372 Missing Case (1/2)

After waiting for more than half an hour and confirming that nothing unexpected had happened, Klein and Emlyn White left Lawyer Jurgen's house and proceeded in silence, each of them preoccupied with their own thoughts. Soon, they arrived outside 15 Minsk Street.

The vampire, Emlyn White, put his fist to his mouth, coughed lightly, and said, ”The payment has been paid. I hope we won't meet again in the future.”

That sounds pretty cool, but Mr. White, have you forgotten something important? Klein smiled politely.

”I will visit Bishop Utravsky every now and then, and I hope you will not be at the Harvest Church when the time comes.

”That way, I don't have to busy myself with finding a way to solve the inducing suggestion planted in your psyche.”

Emlyn White's expression suddenly became very strange. He stayed silent for two seconds before he raised his chin and said, ”We have many powerful mysticologists among the Sanguine. I will write to them for help.”

After he finished speaking, he pressed his hand to his chest and bowed to bid farewell.

Turning around and taking a few steps, he suddenly slowed down, turned his head, and asked hesitantly, ”What were you cooking over here?”

”Beef bone radish soup, with rice and chili peppers from the Feynapotter highlands,” Klein said in anticipation as he breathed in the fragrance drifting out from the house.

Emlyn frowned and shook his head.

”Chili peppers aren't things fancied by the Sanguine.”

Frankly speaking, it's hard for me to imagine a vampire eating chili peppers. Of course, I occasionally imagine a vampire holding a steamed bun and chewing on garlic and onions… Klein silently lampooned, pointed to the door, and indicated that he was about to enjoy his dinner.

Emlyn White thought for a second, lowered his voice, and said in deliberation, ”Last night, I thought over things for a long time and found out that you actually didn't do anything, so why are you asking for compensation? That old man would've let me leave at any moment.”

Klein chuckled.

”No, that's not how the accounts are done. Your parents assigned a mission to find you, not to save you. In the end, I found you. According to the agreement, the reward should belong to me.

”Besides, if I hadn't reminded you, you might've stayed in Harvest Church for weeks or months before you realized that you were free to leave. Furthermore, you wouldn't have noticed the seed planted in your mind.”

”Are you hinting that my intelligence isn't up to par?” Emlyn's face twisted.

No, I'm saying it directly… Klein smiled but didn't say anything else. He just opened the door and went straight to the kitchen, his mind full of the clear and alluring soup, the white rice, the soft yet chewy beef, the marrow hidden deep in the bones, the sweet, refreshing radishes with meaty flavors, and the shredded chili from the Feynapotter highlands.

In the spicy-hot shreds, there were also pink rose salt and green parsley leaves.

…

On Thursday morning, as promised, Klein went to the value-for-money coffee shop in East Borough.

Old Kohler, who was still wearing the same thick jacket as before, was sitting in a corner, matching tea that barely tasted like tea with a loaf of black bread.

Klein came in front of him, took out the things he had prepared long ago, and pushed them towards him.

It was payment consisting of two five-soli notes, four one-soli notes, and a handful of copper pennies specially designed to increase the effect of the payment.

Old Kohler stared straight at them for quite a while before finally reaching out his right hand to take them with a tremble.

He looked at the money over and over again, raised his hand to wipe his eyes, and squeezed out a smile.

”At the dock, we carry the heavy goods and do some troublesome cleaning with our feet in the cold and dirty water, only for one soli a day…”

And there was a total of 15 soli here!

Klein listened in silence. A few seconds later, he said, ”What have you heard recently? What did you notice?”

Old Kohler put away his payment, took another sip of his tea, pinched the corners of his eyes and said, ”I've met a lot of dockworkers, and I've reconnected with friends I used to know when I was a tramp. Some of them have found employment in factories, and some of them have been switching between the workhouse and the parks. Heh, just like how I was in the past.

”Recently, there has been a rumor from who-knows-where that since we believe in one of the seven gods, why don't we directly pray to the Creator of everything? It's said that 'He' didn't truly pass away, and he remains in everyone's body and in all things.

”Praying to 'Him' will result in our redemption. Not only will we enter 'His' kingdom after death, but we will also have a better life before death. For example, we don't need to work so hard, and we can have butter and oily meat every day.”

This… Is this some theory the Aurora Order has spread about the Fallen Creator? After what happened to Lanevus, they've begun to pay attention to the poor in East Borough, the dock area, and the factory district, hoping to use them for certain purposes? I wonder if the three Churches have noticed this… They probably have… Klein tucked a piece of butter between two slices of toast and took a bite without knowing what to expect.

Old Kohler went on for a while before saying, ”Mr. Detective, according to your instructions, I paid attention to the female textile workers. In the end, with the help of the police, their struggles failed, but, heh heh, the leaders became the factory's supervisors, and a third of them lost their jobs.

”Some of them are actively looking for new jobs, some have become street girls, and some have gone off somewhere. The entire East Borough is in chaos.”

If this was the situation when Rear Admiral Hurricane Qilangos came to Backlund, he could come to East Borough to kill one or two people every day without anyone discovering or noticing the act… Klein sighed in his heart.

Old Kohler continued to recount what he saw and heard daily before saying, ”By the way, Liv's youngest daughter has gone missing.”

”Liv?” Klein was certain that he had never heard of the name.

Old Kohler then said in realization, ”She's the laundry maid you and Mr. Reporter met last time, the one who was arguing with someone. She was always at home doing the washing with her two daughters, but yesterday, when her two daughters were returning home from delivering the laundry, one of them ended up missing. The younger one, what a pity. She's been a widow for years, and she has always been counting on her two daughters, and now… Sigh, the police in East Borough definitely won't look too hard for her.”

Unlucky people tend to meet with even worse situations because they have no ability to resist danger or change their environment… This phrase suddenly flashed through Klein's mind.