Part 1. The Joker Chapter 47 – Old Neil, Short of Money
Old Neil rubbed his temples and said:
”With the reason why you guys killed yourselves probably cleared up, and that notebook in the hands of Rell Beebe, and with the matter exposed, it’s hard to influence the follow-up any further, whether you’re alive, or dead, and I think, I think, that the bizarre being, or mysterious force, that caused all of this, won’t pay any more special attention to you than you’d care about ants on the ground, heh. As long as you don’t try to remind ‘k’ of you.”
”And the matter of our wanted Riel Bieber will soon reach the Secret Society, they should be able to guess that it’s related to the whereabouts of the notes of the Antigonus family, and believe me, these hidden organizations that have survived for thousands of years must have all sorts of channels of information, so their focus will turn to the whereabouts of Riel Bieber, and try to locate the notes before we do, the It won’t, and won’t be possible for them to come back to harass you, follow you, and deal with you.”
”Young man, congratulations, you are free from the shadows of the past and are about to embark on a new journey filled with sunshine.”
Klein nodded his head frequently as he listened, pleased and relaxed:
”I hope so.”
The gloom that has been hanging over itself since it crossed over to this side seems to be really dissipating ……
However, frankly speaking, Klein was still a bit apprehensive, because there seemed to be some degree of bond between himself and that notebook, to the extent that when doing normal hostage rescue missions, he would unusually coincidentally find traces of the residue.
He was truly afraid that one day the mailman would suddenly deliver a package and he would open it only to find that it was that note from the Antigonus family!
I hope everything will turn out as Old Neil described …… him with a silent prayer.
Old Neil snorted when he heard his reply:
”You don’t seem to be a devout follower of the Goddess, at this time, shouldn’t you be drawing the red moon on your chest and saying ‘May the Goddess protect us’?”
”Mr. Neil, you don’t seem to be either, true believers don’t say ‘ushering in a new journey filled with sunshine’.” After this period of “occult lessons”, Klein and old Neil had built up a good friendship, so he returned the sarcasm without any hesitation.
The two looked at each other, laughed a few times in silent agreement, and almost simultaneously nodded four times on their chests:
”Praise the Goddess!”
Just then, the sound of paddles, marbles, and other turning sounds rang out, and the door of Blackthorn Security was opened.
The elegant and refined Mrs. Oleanna walked into the reception hall with her stylish curls up and her light green skirt swinging gently.
”Good morning, Mr. Neil, and good morning, Klein.” She greeted with a smile in her hand holding a carrier bag made of calfskin, “Another fine, sunny day, nice day.”
”Good morning, Oleanna, you’re still as beautiful as you were a decade or so before.” Neil Sr. responded with a smile.
Oleanna’s eyes crossed and she scowled:
”Mr. Neil, your compliments are still as infuriating as they have been for the last ten years or so.”
She pronounced the words a dozen years.
”Is that so?” Old Neil looked over at Klein in disbelief, puzzlement written all over his face.
Never mention anything that will make a lady remember her age …… As a keyboard powerhouse who knows a little bit about everything, Klein instantly understood Mrs. Oleanna’s point of concern and opened his mouth with a light smile:
”Good morning, Mrs. Oleanna, you look as beautiful as you do every day.”
”Thank you, our outstanding Hoy University graduate.” Oleanna nodded with a light smile and turned to say, “That old butler has already paid for the commissioned mission, according to the captain’s rules, half of it belongs to the extra funds and half of it goes to you and Leonard, and since you are not a full member of the team, you can only get ten percent of that half, so you can come and sign for it later.”
”How much did he pay?” Crane asked, pleased and distressed.
”Two hundred pounds, that’s what he said at the time, and Lord, storm on, I just can’t imagine, can’t believe, that this thing is settled like this! It’s no more difficult than if we had a dream! Why is it that this security company of yours has no reputation? It’s a disgrace to the whole industry!” Mrs. Oleanna mimicked the slightly southern accent of her old housekeeper, Carvingley.
Klein thought hard for a few seconds and said humorously:
”That’s not really fair to those kidnappers.”
The two extraordinary people quickly resolved the problem in what could be described as an easy and cozy manner …… It was like heavily armed adults bullying a couple of small children ……
”They’re so unlucky, they must have lost the blessing of the gods.” Oriana laughed lowly, “I told that old butler that this commission was just us being lucky enough to have just the right informant to see that group of kidnappers enter the hiding place with the children, so don’t expect too much from us, we’re really just a very ordinary security company.”
Generally speaking, the more you emphasize ordinary, the less ordinary …… Klein smiled with a belly laugh and watched Mrs. Oleanna pass through the partition and enter the accounting room.
Old Neil barred his lips beside him and said with hidden envy:
”You’re a lucky lad, how long have you only been with us and you’ve come across a commission worth £200.”
”Is that rare?” Klein asked back suspiciously.
He had previously either been studying history and learning about mysteries, or wandering around, hunting for clues with inspiration.
”According to Oleanna’s statistics, we may not even come across a commission once a week, and most of them are worth under twenty pounds.” Old Neil replied with a sigh as he rubbed the white crystal pendant on his wrist.
Then, he looked at Klein with implied anticipation:
”If you meet a similar commission in the future, please always remember to inform me.”
