represented by the Earl Hall, want the situation to descend into chaos?
The two quickly contacted Mr. A through the agreed-upon channel. At three o'clock in the afternoon, when the rare sunlight pierced through the fog and illuminated the entire Backlund, they arrived at the house where they had previously attended the party. They saw Mr. A, who was wearing a hood and sitting with his legs crossed, yet gave off a condescending feeling.
"You said you had something important to discuss with me?" Mr. A's gaze shifted back and forth between the two ladies.
I've heard that some female Beyonder have used their bodies to trade for Potion ingredients from Mr. A... He's such a disgusting pervert... Fors smiled slightly.
"I have a big business opportunity; I wonder if you'd be interested?"
Mr. A glanced at Hugh's face and chuckled softly:
"Tell me, let me hear what this big deal is."
Resisting the urge to pull out the triangular dagger, he said in Arbiter's tone:
"Assassination of Intis's ambassador to the Kingdom, Bakerland Jean Madan."
Mr. A fell silent, but because his expression was hidden by the shadow of his hood, Hugh and Fors couldn't guess what he was thinking.
After a while, he slowly leaned back and said in a deep voice:
"So, what is the reward?"
"4,000 gold pounds. In addition, we will provide relevant intelligence, such as Ambassador Bakerland being Sequence 6 ' Conspirer ' on the ' Hunter ' pathway, and having a possible Sequence 5 assistant, whose weakness is, for example, his beauty." Hugh tried his best to make Mr. A feel that the mission was hopeful.
Mr. A chuckled softly:
"I can take this task, but the pay must be increased."
"The first option is Potion recipe from ' The Unshadowed,' ' The Catastrophe Interrer,' ' The Prophet, ' or ' The Manipulator.' Of course, their value exceeds that of this quest. They don't need to be complete; partial recipes are sufficient."
"The second option is 10,000 gold pounds. Ha, that's the bounty on ' Admiral Hurricane ' Qilangos. Bakerland's strength is definitely not as good as his, but he has a powerful assistant, and believe me, he definitely has some magical items on him."
A reasonable price, but also an outrageous price... Hugh and Fors exchanged a glance and said:
"We'll go back and discuss it, and give you an answer here at this time tomorrow."
"Okay." Mr. A gestured for him to leave.
After being led out of the house by the waiter, Fors murmured in confusion:
"Are those all High-Sequence formulas?"
"To be honest, I find it strange. I thought Mr. A would only want the recipe or Potion ingredients; money shouldn't be a necessity for him."
Hugh glanced at his friend:
" Fors, you really are just a simple clinic Doctor and Author. You should know that Mr. A certainly has many subordinates. They need houses to sleep in, they need to fill their stomachs, they need to buy clothes, and they need to satisfy their desires. All of these must be exchanged for money. Moreover, for some impoverished nobles, what can't they sell as long as they have gold pounds?"
" Mr. A without subordinates will be just as formidable, but his information will be extremely limited."
"This is something even the small gangs in the East Borough know."
Fors frowned and said, "Hugh, you're not that stupid..."
As evening fell, the two met the familiar golden retriever at the pre-arranged location and handed Mr. A's reply to Audrey.
After reading the note, Audrey was not troubled at all; instead, she breathed a long sigh of relief.
The prospect of resolving the ambassador's matter with just 10,000 gold pounds was simply too good to be true for her!
I can only use 5,000 pounds for now, and I still need to pay Hugh and Fors 500 pounds in compensation... Hmm, I'll borrow from Glaint first, 6,000 pounds, no, 8,000 pounds. My daily expenses can't be exposed, and I'll repay him in four or five months, with 1,000 pounds in interest... Until the New Year, I'll be quite strapped for cash, only able to use 1,000 pounds a month... Audrey quickly made a decision, then burned the original note and wrote on new paper:
"The second option is to pay £2,000 upfront, and then pay the remaining £8,000 upon completion of the task."
At 15 Minsk Street, Klein met Mary Gale again during afternoon tea.
He took the initiative to arrange a meeting with the other party through Starling Summer.
"Ms. Mary, after following them, I discovered that your husband went to the Cragg Club. Because I'm not a member, I couldn't get in, but from what I observed, half an hour after your husband left, only one young lady came out Erica Taylor, she lives at 126 New Year Road in Hillston Borough, she used to work for Coim Company for a while, and is currently still unemployed. I took a picture of her leaving the Cragg Club."
