In the evening, Klein, who had just returned from Saint Samuel Cathedral, was about to enter the second-floor dining room when he saw the butler Walter, come to greet him and bow respectfully:
"Sir, the matter you requested has been clarified."
Klein didn't ask in front of the surrounding male and female servants, but calmly nodded and said:
"Go to the study."
Walter followed him up to the third floor, watching as Richardson opened the study door and turned on the gas lamp inside.
Klein walked slowly to the desk, sat down, and looked at the butler, waiting for him to speak.
Walter gestured for Richardson to stand guard outside the door, then leaned closer to the desk, carefully considering his words.
He spoke only after the door had closed again:
"Ms. Vahana's husband is a fabric merchant. He previously partnered with someone, investing 1,000 pounds, but the other party absconded with the goods. She has Macht MP Maht and Madam Liana to urge the police to solve the case as soon as possible. However, in such cases, the police cannot guarantee that they will definitely find the target."
Klein picked up the black, round-bellied fountain pen from the desk, stroked it, and said:
"For Ms. Vahana's family, 1,000 pounds is not a small sum."
As far as he knew, a normal governess's annual income would not exceed £150, and would be even less if the employer provided accommodation and food.
Although Vahana works for high society and has multiple employers, her annual income is at most four or five hundred pounds, and she has to spend a large portion of it on her own clothing, figure, and appearance, lest her employers think she is not proper enough and cannot teach her manners.
"Yes, her husband's income was only average among cloth merchants, and for him, 1,000 pounds was a considerable investment," Walter said tactfully.
"It's the same for me..." Klein sighed and smiled.
"I'm new to Backlund and not familiar with the police department."
Walter immediately responded:
"Sir, when I served under Viscount Conrad, I became acquainted with several members of the Backlund Senior Police Officers Association."
The Backlund Senior Police Officers Association? These are all high-ranking figures in Sivellaus Yard. Even the chief superintendent in charge of a district's security isn't qualified to enter.
Sivellaus Yard refers to the Backlund Police Department, named after the street where it is located.
As expected of a butler from a noble family... Klein sighed inwardly, then shook his head with a smile:
"Not for now. Ms. Vahana has plenty of people she can turn to for help in this regard. Whether it's Senator Macht or anyone else, they all have the ability to get the Sivellaus Yard to take this case seriously."
He paused for a moment, then said casually:
"I've seen the bottom of this society and I know their survival rules. Sometimes, the police aren't as effective as gang members or bounty Hunter."
" Walter, go to the police department and get the relevant information. Then go to the famous bars in the Backlund Bridge Area and the East Borough and post the bounty."
"Whether the Criminal is found or the fabric is recovered, I will offer a reward of 200 pounds."
"Heh, I just hope those scammers are still stuck in Backlund."
"A 200-pound bounty?" Walter repeated the amount, glancing at his employer as if he couldn't believe he was willing to pay so much for Vahana's sake.
He opened his mouth, as if wanting to remind someone of something, but ultimately didn't say anything, only responding earnestly:
"Yes, sir."
"I'll give you the money directly." Klein slowly stood up and took out his wallet.
As Walter took the thick wad of cash, he pondered for a moment and asked:
Should we tell Ms. Vahana?
Klein smiled:
"Unnecessary."
Walter nodded in realization and bowed, saying:
"Your reputation for generosity and kindness will spread throughout this neighborhood."
Inside a cramped but bustling pub on Dharavi Street in the East Borough.
After carefully combing his short blond hair before leaving the house, Hugh squeezed through the area filled with the smell of alcohol and sweat to reach the bar.
She tapped the wooden board with her finger and said to the bartender:
Any new requests today?
If it were anyone else, asking without ordering a drink would likely be ignored by the bartender, but seeing that it was Hugh, a bounty Hunter whom everyone would rather she didn't drink, he could only sigh and say:
"There's a very lucrative commission: £200."
"200 pounds?" Hugh almost thought she had misheard. Apart from receiving bounties of this level or even higher from Miss Audrey, she had never encountered a commission with such a high reward in the East Borough and Backlund Bridge Area Azik Eggers mission that had driven the bounty Hunter here crazy only paid 150 pounds.
For an ordinary bounty Hunter, completing this mission means not having to work for a year!
For Yu Xiu, this was equally important, because she had been working for the mysterious man wearing a golden mask for the past few months and had learned that he belonged to Military Intelligence Section 9 and that accumulating merits could be exchanged for the " Interrogator " Potion recipe.
Therefore, she received very little reward for helping others, most of which was converted into merits. Her own savings came entirely from the advantages she gained in finding and apprehending criminals after becoming a " Sheriff ".
Once I get the Potion recipe, I'll need to spend money to buy extraordinary ingredients, and I only have a little over 300 pounds right now... Fors is right, money isn't everything, but it's important enough... Thinking of this, Hugh looked at the bartender and cautiously asked:
"What task? Who commissioned it?"
"Find a few con artists; they swindled £1,000 worth of fabric," the bartender said, handing Hugh a file. "The client appears to be a butler who calls himself Walter, working for Mr. Dawn Dantès of Böklund Street. If you can catch the con artists or recover the fabric, you can collect your reward there."
