"What?" Folshe touched her earlobe, doubting she had heard correctly. How could the beautiful, innocent, curious, and naive Miss Audrey be entrusted with a mission involving assassination? And the target—Ambassador of the powerful northern kingdom of Intis! Hest was more reserved, hesitating before responding: "Our capabilities, no, our strength, are not sufficient to carry out this mission." She had first assessed the difficulty of the task. Audrey overlooked Folshe's question, inviting them to imagine their own reasons, and with a gentle smile, said: "I'm not asking you to accept the commission on your own initiative—I'm asking you to seek out extraordinary individuals capable of fulfilling it. For instance, Mr. A. I'll pay you 4,000 gold pounds for this, though this is merely my initial offer—details can be negotiated. Should the mission succeed, I'll provide an additional 500 pounds as compensation. Even if it fails, you'll receive 200 pounds, as you have assumed the risk." Her accumulated, yet untapped, pension balance plus the remaining bonus amounted to roughly thirteen thousand pounds. However, if she drew upon too much of it at once, it would certainly attract the attention of Lord Holborne, and even the Bavay Bank would conduct a certain level of investigation. After careful calculation, she believed five thousand pounds to be the critical threshold—she would not want to exceed it. Four thousand gold pounds… Hugh heard his own heavy breathing, but soon grew discouraged. He was very clear that he could not possibly undertake this task. Simply arranging for other extraordinary individuals under our name and keeping it confidential alone required a fee of five hundred pounds. Miss Audrey is the most generous, most magnanimous, and most beautiful person I have ever known! Hugh quickly returned to reality. As for Firth, his heart was stirred, yet his mind brimmed with questions: Why had Miss Audrey entrusted such a task? Was it due to the rivalries within the noble circles? Was it the prelude to a planned conflict? Was it the desire of certain prominent figures, represented by Lord Holborne, for the situation to become more chaotic? ……… The two soon reconnected with Mr. A through the agreed-upon channel, arriving at the house where they had previously attended the gathering just as the rare sunlight pierced through the mist and illuminated the entire Beckland. There, they saw Mr. A, wearing a hood and seated with one leg crossed over the other, giving off an air of superiority. "Is there something important you've come to discuss?" Mr. A's gaze moved back and forth between the two women. They had heard that some female extraordinary beings had exchanged their bodies for magical materials with Mr. A—how truly unpleasant and eccentric he was! Folshe smiled slightly at the corner of her mouth. "We have a substantial deal—we're wondering if you'd be interested," she said. Mr. A glanced at Hui's face and chuckled softly. "Go on, tell me what it is." Holding back the urge to draw her three-pronged spike, Hui spoke in the tone of an arbitrator. "The assassination of Ambassador Indis of the Kingdom of Beckland, Beckland Jean Madan." Mr. A fell silent at once, but since his expression was obscured by the hood's shadow, Furlough and Volsky could not guess what was going through his mind. After a while, he slowly leaned back and said in a low tone, "So, what is the compensation?" "Four thousand pounds in gold, plus we'll provide relevant intelligence—such as the fact that Ambassador Beckland is a Sequence 6 'Conspirator' reached through the 'Hunters' path, with a possible Sequence 5 assistant, and that his weakness is his charm." Volsky made every effort to make Mr. A feel that the task was achievable. Mr. A chuckled lightly, "I'll take on this assignment, but the compensation must be increased." "The first option: partial recipes for the elixirs of the 'Unshrouded,' 'Fate's High Priest,' 'Seer,' or 'Master of Influence'—of course, these are more valuable than this task, but we need only a portion, not the complete formulations." "The second option, ten thousand pounds—ah, that's precisely the reward offered for Captain Zilings, the 'Storm Commander.' Beckland may not match his stature, but he has capable assistants, and, believe me, there's certainly something magical about him. A reasonable price, yet certainly an extravagant one... Hugh and Foulis exchanged a glance and said, 'We'll go back and discuss it, and I'll give you a reply by this time tomorrow.' 'Very well,' Mr. A gestured warmly as if sending them on their way. After being escorted out of the house, Foulis murmured in quiet wonder, 'All of those are high-sequence recipes?' 'Honestly, I find it surprising. I expected Mr. A to only request recipes or medicinal ingredients. To me, money should not be essential to him.' " "Xue turned to glance at his friend: 'Folse, you're truly just a simple clinic doctor and writer. You must know that Mr. A certainly has a number of subordinates who need housing, food, clothing, and outlets for their desires—all of which must be paid for in cash. And for certain fallen nobles, what can't be sold once they have enough pounds?' 'Though Mr. A without subordinates may be equally formidable, his information network will remain quite isolated.' 