Inside a house in the Cherwood Borough.
As soon as Hugh Door Opening and came in, he smelled the aroma of fried food, couldn't help but sniff, and looked towards the kitchen, saying:
" Fors?"
"Could there be anyone else?" Fors poked her head out of the kitchen and asked with a smile.
Hugh put down the newspaper he was holding and replied, half surprised and half muttering:
"Do you remember how long it's been since you last stepped into the kitchen? Well, that doesn't count when I was making toast this morning."
Fors returned to the kitchen, only her voice drifting out:
"I used to choose food outside because it was better, but now there's no good fried chicken on several streets around here."
"I suddenly have a craving for this. Of all the foods that came from Intis, it's my favorite!"
Hugh walked into the kitchen, leaned against the doorframe, watched Fors busily preparing dinner, and after a moment's thought, said:
"I've taken on a job paying £100 a day for 3 to 5 days, but I need to find another helper."
"Weren't you short of money before? Want to join us?"
My financial situation has actually improved... However, a daily target of 50 pounds is not bad. I should save as much as I can, as there will be many more expenses in the future... Fors asked, staring at the iron pot full of oil:
What kind of commission?
She had already mentally calculated the reward she could receive.
Xiu straightened his slightly rough blond hair and said:
"Secretly protect a wealthy man named Dawn Dantès."
"What happened to him? Is he in danger?" Fors asked cautiously.
Hugh thought for a moment and said:
"It seems to be a business dispute; a competitor threatened him."
"This isn't dangerous. You know, the powerful Beyonder of Backlund don't usually take such risks. It would easily expose them and make them targets of the ' Nighthawks ' and ' Mandated Punishers '."
"Maybe it's a Lunatic over there? We can't rule out that possibility." Fors retorted, naturally thinking of "The World" Gehrman Sparrow, the Lunatic who dared to do big things in Backlund!
She paused, then scooped up the fried chicken pieces and said:
"Since you've already accepted the task, and I'm not busy lately, let's go together."
"Luckily, this is covert protection, so no one will find out I'm working as a bodyguard. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to attend those high-society literary salons anymore, haha. Actually, I could tell them I'm experiencing life, gathering material, and that my next book is about a female bodyguard and her male employer!"
Hugh was already used to Fors's tendency to think outside the box, and sniffed again, saying:
"Let's go over after dinner."
At 160 Böklund Street, Klein arranged a ceremony in the master bedroom's bathroom before ascending above the Gray Fog.
He planned to take care of some chores before the bodyguard hired by his butler Walter, arrived, so that it wouldn't be inconvenient for him to do them in the following days.
Of all these miscellaneous tasks, the most important is to confirm the state of " Creeping Hunger."
After taking his seat in the " The Fool's" spot, Klein sent the human skin glove flying out from the pile of junk.
After some Divination and examination, he found that " the Creeping Hunger " was quite stubborn this time, and the negative effects remained unchanged.
"Is this because Mr. A has infected me, and I will never give up praising the ' True Creator '?" Klein's lips twitched as he seriously considered how to solve this problem.
"Find another way to intimidate it? No, how can you call it intimidation? It should be called friendly communication while maintaining the initiative..." Klein tapped the edge of the mottled long table with his fingers, muttering to himself:
"Anyway, I have to write to Mr. Azik later, so I can mention the ' Creeping Hunger ' seal failing."
"I could carry some mushrooms with me... no, that won't work. While that would stop ' Creeping Hunger ' from praising the ' True Creator,' it would also render it unusable. Hmm... I'll ask Frank for a few more original mutated mushrooms and see if they have any different effects..."
Having finalized his plan, Klein tossed the Azik Copper Whistle and the Adventurer Harmonica into the " Door of Sacrifice and Bestowal," then returned to the real world, collected the items, and cleaned up the traces.
Leaving the washroom, Klein went to his desk, took out some stationery and a pen, and carefully wrote:
"Dear Mr. Azik... It's been so long since I last wrote to you. I wonder how you've been lately..."
"... Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the seal you placed on ' Creeping Hunger ' has failed. Could you provide me with a solution so I can redo it..."
"Have you ever heard of Spirit World Plunderer? What level do they exist at? What are their characteristics? In which areas are they usually active?"
"... I might be going to the Southern Continent soon. If I obtain any new information about the Death, I will write to you as soon as possible..."
Klein put down his pen, read the letter twice, folded it neatly, picked up the brass whistle, brought it to his lips, and blew it.
Without a sound, white bones emerged from the floor, gushing into the air like a fountain, forming a giant skeleton nearly four meters tall.
The skeleton looked down at Dawn Dantès for a second, then bent over, letting its right arm hang down and its palm open.
This messenger is becoming more and more polite... Klein nodded in satisfaction and handed the newly written letter to the messenger.
