Back in the room with the large balcony, Fors looked at Hugh, who was leaning against the wall, and lowered his voice:
Guess what I saw?
"That manservant, Dantès's personal manservant, is actually a follower of Death! He was just performing Spirit Dance in prayer!"
Hugh suddenly opened his eyes wide, then immediately relaxed his expression:
"For Mr. Dantès, this was just a very late question."
"Well, that servant named Richardson clearly has Southern Continent blood, and may have been born there, so it's not too surprising that he secretly worships Death."
Fors responded with a smile:
"I know, I just find it interesting Dawn Dantès, this wealthy man, has a lot of secrets hidden around him?"
"If one day it is discovered that every living creature in this house, besides him—including the housekeeper, maid, gardener, coachman, earthworms, insects, and rats—is associated with mystery and the extraordinary, I don't think I'd be too surprised; I could easily accept that fact."
Hugh rolled his eyes at his friend again:
"If that's the case, then Mr. Dawn Dantès fact that he's surrounded by Beyonder and supernatural creatures only suggests that he might be a descendant of an evil god or Angel on earth."
Before Fors could expand on the topic, Hugh turned to ask:
"Didn't you just say you had a strange dream about treasure? Why aren't you curious at all? Why didn't you consider what it might symbolize, or whether it could actually exist?"
Fors chuckled:
"Such dreams often signify great trouble and danger. Let's consider it again when we encounter that symbol in the future."
She said that, but what she really thought was:
This dream has quite a problem. Who knows if there might be a conspiracy? Maybe I should go to the Tarot Club next week and consult with Mr. " The Hanged Man," Ms. " The Hermit," and, uh, Mr. "The World" before deciding what to do. They are all experienced and powerful Beyonder, and they might have similar experiences.
"You've matured a lot." Hugh nodded slightly, then used his back to spring away from the wall and headed towards where Fors had been sleeping.
"Mature?" Fors scoffed, leaning closer to her friend, straightening her back, and looking down at the other's crown of hair.
Before Xiu could get angry, she sighed again and said:
You've truly matured now.
"I remember this time last year, you relied on intuition to do things, and your arbitration was based on your fists. You would occasionally make Error out of confusion and lose your way. You're much better now."
Xiu paused for a moment, then lay down on her side, wrapped the thin silk quilt around herself, turned her back to Fors, and muttered:
The main reason I got lost was because you were holding me back.
Fors chuckled twice, then nodded thoughtfully and said:
"This is an inherent characteristic of the ' Apprentice ' path, and it has nothing to do with me personally, hmm!"
Seeing that Hugh had already lain down, she went to the wall near the master bedroom and began to act as his bodyguard.
As night gradually faded and the sky began to brighten, Klein got up, had breakfast, and was visited by two groups of police officers and a group of reporters. Some of them came to further investigate the Caron suicide case, while others wanted to obtain more details about the attack on Congressman Macht.
Under the arrangement of the butler Walter, Dawn Dantès met with them one by one and quickly resolved the matter.
In the afternoon, Congressman Macht suddenly arrived and said to Klein in a slightly hurried manner:
Come with me to the club for a game of tennis.
He joined several clubs, but only one had any connection with Dawn Dantès:
East Balam Veteran Officers Club!
Was this to finalize that arms deal? Klein understood the hidden meaning in the other party's words, and immediately had his personal valet Richardson fetch his coat, top hat, and cane. He then boarded his carriage and followed the councilman to the distinctive sand-yellow building in the Hillston Borough.
Upon entering the club, in the same room as before, Klein once again encountered Calvin, the Department of Defense Army officer with a donkey-like face.
After a few minutes of customary small talk, Calvin finally got to the point, looking at Dawn Dantès and chuckling:
"I heard from Macht that you can come up with 20,000 gold pounds at once?"
"It's a bit of a stretch, but it's definitely possible," Klein replied with a smile.
Calvin nodded in satisfaction, and said thoughtfully:
"It won't cost you 20,000 pounds for now. The batch of guns, ammunition, and a small number of artillery pieces I'm preparing for you will be in a warehouse somewhere in East Balam. The quantity is relatively small, enough to arm about three or four thousand people. At scrap value, it'll be worth at most 10,000 pounds. Of course, you'll have to give me 15,000 pounds."
He spoke without any attempt to conceal his thoughts, as if this were already the norm within the Loen army.
"No problem," Klein nodded calmly.
Calvin chuckled.
"Very good, Macht has a good eye. If you want to do business in this area, you absolutely can't be stingy."
"That batch of weapons is worth at least £20,000 in West Balam. If you can find a suitable buyer and leverage your experience there, you could easily sell it for £30,000 or even more. By the way, you'll have to cover the transportation and storage costs yourself; we'll only send two or three people to assist you."
As expected, there would be supervisors... Klein listened calmly, feeling that he needed to urge " Admiral of Stars " and Danitz to give him information about West Balam as soon as possible.
He hesitated for a moment and said:
When will it start?
