Part 1. The Joker Chapter 171 – Promotion and Raise in Pay
After leaving Azk’s house, Klein took a public carriage back to Daffodil Street.
Clicking, he pulled out his key and opened the door to his room when he suddenly saw a figure sitting in the dining room.
Crane subconsciously tightened his grip on the cane in his palm, but instantly snapped out of it; it wasn’t a burglar, but Bella, the maid.
Bella was concentrating on reading the newspaper spread out on the table, when she heard the sound of the door opening, she was also startled and brushed herself up, stuttering an explanation:
”I, I’ve just finished the morning’s business, and I’m waiting, I’m waiting for the water to boil for eating, for bread.”
I really haven’t adapted to the fact that there is suddenly a maid in the house …… Klein smiled to himself, took off his hat, and nodded slightly:
”Reading is a good habit, being able to keep reading outside of a busy schedule is encouraged by the Goddess.”
He was afraid that the other party would think he was mocking, so he used the name of the Goddess of Darkness.
But in reality, only the God of Knowledge and Wisdom puts reading in an exalted position …… Of course, no matter which church, they all advocate learning …… Well, to believe in the Goddess of Darkness at the age of seventeen or eighteen shows that it is influenced by the parents, and such parents, as long as they not completely helpless, will certainly let their daughters get an education, public primary school can not afford to read, the church’s free school is still no problem, at most a little delay …… So, Bella is not illiterate, know words, able to read the newspaper …… Klein thoughtfully put his cane away and walked into the parlor.
He was still quite impressed with Bella.
Although the young girl seemed under-adjusted and clumsy within the kitchen, she showed a willingness to learn and work hard.
Bella dropped her hands, slightly embarrassed:
”I’ve never, ever seen much newspaper before, and Mr. Landlord doesn’t allow us to buy old newspapers to paste the walls …… I just picked it up and wiped down the coffee table when I accidentally glanced at it and thought, thought it was very interesting.”
Poor girl, newspapers were at the bottom of the funny list the day I crossed over …… Crane belly-laughed, smiled, smoothed down the silver bracelet, took out his pocket watch, snapped it open and looked at it, and said casually:
”As long as you’ve done your job and done it well, you’re free to organize the rest of the day without tension, but of course, if I’m talking to Benson and Melissa, it’s best if you stay in your room, and I’ll give you permission to use the gas lamps in there and bring in a couple of old newspapers.”
”Well, you knock on my bedroom door at 1:00 p.m., and afterward prepare for me a cup of Sippy black tea, two loaves of fluffy white bread, a slice of oatmeal toast, and a small dish of butter.”
To celebrate his promotion to Sequence 8, Klein decided to indulge in a small extravagance by eating the white bread that Benson had intended to enjoy only over the weekend in advance.
Hmmm, I’ll get another 8 pounds back and change my staple diet from oatmeal bread to white bread from now on! Sequence 8 for the extraordinary, the weekly pay will certainly go up …… I can t believe the captain didn t mention this before …… He forgot again! Klein was baffled for a moment and decided to ask about it tomorrow.
”Okay, okay.” Bella responded with a mixture of surprise.
Then, she asked back with some uncertainty:
”Mr. Klein, is it Sibel black tea for guests?”
Since the family was all Moretti, she used her first name in an honorific way.
”Yes, from now on that will be the usual tea.” Klein waved his hand away and stepped towards the stairway.
After becoming The Joker, he suddenly found himself in a very good financial position.
This was due to the fact that for the time being, there were no more extra, large expenses, namely the fixed 2 Soule per day rental wagon fee for checking out the Red Chimney house, as well as the occasional replenishment of materials, the latter of which, more often than not, could be reimbursed.
Secondly, because Klein’s bearer account was lying quietly with 300 gold pounds, bearing in mind that country fields and pastures cost only 5 to 6.5 Soules an acre, which meant that he could buy 920 to 1,200 acres of country fields or pastures, slightly equal to the Earthly equivalent of 137 to 179 acres or 23 to 30 acres, and furthermore, the money would also allow him to buy, by way of a deeded term, the a residence on Daffodil Street for 15 years.
If all of it was exchanged for land, the ground rent income would be roughly 23 to 31 pounds …… per year not bad, but there is no need for that at the moment, and the 300 pounds will have to be kept for emergencies …… Phew, I have to find a chance to tell Benson and Melissa my real weekly salary in the next couple of days! Klein thought as he entered his bedroom.
Unlocking the door to his room, Klein sat down on his bed and once again began to meditate, slowly taking control of the little power that was spilling out of the magic potion in this way, very carefully, very cautiously.
For him, losing control was just a term that existed in words until he met the “Punisher”.
However, he did not know the “substitution of punishment”, nor did he know what had happened to the other party before that, and would only subconsciously think that it was a special case, a rarely repeated situation.
This is just like from the news news to see a murder occurred in other cities, normal people at most a few words of sighing, turn around and forget.
But the old Neil’s matter has given Klein a great shock, let him clearly understand that out of control is around, around, out of control at any time may come in an unexpected way!