'This is precisely what the smaller gangs in the East District are well aware of.' Folse frowned slightly, saying, 'Xue, you're not that slow after all...' In the evening, they met at the appointed place and saw the familiar golden-haired dog, delivering Mr. A's response to Audrey. After reading the note, Audrey didn't feel any pressure—on the contrary, she breathed a long, relieved sigh. To settle the ambassador's matter for just ten thousand pounds was simply too wonderful for her!" I can currently only draw upon £5,000, and I still need to pay £500 to Huxley and Fotherse... Well, let me borrow from Gleadless—£6,000, no, £8,000—so that my regular expenses don’t come under scrutiny, and repay him in four to five months with an interest of £1,000... Until the new year, I’ll be quite strained, managing only £1,000 per month... Audrey made a swift decision and then burned the original note, writing on fresh paper: "Second option: advance £2,000, and pay the remaining £8,000 upon completion of the task."... At No. 15 Minsk Street, Caine met Mary Gale again during tea time. He had arranged the appointment himself through Mrs. Staline Summer. "Madam Mary, after tracking down your husband, I found that he went to the Cragg Club. As I am not a member, I wasn't able to enter, but during my observation, I noticed that half an hour after he left, only one young lady came out. Her name is Erika Taylor, residing at 126 New Year Road, Hilston District. She previously worked at Coym Company and is currently unemployed. I have taken a photograph of her leaving the Cragg Club." "Unemployed, yet still living in Hilston..." Stella scoffed. Mary remained silent for a few seconds, her expression gloomy. "You'll have to secure tangible evidence of their close relationship, won't you? Yes, at the Cragg Club, right? I'll introduce you to two members to join, but your application must list yourself as a 'well-known detective.' Otherwise, it's likely they won't let you in on time." "Good," Cline hesitated before finally asking, "Who will be responsible for paying the membership fees?" "The initial membership fee I'll cover—this is my way of thanking you for your efficiency. After that, if you'd like to stay with the club, the annual fee will be your responsibility, around fifteen pounds." Mary's eyes seemed ablaze. Fifteen pounds for the annual fee—then the initial fee must have been at least fifty! How upscale! Mary, you're truly generous! Kline nodded immediately. "I'll get the evidence to you as soon as possible." Regarding the gray mist, Caine was certain that the gentleman or lady would certainly be unable to divinate—neither his resurrection nor his past memories, nor even the "Impure Speech" talisman successfully crafted with the aid of "the True Maker." This was an absolutely potent item capable of profoundly influencing the other party. Caine had to maintain a state of insecurity, clutching at straw after straw, in order to mislead and thereby increase his chances of success. Under the deep black sky, Caine entered the tavern. Before he had even managed to order a beer, he spotted the elderly man with the beer-stained nose, Casparus, standing with arms folded in front of the "Dog Catching the Mouse" competition stage. "Just perfect—Marich has been looking for you," Casparus said, immediately limping over as soon as he spotted Caine. "Marich has been looking for me?" Caine asked in surprise. He instinctively reached into his pocket for the Azk copper whistle, considering what excuse to offer to politely decline. Or perhaps, if he enveloped the whistle in his own spiritual essence, the living corpse would remain unchanged? Mr. Azk had been to the cemetery before, and he hadn’t seen any corpses attack him… Cline’s spirit suddenly tightened. Before he could think of an excuse, he spotted Marić approaching from the other side, pale-faced, with a gaze that seemed to hold malice, and without any living corpses accompanying him. Where were his corpses? Cline thought, half puzzled, half relieved. Marić pointed toward the card room and walked ahead. Cline watched from a distance, noting that there were no corpses inside, and then followed in. “Is there something wrong?” Cline asked promptly. Marić, dressed in a white shirt and black jacket, sat down heavily at the card table, fixing Cline with steady eyes. “Is your commission still valid?” “Ah?” Cline was momentarily caught off guard. “I have a friend who’s recently been short on funds and is willing to accept this commission. She’s stronger than I am and should be able to protect you, though she will only protect you for three days, at a cost of 1,000 pounds.” Marić said, his voice low and somewhat indistinct. Why only now, after I've acquired the "impure words," have exceptional beings begun to express willingness to accept commissions... Nevertheless, this is advantageous—it will further confuse the exceptional beings on the ambassador's side. Once they've expended considerable effort defeating Marič's allies, my chances of success will become exceedingly high... The only issue remains: how to ensure that Marič's allies are trustworthy... Ah, I'll consult the seer in the Gray Mists. After a moment of reflection, Caine said: "Give me time to consider and raise the necessary funds—this isn't a small sum." "Also, protect me as discreetly as possible, ensuring no one becomes aware of it. As for which three days of protection, I'll decide—definitely within the next two weeks." Of course, the seer will certainly notice... Caine silently added this to himself. Regarding the matter of money, he had already considered it from the outset. If selling Mersault's exceptional qualities wasn't enough, he would then turn to Madame Justice—after all, he had long laid the groundwork, and there were still many insights to be drawn from his Rosel diary. Of course, if the price proved too high, he would have to make do with less. Now, although Mersault's unique traits had become a curse, a kind of impure incantation, Madame Justice remained, still owing money for the "Luminous Seeker" formula at the eighth tier of the value sequence, and still owing the Convent for intelligence. Together, these obligations made a sum of one thousand pounds quite sufficient!