"This, isn't this making things difficult for me?" Hearing Allen's request, Klein nearly instinctively made the sign of the Crimson Moon over his chest, but finally held back the impulse and replied very seriously:
"Perhaps some of my actions gave you the wrong impression."
"But I must tell you, faith is something that cannot be changed once it's decided."
Allen immediately raised his arms in an apologetic gesture:
"I'm sorry, I misunderstood your piety. I shouldn't have joked about your faith."
"It's fine, differences in faith don't prevent us from being friends."
Klein dropped his feigned expression and said with a smile:
"That statement doesn't hold in Feysac and Feynapotter. They can only accept one faith."
In comparison, because multiple churches had coexisted for over fourteen hundred years, Loen and Intis were much more open in this regard.
Before Allen could answer, he casually changed the subject:
"Did you see Will Auceptin again? The child who had one leg sawn off and said your luck would turn bad."
He believed the Nighthawks would definitely investigate based on the clues Allen had provided, so he was curious about the outcome, curious whether it was the child or the Tarot cards in his hand that had changed Allen's luck.
"No. Since he was discharged from the hospital, I haven't seen him again." Allen shook his head firmly.
What a pity. The Nighthawks could find him based on the address registered at the hospital, but I can't just meddle... Of course, that child might have moved away long ago... After exchanging a few pleasantries with Allen, Klein prepared to head to the underground shooting range to get familiar with the revolver he had been gifted using ordinary bullets.
Just then, two more acquaintances walked through the door. One was a member of the Kingdom's Air Pollution Investigation Committee, a shareholder of the Kauem Company, Lady Marie, and the other was Klein's landlady, Mrs. Stelyn Sammer. They were both wearing relatively light dresses, making them look much younger.
According to the club's rules, each member could only bring in one extra person, so Marie's maid and her specially hired bodyguard were left in the reception hall.
Klein politely approached, greeted them, and offered a courteous compliment:
"Ladies, you are as beautiful as always today, but it is a beauty different from the usual."
Marie, who had recently been in contact with many important people, smiled faintly and said:
"Roselle said that life lies in movement. Stelyn is always at home dealing with trivial matters, and even when she goes out, it's only to attend banquets or listen to operas. Her health has deteriorated much more than before, so I brought her here to play tennis and squash."
Her gaze shifted, and she saw a member of the House of Commons and two members of parliament from the Backlund district chatting in a corner. She turned to Stelyn and said:
"I've run into an acquaintance. I'll go say hello. You can wait for me in the library."
"Alright." Stelyn was noticeably prettier than Marie, but she was quite respectful and docile in front of that lady.
After Marie walked a short distance away, Stelyn slightly raised her chin, looked at Klein, and said:
"Mr. Moriarty, you seem to have been quite busy lately?"
"Yes, I've been cooperating with many detectives to help the police department investigate that serial murder case. We made some contributions and received quite a bit of bounty." Klein answered "truthfully."
Stelyn covered her mouth with her hand and said:
"Really?"
"What did the murderer look like? Why did he kill those ladies? The newspaper reports were very vague."
"I'm sorry, but I must abide by the confidentiality agreement." Klein skillfully found an excuse.
He couldn't exactly tell her that it was covered in black fur, had a sleek and shiny tail, and liked to run on all fours... Klein complained internally.
Stelyn nodded with a hint of regret, then asked with some curiosity:
"So how much bounty did you get?"
"We split it among many people." Klein didn't answer directly.
"Was it 50 pounds?" Stelyn pressed.
"Yes." Klein nodded "honestly."
Stelyn Sammer immediately broke into a smile:
"Your income is higher than I imagined. You really are a capable detective."
"No, something like this doesn't happen even once in several years." Klein shook his head with a smile.
"Regardless, you've proven your ability." Stelyn's eyes shifted. "Next Sunday, Luke and I are hosting a banquet at home. I hope you can come. Oh, sorry, this is very presumptuous. I'll have my maid send you an invitation. Haha, there will be quite a few unmarried young ladies at this banquet. Their fathers or mothers all have relatively decent jobs, with a family annual income of over 200 pounds. Some of them also have part-time jobs they can do at home, like typists. They are all very outstanding women."
This, this is a matchmaking banquet! Mrs. Sammer acknowledges my ability to earn money as a detective, so she plans to introduce me to girls? But in her eyes, am I only worthy of women at this level? Klein's mind raced with many thoughts, but considering the need to maintain neighborly relations and the trouble of preparing his own dinner, he smiled and agreed:
"If there are no emergencies, I will attend on time."
Stelyn beamed a smile:
"Then Luke and I will be waiting for your visit."