769 Sacrificing to Oneself (1/2)

Ten at night. Backlund was drizzling again as a thin fog produced a blurry sense of beauty amidst the street lamps.

Isengard Stanton's assistant, Bowen, surveyed the bottom level once before walking to the side of the oriel window and was prepared to shut the final window.

At that moment, a shadow scuttled in and landed firmly on the protruding wall.

It was a blue, short-furred stray cat!

Bowen saw the large pair of yellow eyes looking at him as he couldn't help but chuckle.

”There's no food here.”

As a detective's work made him prone to revenge, and him having many secrets to hide, Isengard Stanton's cook and servants were paid by the hour. There were a fixed number of hours a day, and they wouldn't prepare too much food. This made it difficult for there to be any leftovers after dinner.

The blue cat opened its mouth but didn't produce any meowing sounds. It began speaking like a human, ”I'm Sherlock Moriarty. I'm here to meet Mr. Isengard Stanton.”

”…” Although Bowen was a Beyonder who was nurtured by the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, he was a Low-Sequence Beyonder and his horizons were stilted. This was the first time he was encountering a speaking cat, so he was momentarily shocked and dazed.

After a few seconds, he came to his senses and recalled what the cat had just said.

It said… It said it's Sherlock Moriarty?

This great detective really isn't simple!

He actually changed into a cat, no—controlled a cat!

Such powers are really strange and terrifying!

Bowen rapidly calmed down and didn't directly answer the cat. He reached out to close the windows.

After doing all of this, he said with a suppressed voice, ”Follow me.”

The cat immediately leaped from the platform behind the oriel window as it agilely followed behind Bowen with its tail up. It followed him all the way to the second story and watched him knock on Isengard Stanton's bedroom door.

”Is there something?” Isengard, who was dressed in pajamas with faint lines, opened the door and asked.

He was just enjoying his tobacco before sleeping.

Bowen cautiously pointed to the crouched blue cat beside him.

”Mr. Sherlock Moriarty is looking for you.”

Isengard, with his white sideburns and thin face raised his brows slightly and looked down. He took two steps back and allowed the blue cat to saunter into his bedroom.

”Return to your room and get some sleep. Wake up as per normal tomorrow. We still have a case awaiting us,” Isengard instructed Bowen as though nothing had happened.

After his assistant left him, he closed the door and turned to look at the blue cat who was sitting beside the reclining chair. He chuckled.

”I never expected you to have such Beyonder powers. I was worried you would directly come over.”

”I noticed your exclamation mark,” the cat said with a smile.

It had to be said that having such an expression show on a cat's face was rather odd. It left anyone who witnessed it feel a chill run down their back.

Isengard didn't react abnormally towards that as he sucked at his pipe, sat on a reclining chair, and slowly exhaled in comfort. He said with a smile, ”I trust your intelligence.”

”Thank you for your compliments.” The cat politely reached out its paws and bowed.

Isengard observed it and rubbed its pipe while smiling.

”You should've understood what is happening.

”Those people don't dare to monitor me too strictly, afraid that I would discover them and end up telling the Church of Evernight and the Church of Steam. Heh heh, so even though it will be quite troublesome for them if they get exposed, I believe that they have a demigod among them. This is a deduction and is also based on certain feedback. After all, I've lived on this street for years.

”Therefore, humans and animals wouldn't be stopped from entering my house. I believe you've already figured that out. But when leaving, you'll definitely be tailed and tracked. Do you have the means to evade their tracking? Hmm… the sum of money isn't a small one. Bringing it out would be quite conspicuous.

”Let me think. Were you planning on conferring with me in order to get me to deposit the money into a particular bank account, and then you'll find many people to withdraw them in different parts of Backlund?”

Upon saying that, Isengard said with a self-deprecating smile, ”This is the best solution I can think of, but carrying it out would be extremely troublesome.”

The cat didn't give a direct response as it gave a deep chuckle.

”I only need you to lend me an empty room and three candles.”

”No problem.” Isengard didn't press the issue as he said, ”The shares were sold for 12,000 pounds. The buyer is the daughter of Earl Hall, Audrey. Well, the hiring of lawyers and accountants, as well as the publishing of the advertisements cost a total of 600 pounds. In addition, there was a 0.5% stamp duty and 20% D-type taxes. So at the end of the day, there's only 8,940 pounds left.”

D-type taxes were a tax on commercial, financial, and specialized income.

There's tax… More than 2,000 pounds are gone just like that… The cat's expression instantly froze.

Klein was formerly a Nighthawk, and his salary was tax-free. Later, as a private detective, his income was difficult to be monitored, so he never declared his income for tax purposes. Later, he became an adventurer, and since the bounties targeted at pirates enjoyed concessions, there was no need for him to pay taxes on them. Hence, he never realized that tax was something he needed to pay. Therefore, back when Isengard Stanton had mentioned taxes, he hadn't taken it to heart, believing that it wouldn't be much. However, reality had given him a heavy beating.