"The weapons will be stored in the appropriate warehouse for another two weeks. After that, you can decide when to start. Hmm, you don't need to pay the full amount upfront. Pay 8,000 to 10,000 pounds first, and the balance will be paid after everything is settled." Calvin put on an easygoing demeanor.
Two weeks later, it would be near the end of the month, so he definitely had to attend the " Snake of Fate's" birth celebration before leaving... He was still waiting for His umbilical cord blood... Klein's thoughts shifted, and he said:
"I need to do some preparations beforehand; I'll probably go to the Southern Continent in early July."
Calvin and Senator Macht exchanged a glance, then lightly patted their palms and said:
"No problem."
Outside the East Balam Veteran Officers Club, Hugh and Fors hid on the rooftops of nearby buildings, monitoring the comings and goings of people.
Hugh knew very well that there were many Beyonder in this club, so he didn't dare let Fors take her in to provide close protection for Dawn Dantès, and could only wait outside.
"Luckily, this is Backlund. Even though there's not much fog this season, there are still plenty of clouds, and the Sun isn't too strong. Otherwise, my skin would definitely be sunburned again," Fors muttered casually, huddled in the shade.
Just as Hugh was about to speak, he suddenly saw a carriage drive up to the back gate of the club. It was brown in color and had a distinctive coat of arms, the main elements of which were flowers and rings.
"Viscount Stratford's carriage..." Hugh muttered to herself, then opened her eyes wide and focused her attention. She immediately saw the familiar yet unfamiliar figure step down from the carriage and, surrounded by several bodyguards, enter the East Balam Veteran Officers Club.
"What's wrong?" Fors noticed her friend's unusual behavior.
Hugh didn't hide anything and said frankly:
"I saw Viscount Stratford; he's at the club too."
"That head of the palace guard?" Fors asked, slightly taken aback.
"Hmm." Hugh nodded emphatically.
Fors opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say, so he looked around and pretended to be monitoring something unusual.
After a while, they saw Dawn Dantès come out.
In the afternoon, another visitor arrived at 160 Böklund Street.
This time it's Mrs. Mary, a major shareholder of the Coim Company.
"I'm so sorry my request has dragged you into this trouble. I never imagined Baron Sindras would do something like this. Poor Caron, he was planning to take his family to Winter County for the summer," Mary Short said, her voice filled with apology and resentment.
Klein responded calmly:
I agree with your assessment of Caron; he's truly unfortunate.
"However, this might not have been done by Baron Sindras; it could very well be a trap set for him."
Mrs. Mary nodded solemnly:
"I've heard this speculation; apparently, the police department is planning to hire a top-notch forensic pathologist to help autopsie the body and look for any overlooked clues."
The latter half of her sentence, as heard by Klein, automatically translated to "The police department plans to hire a powerful ' Spirit Medium ' from the Church of Evernight to examine the body and search for overlooked clues."
I wonder what he'll discover... Klein raised his right hand and tapped his chest four times clockwise, saying:
May the goddess protect Caron and grant him peace; may the true murderer be punished.
Lady Mary responded with the same courtesy, and then said:
"To prevent this matter from affecting you any further, I plan to acquire your shares ahead of schedule, at a premium of £1,000 over the current highest price."
"You don't need to worry about my funds. What I've been busy with lately is borrowing money from the bank."
Klein sighed and laughed:
"I appreciate your kindness, but if you want to discuss the early transfer of shares, you'll have to go to the church. I've already donated to them, intending to use the proceeds to establish an educational fund for the poor."
This was the first time Mrs. Mary had heard this news, and she was so shocked that she was speechless.
After a full ten seconds, she quietly exhaled and said:
"I deeply admire your character, your generosity, and your Wisdom."
As she spoke, her gaze toward Dawn Dantès held even more admiration.
Klein humbly attributed all the credit to the goddess, then paused, and asked with a serious expression:
"Mrs. Mary, I have a question that I hope you can answer."
"When you decided to confront Baron Sindras and retain control of the Coim Company, was it purely out of personal emotion, or were you persuaded by others?"
Mrs. Mary frowned slightly, and answered frankly:
"All the advice they gave me was to give up."
Klein fell silent and didn't discuss the topic further. After chatting for a while about the attack on Congressman Macht, he saw the lady across from him off from 160 Böklund Street.
After dinner, his butler Walter, went to the semi-open room with its large balcony and addressed his employer, who was seated in an armchair:
"Sir, the two bounty Hunter have been seen off. The total cost for three days was 300 pounds, not including food."
They're finally gone... Klein relaxed abruptly and nodded in approval of the butler's reply.
Then, he eagerly went into the master bedroom, intending to find the mushrooms Frank Lee had sent, take them above the Gray Fog, and communicate with the " Creeping Hunger."
When he arrived at the desk where the mushrooms were hidden, he saw a letter pressed down by an ink bottle.
Klein picked it up with a hint of doubt, opened it, quickly glanced through it, and his expression immediately became quite strange:
"Mr. Dantès, we are your bodyguards. We have discovered some things these past few days and felt it necessary to inform you. Therefore, while you were having dinner, we entered your bedroom and left this letter."