384 On Your Own You Check Yourself (2/2)

Looks like this girl was the one who helped Old Kohler write it… This piece of paper doesn't seem to be exposed to moisture. Perhaps Old Kohler had bought some in the event he needs to contact me urgently… Klein opened the door to the living room and read the letter.

Only taking off his hat and cane, he leaned his cane against the wall. He didn't take off his coat because the fireplace in the room wasn't lit yet, and the early November cold was silently seeping into his bones.

The letter was simple; after all, Daisy didn't know many words either.

She thanked the detective for his kindness and good intentions before telling him that she safely returned home, and she finally said, in a tactful way, that she hoped he would bring her vocabulary book with him the next time he came to East Borough.

What a polite girl… Klein chuckled. He snapped his fingers and burned the letter, leaving no clues behind.

He decided to return to East Borough the next day and return the book to Daisy, as well as reimburse Old Kohler for the cost of the letter delivery letters, paper, and fountain pens.

With this in mind, he couldn't help but sigh and chortle.

”Captain, now it's my turn to approve the expense claims of others…”

Without wasting any time, he went out again and went straight to the Quelaag Club, where Dr. Aaron was seen more often during Friday afternoons. Klein wanted to ask about Will Auceptin, the child who had played with tarot cards.

After entering the Quelaag Club in Hillston Borough, Klein said to the red-vested attendant, ”A cup of marquis black tea and a serving of dessert. Send it to the corner seat of the main hall. Dr. Aaron, Reporter Mike, and the others are sitting there.”

Klein had already spotted the relatively cold and famous surgeon, Aaron Ceres, who was wearing gold-rimmed glasses, as well as Reporter Mike Joseph from the Daily Observer, who he had worked with twice and had a pair of charming blue eyes. He also saw the aristocratic equestrian teacher, Talim Dumont, whose frequency of appearing at the club was only second to his.

”Oh, our great detective is here, and we happened to be talking about you.” Talim stood up with a smile.

”Speaking bad things behind my back?” Klein joked.

Mike stood up and shook his hand.

”No, I want to hire you again.”

”What's the matter this time?” Klein bowed at Dr. Aaron and sat down at their table.

Mike chuckled and said, ”I'm sure you've read the papers? Capim has been killed off by the Hero Bandit Dark Emperor, and his crimes have been exposed. What a joyous event!

”And as a reporter, I need to have an acumen for the news. I plan to get a list of names of the girls who were rescued in East Borough from the police department to interview them. Then, I'll paint Capim's most cruel, most evil, and most unforgivable side to the readers of the newspaper. Of course, the victims must remain anonymous.”

He paused for a moment and suppressed his voice.

”I also have a hidden objective, or should I say, I wish to use the interview to know if these girls or their family know any relatively special friends. Who knows, that might be Hero Bandit Dark Emperor!”

You've found the right person… The corners of Klein's mouth almost twitched.

He smiled at Mike and said, ”We've already worked together on East Borough's matters. We have sufficient familiarity and trust, so I have no reason to decline.”

”I hope for a pleasant partnership.” Mike stretched out his hand. ”We'll start tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, and we'll be paid the same as last time for a total of ten pounds.”

At that moment, Dr. Aaron, who had been listening by the side, said, ”Sherlock, I want to hire you as well. This evening, or after dinner.”

It looks like my business is improving recently… Klein asked, amused, ”Will it conflict with Mike's request?”

”No.” Aaron shook his head. ”My luck recently has been pretty good. This makes me suspect that my bout of bad luck was because of that child's inverted Wheel of Fortune card and the words he said. I'm very troubled and puzzled in this regard. I swear to god that I was very nice to him, and I treated him with the best of intentions. Why would he treat me that way? I wish to visit him at his place and confirm that he didn't do it on purpose. However, I'm ultimately afraid that something similar would happen again or some accident might occur. Therefore, I wish to hire you to protect me. Just for tonight. It won't conflict with Mike's request. How about it?”

That's what I wanted to do! After challenging the impossible and doing good deeds, my moral standing has become pretty good… Am I really going to become the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck? Klein was pleasantly surprised as he said with a reserved smile, ”No problem, we can talk about the remuneration.”

…

City of Silver.

Derrick Berg once again examined the translucent worm with twelve circles, the remains of Amon's avatar.

He had originally wanted to ask Mr. Fool what this was exactly, but considering how he had already troubled this godlike figure once, he couldn't bring himself to ask as he abandoned this plan. Now, he planned on showing it at the next Tarot Gathering and ask Mr. Hanged Man, Miss Justice, and the rest.

After hiding the worm, Derrick suddenly thought of something. It was about time for the team that had gone with Shepherd Elder Lovia, to explore the half-destroyed temple of the Fallen Creator, to return—it wasn't too far from the City of Silver, and it was in a direction that they hadn't set foot in before.

He decided to take a look. There were quite a few people he knew among the expedition team.