Part 5 The Red Priestess Chapter 49 “The Siamese”
Emlyn glanced at Ian, raised his hand and pinched the tip of his nose, chuckling:
”It seems you don’t understand, well, a simpler description would be to help me gather intelligence on outlanders coming from the southern continent, especially from the Plateau of Stars and the Paz River Valley.”
”Intelligence on what exactly? There are quite a few purebred South Continenters in Berkland, and those with the appropriate bloodlines are even more frequently seen.” Ian didn’t get angry at being despised and calmly asked his question.
Emlyn gave a laugh and said:
”The more perverse kind, the ones that act furtively and mysteriously, you should understand what I’m talking about.”
”There must be quite a few highlanders and river valley people who fit your description, and they are either servants, laborers, thieves, and join gangs in Bekrand, and those latter ones all satisfy the conditions of acting perversely and being sneaky and mysterious.” Ian honestly pointed out the impracticality of Emlyn’s demands.
Emlyn, however, was prepared for this, and with an inconspicuous smile and a small amplitude nodded his head and said:
”In this case, give me all the information that meets the conditions, I will do the screening myself, well, this commission will pay you 50 pounds upfront as the basic cost of the preliminary investigation, and then pay an additional 20 pounds for each item according to how many items of the collected information have value.”
”Who decides whether there is value or not?” Ian thought for a few seconds and opened his mouth to ask.
In his case, with an upfront income of 50 pounds, the commission would actually be able to be taken, and the money was enough to hire a dozen people to investigate from the East End to the Chorwood District from morning to night for half a month.
He didn’t really care how much he could make out of the fifty pounds, because quite a few people depended on him for survival, and he had to set them up with something remunerative to do from time to time, or else he wouldn’t be able to be well-informed at all.
Emlyn looked Ian over twice and said with a “heh”:
”Of course it’s me, you should know my reputation very well.”
”Great Detective Moriarty didn’t tell me about this ……” Ian muttered and sighed, “Well, the last cooperation was quite pleasant, I choose to believe you.”
Nodding his head in satisfaction, Emlyn took out his money clip and counted the bills totaling up to fifty pounds in denomination again.
In this process, thinking that he only had 407 pounds left in his savings, Emlyn was a bit reluctant to part with it for a moment.
Now it’s 357 pounds …… He withdrew his eyes from looking at a banknote and handed the cash in his hand to Ian.
He put on his bowler hat, walked out of the pool room and left the Bravehearts pub.
When he reached the street, Emlyn loosened the fingers pinching his nose, looked up at the burning clouds, his expression gradually sullen, and muttered silently to himself:
”Where did that ‘spiteful spirit’ go without …… this time?
”Hmph, Ian acted as if he had never heard of the Rose School, but the quickening of his heartbeat betrayed him ……
”Also, I’m surprised he didn’t ask Sherlock Moriarty if he had returned to Birkeland this time, not worried at all …… Could it be that Sherlock has returned to Birkeland and met with him?”
……
Bayram, the “City of Generosity”, Rothschild Islands.
Outside a house with gas wall lamps on, near the harbor, “Star General” Gadelia led Frank Lee, who had rolled up his shirtsleeves, revealing brown hairs, to an unoccupied corner and watched a figure grow out of the shadows.
This is the “bloodless” Heath Doyle, who is responsible for monitoring the “artisan” Sharf, he is tall and thin, his skin is so pale that it is a bit transparent, and he looks like he will fall down when the wind blows.
”Anything out of the ordinary in the meantime?” Gadelia pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses that rested on the bridge of her nose.
Heath Doyle said with a “hmm”:
”On the third day after you left, a stranger came to visit Sharf and stayed for about a quarter of an hour; I didn’t approach for fear of being discovered.
”As you commanded, Captain, I had my men follow the stranger, but was thrown off.”
”What did the stranger look like?” Kadriya said with a slight nod.
Heath Doyle pulled a piece of raw beef from the leather pouch at his waist, the blood on it still fresh but not contaminating anything it touched, it seemed to have turned into a pure solid.
Immediately afterward, the piece of beef melted in Heath Doyle’s hands, dripping like running water to the ground, writhing with life and painting a portrait.
”That’s the effect I wanted!” Frank Lee gazed at the scene, expressing himself rather excitedly.
Heath Doyle, rather evasive under his gaze, tilted his body slightly as he pointed to the ground:
”It probably looks like this.”
At that moment, a blood-colored scroll had taken shape, and the subject was a man with two whiskers and features close to those of the race of the Pas Valley, whose greatest feature was the three studs set in each of his ears.
”Studs made of gold, lean build, not much fat, but healthy.” Heath Doyle added.
Gadelia then withdrew her gaze to the ground and said:
”And?”
