After roughly guessing, Klein didn't rush to confirm. He acted as if nothing had happened and turned the paper around to face himself.
The intelligence he had written about Ian Wright was absolutely true. Even if confirmed with divination techniques, it would yield a positive answer. Therefore, he believed that the people from the embassy would follow this lead, gain some results, and would have neither the motivation nor the time to take revenge on him in the short term.
Similarly, he would continue to leave the paper spread on his desk for the military special department's surveillance personnel to see, guiding them to relax their focus on him and shift their attention to Ian Wright, racing against the ambassador to find the person.
In this way, Klein would be safer.
"Feels like walking a tightrope. Is this the special constitution of the 'Clown'?" He laughed and shook his head, opened the bay window to take a breath of fresh morning air, but the thick, acrid smog outside made him silently close the window again.
Using an inkwell to weigh down the paper with the information on Ian, Klein quickly cleaned himself in the adjacent washroom, then took the black double-breasted coat and half-high silk top hat from the hat rack, and went down to the first floor.
He had arranged to have breakfast with Lawyer Jürgen today.
Taking the silver-inlaid black cane from the umbrella stand in the hall, Klein walked along the edge of the street in the fog, where visibility was less than ten meters, all the way to 58 Minsk Street, and rang the doorbell of the dull gray house.
As the doorbell's sound echoed, a black cat with green eyes and a raised tail suddenly appeared in his mind.
The black cat Brody walked in a straight line to the door, paused for two seconds, then suddenly leaped and grabbed the door handle with his paw.
Afterward, it inevitably fell, using its weight to turn the handle and open the door.
With a creak, a morning breeze blew in, and the door slowly swung open.
The black cat Brody cast an arrogant glance at Klein and then walked off to the side on its own.
"What a clever cat," Klein praised the old lady Doris, who was wearing a white apron.
Doris smiled, her wrinkles smoothing out:
"It depends on her mood. Most of the time, she pretends to be stupid, as if she doesn't understand what you're saying. Oh, I've prepared my specialty for you: bean and turnip soup. Eat it by dipping bread in it."
Bean and turnip soup... The name sounds like a dark cuisine... Klein smiled slightly.
"I'm looking forward to it."
As they spoke, Lawyer Jürgen came out of the washroom. Even in his own home, even though he had just woken up, he was still impeccably dressed. His white shirt was crisp, his brownish-yellow vest was form-fitting, and the creases on his trousers seemed freshly ironed.
"Your contracts are ready. Check if there are any omissions." Jürgen's blue eyes swept over, skipping small talk and going straight to the point.
His brown hair was combed neatly back, and the sheen of hair oil was clearly visible.
"Okay." Klein put away his cane, took off his hat and coat, followed Jürgen into the first-floor study, and took a thick contract.
He stood there, flipping through it casually. The more he read, the more his head ached. In the end, he only glanced over the key terms.
Everything I wanted is there. They've also added the clauses I overlooked. For example, instead of paying Rheppard a lump sum of 100 pounds, we'll set three time points and pay in installments based on his progress. The first installment is 50 pounds... Not bad. That way, I won't have to go to Backlund Bank to withdraw the remaining 100 pounds from my bearer account. The money I have on me is enough... Klein closed the file and smiled at Jürgen.
"I'm very satisfied. Your professionalism is even better than I imagined."
As he spoke, he took out the two prepared one-pound notes.
Jürgen took the notes, handed Klein the remaining copies of the contract, and said with strict seriousness:
"If there's an error when signing, here are two extra copies. Remember to destroy the remaining contract with a shredder."
The current shredder was a hand-crank mechanical shredder.
Klein was about to nod, but old Mrs. Doris in the dining room shouted:
"Two fine young men, time for breakfast!"
"My grandmother's hearing has deteriorated a bit," Jürgen explained, gesturing for him to come in.
Klein followed him into the dining room and saw old Mrs. Doris ladling a spoonful of thick yellowish-green liquid from a black soup pot into the corresponding plates.
"Come on, try it. Bean and turnip soup. This is your bread." Mrs. Doris pointed at the suspicious pile of food with a beaming smile.
Klein looked at Jürgen and saw that his expression was even more serious than before, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Forcing himself to sit down, Klein tore off a piece of white bread, dipped it into the yellowish-green soup, and put it into his mouth with the spirit of an adventurer.
"..." He was surprised to find that the taste was quite good. A light saltiness was infused with an appetite-stimulating sweetness, which perfectly brought out the softness and richness of the bread. The layers were distinct.
"My grandmother was once an excellent chef," Jürgen said casually, enjoying his breakfast at a leisurely pace.
...Then why are you pulling such a long face... Watching you eat kills my appetite... Klein grumbled to himself, then immersed himself in the relaxation and pleasure of the delicious food.
After leaving Jürgen's house, he first transferred multiple times to go to Sach Street in Saint George District, where he finalized the agreement with Rheppard, paying the first installment of 50 pounds. The second installment of 30 pounds would be paid in two weeks, depending on Rheppard's progress.
At this point, Klein only had 21 pounds and 8 shillings left.
Then he returned to Jowood District and went to the public library there to browse through the past year's "Tassok Times", looking for news related to the Intis ambassador to Ruen Kingdom.