Listening to Old Neil’s words, Klein was suddenly flooded with a strange feeling and asked directly:
”Mr. Neil, you seem to be short of money? How much salary do you get every week, huh? If it is not convenient to speak, please ignore my question.”
Old Neil leaned back against the backrest of the sofa and laughed:
”It’s not something that needs to be hidden, I’ve been here for many years and currently receive a weekly paycheck from the church and the police department respectively, worth a total of twelve pounds.”
”Twelve pounds a week?” Crane came out of his mouth in consternation.
Twelve pounds a week for 52 weeks a year, that’s almost 600 pounds a year towards the top!
When I read the Tingen Morning Post and the Honest Man earlier, it was described that senior barristers were only paid like 800 to 1,000 pounds per year, and this was a senior barrister!
And Benson, the manager of their import/export company, was only earning £6 a week, which was already considered quite a decent figure.
”Yes, that’s actually a generous enough salary, and we don’t have to pay income tax.” Old Neil added with a smile.
Crane had heard his brother Benson mention that with a weekly salary of £1 or more, you needed to pay E class tax, which was the income tax on government and company employee salaries, three percent on the £1 to £2 portion, five percent on the £2 to £5 portion, ten percent on the £5 to £10 portion, fifteen percent on the £10 to £20 portion, and twenty percent on the £20 and up portion.
In addition to this, he read in the paper that there were four other types of income tax, Class A being a tax on profits from land, housing and other real appreciation, including ground rent and house rent, Class B being an income tax on agricultural income, Class C being a tax on profits from bonds, funds and shares, and Class D being an income tax on income from business, finance and allied professions.
”Makes an appreciable point.” Klein echoed the elder Neil’s words.
”But.” Neil Sr. shook his head, “The paychecks are never enough for extraordinary people like us who need to explore hidden secrets and practice and try out rituals on a regular basis.”
”Aren’t the materials all applied for and received?” Klein asked in surprise.
Old Neil snorted:
”That has a limit, and in some cases, enough legitimate reasons must be given. To practice and try more in the mystical realm, you can only spend your own money on materials, which can be bought internally or go to some underground trading markets.”
Klein’s spirit was revitalized, and he immediately asked:
”An underground trading market with extraordinary materials? I thought, I thought that the church would definitely not allow them to exist.”
He himself was lacking sufficient access to materials!
With a fledgling hidden organization behind him, he couldn’t just settle everything within the Watchers, could he?
”This kind of thing can’t be regulated at all, well, in the occult point of view, everything has a spirit, everything has the same origin, the materials we use don’t only come from transcendental species, but also from normal animals, plants and minerals, for example, the poisonous cordials, golden mints, and nightshade herbs in your vial of ‘Diviner’s’ magic potion can be encountered frequently in daily life can often be encountered, they may not have extraordinary properties, but they all have properties that belong to themselves, and after blending and fusion, they can achieve certain effects, so it’s not a trade that the church can ban just because they want to.” Old Neil explained in detail.
Without waiting for Klein to speak, he continued:
”Moreover, transcendent species are not the only ones with a useful core, just like the Lava Octopus, apart from blood, its eyes, its epidermis, its tentacles, are all good materials, unless the Church captures all of them with its own people, to completely hoard them and control the outflow would be a very big economic burden, the lower the order of extraordinary materials, the more so, and one can only try to keep the more special ones out of circulation.”
Old Neil suddenly let out a laugh, “Another important reason is that an underground trading market that we know about is better than one that we don’t know about, under the premise that the hidden organizations have not been completely eliminated, this is a good strategy, and it can also help us obtain materials that are in short supply. Of course, after the existence of such a market, there will definitely be prohibited items, as long as they aren’t too exaggerated and dangerous, we’ll pretend we didn’t see them, and at most, we’ll use them to enrich our treasure trove.”
”There’s also the reason why the several major churches are holding each other back and can’t use too drastic means, right?” Klein speculated.
Old Neil let out a “hmm” without expanding on the specifics.
”I’m a ‘Diviner’, and I’ll definitely need repeated practice and more materials in the future as well, Mr. Neil, can you take me to those underground trading markets to take a look?” Klein requested with a legitimate reason.
Old Neil revealed a difficult expression:
”Actually, most of the guys active in those places are not extraordinary people, there are aristocrats who like mysteries, and there are rich people who aspire to this area……. Uh, well, I have a bill of 30 pounds that is about to expire, and it’s inconvenient for me to go over there for the time being.”
”Well ……” Crane hadn’t thought at all that it was the unpaid money owed that was the reason.
After a moment he spoke with deliberation:
”Mr. Neal, do you need to borrow money? I’ve got ten pounds to pay.”
”Haha, no need, I have a solution.” Old Neil patted the sofa and slowly stood up, “Ai, old age is really the most impossible enemy for creatures to deal with, last night’s night duty has made me very tired, well, this morning you review the previous lessons and read more literature by yourself, and wait until tomorrow, I will start to teach you the basics of ritual magic.”
”Okay.” Klein followed, rising and taking off his hat to say goodbye.
By mid-afternoon, seeing that Captain Dunn had not yet returned, Klein pretended that he was still searching for the notebook and wandered out into the streets once more.
With his ten pound payment he didn’t need to wait for the funds to come down and could go straight to the Divination Club!
The whispers and visions that came to him from time to time during his meditations and psychic visions made him eager to start “playing”.