The skeletal messenger did not linger; it instantly disintegrated, cascading to the ground like a waterfall before vanishing without a trace.
Klein secretly breathed a sigh of relief, withdrew his gaze, and continued writing the letter to Frank:
"... The dried mushrooms you gave me last time were good, do you have any more?"
"... Do you think the idea I mentioned earlier is feasible? If you encounter any difficulties during the research process, you can write to me..."
After folding the letter, Klein picked up the Adventurer Harmonica and blew on it lightly as well.
He immediately saw the messenger, Reinette Tinekerr, appear beside him, still headless, dressed in an elaborate, somber long dress, carrying four blonde, red-eyed, and strikingly beautiful heads.
"Can you locate Frank Lee?" Klein asked with considerable confidence, after all, the messenger was different from ordinary messengers; she was Demigod- level Spirit World being.
Under normal circumstances, the messenger can only locate the contractor and the person who used the summoning ritual. However, the latter is limited by distance; once they are too far from the ritual location, the messenger will be unable to find them.
The four heads in Reinette Tinekerr's hands turned simultaneously, looking at Klein and saying:
"Is it... that... person... who... wants... to... plant... everything... in... the soil...?"
... What exactly did Frank do to leave such a deep impression on the messenger?... When I replied earlier, she even said she hoped he wasn't dead... Klein nodded solemnly:
"Yes."
Reinette Tinekerr's four heads spoke in turn:
"I can... locate... I have... marked him..."
Huh? Klein's mouth gaped open, almost forgetting his purpose.
Poor Frank, no, mighty Frank, the messenger had actually marked him specially... May the goddess protect him... Klein slowly exhaled and handed the letter to Reinette Tinekerr:
Please give this to Frank.
He will pay you in gold coins.
A head in Reinette Tinekerr's hand opened its mouth, bit the letter, and then entered the Spirit World, becoming unobservable.
After finishing his chores, Klein left the brass whistle and harmonica on his person, went downstairs to the second floor, and enjoyed his dinner.
Halfway through the meal, the butler Walter, entered from outside and whispered in Dawn Dantès' ear:
"The bodyguards have arrived; they are Miss Hugh and her friend. I will arrange for them to provide covert protection."
Miss Hugh and her friend? Could it be Miss " The Magician "...? Klein didn't know what to say for a moment, and could only nod slightly to indicate that he knew.
His Spirituality didn't actually detect any "intrusion" into the house, but that was normal. It wasn't the middle of the night when everyone was asleep, so even the slightest disturbance would be quite noticeable. Unless Klein had specifically left a mark in a Spirituality location that would be detected, or the intruder harbored considerable malice towards him, it would be difficult to detect anything.
In another bedroom on the third floor, Hugh and Fors each occupied one side of the curtains, looking down at the garden through the glass.
"This is my dream home. When I have enough money, I'll buy a house like this in a beautiful place. No, I still prefer Backlund; there's more delicious food and it's more convenient here," Fors said sincerely.
After saying that, she sighed inwardly:
Unfortunately, I'm Full Moon Curse, so I can only keep improving myself. Otherwise, I would have left behind a house instead of cash last time...
Following his friend's gaze, Xiu looked outside and whispered:
"This is the kind of place I lived when I was a child..."
Fors glanced at Hugh, and, unsure how to respond, changed the subject:
How can we provide protection?
Hugh withdrew his gaze and said:
When Mr. Dawn Dantès wasn't out or having visitors, he would stay in his room, watching his surroundings and guarding against anyone breaking in...
"When guests visit, we go next door, keep a close watch on the situation, and are ready to ' Door Opening ' and rush over to rescue them at any time..."
"If Mr. Dawn Dantès goes out, the butler will inform us in advance. I will hide under the carriage to protect him, while you will find another carriage to follow him..."
"Hugh, you're getting more and more professional!" Fors praised earnestly, then chuckled, "I just saw the portrait of Mr. Dawn Dantès. If you hadn't said this danger stemmed from business competition, I might have even suspected the problem was related to an emotional entanglement..."
Before Fors could finish speaking, a carriage suddenly stopped outside the house gate, and several policemen in black and white checkered uniforms stepped out.
What's going on? She looked at her friend and found that Hugh had the same question.
In the small living room on the second floor, Klein met four police officers.
"Mr. Dawn Dantès, do you know Mr. Caron?"
Caron Klein thought for a moment and remembered that this was about selling Coim Company shares to his husband.
"I know him. What happened to him?" Klein asked calmly.
The lead officer responded rather politely:
He committed suicide.
"In addition, he left a suicide note accusing you of forcing him to sell his shares and tormenting him through various shady means, which led to his extreme depression."
"His family provided evidence for the contents of his suicide note."