Hearing the fat Apothecary's question, Klein chuckled inwardly but remained outwardly indifferent:
"From the moment you make your first payment."
Darkwill first pulled out a large wad of cash without hesitation, then counted it with a pained expression:
"This is 300 pounds."
You can keep your promise now.
Klein took the banknotes and nodded, saying:
"No problem."
Darkwill immediately relaxed, like a drowning person finally grabbing a lifebuoy.
More than half an hour later, inside the " Teana " Inn, Darkwill stared blankly at the powerful adventurer Gehrman Sparrow on night duty:
"Change to a luxury suite."
After speaking, Klein took two steps back, seemingly giving his place to the fat Apothecary.
Darkwill swallowed hard and asked hesitantly:
"I'll pay?"
"During the mission, all expenses are borne by the employer; it's the rule for adventurers," Klein replied without changing his expression.
"I believe you're an idiot! Do you think I'd pay for a few ' Red Theater ' girls you call over?" Darkwill thought for a moment, then forced a smile and said:
"We can use just a regular room; that would be easier to protect."
"Then you can live by yourself." Klein effortlessly Acting the role of Gehrman Sparrow.
Darkwill chuckled twice, walked to the counter, and said expressionlessly:
"A luxury suite."
Once they were actually settled in and entered the smaller bedroom, the portly Apothecary Darkwill opened the window, leaving a "door" for Mr. Owl Harry, while taking out a ring box from his pocket to examine the condition of the strange die.
After confirming that the dice were still rolling the same four dots as before, Darkwill quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Inside an ordinary house in Backlund.
Ince Zangwill awoke from a deep sleep, his first instinct being to check on his condition.
This is something he does every day, because he has no idea what stories "0-08" will weave or what surprises it will bring after he falls asleep.
After confirming that he was not injured, Ince Zangwill put on his shiny leather boots and stood up.
As expected, he saw "0-08" sitting quietly on the desk, like a very ordinary and common quill pen.
However, it was locked inside a metal box with layers of symbols and magical markings last night.
Ince Zangwill walked over solemnly, grasped "0-08" in one hand, and opened the notebook beside him with the other, finding that it had nearly a page of additional text:
Ince Zangwill couldn't recall what he had done last night, but he keenly sensed something was amiss.
He looked in the mirror and found himself to be a stranger, as if another Ince Zangwill had been born inside him.
He looked down and saw something unusual under his fingernails, but he couldn't recall what he had done the night before...
Upon reading this description, Ince Zangwill instinctively looked at the full-length mirror in the room. He saw that he was still blind in one eye, his classically sculpted face without a single wrinkle, but a slight smile lingered at the corner of his mouth, forming a stark contrast with his solemn gaze.
At that moment, Ince Zangwill felt his face turn slightly bluish, his eyes were dark, and coupled with that smile that he didn't know how he had gotten there, he looked extremely sinister, ruthless, and eerie.
He raised his hands, lowered his head, and saw clumps of dried black grime under his fingernails, as if he had dug up tree roots in the garden in the middle of the night.
Although he had switched from the " Death " pathway to the " Evernight " pathway and become a " Nightwatcher," Ince Zangwill had not lost his extraordinary abilities. He remained a powerful Spirit Medium and a mentor in the realm of the Death. Therefore, he immediately decided to communicate with the spirits inside and outside the house to find out what had happened last night.
At that moment, he caught a glimpse of the last paragraph in the notebook out of the corner of his eye:
" Ince Zangwill attempted Spirit Channeling but sadly found himself empty-handed; it seemed that equally professional individuals had disposed of all the clues. He was deeply worried, unsure of what he had gotten himself into last night."
Ince Zangwill's expression grew increasingly somber as he attempted Spirit Channeling reading, predictably without any surprising results.
Wednesday morning, outside the Fragrant Leaf Bar, where the ownership has changed hands.
Klein turned into a quiet alley and met Oz Kent.
"Your bounty." Oz Kent tossed the not-so-large leather suitcase over.
This is not actually a bounty in the true sense; it is an advance payment from the military. The former involves the Governor's Office and the Kingdom's Finances, and there are many procedures to go through, which will take at least three more days to complete.
Klein took the suitcase, opened it on the spot, and saw neat stacks of banknotes inside, mainly 1-pound and 5-pound notes.
"It's £5,400 in total, no commission," Oz Kent forced a smile.
For other adventurers, he would give at most 4,000 pounds, with the rest going to the income of a series of people involved in the process.
But the opponent was a madman, whose strength was close to that of a pirate general. Fearing being shot on the spot, he had no choice but to do the work for free.
The military wouldn't try to scam me with counterfeit money... Klein grabbed a wad of bills and casually shook them.