Hugh quickly flipped through the documents, rapidly forming corresponding images in his mind, and intuitively grasped the direction of his search.
"I'll take this task," she said immediately, looking up.
The bartender shrugged and said:
"It's not just you; every bounty Hunter has come here has accepted this mission."
"And they had other ideas."
"What are you thinking?" Hugh asked curiously.
The bartender chuckled:
"They said that Mr. Dawn Dantès was so generous that if he still needed bodyguards, they could offer themselves."
"However, they later abandoned the idea because being a bodyguard didn't offer the same freedom as being a bounty Hunter; even drinking had to be reserved for days off."
That's not a problem for me, but I can only be a bounty Hunter... Hugh nodded, jumped off the bar stool in front of the bar, and walked toward the door without wasting any time.
The next day, after finishing lunch, Klein prepared to take a walk in his garden to digest his food.
At that moment, the butler Walter came in from outside and quietly followed behind him until there was no one else around.
"Sir, two things," he said respectfully.
"Two things?" Klein was slightly surprised; he had thought there would only be one.
Walter and said:
"Yes, the first thing is about a 10% stake in Backlund Bicycle Company; someone has already offered £10,000."
"Sir, would you like to continue bidding?"
They carried 1000 pounds up there? Not bad! Klein pretended to think about it for a moment and said:
"I've just arrived in Backlund, and there are many things I have to restrain myself from."
"That's it, that's it..."
"Yes, sir," Walter said, turning to the other man, "The conman who stole the fabric from Ms. Vahana's husband has been caught, and the bounty Hunter is nearby, demanding payment."
"So fast?" Klein turned his head in surprise and looked at the butler.
If he were to take action personally, he could indeed resolve the matter on the same day, since he has the " Dowsing Rod Method " for finding people. However, the problem is that the vast majority of bounty Hunter are not Seer.
Hmm, perhaps Beyonder skilled in tracking and finding people... Klein made a preliminary judgment in his mind.
Walter answered affirmatively:
Yes, much faster than I expected.
"According to the bounty Hunter, she traced the scammers back through the channels used to sell stolen goods."
"So you confessed to selling stolen goods so easily? Looks like you've had a good lesson from Iron Fist..." Klein nodded slightly.
"What's that bounty Hunter's name? He's really capable..."
"She calls herself Hugh," Walter answered truthfully.
No way... Klein almost stumbled, but luckily he had the Clown's amazing balance.
Pretending to be deep in thought, he calmed the turmoil in his heart and carefully said:
"Leave that bounty Hunter's contact information; perhaps we'll need her help again in the future."
"Yes, sir." Walter didn't see anything wrong with Dawn Dantès's instructions; a proper member of high society always needed some unofficial channels.
Klein didn't continue the topic of Hugh, and simply hummed in agreement.
How much money did you recover?
"The swindler had about £850 in cash and unsold fabric." Walter seemed to have anticipated that his employer would ask about this and had done his assessment beforehand.
"Very good." Klein nodded. "After giving the bounty Hunter the reward, help her take the conman and the stolen goods to the nearest police station."
North Borough Police Station.
Vahana and her husband Bacus looked at the senior inspector opposite them and asked in unison with surprise:
"It's been found?"
"Have you caught them?"
The senior inspector responded with a smile:
"Yes."
He explained how much cash and fabric they had left, which made Vahana and Bacus both breathe a sigh of relief.
They could afford the £150 loss, and the remaining fabric still had room for appreciation and profit, so overall, the loss wasn't significant.
They thanked the police officer repeatedly until someone came to ask Bacus to identify the stolen goods and the Criminal.
Vahana sat there, maintaining her composure, and smiled at the senior inspector in front of her:
"Your efficiency has exceeded my expectations. I'm very curious, how did you find those scammers?"
Knowing that the beautiful and elegant lady across from him knew a member of the House of Commons, and that the truth would eventually come out, the senior inspector answered without concealing anything:
"Actually, it was done by a bounty Hunter. She started by investigating the stolen goods channels and quickly caught the person."
"You've also issued bounties?" Vahana seemed to understand what was going on.
The senior inspector shook his head and said:
"We didn't have time to do it; someone else posted the bounty—200 pounds."
"200 pounds?" Vahana asked in surprise.
This is no small sum; it even exceeds the profit her husband projected from the business.
Seeing that the officer gave an affirmative answer, Vahana couldn't help but ask:
Who posted the bounty?
"The bounty Hunter didn't say, but she was accompanied by a gentleman dressed as a butler," the senior inspector briefly described Walter's appearance.
Vahana vaguely guessed who it was, leaned back slightly, and unconsciously whispered:
"200 pounds..."
In the afternoon, at the home of Congressman Macht, Vahana, who had come to teach his daughter etiquette, first thanked Madam Liana for her help.
Liana, with her dark green hair, said a few words of modesty, then asked:
" Vahana, I heard you're still Dawn Dantès. I wonder what kind of person he is?"
Vahana considered for a moment and said:
"A true gentleman is warm-hearted, generous, kind, well-mannered, and knowledgeable."
Liana nodded slightly, turned to look at the haughty girl beside her, and chuckled softly.
"It's a pity he's too old, otherwise he would be a good blind date."
"Yes, I'm planning to invite him to the dance this weekend."