Part 1V THE UNDEAD CHAPTER 66 A Return Visit to a Stomping Ground

　　Jorwood District, outside the gates of the Cowiem Company.

　　Klein stepped out of the carriage and glanced from side to side, as if he had never been here before, with a strong sense of freshness.

　　But in reality, he was no stranger to the neighborhood; he knew that across the road was the Gadleigh’s Department Store, which was quite popular with the middle class, and he knew that not far away there was a well known Sim’s Dixie Pie.

　　It was here that he had once squatted on Doragu Gale, following up on clues that the other man was cheating on his wife!

　　Retracting his eyes, Klein took Richardson, his valet, and walked toward the gates of Cowie’s, where Lady Mary and her valet were waiting.

　　–In the Kingdom of Ruen, where the folk customs are relatively conservative, a lady’s personal servant must be of the same sex, or else it will be poorly received, affecting socialization and marriage, so even if Lady Mary’s personal servant is somehow still equivalent to her secretary, and needs to master social etiquette, knowledge of shopping malls, and possess a certain degree of negotiation ability, it can only be obtained from women who have received a good education or women with corresponding work experience, men could not be considered.

　　Similarly, gentlemen’s personal servants and business secretaries must be of the same sex.

　　Of course, even so, those who couldn’t control themselves would still engage in immoral behaviors, in Bakerland, every year, there were incidents of servants and employers having sex, among them, the ones who were harmed were mostly maids, who were either deceived, forced, or seduced into becoming the lovers of their male employers, and when they were found out, they would be dismissed unceremoniously, lose their jobs, and then because of their damaged reputations, they couldn’t work as a servants, and a good portion had to become streetwalkers.

　　”Good noon, Dawn.” Lady Mary greeted her with a smile.

　　Klein curtsied and said:

　　”Good noon, ma’am, this is quite a bustling place.”

　　Such words amounted slightly to a discussion of the weather.

　　Mary responded with a couple of smiles as she led Dawn Dantes through the gates of Cowiem:

　　”A professional will explain it to you later and show you around.

　　”In about half an hour, go upstairs, I have prepared a cold dinner party and invited some friends from different fields.”

　　Friends in different fields …… This is expanding my social circle for me ah …… very sincere Well! Klein nodded gently:

　　”As an outlander who hasn’t been in Berkland for long, I always look forward to meeting more friends.”

　　”No, you don’t look like an outlander at all, in my opinion, you are a well-educated and true Birkeland gentleman.” Lady Mary responded politely.

　　As they spoke, they passed through the doors and into the very well lit waiting area where a stout, formally dressed man with two nice moustaches was waiting.

　　”This is Luke Sommer, he’s the first manager of the Cowiem.” Mary introduced Dawn Dantes.

　　I actually know him …… Klein looked over at Luke and nodded with a smile.

　　In his mind, Luke Sommer was a rather stoic, very professional gentleman who loved mechanics and was a great host at dinner parties, neither belittling the poor detective who was not yet famous at the time, nor deliberately currying favor with the few mid-level employees of the Bakerland Municipal Department who lived on Minsk Street.

　　”This is my friend, Dawn Dantes, he’s interested in anthracite and quality charcoal, so help me with the details.” Mary turned to Luke.

　　Luke, who had been instructed to do so, stepped forward and looked at the tycoon from Dixie Bay with a soft smile and respect:

　　”Mr. Dontaeus, this is the headquarters of the Cowiem Company …… We have long term agreements with a number of anthracite mining districts …… supplying the Chorwood District, the Hilston District, the North District, and the West District with anthracite and high quality charcoal accounting for 30% of their total needs and are on track to pick up a large order from the Navy ……”

　　Such an expression on Luke’s face I never saw before …… Crane followed the other around the Cowiem company with a superficially motionless face, listening to his introduction to various aspects of the situation, now and then casually inquiring, but did not make any statement.

　　Half an hour later, they went up to the second floor and entered the large conference room.

　　The place had been set up in advance, with tables placed against the walls and trays of food staggered on them, featuring ham, bacon, sausages, bread, salads, cakes, puddings, and other cold foods, though there were a few hot dishes as well.

　　Just after entering, Mary introduced Dawn Dantes to the two men standing nearby exchanging pleasantries:

　　”This is Mike Joseph, a reporter for the Daily Observer, and this is Alan Krebs, an excellent surgeon, and there will always be a time when you will need them at Birkeland.”

　　The corners of Klein’s mouth nearly twitched as he listened to Mary’s words while looking at the two men with a smile.

　　These are friends I know very well! Well, I’m more familiar with the fetus in Alan’s his wife’s belly, er, that’s a bit weird …… While bellyaching, Klein patiently waited until Mary introduced Dawn Dantes to the opposite side of the room before politely and politely greeting Mike and Alan.

