In the
"Here's your reward for the merits, totaling 2500 pounds, ha, I got you an extra 500 pounds." The man in the golden mask tossed a bulging envelope to Xio.
Xio caught it accurately, didn't count, instinctively weighed it, and said sincerely:
"Thank you."
The golden mask man waved his hand and said:
"No need to thank me. This is also a good thing for me. If you kept clinging to the past, I'm afraid I'd end up in a court-martial one day.
"Will you stay in
"Yes, I'm used to big city life. When the war ends, I'll bring my family here." Xio said the words she had prepared long ago.
"When the war ends..." The golden mask man repeated her words with a slightly strange intonation and laughed. "May the Lord grant that we all live to see the end of the war."
Here, the Lord referred to the "
"I believe in the Goddess," Xio replied seriously.
"You know what I mean." The golden mask man waved his hand. "Are you still planning to accept commissions from
"I won't turn down a chance to make money." Xio ran her hand through her slightly messy hair, speaking half-truthfully.
"Mm," the golden mask man nodded. "The main thing during wartime is dealing with spies from various countries. If a suitable task comes up, I'll find you."
"Alright." After replying, Xio didn't linger and cautiously withdrew from the dark alley.
After watching her disappear, the golden mask man looked at the shadow in the corner and said:
"She was probably just used by some force and abandoned once she stopped investigating the past."
From the shadow in the corner, a low voice came:
"On the surface, it looks that way, but there's no need to investigate or worry about what actually happened. Even if she finds out the truth and spreads it, it can no longer affect His Majesty's affairs. Heh, the
"That's for the best..." The golden mask man silently sighed.
Returning to her residence on the edge of East Borough, Xio said to Fors, who was sitting on the bed edge flipping through a newspaper:
"I got 2500 pounds."
Fors put down the newspaper, her eyes moving, and after a quick calculation, she said:
"That's enough."
Xio had over six hundred pounds in savings, plus these 2500, minus necessary living expenses, left 3100 pounds free for use.
And the Judge potion formula cost 2000 pounds, the Beyonder characteristic 3500 pounds, so she was still short 2400 pounds. Fors would lend her this money.
After lending this amount, Fors's savings would drop to 780 pounds, but that wouldn't affect her much; she already had her subsequent potion formula and main ingredients, and for a long time she wouldn't have major expenses. Occasionally she could earn some money by renting out "Leimano's Travelogue."
"Mm," Xio nodded. "I'll complete the transaction as soon as possible and aim to advance to Sequence 6 early."
Seeing her friend's situation settled, Fors turned to worry about herself:
"I don't know when my 'Secretary' potion will be fully digested. Now that war has broken out, having the 'Travel' ability would be much safer."
"The focus of 'Secretary' must be on 'recording.' Once I become a 'Judge,' you'll have a new Beyonder ability to record repeatedly; that should speed up potion digestion." Xio pulled up a chair and sat down, thinking aloud.
Fors sighed: "I suspect that besides recording Beyonder abilities, I also need to record the scenery and customs of different places to match the subsequent 'Traveler.' But now that war has broken out, going inland is fine, but going elsewhere will surely be difficult and dangerous. Sigh, the price of bread has risen by nearly a quarter penny per pound, more expensive than before the Corn Laws were repealed!"
"Indeed." Xio thought for a moment and agreed with Fors's summary.
The two fell silent. After about ten seconds, a flash of inspiration struck Xio:
"Actually, there's a simple solution."