"Unemployed, yet still able to live in Hillston Borough..." Starling sneered.
Mary remained silent for a few seconds with a gloomy expression before saying:
"You need to get concrete evidence of their intimacy, um... the Cragg Club, right? I'll find two members to recommend you for membership, but your profile must say 'Famous Detective,' and I can't arrange for anyone to take you in; it's probably too late."
"Okay." Klein hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Who will pay the membership fees?"
"I'll cover the Original membership fee as a thank you for your efficiency. After that, if you wish to stay with the club, you'll have to pay the annual fee yourself, which is about £15." Mary's eyes seemed to burn with fire.
The annual fee is £15, so the Original membership fee must be at least £50... A high-end club... Ms. Mary, you are so generous! Klein immediately nodded and said:
I will give you the evidence as soon as possible.
After dinner, Klein went out again, heading to the " Bravehearts Bar " in the Backlund Bridge Area.
Firstly, it was to project an image of fear and helplessness in front of special military departments and clandestine police, as if he wanted to try every possible way to save himself. Secondly, it was to deceive the " Seer " who Mid-Sequence under the ambassador.
Regarding matters concerning the Gray Fog, Klein believed that the gentleman or lady certainly couldn't Divination, including his own resurrection and past events, as well as the " Words of Filth " spell successfully created with the help of the " True Creator."
This is a powerful item that can definitely influence the opponent. Klein must keep himself in a state of insecurity, frantically grasping at straws, in order to mislead the opponent and increase his chances of winning.
In the deep darkness, Klein entered the bar.
Before he could even ask for a beer, he saw Kaspars, the Old Man with a bulbous nose, standing with his arms crossed in front of the "dog catches mouse" arena.
"Perfect timing, Maric is looking for you." Kaspars spotted Klein and immediately limped over.
" Maric is looking for me?" Klein asked in surprise.
He subconsciously touched the Azik Copper Whistle in his pocket, considering what excuse to use to politely decline.
Or perhaps, by enveloping the bronze whistle with his own Spirituality, he wouldn't cause the Living Corpse to mutate? Mr. Azik had been to the cemetery before, and he hadn't seen any corpses attack him... Klein's mind suddenly tensed.
Before he could come up with an excuse, he saw Maric, pale-faced and with eyes that seemed to hide malice, coming from the other side, without any Living Corpse around him.
"Where is his Living Corpse?" Klein thought, half puzzled and half relieved.
Maric pointed to the card room and went there first. Klein looked into the distance and, seeing that there were no Living Corpse inside, followed him in.
"Is there something you need?" Klein asked first.
Maric, dressed in a white shirt and black vest, plopped down on the card table and stared into Klein's eyes, saying:
Is your commission still valid?
"Huh?" Klein didn't react immediately.
"A friend of mine is short of money and is willing to take on this job. She's stronger than me and should be able to protect you. However, she'll only protect you for three days, and the price is 1,000 pounds," Maric said in a low, indistinct voice.
Why did Beyonder only willing to accept the commission appear after I uttered the " Words of Filth "...? Well, that's fine too. It will further confuse the Beyonder on the ambassador's side. Once he's gone to great lengths to defeat Maric's friend, my chances of success will become extremely high... The only problem is, how do I determine if Maric's friend is reliable...? Hmm, I'll go and do some Divination above the Gray Fog... Klein pondered for a moment and said:
"Give me time to consider and raise the funds; this is no small amount."
"Also, it's best to protect me discreetly, without letting anyone know. As for which three days of protection, that's up to me, but it will definitely be within these two weeks."
"Of course, the Seer ' could definitely sense it..." Klein added silently.
As for the money, he had already considered it from the Original. If selling Meursault's Beyonder Characteristic wasn't enough, he would ask Miss " Justice " for more. In any case, he had already laid the groundwork, and there was still a lot of knowledge in Roselle's Diary that he could sell. Of course, if the price was simply unaffordable, then he would have to give up.
Now, although Meursault's Beyonder Characteristic has become the " Words of Filth " spell, Miss Justice is still there, and we still owe money for the Sequence 8 " Light Suppliant " recipe and information about the Secret Order. Combining the two, 1000 pounds should be enough!
P. S.: Early update, please vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets! It's Monday, almost the end of the month!