What a bloody lesson …… Klein ended his meditation, opened his eyes, and muttered a wordless sentence to himself.
During this period of time, he would often dream of that day’s scene, often waking up in the middle of the night with a sudden shock and a cold sweat.
He mourned both the death of old Neil and worried about his own future, and if it weren’t for the fact that meditation could aid in sleeping, he was sure that he would have been unable to sleep a lot lately.
”In addition to digesting the magic potion, one must also try to control one’s own emotions and desires, so that they are within a reasonable range, and not to be corrupted by them ……,” Klein exhaled a cloudy breath, lay down, and quickly entered into a state of deep sleep.
On the day of Old Neil’s death, Dunn’s performance and words had touched him greatly, causing him to take his first serious look at the responsibilities of a night watchman, wanting to pick up his share of the burden as soon as possible in order to help his captain and teammates.
Therefore, he did not intend to waste the afternoon, and the combat practice sessions would be attended as usual.
……
It was three o’clock in the afternoon in the humble practice field.
Gao Wen, whose short blonde hair was mottled, frowned as he watched Klein’s movements little by little go from raw to familiar, and from familiar to looking like a trainee knight who had received training for the better part of a year.
And all this happened in just forty minutes!
He called a halt to the practice and looked the other party up and down, unable to resist opening his mouth to ask:
”What happened?”
Klein had already thought of a set of words, ready to push his own performance onto the scientific research, but as soon as Gawain’s words left his mouth, he immediately added in a hushed tone:
”If it’s not convenient to answer, you don’t have to.”
It seems that the corresponding personnel of the police department have long communicated with Gao Wen’s teacher …… Also, he occasionally trains to extraordinary people, how could he not be warned in advance …… Klein sighed in relief and upturned his mouth and said:
”Teacher, how long do you think it will take for me to participate in actual combat now?”
Gawain wrapped his arms around him and gave him a serious look, his voice slightly husky as he replied:
”Two or three days.”
”But that’s not enough!”
He explained as if he was thinking:
”Being able to engage in actual combat is not the same as being proficient in fighting; the latter will probably take another two or three weeks.”
”In addition, you must master cold weapons that are easy to carry, such as canes, whips, daggers, and three-pronged thorns!”
…… There are so many more items? Klein froze for a moment.
Gawain swept his eyes vicariously over him and said:
”You have to remember that every drop of sweat you shed here may save your life in the future.”
”Yes, teacher!” Klein shot up in response.
……
On Saturday morning, Klein entered Blackthorn Security and knocked on the door of the captain’s office once again.
As if he had been prepared, Dunn Smith only looked up and said to himself:
”I forgot to inform you yesterday, after being promoted to Sequence 8, your position in the police department has also naturally changed from a trainee inspector to an inspector, I’ll ask them to come and replace your ID and uniform shoulder badge as soon as possible.”
”Your weekly salary will be raised from £6 to £10, with the Church and the Police Department each contributing half, which reaches the level of a senior night watchman, and of course, I mean the Serial 9 kind.”
…… Captain, did you make a draft? Klein listened in stunned silence, then responded with a relaxed brow and a slight curl of his mouth:
”That’s more than I expected.”
He’d thought the weekly salary would only go up to eight pounds.
Dunn picked up his coffee and took a sip, saying:
”The increase in the night watchman’s salary is based on the number of years of service, the second is the contribution made, the third is their own rank, and the third point is often closely related to the contribution as well.”
It is also true that without merit, even if one digests the magic potion and reaches the criteria for promotion, there is no way to apply for formulas and materials …… Klein nodded thoughtfully.
With a weekly salary of 10 pounds, counting bonuses, it was almost 540 pounds per year, and without the need to pay taxes, such an income was considered to be very good in the middle class, second only to the careers of near-social celebrities such as barristers, famous architects, senior surgeons, and high-ranking government employees.
The deputy director of the Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of Rouen also earns only 700 pounds a year, and that’s before taxes, and after taxes tops out at 640 pounds, well, less than a little …… According to the newspaper, a nice house in Bakerland’s West and Hillsdon districts costs about 2,500 pounds, and if Benson, Melissa, and I can keep up with our current expenses. Seven or eight years will be able to buy …… purely on their own, only seven or eight years to buy a single house in the Imperial Capital and the Magic City off the center of the city, this salary is really a pleasant mood ah …… Klein got up to say goodbye, the pace of the brisk pace into the ground, the rotation of the Charnes Gate.
It was just before ten o’clock when he suddenly heard someone approaching the watch room.
Soon Dunn appeared in the doorway, his gray eyes dark:
”There is a case that needs your help.”
”A case involving the extraordinary?” Klein subconsciously asked back.
”No, City Councilman Mr. Maynard was found dead in his home this morning, the Tingen City Police Department is under a lot of pressure and wants us to help them pinpoint the murderer as soon as possible by using psychic powers, well, you’re the only one in the squad who can do it at the moment.” Dunn explained, then added, “The Sanctuary will be deploying a ‘Peeping Tom’ to join us within the next week, in fact, we should have done that before, it’s just that you just happened to join and pick the ‘Diviner’. “