995 "Conjoined Person" (1/2)

995 ”Conjoined Person'

Emlyn glanced at Ian, raised his hand to pinch his nose, and chuckled.

”It appears you don't understand me. It's okay. A more simple description is to gather information about foreigners that come from the Southern Continent, especially from the Star Highlands and the Paz River Valley.

”What information do you want exactly? There are plenty of pure-blooded people from the Southern Continent in Backlund. Those that you've mentioned are also common,” Ian calmly asked without flaring up due to the contempt he received.

Emlyn laughed.

”The ones that are a bit more abnormal. They do things in a fishy manner and seem to all be mysterious. You should understand what I'm getting at.”

”There are definitely many people you describe. In Backlund, they are either servants, workers, or thieves—being part of gangs. As the latter will all meet your criteria of being abnormal, fishy, and mysterious.” Ian sincerely pointed out how unpragmatic Emlyn's request was.

Emlyn was already prepared for this. With an unobvious smile, he nodded slightly.

”Then, give me all the information that meets those criteria. I'll do the filtering. Oh, I'll pay 50 pounds as down payment for this commission as the standard fees for the early-stage investigations. The subsequent payment will be counted based on how much information of value is provided. Each one will cost 20 pounds.”

”Who is the one to determine its worth?” Ian asked after a few seconds of thought.

For him, having a 50-pound income for preliminary work like this was enough for him to accept the job. It was more than enough to hire a dozen people or so to investigate the areas from East Borough to Cherwood Borough for half a month.

He didn't mind how much he could only from the 50 pounds, as there were many people here who relied on him for their survival. He needed to arrange jobs with payment for them to do from time to time; otherwise, he would never be able to be kept abreast with the latest developments.

Emlyn sized up Ian and scoffed.

”Of course it will be me. You should know how trustworthy I am.”

”Detective Moriarty never told me that...” Ian mumbled and sighed. ”Alright. Our last cooperation was still pretty good. I choose to trust you.”

Emlyn nodded in satisfaction, took out his wallet, and counted another 50 pounds worth of notes.

During this process, Emlyn momentarily felt the pinch when he realized he only had 407 pounds in savings.

And now there's only 357 pounds... He looked away from the notes and handed the cash to Ian.

He didn't stay. Putting on his hat, he walked out of the billiard room and left the Bravehearts Bar.

On the street, Emlyn stopped pinching his nose and looked up at the flame-like clouds. His expression gradually fell heavy as he silently muttered, That Wraith from before isn't around... Where did it go?

Humph, Ian acted as though he had never heard of the Rose School of Thought, but his racing heartbeat had betrayed him...

Also, he actually didn't ask if Sherlock Moriarty is back in Backlund. He didn't even show any concern... Could it be that Sherlock has already returned to Backlund and that he has already met him?

Rorsted Archipelago, City of Generosity, Bayam.

In an area near the harbor, Admiral of Stars Cattleya had brought along Frank Lee, who had his sleeves rolled up which revealed his brown hair, to an area outside a house with gas wall lamps. They came to an empty corner and watched as a figure appeared out of the shadows.

It was Bloodless Heath Doyle who was in charge of monitoring Artisan Cielf. He was thin and his skin was so pale that it was transparent. He looked so frail that a gust of wind could topple him.

”Did anything strange happen recently?” Cattleya nudged the gold-rim glasses on her nose.

Heath Doyle tersely acknowledged.

Three days after you left, a stranger visited Cielf. He stayed for about fifteen minutes. I didn't approach for fear of being discovered.

”Based on your instructions, I sent men to tail the stranger, but they lost his trail.”

”What did that stranger look like?” Cattleya asked with a slight nod.

Heath Doyle took out a piece of raw beef from a leather pouch by his waist. The blood on it remained fresh, but it didn't show any signs of contamination. It appeared to be a pure piece of solid meat.

Right on the heels of that, this piece of beef melted in Heath Doyle's hand, dripping to the ground like water. They then squirmed like they had life, drawing a portrait.

”This is the effect I want!” Frank Lee's eyes shimmered as he watched this scene, expressing his intentions with excitement.

Under his gaze, Heath Doyle, had the intention to run, but he slightly slanted his body and pointed to the ground. ”Roughly like this.”

At this moment, a blood portrait had already taken form. It was that of a man with a mustache, with facial features that resembled that of the Paz River Valley. His greatest characteristic was the three ear studs on both his ears.

”Golden ear studs, thin body, not much fat, very athletic,” Heath Doyle added.

Cattleya retracted her gaze from the ground and asked, ”And then?”

Heath Doyle tersely acknowledged.

”No one visited Cielf after that, other than his temporary servants and chef he hired. I got men to investigate them. They are clean.

”Cielf has an evening stroll at a fixed time every day. He will bring a prostitute home, allowing her to leave only at daybreak... I've been constantly tailing him, but I never discovered any contact with odd people.”

”He has been acting very normally all this time?” Cattleya asked with a frown.

From her point of view, not having any abnormalities made it most abnormal!

After all, this involved Rose School of Thought members that believed in the Primordial Moon.

Heath Doyle nodded in affirmation.