　　Mike Joseph hadn’t changed much from last year, with thinning eyebrows, rough skin, and azure eyes that were still mesmerizing, while Alan Kreis, though a cold and introverted person by nature, was no longer visibly showing it, and everything seemed to be going well for him in the last six months, whether it was his mood, or his self-confidence, which was at its peak.

　　Hearing that Dontaeus was a wealthy man from Dixie, Mike pulled out his business card and handed it over with a smile:

　　”Don’t mind if I push, do you?

　　”If you want to place an advertisement, you can come to me, whether it’s the Daily Observer or the Tasok Newspaper, I can get a favorable price.”

　　As he spoke, Mike squeezed his eyes to show he was joking.

　　How come you, the reporter …… who always carries multiple fake credentials, didn’t tell Sherlock Moriarty before that you could get discounted rates for advertising space? Looking down on the great detective, are you? Crane bellyached a few times and exchanged business cards with the other party:

　　”I’ve always had a need for that.”

　　Then he turned to Allen and handed the other business card in his hand:

　　”I had an illness some time ago, and I’ve just recovered not long ago, so I especially understand the importance of a doctor.”

　　”I’m a surgeon, and I don’t think you’ll want to see me too much.” Alan said this with his mouth, but took the card anyway.

　　No, I’d very much like to meet you, and I’d even like to attend your child’s birth party …… Klein cooed, deliberately steering the conversation towards the medical field, and chatting quite nicely with Allen and Mike.

　　He’d been fretting before about how to get close enough to Alan to re-establish contact with a certain fetus; after all, a thousand paper cranes could break at any time, maybe not even once, and it was hard for Sherlock Moriarty to show up at Becklander with a straight face and pay a house call, let alone attend a birth party.

　　Now there is no problem, with Lady Mary’s introduction, I can get acquainted with Ellen very naturally, then, certainly will be invited, hey, maybe even be a “Mercury Serpent” godfather, after all, they are all believers in the Goddess of God …… This will not let a certain The fetus must be cautious,……, Alan did not mention, I can never take the initiative to suggest,…… Klein thought happily.

　　He professionally collected himself, didn t show too much enthusiasm at the first time, and after a few sentences of simple small talk, he followed Mary to recognize the other guests.

　　In the process, Klein didn’t forget to pick up food and drinks, appearing to be well adapted to the environment.

　　After walking around in a circle, Mary paused and spoke with deliberation:

　　”These are all my friends here.”

　　Meaning no one from over there was invited, while still including the implication that I’m your friend too? Klein nodded gently:

　　”As a gentleman, I probably shouldn’t ask, but as a businessman, I need to know who, or which people, are competing with you for control of Cowiem?”

　　Mary was silent for two seconds and said:

　　”Baron Sindras and his friends, they want to push the Cowiem Company to the stock exchange and make astronomical profits from it, they don’t care what happens to the company in the future.”

　　Baron Sindras, one of the richest men in Rouen, a banker, factory owner, and big businessman who became a nobleman by donating to the Conservative Party …… His position is a little vague, ah, although he got his knighthood by the Conservative Party, he sympathizes with the businessman, and he is close to the new party …… Klein thought about it thought about it and asked rhetorically with a smile:

　　”Why don t you ask that Mr. Hall to help? His father is a great nobleman and banker, and should be able to provide the most effective help.”

　　Lady Mary laughed bitterly:

　　”Mr. Hall doesn’t want to get involved in this matter, he said he is the chief secretary of the Kingdom’s Air Pollution Investigation Committee, and can’t get involved in business practices related to anthracite coal and charcoal.”

　　A truly politically ambitious gentleman ah …… However, it should also be reluctant to cross paths with Baron Sindras …… Oh, if I had chosen another steward before, I would be building a relationship with Baron Sindras right now… …He is so rich, really want to premium, I overflow but ah …… Heh, will there be a plot to take money to smash me to death …… Klein did not ask more questions and turned to say:

　　”I will wait for the investigation report to come out.”

　　Mary saw that Dawn Dantes did not directly retreat, said with slight gratitude:

　　”There are very few chivalrous people left in this day and age, and you are one of them.”

　　Klein smiled, didn’t promise anything, and ate until the end of the cold dinner party, got into his own high-class four-wheeled carriage, and headed back to the North End.

　　Looking out the window at the street scene for a while, Klein suddenly turned his head sideways to Richardson, his valet:

　　”Turn to St. Samuel’s Church.”

　　He had never found a definite answer to the last time a mutation appeared and spiraled down inside the church, which made him consider whether it was time for him to find a chance to get in touch with the internal caretaker.

　　And he remembered that every afternoon, at least one of the internal watchers would go to the Great Prayer Hall to pray to the Goddess.

　　How should one make contact? In that kind of environment, even chatting seems noisy …… and being too deliberate is easy to draw suspicion …… Klein frowned slightly and decided to do observation first, then think of a way.

　　The carriage did not change direction, still heading towards Birklund Street, but without stopping there, it directly crossed over.

　　Inside the carriage Klein closed his eyes, calming his suddenly slightly nervous mood.