Heath Doyle gave another “hmm”:
”No one came to visit Sharf after that, except for the temporary servants and cooks he employed. I’ve arranged for my men to investigate, and they’re all in order.
”Scharf would take a regular evening stroll every day, looking for a streetwalker to take home, and not letting the other person leave until dawn. …… I’ve been following him, and haven’t noticed him contacting strange people on his way.”
”He’s been acting normal this whole time?” Gadelia asked with a slight frown.
In her opinion, no abnormality was the greatest abnormality!
After all, this involved members of the Rose School who believed in the “primordial moon”.
Heath Doyle nodded affirmatively:
”Yes.”
Gadelia glanced sideways at the front door of the house and pondered for a moment before saying:
”I originally planned to use my extraordinary ability to sneak in and take control of Sharf as fast as I could and take him away to avoid accidents, but now it seems that the best way is to just knock on the door and pay a visit.”
Unknown dangers were the most frightening.
”Captain, I’ll join you.” Frank Lee, thinking that he had been so busy lately with his experiments that he had not done what a first mate should do for a long time, hastened to ask.
Gadelia nodded as she removed the heavy glasses and hung them onto the belt of her black wizard’s robe:
”Good.”
With that, she left the shadowy corner and made her way to the front door of the Tinker Sharf’s residence.
As she approached, she looked up at the red moon piercing through the clouds in the sky, flexed her fingers, and knocked on the door three times.
It wasn’t long before footsteps approached and the door opened with a creak.
”Artisan” Sharf hadn’t changed significantly from last time, still lean and dark, with slightly puffy bags under his eyes, and brown eyes that were trying to squeeze out a smile:
”Admiral, what is it this time?”
He stood in the doorway, blocking the glow of the gas sconces behind him, making the area seem claustrophobic and dark, making himself seem to dip into the shadows.
Gadelia stared at him for a few seconds and spoke slowly:
”I have a new idea and intend to make you my crew.”
She moved her feet, with no intention of entering.
”Artisan,” Sharf’s expression twisted, his tone steepening to something sinister:
”Why?”
Kadriya’s eyes suddenly froze slightly, then spoke slowly:
”Because I am a pirate.”
Pirates don’t need a reason, they do what they want to do, all by their own pleasure.
Sharf’s face muscles twitched a little, and a little smile reappeared in his eyes:
”I could be your sailor, however, as a ‘craftsman’, it is still better to utilize my role in the big city.”
”I agree with you.” Gadria disintegrated the other’s will to resist, “But before that, you need to spend some time aboard my ‘Future’ and become companions with the others.”
Sharf’s demeanor slowly became grim as his voice drifted slightly in response:
”I’m afraid I can’t control myself, I have a strong desire to reproduce every day ……”
”A strong desire to reproduce?” Frank Lee’s eyes lit up as he listened from the side and asked a confirmatory rhetorical question.
Sharf was so stunned that he didn’t know whether to nod or shake his head.
Frank then looked over at General “Starry Night” Gadelia and asked with a slight excitement:
”Captain, is this my lab assistant?
”I like that about him so much!”
Gadelia was silent for several seconds, nodding her head slowly and gruffly:
”Yes.”
Frank immediately broke into a bright smile and extended his right hand to “Artisan” Sharf:
”Nice to meet you, introduce yourself, first officer of the ‘Future’, Frank Lee.”
Sharf’s expression returned to normal, shaking the other party’s hand quizzically before saying:
”Is it true that you’ll only be on the ‘Future’ for a while?”
”I give my word of honor.” Gadelia responded sincerely, and silently added in her heart:
It won’t be long before the Queen herself comes to deal with you ……
”Well, I can’t beat you anyway.” Xarf shrugged his shoulders, “Allow me to gather my personal belongings.”
He then took two steps back and turned his body towards the stairway at the end of the hall.
As he walked, he suddenly paused and turned his back to Gadelia and Frank Lee, speaking softly and slowly:
”The moonlight is as beautiful as ever tonight, isn’t it?”
Not bothering to wait for a response, he moved on and disappeared down the stairway.
It was only then that the gravity on Gadelia’s face became apparent.
After Xalph opened the door, she had already used her own eyes to see the other party’s abnormality:
If the past Xialf’s spirit body was a normal human, then now it was a Siamese!
This “Siamese” is growing rapidly under the moonlight.
This is not a problem that I can solve, I have to write a letter to the Queen, and also, I can not forget Germaine Sparrow s request for a meeting …… Gadelia sighed silently, subconsciously tilted up her face.
High in the sky, the clouds were thin, and a red moon was bright and quiet.
……
BECKLAND, HILSTON DISTRICT, “East Byron Veterans Officers’ Club”.
Dawn Dantes and Councillor Macht stepped out of their separate carriages and entered the foyer together.