After waiting for over half an hour and confirming there were no unexpected incidents, Klein and
The vampire Emlyn pressed his fist to his mouth and coughed lightly.
"I've already received the full payment. I hope we never have to meet again."
"That's a cool line, but Mr. White, have you forgotten something important?" Klein smiled politely. "I'll occasionally visit Bishop
"Our clan has many powerful mystics. I'll write to them for help."
With that, he put his hand to his chest, bowed, and took his leave.
After turning and walking a few steps, he suddenly slowed down, turned his head, and asked hesitantly:
"What... what are you cooking?"
"Beef bone and radish soup, which needs rice and that special chili pepper from the Feneport Highlands," Klein said, breathing in the aroma wafting from inside, his voice full of anticipation.
Emlyn frowned and shook his head.
"Chili peppers are not within the aesthetic realm of the blood race."
"To be honest, I also find it hard to imagine a vampire eating chili peppers. Though I occasionally fantasize about a vampire holding a plain white bun and biting into garlic and onions..." Klein thought to himself, then pointed to the door, signaling that he was going to enjoy his dinner.
"I thought about it a lot last night and realized that you actually did nothing. So why did you ask for payment? That old man could kick me out at any time."
Klein chuckled.
"No, that's not how it works. Your parents' commission was to find you, not to rescue you. In the end, I found you, so according to the agreement, the reward belongs to me. Also, if I hadn't reminded you, you might have stayed at the Harvest Church for weeks or months without knowing you could leave freely, and you wouldn't have noticed the suggestion."
"Are you implying my intelligence?" Emlyn's face twisted.
"No, I'm stating it directly..." Klein smiled and said nothing more. He opened the door himself, entered the house, and headed straight for the kitchen, his mind full of the clear, tempting broth, the white rice, the tender but chewy beef, the marrow hidden deep in the bones, the sweet and greasy-cutting radish, and the chopped Feneport Highland chili peppers.
Within those fiery red pieces, there were also scattered pink Himalayan salt and green Baylan coriander leaves.
…………
Thursday morning, Klein arrived as promised at the cheap café in the East End.
Klein sat down across from him, took out what he had prepared earlier, and pushed it over to him.
It consisted of two 5-sol notes, four 1-sol notes, and a handful of copper pennies intended to increase the effect.
He examined them repeatedly, wiped his eyes with his hand, and forced a smile.
"In the docks, we carry heavy cargo, step in cold, filth-ridden water to do some troublesome cleaning, and earn only about 1 sol a day..."
And here there were a full 15 sols!
Klein listened in silence, then after a few seconds asked:
"Have you heard anything recently? Noticed any situations?"
"I've gotten to know many dock workers and reconnected with friends I knew when I was wandering before. Some of them have entered factories, others still go back and forth between the workhouse and park corners, heh, just like I used to...
"Lately, a rumor has been spreading from somewhere: since we believe in one of the seven gods, why not pray directly to the Creator, the source? It says that He is within each of us, in all things, and hasn't really passed away.
"Praying to Him will bring us salvation, not only allowing us to enter His kingdom after death, but also giving us a better life in this world, such as not having to work so hard, and still having cream, sizzling meat, every day."
"This... is a variant of the Creator theory spread by the Aurora Society? After the Laneuvus incident, they started paying attention to the East End, the dock areas, and the poor, hoping to use them for some purpose? I wonder if the three major churches have noticed this... probably..." Klein placed butter between two slices of toast and took a bite, barely tasting anything.
"Mr. Detective, as you instructed, I paid attention to the textile female workers. In the end, with the police stepping in, their protest failed. But, hehe, those who led became factory supervisors, and a third of the workers lost their jobs. Some are actively looking for new jobs, some have become streetwalkers, and some have disappeared into the unknown. The whole East End is in chaos."
If "Hurricane Admiral" Zilingus had come to
"Oh, by the way, Liv's youngest daughter has gone missing."
"Liv?" Klein confirmed he had never heard that name.
"She's the washerwoman you and the reporter saw quarreling with someone last time. She always had her older and younger daughters doing laundry at home. But yesterday, when her two daughters were returning from delivering clothes, one of them got lost — the youngest. Poor thing. She's been a widow for years and always relied on her daughters. And now... ah, the East End police won't search for her diligently."
Misfortune often falls on those who are already unfortunate, because they lack the ability to resist risks and change their circumstances... This sentence suddenly flashed through Klein's mind.