Requesting a Promotion

At five in the afternoon, a carriage stopped at the corner of Daffodil Street, and two men in damaged clothes stepped out.

Seeing the white smoke rising from the chimneys of some houses and smelling the food in the air, Klein felt a little hungry.

But at this hour, Melissa was still at school, Benson was probably still working overtime, and there was no food ready at home.

Klein was wondering whether to make do with dried bread soaked in warm water or go to the trouble of buying some meat and tender peas to cook so they could all eat together when Melissa and Benson returned.

Suddenly, Leon's voice came from beside him. "Want to come over for a while? Martha should be getting dinner ready about now."

This time, Klein didn't rush to turn down Leon's invitation.

Perhaps he still hadn't fully made sense of everything that had happened at Azik's house. He too felt the need to talk to Leon, so he nodded slightly in agreement.

Two minutes later, Klein sat on a soft sofa and accepted a teacup from Martha, the maid.

What the hell kind of line was that!

Martha's words had nearly given Klein and Leon goosebumps at the same time.

Leon couldn't help coughing. He told Martha to leave them for now, as he needed to discuss work with Klein.

As a guest, Klein could only raise his black tea in front of his face to hide his embarrassment.

The rich aroma reached his nose, and he took a sip. The familiar taste immediately reminded him of the Queen's black tea he'd had at the Bonaparte Restaurant a few days ago. It tasted almost exactly the same.

Rich people really are extravagant.

As Klein marveled inwardly, he wondered how to bring up Mr. Azik with Leon.

Through the rising steam, he vaguely saw Leon take something out from inside his coat. With a flick of his wrist, Leon tossed it at him.

Klein set down his teacup and raised a hand to catch it with a flourish, but both his judgment and reaction were just a little off.

Smack.

The object struck his shoulder, while his left hand hung awkwardly in midair.

In the sudden silence, Klein instinctively began raising his hand higher...

"All right, your hair isn't messy. Pretending to fix it is a trick I used to pull years ago," Leon said dryly.

His ruse exposed, Klein stubbornly scratched his forehead anyway, then silently picked up what Leon had thrown him.

Taking a closer look, he saw that it was the Copper Whistle Mr. Azik had given him.

"It's no use to me. Compared to me, I think you need it more," Leon explained in response to Klein's questioning gaze.

"But Mr. Azik clearly said it was a gift to thank you." Klein hesitated.

"It was a gift to thank us, Klein." Leon emphasized the word "us."

"So naturally, you have a share in it. I don't need a messenger, and it'll be more useful in your hands. If I really need to contact Azik, I can just come to you."

"All right, I'll take it, then." Klein didn't refuse again.

Had it been anyone else, he would certainly have thought they didn't know the object's true value.

The value of a supernatural item that could summon a messenger equivalent to a Sequence 8 and also contact another person who was very likely a High Sequence powerhouse went without saying.

But when it came to Leon, Klein knew there was no point in even entertaining that thought.

Empty courtesies were for the weak.

Azik and Leon's conversation still echoed in his ears, making Klein realize that Leon, too, had probably fallen into a state similar to Azik's for reasons he himself didn't even know.

So after everything that had happened that afternoon, he had already begun to unconsciously regard Leon and Mr. Azik as equals-even though Leon seemed flighty and unreliable, was full of nasty ideas, and often tried to rope him into doing bad things...

They're nothing alike, all right?! Klein's conviction wavered sharply. He simply couldn't reconcile the man in front of him with the steady, dependable Mr. Azik.

After gathering his thoughts, Klein voiced the question on his mind. "Has Mr. Azik really lived a very long time?"

"From what we've seen so far, yes." Leon nodded, a thoughtful look flashing across his eyes. "He's very strong. What he showed us before was probably only a small fraction of his power at his peak."

"Doesn't that mean the person hiding behind the scenes, whom even Mr. Azik can't see through, definitely can't be weak either?"

Klein quickly put the information together and reassessed just what kind of maelstrom he had been caught up in.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not good at this sort of game, where people are forever hiding behind the scenes and scheming against others." Leon spread his hands helplessly, his tone regretful.

"Though I still think he's nothing more than a rat in a gutter, barring any surprises, you're right."

No matter what world you're in, these riddlers are nothing but trouble.

If you've got the guts, let's stand together and have a real man's one-on-one duel. Whoever hides is a bastard.

Leon grumbled inwardly, then looked at Klein.

"Looks like you've figured out what to do next?"

"Yes." Klein nodded slightly, determination in his eyes. "I'm going to ask the captain for a promotion."

"A promotion?" Leon asked. "Where did you get the Potion formula?"

"The captain said they found a Potion formula called Clown in the letters left behind by Hanass Vincent, the Aurora Order member who broke into your house."

"The cathedral can't confirm whether the formula is genuine for now, so we can only wait for its response. But I've already verified that the formula is correct through divination and a certain prayer."

"So you've decided to tell the captain outright that you mastered the Potion in a month?" Leon was quite surprised.

He had thought that, given Klein's personality, he would choose to wait a while longer to avoid attracting attention, even if he had mastered the Potion long ago.

It seemed Azik's situation really had shaken his usually steady colleague. Sure enough, pressure was the driving force behind growth.

Perhaps I could put a little more pressure on Klein from time to time in the future?

Leon smiled, then said, "When the time comes, I'll speak up for you if necessary."

"No need! I'll do it myself!" Klein abruptly sat up straight and rejected the seemingly well-meaning offer of help faster than he ever had anything in his life.

That damned smile again!

Klein felt he had developed a condition that made him nervous whenever he saw Leon smile.

God knows what outrageous idea will pop into Leon's head as part of this "help" of his!

The last time something similar had happened, it had nearly led Mr. Azik to blow up half of Tingen.

If Klein hadn't known full well that staying with the Nighthawks was indeed his best option for now, he would definitely have chosen any other way out that let him stay away from Leon.

"Calm down, calm down." Leon wore the expression of an old man looking at his phone on the subway as he tried to soothe him.

"Fine, I won't say anything. It's not like I'm a demon who has to get something in return every time I help."