5400 pounds... Darkwill, hiding outside the alley, overheard Oz Kent's words, glanced at the suitcase, and was dazzled by the stacks of gold pounds inside.
This was the first time he had ever seen so much money piled up together.
"Adventuring is such a lucrative profession! A successful pirate hunt earns thousands of pounds, protecting me for three days brings in 1,000 pounds plus one additional requirement, and occasionally you can even find shipwrecks and treasures... Why did I become Apothecary instead of an adventurer? If I had known sooner, I should have chosen that lucky, Beyonder Pathway..." Darkwill thought with extreme envy.
However, he quickly remembered the reality that most adventurers were not actually that wealthy. Even if they did make a fortune, a third of their income would have to go to the Apothecary, either to treat injuries, eliminate old ailments, or to buy medicine to enhance their lives and deal with hidden illnesses.
Being Apothecary is still the safest... Darkwill sighed inwardly.
At this point, Klein hadn't carefully counted the money but had only roughly determined the amount, closed the suitcase and said to Oz Kent:
"I'll be leaving Bayam for a while. How can I let you know if there's any news?"
"You're leaving Bayam?" Oz Kent asked, slightly surprised.
Klein nodded slightly and said:
"I got a bodyguard job."
Oz Kent was initially taken aback, but then a strange sense of relief washed over him.
If this Lunatic stays in Bayam for too long, he'll cause trouble one day. It's better for him to sail the seas and fight those pirates... Oz Kent immediately smiled and said:
"You can send a telegram directly, including my address. We have people at the telegraph office."
"Okay." Klein, dressed in a black wool coat, didn't say much. He picked up his suitcase, turned, and left the alley.
He and Darkwill headed straight for the port area to catch the earliest ferry to Oravi Island, while the owl flew stealthily among the roadside trees. They had already bought their tickets for the black ship the night before.
In the half hour before boarding, Darkwill was in considerable anxiety, fearing that the person who betrayed his teacher would suddenly arrive and attack him.
This feeling persisted until he entered his first-class cabin, at which point it subsided. Once a passenger ship is at sea, it is difficult for Beyonder without the ability to fly or possess their own vessel to intercept it en route.
"Set sail, set sail..." Darkwill muttered to himself, gazing out the window.
By this time, the owl had caught up and landed on his left shoulder, while Klein sat in a chair in the room, on guard against a possible attack.
Just then, the sky quickly darkened, the wind grew stronger, and the humidity in the air noticeably increased.
"A Storm?" Darkwill blurted out, opening his eyes.
This means the ship may not depart on time and could be delayed by several hours!
In doing so, Darkwill would be exposed to many unnecessary risks!
He turned to look at Gehrman Sparrow, forcing a smile, and said:
Do you have any ideas?
"Yes, there are options. For example, you could immediately pray to ' Sea God ' Kavithua, and I'd rush to the Gray Fog to respond and disperse the Storm... But don't doubt it, ' Sea King ' Jahn Kottman will arrive in a few minutes, or even seconds, and his attack will come even sooner..." Klein looked at the fat Apothecary and calmly replied:
"I'm just an adventurer."
Darkwill knew he shouldn't have unnecessary expectations, so he cursed the weather under his breath, turned around, and stuck his head out the window to study the situation.
Boom!
A bolt of silver lightning struck down, hitting Darkwill squarely before Klein could react.
Darkwill suddenly convulsed and collapsed, his body steaming, his skin charred, and electric snakes crackling around him.
Klein was nearly stunned; this was the first time he had ever seen someone struck by lightning during a thunderstorm.
This is so unlucky... He even forgot to rescue Darkwill in his haste.
Mr. Owl Harry also paused for a few seconds, then shrieked:
"Quick, quick! There's a vial of medicine in his second hidden pocket on the left. Give it to him!"
This owl can talk... Klein raised an eyebrow, took a few steps forward, bent down, found the blood-red potion, and then forced it into Darkwill's mouth.
Nearly two minutes later, Darkwill finally regained consciousness, and as his charred skin peeled off, he struggled to his feet and said:
"I... I'll go treat my injuries."
He staggered into his bedroom and locked the door.
After doing all this, he took out the ring box and heavily opened the lid.
Inside the ring box, where there was almost no room to turn, the milky-white die had changed at some point, with the two red dots facing up!
In the living room outside, Klein stood there, recalling everything that had happened, his brows furrowing slightly.
At this moment, he inexplicably felt that the enemies he would face on this bodyguard mission might be different from those he had faced before.
Once Klein had recovered and returned to the Darkwill, he sat in a chair, leaning slightly forward, and began to speak:
Let me explain.
"This relates to how I provide protection."